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

[SaintsManiac]

I am an early riser and I was so exhausted from the first 4 days of our vacation that I simply could NOT get up early and make rope drop for the rest of it. It's ok to want to sleep in on vacation. We rope dropped 3 out of 10 days. That is pretty much our limit.

OP came here to ask advice from people who sleep in and skip rope drop.

 

[LSUmiss]

My in-laws are similar type people that think a schedule is a "suggestion" and they would remind me a great deal of the Granddaughter who can't get up/get going in the morning. Good thing the granddaughter does not have a job outside of the home as I fear it would not last long. I know of few bosses which are going to let you "wind up" as you see fit during the day. A large number of jobs require you to be at work early (7am-9am range is quite normal) and being "on" the entire time you are at work. I really don't think it is that much to ask someone to get up and enjoy WDW with me if I were footing the bill. Sounds like this person will get plenty of sleep during the normal week when not on vacation.

Uh I hate getting up & getting going in the morning as do many non-morning ppl I know & have held a job quite successfully since I was 17. I never choose to do it on vacation or anytime I don’t have to, but that doesn’t mean I don’t do what I have to do. And, if she’s a stay at home of mom of 2 5 yr olds I’m sure she stays very busy. These kind of comments bug me b/c some ppl like mornings & can't understand that not everyone is that way. Doesn’t mean they’re lazy or not capable of functioning. My sister works night shifts so when these morning ppl are going to sleep at 8pm b/c they were up at that butt crack of dawn & can’t stay up, she’s just getting to work. Now it’s different if we’re just talking about someone who just sleeps the day away & at night. But op didn’t say that.

 

[LSUmiss]

[QUOTE="ArwenMarie, post: 58590581, member: 469944"
OP, you said in your first post, you want a trip "without drama" The only way to get that is to go with the flow. Release control.

I can't even fathom being at Disney and sleeping the week away. To me, that would be the deal-breaker. Regardless of my finances, I am not going to want to foot the bill for a very expensive vacation to watch the recipients sleep away all of the park/resort/fun time that is being paid for all in advance. If that is the case, rent a beach house or similar rental property somewhere and skip the theme parks.[/QUOTE]
The parks are open a variety of hours. Some ppl get up at 5am (ridiculous in my opinion) only to go back to the room at noon & sleep or relax til like 5. Some of those ppl get less hours than ppl like us that get there at 11 & stay til 9, 10, 11 or midnight. When mk is open til 1 or 2 am, we get to the park at like noon. That’s 13 or more hours in the park. That’s hardly sleeping the week away. And while ppl are being herded like cattle right before rope drop to rush to get in line, 12-2 in mk is empty & we pretty much have free roam of the park. I realize that late of a night is not gonna work for op with the 5 yr olds, but my point is rope drop is not that only way to tour & get value.

 

[Mrs Geek]

We just did a trip with my inlaws, but thankfully we paid our way and they paid theirs, so we spent less time worrying about what the other was doing. We rope dropped almost every day- otherwise we had 9/930am ADRs. Nana is not an early riser- and she spends hours getting ready in the morning. Rope drop was out of the question for them. We traveled together to a breakfast ADR and were almost late- had we met at the bus stop at the time I suggested, we would have been able to take a leisurely monorail ride to CR just for the fun of it, but instead we took the faster, walking path (which Nana complained about the entire time) because I was not going to run the risk of being 1/2 hour (or more) late to our ADR and possibly lose it/be charged a no-show fee. On days with lunch ADRs, lunch was the first time we saw them for the day. There was one day where they didn't show up to a dinner ADR (Nana had even tried to cancel the reservation, since we were linked as 'friends and family' in MDE, but thankfully it wouldn't let her since it was in my name / my credit card). Before booking these ADRs, I made it clear that they didn't have to do them with us, they could do their own dining reservations if they didn't like the restaurants or times we picked, but Nana was insistent that we eat all of our meals together...until we actually got there. I did not book FP+'s for them, but I told them what our FP+ plans were and they booked the same ones....and then they didn't show up to ANY of them. In short, we barely saw them all week because they spent more time in the resort room than in the parks. (This was not their first WDW trip; they had been the previous Christmas with another set of grandkids, they knew how ADRs and FP+'s worked, and they had stayed offsite then. If they had slept in so late while staying offsite, I don't understand how they saw anything in Disney at all- they didn't stay out late enough for fireworks, either.)

Our little family (hubby and I and the kids) had a great time and did everything we wanted and have made memories that will last a lifetime- but for the most part, these memories do not include the grandparents. The whole reason they came on this trip was to be with their grandkids, but they just didn't want to do any of the things we wanted to do. I'm not sure why they spent all that money to hardly do anything at all; they bought the dining plan and I'm pretty sure left with unused credits because they kept skipping ADRs. I assume they had a good time, and I know we had a good time, but it wasn't a trip that we went on "together". It was more like we occasionally ran into them a few times while we were there. I made a calendar for them for Christmas with our vacation photos and I really struggled to find photos that had them in it- we had lots of meet-and-greet FP+'s that they neglected to show up to, which would have been wonderful photos for such a thing. If I had paid their way with the intention being a trip where we all spent time together then yes, I would have insisted that they tour the way we did so that we actually spent time together. (I would have been severely insulted if they had wasted dining credits I had paid for- that's literally throwing away money.) Similarly, if they had paid for us, I would have been more intentional about sticking to their schedule- which would have meant laying around the resort doing a whole lot of nothing, and I would have been disappointed that my kids' first Disney trip wouldn't have involved much Disney at all.

The lesson I've learned is that we're pretty much never doing Disney with extended family- unless everyone involved is okay with the "we're at Disney World at the same time, but we're not really there together" strategy, which works best when everyone pays their own way.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

With park hours being cut i wouldn’t automatically bank on being in the parks until late. Heck the week she goes they may close at 7 often. You never know.

 

[disneyvoice]

I truly do not understand this kind of thinking.

We are paying for our 27 year old adult son and his girlfriend to join us on our upcoming WDW trip. We are paying for all of their expenses and are super excited to have them join us. With that said, if they decide they want to sleep in and drink tequila by the pool all day while the rest of us hit the parks, I really don't care. We are happy to be able to provide them with a vacation. If they decide to do some rides with us and have some meals with us I will be thrilled. I don't care if they do rope drop or if they sleep in and get to the parks after noon. If they prefer to go off on their own in the parks, no problem. If they decide they want to go to Animal Kingdom on a day I had scheduled for Epcot, it's not a problem. Because we didn't know they were coming when it was time to get our FPs, we only have FPs for 3 people. So my DH and I are going to wait outside while our oldest son, his girlfriend, and our youngest ride FoP so they can all experience it for the first time and we are happy to let them use other FPs so they can experience the really popular rides as well. I would like to spend some time with them so I will happily cancel the plans we had for Epcot in order to enjoy AK with them. I honestly can't imagine inviting them but then telling them "how" their vacation will work. I won't be keeping track of the number of attractions they ride in order to determine whether we got our money's worth. We actually cancelled some very hard to get ADRs that we had previously scheduled before we knew they could go with us. I was more than happy to do this so we could instead schedule some meals that all 5 of us can enjoy together. I would have fun just wandering around WDW with them and enjoying the sights. And no, we don't have an unlimited amount of money. As long as they enjoy their vacation I will feel like we got our money's worth.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I realize that late of a night is not gonna work for op with the 5 yr olds, but my point is rope drop is not that only way to tour & get value.

Those 5 year olds might surprise her. My fondest Disney memory is chasing my then 3 year old daughter back to the entrance of Space Mountain moments before midnight with her screaming "One more time Daddy" all the way.

 

[lovethesun12]

Here is my advice - the mom sleeps in too much, wants to watch too much TV and look at her phone all day; she's useless.

So take all responsibility from her. The father is now 100% responsible for them instead of her and any failure of them to not be on time or having fun take up with him. He is responsible for them getting up, ready, FP's, ADR's/fed, and anything else the happiness of all depends on. If you have an issue, take it up with him - he sounds pretty perfect so I doubt you will have any. Tell her you just want her to have a break and enjoy herself.

Problem solved. I promise she will be in the best mood. You're welcome.

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

Here is my advice - the mom sleeps in too much, wants to watch too much TV and look at her phone all day; she's useless.

So take all responsibility from her. The boys are your sons children just as much as hers. He is now 100% responsible for them instead of her and any failure of them to not be on time or having fun take up with him. He is responsible for them getting up, ready, FP's, ADR's/fed, and anything else the happiness of all depends on. If you have an issue, take it up with him - he sounds pretty perfect so I doubt you will have any. Tell her you just want her to have a break and enjoy herself.

Problem solved. I promise she will be in the best mood. You're welcome.

I guess you missed the part that it is her Grandkids and Great Grandkids? No ones son/daughter. Passsive aggressiveness at its best!

 

[skyblue17]

To help with the actual question, no, I don't think you need to be at the park first thing in the morning to get value out of it. If you're careful with your fastpasses and ADRs, you should be able to get plenty out of the hours you ARE in the parks. Think ahead to what you would like to do with the kids, and if you think they'll be interested. Get FPs for rides that include Mom and if Mom doesn't want to go on the rides, she doesn't have to. Plan to go on the carousel, go to Philharmagic, visit the Circus part of MK, all things that you can enjoy without planning in advance. If lines are short, hop on them! If they're not, keep an eye out for more FPs. Animal Kingdom is amazing just to walk around and has many things to enjoy that don't involve planning in advance as well. There would likely be shows at DHS that are accessible with a reasonable wait, if any at all.

The simple answer is that if you don't leave the resort until 10am, or even later, you still have hours and hours to enjoy at the parks. If it seems like you know you're going to get a late start because your family isn't ready to leave, plan for that. Don't book 9am fastpasses, only to get upset they aren't ready to leave the hotel in time to make the window. Have a leisurely morning yourself, or arrange to meet them at the parks after lunch. The kids WILL enjoy the parks if they are doing things they are interested in and excited about and they won't know how many hours they could have been there in the morning. The value doesn't come from booking a 13 hour day.

 

[Bete]

Okay, let's go another way. Knowing you are doing a Disney World trip are you satisfied to just get your three fastpasses done in a day or do you expect to do more? Forget about the time of day you are there. How much park time is enough for you to consider you had a successful Disney vacation? I have never gone to Disney with the idea of just being at the resort most of the day. I prefer going some place else if that's the case. I can understand having some downtime, but not all week.

I really don't want to take something nice and have it turn ugly. The purpose of this trip is to be together, not apart including mom. I'm okay with a later start than rope drop; I'm just having a hard time going into the parks starting in the afternoon. I'm about asking mom to adjust a little, not a lot. It's only a week. If I can adjust some, why shouldn't mom adjust some? I'm willing to meet in the middle. Is it really asking too much for mom to get to the park by 11 am?

I'm still leaning towards starting the day without mom if this becomes a big issue for Disney. At least I'll have 3 of the 4 with us earlier. If mom needs to sleep the day away; so, be it.

I'm willing to do a later day if mom could give me more than a 4-5 hour day in the park. I just don't think she will do that either.

I think my best bet will be to do a test run some where's else for a day or two and see how mom handles it and for that matter how I will handle it. If we do well on a mini vacation then I can try for a Disney trip. We will have to see how willing each of us are to compromise.

I do appreciate everyone's insights. I can tell it's hard to find a middle ground, here.

I actually just started another thread asking everyone to vote when they first arrive to a Disney park. You may want to cast your vote. Thank-you.

 

[skyblue17]

It's really kind of hard to gauge this when not knowing what exactly "sleep the day away" really means. If she's a stay at home mom with two young kids who aren't in school all day every day, surely she gets out of bed in the morning at some point? Has there been an experience where she's flat out refused to get up even though refusing to do so inconvenienced everyone else? I think it's absolutely a good idea to suggest she consider getting up early, but if she doesn't want to, then it's time to work around her a little bit and have her join you when she's ready, especially if there's another younger adult who can help with the kids.

Either way, I don't think booking three advance FPs means that's ALL you do. There's a lot to experience in the parks without a FP, there's rides with relatively small waits, there's shows, there's enjoying the park itself. This can work and it wouldn't be a waste.

 

[lovethesun12]

I guess you missed the part that it is her Grandkids and Great Grandkids? No ones son/daughter. Passsive aggressiveness at its best!

True I assumed it was her son not grandson. My message is still the same and wasn't meant to be passive aggressive. I thought my point was clear. She has repeatedly referenced the problem sleeping in will cause, and has mentioned the phone/watching TV.

The OP has made it sound like all the fun of the trip rests on the mom's shoulders. Why should it? Give her a break and let the Dad step in.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

True I assumed it was her son not grandson. My message is still the same and wasn't meant to be passive aggressive. I thought my point was clear. She has repeatedly referenced the problem sleeping in will cause, and has mentioned the phone/watching TV.

The OP has made it sound like all the fun of the trip rests on the mom's shoulders. Why should it? Give her a break and let the Dad step in.

Mom is their granddaughter.

 

[Southernmiss]

The stamina of 2 5 year olds may surprise you. Dd was 5 almost 6 on our first trip. We have video of her dancing under Sorcerer Mickeys hat at 2 in the morning. Park was empty it was beautiful.

We are not rope drop people, but get to the parks within 30 minutes of opening. Take a midday break and go back for EMH.

Our kids at young ages did great! On about day 4 of an 8 day trip, they needed a longer midday break for a good nap, but we trucked right along again until late.

Flexibility is always key for our trips. Op, it seems that the age gap is a bit of a problem. You have to have flexibility and understanding on both sides. I think you want to hang out with both the early riser and the night owl and are afraid you can't.
Best family vacations are when everyone has a say, does some together things and then gives each other space to do what they want. Worked for us on our trip with 19 family members.

 

[LSUmiss]

Okay, let's go another way. Knowing you are doing a Disney World trip are you satisfied to just get your three fastpasses done in a day or do you expect to do more? Forget about the time of day you are there. How much park time is enough for you to consider you had a successful Disney vacation? I have never gone to Disney with the idea of just being at the resort most of the day. I prefer going some place else if that's the case. I can understand having some downtime, but not all week.

I really don't want to take something nice and have it turn ugly. The purpose of this trip is to be together, not apart including mom. I'm okay with a later start than rope drop; I'm just having a hard time going into the parks starting in the afternoon. I'm about asking mom to adjust a little, not a lot. It's only a week. If I can adjust some, why shouldn't mom adjust some? I'm willing to meet in the middle. Is it really asking too much for mom to get to the park by 11 am?

I'm still leaning towards starting the day without mom if this becomes a big issue for Disney. At least I'll have 3 of the 4 with us earlier. If mom needs to sleep the day away; so, be it.

I'm willing to do a later day if mom could give me more than a 4-5 hour day in the park. I just don't think she will do that either.

I think my best bet will be to do a test run some where's else for a day or two and see how mom handles it and for that matter how I will handle it. If we do well on a mini vacation then I can try for a Disney trip. We will have to see how willing each of us are to compromise.

I do appreciate everyone's insights. I can tell it's hard to find a middle ground, here.

I actually just started another thread asking everyone to vote when they first arrive to a Disney park. You may want to cast your vote. Thank-you.

I think 11am is absolutely reasonable. Why does she sleep so late? Is it b/c she stays up late?

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I truly do not understand this kind of thinking.

We are paying for our 27 year old adult son and his girlfriend to join us on our upcoming WDW trip. We are paying for all of their expenses and are super excited to have them join us. With that said, if they decide they want to sleep in and drink tequila by the pool all day while the rest of us hit the parks, I really don't care. We are happy to be able to provide them with a vacation. If they decide to do some rides with us and have some meals with us I will be thrilled. I don't care if they do rope drop or if they sleep in and get to the parks after noon. If they prefer to go off on their own in the parks, no problem. If they decide they want to go to Animal Kingdom on a day I had scheduled for Epcot, it's not a problem. Because we didn't know they were coming when it was time to get our FPs, we only have FPs for 3 people. So my DH and I are going to wait outside while our oldest son, his girlfriend, and our youngest ride FoP so they can all experience it for the first time and we are happy to let them use other FPs so they can experience the really popular rides as well. I would like to spend some time with them so I will happily cancel the plans we had for Epcot in order to enjoy AK with them. I honestly can't imagine inviting them but then telling them "how" their vacation will work. I won't be keeping track of the number of attractions they ride in order to determine whether we got our money's worth. We actually cancelled some very hard to get ADRs that we had previously scheduled before we knew they could go with us. I was more than happy to do this so we could instead schedule some meals that all 5 of us can enjoy together. I would have fun just wandering around WDW with them and enjoying the sights. And no, we don't have an unlimited amount of money. As long as they enjoy their vacation I will feel like we got our money's worth.

I think the difference here is that she wants to witness the great grandkids enjoying the magic and actually spend quality tome together but the OP and Mom are on two different schedules. She’s an early riser and Mom would like to sleep in. Meaning OP may miss a lot of the magic because OP likely won’t be able to hang very late. Her DH is 81. She’s older. They get up at the crack of dawn and are done in the parks by 2. It’s hard to adjust your internal body clock at that age. I know it is for my 75 year old grandma. That’s the feeling I’m getting. That they will be up at 5 am no matter what and can’t go until 9-10 pm.

For some of us walking around and enjoying the sights isn’t worth paying almost $500 for a weeks worth of tickets. Times 6 ppl.

I think OP should pick a different vacation destination.

 

[mom2rtk]

I might have missed it. Are you staying onsite or offsite? What sort of accommodations? If mom is sleeping in late every day, I assume she's used to staying up late at night?

How does she even sleep in every day with 2 small children? That just doesn't compute for me.

My friend did Disney once with a young adult son who insisted on staying up late and sleeping late every day. They were offsite with only 1 car, so nobody could head to the parks until they were all ready to go. She was miserable.

 

[Bete]

I'm even thinking we should maybe take turns with one day as rope drop and the next day whenever mom wants to start. That would be another approach.

I'm really not locked into one way. I do think it would be easier on everyone to probably have the same start time each day.

Maybe, mom will be happy to stay back and join us later.

I may even talk to our daughter first about it all and get some input from my granddaughter's mom. They live very close to one another.

 

[epcotty]

I read too fast sometimes, I read this as for those who are not mooning people in the parks