Ever feel like you need another vacation after your vacation?
It’s a thought that resonates with many visitors to Disney parks—time at Walt Disney World or Disneyland Resort is undoubtedly fun, but somehow the refreshing vacation you planned quickly turned exhausting. For some, perpetual tiredness and stress can ultimately turn the Disney experience sour and leave families not wanting to return.
While a Disney vacation is usually a more high-energy venture than, say, a trip to the beach, to often it is assumed it has to be an arduous affair, that there’s no way around the draining aspects of a trip to a Disney parks.
I’ve been visiting Walt Disney World and Disneyland for over thirty years, and I’ve learned that Disney vacations don’t necessarily have to be exhausting. While individual personalities and energy levels may vary, there are some specific things that tend to wear most people out visiting the Most Magical (or Happiest) Place on Earth…
1. Your trip is too short
One of the most common reasons people end up exhausted at Disney parks has to do with a decision made well before your vacation—how long is your trip?
More often than not, people vastly underestimate how much time is needed to fully experience Disney parks. This goes for both Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland Resort in California. We assume one day is enough to experience each park, only to realize halfway through the day our estimate wasn’t even close. More often than not, we wear ourselves out trying to make up the difference.
There is a lot to experience at Disney parks—much more than just rides. While Magic Kingdom and Disneyland are both very ride-heavy parks, other Disney parks like Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and even areas like Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge all include areas for guests to explore freely, immersing yourself in nature, adventures in far away lands, or in serene settings. These all require some time beyond that spent waiting in queues.
How much time you will need at each Disney park will vary due to a number of factors. First-time guests will need more time to explore than local Passholders or veteran visitors. The age groups in your party will determine which attractions you’ll want to visit. These factors will determine how much time you need in each park and will help you determine how much margin you need to explore.
What Can I Do About It?
You will notice a recurring theme in our advice throughout this article: the more margin you have, the lower the stress. Lack of breathing room is one of the top factors that exhausts visitors to Disney parks.
Off-hand, three days is a good minimum length for visiting Disneyland Resort, though four is better. As for Walt Disney World, many experts still encourage trips of 5-7 days when possible. Most families will have a park that feels like a “one day” park—for some, this may be Disney’s Animal Kingdom while for others, it may be Disney’s Hollywood Studios or Epcot (for me, ironically, it’s Magic Kingdom).
Research the parks well and identify which parks you might want to visit more than once. While park hopping is still currently limited to after 2PM, purchasing a park hopper addition to your ticket is another great way to give yourself some margin to revisit other parks throughout your trip.
One other note on this—Disney tickets are expensive, and it’s understandable why some families may be reticent to spend more to add days onto a vacation. It is important to note, however, that you will spend less adding days onto a Disney vacation than you will planning a second vacation to come back. The reason for this is Disney tickets get progressively cheaper-per-day the longer you stay. For this reason, longer stays can prove more affordable than they first seem in some cases. The margin for flexibility you gain may prove well worth the extra funds.
2. You’re packing too much into your park visits
There’s a second common reason people get badly burnt out on a Disney vacation—wearing yourself out trying to do too much.
This ties very closely to the issue of trip length. While there are plenty of great strategies for planning ideal Disney itineraries and reducing time in lines, you can still only do so much per day.
Particularly due to the high cost of a Disney vacation, there is often a temptation to pack every minute of your park visit with activity to make the investment worth it. While you may get to experience a lot, exhaustion can suck the joy out of the day quickly. Many families wear themselves out trying to fill Disney days with attractions, shows, dining reservations, and activities from dawn to the late evening. This is a recipe for exhaustion.
What Can I Do About It?
Set realistic expectations for what pace you’ll be able to explore Disney parks. For some, this may look like having several versions of your itinerary to leave some room for slowing down when appropriate. For those who prefer a more off-the-cuff approach to exploring the parks, it will mean giving yourself permission to take that gentler pace.
If you pack your Disney day with activity from morning to nighttime, you are leaving little margin for spontaneity, unforeseen circumstances, or even just dealing with normal human energy levels. Something unexpected is bound to happen on your Disney trip—whether it be blistered feet or tired kids– and leaving yourself some breathing room to deal with it can do a lot to reduce Disney-exhaustion.
One important note on this subject: the recent arrival of Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes can factor heavily into your decision making if you are looking for ways to create breathing room in your Disney day. While there is good reason many fans are not happy with Disney’s choice to introduce a paid Fastpass system, there is no question that Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes can help reduce your time spent in line. In particular, it’s an appealing option for families visiting from abroad for a once-in-a-decade Disney vacation who want to make the most out of each day without exhausting themselves. It is not a perfect system nor a fix-all, but the extra expense is worth considering for some visitors.
3. You don’t take breaks
This one is closely related to the issue of over-packing your itinerary—you’re trying to power through full Disney days with few breaks.
This one can prove a sensitive subject for stressed-out Disney parkgoers—the idea of purposefully stopping to do nothing for a short time can feel like slowly tossing dollar bills down the wishing well. It’s actually one of the most frequent comments I see when writing on the subject of slowing down in the parks.
If you want to reduce exhaustion when visiting Disney parks, you are going to need to give yourself some grace and plan to take some breaks.
Florida and California both get stunningly hot, and the average Disney guest walks around 20,000 steps a day—more if you are zig-zagging across the parks to reduce time in lines. You will need breaks to hydrate, catch your breath, and have a snack—doubly-so if you have kids or traveling companions with health issues or limited mobility. Fighting this reality is bound to result in exhaustion and can even prove dangerous if someone gets dehydrated or overheated.
What Can I Do About It?
Don’t fight it—plan to take breaks regularly throughout your Disney day. In some cases, this just means leaving yourself some margin to take a respite when needed. In other cases, you may want to plan deliberate breaks.
For guests staying nearby, I am a huge proponent of taking a mid-day break when visiting the parks. While this may sound counter-intuitive, it can actually prove a game-changer for getting the most out of the parks slaying Disney-day-exhaustion once and for all.
Most Disney parks are busiest from about 11AM to 5PM—crowds swell to their largest size of the day and queues reach their longest lengths. If you arrive at the parks early in the morning and get a head-start on the day, you can hit a lot of attractions will other guests are still arriving. When crowd levels peak, leave the park to take a break at your resort, skipping the longest lines and nastiest heat of the day.
After a nap and a breather for a few hours, return to the parks in the late afternoon refreshed. When other families are running out of gas and heading home, you’ll have energy and be able to take advantage of lower wait times in the hours before park closing.
4. You’re staying too far away
If you are visiting from abroad, where you stay can have a surprising effect on your ability to maintain energy during a Disney day. This one applies more to Walt Disney World than Disneyland, but it is still an important subject to consider at both resorts.
Many people don’t realize how large Walt Disney World’s property is—larger than the city of San Francisco. With the exception of Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot, the parks are all miles apart from each other with resorts scattered in between.
While a drive from the parks to a nearby Disney “Good Neighbor” hotel isn’t too bad, the further away you are from Walt Disney World, the more time you will lose to commuting and traffic, whittling down your ability to take breaks and increasing how early you’ll need to wake up to make rope drop.
What Can I Do About It?
Ease of access is one of the strongest points in favor of staying at one of Disney’s on-property resorts—not only will you have access to Disney’s vast transportation network (something particularly important when visiting Magic Kingdom since Disney busses skip the Transportation and Ticket Center), but you will be close enough to make a mid-day break a real possibility. In some cases, your resort might even be within walking distance (if staying at the Epcot resorts).
The biggest factor against Disney resorts, of course, is their price—some of the prices can seem truly bonkers at first glance (to the point we’ve spotted occasions where you’d actually save money staying at the Four Seasons Orlando rather than splurging on Disney’s top resorts).
There are a number of ways to stay on (or near) Disney property and take the sting out of the price. If you really want to stay at a Disney resort, look into Disney Vacation Club point rentals—by working through an intermediary, guests can rent points from DVC members, gaining access to some of Disney’s best rooms for substantially discounted rates.
The second option is to stay at the Swan and Dolphin, nestled neatly among Disney’s Epcot resorts. These two resorts are owned by Marriott and offer many of the same benefits of Disney deluxe resorts at a much lower price. You’ll lose a few Disney-only perks (like the ability to skip the TTC if heading to Magic Kingdom), but you’ll gain other benefits like access to the Swan and Dolphin’s substantial recreation options.
The third option is to stay off-site at either a Disney Good Neighbor hotel or an Airbnb in nearby areas like Celebration. You’ll lose a little time commuting, but you at least won’t have to sift through Orlando’s worst traffic.
5. Pacing issues in your traveling party
This one is a somewhat complex problem, to the point we have examined it at length before—pacing differences in your party can quickly prove a physical and emotional energy drain on a Disney vacation.
Pacing issues come down to one principal factor: you and your traveling companion(s) want to move at different speeds. While it can seem like a more common issue for big parties, it can even happen among couples—my husband and I run into this frequently as one of us often wants to move at warp speed while the other one wants to slow down.
The scenario usually goes one of two ways. The first is that the decision-makers in your party want to keep a very fast pace exploring the park. Others in your party who don’t have the same energy level wear out quickly trying to keep up and get physically exhausted.
The opposite situation is that the decision-makers want to move at snail speed while others are eager to hurry up—this can lead to tension between party members and emotional exhaustion.
It sounds like a Kobayashi Maru—a total no-win situation. The good news is it is actually possible to get everyone on the same page.
What Can I Do About It?
When it comes to pacing differences in your traveling party, prepare for what you can and leave margin for what you can’t control.
If you’re the type of person who likes to move quickly at Disney parks but know your companions will want to go slower, mentally prepare for this—there is only so much you can do to speed your loved ones up. Instead of fretting about it, accept it, and do your best to have patience and compassion in the moment. You may need to plan for a slower pace than normal, and that’s okay. It’s also okay to plan to split up at times then meet back up at a designated time and location.
If you’re the one who really needs more time to explore and slow down, communicate this gently ahead of time to your traveling companions. Do what you can to not come to a complete stop when it isn’t needed but consider options for what you can do if you need a break. Once again, splitting up from time to time can help with pacing differences, allowing you and anyone else in your party who wants to explore at a leisurely pace to do so.
In short, communicate, have realistic expectations, and appreciate the time you have with your companions. Most of all, exercise patience with one another.
6. Stress has hijacked your vacation
While Disney parks are supposed to be magical places, there’s no question you are likely to encounter some sort of stress during your visit. No vacation is perfect. While some stresses can be easily brushed off, others can take their toll. The higher your stress level, the more likely exhaustion will kick in and smother all else.
Crowds are one of the biggest factors that contribute to stress on Disney vacations. I am a strong proponent to do what you can to visit when crowds are lower, avoiding holidays and Spring break. Even with savvy trip planning, however, you’re likely to still have some discomfiting moments with crowds at Disney parks—when you bring that many human beings together, some awkward bumper-car moments are inevitable.
Money is another big stressor. A Disney vacation is such a big investment, we can wear ourselves out trying to make the experience perfect and make every dollar count. Family expectations can play a role as well, leading to emotions coming unglued when things go wrong.
In the midst of stress, it’s easy to panic. We try to speed up, to control everything we can, to fix things by rushing from ride to ride. In the midst of this rush, we wear ourselves out and ultimately come out emotionally and physically exhausted.
What Can I Do About It?
Give yourself permission to slow down.
Like the concept of taking breaks, this can be a difficult idea to consider in the midst of a Disney vacation—we fear our investment will be wasted if we slow down.
The thing is, slowing down is the only way to experience some of the richest parts of the Disney parks experience.
Disney parks are about more than just rides—it’s why some of Disney best parks don’t have that many rides. Many of Disney’s best experiences come from experiences in between during the rides, during times of exploring, dreaming, and adventuring into places unknown.
Imagineers put painstaking attention to detail when designing Disney parks, and many Disney experiences are best enjoyed at a gentler pace—places like World Showcase, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, The World of Pandora, the walking paths of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Tom Sawyer Island, and more all are enriched by giving yourself freedom to slow down and enjoy the atmosphere. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge even has an entire scavenger hunt style experience linked to the Star Wars Datapad game.
Hitting the most attractions isn’t what makes a vacation magical—it’s the overall adventure, the freedom to imagine and dream, the time spent with loved ones. You can choose your own path.
It’s okay to take a breath, enjoy the moment, and slow down. Find a pace that works for you and leave yourself margin to breathe. This decision alone can do wonders to help head off exhaustion and allow you to enjoy a more refreshing visit to Disney parks.
How do you reclaim your energy during a day at Disney parks? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook! Thanks for reading!
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