How Long Does it Take You to Get Ready for a Day at the Parks

[fbarker]

Ok, I know I am treading in dangerous waters but I do have to ask the women out there. How long does it take you to get ready for a day at the parks. This has been an area of "sensitivity" for me and my wife all the time we have been going to the parks, but I have over the years been able to adjust to it. We have to wake up at about 6am in order to get dressed and ready and over to the area at the resort to eat breakfast and then back to the room to make final preparations and then finally off to a park which we will get to somewhere about 9ish. This seems like a really long time to me. Yes I do understand that as a guy i just take me shower throw on some things and I am ready to go!! but almost 3hrs to get to the park. Help me understand please.

 

[richmo]

Yeah, it does take awhile. Where you can really lose time is going to breakfast and back to the room. At some resorts that can easily take 45 minutes to an hour if you include walking over, ordering, eating,walking back, etc. Of course, transportation to the park can take a lot of time too, and I'm assuming you're including that. Maybe you can shorten it a bit if one or both of you take a shower at night instead of morning. Personally, I'm not getting up at 6 in the morning on vacation for anything...I spend 50 weeks a year doing that.

 

[mshanson3121]

We were a group of 6 (2 bathroom house) with 2 kids and we were all showered, dressed, Fed and out the doors typically in 60-75 minutes, tops. Myself, shower, hair, makeup, dressed, sunsgreen on in about 30 minutes (edited, as thinking back, definitely was not more than 30 minutes!)

 

[richmo]

We were a group of 6 (2 bathroom house) with 2 kids and we were all showered, dressed, Fed and out the doors typically in 60-75 minutes, tops. Myself, shower, hair, makeup, dressed, sunsgreen on in about 30-45 minutes.

...and that's a good example of a case where staying offsite can actually save time.

 

[sharonped]

Great question. Here's what helped ME (ymmv): shower the night before, which I wanted to anyway since I was so sweaty from the day and had dirty feet from schlepping around the park in flip flops. Put my hair in a ponytail or bun since (again) the heat and humidity just made my neck hot and sweaty. If she likes her hair down, use a curl gel and let air-dry rather than trying to use the hair dryer and curling iron. Makeup is trickier. I use a non-greasy tinted sunscreen and powder because my face just gets greasier and greasier with that humidity. I use a waterproof eyeliner and mascara and a tinted lip gloss with spf 15. That's it for me. Planned my outfit and packed the backpack the night before. One year we had breakfast items (muffins, fruit, yogurt) delivered from Green Grocer so we could eat breakfast in the room. Other years we grab coffee, hot chocolate and to-go items and ate them while waiting for the bus. I always got up about an hour earlier than everyone else and then helped kids get ready. Made every rope-drop this way. Like I said - this worked for OUR family - everyone vacations totally differently. Our priority was rides and I didn't want to be in any pictures, so full makeup and hair wasn't a requirement for ME to have a happy trip.

Edited to add: We always did everyone's sunscreen while waiting in line (lotion, not spray)

 

[Alesia]

30 minutes, tops.

I wake up, brush my teeth, brush my hair, put on some make up, get dressed, grab a muffin or a pop tart to eat while waiting for the park to open, and walk out the door.

 

[msmama]

I think the breakfast thing is probably slowing you down.

I pack up everything I need for a day in the parks the night before (or at least leave it all in the same place on the table by the door) - electronics still plugged in, sunscreen still out.

While I shower, I have my son eat something that we either got the night before (like a fruit cup and muffin or something) or bagels that I've brought with us. If I'm lucky enough to be traveling with someone else, sometimes the other adult will go get breakfast and bring it back to the room while the other showers.

Now, my Mom, if we were leaving somewhere at 8, would get up by 5 at the latest. I have no idea why and what she does, but apparently she considers playing an hours worth of angry birds as part of her morning routine, as well as a leisurely bath and several cups of coffee while sitting, not downing a bottle of water on the bus like I do.

 

[mom2rtk]

3 hours? Yikes.

 

[Alesia]

Why are you getting partially ready, going to breakfast, and then going back to the room to finish getting ready? That doesn't make any sense at all.

If you really wan't to eat breakfast at the resort, why not just get completely ready, go to breakfast, and then head straight to the park?

 

[Love Tink]

Three hours sounds like about two and a half hours too long.

Like others that have posted, I do everything possible the night before - pack the park bag, charge the electronics, put out the kids' clothes for the next day, and take a shower. In the morning my husband showers (he's much quicker than I am), we all throw on clothes, and its off to the bus stop or car. We eat breakfast on the way.

I will say that if you are paired up with someone who just won't move that way in the morning, you are probably set for an uphill battle if you want her to change. Some people seem to need the morning downtime. Others don't. My family is conditioned to move quickly because we sleep until the last possible minute every day, not just at WDW.

 

[tobikaye]

Solo: I usually take about 60 minutes to get out the door of my resort room. Usually, I have some snack in the room for breakfast. Sometimes, I will throw on a hat and sweats and run to grab a bite at the food court then run back to get fully ready. Even then, it usually only adds about 10 minutes.

I have also been able to get out the door in 15-30 minutes by showering the night before and having everything laid out and ready to go. It usually only takes me about 60 minutes because I have an internal alarm clock where I am up before 6 am. So, I am usually killing time during the 60 minutes by relaxing and reading before heading to the parks.

With my parents and sister: 60-120 minutes from the time I get up. We tend to have breakfast in our cabin at FW and stagger getting up and out the door. It also helps if we do not rush my mom and sister. We usually stagger times for each person getting up.

With my sister and/or cousin(s): 30-60 minutes. If make up and hair styling need to be done that morning, we are all pretty adept at getting it done quickly. I will admit, we usually just grab breakfast as we head to the bus or at the park around morning rides.

 

[ars0525]

5 minutes. I pass out in my clothes from an all day late night at the parks so I wake up, brush teeth & roll out again since I'm already dressed.

JUST KIDDING!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know...quick shower & get dressed (outfit pre-picked since I was packed). I wear no make up & don't do more to my hair than a pony tail after it air drys en route to park. Check the weather on TV & internet for outfit adjustments. Make sure I have MB on, ID, credit card & AP card. Grab phone/extra charger & go. I am not a breakfast person. I stay offsite so if it's offered I might grab a bagel. So I'll say 30 minutes if I keep moving?

 

[GillianP1301]

20 - 30 minutes, at most, for my son and I to get ready. Showering is done at the end of the previous day before bed, so it's just up brush hair/teeth and get dressed, grab the park bag and go. I spend a few minutes before bed getting clothes out for the next day and getting the park bag sorted out and ready as well so there is no fussing around in the morning. We always have a breakfast ADR somewhere, so once we're ready we head to breakfast and then straight to the parks.

 

[loves to dive]

Heck, it doesn't take me longer than 1/2 hour to get ready for work and that includes putting on makeup and drying my hair if I washed it that day. At WDW my routine is: take a shower then a long soak in the tub the night before, if I'm washing my hair that day it gets washed during the shower and I just let it air dry. Take whatever junk out of the bag I used that day. Next morning, wash face and brush teeth, throw hair up in a pony tail (I always have a ball cap with me since I'm allergic to the sun and have to shade my face), put on tinted moistrizer/sunscreen on face and sunscreen on shoulders and arms. Get dressed (when I unpack I put all shorts in one drawer, tops in another, undies in another and everything goes with everything so it's just grab what is on top), throw my phone in whatever bag I'm taking that day if I'm taking one, otherwise phone goes in shorts pocket. I'm usually out the door in about 10 min. If I'm eating at the resort I'll go to QS and get whatever I'm getting and eat it there but usually I grab something at the park. Now, mind you if I'm with my son I'm usually up at around 6 or 7 (I'm old we get up early) and he isn't up until 8 so I get up and do my 10 min. thing and go get my breakfast and a cup of coffee and sit somewhere peaceful at the resort and enjoy the solitude. If I'm solo, I still get up that early and before my 10 min. getting ready routine I'll make a cup of coffee and sit on my balcony and enjoy that then get dressed and out the door. More often than not if it's summer I wear sundresses so I have to carry a small crossbody bag but that stays packed from the night before and I just decide if I'm going to change out small poncho for rain jacket or umbrella (it's going to rain if you go during the summer). The only things I take to the parks are: my phone, something for rain, a small wallet with a little cash, ID and a cc (I don't charge to my MB) my reading glasses go on a little magnetic thing clasped to my shirt/dress, a pair of sunglasses and a cap.

 

[SparklePixie]

With a shower, typically 25-30 mins. No way am I waiting three hours for princess to get ready. Tell her you'll meet her at the park in a few hours.

 

[NKHarris329]

The answer is... everyone takes a different amount of time to get ready. Some people need 15 minutes to get out the door, others need 3 hours. You cannot reasonably expect the 3 hour person to get ready in 15 minutes. Your wife takes 3 hours. No matter how unreasonable that is, it is what it is. Stop trying to argue her into being someone else. That is just setting yourself up for a lot of frustration and unnecessary arguments.

Can you work to streamline the process? Maybe while your wife is getting ready you can run over to the restaurant and pick up food to eat in the hotel room. Maybe you can get the bags prepped and Make sure you have everything you need and avoid the trip back to the room.

And... if this is the time she needs to get herself ready, why do you need to be up at 6? Can you try to sleep in a bit? Is there something you could be doing that you would enjoy? Walk the resort, read a book, drink some coffee and people watch.

 

[cluvsdisney]

It takes me about 40 minutes to wake up, shower, get ready and head out. If we have breakfast in the room, add about 10 minutes. If we are grabbing something at the resort, we'll do that on the way to the park. Like other posted, I don't know why you would come back to the room after breakfast.

 

[E-P-C-O-T]

It takes us around an hour and a half to get ready. We are morning shower people, it doesn't really matter if we took a shower before bed, we need to take a shower in the morning to wake up and get us going. The reason it doesn't take us longer, it's because my DH goes and gets breakfast for everyone and we eat in the room as we are getting ready.

 

[kaybird]

Your wife is probably very beautiful. That takes time. Even back in the day, I was not much for makeup, etc in the parks. Between water rides, rain, humidity, I guess I just never saw the point to use so much time for so little benefit. I also had a family of men. Now that we bring DILs, We just tell them when we are planning on leaving the resort, and head out. DH has never had to wait on me, sure he would if I asked, but the time to leave plan gives us the responsibility of each one being ready to go.

 

[JaimeK]

An hour to an hour and a half for the 5 of us to wake up and get out, and that was a pretty leisurely pace. Usually just 1-2 people showered in the morning (the others at night or after swimming etc.) and 2 of us would go and bring breakfast back to the room for us all to share. I don't wear makeup, doing my hair generally involves not much more than brushing it.

I think I could probably push everyone out the door in 45 minutes but the extra 15-30 minutes make the mornings more pleasant.