Importance of Arriving Early in Off-Season? With Reluctant Tripmates

[Nuxgwkkw]

I am a single woman traveling with a family of four (mom, dad, 11-year-old daughter, 9-year-old son) from January 18-24. With the exception of Jan. 18 and 19, which will be crowded because of MLK day, the parks should have relatively low crowds. We live in California, so jet-lag is going to be an issue.

I am by nature an uber-planner, however, for this trip I am going along with what the family wants to do and I know I'll have to curb my Disney zeal a bit so that I don't drive them crazy. I'm staying at the parks 3 days longer than they are so I'll have time to do my own thing after they leave, and while they're with me, it's more important to me to maintain a good relationship with them and to enjoy each others' company than to check more attractions off of the list. However, in my experience, people have more fun if they ride more and wait less.

Every single thing that I've read, as well as my own experience, tells me that the most important tip is to get there early. Families that decide to sleep in because "it's my vacation and I don't want to get up early" are the ones who by the end of the day are grumpy and frustrated that they spent so much time in line. Since we are going in the off-season, the hours for the parks are not very long, and they will close between 7 and 9pm. I have asked the family if they want to schedule mid-day breaks to go back to the hotel, but they have said no, since the park hours are short enough as it is. For the most part, I agree with that.

My dilemma is, the dad says that he does not want to make the kids get up early. He would be perfectly happy if they never adjust to Eastern Time, but stay on Pacific Time for the whole trip (not sure how that'll work with the sun rising and everything, but I get his point). He thinks that since we are going during the off-season, we won't have any problems with lines or crowds, so we don't need to bother getting there early. We have FP+ for all the big rides, and we don't feel the need to ride them more than once. He says that he doesn't mind waiting up to about 45 minutes for 1-2 rides per day that are "worth it." (my response to that is, I may not mind waiting 45 minutes, but if I can wait 5 for the same ride, I'd prefer that!)

I see his point: let's say we get to MK at rope drop, at 9am. Well, the park will be about as crowded as it's going to be by 11am, right? So the most we'll have is 2 hours to ride things with lower crowds. How much can we really get done in that time? Is it worth the possibility of being grumpy for the whole day? Especially if we plan to stay late at the parks, it might be quite a chore to get everyone up and out in the mornings.

I do not think that the dad is dead-set on sleeping in, I think he just doesn't think it'll be worth it to wake up early, since we're going in the off-season. If I can convince him that it actually is vastly different to get there at 8:45am versus 10:30, then I think the whole family would go for it. This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for them, after all, so I think they want to get the most out of it (while not being so grumpy and tired as to not enjoy any of it). I'm just worried that we'll get up too late and miss the nice empty morning hours, then the kids will still get too tired by the end of the day to enjoy the empty later hours, and so basically we would spend the entire trip only going to parks in the middle of the day, when it's busiest.

So, my questions are:
1) Since we are going in the off-season, is it really that important to get there early?
2) What might we miss out on if we arrive 1-2 hours after park opening?
3) If we have to choose between getting there early and staying until closing, is it definitely better to get there early, or is it about equal?
4) Since we have FP+ for all the big rides, does that change the importance of arriving early?
5) If you were in my position, DISboarders, would you try to convince the family to wake up early, or would you just let them do what they want and face the possible consequences?
6) Any other suggestions or advice?
Remember, our goal is to enjoy our trip and each other as much as possible, which could either mean not worrying about time, or it could mean making the sacrifice of waking up a little earlier than we would like in order to have a lot more fun in the parks.

Sorry for such a long post, and thank you in advance for your responses!

 

[sharonabe]

See if he's agreeable to doing it his way the first day and then getting everyone up the second day. Once they see the difference an early arrival makes, they may decide it's worth it to them. BUT they may not, so be prepared either way.

 

[IceSkatingPrincess]

The off season isn't what it used to be. Walk ons still happen, but it isn't as abundant. That said, I barely ever do rope drop and have always been fine. I prefer the time during and immediately after fireworks while the mass exit is happening, and EMH at night. Make your FP's for afternoon when crowds are high and use the additional FP's you can book once your first ones are gone wisely. You will get shorter lines in the morning, however, if it results in grumpy/groggy people it will not be worthwhile. Can you guys compromise and maybe try to get there at 930/945 or something? So a bit extra sleep, but not arriving at nearly 11?

 

[cattywampus]

We stayed on west coast time and closed down the parks. We also used MVMCP to get park time at night. It worked great.

I would have made everyone miserable trying to do rope drop. It's a vacation. I understand RD enthusiasts but it isn't for everyone. Deciding we wouldn't be at the parks until 11:00 or so was the best decision I ever made.

If you want to do rope drop, have them text you when they reach the park. You may find someone decides to join you from the group or not.

 

[bumbershoot]

4) Since we have FP+ for all the big rides, does that change the importance of arriving early?

IMO, absolutely. It's one of the few good things FP+ does for those lucky enough to get those big ride FP+s.

You're aware of jet lag. It's HARD to convince a west coaster to get up to be at the park for what feels like a 6am opening.

But with parks closing earlier, a west coaster also isn't getting the nighttime enjoyment.

In my family we choose what we're doing each trip. We have finally realized that at 3 days in we get hit with jet lag HARD, no matter what we do, so on this trip we're just getting the heck up. Now, we'll be at Universal onsite, not WDW (except for going over there for the races over Marathon weekend), but the concept is the same. We're going to get up early because the parks just aren't open that late, so we might as well wear ourselves out somehow so we can sleep, LOL. Staying on west coast time is always an interesting thing to try to do; in my family it has never worked, not even when we try to let it happen.

You could let the wakeups happen progressively. Don't get up terribly early the first day or two, see how it is. Might help your cause, since it'll be the holiday weekend and will be more crowded. Then maybe get up earlier each day?

 

[kerplop]

We are not by nature early risers. In fact I'd go so far as to say that my entire family hates getting up before 10! That said, we get up early for Disney World. We don't get there pre-rope drop but right as the gates are opening is good enough for us. Our first trip we had no idea and we walked into the park at 10-11am and ended up standing in a lot of lines and wishing we'd planned better. I can't tell you how amazed we were the first time we got our butts out of bed and got there early - we were flabbergasted! The thing is, people can tell you until they're blue in the face how great getting there early is, but until you experience the difference personally it's really hard to understand what the big deal is. I would gently push for it, but let them do it their way and then keep explaining how empty it is when it's early. Maybe find a co-conspirator or two and go early yourselves - they will come back full of stories about how you can just "walk on" rides

 

[KrazeeK120]

I went that exact week this past year.

Honestly, the parks were quite manageable. We even did MK on Jan. 20 (MLK Day) because it was my birthday, and it wasn't too bad. We did 2 days at Epcot, so we could do both TT and Soarin' with FP+. Although, one of the days, the wait dropped to 25 minutes at TT in the mid-afternoon and we were able to ride again.

Our problem was at DHS - We only had 1 day and I wanted to ride TSMM and RnRC. So we did rope drop and rode TSMM (rode RnRC later w/a FP+).

At MK, I'd use FP+ for the Mine Train, Space Mountain, and Peter Pan. If you have 2 days, I'd add Big Thunder and Haunted Mansion. We were able to ride everything else there with minimal waits. At Epcot, other than the 2 headliners, I'd recommend FP+ for Spaceship Earth, but we did not see significant waits for anything else. At DHS, the FP+ situation isn't very good in my opinion because all of the "good" FP+ are Tier 1, and for that reason, this is the park I'd recommend rope drop for. At AK, I really don't think FP+ is even necessary that time of year, but may as well book some.

My trip was just me and DH. DH used to be a teacher, so we used to go at busier times, like spring break and summer. This past trip was very relaxing in comparison. The parks weren't dead by any means, but much less crowded than the other times we went.

If you have any other specific questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[NYCMom21]

I'd just tell them that you are a very early riser by nature and may chose to head over earlier if they want to sleep in. Tell them to call you when they are headed over and meet them.

 

[mom2rtk]

I'd just tell them that you are a very early riser by nature and may chose to head over earlier if they want to sleep in. Tell them to call you when they are headed over and meet them.

And a good time was had by all.

 

[Eastern]

We've been to Disney a lot, usually at peak times. We usually did rope drop schedules. Now my kids are older, we've got 3 FP+, and we don't feel the need to do everything. My kids are ok with walking around the parks and doing the occasional ride with a short line.

If you are like this, you don't need to do rope drop. As others mentioned, late EMH are great- a lot of people go home (esp if it's cold out) and you will be able to do lots of rides. We do this also.

We don't like to rush anymore, so we trade off more rides for a relaxed pace.

 

[chelseabun76]

We are going the last week of January, and we are doing rope drop every day, if we can. We have 2 8am adr's when park openings are at 9am as well. With the shorter park hours, one or two sit down meals per day and then factoring in fireworks, parades at MK, we have about 7 hours of ride/line/wait time in MK and even less at AK since it closes even earlier, and I don't want to cut any of those hours out for sleep. We'll sleep after we get home. LOL!!!

 

[Karebear]

We travel from California too, so I understand what you are asking. We have gone to WDW 3X with good friends of ours. They like to sleep in, so we meet up for certain rides or dinner, etc. We travel during slow times (Sept. for example). We do rope drop, which is a killer the first morning (for us anyway as my kids like to sleep in till 8 am at home). All I can say is that our experience differs greatly from our friends. We feel that we get a lot accomplished and they complain that the parks are too crowded. We think that the lines are short, but we are there at opening. I do think that it is worth it. We will also do a PM extra magic hour one night and sleep in the next day and go to a water park or something to break it up a bit. Have a great trip!

 

[jerivera]

I'd just tell them that you are a very early riser by nature and may chose to head over earlier if they want to sleep in. Tell them to call you when they are headed over and meet them.

Agreed! I've done that with my own family.

During vacation, they can wake up 2-3 hours after me. So I just head to the park we're going to that day and meet up with them once they finally get there. It works out great! I get to do a lot more rides, browse the stores at my leisure, enjoy the park ambiance, and generally have a very relaxing time. Everyone is in a good mood by the time they finally join me at the park (I got to do stuff, they got to sleep in).

The alternative is me waking them up, them complaining about me having woken them up too early, and everyone being in a bad mood as I try to get them moving and they try to not move. It puts everyone in a bad mood. Not a good way to start the day.

The only caveat is if I do an early breakfast reservation at a restaurant somewhere (ex. Ohana, 1600, Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey's). AKA as "offer them a bribe". For that they'll wake up early and get ready with minimal complaints!!

Plus I hate being up for HOURS in Disney in a small room trying not to wake everyone up while waiting for the rest of the family to wake up. Drives me nuts! This is me after about 5-10 minutes of waking up:

 

[iheartwalt]

I just wanted to comment on the "empty later hours" part. This is the time frame that we typically go and if parks are only open to 7 or 9 then there really isn't empty time at the end of the night (with the exception of AK that does clear out at dark). When the parks close early, in my experience, pretty much everyone hangs in until the bitter end (ie 9 pm) unlike when they are open until 11pm or later, so we find that the headliner waits at the end of the night are comparable to the rest of the day.
That being said we love going this time of year and find the wait times, overall, to be very reasonable.
Enjoy!!

 

[deetle]

Let's look at this a little differently. First I'm going to assume You and your DS and DD have been to Disney before.
If this is a Family trip with your parents I think your time together will be remembered more after the trip than if you missed an attraction or waited a extra 15 minutes to ride one.
Every trip doesn't need to be all or nothing. Take it easy and enjoy each others company. I will bet the time waiting in the lines will provide some great memories for your parents (extra time talking and interacting with the kids).
Also you yourself may find the trip more enjoyable without all the extra planning.

 

[SplashMo]

And a good time was had by all.

+1 late risers can meet up with everyone else... Really the jet lag is not that bad..

 

[Nuxgwkkw]

All of you DISboarders are AMAZING! Thank you so much for all of your feedback, and so fast, too!

I like the ideas of going early on my own and meeting up with them when they get to the parks, or aiming for 9:30 or so, which is not rope drop but also not sleeping in- a good compromise! Also using the EMH evening hours is a great idea; I'll have to look at the park hours and see what might work for us.

I know we'll have a great time no matter what- I've vacationed with this family before and we get along really well and they're just as excited about this trip as I am. But all of your advice and ideas will make it even better!

 

[conandrob240]

Hmm. I got the sense these were not her kids. That this was a single woman traveling perhaps with her sister's or a friend's family? When I travel with my sister and her kids, I let her do what she wants and I take the little,kids with me to the parks at rope drop ( they are up anyway). She takes hours to get up, get moving, get ready. Rather than stew like I used to, I tell her where I am going and she meets there. We'll try to arrange FP for what she is most interested I later in the day. One rule though- the kids and I are not going to stand in long lines for something we've already done if she chooses to sleep in and take forever getting ready.

 

[conandrob240]

But, my really best approach is to no longer take my sister and just take her kids! Everyone's happier that way!

 

[LBIJim]

Like others have said, get there early and have them text you whenever they decide to arrive.

Or go with the flow and play by their rules. You'll still have three days after they leave to do things your way.