Helpful Family Quirks

[sameyeyam]

We make our dinner reservations around 8:30-9:00pm. Or we have a late lunch/early dinner around 2:30-3:00pm.

We are from West Coast (3 hour time difference), so having meals at those times is like eating at our normal times.

But the good thing is the restaurants are not nearly as crowded, you can always get reservations, the servers seem to take more time & give better service, character dinners are not as crowded & you get to spend more time with them, the buffet lines have been cleaned up after the dinner rush, etc.

This year during Spring Break we ate a 2:45 lunch at Coral Reef Rest. in Epcot and got to sit right next to the aquarium window. There were about 3-5 other families in the entire restaurant while we were there!

 

[KinderTchr]

We do 2 or three character meals, Crystal Palace for Pooh, another for Mickey Minnie and then NEVER stand in line for characters. I get better pictures at the meals too and don'tfeel as rushed as I would with a whole line of people waiting for me to finish taking the picture.

 

[KinderTchr]

What kind of breaks do you schedule during the day? I'm not big on going back to the hotel either.

 

[Lezah]

We don't like roller coaster/thrill rides at all so no time wasted in line for those "big ticket" rides. No more commando touring for us thanks to our AP's and our 2 week trips so we can take it easier on the days now!!

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

We couldn't care less about TS meals. We have enjoyed the ocassional character meal thru the years, but for the most part dining is just not a biig part of our Disney experience. ADRs ? We don't need 'em. We make do fairly well with TS pizza, sald, burgers, etc. ---oh, and lots of junk food like we would never splurge on at home

 

[va32h]

Our family quirk is that we don't mind splitting up into multiple groups, sometimes for the entire day!

DD10 loves thrill rides - I will do all the mountains, but I can't handle ToT, RnRC, Dinosaur, Mission Space, and probably not Everest either. Ds6 is afraid of pretty much anything that goes faster than TTA.

So at Epcot & MGM we split up for most of the day - I take the younger two kids and we do our thing, those two go off and do their thing. AK we stick together most of the day, but my son is an animal nut, so we'll go back to the animal exhibits while dd and her dad go on the thrill rides again. MK is the only tough day, as both us adults jockey for a chance to ride with dd. Lucky dd, gets to ride everything twice, if it isn't too crowded.

But we still trade off, one parent taking the little ones, the other taking the big ones, meeting up at lunch to trade. We do spend EMH together, and will meet up for shows and parades at any of the parks.

I don't think this is all that much of a quirk, really, but I've met lots of people who are shocked that we would separate at all on a "family vacation".

 

[babywewe]

Unlike most people, we hate splash mt. WE hate getting wet in the middle of the day. ANd we hate the fact that you need to wait for this ride just to see rabbits and bears for 2min's and then get soaked!

Please dont hurt me.

 

[Sleepy]

My DH and DS don't like fireworks! No running to Wishes, and we catch IlluminNations if we happen to be walking by. While others are jockeying for positions, we're riding attractions.

We live near 2 fireworks factories. They test fireworks all night, every night. People around here shoot off fireworks for everything. Soccer games, birthdays, business grand openings, weddings, etc. We are pretty burnt out on fireworks.

 

[BlindTyldak]

My DD is not huge on parades in that she has to sit and wait for one. She's perfectly happy with Mommy timing it that we end up at the very end of the parade route just in time for her to see some of it. She's also perfectly happy at ANY TS restaurant (no pick and choose about will she like it) but I think she's now outgrown being happy crowd-watching outside the thrill rides while Mom or Dad went on . . . she says she wants to do it ALL, but we'll see.

DH is fine with me running off to the parks on my own when they want to rest, which is great for me since they're big "take a break" folks and I'm constantly on the go, so I scoot to a park for an hour or hour and a half all the time. None of that but-its-a-family-vacation "quirk" if Hyper-Mom will let you take a nap!

 

[MELSMICE]

Unlike most people, we hate splash mt. WE hate getting wet in the middle of the day. ANd we hate the fact that you need to wait for this ride just to see rabbits and bears for 2min's and then get soaked!

Please dont hurt me.

I'm not a big Splash fan either. Don't like getting wet. Don't think it's such a thrill ride when the only thrill is going down the big mountain just to get wet.

I've always said, "I can't believe that teens actually wait in that long line just to take a slow ride on a boat."

 

[Ready to go in Ok]

Please dont hurt me.

 

[luvsmickeymouse]

We never run from attraction to attraction, we enjoy what we get to go on and if we miss something , we catch it next time we go, we take our time. I see people running and running all over the place and they don't take the time to enjoy the things that Disney has to offer. We enjoy our meals and talk. We usually just use the room for sleeping, we are never in it. And we always go to other parts of Florida also. I never do alot of planning ahead of time either. LOL!

 

[Nancyg56]

We are not in a hurry at all. We don't rush in the morning to make the rope drop, we do not a have a written in stone touring plan, we miss most of the attractions, go to the parades and fireworks displays, and stand in line for the characters. Yep, we are the folks everybody talks about here on the DIS . My DGD loves the characters, character meals, hidden mickeys, the shows, gift shops, themed pools, parades and fireworks, and we love to watch her reaction so we have a general plan but really play it as we go. I know that this won't last forever, but we are savoring this very special time.

 

[denecarter]

DD18 is downright anti-fireworks and parades. Won't go to them anymore, goes back to the room if she can.

She also HATES to fly, so we drive usually... not that that's fun or time-saving. With ME and the price of gas, it's no longer so $-saving anymore. But at least I don't have to search for airfare.

I guess the biggest quirk is the extended family's complete willingness to sit back and let me plan everything.

 

[sameyeyam]

Our family quirk is that we don't mind splitting up into multiple groups, sometimes for the entire day!

My family is the same way. DH & DD love the scary rollercoaster rides. DS & I don't as much. So I spend most of the morning with DS and DD & DH go off to ride their scary rides. When we come back to the park in the evening DD & I will ride a couple of scarier rides, while DH & DS go on the milder rides.

Sometimes it feels like we only get together for meals! We have a 6 year gap between our two children, so they have different ideas of fun. But DS is now 7 and getting better about riding more rides.

However, the other 3 of us LOVE Splash Mt., DS hates log rides. I even offered him $100 to ride it with our family this year and he turned us down!

 

[TikiGoddess]

What kind of breaks do you schedule during the day? I'm not big on going back to the hotel either.

I generally try to alternate rides with shows. It seems like the constant ride, ride, ride is what wears my kiddos out. I found going into Hall of Presidents for a 20 minute rest or even Philharmagic did their spirits (and energy levels) wonders. We try to ride, ride, show, ride. Or we take a break at something like Donald's Boat where the kids can run and act crazy and then hit a show and relax for awhile. We also do have a sit down meal a day. It gives them a chance to slow down and also makes dh and I much happier. Oh, and the other thing in the way of breaks is that if we have a park we absolutley love and want to try to do everything at (like MK), we do several days there so that we can do and early morning one day and a late night the other AND we don't have to run around like crazy people trying to do it all. With the way Disney cuts rates the more days you're there, it's worth it to us to spend a little extra and stay longer...hence the value resorts

 

[hogwartsdropout]

I'm not a big Splash fan either. Don't like getting wet. Don't think it's such a thrill ride when the only thrill is going down the big mountain just to get wet.

I've always said, "I can't believe that teens actually wait in that long line just to take a slow ride on a boat."

Slow ride?? Have you not been to the laughing place??


We're not too big on parades either. Or ADRs, except for character meals.

 

[shoney]

My sons (now 5 and 6 1/2) will not wait on line for autographs...if we see a character and they are able to hug and meet him they will, but will not wait on line for it

My husband and I do not like buffets so we don't do any character meals. I would rather go offsite and eat dinner in a nice restaurant. I am looking forward to going to the Melting Pot and Bahama Breeze for our next trip.

If we see the parade, we see it.

We like the rides! The shows are okay, but not our favorite. I like the fireworks.

 

[Peg]

just subscribing
Peg

 

[PattiPB]

I am the only person in the family who likes soda. My DH and all 3 kids drink water morning, noon and night. It's a healthy quirk that saves me money on vacations---I drink the soda that comes with their kids meals, and they drink the bottled water we bring.

We are another non-parade-chasing family, too. I like parades, so they will go on a ride I don't like while I watch.