What do you do to rest up after a day at the Parks?

[dmosher]

we get to the parks around 10:30am

I forgot to mention this. I know a lot of people get up with the sun and rush out to the parks, but unless we have reservations or something we REALLY want to get to, we tend to just get up whenever we get up. Of course it is usually still pretty early, but at least we don't HAVE TO GET UP. This helps and makes it feel more like and actual vacation and less rushed.

D

[Sam&Alex&Josh'sMOM]

We have 2 girls (5 and almost 3 when we get there this September) We have been the last 2 years in September and just dont find going back to the hotel mid day easy to do... We usually sleep till we are all awake (which for me and the girls is about 7-8 ish... ) then we prod DH to shake a leg... Shower... eat breakfast in the room and get to the parks at 10ish... (We always stay at POP so the bus ride to the Parks takes a bit) We have an early lunch in the park... The little one will usually nap at somepoint in the stroller... (at which time we take turns taking the older one on rides, or into stores, or pics with characters, whatever play area is near by (except the Boneyard which i detest,) or just all sit and relax with an itsakadoozle and choc covered banana We usually plan the earliest ADRs for dinners, and then play it by ear... If they are pooped, we go back to the resort early, maybe swim, or watch a movie in the room, and hit the hay... If they are going strong... we stay longer. We do try to stay in the resort at least 2 mornings for swimming... ALWAYS the day of MNSSHP... that way they have played or relaxed... and we get to the park acout 4 ish... and stay late.

DH is ALWAYS happy to sleep late... so we just go with the girls schedule... We have never made it to a rope drop...But we have never missed anything we really wanted to see at least once throughout the vacation.

[Marilyn Michetti]

We're old people. We have dinner, and MAYBE stay for the fireworks. After that, we go back to SOG and go to sleep.

Up early the next morning tho'

[Goofy Texan]

After several trips to the World I've found the half and half plan works best for us.

What we do is get up early the first half of the trip and make rope drop at a park. We stay until it gets hot and we're going through the motions more than having fun. The rest of the day is back at the hotel swimming and chilling (Sometimes we'll do a waterpark or downtown disney, if everyone is up for it).

The second half of the trip we switch to late nights. We sleep in and take our time getting ready hitting a park around 4 or 5pm. We then stay through the evening enjoying the nighttime shows and the fun of the parks after dark.

With this plan we get plenty of rest, but still enjoy the benefits of rope drop and late nights. This works best in the Summer and other times when the Magic Kingdom is open until at least midnight.

The best part is both the early risers and night owls in our family are happy.

[disneymom2000]

Definitely hit the pool. It helps to soothe my muscles and allows me time to do some hydrotherapy to prepare for the next day. I am one of those people who can eat and go right to bed so only at Disney do I allow myself to splurge on some awesome ice cream before turning in for the night. If I happen to get a balcony room, I may sit on my balcony (since I don't go in the heat of the summer) and just enjoy the sounds of the night at Disney. There is just something special about it.

[brownie]

Spend the evening in World Showcase!

[LudwigVonDrake]

Get a snack from the food court, hopefully watch some Appliance Direct on TV (I LOVE APPLIANCES!!), shower and get some sleep.

[disneyworld55925592]

We head back to the hotel in the afternoon and swim. Then we head back into the parks for a little while for dinner and fireworks. At night we head back and get ready for bed watch a little tv but usually fall asleep right away

[LittleSpirit02]

On our most recent trip to Disneyland and we only had a couple of days and wanted to make the most of it. We walked from just about park opening time from the time the parks closed. We definitely had a full day. We loved every minute of it but also were ready to crash when we got back to our hotel so there wasn't much down time there. It was basically straight to bed to sleep and rest the feet.

When we're in Disney World, however, we like to hop over to Downtown Disney to relax for a while before heading back to the cabins. Often times it's open for one hour after the parks closed (maybe with the exception of the Magic Kingdom). Again, we tend to spend about every second we can in the parks so sometimes we just relax on the ferry back to Fort Wilderness and then get our rest. In the morning we like to watch Resort TV, have our breakfast and read the paper before heading out.

[disneykidsince1970]

We just finished a week-long trip where we stayed at the FTW cabins (which we loved!). On our last day we rented a pool cabana at the Grand Floridian. I was surprised they let us since we weren't staying there but there were 3/4 available so they let us have it. It was me, my sister, my bro-in-law, my niece (4), and my nephew (2). It was super - just we were looking for. There was a couch where the kids could lay down, a tv/dvd (our server was nice enough to get a copy of Dumbo for us), a fridge stocked with soda, a bowl of fruit and lots more. Plus we had a server dedicated to us who constantly came by. We had a lovely lunch and many tasty bloody marys. It was totally worth the $150 for 4 hours.

[Tigger&Stitch]

We just finished a week-long trip where we stayed at the FTW cabins (which we loved!). On our last day we rented a pool cabana at the Grand Floridian. I was surprised they let us since we weren't staying there but there were 3/4 available so they let us have it. It was me, my sister, my bro-in-law, my niece (4), and my nephew (2). It was super - just we were looking for. There was a couch where the kids could lay down, a tv/dvd (our server was nice enough to get a copy of Dumbo for us), a fridge stocked with soda, a bowl of fruit and lots more. Plus we had a server dedicated to us who constantly came by. We had a lovely lunch and many tasty bloody marys. It was totally worth the $150 for 4 hours.

Wow - I had never heard of this! That sounds fantastic.

[cinderella crazy]

After several trips to the World I've found the half and half plan works best for us.

What we do is get up early the first half of the trip and make rope drop at a park. We stay until it gets hot and we're going through the motions more than having fun. The rest of the day is back at the hotel swimming and chilling (Sometimes we'll do a waterpark or downtown disney, if everyone is up for it).

The second half of the trip we switch to late nights. We sleep in and take our time getting ready hitting a park around 4 or 5pm. We then stay through the evening enjoying the nighttime shows and the fun of the parks after dark.

With this plan we get plenty of rest, but still enjoy the benefits of rope drop and late nights. This works best in the Summer and other times when the Magic Kingdom is open until at least midnight.

The best part is both the early risers and night owls in our family are happy.

I had never thought of this.

We usually get up early and go to whatever park has early entry. we eat lunch and then go back to the resort. DH and DS (5) go to the pool and DD(2) and I stay in the room and nap. We then go to a diiferent park for dinner and a few rides and are usually back to the room by 7:30 pm.

We had wanted to watch some of the fireworks but the children just couldn't make it that long. I wonder if we try your approach if we might be able to do this. Thanks!

[Daddy Mouse]

It usually helps me to have a sit in the hot tub, and then go to bed.

[nicster]

The third day of our DW marathons is the day we get to the water park the hour before it opens, and float on the Castaway Creek & enjoy the wave pool & sandy beaches for a couple of hours. Then back to the resort, shower and change & go for a nice meal. Then? We hit the parks again … running!