Help with jet lag/time differences

[Lesley Wake]

How do people deal with jet lag and time differences? We are going to be traveling from the West Coast, so our bodies will be 3 hrs behind. I know that's not as much as someone from a different continent, but I am worried about getting up in the morning. The way our schedule works out is our 2 earliest mornings will be our first 2, so no real time to acclimate!

I was wondering about 2 strategies and hoping to get some feedback:
1) slowly start setting my alarm earlier and earlier so it isn't as much of a shock to my system. Problem is that is making me tired while I'm at home so I will already be tired before getting there.
2) do normal hours here and just deal with the time difference cold turkey, pushing thru it.

 

[Smittolis]

As a PNW'er I wouldn't get use to it, the bonus of being 3hrs behind gives you all the advantages later in the parks to take advantage of the rides / lower crowds and cooler temps! We love it! It can be tough getting up a little early for a day or two, but the pay off is staying out to midnight and beyond and it really only being 9pm ;o)

 

[Lesley Wake]

As a PNW'er I wouldn't get use to it, the bonus of being 3hrs behind gives you all the advantages later in the parks to take advantage of the rides / lower crowds and cooler temps! We love it! It can be tough getting up a little early for a day or two, but the pay off is staying out to midnight and beyond and it really only being 9pm ;o)

Problem is the parks all close at 9pm anyways! MK is open a couple hours later on a few nights and we will have MNSSHP, but everything else we will be done early. And Universal closes at 7! So need to get there early to actually take advantage of low crowds!

 

[Smittolis]

Well that may be a problem lol.....

 

[Cissigys]

It's probably best to just power through - the excitement of being at WDW should help!

I travel a lot for work, and usually just need to tough it out (unless it's, say, a 12 hour difference or something). One option would be to try and make sure you're really tired on arrival day (get up early that day, etc.), then go to bed really early on arrival night. That should make it easier to get up early on the first full day there but still have enough sleep to make it through the day. Make sure you're drinking plenty of water to avoid dehydration, and try not to rely too much on caffeine for energy - both of those make jet lag much worse. Good luck!

 

[Lesley Wake]

It's probably best to just power through - the excitement of being at WDW should help!

I travel a lot for work, and usually just need to tough it out (unless it's, say, a 12 hour difference or something). One option would be to try and make sure you're really tired on arrival day (get up early that day, etc.), then go to bed really early on arrival night. That should make it easier to get up early on the first full day there but still have enough sleep to make it through the day. Make sure you're drinking plenty of water to avoid dehydration, and try not to rely too much on caffeine for energy - both of those make jet lag much worse. Good luck!

At least this morning I had to get up an hour earlier to make a work meeting and was able to do it easily! I do think the Disney element will make it easier to get up, especially the first 2 days!

 

[JenniBarra]

For all of our most recent WDW trips, we make a point of booking a red eye flight. If we can, we try to get in some napping on the first (longer) leg of our flight, and we don't have high expectations for our first day in Florida. When Disney World Time Zone "bedtime" arrives, it doesn't feel as abrupt since we're likely tired already.

 

[Wild4Walt]

The good thing about the parks closing early is that you can get back to the room earlier and try to get to bed earlier.