Weekend getaway strategies?

[kylenne]

So I bit the bullet on my trip last month and upgraded to an AP. My question is, especially for APs who live out of state like me, how do you “do” Disney on a weekend? I’ve been considering squeezing in a quick solo F&W or MNSSHP trip before our next big shebang in May 2020, but I’m at a loss having only ever planned trips of a week or longer, and wondering if it’s even worth it. So for those of you who have done it, what works for you? Do you try to cram all 4 parks in? Focus on one thing? Just chill at the resorts with no park time?

 

[Ngwira]

Yes, yes and yes! We fit in 5 trips from June 2018 through June 2019 on our AP's. We live in NJ. 3 of the 5 were weekend trips. We normally fly down on Thursday night and leave Saturday late night or early Sunday morning. Kids only miss Friday so not bad at all.

We do two parks per day which is totally doable with AP's since they are parkhoppers and because we are coming back we don't feel the need to cram everything in.

We do not have AP's this time but have still managed to squeeze in a Thursday night-Saturday night trip coming up in 3 weeks lol. We plan to arrive Thursday night, Friday is Epcot in am/afternoon for Food and Wine, then MNSSHP Friday night. Saturday is Hollywood Studios and Disney Springs. We're skipping AK this time as we normally only do FOP and Dinosaur and don't want to buy park tickets for just two rides. We fly out Saturday at 10pm so plenty of time to fit everything in.

Good luck!

 

[johnsgrl]

Just did a weekend over Labor Day, we had reservations for Savi's Workshop and Oga's Cantina so that was the plan for arrival night. Since Dorian was a threat, there was no traffic driving down and we got there earlier than expected so we hopped over to EPCOT for Food and Wine while we waited for our room to be ready. The next day we went to AK in the morning and pool in the afternoon. Departure day was sleeping in, and hit up the Boardwalk Bakery for some to-go snacks before we made the drive back to NC. We are going again during Veterans Day weekend, for a Food and Wine trip. We don't have a longer trip planned till next May so this will have to tide us over till then.

 

[kylenne]

Just did a weekend over Labor Day, we had reservations for Savi's Workshop and Oga's Cantina so that was the plan for arrival night. Since Dorian was a threat, there was no traffic driving down and we got there earlier than expected so we hopped over to EPCOT for Food and Wine while we waited for our room to be ready. The next day we went to AK in the morning and pool in the afternoon. Departure day was sleeping in, and hit up the Boardwalk Bakery for some to-go snacks before we made the drive back to NC. We are going again during Veterans Day weekend, for a Food and Wine trip. We don't have a longer trip planned till next May so this will have to tide us over till then.

Where did you stay? I’m considering this route myself depending on how flights work out (I’m in NYC).

 

[Tinkerbellmom43]

I'm doing a solo trip in Dec. (my first one) for 3 1/2 days. We got AP's in Jan. It's totally worth it! Our trip that starts tomorrow is ending with the last few days solo. I have a mix of resort and park days with the MNSSHP on my last night. I made sure to get an early flight the first day and the last flight out to make the most of my days.
My friend and her daughter go down for weekends a lot. Sometimes they do resort only and Disney Springs. Sometimes they do the parks. That's the best part! Do what you feel like doing. I'm planning on only doing 3 parks in December, a park a day (Avoiding SWGE). I am checking out the Xmas decorations at the resorts and doing 1/2 days in the parks to enjoy the Holiday celebrations. At first I felt a little lost but once I did a little research and thought about all the things I like to do on our longer trips, I narrowed it down and made a plan.

 

[dancin Disney style]

I've done several weekend trips. The planning isn't really that much different that for a longer trip. Decide on your must do's and have an alternative or two. I don't see the need to try and cram in a lot when you know that you are coming back.

We were just there from Aug. 29th thru Sept. 3....had to leave on the 2nd though due to Dorian closing the airport. All we had planned was MNSSHP other than that we enjoyed the resort. The main goal of this trip was to relax. I've also had jam packed weekend trips that were from Friday to Monday where literally every minute was planned. I'm not keen to do that sort of trip again though. I'm currently looking to do another weekend at the beginning of December so that my DD can go to MVMCP. I can get a Thurs. night flight and then will probably look for a late night return for Sunday......I haven't looked at the party dates so that assumes that there is a Friday party.

 

[hereforthechurros]

Out of state APs here! We’ve been down four times this year with another two in the works. We just keep an eye out for cheap flights. Once we find one, jump on Priceline or DVC sites to look for last minute deals. 2-3 nights is perfect for these short trips. When dont plan a ton, just do what we can and what we want to with the limited time. Good luck!

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

The beauty of an AP is that you don't feel the pressure to cram in every single thing in each visit.

You can break up your "must do" list over a couple of trips.

It also gives more flexibility to be change your plan if something is down during a particular visit......or if you veer off course and explore something you had not seen or explored in depth in the past.

 

[WIll C]

I'm doing a solo trip this next weekend. Fly red-eye from Seattle, head into MK Friday when I arrive and do the party. I'll probably spend a lot of the mid-day in the hotel and come back out in the evening. Saturday to EEMH for SWGE, get things done by noon and head back to the hotel again then hit up F&W at Epcot in the afternoon/evening and see the fireworks either there or MK. Sunday is more Epcot or MK and then take a taxi back to the airport for a late flight home. Pack a lot in but get a lot done.
My wife will come back with me in December when we do Christmas.

 

[kylenne]

Thanks for sharing and all the great tips. You guys inspired me and I went ahead and took the plunge and just booked Beach Club for a solo Veterans Day weekend trip. Will likely just focus on Food and Wine, not stress on FPs. My partner and I already booked our big 10 day trip at the Poly for next year so it will be chill this time. Not sure if I will attend the MVMCP as it will be my arrival night, depends on if I can manage to snag the day off to fly out in the AM rather than a half day at work. I am not really a Xmas person either.

 

[Rach3975]

We're not APs, but we have an adults only trip scheduled that has to be short since we'll be leaving the kids with my parents. We're flying in on Saturday and will spend as much time as we can at AK. The 2 parks that we most wanted a full day at are MK and Epcot (for F&W), so that's the plan for Sunday and Monday. We fly out Tuesday afternoon, so we'll spend the morning in DHS before we go. If we were planning a longer trip or knew we'd be back soon, I'd also have planned in something at one of the spas and more time at Disney Springs.