nighttime shows

[Belle_1989]

If you have younger kids ( 5 -8 years) how many nighttime shows do you go to during your trip? Also on average how many days do you go for?
Thank you

 

[pooh4evr]

My kids have been all different ages for our trips. The youngest we have had was 11 months old. We are "comando" park people thought. We go to rope drop, rarely (as in once) have we ever left for a break during the day. The kids have always napped in the stroller, so we usually see the fireworks and parades at night. But we plan our days fairly well, as in, when we eat, and do shows for a break without leaving. But my kids have never been very scheduled when it comes to bedtimes, our schools don't start until 9am, so they are used to being up later, and they will get up at WDW better than anywhere in the world!
That being said, if this is your first trip, I would try to do at the fireworks and parade at MK, and Fantasmic (our favorite). DH loves Illuninations, but for me it's just OK, if you have a Star Wars fans, then the fireworks at DHS might be a must too.
Our shortest trip was a quick 2 days on our way to Clearwater, but other than that for our normal trips we are usually there for 10 days, (arrival day, 8 park days, and departure day- usually 7 day park hopper water parks and more tickets)

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

I've been having the same issues. We went to DLR with kids 2-8yo in the off season, so it was easy to plan as F! and fireworks were only on the two weekends we were there. Then we went the next year in the summer, and there were fireworks every night. We had to just plan for the one night we would do a show, knowing that the next morning would be tougher to get out the door (so no EMH the next day--again, easier at DLR where YOU choose what day you want to use EMH on your ticket, not the park's schedule) and that we would need to retire early the next night. So at least one normal night in between late nights.
Such a plan is tougher at WDW because once ROL gets going, each and every park will have a late-night (for kids) offering, so four different options to try. We have a Christmas party built into our schedule for MK fireworks, and we are geeks, so we have to do DHS Star Wars fireworks. The rest will be open to our mood and tiredness level. It's the toughest thing to do at WDW: leave yourself freedom to decide some things on the fly when they seem to want you to plan every last second of your day.
We took afternoon breaks for what we called "quiet time" to avoid people protesting "naps," and were shocked to find even the 8yo nodding off. Get your rest, even if you see "only" one fireworks show. The early bird does get the worm at the parks, so know that if you turn in early, it's that much easier to get to rope drop/EMH.

 

[Thing 1]

So depends on when you are traveling. We have mostly traveled winter/off season and the night time shows are fairly early so not a huge issue. By preschool age, DS had seen them all. We do often take a afternoon break on these days because we always do rope drop.

 

[amy1981]

We're rope drop people as well. So early in, out by 12 or so, back to resort to swim, and unwind. I wish my kids napped, but they never have; even so the few hours to just play and recharge makes all the difference for them. We head back tp the parks around 5 or 6. Wishes is great, as well as Fantasmic. Fantasmic is easier with kids I think because you can sit down to watch. Both are not to be missed IMO. My kids were not thrilled with illuminations, I feel Wishes & Fantasmic are much more engaging for little ones. On nights when you know you'll be up late, just plan for a bit of a slower start the next day. Like I said, we try and make rope drop usually, but you can't expect a 5 year old to be up till 11 and up and out by 7 the next morning, that is a recipe for a melt down. When our kids were younger we'd space the evening shows a couple nights apart so they could have a few normal bed times in between.

 

[Belle_1989]

@amy1981 were planning on doing the same thing. Our tenative plan is to have them 4 nights apart and to have a break / late start day the next day.

 

[disneypolybride2008]

On our trip in April the kids were 13 months and 4 years old. We saw the fireworks nightly from our resort, MK was at 10pm, Epcot was at 9pm which was nice to see the latter half of the trip. The baby was cranky most nights but awake. We were able to walk right back to the room and be in bed in a few minutes. This trip in Oct we are planning the same thing, but MK has fireworks at 9pm a few nights so we may go to the parks to see th parade and fireworks!