Breaking the cardinal rule of WDW...

[jenk1013]

Ok, so I've been reading that in order to get the most out of your day, you absolutely HAVE to get to the parks when they open to avoid waiting in long lines. I can see this philosophy making total sense, especially in MK.

We are going in the offseason when the parks close earlier, so it is even more important for us. However, we are not morning people by nature in any way, shape or form. In my other post, Melissa suggested if my 2 kids (5 and 3 yrs old) start getting crank from all the long days to let everyone sleep in a little, hang out by the pool, and hit the parks in the afternoon--11-1pm??

Is this crazy? If we were to do this, what park would make the most sense to attempt this strategy?

I know this is my vacation and I can do whatever the heck I want to do, but I really do want to make the most of it w/out burning everyone out in the process.

Jen

 

[NewEnglandDisney]

11PM is when it starts to get busy, because so many people come late.

I'm not a morning person either, but the mornings are invaluable for getting attractions in. You can easily ride between 9 and 11AM more rides than you could between 11AM and 4PM.

My advice is to bite the bullet and get up early as many mornings as you can, then leaving around noon or so when the crowds get heavy. Go back to the resort, have a swim or nap, and then head back around 3 or 4.

This will help keep everyone fresh, AND you miss the busiest part of the day!

Good luck!

N.E.D.

 

[Ilovestitch]

I think it depends how long your trip is, too. If you are going for 4 days then I would probably get up early.

But, my bf and I go for 10 days and we usually don't get up til 9 or 10 am. We usually stay out late, though, til about 1am.

With the evening EMH's we feel like we can get extra time in at night and don't feel rushed to get up in the a.m.

 

[C.Ann]

Don't turn your vacation into a "job".. Do what you want, when you want.. The first day try going later and if it works for you and you're not frustrated by how it goes, then you have your answer!

 

[kirbsam]

there is no hard and fast rule. do what works for your family. my family likes to get things done, so we go early. and get maximum times on rides and minimum times in lines. i know that is not every persons goal.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

In the past we've always gotten to the parks at opening with our now 7 yr old twins. No question you can get a lot accomplished problem free with that strategy.

However, we used a different strategy on our last trip this past January because of the institution of the evening EMHs. Many days we slept in and went to the parks later, staying as late as the park was open. There have been recent reports that the evening EMHs were very crowded but it may not be a problem if you're going in value season. We did not encounter crowds at all in January. When are you going?

The other issue is the age of your kids - how late could they stay up - but if you sleep in and there not morning kids to begin with, you may do fine for a good portion of the evenings. We stayed at Epcot until midnight and MGM twice until 10pm. My kids still wanted to swim back at the hotel. It helps to have an afternoon nap and also to have double stroller so even if the kids doze off you and your DH can still enjoy the parks for a while.

Good luck and have a great trip!

 

[cheyita]

Other than one day at Epcot, we have NEVER gotten to the parks at opening. And you know what? We've had fabulous vacations! Don't stress about it.

 

[aplejax76]

there is no hard and fast rule. do what works for your family. my family likes to get things done, so we go early. and get maximum times on rides and minimum times in lines. i know that is not every persons goal.

Thats exactly what I was thinking! Do what you feel like doing. You are on vacation!

 

[Jackie H.]

I agree with everyone else: do what works for you!

But! Don't be surprised if in the early days of the trip the kids get up earlier than normal. I mean they are excited and they are not in their own bed. As the trip goes along they will be getting tired and may sleep later.

Here is the key: don't push the kids to exhaustion. It seems so obvious, doesn't it? But it always shocks me at the number of people who are pushing little kids to go, go go and then seem totally shocked when they have a complete meltdown! It is a sad fact that my mother refuses to return to WDW...she says, "I can't stand to see all those parents yelling at little kids". She is very tender hearted.

At any rate, if you will just go with the attitude of "I know we can't see it all and we aren't going to try to see it all, but we are going to enjoy what we do see" then you will have a great time!

 

[WaltD4Me]

Honestly, if you are going during the off-season, I don't think you need to be up at the crack of dawn to get to a park. I know many will probably disagree with me, but I always go during the off season and I've never made a park opening and have never waited in a line longer than 30 minutes.

When we went in early December we got to the parks between 10am and 11am (except for one morning we had an early PS at Crystal Palace) the longest we waited for anything was for Dumbo and that was only about 30 minutes, not even. Of course it was really off-season and the crowds were very low. We did MGM, getting there about 11am and didn't even need to get a FP for RNR or ToT. At Epcot we did Test Track around noon with a 15 minute wait. We didn't need to get an FP even one time.

Last month I was there the 2nd week in May and even though I tried to get to MK for park opening I didn't quite make it. We got there a little after 9am and headed straight for Fantasyland...the lines were pretty long so we just did a couple rides then and then went back to FL at 6:30pm, let me tell you, it was practically deserted! I couldn't believe it! We walked onto Small World, Pooh, Philharmagic and Tea Cups. Then we waited only about 10 minutes for Dumbo and Peter Pan. After FL we headed to Toontown and pretty much walked on to Goofy's Barnstormer and the lines for the characters were much shorter than when we were there earlier in the day.

When are you going? How early will the parks be closing?

Also, since your kids are younger, there will be some rides they probably won't be going on, which might give you a little leeway time wise.

 

[mommykds]

It's your vacation...you should do what makes you feel relaxed & what your consider fun...If you just can't or don't want to get up early, then you shouldn't.

All that being said, my feeling (& this is just how my family takes it, not all feel this way) is that you can sleep at home. For the amount of $ we are spending to go to Disney we want to see & do things (& eat! ) as much as possible in the time we have there.

Whatever you do, have fun!

 

[LoraJ]

Honestly, if you are going during the off-season, I don't think you need to be up at the crack of dawn to get to a park. I know many will probably disagree with me, but I always go during the off season and I've never made a park opening and have never waited in a line longer than 30 minutes.

No argument from me. I totally agree. I have gone 3 times in the off season, and 30 minutes was the longest we waited. Everything else was 5 - 15 minutes. Epcot should still be open until 9pm, so you can do MK during the day at your leisure, and then head to Epcot. We would always show up at the parks at 11am or later and never had a problem.

 

[Tishke]

I will be the first to admit that I am a park commando. We get to the parks at opening and then work our way through without many lines. Last year we left the parks fairly early, though. We didn,'t stay late enough to see any fireworks, but did see Spectro. DS was 5 at the time and was used to being up early from school and camp, but would get tired around 8 or 9. It really depends on the ages of the kids and what you are trying to do (headlining rides around 11AM can get scary). Then again, your kids might be ready to go from sun up to sun down. You just have to see what would work best for your situation.

 

[jiminyfan]

I have to agree with C. Ann. Do not make the vacation a job, do not let others make your decisions. Do what makes you happiest and works best for you and your family. As far as I know WDW and the parks are not going anywhere, so you can always go back another time if you miss something. trust me after many WDW vacations, I am very sure that I haven't seen or done everything yet. I still want to go horeback riding for example. We try not to get caught up in a commando style vacation that makes you more tired than going to a job. with smaller children you have to remember that their likes, dislikes and energy levels are usually a lot different from adults and many posters on websites like this. We gave our son a lot of freedom in choosing what to do and not to do (he has been going since 6 months old now 5 yrs) and to him he enjoyed playing in the playgrounds as much as many of the attractions. Characters were big on his list as well.

Also, I have found that children will find the Disney Magic many adults miss or just walk by. My wife were Disney regulars for many years before we had our son and I have to say that he showed me a lot of things I never noticed before.

We break lots of the cardinal rules every trip we take. But, hey it works for us. Number one rule is have fun and enjoy the magic. Hope your trip is a memorable and wonderful one.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Do not make the vacation a job, do not let others make your decisions. Do what makes you happiest and works best for you and your family. As far as I know WDW and the parks are not going anywhere, so you can always go back another time if you miss something.

Ditto.
Ofcourse that doesn't quite work if it's a once in a lifetime trip... but sometimes YOU THINK it will be a once in a lifetime trip and it turns out it's not. Mickey calls to you to come back... again..... again... again he says.

Our first trip was spur of the moment and the first trip ever for us... commando is putting it mildly when referring to how we did that trip. Was it fun? Sure... but we went at Christmas-New Years and boy was it crowded and boy were we working too hard at that vacation.

We've been since then and I can honestly say our best trip EVER was our last one Thanksgiving 2003... we stayed longer and just took it easy. We didn't get up at the crack of dawn (only went to a few early morning hours because of EMH or character meals- maybe 3 days out of the 12 we were there) We had a blast.... and have decided that is how we will do it from now on.

Our upcoming trip (just 6 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) is just me and the 3 kids and I intend to do it the same this time. We'll be taking more advantage of evening EMH than the morning ones. The only breakfast character meals we have are LATE morning except for one early morning on my daughter's birthday- we have lots of fun things planned for that day... but that's it. The rest of the days we'll be just going with the flow. Sure I have PS's for meals planned (we're on the dining plan) but everything is late- late breakfast, late lunch, late dinners. We're more night people than morning ones (DH is the exception on that but he's not going this time! LOL)

So no, I don't think you are crazy to not want to get up at the crack of dawn when it's not something you would prefer to do. This is a vacation after all... you can't have it all, do everything and still have it be a "vacation" and no one tired/burned out. I think your plan for downtime in the afternoon is a great idea.

 

[paladin]

As C. Ann said, don't turn your vacation into a job. If you want to sleep in, sleep in. Yes, it does get busier around 11, but if you are going at a less busy time, it shouldn't be that much of an issue. I personally think it is worth taking your time, enjoying yourself and not feeling that you have to be up at that crack of dawn to get going (unless that is what works for you). Take time to stop and smell the roses and if for your family that means sleeping in, then by all means, do that and enjoy.

 

[SeattleMark]

Another vote for sleeping in late - primarily since it's the off season.

 

[HaleyB]

Ok I read the first few posts and it seems like everyone was reacting to your title and not answering your question.

It seems to me you are well aware of the pros and cons of early mornings. To answer your question- IF you decide to take a morning off I would either do the World Showcase at Epcot (it opens at 11 anyway) or if you can make it by 1 the Animal Kingdom seems to clear out pretty early. AK is an awesome park for little kids. There is so much to look at and it has fewer things to try to fit in. Most of the line issues at AK are for things a little one would not be doing (come to think of it MGM might be OK too, unless you and DH plan to ride the headliner rides and do child swap). At MGM there are SO many great things for little ones, but they all have fairly high capacity and we had no problems getting into the shows (Playhouse Disney, Ariel, Beauty and the Beast).

I always advise anyone who wants to do Fantasyland at the MK to do so on an Early Entry or EMH morning. At the very least be there at opening on a good morning. But everything else is doable, I think... my kids never sleep past dawn in WDW (maybe they put something in the water) so we almost always make it by park opening.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

I wasn't reacting to just the title... I wouldn't even know what the title meant without reading the post. LOL
However, I did misread about going TO the parks 11-2 and thought she meant hanging out at the resort/pool/etc. from 11-2. That's what I get for speedreading with kids nonstop chattering at me at the same time. LOL

 

[dizplanner]

On our last trip, we tried to make it by opening, but usually didn't make until ~9:30. One thing I promised my family was that I would allow at least 8 hours sleep, even if it meant we would not make it at opening. Second thing is we would try and get up early for two mornings and then we would sleep in the next (and try and schedule the later nights before the sleepin days if we can). We would make that third day an easier one. Then we could go back to an earlier, busier day the fourth and fifth days.

I don't even try and do the morning EMH even though I know they would be great, particularly at MK. I just know my family would not get up for them.