late risers

[pooch]

can you do disney without getting up at the crack of dawn? My family does not get up early. I mean I'm talking 9 or 10 in the morning!! So I don't expect to get to the parks before 11AM. We're going the week before Labor Day next year and have no small kids. Are we going to miss a lot?

Pooch

 

[barkley]

the parks will still be open late so i would not worry. you get up at the crack of dawn as compared to us at wdw! with the time change and adjusting to the humidity, we are lucky to get out and to the parks before noon or 1 p.m. with no little ones to slow you down (once you get up ) you should be able to hit everything with no problems except maybe some long lines!

 

[civileng68]

We don't EVER go into the parks before 1:00 pm. When the parks are not open late we go a little earlier. I actually suggest going later when the parks are open later so that you are not worn out later in the evening. Night is the best time in the parks.

You wont miss anything. Since you wont be there when the park opens, do most of the major attractions just before closing for the fewest lines.

 

[ib2loud]

DD12 is not a morning person. We probably won`t make to the parks until at least 10:00 or 11:00 on our upcoming trip in two weeks. We`ve decided to not let it bother us. We`re gonna try to have a relaxing and enjoyable trip. If we don`t get to see and do everything, there will be things to look forward to on our next trip.

 

[vettechick99]

Last year we never made it to a park before 11. DH is a sleeper-inner.

The only tip I can give you is to not visit the early entry park on the day you are going late. It's just too packed. Visit any other park and you'll be ok!

 

[Deb & Bill]

We usually accomplish the most (attractions, shows, etc) by getting there when the park opens and leaving about 2 or 3 hours laters. The crowds entering while we are exiting are enormous. If you don't mind waiting in lines (we refuse to wait more than 15 minutes), you should be okay. If you want to do Soarin', Test Track, RnRC, ToT, you'll need to get fast passes as soon as you get there if they are still available.

 

[SammieG]

we too are late risers but tried getting up a little earlier a few days this last trip. we found that by getting up and out earlier we were actually getting LESS done! yes it was less crowded, but as the day got hotter, we got less able to deal with it and were leaving just after lunch.

If we go around lunch time, by the time we have done a few attractions the temperature begins to go down and we can stay until closing time..

PLUS we get a late morning by the pool!

there are times going early would work, but we like our late days!

 

[sPaRkLeSpAz]

My dad and sister are always early-risers. At Disney my mom and I are early risers too, so we're up there right when it opens.

 

[Skroops]

to get up and get going early, but it RARELY works! Either we can't drag our selves out of bed or we just cant get ready in time to get going sooner. We usually end up at the parks between 10 and 11. We don't feel like we've missed a thing. It's vacation...you'll never see and do it "all" anyway. Just relax and enjoy, get there when you get there!

 

[Feralpeg]

The only reason we got up early when at WDW was because it was too loud to sleep. By about 8am, there were so many slamming doors, running feet and shouting children that it always woke me up. After that, I'd hear the vacumns start. I am a light sleeper, so it wasn't worth the trouble to try to sleep in.

 

[Golter]

Have you tried going to bed earlier. The first two hours at the parks you get 50% of what your going to get done.

We (Me 33,DW 35, DD14, DD8, DS7) go commando style. 6 parks (US/IOA), 6 days, no breaks. We are there before opening and usually stay until just past dinner. At least two days we stay till close. (Usually 9PM in Dec). My kids know how to do Disney. They are not early risers,but for WDW they are.

Its all about your mindset. We don't view WDW as a "vacation" per say, but more of an escape expierence. Vacations are to the beach. I'll rest at work, I want to get the most out of our trips to WDW.

 

[Jennifer48]

My friends and I (all adults) are definately late risers at home. But once we get to WDW, we are able to get up early (with a little coaxing ) and head to the parks for the day. Its that little bit of pixie dust that gets us up and moving!

 

[Disneymommie]

you should be fine!! We were there last we (about the same week you are going next year) It was not empty but there was not more then a 5 or 10 minute wait for any ride! It did not matter what time of day it was! Sleep in if you want it is your vacation do it how you want!

 

[mill4023]

I think it just depends on what your priorities are.
We found that getting to the parks early allowed us to get a lot more done before lunch time and made the rest of the day more relaxed and less stressful. But it was also our first trip, so I felt like I didn't want to miss anything. If you are going when it's not crowded at all, it's probably not nearly as important to get there at opening time.

 

[blueangel]

We aren't late sleepers, but enjoy a good, leisurly breakfast, and therefore never make it to the parks before 10:30 or 11. We have no trouble getting everything we want done as long as you approach your vacation in the same manner - i.e. enjoy it instead of racing around trying to get as much done as possible. Do what you really want to do and use fastpass. We usually end up doing everything anyway.

And it's true - night is truly the most magical time at Disney.

 

[never_enough_pooh]

We try to get up around 8:30 am, but by the time we (or, rather more so I ) get ready, and by the time we eat, it is usually 10:00 before we arrive at our park of the day. We usually stay 1 week, and have never felt like we couldn't get in all we wanted. The only thing we ever noticed (in Oct) was some of the fast passes were gone by the time we arrived, but we usually rode the popular rides later in the day, when the park starts to thin out.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We aren't late sleepers, but enjoy a good, leisurly breakfast, ...

We ate some very good breakfasts (Eggs Benedict for me, about three times) this August, got to the park when it opened (we skipped most of the EMH parks), did what we wanted by noon, then hit the pool for the afternoon. It was extra relaxing. We ate dinner in the parks, did a few more things, then went back to the resort to relax. It was our best vacation ever.

But we're morning people at WDW. Even my son who refuses to get up before 11 AM on Saturdays back home.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

When my brother and I were younger we didn't even get up early to go to WDW. I don't thing anything could get us out of bed before 9 or 10. We always ended up at the park at 11 or 12 (and still do) and get everything done, also the parks are soooo much prettier and cooler at night. It's a very relaxing way to do WDW! (and still get everything done, especially with night EMH)

 

[homer424]

we usually don't ever get to the parks much before 10am. We get up at around 7:30 or 8-our normal times-have breakfast and make our way to the parks. We always see what we want and we always have a great time. We are also not commando park goers, so we rarely have a plan on what to do-usually only plan which park on which day!

 

[Pedler]

We were just there the same week and it all depends on what you want to accomplish. If getting up early is going to be a serious crimp in your vacation style and you don't mind waiting 10- 15 minutes for some attractions you should be fine. That is a slow week but if you get there mid day you will find some lines.

We did go the early route and on our first day at the Magic Kingdom we did 26 rides / attractions. The day basically stared out with breakfast at the Crystal Palace at 8:05, we did a bunch of stuff, lunch at Pecos Bills, Left for the afternoon to go back to the Wilderness Lodge and swim then came back around 5:00 to go to Dinner at CRT at 6:00 and do several more attractions. For us that style worked and with our kids ride volume was everything. For some people that isn't so important. In particular the rides we did may not appeal to you. Here is what we got done that day:

Aladins Magic Carpets 2 Times
Barnstormer 4 Times. DS8 Rode with Goofy on first run.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Buzz 2 times
Dumbo 2 times
Jungle Cruise 2 times. (Once during the day and once at night. Big difference! If you haven't done it at night it is worth doing.)
Its a Small World 2 Times
Mickeys Philharmagic
PeterPan 2 Times
Pooh 2 Times
POTC
Snow White 2 Times
Splash
Tom Sawyers Island
TTA
Walt Disney World Railroad. (OK, Not a ride but the kids liked it.)

We never waited more than 5 minutes for a ride and most of them were walk ons. Also the repeats were not always done consecutively. Keep in mind that at one point in the day Peter Pan had a 50 minute wait. Why they were waiting that long for Peter Pan is beyond me. I like the ride and all but it wouldn't have been worth a 50 minute wait. Each to his own I guess.

Anywho if that is not what you are looking for then getting there late should work for you. On the flip side you just haven't lived until you have been out in the Florida heat and humidity in August between 1-5. I have never experienced anything like it. Of course I also never spent 4 hours in a sauna either. We were generally at the pool then but some people don't mind it. For us with our kids ages 6 & 8 ride count and getting out of the heat were important so that is how we did our touring.