Commandos unite!

[ncbyrne]

I am Type A. DH is too! We like being busy. We like being on the GO! And never feel the need to unwind and relax on a vacation. WDW is our perfect get away. Plenty to do from early morning till late evening every single day. We get to the parks at opening, stay till closing, and make the most out of every day. However, not all of our family shares our enthusiasm. Sleeping till 10, going back to the room for a nap or taking breaks by the pool is NOT for us. We prefer commando style. We won't apoligize for wanting to go alone! (BTW..5 kids, 6 grands, but we are empty nesters)

 

[MaryKatesMom]

I'm with you! We open and close the parks. Good thing my kids are active, although I just stick them in the stroller and move.

 

[disneyjunkie]

Add me to the list.

The reason I go to Disney is to visit the parks.
I can't see spending that much money just to hang out at the pool or in our room.

 

[w8ting4pooh]

Hello!

When we go to any theme park, we always open and close each day. Busch Gardens, Kings Dominion, Hersheypark, Disney...we love them all.

We came home happy and exhausted from our Disney trip. We definitely pack in as much as we can to each day. We wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm proudly an overplanner commando Mommy!

 

[tcfdick]

"GASP!!!" Sleeping in until 10:00 in the morning? We NEVER sleep in! I'm usually the first one awake, with everyone else waking up soon afterward. We are in the park first thing people too! My husband has mentioned several times he feels like we're in the army when we go to WDW. LOL I also can't seem to be able to relax. There's too much to do, too much to see, too much fun to be had!

 

[danny1649]

We like to plan things out but be flexible.If we get a little off schedule we don't let it upset us.The things we learn each trip allow's us to fine tune our plans for the next.We always have a list we will not miss and what we will skip if we fall behind our touring plans.

 

[tzvdmd]

When I read the boards and see that people are worried about what view they have and I think who has time for looking out the window? We need to be on the go.

 

[SimbaNoodle]

Well at least now I know who it is that wakes me up each visit.

I am a former commando who is now in retirement. I now prefer to enjoy the atmosphere and soak up the Disney Magic. But, I promise I will stay out of your way.

No matter how you prefer to enjoy WDW, just make sure you enjoy.

 

[Taja]

A friend and I went to WDW last summer and planned to do EMH at least a few times, but weren't able to get moving early enough! 8:00 am park opening = 5:00 am PT! Our bodies never completely adjusted to the time change. Of course, we were up until midnight or 1:00 am nearly every night. That could have had something to do with it!

I didn't do much better on a return trip in December, although I did manage a few early mornings. If I can manage sufficient time off next trip, I think I'll stay off site for a couple of days to acclimate to the time change a little better, then move on site to enjoy the magic! But not commando style!

Since I grew up at Disneyland when there were ticket books and you had to plan your day carefully to avoid running out of tickets too early, my style is much more laid back. My parents didn't believe in purchasing extra tickets or a lot of "stuff", so we had to learn to enjoy the overall experience more than just the rides or purchasing power!


Taja

 

[da disney fans]

We are definitely commando-style WDWers! I also can't see spending $$$ on the vacation to spend so much time at the hotel sleeping or hanging out by the pool. Too much to do!!!

We wake up in time to catch the first bus to the parks and get back to the hotel on the last bus of the night.

We don't even care that much about the quality of the hotel we stay in, since we're only there to sleep and shower as it is. I mean, I'm not going to stay in a roach motel, but the only reason I'd ever consider spending $$$$ on say, the Contemporary, is to be THAT MUCH CLOSER to the parks.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

I am like this too. My SO is not ! This is going to be our first trip to WDW together and I hope I don't scare him when I turn into psycho-Disney-trivia-obscure factoids-crazy lady who does every ride in a particular order.

The way I see it, we paid a lot for this trip...we should get the most out of it. I went once with a friend who wanted to sleep every day till about 11 and I think I ended up just leaving her to her own thing every day and pretty much doing the parks solo. I loved it

Less than a week!!

 

[tink2]

Commando all the way! Open the parks and leave after the night shows. We stick DD and DS in the strollers and don't look back! Sleep until 10am at WDW- NOT US! We have done at least 1/3 of the park by then! We really hit the parks hard in the morning, slow down a little around mid-day for the kids to nap in the strollers, and then hit is again! We want to take in as much as possible! My whole family is this way too- thank goodness! I have a friend who went to WDW for ONE DAY and could not get to MK for opening, left around 5:00 for character dinner at GF and then said she was too exhausted to enjoy the dinner- I about croaked when she told me! A distant relative and his family traveled with us this year- they could not keep up- oh well, to each his own! We take in as much as possible when at WDW!

 

[sters]

Please add me to your list! I can sleep (in) at home, why waste valuable Disney time sleeping? When can we go?!!

Unfortunatley, with small kids, I had to adapt a little in the name of family harmony. We did return for an hour or so of pool time every other day or so. Because there are slides, as well as a hot tub, he kids were thrilled! It was all an adventure to them and a slight change of pace for me, too.

 

[popy]

You-bet, you snooze, you loose.

Always said it, still stck by it, you can rest
when you get back home.

 

[MelessaG]

Add me and my Dad to the list too, but not my DH. Our first trip to WDW as a married couple was not the greatest. "What do you mean we have to be at the park an hour early!? I'm on VACATION, I want to sleep in!" Fortunately, our ability to compromise has improved with time. Still, I'm raising my kids to be park commandos like me so we can really hit the parks when they get older and we can leave Dad behind to sleep in to his hearts content.

 

[Wish I lived in Fl]

On our last trip 6 yrs ago DH drove me nutty. We had to change hotels and didn't make it to Epcot untill 1 on our first day. As we were in line for our first attraction he decided he was hungry and had to get out of line. At that point I ended our 12 year marriage.( Just Kidding- but I did stay in line!).
We are going again this year and I have offered him the option of sleeping in and rejoining us in the parks when he gets up. This offer will be repeated each morning 'cause I not letting him slow me down!

 

[MelessaG]

At that point I ended our 12 year marriage.( Just Kidding- but I did stay in line!). [/B]

Boy can I relate to that!

 

[disney4us2002]

This is a great reason to be on a monorail resort, lol! By the 4th day of our last WDW trip, my oldest ds (13) and dh were not getting out of bed before 9 or 10. They would moan loudly when the Mickey wake up call came at 7am (this was even during that no EE period). I took off with the other two ds and we had a blast and when the sleepyheads finally arrived by 11 or so we were ready lunch.

I can already imagine our upcoming trip with EE back and my trying to avoid the Christmas crowds, lol. My poor hubby better plan to take off the week we return to catch up on his precious sleep! "It's Disney for God's sake - sleep at home!!!"

 

[jennymouse]

I believe in getting up and out early before park opening as well. Everyone who's ever gone with me can't believe how fast I can walk with my short legs.

This last trip with Dad was a different story. He's 80 years old and set in his ways. There was going to be no way of getting him up earlier than his 8:00 wake up time. I knew it would be that way though. That's why I chose to take him in February a slow time. Plus, we weren't doing thrill rides anyway, so we didn't really need to get there to beat the crowds to the big rides. I found it very enjoyable, too. We'd get out and go to the Yacht Club Galley and have a lesurely breakfast before heading to the park. Dad was in an ECV so he didn't get tired at all and when we got out we stayed out until the park closed.

Now in June, with DGD and the rest of the group it will be hit the parks early again! We do like to have the pool break in the afternoon though.