Anyone ever just sleep in and only go to the parks in the evening?

[mamamia2]

I was thinking about doing this on my upcoming trip. This will be our 5th trip. We are going even though my DH has a broken foot. We plan on using a wheelchair. My DH is in an aircast right now and will be for another 4 weeks or so and he can't put any weight on that foot. He complains that after a while his leg/foot gets very hot in the cast. My DD (17) has also requested a "more relaxing" trip. So, I thought that if we slept a little later, spent some time in the pool, etc. and then go to the park around 5:00 or so, maybe that would be more relaxing.

But I'm afraid we wouldn't get too much done. We have a breakfast at CP schedule for one of the mornings. We have late (8:00) dinner at CRT on another day. We will be there 8/23 - 8/28. Staying on-site. We are a family of 5 (me, DH, DD (17) , DS (13), and DS (15). I'm concerned that all of the fast passes will be gone and we will have longer waits on the rides and I also don't know if I can sit in a Disney hotel and think about everyone else who is at the park when I'm not! LOL!

On previous trips we have gotten to the parks 30 minutes before opening and have done the rope drops. We have done the dad and kids make a dash for Space Mountain while mom (the chicken of the group) does a speed walk to the splash mountain fast pass machine and all the other craziness to get on attractions with little wait times. I guess the good thing this time is the kids are older and if they want to, they can go to the park without us. My DH has said we can go to the park without him, but I would feel bad about doing that.

So do you think we could still enjoy the parks this

 

[sherabby]

We did MK every night of our stay but other parks during the day. We never even saw it all at MK even with going for 6 nights! Can you take the bus and meet up later if your DH doesn't want to go?

 

[eliza61]

I think the problem is, you are equating a good vacation= a lot of times on a ride. Stop it!!
Repeat after me, A magical vacation can be had without riding soarin 10X's.

Seriously,
we go on vacation to relax and spend time together. When we go in August we have many days where we spend all morning swimming or at a water park and then hit the parks after dinner. Think how much fun you can have actually walking all together to a ride, checking out the things around you, actually holding your dh's hand (or in this case, the back of his wheel chair) etc, etc. instead of splitting up and then doing a 100 yard dash for a ride.
I haven't done rope drop in 10 years and I manage to ride every thing once or twice.
I'm poking a little fun at you (hopefully so you won't stress out) but believe me some of the best vacations we've ever had have been the ones where we had a late sit down breakfast, we would laugh, talk and get pump for the day. That IMO is the real magic of Disney.

Late august is also a little slower so the wait times may not be crazy.

Eliza

 

[TinkandAriel]

I just want to say that 6 weeks before our last trip, my FIL broke his foot (alright, he tried to chop all his toes off using the hood of the bucketloader but whatever ). We all freaked, we all worried, we all thought the trip would be ruined. Ah, no. We had a blast!! Let me just say that we rode Big Thunder Mt two times in a row and I felt sort of guilty the 2nd time we got on when the same ppl were standing in line waiting from the first time around....there were other rides that we didn't have to wait in line on either, we got some of the best seats in the place for a lot of the shows. It wasn't all fun tho because he wasn't pleased that he was stuck in a wheelchair and on pain meds, and my mil is looking forward to not pushing him all around the parks this trip.
I guess the main thing to remember is that Disney is always going to be there, and each trip is different. Our second trip was completely different from our first trip, and I'm sure this trip will be different as well. I'd say just relax and roll with whatever plays out, you'll have a great time.

 

[JenM]

Definitely. I was there with my friends in 2005, and after the first few days their kids were totally exhausted, so we decided to just sleep in, spend the rest of the morning at the pool, have a nice lunch at the hotel (POR) and head into one of the parks later in the day. Worked out perfect, everyone was rested and relaxed, and we had a great time when we finally hit the parks.

Did the same thing when I was at DL in May. By the time everyone got together from work, home, etc, it was lunchtime. So we had lunch and headed into the park around 2. Still had a great time, didn't matter if we missed the morning rush.

 

[mamamia2]

thank you all for replying so quickly.

eliza61, you are too funny!! You are right, I am equating a good vacation= a lot of times on a ride. I didn't even realize that. I have a feeling that this trip I just need to relax and understand we will be going slower. I am the type of the person that as soon as the plane is done taxiing (sp?) to the runway I have my seatbelt off and I'm like, okay, lets go, come on, etc. My goal is to get off the bus/monorail/plane quickly and in front of everyone else!! I don't run anyone over or anything like that, but my family knows not to get in the way of "the plan". Hahahaha! They make fun of my index cards (but they all always ask to see them).

So, if I just remember that this trip will be different and a slower pace, I will be fine, right???

Thank you again, you have all made me feel better.

(TinkandAriel, I hope your FIL made a full recovery?)

 

[mickeysgirl17]

During my trip, we used 2 days for epcot. On both days, we slept in to 1pm, then went to the park until close. I loved it.

 

[nltroxell]

Just returned from our 5th trip to Disney with 4 dds between the ages of 20 to 12. They just don't do mornings any more so we did mostly evenings. It was a lot of late nights, but more relaxing for us and we pretty much got to do everything, even rode EE twice because the line was short right before closing.

 

[MAKmom]

Our trips are relaxing but we go in the mornings to avoid the crowds. We leave by noon.

 

[ransom]

Oh, sure! We like a well balanced Disney diet.

At least two days, we'll sleep in, have a nice breakfast, stay around the resort, go out for a nice dinner, and only then perhaps head to a park.

We have great memories of those days, and they serve to balance out the other days were we're at the park before rope drop. But even on those days, we only move quickly for the first hour or so. After that, we slow down a bit and take more breaks. And after lunch, we slow down a lot and take a breather after just about every ride, just so we can look around and admire the park itself.

Slow is good!

 

[skier_pete]

OK, as far as the original poster (OP) goes...do whatever you want...I am all for you just doing the parks in the evening...in fact I think everyone should do this...so we have the parks to ourselves.

Seriously, you don't HAVE to be at rope drop every day...the problem with lazing around all day and showing up at the parks at 5 PM is many of the parks aren't opened much later than that. AK closes at 5 PM, DS at 8 PM, Epcot at 9 PM. If you are satisfied having 3-5 hours of park time a day...then go for it. We are "slowing down" a bit this year. We do rope drop most days, but one day we are going to do Typhoon lagoon for a few hours only, and another day we are not going to do any park at all. *gasp* (Actually for me, rope drop is sleeping in...I normally am out of the house dropping our daughter at Daycare at 7 AM - to be able to leave the room at 8 AM is pure luxury. I never sleep much past 7 AM anyways, even on weekends - and I am the late riser in our family. That said, we do tend to avoid morning EMH as being a little too early.)

My advice would be to mix it up...maybe one day start at rope drop, the next day take a morning off and sleep in. Best of both worlds!

SkierPete

 

[ears2BWV]

We have 2 teens and we are totally not morning people. We pretty much do arrive just before dinner most days and stay for the late EMH. We sleep in, maybe do a water park or swim at the pool, etc. That being said, there are exceptions. Studios is impossible to see any of the shows this way. I think the last Lights camera action show is around 3. We always get up early for AK for the same reason, no shows in the evening. If you really enjoy Soarin someone will have to get you fast passes for the evening earlier that day. I have to admit, we have never seen a rope drop!

 

[tecdavidt]

We have never been to the morning "rope drop". We sleep in, take our time getting ready for the day and we usually just make it to our ADR lunch reservation which can be anytime between 11:30 - 1:00 pm. My daughter-in-law talks about her mother's way to do WDW, do am Extra magic hours - stay at that park until closing then sometimes move to the park with evening extra magic hours. I could never do WDW that intense, shoot, I am vacation.

You will have a great trip, it will be just a bit different this trip than what you normally experience. You never know, you may prefer the new way.

Kathy

 

[marvin12]

We also have never been there for rope drop. But then again we don't have children. But we do like to go to the parks and we always seem to do this later in the day or night. I should also mention that on any given morning you can find us on a Disney Golf course. So I don't think you should worry, we never feel like we lost out on anything and we just take it at a nice slow pace and take everything in. ENJOY your on vacation.

 

[tlriv5]

Our last trip we slept late everyday, but two (and those were because of TS breakfast ADR's) and the rest of the week we spent sleeping late, swimming at the pool and then we'd go to the parks around lunchtime. Now we had only been to the MK, so the other parks were new to us. You mentioned you have been there several times, so I think it would be so nice to just be able to stroll around the parks and take in the scenery. We are always so rushed to get from one ride to the next that I know we miss so much along the way. So, relax and enjoy this trip and maybe some days Dh will be up to leaving out a little earlier. I'm sure you will see all of the things you truly love!

 

[Sleeping Becca]

1. Rent an ECV for DH from an outside company and have it delivered to your resort.

2. Your kids are old enough to do things on their own (buddy system of course)

1. and 2. mean that your family can fend for themselves. I think you are going to be miserable hanging out at the hotel all morning. Some folks love to do this but everything I'm reading from your post tells me this is going to drive you crazy.

So I say, go where you want to go, and if the family wants to take it easy, then they can meet up with you at their leisure. When DH does meet up with you, take things at his pace, and enjoy the atmosphere and being together.

Some days you may want to have a lazy day, but if your jonesing for the parks, go ahead and go!

You will have a great time!

Sending you some pixie dust!

 

[zackiedawg]

I routinely get asked by friends how I can possibly stand going to Disney as often as I do (4-5 days every few months). Many of them are Disney burn-outs - they don't say they don't LIKE Disney, but when you say the name, they seem to collectively take a breath and experience flashbacks of sore feet and screaming kids.

So now I have a small side-business, restoring the Magic of Disney to my friends by teaching them how to do Disney MY WAY. Call it a sort of Zen approach - if I had to pick a character from Disney with the right approach, I'd have to say Crush the Turtle...laid back, go with the flow, no stress, happy.

It doesn't come easily to some of them - sometimes it takes a few days. The first day we're up there, their instincts kick in subconsciously, and they find themselves already beginning to hyperventilate, starting to plan out a schedule of grabbing fast passes and finding quickest routes through the parks to the next hot ride. They're like addicts - it seems great at the time, but it's nothing but pain afterwards. I try to explain to them that this is why they don't want to go back to Disney after their last trip - they spent the whole time running, racing, scheduling, cramming, stressing, waking early, weaving through the crowds...and at the end, they were hot, tired, sore, and had headaches.

I just keep pounding out my mantra to take it slow, and suck in the details...don't rush, and don't race. The slower you go and more you miss, the more you want to come back - so you don't have to worry if you don't get on Everest this trip. Enjoy yourself and savor your time, and plan to come again. Don't rush past every exhibit or display...look up while walking through the parks and admire the thematic attention to detail...stop to pop into one of those older, slower rides you usually pass up because it would waste too much time that could be spent hitting Splash Mountain 4 times...you might realize how much you miss some of those slower rides from your childhood.

Slowly it begins to seep in. Don't set an alarm - wake when your body wants to wake - you're on vacation. Relax and have coffee or breakfast - maybe admire the view from your room, or walk to a scenic part of your resort with your coffee and watch the wildlife. Decide which park you're going to by jumping on the first bus that comes to your stop...make things random and fun. Stop for a drink while strolling through the park, and find a lovely, shady, scenic spot to drink it. or turn the other way, and enjoy some peoplewatching - it's especially fun watching frantic families with sore feet rushing through the crowds with frustrated kids, angry mothers, and disappointed dads, to get to the Test Track fast pass distribution so they can rush back the other way and get one for Soarin'. Or just enjoy taking in any of the 270 nationalities you might encounter in any given moment.

Rather than worry about the fastest way to and from a park - try the slowest way. Take that long boat ride that makes 4 stops...and enjoy the scenery. One day, don't even go to a park - try going to 2 or 3 different Disney Resorts and just walk the grounds, hit the restaurants, shop a little, and take in the atmosphere. Try staying up late one night rather than hitting the sack extra early so you can be up with the rooster...after a 9pm dinner, head over to Winter/Summerland or Fantasia minigolf and play a round or two - you can get in until almost 11pm. Or head to Downtown Disney, catch some cuban music, hit Raglan Road, hang out on one of the balcony or patio decks and have a drink.

I've taken 5 friends so far who declared to me multiple times that they had no desire to go to Disney anytime soon. Now, all of them are converts - they want to go all the time, and never wake before 10am. They'll walk right past Tower of Terror because the line is too long...we'll catch it next time. They'll have a nice meal out at a fine restaurant like Jiko, or spend a morning hopping the boat to Wilderness Lodge just to walk the lobby and pool area to take in the lovely design and scenery. And they have a newfound love for Disney World!

 

[troynkasey]

You can play "catchup" at MK during the parade and fireworks when everyone stops riding rides to watch. that's what we've done in the past and we all but walk right on. Plus...you can take advantage of evening late hours since you're sleeping in.

 

[amyy]

Last year we only set the alarm clock once. The other days we woke up when our bodies had enough sleep-usually around 9. By the time we hit the food court at POR around 10 there were no crowds. We would eat outside over looking the water and it was heaven. We'd get to the parks around 11:30 until 2 or 3 and then back to the resort for a dip in the pool. Back to the park around 9-10 or so. Last year we actually had 2 days left on our park passes! One day we rented a boat, went to DTD, enjoyed the pool etc. The other day we did a Segway tour at FW and hung out there for awhile. Hit another resort for supper. There were a lot of rides we didn't do, parades we mised but it was the best vacation ever! Can't wait to do it all again next week. Have a great trip!

 

[Miniefan]

I have two experiences that I think you would benefit from hearing.

First, we went to WDW in 2004 with a large group of 12 extended family members, we were planning on just our family and then everyone else just sort of horned in, I was really dreading waiting and dealing with this because a few were older in their seventies, and I knew or at least thought I knew that this would cause a severe strain or damper on the trip but it actually had it's benefits. My dh's grandma was in a wheelchair which basicly meant front of the line access to all the attractions and shows for our entire group, which makes me feel bad for benefiting out of her situation, but it was a little bit better for all of us.

Second, in 2007 my dh and I went to WDW solo for our 10th anniversary, we went out a few of the nights to PI and slept in the whole trip, it was the most relaxing way to spend our time at WDW, I sware those 5 days seemed to last forever, I can remember every little moment and thing we did and then we went with all our extended family again in Sept. 2007 for 10 nights and those days flew by and although I remember the trip, I couldn't tell you everything about it like I can the 5 nights we stayed and relaxed.

Hope my experiences can help shed some insight and light on your situation.

Kim