I am STRUGGLING!! I just don't know what to do

[mavslab]

We have gone to Disney every year (heck I lived in Orlando for 11 years!) and I loved planning our trips! We always got up early, had a pretty strict plan, I ran them all day and they loved it!

We haven't been in 3 years (gasp!!) Now the kids are 17, 15, 12. I'm thinking they will prefer to sleep in and stay at the parks later until it closes. But it goes against everything I know and I am having such a hard time planning. Plus DH would prefer some downtime, but Downtime before noon seems silly

Other than the fact that I don't like change I don't know why I am having such trouble. They are all easy going so I'm not worried about anyone being unhappy.

We are going in June for 8 days, no park hoppers, just water park

 

[Disneylover99]

I would choose a few early mornings, a few late nights and a few days somewhere in between. Check out the crowd calendars and hours and see which days are the best fit for this. Enjoy!

 

[maxiesmom]

I would choose a few early mornings, a few late nights and a few days somewhere in between. Check out the crowd calendars and hours and see which days are the best fit for this. Enjoy!

I agree. I also may let the kids sleep in if they wish, and head to the park without them. There is no law that you have to be together every single minute. If you are happy getting up early, why not? Go yourself or have some you and hubby time in the parks. Let the kids meet you later.

 

[To the honeypots]

My son is not a morning person either. We usually start slow and do the waterparks in the morning. We then plan the evenings at the parks. We have found the evenings to be not bad at all. People are busy watching the parades / fireworks and we normally still get to ride plenty. Plus, the parks are extra magical at night. My favorite memories are being on the rides and checking out all the spectacular beautiful lights. Plus, the temps are cooler. Win win in my opinion

 

[MainMom]

We are going in June for 8 days as well. We were just there last year so I decided to make our plan a little more laid back. We only have 6 day tickets, no hoppers.

Saturday-Arrival Day, no park (we usually go to Epcot)
Sunday-Magic Kingdom RD
Monday-Epcot RD
Tuesday-Animal Kingdom RD
Wednesday-off, HDDR dinner
Thursday-Sleep-in, HS afternoon
Friday-10am 'Ohana breakfast, Epcot after
Saturday-MAgic Kingdom RD

We take afternoon breaks & We are not doing any EMH. We have in the past, but I just didn't want to this trip. We are staying at AKL which is a new resort to us. We want to take advantage of it and the kids want pool time. They are happy about the days off and a couple of sleep in mornings, but they also know that getting to the parks early gets them on more rides.

Try to strike a balance. I was 'rebelling' against the break days & late mornings, but I just decided that it was my family's vacation too. Compromise.

 

[FoundNemoLostDori]

Hit the parks with the Evening extra magic hours! Spend your mornings swimming.....get your laundry done....go splurge on a leisure counter service at your resort.....and have fun!!

 

[mrzrich]

The beauty of FP+ is that if you want to arrive late, you can. Schedule you FP for the hours that you plan to visit the parks. Additional FP may be limited later in the day, so be sure to schedule your must dos

 

[frannn]

I had a similar problem last year when DD26 went with us for the first time in several years. She's the farthest thing from commando, as is DD13. So, I tried to involve everyone in the planning process as much as possible (since it seemed I was constantly trying to please everyone, and it didn't work). I let them pick the FP+ and gave them the time choices. It was somewhat frustrating that they constantly wanted downtime, but I had to be more laid back to enjoy the vacation. The key is planning FP+, and considering everything else a bonus.

 

[mrzrich]

Your kids are also old enough now that you can split up a little bit, so if one ride is a priority for one person but not another, that's ok. You can make different FP for different people.

And as a pp said earlier, you can arrive earlier and meet up when they arrive at the park

 

[mccartcm]

I feel the struggle and I don't have kids, just a husband that doesn't like getting up early! I am going at the end of June and have a rough plan for things. I have a plan to schedule the FP+ for early/afternoon times just incase he doesn't get up in time. We have 2 rope drop days and the rest lean more towards later evenings. I am an early riser so if I get up early I just plan on getting coffee and getting to a park as early as I can. I did this on our last trip and I LOVED it. I was able to do some of the attractions that I love and he wasn't a fan of and I just walked around slowly taking everything in.

Hey for all you know your kids will be up and chipper ready to go in the morning! I mean it IS Disney!!! Have fun!

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

My teens are 17 and 19. They also like to sleep until noon, but they realize the value of the "golden hours" right after rope drop. So I schedule a couple of non park days during a week long trip. On park days we get up and do rope drop, but most afternoons we head back to the room for naps. After everyone sleeps for a couple of hours, then we head back into the parks for dinner, night time shows, rides, etc.

None of us enjoy a 14 hour park day, so 8 or 9 park hours a day works for us. My teens agree to get up early as long as they can have their afternoon nap!

 

[rastahomie]

I feel the struggle and I don't have kids, just a husband that doesn't like getting up early!

ROFL I'm the exact opposite! I'm up and at 'em at 6AM, ready to be there an hour early for rope drop so I can ride Space Mountain with no wait! My wife would rather sleep in, spend 45 minutes putting on her face, grab some coffee, and take it slow. Makes me pull my hair out.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

We are going in June for only 4 days. I told the family I'm getting up early and heading into the parks with or without them.
That's why we stay on site rather than renting a house off property.

I'm thinking they'll choose to sleep in and I won't get my mid-day break because they'll show up at the parks right before our TS lunch so that'll have to do as my break.

 

[Ensusieasm]

We have gone to Disney every year (heck I lived in Orlando for 11 years!) and I loved planning our trips! We always got up early, had a pretty strict plan, I ran them all day and they loved it!

We haven't been in 3 years (gasp!!) Now the kids are 17, 15, 12. I'm thinking they will prefer to sleep in and stay at the parks later until it closes. But it goes against everything I know and I am having such a hard time planning. Plus DH would prefer some downtime, but Downtime before noon seems silly

Other than the fact that I don't like change I don't know why I am having such trouble. They are all easy going so I'm not worried about anyone being unhappy.

We are going in June for 8 days, no park hoppers, just water park

I would let hubby have his "down time" with coffee in the room while the kids sleep and take their time getting ready, while you tiptoe out and catch the first bus to rope drop! Then they text you to plan a meet up spot in the park, and your husband and kids can catch a later bus.

 

[JoWilly]

We have gone to Disney every year (heck I lived in Orlando for 11 years!) and I loved planning our trips! We always got up early, had a pretty strict plan, I ran them all day and they loved it!

We haven't been in 3 years (gasp!!) Now the kids are 17, 15, 12. I'm thinking they will prefer to sleep in and stay at the parks later until it closes. But it goes against everything I know and I am having such a hard time planning. Plus DH would prefer some downtime, but Downtime before noon seems silly

Other than the fact that I don't like change I don't know why I am having such trouble. They are all easy going so I'm not worried about anyone being unhappy.

We are going in June for 8 days, no park hoppers, just water park

We find that even with the fast passes we get a lot more rides done if we do rope drop. So I would suggest doing that on your MK and Epcot days and then just do the relax thing for AK and HS days.

 

[Mamanemo]

We always do rope drop. My kids were always too excited to sleep in very long. We always came back to our resort to swim and rest a bit. Went back to the parks early in the evening. Sleeping is for home. Lol

 

[minnie mum]

When my kids were teens they would always want to sleep til noon. EXCEPT when we were at WDW. They knew the advantages of RD and early EMH, especially when it was hot. Then a lazy afternoon at the resort before heading back to the park for the evening. We always had at least one non park day in the middle of the trip when everyone could sleep in.

 

[snowwhite84]

For a typical MK day, you could use this strategy and do the following:

Arrive at MK around 11 am, have FPs for 3 rides, late lunch around 1:30. Head back to the resort, swim/nap. Eat dinner at the resort or at a resort you want to visit, head back to MK for more rides/nighttime shows until close. Sounds relaxing!

 

[AllieBoo]

We loved Fp+ for this reason. We could have a few sleep in mornings with pool time and then head into the parks in the evening knowing we had FP for three rides. On RD days, we always take a midday break to swim or nap.

 

[snowwhite84]

We loved Fp+ for this reason. We could have a few sleep in mornings with pool time and then head into the parks in the evening knowing we had FP for three rides. On RD days, we always take a midday break to swim or nap.

Totally agree! I know not everyone loves FP+, but att least I know I can get to the park leisurely, take in 3 rides, eat a meal, etc. DH really loves the change too.