Will we be too jetlagged on our first day?

[Tinker74]

Can anyone give me an idea of how tired we are likely to be on our first full day??

How does the time difference effect us?

We land at sanford at 6pm...so we will just go to our hotel WL..have q quick bite to eat at Roaring forks and bed.

The next day is a Tuesday so I have planned for Me Dh ..dd6 and ds13 to go to MK at opening (I don't think we will have a problem getting up) Then leave around Lunch time back to Wilderness Lodge...Then a 6pm ADR for Chef mickeys.

So do you all think we will be really tired by then and just go back to our hotel after chef mickeys or in your experience will we be able to jump the monorail to mk after our meal to watch the 9pm spectro???

This will be late august so it will be V hot also!

 

[SEVANS2208]

For the first 2 or 3 days we find we're awake early (great for getting to the parks early!) but flagging by late afternoon/early evening - though our kids were 9 & 3 when we last went.

The 6pm meal will probably be ok but you might find you'll be ready to crash out after that.

 

[angel659]

Hi

Everyone is different. On our first day we can manage a full day at the parks and virtually only have 1 0r 2 rest days throughout a 14 night holiday.

As soon as the alarm clock goes off on our first day we seem to get a rush of adrenalin and it lasts the whole day. Jet lag has never bothered us whilst we were out there, but it took a few days on return to the UK.

I would see how you feel after Chef Mickeys if you feel you can return to MK then go ahead. The weather is hot and the queues are long this could be tiring in itself. We have been in May, June, August and October. August has been the hardest month due to the heat. This was the only reason we were so tired. Taking in a sit down meal with air conditioning this maybe enough for you to re-fuel.

Dont be dissapointed if you feel you have had enough on day 1. Just relax and enjoy yourself.

 

[carolfoy]

I would reckon on your first 2 or three days being up early and going well until mid afternoon, as you're on site make the most of the transportation and get back to your fantastic resort for some chillin' and a wander around, you've always got the campfire option if you decide you can go until a bit later.

 

[sunshinefinlay]

We always get up early the first few days - and as long as you are busy through the day with something to keep you occupied find that the tiredness doesn't really settle in. It can be harder for the kids though - they usually get a little bit of a handful as they get tired

 

[Soprano]

On my first full day, I doubt we would be very alert by 9pm. Since you are onsite, why not go for an afternoon nap around 2/3pm for an hour or two? That should re-set your body clock, but I do realise it may be very difficult to try and convince the kids to sleep for a while!

 

[JohnnySharp2]

You will probably find you are up early on the first full day, we generally are.

It will take you a couple of days to adjust to the heat, I would not advise you to think about a full day at the park, but then again we never do full days anyway.

Just see how you feel on the day, just bear in mind it will be very hot.

 

[Lisash]

We never have problems with jet lag in Orlando, we just find we are awake early and that it never takes long to get to sleep when we go to bed. We do however really feel it when we get home and it always takes 3 or 4 days to feel right again. I would just see how you feel on the day as you are going back to your hotel you could always grab a quick nap

 

[Cinderella]

You will be fine and probably will be able to go back to MK later, as it will be open late in the Summer.

I do a similar thing on our first full day - and i am at VWL also, but in May. We will be doing first day EE at MK. Normally when we do this, we have latest possible breakfast seating at chef mickeys. But this time, we are returning to WL at about 12.30 - having a swim then lunch at WCC at 1.30. We will then have a nap, then go to Epcot about 5pm.

We have done a similar thing lots on our first day - and it works out fine so long as we have plenty of afternoon naps.

By the way - do be aware that the weather is going to be v hot and humid when you are there. In the parks they sell water sprayers with fans attached to them - they strap to your arm and are so well worth it for cooling down.

 

[Tinker74]

Thanks everyone for the great advice! I have planned my itinerary to the T But its so hard to know if iam being over ambitious because I've never been before.

I think I'll play it by ear on that first day...I will definitly return to WL about 12 o clock for Rest/lunch/swim/ nap or whatever till 5pm when we will get the boat over to CR for our 6pm at chef mickey. That will give us a good 5 hrs of relaxing and escaping from the heat...and we will see how we feel after our meal.

The next night we better be OK as iam planning Fantasmic and it starts at 8.30pm...But like I said I have built afternoon rests into every day..so hopefully DD will hold up (and stay awake).

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Thanks everyone for the great advice! I have planned my itinerary to the T But its so hard to know if iam being over ambitious because I've never been before.

I think I'll play it by ear on that first day...I will definitly return to WL about 12 o clock for Rest/lunch/swim/ nap or whatever till 5pm when we will get the boat over to CR for our 6pm at chef mickey. That will give us a good 5 hrs of relaxing and escaping from the heat...and we will see how we feel after our meal.

The next night we better be OK as iam planning Fantasmic and it starts at 8.30pm...But like I said I have built afternoon rests into every day..so hopefully DD will hold up (and stay awake).

Planning is part of the fun, and we all plan to a degree.

We go mid-August for 3 weeks so it will be hot for us too, must admit we never plan past the first couple of days as we would only change when we got there.
At least the crowds will be lighter then.

 

[Queenie]

We generally plan a day of shopping/driving around I-Drive or Seaworld (we don't do the rides here) for our first full day, we never go to the parks as we don't want to tire ourselves out on the first day and be knackered for a few days afterwards.

I think it's all down to personal preference and how alert you all are generally - we normally have the motivation of a drugged up sloth until we get to Orlando!

 

[musketeer]

We don't usually feel the effects of jetlag in Orlando just when we arrive back in the UK, and then we either go shopping or relax by the pool for the first day.

 

[UKDEB]

I think I'll play it by ear on that first day...I will definitly return to WL about 12 o clock for Rest/lunch/swim/ nap or whatever till 5pm when we will get the boat over to CR for our 6pm at chef mickey. That will give us a good 5 hrs of relaxing and escaping from the heat...and we will see how we feel after our meal

That sounds like a sensible stratgey to me! The jet-lag, combined with the excitement, always has us awake early for the first few days. That also means that we're ready for bed pretty early, too. Playing it by ear is your best bet. Just remember that you're on holiday and that you should just do whatever you want. If that means not doing something, then that's fine!

 

[maggs]

I have always gone to bed around 10pm American time. I stay up those extra 5 hours and am fine the next day. I have never woken up early and always feel refreshed. Even the kids have managed to do this and always feel ready for action next day.

Maggs

 

[UKDEB]

I have always gone to bed around 10pm American time. I stay up those extra 5 hours and am fine the next day. I have never woken up early and always feel refreshed. Even the kids have managed to do this and always feel ready for action next day.

Maggs

Always go to bed around 10pm American time, too, but, as I say, the excitement, combined with the jet-lag, has us awake bright and early the next morning. It's certainly possible to go back to sleep if you want to, but who wants to?

 

[Miffy2003]

I think you are right to play it by ear a little.

We usually visit in August and it is very hot and humid. We find a break back at the hotel is a good thing (swimming usually) and then tend to go back to aprk in the evening, even on our first few days. Our DDs (aged 6 & 9) strangely never seem to suffer jetlag, but I am usually up early on the first day only. I definitely don't need to go to bed early though, I'm certain due to the excitement

 

[DebIreland]

A lot of people say that travelling West to East is a lot worse for jet lag than travelling the other way and I definitely believe that after last summer's trip to the U.S.. We never felt any jet lag ill effects at all. Our first port of call was New York for 3 days - we were full of energy and were up very early each day, then onto Orlando, still loads of energy, no problem. Of course, even though you have a long day of travelling on Day 1, you 'gain' 4 to 5 hours of sleep with the time difference.

On the other hand, I'm not kidding when I say we were absolutely exhausted for a couple of weeks after we arrived home. I'll never forget it and I hope we don't go through it again this year. I could have slept round the clock for a week or more! The post-holiday blues probably didn't help but it was definitely mostly jet lag.

 

[JanMary]

Hi

Just back last Saturday and still feeling the effects of jet-lag. I am usually awake well before the alarm - but we are all still struggling - except our 15mth old - he was the quickest to adjust in both directions (but then he could nap in his buggy during the day).

We were surprised how much we were affected by jet lag in Orlando - I am sure it was 5 or 6 days before we stopped waking at 4am. We never did full days in park, but had to change when we planned to do Illuminations at 9pm until the 2nd week of our holiday! Fortunately in January all other fireworks were at 7 or 8pm so we did manage those some nights!

Just be flexible and make the most of getting to the parks early, ahead of the crowds in those early days. It makes such a difference.

Enjoy!

 

[maureen4200040]

On our last trip in September 2005, we arrived in Sanford 6.15pm, got to the hotel around 7.30pm (had to use transfers) . I stayed awake until 12pm their time , and got up the next morning at 7 am . But by 6pm that afternoon i was out for the count .


Maureen4200040