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View Full Version : Taking breaks during the day at WDW?



beltm
05-28-2013, 07:14 PM
Trying to figure our our general plan and we will have a one year old and six year old. I feel like going back to the room every day to nap the baby will eat up alot of park time. Older ds does not sound interested in fireworks or evening shows and would rather go on rides and attractions. Plus they will be late and will throw both kids way off schedule. Planning to keep with an 8pm bedtime or so. If we come back to nap after lunch around 1pm and then Return to the park around 4:30 or so for dinner and a few rides is it worth it? I can understand returning till the end of the parades and fireworks but I feel like I will be killing alot of time with the midday nap. Am I better off just trying to nap the baby in the stroller some days and have other days where we come back and rest and don't return to the parks? What's the best way to handle a baby who needs a nap with an older kid who doesn't? Especially knowing well be heading back to the hotel by 7:30 pm? Thanks.

hillview
05-28-2013, 07:24 PM
we've done 3 times and each time we've gotten up for rope drop (20 mins + before really) as the kids are early birds and then returned back to the room at ~1 (after lunch so maybe 1:30). We spend the afternoon at the pool and then did dinner either at a park or a hotel. No regrets. That said we were at the park for 5+ days so it wasn't a pack it all in trip. :yay:

beltm
05-28-2013, 07:58 PM
We will be there for a week but with a nap every day it's like maybe 3.5 mor ing hours in the park (assuming g were there for rope drop), and maybe another 2-3 hours in the late afternoon/evening. I am generally thinking one day each at AK and HS, and two days at MK and Epcot with a couple of free adternoons or morning built in for the resort. Is two days at epcot and the MK enough if we are taking a midday break and leaving the park by 7:30? Will we get to see it all? I see older ds enjoying epcot and wanti g to go through everything (Innovatentions, world showcase, etc). On the Hollywood studio day we will just plow through the park and not leave for a rest. Animal kingdom seems like we may be done around 2pm for the day anyways. Well be on the monorail so coming back for a break would just be on the MK and epcot days. Glad to know the midday break plan worked for you. We did legoland california is last year and I know dh and I are pretty efficient t tourers, plus ill have touring plans.

infocrazy
05-28-2013, 07:59 PM
We did your plan. It was great for us. If we went back to the hotel we would have never gotten back out of it. Everything always seems to take a lot more time than we think it will. It worked great for us just staying there at the park and having the little ones nap in the stroller. However i thought there were very few places to take a stroller inside so plan to just sit under the tree in the shade unless you continue to walk around. None of us are early risers so we pretty much got to the parks at 10 when they opened and then stayed until about 6 or 7. The only day we stayed longer was when we went to Magic Kingdom and we stayed until the fireworks.

egoldber
05-28-2013, 08:40 PM
My kids are also 5 years apart. We split up a lot. One adult would go back to the room with younger DD to nap and one would stay at the park with older DD. Sometimes the older one was tired too, but often she wanted to keep going.

beltm
05-28-2013, 08:47 PM
We did your plan. It was great for us. If we went back to the hotel we would have never gotten back out of it. Everything always seems to take a lot more time than we think it will. It worked great for us just staying there at the park and having the little ones nap in the stroller. However i thought there were very few places to take a stroller inside so plan to just sit under the tree in the shade unless you continue to walk around. None of us are early risers so we pretty much got to the parks at 10 when they opened and then stayed until about 6 or 7. The only day we stayed longer was when we went to Magic Kingdom and we stayed until the fireworks.


Well that was the other issue, do I just sit there with the stroller while dh and ds ride? I'm compiling a list of rides we could take turns doing with ds while baby sleeps that baby can't do (stiches great escape, Tom Sawyer island, barnstormer). I just feel like by the time we transport back to the hotel, get the baby settled for a nap, then do the wake up stuff (diaper, snack, etc), transfer back to the park well hardly have any time there.

beltm
05-28-2013, 08:48 PM
My kids are also 5 years apart. We split up a lot. One adult would go back to the room with younger DD to nap and one would stay at the park with older DD. Sometimes the older one was tired too, but often she wanted to keep going.

Yeah we may have to split up.....but I don't want to miss out on the experience with older ds :wink2:.

WatchingThemGrow
05-28-2013, 09:00 PM
I think it depends on the crowd level at the time of your visit. We've been there at high crowd times, and taking a midday break was the best thing ever. When it's crowded, even pushing a stroller through the crowds is frustrating, not to mention the ridiculous wait times for rides.

acmom
05-28-2013, 09:19 PM
we've done 3 times and each time we've gotten up for rope drop (20 mins + before really) as the kids are early birds and then returned back to the room at ~1 (after lunch so maybe 1:30). We spend the afternoon at the pool and then did dinner either at a park or a hotel. No regrets. That said we were at the park for 5+ days so it wasn't a pack it all in trip. :yay:

:yeahthat: We have done this too, although we returned to the hotel closer to 2-2:30 some days (esp. AK and HS days since we only did 1 day there). Our last trip my kids were 2.5 and 4.5 (we also went when they were 1 and 3 and with DD when she was 18 mos) and we really needed that downtime, even for DD who doesn't nap. Like Hillview, we are early risers and were there at rope drop. By the time we hit early afternoon, we all needed a break from the crowds (even though we go at non peak times) and the sun/heat. And we found by getting my 2.5 year old a decent nap at the hotel, made the rest of the time much more pleasant bc he wasn't overtired and grouchy!

I think a lot of it depends on your family's needs and routines....what time you get going in the morning, how much downtime is needed, how your child naps, how you all handle crowds, waiting and heat, etc.

megs4413
05-28-2013, 11:17 PM
I don't do the break and come back thing most of the time. Maybe a few days, but not every day. My kids hit a touring limit and we just have a relaxed evening after that. If you plan well and get there at rope drop, you can tour most parks in one partial day. We generally leave after the afternoon parade. Once we get back to the room, we don't want to head back to the park. We have done dinner reservations and resort activities traditionally instead. The only parks that are hard to get all the way through on a partial day are MK and Epcot. If time allows, I suggest 2 days for MK and then a flex day for whichever park ends up being a favorite.

infocrazy
05-28-2013, 11:51 PM
Well that was the other issue, do I just sit there with the stroller while dh and ds ride? I'm compiling a list of rides we could take turns doing with ds while baby sleeps that baby can't do (stiches great escape, Tom Sawyer island, barnstormer). I just feel like by the time we transport back to the hotel, get the baby settled for a nap, then do the wake up stuff (diaper, snack, etc), transfer back to the park well hardly have any time there.

Rider swap is awesome. We did wait with the stroller but it really wasn't that bad. You could also use that time to get fast passes, stand in line for meals etc.

We did a day at each park, drove to the beach one day. Mk was the only full day. Epcot was OK. We did not do the countries. We could see the fireworks from our hotel-wbc.

We went end of April and the highest crowd day was a 5.1 at Mk. Epcot was a 1!!! It was great.

BayGirl2
05-29-2013, 12:21 AM
We take our breaks in the park, we don't go back to the hotel, even in a monorail resort. We did rope drop every day and stayed until close most days to do all the shows. Both of my kids are big stroller sleepers, and once they are asleep in the stroller its easier to just leave them there. Had we gone back to the room they would not have napped on demand. The kids were totally fine, they were well rested and only got cranky in the 5 minutes before they fell asleep, which happens at home too.

The harder part was for DH and I. As I said in the other threads, we did at least one, usually two TS reservations a day. That was our break. I'm not a big napper and had we come back to the hotel I think I would have just been impatient to return, not sleeping. The one day I did that (DH left the day before me because I had a business trip) I felt kind of out-of-sorts returning to the park at 4:00.

I admit the afternoons were yucky - hot and crowded with long lines and just annoying. I had to remind myself we already did what we wanted to do, grab a shady bench and a drink, and then I was ok. What annoyed me most was that at WDW there's no indoor places that allow strollers. At DL there are a couple in each park, so I planned ahead and made a list for WDW (from the DIS) and most didn't seem to work out for me. Also before FP return times were enforced DH and I would use nap time as our chance to do child swap on the big rides. With the new enforcement it was harder to do that and that annoyed me a bit too. I don't think going back to the room would have changed my opinion on any of this, it just would have added another logistical step into that part of the day.

westwoodmom04
05-29-2013, 09:17 AM
:yeahthat: We have done this too, although we returned to the hotel closer to 2-2:30 some days (esp. AK and HS days since we only did 1 day there). Our last trip my kids were 2.5 and 4.5 (we also went when they were 1 and 3 and with DD when she was 18 mos) and we really needed that downtime, even for DD who doesn't nap. Like Hillview, we are early risers and were there at rope drop. By the time we hit early afternoon, we all needed a break from the crowds (even though we go at non peak times) and the sun/heat. And we found by getting my 2.5 year old a decent nap at the hotel, made the rest of the time much more pleasant bc he wasn't overtired and grouchy!

I think a lot of it depends on your family's needs and routines....what time you get going in the morning, how much downtime is needed, how your child naps, how you all handle crowds, waiting and heat, etc.

This is our preferred way to do Disney as well. Neither of our kids were young enough to still take naps, but we were done with the parks somewhere between 2 and 4 each day. Then we would go back to the hotel and enjoy the pool until dinner. We never went back to the parks after dinner which made it easy to get another early start the next day.

123LuckyMom
05-29-2013, 11:13 AM
We were at WDW for six days in the parks, two days at MK, one each at AK and DHS, and a day at EPCOT plus hopping between EPCOT and MK on our last day. On the MK and EPCOT days we were there at rope drop, took afternoon breaks, and then stayed until after fireworks at night. On the AK day we stayed through until 5ish. On the DHS day, we plowed through from rope drop to Fantasmic. The baby suffered a little on that day, but that's probably more because my mother and sister fed her that awful, processed turkey leg while we were all on ToT! Honestly, we were the ones who were tired without the break! DS and DD fell asleep in the stroller when they were tired, but we didn't have that luxury! ;) DS wouldn't nap in the room, so he always fell asleep in the stroller on the way back to the park at 4ish! Next time, I think we will probably do the same. We'll schedule breaks on long MK and EPCOT days. It's nice to skip that crowded part of the day and come back refreshed for the evening. If you're not planning to stay late at night, though, you probably don't need the break.

megs4413
05-29-2013, 05:30 PM
One of the things you also have to consider is travel time. Depending on where you are staying and what kind of transportation you're taking, it can take an hour to get from a park to a resort. That means you eat up 2 hours of your day with the break just in transport time. I'm paying too much to want to do that, personally. Just another thought.

KrisM
05-29-2013, 05:54 PM
One of the things you also have to consider is travel time. Depending on where you are staying and what kind of transportation you're taking, it can take an hour to get from a park to a resort. That means you eat up 2 hours of your day with the break just in transport time. I'm paying too much to want to do that, personally. Just another thought.

Which are the best and worse for this? My SIL stays in FW Cabins each year and she said it's about 15 min. from her cabin to the park most times, with the occasional 5-10 min wait for the boat or a bus. We probably wouldn't come back daily, but I don't want to spend an hour each way all the time!

megs4413
05-29-2013, 06:18 PM
Which are the best and worse for this? My SIL stays in FW Cabins each year and she said it's about 15 min. from her cabin to the park most times, with the occasional 5-10 min wait for the boat or a bus. We probably wouldn't come back daily, but I don't want to spend an hour each way all the time!

Personally, I have never stayed at FW. I have spent plenty of time at WL, though, and have used the FW/WL boat launch to travel to MK. IIRC, the FW stop is slightly more convenient than the WL stop for the boat launch and for sure the boats only stop those two places, so it's pretty convenient to MK. This does not apply to any other parks but again, since FW and WL are sort of isolated on their own, my guess is that you don't have to wait long for buses and you don't stop more than just the two places, which aids in convenience. I can't speak more specifically to that resort, unfortunately since I haven't stayed there.

General transportation thoughts/information:
Travel time depends on 3 factors: 1) what kind of transportation are you taking, 2) where are you going and 3) when are you going.

1) some kinds of transportation are quicker than others. First, monorail transportation to MK or Epcot is probably faster than other kinds of transportation to those parks. However, sometimes car transportation is faster (if crowds are high for example). Buses are (IMO!) the absolute slowest form of transportation when the park is uncrowded. I have seen them combine routes when they weren't very busy which means you have to stop at your resort and several others, adding to your overall travel time. it's very frustrating. for that reason, i prefer to travel by car when necessary.

2) it takes longer to get to AKL than pretty much any other park. I always, always drive.

3) if you're going at a peak travel time (like after a parade or fireworks when lots of people are exiting) it will take longer.

What kinds of transportation are available?
Epcot and MK have monorail transportation, but AKL and DHS do not. MK also has boat launches from certain resorts, which are pretty quick most of the time. Buses are pretty slow depending on resort (the value resorts are the worst because they have multiple stops at the resorts.) My preferred transportation is by car, but it can also sometimes take a while if it's a very crowded day and you have to park quite far and wait for a tram. That's only been an issue for us once and it was like a level 9 crowd. Not ideal.

Resorts with monorail transportation:
Grand Floridian
Polynesian
Contemporary
Bay Lake Tower

Resorts with boat launches to MK:
Camp Wilderness
Wilderness Lodge
Polynesian
Grand Floridian
Contemporary Resort

Resorts with boat launches to Epcot and DHS:
Boardwalk Inn and Villas
Beach Club
Yacht Club
Swan and Dolphin

Resorts within walking distance to certain parks:
Epcot and DHS- Boardwalk Inn
Beach Club
yacht club
Beach Club Villas
Swan and Dolphin
Magic Kingdom: Contemporary
Bay Lake Tower


Anything not listed above is BUS RELIANT. As you can see, ALL preferred transportation methods are at DELUXE resorts. IMO, this sort of demonstrates the premium Disney puts on ease of transport and elucidates the importance of ease of transport in having a "magical" vacation. Not everyone feels as strongly about this as I do, but I'm kinda high strung (as if that's not obvious.)

So my preferred resorts for transportation ease in order:
1. Polynesian (you can walk to the transportation and ticketing center!)
2. Contemporary Resort
3. Grand Floridian
4. Wilderness Lodge/Fort Wilderness
5. any of the epcot area resorts (boardwalk inn, swan and dolphin, beach club, yacht club)

*sorry for the novel!*

beltm
05-29-2013, 07:28 PM
Tha is for all of the insight! So just to clarify, if baby is asleep in the stroller we can't utilize the baby ride swap then because stroller aren't allowed in line rides? When you ride swap is it immediate like I would ride right after dh, or do I get a pass that allows me to come back and ride in a little while (so dh could come out, find me, and then I could re enter with ds)? Can I go into the epcot world showcase pavilions with a stroller? That seems to be a perfect activity for older ds while baby sleeps in the stroller if I can go in with the stroller. Can someone clarify those two things for me? Thanks.

KrisM
05-29-2013, 07:45 PM
Personally, I have never stayed at FW. I have spent plenty of time at WL, though, and have used the FW/WL boat launch to travel to MK. IIRC, the FW stop is slightly more convenient than the WL stop for the boat launch and for sure the boats only stop those two places, so it's pretty convenient to MK. This does not apply to any other parks but again, since FW and WL are sort of isolated on their own, my guess is that you don't have to wait long for buses and you don't stop more than just the two places, which aids in convenience. I can't speak more specifically to that resort, unfortunately since I haven't stayed there.

General transportation thoughts/information:
Travel time depends on 3 factors: 1) what kind of transportation are you taking, 2) where are you going and 3) when are you going.

1) some kinds of transportation are quicker than others. First, monorail transportation to MK or Epcot is probably faster than other kinds of transportation to those parks. However, sometimes car transportation is faster (if crowds are high for example). Buses are (IMO!) the absolute slowest form of transportation when the park is uncrowded. I have seen them combine routes when they weren't very busy which means you have to stop at your resort and several others, adding to your overall travel time. it's very frustrating. for that reason, i prefer to travel by car when necessary.

2) it takes longer to get to AKL than pretty much any other park. I always, always drive.

3) if you're going at a peak travel time (like after a parade or fireworks when lots of people are exiting) it will take longer.

What kinds of transportation are available?
Epcot and MK have monorail transportation, but AKL and DHS do not. MK also has boat launches from certain resorts, which are pretty quick most of the time. Buses are pretty slow depending on resort (the value resorts are the worst because they have multiple stops at the resorts.) My preferred transportation is by car, but it can also sometimes take a while if it's a very crowded day and you have to park quite far and wait for a tram. That's only been an issue for us once and it was like a level 9 crowd. Not ideal.

Resorts with monorail transportation:
Grand Floridian
Polynesian
Contemporary
Bay Lake Tower

Resorts with boat launches to MK:
Camp Wilderness
Wilderness Lodge
Polynesian
Grand Floridian
Contemporary Resort

Resorts with boat launches to Epcot and DHS:
Boardwalk Inn and Villas
Beach Club
Yacht Club
Swan and Dolphin

Resorts within walking distance to certain parks:
Epcot and DHS- Boardwalk Inn
Beach Club
yacht club
Beach Club Villas
Swan and Dolphin
Magic Kingdom: Contemporary
Bay Lake Tower


Anything not listed above is BUS RELIANT. As you can see, ALL preferred transportation methods are at DELUXE resorts. IMO, this sort of demonstrates the premium Disney puts on ease of transport and elucidates the importance of ease of transport in having a "magical" vacation. Not everyone feels as strongly about this as I do, but I'm kinda high strung (as if that's not obvious.)

So my preferred resorts for transportation ease in order:
1. Polynesian (you can walk to the transportation and ticketing center!)
2. Contemporary Resort
3. Grand Floridian
4. Wilderness Lodge/Fort Wilderness
5. any of the epcot area resorts (boardwalk inn, swan and dolphin, beach club, yacht club)

*sorry for the novel!*

Thank you!

My list right now is down to Contemporary, Cabins, and Dolphin and maybe Bonnet Creek. I know that my family will get annoyed if the transportation takes forever, so I'm trying to minimize that as one of the priorities.

Sorry to hijack the thread :).

beltm
05-29-2013, 07:57 PM
Tha is for all of the insight! So just to clarify, if baby is asleep in the stroller we can't utilize the baby ride swap then because stroller aren't allowed in line rides? When you ride swap is it immediate like I would ride right after dh, or do I get a pass that allows me to come back and ride in a little while (so dh could come out, find me, and then I could re enter with ds)? Can I go into the epcot world showcase pavilions with a stroller? That seems to be a perfect activity for older ds while baby sleeps in the stroller if I can go in with the stroller. Can someone clarify those two things for me? Thanks.

Reposting my question so they don't get lost.....thanks

infocrazy
05-29-2013, 09:19 PM
Tha is for all of the insight! So just to clarify, if baby is asleep in the stroller we can't utilize the baby ride swap then because stroller aren't allowed in line rides? When you ride swap is it immediate like I would ride right after dh, or do I get a pass that allows me to come back and ride in a little while (so dh could come out, find me, and then I could re enter with ds)? Can I go into the epcot world showcase pavilions with a stroller? That seems to be a perfect activity for older ds while baby sleeps in the stroller if I can go in with the stroller. Can someone clarify those two things for me? Thanks.

When you go to a ride, you all go together so they can see the baby/stroller. In most cases it isn't an issue. The CM will give you a rider swap to use. It has no time on it so you could do it anytime. We usually did it right after DH and the boys came back since we were already there. You can take 2 guests with you which worked great for us. IMHO, getting a fast pass and then the rider swap is like getting the golden ticket! :)

We didn't do the world showcase. The kids wanted to go back and swim instead.

westwoodmom04
05-29-2013, 09:32 PM
Thank you!

My list right now is down to Contemporary, Cabins, and Dolphin and maybe Bonnet Creek. I know that my family will get annoyed if the transportation takes forever, so I'm trying to minimize that as one of the priorities.

Sorry to hijack the thread :).

If it makes a difference to you, you can walk from the Contemporary to MK, it is maybe a 5 minute walk. I agree with the advice to take a car; car rentals in Orlando are crazy cheap. We drove from BLT to Animal Kingdom and DHS. We also drove the night we ate at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

megs4413
05-29-2013, 09:36 PM
Tha is for all of the insight! So just to clarify, if baby is asleep in the stroller we can't utilize the baby ride swap then because stroller aren't allowed in line rides? When you ride swap is it immediate like I would ride right after dh, or do I get a pass that allows me to come back and ride in a little while (so dh could come out, find me, and then I could re enter with ds)? Can I go into the epcot world showcase pavilions with a stroller? That seems to be a perfect activity for older ds while baby sleeps in the stroller if I can go in with the stroller. Can someone clarify those two things for me? Thanks.

I haven't used rider swap, so I'm no help there. As far as I remember, it was immediate, though, and at least on Soarin' (the only ride my mom swapped with DH for the first time we went) she went through the fast pass entrance when he came off the ride. I have no idea how it works at other rides. Sorry!

I'm pretty sure you can take the stroller in all the pavilions...they're all handicapped accessible, IIRC. The only one I wonder about is mexico. I don't remember taking our stroller in there. I know we had a stroller the last time we toured, though, and I don't remember having any problems.

SnuggleBuggles
05-29-2013, 09:38 PM
Except car rentals can be crazy pricey during spring break. For a compact in 2009, they wanted $850 for the week! We called off site locations of all the companies and found $250. They must have forgot to up their price. Ridiculous and not affordable!

BayGirl2
05-29-2013, 11:35 PM
I can answer both your questions, since my kids both napped in the stroller and we stayed in the park.

1. You can definitely do child swap with baby in the stroller, in fact that's the best use nap time IMO. The whole family goes to the ride entrance and says you want child swap. They'll give the entering parent a pass with the date but no expiration time. Non-riding parent stays with the stroller. Later up to 3 people can use that pass to return via the FP line.

To maximize this you want to get only 1 FP for the ride, remember you only need one because parent 2 will have the child swap card to return with any time. That means you could have used parent 2's park ticket to get another FP with a return time around the same window. If you have a child with a ticket but too young/short/sleeping to ride you could use their ticket to get another FP. So if planned right you could have a FP for 3 "adult" rides and use child swap to ride them all in the otherwise busy afternoon/napping time. (Assuming 2 adults 1 ticketed child, the number grows with more tickets.) This scenario was easier when FP return times weren't enforced but its still doable.

2. The majority of the Epcot World Showcase pavilions are not open to strollers. I saw a couple in China during the acrobat show, but I know for sure they are not allowed in USA, Canada, and France, which are the other countries with movies. The rest of the countries are mostly just shopping, and you can take strollers into stores. If you want to shop during nap time that's a great choice, but at WDW shows are not really an option. Both Innovations in Epcot do allow strollers and have comfy cool places to sit.

beltm
05-30-2013, 03:55 AM
I can answer both your questions, since my kids both napped in the stroller and we stayed in the park.

1. You can definitely do child swap with baby in the stroller, in fact that's the best use nap time IMO. The whole family goes to the ride entrance and says you want child swap. They'll give the entering parent a pass with the date but no expiration time. Non-riding parent stays with the stroller. Later up to 3 people can use that pass to return via the FP line.

To maximize this you want to get only 1 FP for the ride, remember you only need one because parent 2 will have the child swap card to return with any time. That means you could have used parent 2's park ticket to get another FP with a return time around the same window. If you have a child with a ticket but too young/short/sleeping to ride you could use their ticket to get another FP. So if planned right you could have a FP for 3 "adult" rides and use child swap to ride them all in the otherwise busy afternoon/napping time. (Assuming 2 adults 1 ticketed child, the number grows with more tickets.) This scenario was easier when FP return times weren't enforced but its still doable.

2. The majority of the Epcot World Showcase pavilions are not open to strollers. I saw a couple in China during the acrobat show, but I know for sure they are not allowed in USA, Canada, and France, which are the other countries with movies. The rest of the countries are mostly just shopping, and you can take strollers into stores. If you want to shop during nap time that's a great choice, but at WDW shows are not really an option. Both Innovations in Epcot do allow strollers and have comfy cool places to sit.



Thank you for your super helpful answer! So we only need one adult fastpass to ride? So if only dh gets a fastpass for say space mountain, he could ride with ds or do they both initially need a fastpass? And they'll give him the rider swap voucher even if I didn't initially have a fastpass for the ride? If this is the case then we will stay in the parks and let baby nap in the stroller and hit some of the baby swap rides while he naps. That's great if I can stay with the stroller and then Switch off once they are done riding. And just to check once I get the rider swap pass, I would still have to wait in the regular or fastpass lines, like it doesn't let the initial set of riders bypass the regular line, right, they'd still have to wait in the line but when I used the rider swap pass I would then bypass the regular line?

westwoodmom04
05-30-2013, 07:59 AM
Except car rentals can be crazy pricey during spring break. For a compact in 2009, they wanted $850 for the week! We called off site locations of all the companies and found $250. They must have forgot to up their price. Ridiculous and not affordable!

Wow, that is crazy. But even Disney prices are higher then, no? We paid just a little more than $100 (pre-tax) for a mid-size sedan for a week in November, I believe in was Dollar or Thrifty. Picked up right at the airport, so we skipped the disney shuttle.

BayGirl2
05-30-2013, 09:16 AM
Thank you for your super helpful answer! So we only need one adult fastpass to ride? So if only dh gets a fastpass for say space mountain, he could ride with ds or do they both initially need a fastpass? And they'll give him the rider swap voucher even if I didn't initially have a fastpass for the ride? If this is the case then we will stay in the parks and let baby nap in the stroller and hit some of the baby swap rides while he naps. That's great if I can stay with the stroller and then Switch off once they are done riding. And just to check once I get the rider swap pass, I would still have to wait in the regular or fastpass lines, like it doesn't let the initial set of riders bypass the regular line, right, they'd still have to wait in the line but when I used the rider swap pass I would then bypass the regular line?

You'll need a FP for each person who rides the first round, or they could go through the standby line, which is usually slower. (Didn't realize your DS could ride). When you return the child swap ticket acts as a FP for up to 3 people. So you could take your DS on again while your DH stays with the stroller.

crl
05-30-2013, 12:14 PM
Haven't read the other responses, sorry if this is duplicative.

My age spread was a seven month old and a seven year old. We started at rope drop, let the baby have cat naps in the park in the stroller in the morning, stayed at the park through lunch, then one parent would take the baby back to the hotel for nap while the other parent took the seven year old to the hotel pool or water park or downtown Disney. We met back up for dinner and a couple of nights went back to the park for a couple of hours.

Catherine

KrisM
05-30-2013, 05:17 PM
General transportation thoughts/information:
Travel time depends on 3 factors: 1) what kind of transportation are you taking, 2) where are you going and 3) when are you going.

...snip...

1) some kinds of transportation are quicker than others.
Anything not listed above is BUS RELIANT. As you can see, ALL preferred transportation methods are at DELUXE resorts. IMO, this sort of demonstrates the premium Disney puts on ease of transport and elucidates the importance of ease of transport in having a "magical" vacation. Not everyone feels as strongly about this as I do, but I'm kinda high strung (as if that's not obvious.)

So my preferred resorts for transportation ease in order:
1. Polynesian (you can walk to the transportation and ticketing center!)
2. Contemporary Resort
3. Grand Floridian
4. Wilderness Lodge/Fort Wilderness
5. any of the epcot area resorts (boardwalk inn, swan and dolphin, beach club, yacht club)

*sorry for the novel!*

I came across this blog on touringplans.com today. I think it's visible without a sub., but maybe not. Anyhow, you're pretty good, but check out WL and FW!

http://blog.touringplans.com/2012/02/15/deciding-where-to-stay-at-walt-disney-world-number-crunching-part-2-spending-the-least-amount-of-time-in-transit/

megs4413
05-30-2013, 05:26 PM
I came across this blog on touringplans.com today. I think it's visible without a sub., but maybe not. Anyhow, you're pretty good, but check out WL and FW!

http://blog.touringplans.com/2012/02/15/deciding-where-to-stay-at-walt-disney-world-number-crunching-part-2-spending-the-least-amount-of-time-in-transit/

I read it, but I don't buy it. Not by a long-shot. I have never, ever considered an itinerary like the one they used, though. it's ludicrous. who on earth would CHOOSE to arrive to Mk mid day and then leave MK to go to the contemporary for dinner and then try to commute from the contemporary to another resort? you would spend your ENTIRE day transporting. that makes NO sense. the itinerary they used is asinine.

but it also very clearly shows why i strongly recommend having a car there. i ALWAYS transport by car except if i'm at a monorail/boat launch resort and headed to MK. the car is faster. we drove to disney the 2nd time we went so we had a car. the 1st time we used a friend's car (a local friend.) so it didn't cost me extra either time. if you can't have a car with you for free, i STILL think it's worth looking into a rental.

KrisM
05-30-2013, 05:33 PM
I read it, but I don't buy it. Not by a long-shot. I have never, ever considered an itinerary like the one they used, though. it's ludicrous. who on earth would CHOOSE to arrive to Mk mid day and then leave MK to go to the contemporary for dinner and then try to commute from the contemporary to another resort? you would spend your ENTIRE day transporting. that makes NO sense. the itinerary they used is asinine.

but it also very clearly shows why i strongly recommend having a car there. i ALWAYS transport by car except if i'm at a monorail/boat launch resort and headed to MK. the car is faster. we drove to disney the 2nd time we went so we had a car. the 1st time we used a friend's car (a local friend.) so it didn't cost me extra either time. if you can't have a car with you for free, i STILL think it's worth looking into a rental.

You can use the times to make many itineraries though. The time from MK to POR is always the same. Other than the first day, they follow their own advice of mid-day naps. And, actually, I can see planning a first day like that. Plane arrives at 10 am, get to WDW and check in, head to MK. Want some character interaction, so book a fun character meal. I hope to research enough to avoid that, but I think plenty of people would not realize going from Chef Mickey's to a resort would be terrible.

Getting a car would be much easier now than when it involved carseats :). I could see why you'd want one, especially if you're at one of the places that have those really long times!

megs4413
05-30-2013, 05:56 PM
You can use the times to make many itineraries though. The time from MK to POR is always the same. Other than the first day, they follow their own advice of mid-day naps. And, actually, I can see planning a first day like that. Plane arrives at 10 am, get to WDW and check in, head to MK. Want some character interaction, so book a fun character meal. I hope to research enough to avoid that, but I think plenty of people would not realize going from Chef Mickey's to a resort would be terrible.

Getting a car would be much easier now than when it involved carseats :). I could see why you'd want one, especially if you're at one of the places that have those really long times!

I don't buy the time estimates either...if I'm understanding correctly they're using an average of reported times. Idk, it certainly doesn't reflect my experience at the World.

BayGirl2
05-30-2013, 08:14 PM
Here's a travel time calculator that gives various travel time options. It seemed fairly accurate to me, maybe a bit longer estimated: http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/aspx/twiz.aspx#.UafpgUBwo9U

We did not seriously consider renting a car. Our reasons:
1. We are public transit people, we'll generally take PT instead of drive whenever possible. Lots of reasons for this, but for us its just the right thing to do when we can.
2. The rare opportunity to not bring carseats. We took the Magical Express to/from the airport which doesn't allow carseats. Shuttle buses don't allow carseats. This was our first time flying without carseats, we did borrow a CARES harness for DD. It was nice not to have them. I'd never take a taxi or rent a car without them, so we'd have that to deal with.
3. We stayed at a monorail resort and were able to take the monorail and not fold the stroller for MK and Epcot days.
4. We would have had to pay for valet parking at the resort as well as car rental, or park super far away and walk even further each day. Just not worth it to me.

We only needed to take the bus on 3 of 7 days - to AK, to HS, and to downtown Disney. The rides were fine for us, never had a very long wait or drive, I was only annoyed because we had to fold the stroller. (would have applied to driving too) The only time the ride was longer than it should have been was because I chose to go from AK to Boardwalk then walk to Epcot because I wanted to see the Boardwalk area. There were several stops and we were last. Had we taken the Epcot direct bus it would have been much shorter.

Again this is one of those issues that will be different for every family. Just sharing the reasons behind our decision in case it helps.

egoldber
05-30-2013, 08:39 PM
Well FWIW our itineraries look a lot like what they posted. We park hop and move around a lot.

I also absolutely believe their analysis that a value or moderate has better overall transportation. Perhaps not if you spend most of your time at the MK. But if you spend a lot of time at the parks the monorail resorts have some of the worst transportation IMO. The monorail to Epcot takes forever when we have taken it. The resorts with only buses have dedicated buses. The deluxes almost always share buses among several resorts. When we stay at the Boardwalk we get off at the first stop on the circuit (Swan/Dolphin) and walk instead of waiting for the bus to make the full loop around. It can save 15 minutes.

KrisM
05-30-2013, 08:43 PM
I don't buy the time estimates either...if I'm understanding correctly they're using an average of reported times. Idk, it certainly doesn't reflect my experience at the World.

I'm sure they are averaging. They probably include very crowded times where you wait for a second bus to come, and low crowd times and you just walk on. People just like you, but lots of them, so a better sampling than just your trips. Not saying it's accurate at all, but generally averaging more people into a number is better than just one person's number.


Here's a travel time calculator that gives various travel time options. It seemed fairly accurate to me, maybe a bit longer estimated: http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/aspx/twiz.aspx#.UafpgUBwo9U

We did not seriously consider renting a car. Our reasons:
1. We are public transit people, we'll generally take PT instead of drive whenever possible. Lots of reasons for this, but for us its just the right thing to do when we can.
2. The rare opportunity to not bring carseats. We took the Magical Express to/from the airport which doesn't allow carseats. Shuttle buses don't allow carseats. This was our first time flying without carseats, we did borrow a CARES harness for DD. It was nice not to have them. I'd never take a taxi or rent a car without them, so we'd have that to deal with.
3. We stayed at a monorail resort and were able to take the monorail and not fold the stroller for MK and Epcot days.
4. We would have had to pay for valet parking at the resort as well as car rental, or park super far away and walk even further each day. Just not worth it to me.

We only needed to take the bus on 3 of 7 days - to AK, to HS, and to downtown Disney. The rides were fine for us, never had a very long wait or drive, I was only annoyed because we had to fold the stroller. (would have applied to driving too) The only time the ride was longer than it should have been was because I chose to go from AK to Boardwalk then walk to Epcot because I wanted to see the Boardwalk area. There were several stops and we were last. Had we taken the Epcot direct bus it would have been much shorter.

Again this is one of those issues that will be different for every family. Just sharing the reasons behind our decision in case it helps.

These are the reasons that I'm coming up with for staying in a monorail resort or Epcot resort. We'll be out of carseats by then. DS1 will probably be with nothing and the other 2 in boosters, so easier for sure. We never take public transportation, so I figure the kids will think it's neat :).

megs4413
05-30-2013, 08:45 PM
Here's a travel time calculator that gives various travel time options. It seemed fairly accurate to me, maybe a bit longer estimated: http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/aspx/twiz.aspx#.UafpgUBwo9U

We did not seriously consider renting a car. Our reasons:
1. We are public transit people, we'll generally take PT instead of drive whenever possible. Lots of reasons for this, but for us its just the right thing to do when we can.
2. The rare opportunity to not bring carseats. We took the Magical Express to/from the airport which doesn't allow carseats. Shuttle buses don't allow carseats. This was our first time flying without carseats, we did borrow a CARES harness for DD. It was nice not to have them. I'd never take a taxi or rent a car without them, so we'd have that to deal with.
3. We stayed at a monorail resort and were able to take the monorail and not fold the stroller for MK and Epcot days.
4. We would have had to pay for valet parking at the resort as well as car rental, or park super far away and walk even further each day. Just not worth it to me.

We only needed to take the bus on 3 of 7 days - to AK, to HS, and to downtown Disney. The rides were fine for us, never had a very long wait or drive, I was only annoyed because we had to fold the stroller. (would have applied to driving too) The only time the ride was longer than it should have been was because I chose to go from AK to Boardwalk then walk to Epcot because I wanted to see the Boardwalk area. There were several stops and we were last. Had we taken the Epcot direct bus it would have been much shorter.

Again this is one of those issues that will be different for every family. Just sharing the reasons behind our decision in case it helps.

oh I totally agree if you have to fly anyway that the benefit might not be worthwhile to rent a car...especially if you are at a boardwalk area resort that is within walking distance to TWO parks! That's killer!

for us, we drive anyway, so it's not a problem to have the car and I like having it. you couldn't possibly drive from CA! LOL

megs4413
05-30-2013, 08:47 PM
I'm sure they are averaging. They probably include very crowded times where you wait for a second bus to come, and low crowd times and you just walk on. People just like you, but lots of them, so a better sampling than just your trips. Not saying it's accurate at all, but generally averaging more people into a number is better than just one person's number.



These are the reasons that I'm coming up with for staying in a monorail resort or Epcot resort. We'll be out of carseats by then. DS1 will probably be with nothing and the other 2 in boosters, so easier for sure. We never take public transportation, so I figure the kids will think it's neat :).

if you're looking at epcot or monorail resorts, I wouldn't even worry about transportation. honestly. they are convenient and wonderful resorts. It's a shame that AKL isn't more accessible without a car because it was a FANTASTIC resort.

KrisM
05-30-2013, 09:18 PM
if you're looking at epcot or monorail resorts, I wouldn't even worry about transportation. honestly. they are convenient and wonderful resorts. It's a shame that AKL isn't more accessible without a car because it was a FANTASTIC resort.

There would have to be some outstanding discounts for that one. Waaaay out of our budget! It does sound nice!

westwoodmom04
05-30-2013, 10:52 PM
I can see the upside of using Disney transportation, but here's why we liked having a car: took us only twenty minutes or so to get to the resort from the airport, we didn't have to stop at any other resorts like the shuttle does. We had our bags with us as soon as we arrived. We could chose our departure time for airport which we could not have done with Disney express.

We were able to get a "good" parking spot at our resort (BLT) every time we took the car out. There was no charge for parking and we could park free at every park as guests staying at a Disney resort. It didn't take more than 10 minutes to drive to any park and we never had to sit around waiting for the bus. Having a car enabled us to go to AKL for dinner which is virtually inaccessible by Disney public transportation (you can get there, but would probably take an hour from MK resorts). That resort is really something special, and the food there was probably the best of our trip.

In contrast, it took 30 minutes to monorail to Epcot from the Contemporary. A good portion of the time we were there only one monorail was running, and it drives me crazy how the monorail only runs in one direction. We did get a taste of the monorail (took to Epcot and dinners at Polynesian and Grand Floridian) and the boat (took to Wilderness Lodge for dinner). We walked to MK. We didn't step foot on a bus.

I'm not really a car person. I commuted to work nearly the whole time I was working by foot or by metro/train. This is one of those decisions where you just have to go with the method that works best for your family; there is no right or wrong way.