Am I the only one who won't be getting to parks early

[Iheoma]

Hi everyone,

I was just wondering - I read a lot about the need to get to the parks early to make the most of your "touring". But the last thing I want to do on any vacation is get up the same way I have to for work everyday. We're going in early May so I know in advance that the parks are not going to be open late but I can't see getting up and getting ready to be at the parks at 8:00 or 8:30 in the morning, especially with a 2.5 year old. Are there any other "late starters" out there. BTW as a kid going to WDW with my parents and sibs (probably most of the trips were a good 15 years ago) we never got to the parks before 11:00 am but I don't remember ever really missing things and this was even before FASTPASS, lol. Just wondering.

Iheoma

 

[tci1212]

We don't rush to get to the parks. We usually arrive between 10:00 am and 11:00 am. I used to get up at 7:00 am and out the door we went. But after so many trips to Disney I have learned to relax a little bit. Sometimes it is nice to actually slow down and enjoy the little things in Disney.

 

[mikenzacksmom]

We usually only do one early entry, the rest of the days we get there when we get there, usually by 9:30-10:30. At home My soon to be DH gets up at 5:00 every morning.

 

[CPM]

I too always hear about people who get up and rush out to the parks in the wee morning hours.
Every day we get up and are on a schedule. That's the last thing I want to do on vacation!!
We like to get up when we get up, then hang out at the pool. When the pool starts getting busy we know it's time for the parks. Our kids feel the same way.
Sometimes we miss out on FP's. But we don't mind.
When the parks are open late we get just as much in on the last two hours as the earlybirds.

 

[Selket]

We are late risers too on vacation. For our trip in August we only did one EE and that was for the MK. If you think your child will want to do all the Fantasyland attractions - especially Dumbo - it will be worth it to get up one morning (maybe just one parent? That's what we did) and take the child to the park for Fantasyland. When you tour with a little child your park experience is much different than for those with older kids or just adults. Expectations might be a bit lower to hit every attraction! We were able to use FP and ride everything we wanted. Eride nights were great! Take advantage of those if you can (we had early ones - 7pm and 8pm start times) - we took our younger DS for one and he hung out in the stroller and slept some. We often used FP for the adult attractions we wanted to do (like we'd get FP for ToT and RnRC but do some shows and stuff while waiting for the FP to come up - that way the adults could do the thrill stuff).

I found the touring plans from Tour Guide Mike (http://www.tourguidemike.com) to be the most helpful for touring with young kids because his plans are so flexible - it's very easy to get sidetracked with little ones! He had great ideas for half days at the parks ("if you arrive after this time then these parks are less crowded and think about doing this..." kind of things).

Have a great trip!

 

[MagicPrincess]

VACATION = SLEEPING IN!!!

I plan on a few late mornings myself!
But I'm sure the first morning I'll be so excited, I'll probobly be up at like 5 am! LOL

 

[TammyNC]

After our first couple of trips in the commando tour mode, we have finally slowed down. DH finally realized that we were going to be going back and we didn't have to be up early and going each day. Our last trip we had a couple of early days because of character breakfasts, but other than that we usually didn't get to the parks before 11am. We didn't feel like we missed anything at all. We enjoyed our relaxing mornings and then we weren't so worn out later in the evenings. I don't want to be on any schedule while on vacation I want to enjoy our trip and not come home exhausted.

 

[disneymama73]

We usually get to the parks around 10-11am. We get up when the kids get up, and our kids are late sleepers. There's no way I'm going to wake them up and deal with two cranky kids for the rest of the day. And I am NOT a morning person, so getting up early would be torture for me, too.

Do what's going to make the trip enjoyable for you and your family. We usually travel when the parks close early, too. And like you said, we really don't miss out on anything.

 

[NotUrsula]

With a child that age, I found it very important to do EE for the MK only; we don't bother at the other parks. Little ones tend to be at their happiest early in the morning, so it's the best time to do the Fantasyland circuit.

By late morning, Fantasyland is mobbed with strollers and impatient kids, and you'll spend the entire day waiting in the hottest line areas in the park if you want to ride everything. The only cool line area in Fantasyland is IASW. By contrast, when arriving at the EE opening, we were able to do every ride in the area twice in an hour and 10 minutes, finishing up with a FP spot on Pooh. Then by 11, we were on our way out of the park, off for a nice lunch and midday break with plans to go to Epcot after a swim and a nap. (The park gets most crowded on EE days, so you want to be out by 11 or so that day.)

Believe me, there is nothing I like better than sleeping late, but for Fantasyland with a little one, getting up once is worth it, even for me.