Evenings in the parks

[epcotobsessed]

We have always been RD people. Now that my kids are teens/tweens, I am thinking it might be better to change this. Our usual schedule is RD, leave the park after lunch, back to the hotel for swim and rest, and back to the park for fireworks (most of the time - sometimes we stay at the hotel). We usually do not focus on rides when we go back in the evening. If you only do afternoons/evenings, what time do you usually arrive and what are wait times like? I admit to feeling reluctance to not being able to get additional FPs, but maybe the extra sleep/not having to deal with the craziness of RD is worth it. Thanks!

 

[Klayfish]

We never do rope drop, definitely not our thing (and we don't think it adds value as far as doing extra rides). We'll arrive anywhere between 9:30am and 4pm, depending on the day. Yes, standby lines during midday are usually at their peak. But that's the beauty of FP+. We never wait in lines. You'll have no problems getting additional FP+.

EDIT: I will add that it's not really that hard to deal with the afternoon heat. Yes, I know everyone responds to heat different, but I'm talking about just avoiding it all together. Most rides in WDW are in the a/c, and many queues are too. So even if the heat is too much for you, then spend the afternoon doing shows, CoP, Philharmagic, Dinosaur, Pixar Short Films, Tough to be a Bug, etc... The only time you'll be in the heat is walking from one to another, and take your time.

 

[rileyz]

Omg, I was just about to post the same type of thread. I just made my fastpasses for an August trip and 90% are at night. It made me nervous but I know with the August heat I can only do morning and night. If we’re up until midnight we aren’t making a 9 am fp. My saving grace is we are there for 12 days so I am able to get most things on fp, although the Toy Story ones make me crazy as you can only pick one per day. I personally planned my evening fp’s around dining reservations. I am hoping my daughter isn’t bored all day until we head to a park. We aren’t morning ppl so that’s why I went with the night fastpasses. I am a bit nervous about this plan!

 

[epcotobsessed]

I made all of mine in the morning, we leave in two weeks and I do not think I can change all of them now. We have a morning FOP on our AK day and I definitely can't change that, and we are going to HS on the second day that TSL is open and my kids want to RD that. Our last few days are MK and Epcot, so maybe I'll change to evening FP for those parks - that should still be doable. I am eager to "graduate" from the madness of RD, though I know some will always love it.