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

[JerseyJanice]

I have traveled to WDW several times with extended family and our friends, and had fantastic trips that have given me many priceless memories.

IMO the way to enjoy WDW with a group is to NOT be joined at the hip to each other. If you stay at a Disney resort with its transportation system and you all have cell phones, there is no reason you and your husband can’t go to the parks ahead of your GD and her family, and make plans to meet them later in the park.

 

[Bete]

Didn’t you say y’all usually do the parks at rope drop at get done by 2? Parks stay open way past 2. So average park opening is 9. So that’s just 5 hours. If you get there at 12, you can stay til 5 & that’s still 5 hours. Am I missing something? How is that not value? We get there late every trip, but stay til close so on average we do 8-12 hours in the park. A lot of ppl who do rope drop actually don’t always stay as long. With fp+ I never wait in any lines over 20 min in any park.

First, we were in the parks with the extra magic hour at 8 am and Magic Kingdom at 7 am; we did not arrive at 9 am. We didn't really leave early; we were done with 90% of the park by 2 pm. The only thing left was at night with the fireworks. We were able to get FP+ for all the biggies and even did a 4th one most days. We saw all the shows, too except for Nemo at AK; we didn't care to see that show. With the kids we will do that show. With 6 days in the parks we split Epcot and Animal Kingdom into 2 days each and MK and HS were a day each. HS right now is not really a long day; unless, you want to repeat some rides. I wasn't looking to leave early, but we were able to accomplish so much using stand by in the early morning that we were just done by 2 pm. Having all the major FP+s really helped, too. We had dining packages for the Candlelight Processional, River of Lights and Fantasmic.

My concern is that you can't get those same results going later into the parks. The crowds probably double in the afternoon; so, it's physically not possible to get done with rides as quickly even with FP+. And my last trip didn't concentrate too much on the kid rides in MK; so, I know we will be doing the parks differently with the great grandkids. This next trip we will spend more time in MK. Epcot will be a short day with 5 year olds and so I wouldn't care if we went there later in the day. I was shocked that we were able to do so much on this last trip without being in the parks longer. I feel it was all because of the early extra magic hours. That's why I'm concerned about getting to the parks later.

I will be going basically the same week next year. I can't see 5 year olds wanting to wait long periods for rides. I know early is better for wait times, now. I know I will have to compromise on time and I would be happy getting to the parks before 11 am with the great grandkids. I won't be so happy if it's after 1 pm. Again, all I can say is we will have to come to an understanding before the Disney trip. I'm beginning to feel we may just get an early start without mom. Then, come back for a nap and go back to the parks later in the day with mom. Dad will have to be on board, but we will see how he feels and this may be a good option for our situation.

 

[Jasten]

Absolutely can be worth it with a bit of proper planning. We just finished a trip and it was insanely crowded but we only waited in one long line and did a massive amount of rides. We did take advantage of early mornings but left the parks everyday at 1-2pm for nap and returned around 5pm and still got a lot of value from the second half of the day.

My tips:
-fp+ your top three rides and then just keep riding whatever is available. We used 10 fast passes last night!
-book some character dining. Its an easy and relaxing way to meet characters and escape the chaos.
-consider the Christmas Party if you csn handle one late night. Our toddler surpised us and made it until midnight and we had a blast!

 

[musika]

First I want to say how generous of you to want to give this experience!

I feel like you will need to adapt for this trip to work well. It is not a vacation for the mom and dad if they know you are continually upset that they aren't following "the schedule". These kids have never been to Disney, right? So it is all going to be new and exciting for them. Let them drive the flow of this one trip. You will be able to go back another time on your own to do the trip that YOU want. The value here isn't in the "Doing as much as possible" - it's in the magic these kids are going to feel looking at Cinderella's castle for the first time.

Also, keep in mind that just because you are gifting them this trip, it doesn't mean that you have to tour 100% of the time together, especially if you are planning to stay onsite. Why don't you go on your own earlier in the morning, do the things *you* feel you need to do to get value, and then meet somewhere in the park at 10am?

 

[arielmomma]

In the 30+ trips my family has made to WDW since having children, we have only made it to rope drop a few days total (Star Wars weekends and a couple mornings the year TSMM opened.) I assure you that we have always managed to do everything we wanted to do without completely obliterating the children's schedules. My daughter was EXTREMELY sensitive when she was little, so trust me, we kept her schedule (meaning no early mornings or late nights, a non-optional midday nap, and frequent time-outs from the noise). Like I said, we always had a great time and felt we got our money's worth.

We've found that it can be a bit tricky travelling with different generations. You will all have your own needs. We've found the best thing to do is to let each person do what he/she needs to do. You don't have to be together 24/7. If you want to go out in the morning, go out. Meet up with the others for lunch. Share meals and select rides together. Plan around known meal and nap/bed times. If the littles or the greats get overwhelmed, let them take a break. You don't have to go commando or stick to a rigid schedule to have fun. Its perfectly fine to go with the flow. If everyone's individual needs are met, you will have a much better time.

Have a wonderful vacation!

 

[laughinplace199]

Your granddaughter might surprise you. I have 3 kids and my oldest, DD18, is not a morning person...EXCEPT in Disney! She knows that getting up early is the way to get the most accomplished with shorter waits, so she's ok with it. She recently went on a trip with her friend (just two teen girls) and they got up early almost every day!

 

[happymommy]

Having taken a couple trips with extended family (and never will again), I agree that you don't want to be together 24/7. I'd say if you want to go early, meet up for lunch and plan a few afternoon things together.

I don't get up early at Disney at all. We sleep in, have our coffee, then get out whenever. We prefer to go with the flow. I don't see it as some sort of challenge that if I don't go on many rides then I'm not getting my money's worth or something. It's vacation, and we often have just as much fun people watching, relaxing, grabbing a snack or drink while wandering around. I've done a couple times where we had a pre park opening at Be Our Guest for breakfast with my youngest, and while it was fun to be there with no lines, we were totally wiped out by noon and had to go back to the resort to rest. We don't think we'll do that again really.

I'd suggest if you do go, not to expect them to change the way they like to vacation. Either go and don't plan on doing mornings together, or don't go at all. It can be stressful to go with multiple generations.

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

Honestly, I think it is great you are trying to do this for them. I also know that my family and I do Disney "our way" and the few times we have tried going with others, well it was disappointing and we swore it off completely. What we also have found out that is that getting to the parks early is a must. Do you need to hit rope drop every day, not really but you should be trying to get there at or as close to rope drop as possible (especially in the summer months). I think that FP+ has helped, but for us we started to get our FP+ times in the early afternoon, during the peak hours, as we get as much done as we can in the mornings using no FP+.

There is no right/wrong answer. You are smart to be thinking about these concerns well ahead of time. I think it is a discussion to have with the grandkids prior to promising anything. I also know that our vacations at WDW are not the kick-backed, lounging, slow/low activity vacations. We go to the beach if we want to do that. We also feel that with the amount of $$$ we are putting into a vacation at WDW, we are going to do as much as we possibly can during our time. I wish you luck and I hope that once all of this gets figured out and if you do go on the trip with them, report back as to how it all went.

 

[ArwenMarie]

If this trip was for the summer, I would say heck no Between the storms and the intense heat, you really need to get up early especially with young kids because the afternoons are often a mess

But being that this is in December, I don't see any problem with getting there around noon. I assume the kids can stay up late if they are sleeping in so late, but even if you stay until early evening or so, that should be enough time in the parks with two five year olds.

I would just go with the flow. You will still get stuff done. Book your FPs for the afternoon, ride all of the easier rides and shows in between, watch the afternoon parade if you are in MK and maybe pick up a 4th FP at some point.

 

[seshat0120]

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've never rope dropped and don't plan on ever doing so. I'd say I get more than good value out of my Disney trips. I don't place the value on how much I can get done in how short of a time but how much I'm enjoying myself. Getting up early to get to rope drop when I'd rather sleep a little later, running from pillar to post at a commando pace to get to the next ride - ride as many attractions as I can is not enjoyment to me. Sure, maybe I'd experience more but if I'm miserable doing it, how much value is there in that?

Honestly, if the only way you can see value in your trip it to do it your way, a family trip might not be such a great idea. I know if someone were forcing me or even just strongly suggesting that I conform to their way of vacationing, I'd probably end up resenting that person before the trip was half way over.

 

[LSUmiss]

First, we were in the parks with the extra magic hour at 8 am and Magic Kingdom at 7 am; we did not arrive at 9 am. We didn't really leave early; we were done with 90% of the park by 2 pm. The only thing left was at night with the fireworks. We were able to get FP+ for all the biggies and even did a 4th one most days. We saw all the shows, too except for Nemo at AK; we didn't care to see that show. With the kids we will do that show. With 6 days in the parks we split Epcot and Animal Kingdom into 2 days each and MK and HS were a day each. HS right now is not really a long day; unless, you want to repeat some rides. I wasn't looking to leave early, but we were able to accomplish so much using stand by in the early morning that we were just done by 2 pm. Having all the major FP+s really helped, too. We had dining packages for the Candlelight Processional, River of Lights and Fantasmic.

My concern is that you can't get those same results going later into the parks. The crowds probably double in the afternoon; so, it's physically not possible to get done with rides as quickly even with FP+. And my last trip didn't concentrate too much on the kid rides in MK; so, I know we will be doing the parks differently with the great grandkids. This next trip we will spend more time in MK. Epcot will be a short day with 5 year olds and so I wouldn't care if we went there later in the day. I was shocked that we were able to do so much on this last trip without being in the parks longer. I feel it was all because of the early extra magic hours. That's why I'm concerned about getting to the parks later.

I will be going basically the same week next year. I can't see 5 year olds wanting to wait long periods for rides. I know early is better for wait times, now. I know I will have to compromise on time and I would be happy getting to the parks before 11 am with the great grandkids. I won't be so happy if it's after 1 pm. Again, all I can say is we will have to come to an understanding before the Disney trip. I'm beginning to feel we may just get an early start without mom. Then, come back for a nap and go back to the parks later in the day with mom. Dad will have to be on board, but we will see how he feels and this may be a good option for our situation.

Oh ok. Crowds are greater in the afternoon, but with fp+ I always get everything done. We don’t skip shows really anything either. I never wait in line anymore. Our usually routine is to arrive at 11 & start with an ADR. So we really don’t get going til about 12. We do stay til park close, but I can get most things done by like 6. But I heavily use fp+ especially in MK.

 

[HopperFan]

I've been reading along with this, and with each OP post I still have the same reaction ... this seems to be a recipe for disappointment. I've traveled to Disney with an assortment of people and now I am VERY picky about who I would go with. There have been quite a few that have "asked" to go with me since we have successful trips, but I won't go with them ... I know the result would not be good. I just say to them "tell me when you decide to go and I'll give you hints." Been there done that, including with folks who don't want to go in the morning. What we did with those folks, we went early and then set up a meeting time for lunch. Usually by dinner we split up again.

So many things you have said give me pause ... you are GREAT-Grandparents so older with routine, your DH is 81 with a scooter, you are talking TWO 5 year old boys who are primarily cared for by Mom - who would want to sleep in and has no "time constraints" and a Dad that has minimal care experience with the boys so either he or the boys might not be comfortable leaving Mom at hotel. Honestly no matter what they say in advance, may not work out on arrival ... their 5 years old. Is it even possible for them to stay up late for a night show, will they willingly take naps, can they handle waiting in lines if you don't do early mornings, can they handle being away from Mom and what will their behaviors be like? Only you know them, and there are so many variables that come into play that you must think about before you even bring it up to them.

It really does not matter how any of us tour, how any of us view our trips as successful .... because we all have different things of importance, we all have different budgets and what results make them acceptable and we all have different levels of expectation. Personally now I want to close every park down at night so if I went with someone who rises early and wants to be at the park by opening .... that would not be a successful trip for me. What makes a valuable trip for you is all that matters, not what others think.

I do understand the high cost of you paying for this vacation at Disney, and it's not going to be a warm fuzzy memory if you spent all that money and left disappointed. I feel like the goal should be to spend some quality and fun time with your GreatGrandsons, building memories so the destination shouldn't matter. I would look at a more low key, less structured and certainly less expensive vacation destination. You need to really do your pros and cons before you even bring it up to them. It won't go over well to offer a trip but if they don't want to work on a good schedule, un-offer it.

Good luck!

 

[bladiator]

Thanksgiving week we didn't rope drop a single time and we did so much and had great days. We had our 3 FP that we really wanted and simply waited for the rest. You really don't have to be there at 7am in order to have a good time.

I think you can still have a great time, even getting to the parks later in the day, with careful choices of Fast Passes.

What is the purpose of the trip? Is it to make memories with your great grandchildren? Is it so long after you and great grandpa are gone they will have amazing memories (and photos) of the time you took them to Disney World?

Is this trip for you, or is the trip for your grandkids? You need to decide which, or this is going to be a very miserable trip in the making.

Bete already alluded to it in an earlier post, but there is a careful balance when it comes to paying for someone else's trip to Disney World. I know this now having taken my in-laws for a trip on my dime recently. "Having a good time" and "making memories" are great and all, but not at the expense of a WDW vacation. You shouldn't have to only have one of the two (value and memories). And being able to say "well we only went on 5 rides while we were there and it cost me $2,000 but I saw them smile when they saw the castle" doesn't balance out. Maybe it does for people with a LOT of disposable income, or people that live locally that can cheapen up all the rest of the aspects of a trip (food, lodging, etc).

To downplay the cost of a trip like this and wanting to get maximum (or even average) value for your buck is not making the wrong decision. I had to have the talk with my in-laws as well about getting there early to be able to enjoy a lot of things that they themselves would want to do. But I didn't throw down an ultimatum. I made it obvious that I wanted them to do it because I knew it would increase their enjoyment as well.

I just want to say it again .. it's not wrong to be worried about spending a bunch of money on a trip where people just sleep in.

 

[North of Mouse]

Wow, I have seen you on here for many past years. No more Disney at all? Wow, the crowds must have been bad. We usually go the end of August but I am not fond of crowds, so if it becomes too crowded, we will probably not go either. I am not big on spending a vacation waiting for everything. That is not enjoyable to me.

Sorry, I just corrected my post - meant to say never in Dec. again. Yes, we do enjoy our late April trip for F&G. But, yes, the crowds were 'very' bad, and it was very windy and cold for part of our stay.

 

[BarbieGal457]

I wouldn't necessarily call myself an early riser, however I usually cannot sleep past 8:30ish or so and I naturally wake up then whether at home or vacation. My ex-boyfriend who I traveled to Disney with many times was the same way. In all of my trips I have never once rope dropped and don't plan to (although if I ever have children that may differ). We have always gotten to the parks between say, 10-11am and have been able to do a ton. We plan our FPs so that we get what we really want done in, and we then generally go with the flow. That said I have been on friend trips to Disney where they were very late risers and those days, we would go to the parks and then meet up with the friends whenever they decided to get up. Everyone vacations different and I wouldn't feel comfortable urging them to wake up just because I had. The only trip we ever set alarms for was a January one when the parks closed very early and we had a lot less time.

I completely understand wanting to get the most bang for your buck on vacation but at the same time, you seem to have gone a lot so I personally would weigh monetary value vs. quality time and memories with my family (and I 100000% understand that any vacation, especially Disney, is usually not a monetary drop in the bucket for many of us). It might be worth it to compromise your park style at least in part in order to make such quality memories. My Disney-loving grandma has now passed on sadly, and I cherish all our memories but our Disney trip memories are especially fond to me. I visit the Tiki Room, Haunted Mansion, Carousel of Progress, on and on, and feel like she is with me because of the memories made there. She has been gone six years now but I feel like she is right by my side singing "Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" with me. That is not something that bang for your buck can buy. Only you can decide the best choice in the end but I think a lot should be said for letting up on the reigns of your usual touring style a bit in order to make those wonderful lifetime memories.

However, if you think you might resent paying for a bunch of people's vacation and they sleep it away that is absolutely a valid concern and feeling. I don't want to downplay that at all. I just wanted to chime in from the perspective of a now-adult who had a very "Disney" grandma - and who also isn't an early riser - about what those trips meant to me as her grandchild.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Bete already alluded to it in an earlier post, but there is a careful balance when it comes to paying for someone else's trip to Disney World. I know this now having taken my in-laws for a trip on my dime recently. "Having a good time" and "making memories" are great and all, but not at the expense of a WDW vacation. You shouldn't have to only have one of the two (value and memories). And being able to say "well we only went on 5 rides while we were there and it cost me $2,000 but I saw them smile when they saw the castle" doesn't balance out. Maybe it does for people with a LOT of disposable income, or people that live locally that can cheapen up all the rest of the aspects of a trip (food, lodging, etc).

To downplay the cost of a trip like this and wanting to get maximum (or even average) value for your buck is not making the wrong decision. I had to have the talk with my in-laws as well about getting there early to be able to enjoy a lot of things that they themselves would want to do. But I didn't throw down an ultimatum. I made it obvious that I wanted them to do it because I knew it would increase their enjoyment as well.

I just want to say it again .. it's not wrong to be worried about spending a bunch of money on a trip where people just sleep in.

I don't have disposable income, nor do I live locally. I saved up for 2 years to take our trip. Rope dropping every day was simply not necessary for us and I feel we got our money's worth. That is what my post was about.

 

[bladiator]

I don't have disposable income, nor do I live locally. I saved up for 2 years to take our trip. Rope dropping every day was simply not necessary for us and I feel we got our money's worth. That is what my post was about.

Sorry, I thought I deleted your quote from my post.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

Yeah I'm just not into this "I hold the purse so I hold the whip" mentality.
I think OP could be surprised trying to keep 5 year olds to this kind of schedule, nevermind the adults.

 

[Bete]

Honestly, I think it is great you are trying to do this for them. I also know that my family and I do Disney "our way" and the few times we have tried going with others, well it was disappointing and we swore it off completely. What we also have found out that is that getting to the parks early is a must. Do you need to hit rope drop every day, not really but you should be trying to get there at or as close to rope drop as possible (especially in the summer months). I think that FP+ has helped, but for us we started to get our FP+ times in the early afternoon, during the peak hours, as we get as much done as we can in the mornings using no FP+.

There is no right/wrong answer. You are smart to be thinking about these concerns well ahead of time. I think it is a discussion to have with the grandkids prior to promising anything. I also know that our vacations at WDW are not the kick-backed, lounging, slow/low activity vacations. We go to the beach if we want to do that. We also feel that with the amount of $$$ we are putting into a vacation at WDW, we are going to do as much as we possibly can during our time. I wish you luck and I hope that once all of this gets figured out and if you do go on the trip with them, report back as to how it all went.

Basically, this is how I feel. I may even have a no park day for them mid week. Then, they can lounge around the pool and sleep and sleep. I'll figure it out with them. Disney World may end up not being the vacation for us with them. Heck, mom may be happy to let go of the kids and she may just meet up with us later in the day.

 

[TinkSassy]

We have done trips with larger groups that have different time preferences. I'm a rope drop person (not that I'm a morning person because I am definitely not) to get the most things done. However, we were in a group where we were split. We made early lunch plans each day - me and anyone that wanted to join me got up and took off for the morning. Then everyone met at the restaurant for lunch and we stayed together for the afternoon and night show. It was funny how some of the "I'm not getting up" group started joining us in the morning as they were jealous of everything we were able to do. I couldn't keep going after fireworks so I would leave with those others that were ready and some would stay late into the night.

Especially with a larger group - it is easier to break into smaller groups for various activities as well. I think you can plan this so that everyone has a good time and gets what they want/need out of the break. You will have enough adults so that it would be feasible to break up a bit and still manage the kiddos.

I would have the family discussion - if everyone is ok with making a compromise plan I would go for it. If you have some that will make it difficult after talking it through - I would decide how much you are willing to sacrifice to give the kids this experience. That being said - some of my best WDW memories are rides and parades with my grandma.