Is sleeping in on a disney vacation wasting time?

[Amirah95]

On scheduled park days (only) my family is up at the crack of dawn (I'm up before the crack) so we can get to the park early on and we do this because we have a 4 year old who requires a nap at noon. I want to get her attractions out of the way before nap time...plus I don't want to wait in those lines (those seem the longest). We also want to get in all the attractions and shows that we must see (which is not a lot), but that's the only time I'm up early and yelling to get everybody else up. By the time 1or 2pm rolls around we're done.

 

[jujube]

WDW is for family and we go with our 2 DD and their families. We all agree that sleeping in is for Sat. & Sun. at home. Three rooms so everyone can do as they choose. If you want to sleep in go to Myrtle Beach.

First of all you can't do WDW without park hoppers.

We plan our days but then go with how are mood swings us. Never, never follow the script to the letter.

AK because of it's size is a RD day and due to it's early close is always our short day and we plan this for the middle of the week.

MK is one day RD and one day till late close.

DHS is RD only for Star Wars.

Epcot is never RD but may be several evenings.

We always get up and get going and if we choose at any time do some resort time. If it is going to be a late night we get there when we do and have some down time that day to get ready for that night.

We have taken a resort day when we have pushed it to much but that is rare for there is DTD and resort hopping and meals here and there. So rest at home but don't overdo so much that it won't be fun.

Really? It's a bit over the top for you to tell people that if they choose to sleep in, the should vacation elsewhere.

We've been going to WDW since 2 years after it opened.
We went without park hoppers until we became DVC members 6 years ago when we became eligible to buy APs at a great discount. Even today, we mostly stay in one park each day. The reason we use the park hoppers is to go to Epcot in the evenings to have dinner. If not for the discount, we would not get park hoppers.

 

[luvthemouse71]

I think it depends on how many times you've been there. I refuse to get up at the crack of dawn on vacation- part of relaxing for me is sleeping in. Ive always been a night owl, so i prefer to close down the parks.

 

[WillAustin]

We consider sleeping in a waste of time. We have seen the difference in our experiences both getting there for rope drop and coming into the parks later. That huge difference keeps us excited to get up early every day.

 

[disnut8]

I'd say let the kids decide, something your parents didn't go when you were six and you still remember it. Is that how you want your kids to remember this trip? That Dad forced us up at the crack of dawn (or what seems like the crack of dawn)? Or that Dad let US choose what we wanted to do and see?

Your kids are old enough - talk to them about it. Tell them that if they want to see certain things, there will be times when they have to get it in gear in the morning but there can be times when everyone can kick back and relax too. Or, maybe they don't even care about the E ticket rides. Maybe all they want to do is swim. Who knows - ask the kids.

We just went for a week with our grandkids and their parents and our parents (we had four generations). No one made it to rope drop, only once did my son and his family stay until park closing and you know what? We had a very good time.

 

[Pembo]

The only time I get up early willingly is at WDW. That said, there were a few mornings where I was up with dd and out the door for rd and my dh & ds's slept in and joined us later in the day. We both had a great time.

Do what's best for you and your family. Do your kids stay up late? Take advantage of late EMH.

However if I was going off season when park hours are shorter, I would definitely want to get my money's worth by being at the park at opening.

As for PH, I was always a fan! We liked to do the early EMH park than hop to another park after our afternoon break.

However we've since stopped staying on property and bought non-hoppers. We've found that if we choose the non-EMH park, we don't need to hop.

The great thing about WDW is there is no one way to tour. There are lots of choices for lots of people.

 

[magicbob]

Maybe consider a balanced approach... get up early for RD at a park one day, then sleep in and relax at the resort the next day. We like to visit parks early when crowds are low and we get lots done. But we can't keep up that pace non-stop for an entire week. I agree... it IS a vacation and it's hard to enjoy the parks if you're completely exhausted. But mixing it up between early days and sleeping in/relaxing days works for us. Plus, that allows you to discover many of the great things there are to do OUTside of the parks.

 

[Dziactor]

We do some of both, and will be doing so for the Star Wars weekends. I don't mind getting there early and getting a lot done, then going back to the room for a Nap.

 

[lroger01]

My family does both. We spend 3/4 days (or a bit more) in the parks each day. A typical weeks vacation is:

• Arrival Saturday - a few hours in the Magic Kingdom
• Sunday - Epcot at opening
• Monday- Hollywood Studios at opening
• Tuesday - Animal Kingdom at opening
• Wednesday - Magic Kingdom at opening then break at resort then to HS for the evening entertainment
• Thursday - sleep in, swim, water park ect then Epcot in the afternoon/evening
• Friday - sleep in, swim, water park ect then Magic Kingdom in the afteroon/evening
• Saturday (going home) no parks, sleep in, Downtown Disney, resort hop, waterpark, Magical
  Express .

4 early mornings then 3 sleep in mornings keep everyone happy. The 3/4 days are easier on the feet. Our evenings are spent swimming, Downtown Disney, late water park, mini golf, or whatever. We can even do a park if that's what everyone wants. The plan though is to have nothing specfically planned and get to bed early enough that it isn't tough to get up.

For our sleep in mornings, we just know what park is planned for the evening but that's all. We do tend to do extra magic hours on our evenings and it's fun staying out late in the cooler evening knowing we don't have to get up early.

If you don't have Park Hoppers then the Wednesday change up will need to be at the same park.

If you have a full week - split them up

 

[Love Tink]

It's a totally individual decision, and only you know how your family likes to operate. Despite how many act on here - as if however their family does things is the right way to do things - most of us appreciate that there are many ways to vacation and no rules about how things have to be done.

When we're at WDW, my kids have no problem getting up at 8:00 (which is hardly the crack of dawn) to get started. They also have no problem getting up on Christmas morning or Easter. But if your kids don't have that excitement first thing in the morning, then do what works for them.

A lot of the things that seem like gospel here in the Dis just don't work for my family. We've never once left the parks in the middle of the day for a nap, we've never had an ADR and we don't park hop. Why? Because my kids would just consider all those things wasted time that they could be on Everest, or ToT or Buzz. We rest on the plane ride home.

 

[disney1990]

This is why we don't go to EMH when we have our granddaughters with us. We avoid the park that opens early, so that it isn't over crowded when we get there. Getting to a park at 9:00 am is doable and allows us to not drag the girls out of bed.

 

[Carlton Isbare]

I think it is a waste of time. I would rather be in the parks riding the rides and seeing things.

 

[disney-akj]

We do both. We plan 2 water park days spaced out in between the parks because the water parks open later and tend to be a little more relaxing for us (we love the lazy rivers, etc.) We tend to sleep a little later on Epcot days too but are still usually there 30 minutes after RD.

 

[happymommy]

Well, my kids are spoiled, since they've been so many times. But, I have never tried to get there at the opening time to any park (maybe since we go so often though...).

I get up at my usual time, or about it (I get up at 5 at home), have my coffee, shower, etc.... then when they get up we get going. I don't like to stress about getting up early on vacation (thus, we've never done the AK safari even when we stayed at the concierge level). I also hated being woken up early on vacation as a child, and my first trip to Disneyworld was also at the Contemporary the year Space Mountain opened!

So no, I don't wake them up super early, don't stress, but if we're up we head out. One thing I won't do is wait around so they can play video games or do computer stuff. Once they're up and reasonably fed, we head out!

 

[Lumiere Lover]

Sorry, as you can see next to my Avatar, you can sleep when you get home. I am a big believer in getting up early, going back to the resort at mid-day for a break, and then going back to the parks for the evening and park closing shows.

Everyone is different. I know my DH would prefer more sleep at WDW, but I say this is a waste of time. I have something I call "Disney tired." It means I am so physically exhausted I can barely move. This is a normal feeling for me at the end of a WDW vacation and I love it. Last September I could barely keep my eyes open on the way back to the airport. There were some kids on the Disney bus singing "Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" and I loved it. After a while the parents asked them quietly to stop singing, but I wish they hadn't. It was a great way to remember a trip being closed out.

Also, I don't allow my kids to sleep in on the weekends when we are home. I think keeping a regular schedule is important. Unless it is something important like prom or a wedding, I don't let me kids sleep in.

 

[mefordis]

Sleeping in is never an option for me because my kids are early risers.

 

[OllieDannyandMe]

When I was about 21, I went on one last family vacation (before thinking of myself as an adult). That summer, my family was up for park opening every day, and I chose to stay at our resort and sleep. When I woke up, I would go down to the pool and pretty much spent my afternoons there. Then, we would all go out to dinner, and I would hit the parks in the evening. It was a nice vacation, and it was nice having the luxury to choose what I wanted to do. But looking back, I missed so much fun stuff. In fact, years later I went back as an adult and tried some of the things I had missed, and I was kicking myself for not doing them with my family the first time. If hindsight is 20/20, then I would have preferred to have had my family wake me up. I can sleep in and relax by the pool anywhere. It's not every day that you are at Disney.

 

[hookedonears]

I think that it's pretty universally agreed that the Speedway at the very least, needs to be updated. From the eyes of many adults and older children, the Speedway is really pretty bad and a waste of time. From the eyes of smaller children, however I would say that the vast majority love it. I can remember as a child at Disneyland loving the attraction and my daughter loved it at WDW as well when she was young.

 

[Jennasis]

It's wasting time for us. We get to vacation so rarely (every other year) that we feel we have to wheedle every ounce of fun time out of our trip.

 

[earthfaries]

Before moving here we used to come to WDW at least once a year for vacation. We would do it commando style!

We didn't sleep much at all, and the kids (and the adults) were fine.

The way I saw it was that we only got to go to WDW once a year and when we were here we wanted to be spending all the time we could out having fun.

We sleep well at home, and not getting our rest for 10-14 days isn't going to hurt us, we'll bounce back and be fine, and we were

As long as they early days don't make your kids miserable (causing behavior problems and other problems that may interfere with the enjoyment of their vacation) it's no problem, don't worry.

You definitely get more done if you're in the parks by the time they open, but you can have a fun time either way

Have fun