For those who don't go to the parks right when they open--UPDATE pg 2

[Longhairbear]

We have never been to the opening of any park. We always sleep in, and have a late breakfast or brunch in room, and don't hit the parks till around 1 or 2 in the afternoon. We always get to see , and ride anything we want to. But we do stay until closing at most of the parks, and DTD.

 

[stitchineeyore]

After my kids hit their teens, nobody was at rope drop but me! (I am an early riser in a family of vampires. sigh). So we became frequent users of evening EMH. Assuming you are staying on property and can use 'em? You arrive on Aug. 15. Here are the evening extra magic hours for the next week, per the go.com calendar: Aug 16, Magic Kingdom, 10 pm-1am. Aug. 17, Animal Kingdom 5 pm-8 pm. Aug. 18, Epcot, 9 pm-midnight. Aug. 19, Studios, 8 pm-11 pm. Aug. 20, Epcot, 9 p.m.-midnight. Aug. 21, Magic Kingdom 10 p.m.- 1 a.m. EMHs available every night except the day you arrive. Not suggesting you stay out late every night LOL, but you might consider choosing your park visits later in the day based on EMHs, especially the ones who start earlier in the evening. (And if any adult IS an early riser, here's a tip. If there is a ride that only two of you like (My daughter and I like "spinners", but no one else does), if you get to a park at rope drop, bring along the park tix for others in your party. If you get a fastpass for an attraction first thing, note when you can get others. you may snag all your fastpasses for that attraction before you leave the park to go back and join your late risers. Got three of us on Toy Story Mania that way last spring. And I got to ride it a couple of times myself before the park filled up! Have a great time and stay cool. (Those frozen neck wraps the golfers use are great)

 

[jennypenny]

Thanks for everyone's encouragement and replies. For an update, DS was in the hospital, and is home now. We should be able to head down on Saturday if things progress as they should. He's even weaker, though. Sue, thanks for the link to the stroller. I'm going to rent one today. It's perfect for him right how. He's 4' 6" but only 48 pounds so he's hard to find something for.

We've decided to sleep in, wing it, and dine in the places we normally wouldn't choose when using the dining plan--beaches and cream, fountain at dolphin, plaza, LTT lunch, etc. We're under strict orders to try and fatten him up and I think WDW is a good place to do that. The theme of our trip is "eating our way around the World" and I'm looking forward to it.

It will be hard not doing the commando thing, though. We need some sort of Commandos Anonymous group for reformed OCD disers

 

[Longhairbear]

Thanks for everyone's encouragement and replies. For an update, DS was in the hospital, and is home now. We should be able to head down on Saturday if things progress as they should. He's even weaker, though. Sue, thanks for the link to the stroller. I'm going to rent one today. It's perfect for him right how. He's 4' 6" but only 48 pounds so he's hard to find something for.

We've decided to sleep in, wing it, and dine in the places we normally wouldn't choose when using the dining plan--beaches and cream, fountain at dolphin, plaza, LTT lunch, etc. We're under strict orders to try and fatten him up and I think WDW is a good place to do that. The theme of our trip is "eating our way around the World" and I'm looking forward to it.

It will be hard not doing the commando thing, though. We need some sort of Commandos Anonymous group for reformed OCD disers

Fattening up tips??? Follow us around the parks...LOL.
Donut holes at Blizzard Beach, Fish and Chips in England at EPCOT. Actually any food in EPCOT. Chedder soup at Le Celliere, Hollywood, and Dine at DHS.

 

[cj9200]

I am a rope drop person. When we go to the parks, I want to be there when they open, grab a fast pass and hit the rides early. However, on our New Year’s trip, DD’s mom (who is wheelchair bound) and Aunt joined us. We only made one rope drop and we left early because she was tired. Didn’t matter because we prioritized what we wanted to ride and did that. Anything else was a bonus. It was a great trip.

We also now spend fewer days in the parks and tend to do other things. There is a ton of fun stuff at WDW he may like to do. Maybe take him on the water sprites around the lagoon. On our last trip that was combined with pool hopping at the Poly. Nice change of pace.

Glad you are getting the stroller and if it was me, I would get whatever type of GAC card is available. It is not that he is receiving “special treatment.” Disney is just trying to accommodate your family’s needs and there should be no stigma involved. If he likes ice cream, Beaches and Cream is a great place to help him put on some weight. Want a sundae before going to bed? Sure, lets go.

Hope your family has a GREAT time.

 

[CarolAnnC]

The theme of this thread makes it more suitable to our DISabilities board, so I am moving it on over there. Thanks all...

 

[blondietink]

We are rope drop people with 2 special needs children. However, I think you might want to concentrate on going to the parks each day that do not have EMH hours. The crowds tend to follow EMH's so the parks without them are usually less crowded. Or visit the park you want the day after that park has EMH's. On our last trip, we went to MK the day after they were open until midnight with EMH hours and you could have shot a cannon through MK and not hit anybody. It was heaven! Good luck! We will be there a few days after you on the 18th.

 

[SueM in MN]

(And if any adult IS an early riser, here's a tip. If there is a ride that only two of you like (My daughter and I like "spinners", but no one else does), if you get to a park at rope drop, bring along the park tix for others in your party. If you get a fastpass for an attraction first thing, note when you can get others. you may snag all your fastpasses for that attraction before you leave the park to go back and join your late risers. Got three of us on Toy Story Mania that way last spring. And I got to ride it a couple of times myself before the park filled up! Have a great time and stay cool. (Those frozen neck wraps the golfers use are great)

If you were able to do that last Spring, it was because something was not working correctly.
Only park passes that have been used to enter that park that day can be used to get Fastpasses. There is supposed to be an 'flag' in the system that checks to see whether or not that pass has been used to enter that park that day. If it has not, you should get a message that says that pass is not valid to get a Fastpass.
People have posted getting that message many times - even in some situations where the pass has been used to enter a park, but not the one that they are trying to get a Fastpass in (for example, people have posted that some of their party stayed in the Studio while other members of their party took all the park passes to Epcot to try to get Fastpasses for Soarin')