EPCOT; Mother and Son; Spaceship Earth
  • On Feb 13, 2009
    Allison from LA Asked Note: This answer was provided prior to the change to planDisney and may still contain references to Disney Parks Moms Panel.

    Experiences, policies, pricing and other offerings are subject to change and may have changed since the date of this answer.

    I read everywhere to take a break during the middle of the day. How long do you usually estimate for this (I was thinking around 3 hours)? Didn't know if that was enough time considering trans from AKL. Trying to make sure my dinner ADR times are okay

    How long of a mid-day break you'll need is quite variable depending on the ages of your party members, the weather, your interest in swimming, and where you're staying. If you're traveling with small, nap-taking children or senior citizens, you might want to plan for a longer break. If you're traveling during the summer or any other very hot time, you'll want a longer break to stay out of the sun during the hottest part of the day. If you have kids that are big swimmers and you want them to rest a bit, then you're going to need to allow time for them to do both.

    And lastly, where you're staying can have a big impact on your break time. If you're visiting the Magic Kingdom and need to get back to the Contemporary, you only need to factor in about 10 minutes each way for travel time. If, like you, you're staying at the Animal Kiingdom Lodge, you're going to need much more transport time. I personally would allow about 45 minutes to get from the Magic Kingdom to the Animal Kingdom Lodge each way. You may get there much sooner than that, but if the buses are slow, you'll need the extra time.

    In my family of pre-teenagers, we usually plan about a four hour break in the middle of the day. We'll leave the park by about 1:00, build in 45 minutes for transportation, and you're at 1:45. Go back to the room and change or have a snack adds about a half an hour. That means you're ready to start relaxing at 2:15. My girls usually like to swim for an hour to an hour and a half. This is the point in the day when I usually have the kids shower. Getting the chlorine out of three girls' hair takes about an hour. Then you need to work in travel time to your dinner destination. If you're having the kids shower at a different time, or they're not going to be swimming for very long, then your plan may be different, but that's what works for us. 
thumbnail image for Erin

Meet the Panelist: Erin, New York

I have three teenage daughters. We're DVC members obsessed with Disney travel. We've been to Walt Disney World countless times and have visited Disneyland & Disneyland Paris. We've taken several Adventures by Disney and Disney Cruise trips. Learn More About Erin

Didn't find what you were looking for? Click the Ask a Question button to open the Ask a Question dialogue box. If you are not logged in a dialogue box will appear to signin in order to ask a question.

To submit your question, please log in now if you have not already done so.

Ask a QuestionOpens the Ask a Question dialog box.
x

Update Browser

For a better experience browsing this website, please download an updated version of Internet Explorer.


Or you can continue browsing without updating.