Help with a planning dilemma?

[Laralyn]

I have a tough choice for our upcoming trip. For background, it will be just me and my boyfriend. He's not a big fan of the Disney parks, but he goes because he knows I love them. Our most recent trips to WDW (9/2005) and DL (10/2006) left him with bad memories (bad crowds), so he's not that eager for our trip in February.

I'm trying to choose the lesser of two evils.

Evil #1: Getting up at park opening to avoid the crowd. He's a night owl, and now early mornings would be doubly bad since we're on PST at home. So getting up at 8AM for a 9AM park opening is the equivalent for us of getting up at 5AM! He starts the day crabby and unfocused, gets tired early, and then still can't get to sleep until 1AM, so the next day he's even more tired and crabby... and it snowballs for each day after that.

Evil #2: Going to the parks in the afternoons and EMH evenings so we're on his natural internal clock, despite heavier crowds. Crowds drive him nuts. He hates having people elbowing him or standing pressed up against his back. The one time we went to DL during the week on a rainy day and there were no lines, he actually enjoyed himself (a first for him at a Disney park).

It all hinges on how bad the crowds would be if we got to the EMH park for lunch, and then stayed for the entire EMH evening. We're going Feb. 11-17, if that helps.

I'm sorry if this is too close to another post I made about it a couple weeks ago, but I'm trying to make my ADRs and they depend on what park we go to each day.

I've never been to an EMH evening so I have no idea what to expect. I was choosing it over getting up because I have experience with how crabby DBF is when he has to get up early.

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[kaabost]

February crowds are usually pretty darn light unless your trip happens to fall on a holiday weekend. For this reason, I would say, sleep in. Actually, I would sleep in the first day and then gradually work your way up to an earlier rise and shine throughout the week. When DH and I went on our trip in January (similar crowd levels), the only place that he got agitated was in MK in the afternoon. The crowds were heavier (although nothing like busy-season crowds), there were too many strollers, and no beer. After hitting the highlights in MK that day, we quickly headed to Epcot. Then, he was happy again. This year, we are definitely going to save MK for the morning. Along this school of thought, this would be a good park for you to visit later in the week once his schedule has adjusted a little.

 

[fAnnF]

My bf is the same way, we go to the park that has EMH in the morning until around 11am get lunch and go back to the resort for a nap, then around 4 we head out to the park that has EMH in the evening, he seemed to like that. my BF doesn't like to ride roller coasters, so one morning I may leave him to sleep and go to Animal Kingdom alone and ride EE, then go back to the room for him or have him meet me at the park of his choice. I also let him pick the parks and rides for 1 day of our trip, so on 1/3 if you see 2 people going to all 4 parks that will be us, this is a no nap day for him. He takes "his" day very seriously.

 

[David R]

What if you ask him to experience both and then ask for his opinion? Your dining reservations should not suffer if you choose fairly normal eating hours.

Something that I found helped with experience satisfaction was to print a bunch of restaurant menus and let him choose several restaurants that sound good to him. That'll be something for him to look forward to once you are there.

 

[Laralyn]

What if you ask him to experience both and then ask for his opinion? Your dining reservations should not suffer if you choose fairly normal eating hours.

Something that I found helped with experience satisfaction was to print a bunch of restaurant menus and let him choose several restaurants that sound good to him. That'll be something for him to look forward to once you are there.

My DBF is a little weird about that sort of thing. For some reason, he doesn't want me to talk about the trip too much. I suspect he starts to feel pressured to try to act excited if he thinks I'm spending time planning the trip. So shhh! No one tell him I'm planning.

BTW, are Fastpasses available during evening EMH hours?

 

[fAnnF]

During morning EMH sometimes/normally. during evening not anymore.

 

[disnut8]

Getting to a park at 11:00 is early for us. We're usually up until midnight (addicted to Roseanne on Nick at Night). I would definitely not get your boyfriend up early. You are going at a great time of the year to avoid crowds. I grabbed the calendar to see if you were hitting over President's Day but you're going the full week before. You should be fine with the crowd level. Hopefully, you'll get the hopper feature on your tickets. If a place is too crowded for us, we head for Epcot and a stroll around World Showcase. The only time we've seen it really crowded there is the evenings during the Food & Wine Festival and Thanksgiving Day.

Take things slowly and take breaks in the parks. At Magic Kingdom, take a rest in the rose garden near the castle. At Epcot, the garden in United Kingdom (it's in the back and you can't see the crowds). At MGM, there's an outdoor bar back near the entrance to the Backstage Tour. At Animal Kingdom, the seating area at the Flame Tree BBQ back by the water.

And I know about the planning and no communication. My husband says "just tell me the day before". Can't do anything about that.

 

[mmeb144]

What about avoiding the evening EMH park? The parks do close earlier, but at least the crowds would be practically nonexistent. My DH and I were at WDW in February for the week 2 weeks prior to President's Day. The crowds were not bad at all. So, ignore my earlier advice and go to the EMH park. Busy in February doesn't even begin to compare to busy over Christmas.

Marie

 

[CleveRocks]

Evil #1: Getting up at park opening to avoid the crowd. He's a night owl, and now early mornings would be doubly bad since we're on PST at home. So getting up at 8AM for a 9AM park opening is the equivalent for us of getting up at 5AM! He starts the day crabby and unfocused, gets tired early, and then still can't get to sleep until 1AM, so the next day he's even more tired and crabby... and it snowballs for each day after that.



I have experience with how crabby DBF is when he has to get up early.

You guys are boyfriend and girlfriend, right?

Um ... how about giving him a little, um ... incentive for waking up early?

That could start the day off nicely, and should tend to eliminate the crabbiness.

 

[Laralyn]

Thanks for all the suggestions, including the one about extra incentive for getting up early.

If there are no Fastpasses in the evening hours, how long do the lines get for things like Splash Mountain or Everest?

In February, are there Fastpasses left for attractions like that if you don't get to the park until 1PM? How far out is the return time if you get one that late?

 

[CleveRocks]

If there are no Fastpasses in the evening hours, how long do the lines get for things like Splash Mountain or Everest?

On Wed. 11/8, at around 5:00 p.m. (it was EMH night), FastPasses were sold out, and the posted standby time was 60 minutes.

In February, are there Fastpasses left for attractions like that if you don't get to the park until 1PM? How far out is the return time if you get one that late?

I would imagine 1:00 p.m. isn't too late for FPs, except maybe for Everest, since it's so new and SOOOOO cool and well-done. On Tues. 11/7, at around 2:15 p.m., the standby at Soarin' was about 60 minutes, and the FP return time was about 6:15 p.m.

 

[Laralyn]

Thanks so much, CleveRocks! That was exactly the info I was looking for... and it kind of convinces me to sweet-talk my DBF into getting up early. It sounds pretty scary to have a 6PM return time when you're getting the Fastpass at 2 or so. That means you really couldn't Fastpass all of the big attractions and get them in during a single park visit, if you start at around 1.

Maybe I'll try to find a way to talk to him about it tonight that won't end up with him saying, "It's your vacation. Whatever you want is fine with me."

 

[disneyfanfamily]

"Um ... how about giving him a little, um ... incentive for waking up early? "

Love this idea....At least my DH would

 

[Laralyn]

So I brought it up at lunch today. Here's how the conversation started:

Me: Hey, there's one question I wanted to ask you about the Disney trip.
DBF: (looks at me and sips his coffee)
Me: I wouldn't bring it up but it affects some reservations.
DBF: Plan what you want to do. It's your vacation.
Me: (laughs)
DBF: What?
Me: I knew you would say that! I was asking folks' opinions on the DIS boards and I said you would say that.
DBF: (beat, sips coffee, beat) If you know what I'm going to say then why do you ask me?



So eventually I got him past that and he said he hates crowds and lines more than he hates getting up early, so it sounds like he's going to take one for the team and get up so I can have more park time. Now I have to rearrange half my ADRs!

Thanks again for all the advice--it really helped!

 

[CleveRocks]

Now I have to rearrange half my ADRs!

... and dream up some really worthy ... incentives.