Beginner’s Guide: How long to stay

How long to stay is entirely up to what interests you in the parks and how long your budget allows you to stay. For a perfect vacation in my books, I recommend staying for 6 days. Why? Because that gives you a full day at each park plus an extra day at Magic Kingdom and Epcot, but that’s just the opinion I have from how my family has done Disney. Here’s a breakdown to give you an idea of how long you’ll want to stay based on how long the parks might take:

Magic Kingdom
With all its rides and shows, Magic Kingdom is near impossible to do in a single day if you want to see everything. It is possible to hit the best attractions and shows and still get the full experience in a single day. I would not recommend any less than a day or you’ll feel rushed and won’t get to see enough.

Epcot
One day for Future World and one day for World Showcase works well (they were actually two separate parks back in the beginning of the planning phase). If you’re not into the big thrill rides or not interested in spending much time meandering through the countries, Epcot can easily be done in a day or even half a day.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios
In its current state, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is a little lacking in stuff to do, but this will change with the opening of Toy Story Land this summer and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge next year. So right now, it might not take a full day, but soon it might take two days to see it all. I would recommend budgeting one day for this park whether you’re going before or after the expansions open just to be safe.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Animal Kingdom takes a solid day to do, especially now with Pandora. It’s also easy to fill out the day just meandering around the park and seeing animals in the various exhibits. If you’re only interested in the rides, this park might not be as exciting and take less than a day.

Water Parks
Walt Disney World is home to two water parks in addition to its four theme parks, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. They are a great way to stay cool on a hotter day and take a break from the theme parks for those longer trips. I’ve found that they are a little more relaxed and don’t require running around and waiting as much but are still fun. Water parks do close around 5, so I recommend going to hang out at Disney Springs or back at your resort in the evening.

Disney Springs
If you love shopping and dining, this is the place for you. Disney Springs has over 100 shops and over 50 dining options along with entertainment. I personally wouldn’t spend an entire day here, but it’s great for an afternoon or evening. You could spend an entire day there if you love shopping and want to do some of the other things like bowling, seeing a movie, or checking out some of the live shows.

Resort Hopping
Checking out other Disney resorts is really fun and easy to do, but mostly only for adults since kids are more interested in the parks. It does take a bit of time to get between some of the resorts, but you can tailor it to take as much time as you want. You can spend an entire day, half day, or even just a short break from the parks. This isn’t a must do, but I highly recommend it if you have the time.

Keep in mind, you don’t have to be limited to one park in one day if you choose the Park Hopper option with your tickets. For an addition cost, you can go between the four theme parks on the same day. The downside to park hopping is that it can take a significant amount of time to travel between parks. I’ll talk about the transportation system in my next post. I don’t really recommend purchasing Park Hopper because I don’t think it’s worth that extra cost. Personally, I enjoy sticking to one park a day. You also aren’t stuck in the park once you get there, you are free to come and go all day, so if you want to go back to your resort for pool time or a nap and come back later, you can.


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