HEA (Dessert Party) vs. Sleep- HELP!

[overthinker]

We'll be headed to WDW in just a couple of weeks for a somewhat last-minute and fairly short trip (4 nights/3.5 park days). "We" is me, DH and DS (6.5- rigid bedtime of 7:30PM PT, or turns into a monster). We're coming from the West Coast, so there won't be much time to adjust to the time change, especially to the early mornings for rope drop (which I view as essential for such a sort trip!). DH's must-dos are Pandora, ROL and Bon Voyage breakfast. DS doesn't know we are going, but his must-dos will be Pandora, Test Track and 7DMT (aka- rides that require FP or rope drop). I watched the live feed of the first night of HEA and it looks AMAZING- but I just can't figure out how to fit it into our trip. If I can figure out how to make it work, I'd want to do the dessert party- and there did seem to be availability for the night of Day 3 (but not Day 4) last time I checked. Here my current plan:

Day 1: Arrive at ~7pm (I really wish flights from LA to Orlando did not take all day!)
Day 2: MK morning (this is when we have our FPs); AK evening (with ROL dinner package for 9:15pm show)
Day 3: AK morning (to do Pandora- so we'll be up early- and also when we have booked FPs); EP afternoon/evening
Day 4: Bon Voyage breakfast at 7:40am; EP morning; HS afternoon (this is when we have booked FPs)
Day 5: MK morning; evening flight home

So, is this just too short of a trip to do HEA or should we try for the night of Day 3? Is HEA actually so great that it is worth risking everyone being zombies the next day?

Thank you!!

 

[DisTXMom]

You have 2 early mornings- which will feel even earlier on your west coast time. If you are able to go to bed early your first night, that would probably help. Based on the wait times at AK, it seems it's craziest at opening for Pandora rides. If you have a fast pass, that may let you arrive at AK a little later than rope drop. Alternately, you could try and get a nap in mid-day after your early rides at AK. Based on your schedule, I might be more inclined to play it by ear and just hop to MK and grab a spot for fireworks vs pay for a dessert party you may not be up for. I think the dessert party looks great, but you'd want to know you'd be up for it. If It's that important to you, you could consider doing it instead of the ROL dinner and show. That show has more mixed reviews. Don't lose heart- most of us struggle and end up feeling like not everything will fit in. You have to jut choose the priority items and leave the rest for next time

 

[squirrel]

For me, I book a red-eye flight. I don't sleep well the night before going to WDW anyway so I might as well be flying. Then I take it easy the first day. I also find this helps with the time change as we go to bed early after our first day.

I have been to WDW 6 times with 4 of them being 14 nights. I have only done one Dessert Party and that was because I was worried my niece who was lactose intolerant wouldn't have nice desserts. I was wrong. She had plenty of nice desserts during that 14 night trip. It was fun to do once but it's rather expensive. Since it was just the two of us, it does help on the waiting for things. When there are two adults, one can hold a place while another gets food, takes a bathroom break, etc.

 

[CAS239]

HEA is a must see. Make room for HEA whether it's dessert party or not.

My vote is sleep at home

 

[SaintsManiac]

Trying to follow a rigid sleep schedule at Disney seems pointless to me. I have a child the same age and I understand how grumpy they can get when tired, but honestly it's WDW. Let them have some extra sugar and enjoy the fireworks. You can sleep when you get home when it's such a short trip.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I agree with @CAS239, HEA is a must for us and I'm a fan of the dessert party. I posted a bunch of pics here if helpful: Review: Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party with Plaza Garden Viewing

I would either cram it in or take something off. You do have a lot packed in that schedule. If you're all the way on the East Coast to begin with, it'd be a shame (IMHO) to go back without seeing it.

 

[KristyBox]

Would your 6.5 year old sleep in a stroller? You could rent one just for that night.

 

[CAS239]

And I'll add in, if you absolutely can't squeeze in HEA and want to replace something with it..then take out RoL and do HEA instead.

imo HEA is 1000x better

 

[Mike_Mac]

Staying at an onsite resort? A midday break really helps diffuse the meltdowns. Heading back to your hotel at noon, even for pool time, helps keep their little noodles from over baking. Then head back to the parks around four or five and stay till close. With a little luck, a pop up thunderstorm can clear some people out of the parks as well. That strategy has prevented meltdowns with small children for years in our family. Yes, you do miss some time in the parks, but we prefer to leisurely stroll as a family vs rushing to squeeze in every last thing in one trip.

 

[limegreenmonorail]

Do you think you'll be that tired after your flight? For me, I'm ready to get to a park as soon as I land at MCO - been sitting on the plane for hours and I'm all rested up, and arriving at 7:00pm still gives you time in the parks if you're up for it. What if you went to Pandora the night you arrive? If you're staying at a Disney resort, you have EMH until 1am. Do both rides then, and sleep in late on Day 2. On Day 3, do Epcot in the morning and MK in the evening.

 

[madchatter]

HEA > ROL
We just saw it a few nights ago and it was spectacular. Truly amazing. No way I would go to WDW and miss it. And with the Plaza View party it's easy to have the perfect view.

We also did Bon Voyage and it was just ok.

I say make it happen if at all possible.

 

[minniegirl19]

It's a must see. I agree with PP about either going to AK that first night or throwing out ROL completely. That show is a dud compared to HEA

 

[1st*toright]

Going to be the voice of dissent here. We did HEA from the Poly beach, so it wasn't the full experience, and even from that distance it really was awesome and totally worth doing. We were able to do that because we were staying right there and had a sleep in day the following day. On a short trip (esp. with a time change) where rope drop is going to be key, I would prioritize sleep, personally. HEA will be there the next time you go.

We didn't see ROL - that night DH took the LO back to the hotel for a reasonable bedtime and me and my teen skipped out on our plans to see ROL because the wait time for FOP was at historic lows and she desperately wanted to go on FOP. I'm not at all sorry! So maybe you could swap out HEA for that one (although the logistics of getting out of Magic Kingdom post fireworks might make that a much later night that going to ROL?)

We were there for 5 days, and other than HEA from the Poly beach, and the SW dessert party (DH and the teen only- me and LO went to bed early) we didn't do any nighttime stuff. Kind of a bummer, but it was hard enough getting everyone going for rope drop as it was. Next trip we might opt for fewer rope drop mornings and more nighttime stuff, but until my LO is a few years older, we are going to have to pick one or the other.

 

[linzbear]

My kids have early bedtimes, too. What I did was enforce a 15 minute quiet time in the room with the curtains drawn. Sometimes the big kids would nap for 30-45 minutes which really helped with the late nights. I would not skip HEA.

 

[Harlaxton]

Going from the West Coast to the East Coast, with no time to adjust to the time difference, you're going to have a much easier time staying out late and hitting the top attractions at night (when the crowds die down) then you will trying to force yourself (and kids) to get up at what will feel like ungodly hours just to hit rope drop. If I were you, I'd wake up naturally, cruise into the parks later in the morning, and then close them all down at night and book my FP's for the late afternoon/evening.

 

[GillianP1301]

With the time change you have and it being a short trip, that 7:40am on Day 4 is going to be brutal as it is, I would not want to be doing HEA the night before that.

If it were me, I would do full day & evening at MK on Day 2. You don't have a ton of time in MK to begin with and with a 6.5 year old, you will have plenty to see and do there for the full day + the half day on departure day. If you can (depending on the time of your AK FPs on Day 3), I would try to sleep in a bit that morning and maybe run the AK time into the early afternoon and EP for later afternoon/evening to make up for the AK time you would be losing by removing it from Day 2.

 

[overthinker]

Thank you everyone! This advice is all extremely helpful. I think that I'm going to just have to suppress my tendency to want to schedule everything in advance and see how we're feeling. Thank you especially to those of you who mentioned that this is a VACATION and that some flexibility on bedtime rules (and sugar consumption) might be appropriate! I might not be able to get DS to nap, but I can definitely convince him to eat more sugary snacks! And, I think we can probably trim some of the MK and HS time for additional mid-day rest-time at the hotel. I should have mentioned that we have Disneyland APs and go 1-2 times a month, so there are rides that we have out here that we can skip without missing out too much.

 

[squirrel]

Thank you everyone! This advice is all extremely helpful. I think that I'm going to just have to suppress my tendency to want to schedule everything in advance and see how we're feeling. Thank you especially to those of you who mentioned that this is a VACATION and that some flexibility on bedtime rules (and sugar consumption) might be appropriate! I might not be able to get DS to nap, but I can definitely convince him to eat more sugary snacks! And, I think we can probably trim some of the MK and HS time for additional mid-day rest-time at the hotel. I should have mentioned that we have Disneyland APs and go 1-2 times a month, so there are rides that we have out here that we can skip without missing out too much.

I would get my niece to fall asleep in the stroller to save on travel time back to the resort. I see your son is older and probably won't need a stroller. Do you think he might fall asleep on the monorail? That would give you a break without having to travel too far from the parks and it gets you out of the sun for a bit. I found telling her to take a nap so she wouldn't miss all the fun things at night worked for her.