Help! Lazy Friends!

[Sleeping Jedi Beauty]

I would get up and enjoy the parks early. It's only for a couple of hours. If you really don't want to do that, you may want to consider the Unofficial Guide to WDW as it contains touring plans for a variety of circumstances including late arrival and plans that start in the afternoon.

 

[tink1978]

I go to Disney with my DS, my brother, and his girlfriend every year. My brother and his girlfriend like to sleep late too. I take my son to the parks early. We always set a specific meeting time, usually 12:30 at the stairs leading to the train station on the left side. We take cell phones, just in case. Since you are going in August, it could still be crowded and waiting until 12:00 to hit a park may not be good. You could always go solo for a few hours and then meet up with them.....

 

[Mcbruns]

If it was me, I'd decide ahead of time which parks to visit which days, then tell your "sleepy" friends you'll meet them at the Partners statue (or the big dinosaur, or Indy's well, or the Mexico pyramid) when they get up and get going. Use the morning hours to get some good solo park touring in- just make sure you and your friends have cell phones to communicate with.

MomofKatie-
What a GREAT idea - that's exactly what I'd do
Then you can say nener - nener that you were able to get more done before the 'crack of lunch'

 

[emma'smom]

Where are you staying? It might be fun to do some of the things that you just don't usually get to before your friends join you....like sitting by the pool before it gets super-crowded. I was surprised at how many folks were at POR at 9 am...or you might do some shopping Mainstreet USA. It seems like we always rush past all of these great shops/bakeries/etc. on our way to grab a fast pass or follow our TGM plan. This is a great excuse to stop and smell the roses (or rice crispy treats) without missing the fun of riding the rides with your friends.

You probably split up when you shop anyway (even in the same store....looking at different things) so it won't be so different...and you are only talking a few hours of solo time. You might discover you enjoy it! Take a hidden mickey book or a Disney Trivia book and do some sleuthing around.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Just when I think I have learned everything that I possibly could from these boards you throw a new one at me.

I have to know what Ride Max might be. Not that I am likely to need it as we have a policy of " if it has a line we will get it next time".

I do not like to get up early at DW either. I sleep until I feel like getting up. I eat when I want. Someone else cleans the room. Hey, I live just like my dh does all year long! No wonder I love WDW!

Slightly Goofy

 

[Corryn]

I gotta tell you....
Last year we went with a very large group of friends. We don't have any friends who love Disney like we do....I let these families know that there's a million things to do in Disney, and each family is spending a pretty penny to be there so they should all just concentrate on what their immediate family wants to do instead of following the herd and regretting not doing something that might have interested them.

After a few months of "preparing" them about their options, what to do, sending them emails about different attractions, printing stuff up for them, etc. they would say, once we got to the park, what do you want to do today? and they would all walk around like, duh In fact, they were so concerned with trying to just please each other and not breaking from the pack that no one got to do what they or their kids wanted to do.
One of the lady's who went would spend the mornings all harried, rushing through the parks doing the stuff the kids wanted to do the day before, which was ridiculous.
I spent so much time trying to help them get their money's worth and they didn't read one thing....Once I realized these people would just suck the fun out of my trip, I told my husband, I am Not hanging out with these people - let them ruin their own trip and waste their money. We know what we want to do, so let's just do it. And we did. We had an awesome time (as usual!)

Don't kid yourself. If your friends are not too excited about this trip, nothing you do or say will get them excited. I would find another DIS'er to hang out with during the morning hours, and meet up with your friends later. I was going to suggest to get new friends, btw!

Get a Hidden Mickey book and challenge yourself.
Also, a lot of the popular rides have the line for Single Rider, don't they?

 

[BUPhiSig1997]

...my friends are VERY excited about the trip (esp the Free Dining!). They'll stay in a park until they throw us out at the end of the night. They just have a hard time getting up and getting going first thing in the morning!

 

[mikesmom]

Don't stress about it. My son was one who would NOT get up early in the morning (although the time change helped a little). I discovered if we did NOT get going early, had a leisurely breakfast, and wandered in about lunchtime that we were fine. We would be going into the parks as lots of people that had done an early morning and were now headed out for a break and naps. They were coming out as we were going in. Net result: a little less crowded, the rides at the "front" of the park were WAY less crowded, and we were able to go straight through to closing.