Has Your Trip Ever Been Too Long?

[mousestruck]

We typically do 8 days and it's never enough! Sure, it's enough to see and do what we want (since we're annual visitors), but we always want to stay longer. This year we're staying 10 days and hoping it's just right!

 

[mrliam]

Another UK visitor here. We've only ever done 2 weeks at a time, and we'd love to extend that out a bit further. We know we're coming back next year, so don't need to go commando and it also allows us a couple of pool days for the kids (and us) to just relax and splash around and almost recharge their batteries a little

 

[anna08]

Wow! I'm in awe. We've never done more than 4 nights. Looking forward to retirement in 20 years so we can do a 21 day trip. Hope we live long enough!

 

[bwvBound]

Our Jan 2015 visit was too long by about 3 days. We ended up grabbing earlier flights home and coming home early. Done.

 

[DisneyRegulars]

Our Jan 2015 visit was too long by about 3 days. We ended up grabbing earlier flights home and coming home early. Done.

How long had you been there for before it got too long?

Back a few months after 9-11 we did a 10 night stay because three nights were free. The parks were completely empty. Not a soul in sight. The fast pass machines weren't even running. By day six we had done everything there was to do in every park. I remember crossing all the attractions off the maps. That's the only trip we felt was too long. But we weren't DVC members yet, and hadn't yet learned to relax on a Disney vacation.

 

[bwvBound]

How long had you been there for before it got too long?

Back a few months after 9-11 we did a 10 night stay because three nights were free. The parks were completely empty. Not a soul in sight. The fast pass machines weren't even running. By day six we had done everything there was to do in every park. I remember crossing all the attractions off the maps. That's the only trip we felt was too long. But we weren't DVC members yet, and hadn't yet learned to relax on a Disney vacation.

Our January 2015 stay is an example of the problems of long-term planning required for timeshare travels. Short answer to your question: We knew about 2 weeks before the trip started that our reservation was too long.

Since 1996, we've made an annual trek to WDW for a work-related tech conference. Over the years, the pilgrimage evolved into a longer stay (8-10 nights) to allow time for conference social activities, some rest, and some time for transition/logistics. We regularly booked a 1BR unit at BWV and made good use of the full kitchen to support our food preferences.

January 2015:
Having splurged on a large family gathering for a RunDisney event in 2014, we were point-poor going into 2015 but carrying both valid AP and TIW. We booked a studio unit for our January event at the 7-month reservation window hoping the conference meals and easy access to Epcot would be sufficient to make up for the missing kitchen. Sadly, just a few weeks before travel our plans/priorities started shifting ... creating a perfect 'storm' of conflicts. If not for 'timeshare' -- I would have simply cancelled altogether. Instead, we flew out, made the best of a deteriorating situation and came home at the earliest opportunity as the conference ended.

If it were a cash reservation at a hotel, I would have cancelled and remained home without any penalty. As it was, the points from our early departure were tossed into holding. The silver lining: We were able to fully use the holding points for an unexpected, "last minute," Flower & Garden weekend trip in April. So, all is well that ends well ... right?

 

[luckyman_apd]

I would have thought my answer would always have been NOOOOOO but after 9 nights in summer 2014 I felt ready to leave the last day. We stretch our points and stay in studios and really don't mind it at all, but by the end I was ready to be out of the disney environment. It was a split stay and my mother was in for the first 4 nights at BLT. We ran ourselves into the ground because she was with us and wanted to get it all in while she was there so we didn't take it as planned. This summer we have 8 nights and hoping for it all at Beach Club. I'm thinking of putting the kids in the sandcastle club for a night to finally give the wife and I some "US" time together in Disney. But yes....you (and your wallet) do get to a point where you've had enough. a few months later you want to be back so we usually opt for several 3 day weekends throughout the year. Also helps that we get airfare for under $100 round trip, or else no more 3 day weekends.

 

[quandrea]

Only once, but there were special circumstances. We went for one week in March. Dh was violently ill with allergies. He even contemplated flying home early without us. Probably should have. We were very glad to get home. Now we never travel in March/April and dh has an allergy action plan in place for the other times of year.

Besides that trip we usually go for two weeks to justify the air fare. It's never been too long. We have a spacious one bedroom at Kidani and I do a fair bit of cooking. We never are at the parks more than half a day and take many days off. We also throw in non Disney things like bowling, golf and trips to the movies. We are grateful to escape two weeks in winter. Also travel in October.


My daughter feels anything under a week is too short. I actually just cancelled a five night getaway with just the kids for March. We just weren't feeling it with the January trip so close and didn't feel like dealing with Canadian spring break airport crowds. Come October, I will be in serious Disney Withdrawl.

As a footnote, we don't have a car this trip for the first time ever. Our dollar is so bad right now, we couldn't justify the cost. Two weeks may feel too long without a car. We shall see.

 

[SpaceMountain77]

With the exception of our Epcot Food & Wine weekend, our trips are 10 or 12 days and just right. For us, 3-4 Magic Kingdom and Epcot days, 2 Animal Kingdom days, and 1 Disney Springs and Hollywood Studios day is the perfect balance.

 

[goofy4tink]

Yup! I had one trip, years ago, that started with one night at AKL....airfare was about $150 cheaper vs the next day. Then 4 nights at BWV, back to Kidani for 2 nights. Over to Pop (free dining!!) for 5 nights, back to BWVs for 2 nights. If I hadn't made all the switches, I probably would have been ready to go home sooner....as it was, I was ready to leave on day 12!! It's probably because I go about 3 times a year, for a week each time.
I just did a trip that started with DL..Sat after Thanksgiving, then flew directly to WDW the following Wednesday. Stayed there for 7 nights. That was grueling, but that's because of the travel aspects!!!

 

[SugarRush]

We did 19 nights our last trip and it was definitely too much. I had really had enough by the time we came home

 

[ktate82]

The only times I have been ready to go home early was due to who I was traveling with. We have taken my mother and his sister (separately) a few times, and depending on their moods, it is either wonderful or miserable. The longest we have stayed at DVC has been 11 days. As long as we stay in a 1 bedroom, we are fine. Staying in a studio with the kids however, about a week is plenty.

This year we have either a 7 or 8 night stay with DVC and then a week DCL cruise. Last year we did a 5 night cruise, one day at DVC, and then a 7 night cruise, and it was wonderful.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

in 2012 we stayed off site and we were on vacation for 2 weeks. We stayed at a timeshare resort so we were in a 2 bedroom unit which was nice, but yes it did feel too long for us. We did the 1st week doing Disney related stuff and it poured everyday at 3:00 PM, lol. The 2nd week we did other stuff. It definitely felt too long. Now since then we have stayed on site and we stayed for 7 and 8 nights and they seemed too short, lol...I think its much easier when you stay on site vs when you stay off site. I am currently planning our 2017 trip, we have to skip this years vacation and its breaking my heart, lol, but for 2017 I am planning 9 nights and 10 days so I think thats a good number, lol

 

[granmanh603]

Well I hate to say...YES Ever since MB came on board and we were testers when back when. All the trips have been too long. And with the crowds and all the planning before you even leave. Maybe it's just 15 + years is too much. We usually go 2 or 3 weeks shortest was 10 days. Used to love Food and Wine at Epcot but it too , is super crowded, prices too high and Off Kilter gone. We go to parks for our 3 FP and leave. Now AP times shortened... have to seriously consider what to do next.

 

[disneynutz]

Repeat vacations at Disney and longer vacations really changes the way that you vacation. No reason to rush, fighting the crowds in the parks, you can go when you want or hang in your room. Now you can take the time to look at other things that you ran past before, the grounds, the resorts, lakes, people.

Bill

 

[lovin'fl]

Did 12 nights in Aug and it was too long. We like 5 nights. The 12 nighter was 1 at AKV, then 7 at BWV with 1 night in the middle at Universal Royal Pacific to get Express pass, then 4 nights at SSR. DH left early to get back to work and we were exhausted by the end of the trip (probably due to all the resort hopping) and anxious to get back home.

 

[DVC-Don]

Years ago we did a couple two week onsite stays. We felt they were too long. Nowadays our onsite stays are more like a couple of nights.

 

[DenLo]

Our longest DVC stay was 15 nights in a BLT studio and we could have stayed longer. We usually do 10 - 12 nights per trip and more often than not we stay at one resort. We used to do split stays but found we really like being at one resort so it begins to feel like home versus a hotel. When we have these longer trips we often spend more time at the resort with short trips out to the parks. With FP+ we will book late afternoon or evening FPs and then in the morning do EMH at another park until the park gets busy usually around 11:30 am and then eat lunch out and return to the resort to relax until that evening. We don't do this every day as some mornings we want to relax at the resort. I have learned how to relax at WDW.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

Due to work schedules and small contracts, we usually do 5-night trips. Our longest was a 7-night trip. I did not feel like it was too long at all. My DH and I will both be retired in about 4 1/2 years, and we are starting to talk about how we will want to vacation. Right now, since it's 21 degrees in KY and 66 in WDW, I'm thinking a LONG stay in January would be perfect. My biggest decision will be whether to try to stay in a studio for longer (which the two of us do now and it's fine but not sure about a longer stay) or a value 1-BR at AKV for less nights (which would probably be the only 1-BR we would be able to afford for a long period) or whether we would want to do a split stay. Until we actually try it, I don't know what we would prefer.

 

[JWG]

Sometimes the last day or two can seem long. We did Aulani in 2012 for 12 days and the last day was one too long.