For those who are not morning people for the parks, I need your help.

[mi*vida*loca]

"What I'm trying to accomplish here is get the non-rope droppers to chime in that they manage to get good value and how they do it. I don't see us ever being in the park pass 9 pm even with an afternoon nap."

I'm skipping ahead to respond to this. I've been a long time disney goer. As a child, my family never did rope-drop. We always got to the parks between 11 and 2 and stayed until we got tired. Sometimes that was until the fireworks, but sometimes it was only after a few hours. We spent most of our vacation time enjoying the resort - swimming, walking around, eating, exploring, etc. My parents are laid-back like that.

As an adult (and the one paying for the vacation), I've been much more concerned with squeezing every bit of value out of our trips. I totally understand your perspective on this. I'm a HUUUUGE disney fan and I get so excited about sharing it all with hubby and the kids. The past few years I spent doing the rope-drop thing and following every bit of advice found on this forum, dragging everyone around on my value-maximizing schedule. And we got so much done! But the thing is..... as it turns out, my family doesn't really enjoy this touring style. My parents are still laid-back and much older now. My husband wakes up at the crack of dawn every day for work and would much rather take his time in the morning. My kids, are, of course, kids, with varying degrees of stamina (2, 6, 10, and 13). Last years trip was the breaking point. I finally realized that if I was going to be more concerned with "getting enough done" to justify the expense, than actually enjoying the moment, then we might as well not go to Disney anymore.

And so we're not going this year. And everyone else is happy about just going to the beach. And I'm sad. I shouldn't have pushed everyone. I miss Disney! I talked to hubs and we're planning a trip for next year. But I'm taking a serious chill pill. Here's our new plan. We're going to take a longer vacation - 2 weeks instead of 1 - but we're only going to the parks for a few hours a day max. We will use our 3 FPs each day and that's it! The rest of the time we will spend relaxing. Eating. Napping. Swimming. Riding the monorail. Walking around the resorts and taking pictures. Taking in the scenery.

Here's my advice. If this is a one time trip, they will never know all the cool stuff the are missing. They will only know about the cool stuff they see. So pick, like, a few cool things and focus on that. And it WILL be worth the money because it's awesome to just BE at Disney.

Edited to add: I don't know your granddaughter, but I understand the "tired mom" thing. Maybe offer a compromise: one rope drop day in exchange for a mom's day off the next day. Just give her the whole next day to sleep and recover in her room. Alone. While everyone else goes to the park. That actually sounds like heaven to me, and I'm the biggest Disney fan I know.

And I had the complete opposite experience with my XH.

A a kid he went and always got to the parks around 12-2. They went in the summer and stayed until closing. They went every year and sometimes twice a year.

We went twice and were pretty laid back on our trips. Stayed offsite and got to the parks by 10 am and went with the flow.

Then I found the Dis and we planned an onsite trip. I told him we were going to RD, I made ADR's, I planned out SOME of our rides (just really our first 3 rides of the day to cut down on longer lines later.) He kinda laughed at me but let me go at it. He did all of it with no complaints. On our last day he turned to me and said "this was the best WDW trip I've ever been on. When we come back we will only stay onsite and always do RD." That was a lot coming from someone who had been on about 20 trips.

 

[maltdizzy]

I have not read all the replies (10 pages...wow!).

But,@Bete, if you set realistic expectations, it'll be a grand trip. Being able to see the parks through the eyes of children is like seeing it for the first time. And that's the same at WDW, Disneyland, or Dollywood.

But don't try and share everything you love about the parks, don't set impossible iterinaries. Take time to let the kids find out what they like about the parks. I encourage you to plan resorts days and explore what can be down outside the parks (Fort Wilderness has tons of activities), plan fewer rides and more shows and walk-able activities (Boneyard, Tom Sawyer Island). And be ready to scrap plans entirely and pivot when a child's interest wanes or they get tired and cranky. It's hard for little ones to understand lines and etiquette if they weren't raised going to the parks, and they shouldn't be expected to learn in one trip. Unfortunately, all the required ADR and FP+ planning makes this difficult to do, but make your plans as more of a last resort for when the crowds are too heavy or you can't find/think of anything else to do.

And, if they are adventurous, age 5 is not too young for most thrill rides at WDW. Our DS was riding Spalsh Mtn, BTMRR, and DL's Space Mtn. at age 3 and ToT and Everest before age 5. (But I would let them ask to try them without any nudging).

 

[happymommy]

My kids also rode all the "mountains" and Rock n Roller Coaster very young, long as they were tall enough. My nephew was afraid one trip, then regretted it immensely when we got home (and my youngest who is 6 years younger had ridden it multiple times).

I find most parents instill fear, where kids may enjoy something. If the kid doesn't want to go then, let it be, but don't assume they won't like it.

 

[Ilovemyprincesses]

My mother insisted on going with us last trip but wanted to sleep late. We left her at the hotel and arranged a time and place to meet later in the day. I couldn’t take being stuck at the hotel for no reason.

 

[tcufrog]

I am a stay at home mom with two boys who can be very much a handful during the morning before school especially since one kid has ADHD and his medicine hasn’t kicked in yet during that time. I get them ready in the morning without help since my dh is busy getting ready for work so he can take them to school.

Getting everyone ready and out the door by 7:30 am is surprisingly exhausting. Before I had kids and was just getting myself ready for work in the morning I was a morning person and bright eyed and bushy tailed in the morning and often had cleaned the house and run errands on weekend mornings while my night owl husband slept in. These days though I am exhausted by Saturday morning and hate having to rush anywhere and get up early during the weekend.

As a result, I view vacations as a break from stressful and rushed mornings even if I’m at WDW. The only time we made rope drop was when we wanted to sign the boys up for Jedi training and we love our trips. I would be annoyed if someone who doesn’t deal with that like I do tried to force me to get up super early every morning without even offering to help get the kids ready. We usually are out the door at WDW around 10 am which is our time (CST).

I’m really organized during trips to WDW but not a maximizer because growing up my dad tried to cram everything in during trips and often made everyone else exhausted and miserable as a result. I let everyone including me choose one thing they wish to do on each trip and I do my best to make to make those things happen. Everything else is gravy.

 

[MarBee]

Background: I'm very much an early riser taking advantage of extra morning hours at the Disney parks. Infact, we just got back from an early December week this year and I was thrilled to be in Magic Kingdom at 7 am. My hubby, 81 did fine with our early schedule and being on a scooter. We were able to get done with 90% of what we wanted to see and do by 2 pm each day including having a park table service lunch. We even got a 4th fastpass most days. We really never waited for more than 10 minutes to do a ride. It seemed like we had a charmed trip. We did a few nights at the parks after an afternoon nap, but not every day.

Anyway, my dilemma is taking our male great grandchildren who will be 5 years old and their parents to Disney World next year in December. Mom, our granddaughter, will want to sleep the morning away. She's a stay at home mom; so, to a certain degree her time constraints are not so critical. She's the one most responsible for the great grandchildren; since, her hubby is the one working and sometimes doing overtime. We will have to depend on her to get the boys ready each day.

I want this trip next December to be fun and without drama; so, I know I will never arrive at the parks before 11am. There may be days we don't get there until 1 pm. We will probably stay for part of the evening, but that will depend on how cold it might get and whether the greats can do it without a nap.

This will be a one time only trip. They will fly and we will drive to Disney World. Great grandpa will be 82. I haven't told the family yet that we want to take them. We have been there so many times that we will not care about what we see and we will totally gear the trip towards the little ones. We may give the parents a night out, here and there, while we babysit; so, they can do some of the thrill rides.

My fear is getting enough out of the trip to go under our circumstances. I'm having troubles justifying the dollars spent based on what I feel we will accomplish. If we can't accomplish enough with the late start each day it might be better not to to go. I just get the feeling the parks are at least twice as crowded in the afternoon and early evening which means we will be lucky to do half as much as our recent trip. There's no way we will be in the parks late. I doubt we will see any fireworks. I do want to see Fantasmic and River of Lights with them.

So, would you go under our circumstances? Sometimes, I feel we should pick a different vacation like going to Dollywood instead. I will say if we don't take the great grandkids to Disney World they will probably never get there with their grandparents or parents.

Hello! Late riser here! I have not read all of the other responses but I will tell you that our touring style has always worked for us. We hit the parks late morning and stay late. We usually do a sit down meal for dinner as our rest period. This allows us to stay till park closing every night.
Your great grands will absolutely love the trip regardless of the touring style. They won’t know that they’ve missed out on anything that you may miss unless you tell them. In fact, one of the reasons we frequent Disney so much is that we feel there is so much to do that we always have a “wish we would have done____” after each trip.
As long as you aren’t nagging and let the boys and Mom dictate the pace, you will have an awesome drama free time. It’s such a wonderful experience you’ll be giving them!
Hope you have fun!

 

[leahlefler]

We have done many multi-generational trips (not just to Disney - to Whistler, Park City (skiing), West Virginia (white water rafting), and to Disneyland and Disney World. We do a lot of things together, but the key to everyone's happiness is that each sub-group within the larger group can separate off when they want to or need to. Energy levels vary, personal tastes vary - someone might get sick, or enjoy shows vs. rides, etc.

We love doing Disney World with my parents. They totally rock. We first went together 3 years ago and we ate together and did most rides together. Occasionally, someone would be tired and that set would head back to the hotel. We were in the MK on the first day and we had water hoppers and they did not, so we separated after lunch and we headed to Typhoon Lagoon while my parents stayed in the MK and then headed back to the hotel. Some things were on a schedule (ADR's, mostly), others were on the fly. "Hey, there's EMH at Hollywood Studios - let's go!" One morning we headed to MK for rope drop and my parents were exhausted and slept slightly later. We rode Thunder Mountain 10 times in a row and then rode Pirates. They were just about an hour behind us and the boys were doing the Pirate Show with Jack Sparrow when we met up with them. It was perfect. We're going again this year and it will be a blast. And if someone is tired/cranky they can sleep in and meet us later in the parks. Or we can meet them later in the parks (since we now have a 12 year old who eats and sleeps a lot). We just text to connect up if we are on slightly different schedules.

I think a mini-trip together is a good idea before attempting Disney. Your granddaughter may not really want to go to Disney in the first place, and you may be limited to the ultra-crowded times of the year if the boys are in school next year.

You could have a great time at Disney - there is so much for 5 year old boys there. If you are going to do it, I would just get everyone else that wants to go early and have your grand-daughter meet you later in the park. My boys' favorite rides crack me up - my younger one LOVES Tower of Terror. The rest of us won't ride it, except for his Grandpa. So the oldest and youngest in our group ride it and the rest of us do something else while they're riding. The Star Wars shows, Test Track and Soarin' at EPCOT, the Boneyard in AK, pretty much everything in MK...

I hope you find a way to do it without being disappointed, because it can be a very fun trip if you let go of expectations and find a way for everyone to enjoy the experience at their own pace.

 

[nkereina]

I didn't get to read all the replies, but the OP's scenario is similar to one we had last summer. We went with my in-laws, a group of 9, and I worried my SIL (also a stay at home mom) wouldn't have the kids up and at 'em at decent times. Before our trip, I set realistic expectations for everyone - we can go as late as you'd like, but there is no way we will be able to see and do everything. And I let them know the implications of going later in the day as well.

Luckily, our timing worked out well. We didn't get to the parks as late as I expected and everyone was excited to get up and get ready since we were at WDW! I did find that we moved much more slowly as a group of 9 (compared to just DH and I), so that ate up more time and caused more issues than late arrivals did. Meals took longer, bathroom and snack breaks took longer, even walking to the bus stop took longer. We also did a lot more character meets for the kids, which is something DH and I never do, and I can't believe how time consuming those can be.

I knew DH and I are fortunate to visit WDW often, and this may be a once in a lifetime trip for them, so I had to let things roll and enjoy seeing the kids' experience rather than worrying about my own experience. I assure you it will be well worth the money, regardless of how many rides you get on!

 

[Bete]

Thanks everyone. I do appreciate everyone's thoughts.

I believe with a good understanding and communication with one another we can make this Disney trip work.