Our budget is our budget (on site?)

[katyringo]

Thanks everyone. We will most likely not be spending the $$...

But we would be the exact right fit for it if we did. We are rope drop purists. I love being one of the first in the parks. Which is why it makes it hard for me not to cave. We always take an afternoon break and then come back. We have two kiddos. I can do drop drop to close when I am on my own. With them we need the break. My kids would LOVE the Disney pools. If I had the $$ without it impacting the rest of our trip I would 100% do it.

 

[katyringo]

I suppose I was just a particularly resistant child. Don't have any of my own yet but my parent's would take us from open to close (breaks for food and shows of course). The idea of just leaving the parks is so bizarre to me.

Not to be "that person" but the you not having kids yet is probably why you don't understand it. If I tried to make my kids power through it we would end up a puddle of disregulated, over stimulated, tired, can't reason with, messes at the end of the day.

 

[Malcon10t]

Honestly, this is me too. I don't understand why the norm is to leave the parks and go to the pool. Pools are literally everywhere, why pay $200 a ticket just to leave and go to a pool?? hahaha

Probably why I don't really see the value in paying $400 for a hotel room I'm just gonna sleep in.

And for me, it is a place to relax. I am not the GOGOGOGO person. So, the hotel does make the difference.

Not to be "that person" but the you not having kids yet is probably why you don't understand it. If I tried to make my kids power through it we would end up a puddle of disregulated, over stimulated, tired, can't reason with, messes at the end of the day.

My kids were go'ers from a young age, but now that they are adults, they now get mom's "relaxing".

 

[Kerr84]

The announcement of early entry returning has me overthinking. I will admit. We never stayed on site in the past. We would use our one magic mornings and have an amazing time.

For some reason the announcement has me thinking about on site for the first time ever. Even maybe a split stay. But as the titles says: our budget is our budget. Staying onsite would mean giving up a lot of the in park experiences we were planning like dessert party, etc.

So my dis peeps? Has your thoughts of staying on site changed? Are you considering it now?

I don't think it is that big of a deal for people staying offsite. You should be fine. They used to have this AND Magic Morning where anyone with 3 day tickets could get in early 1 of their days. You should still be able to get all the LL you want.

 

[chezcurrie]

OP~ Your idea of a split stay sounds good. And depending on your Harbor hotel the extra cost might not be as much as you think. For instance, Residence Inn for $600 a night (family suite) or Best Western Anaheim Plus in for $240 a night (2 room suite).
When the spring sale started my 2 room suite at the Hojo was the same price as 1 night at Grand Californian ($500). Paradise Pier has rooms starting at $344 a night.

I agree with everyone else about deciding what is more of a priority for your family.

This price comparison right here. We are a family of 5 (with one gigantic almost teenager) so our options for comfortable hotel rooms are limited - we often need a suite or 2 rooms. We did a split stay in Dec at the GCH (~$500/night) with our last day at DLH around $450 (because my boys love waterslides and we wanted our last day to be a pool day.) The DLH night was the same that we would have paid at the HoJo. We never stayed onsite pre-covid (did WDW trips) so the lack of extras wasn’t a factor.

When I travel solo I stay offsite, for my family we will likely always stay onsite (with some sort of discount) as we enjoy and value a mid day break and don’t want to leave the bubble. Our Dec stay at the GCH was one of my favourite Disney stays ever (including our WDW stays at the Boardwalk, the Poly & Art of Animation) The bubble is important to us - when I stayed at the HoJo with my 2 eldest in March 2020 (yup, we were there the day DL closed) the magic faded evertime we walked back to the HoJo.

Different strokes for different folks - in your case OP I don’t think an extra 30-60 min in the morning would be my tipping point for staying onsite, but perhaps doing 1 special onsite night would be a nice alternative and help you determine for later trips what you value the most.

EDIT: OP Just saw your post that its not worth it for you at this time - so ignore my thoughts!

 

[gelatoni fan]

I have to disagree with you on this. When we go we're there from early morning to night with no breaks!! If you want to do Disney right, suck it up and push through. lol

You're in the minority then. I know very few people who can do 7AM to 12:30-1AM in the parks every day for more than 2 consecutive days and no kids who can do that unless they sleep in a stroller during the day. Even adults who do EMH to closing on multiple consecutive days likely take a break or go slow - doing less than 20K steps rather than over 30K steps per day.

 

[starlite_]

Not to be "that person" but the you not having kids yet is probably why you don't understand it. If I tried to make my kids power through it we would end up a puddle of disregulated, over stimulated, tired, can't reason with, messes at the end of the day.

Sure, just because we did it doesn't mean other kids can. My comments were never meant to antagonize those that leave the parks for their own reasons. It was my opinion, which doesn't mean it's the best for everyone or the only one.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

We were commando style right up until my 4th kiddo was 2. She had an absolute meltdown one afternoon - too hot, done with stroller, screaming her head off. DH took her back to the hotel for a long 2 hour nap (he napped too), and I stayed with the kids. It is funny in hindsight, but gosh it was awkward to be those parents with the screaming toddler, and I really wished we had scheduling in downtime for her before it got to that point!

 

[brightlined]

Not to be "that person" but the you not having kids yet is probably why you don't understand it. If I tried to make my kids power through it we would end up a puddle of disregulated, over stimulated, tired, can't reason with, messes at the end of the day.

I'm so grateful when parents pay attention to this with their kids.

One of my greatest sadnesses at the parks is seeing a parent loudly chastising their way-beyond-the-point-of-exhaustion kid late in the day. The kid is backtalking because they're beyond done, and the parent is matching the tone because they won't tolerate the backtalk (and they're exhausted themselves). I get that parents want to maximize their Disney dollar (especially those who saved up for months / years for this one day at a park), but it's just so hard to watch.

(It's especially bad at the MK at WDW, since it's such an ordeal to get in and out of the park. Unless you can afford an MK resort, it's a 30+ minute effort to get the family to the car, and, if it's late, you're all but acknowledging that you're done for the day.)

 

[smartlabelprint]

Thanks everyone. We will most likely not be spending the $$...

But we would be the exact right fit for it if we did. We are rope drop purists. I love being one of the first in the parks. Which is why it makes it hard for me not to cave. We always take an afternoon break and then come back. We have two kiddos. I can do drop drop to close when I am on my own. With them we need the break. My kids would LOVE the Disney pools. If I had the $$ without it impacting the rest of our trip I would 100% do it.

If there was a discount at the DLR hotel and the entrance to from Paradise pier into DCA was in use I’d stay there. Right now we prioritize having a suite. We can’t afford that in a resort hotel.

 

[katyringo]

I'm so grateful when parents pay attention to this with their kids.

One of my greatest sadnesses at the parks is seeing a parent loudly chastising their way-beyond-the-point-of-exhaustion kid late in the day. The kid is backtalking because they're beyond done, and the parent is matching the tone because they won't tolerate the backtalk (and they're exhausted themselves). I get that parents want to maximize their Disney dollar (especially those who saved up for months / years for this one day at a park), but it's just so hard to watch.

(It's especially bad at the MK at WDW, since it's such an ordeal to get in and out of the park. Unless you can afford an MK resort, it's a 30+ minute effort to get the family to the car, and, if it's late, you're all but acknowledging that you're done for the day.)

Yes agree. And it's another reason we will have a stroller for our 6 year old. We won't use it during the day, but will bring it at night for a place for her to crash if needed. It's also why we decided to do the 5 days so we can take our time.

 

[Malcon10t]

There is the dif, if I wanted to relax I would go to the beach or a forest and spend less money haha

Which is why there are all different things for all different people. I could care less about a beach, going to Hawaii, etc... But I really enjoy my visits to Disneyland. Everyone has their likes/preferences/style. Luckily, there are enough options for everyone.

Yes agree. And it's another reason we will have a stroller for our 6 year old. We won't use it during the day, but will bring it at night for a place for her to crash if needed. It's also why we decided to do the 5 days so we can take our time.

I agree with whatever works to make your visit better for your family.

 

[deejdigsdis]

I suppose I was just a particularly resistant child. Don't have any of my own yet but my parent's would take us from open to close (breaks for food and shows of course). The idea of just leaving the parks is so bizarre to me.

I remember thinking this was odd as well, when I discovered DisBoards as an adult and planning my first trip with kids. I kept reading about these midday breaks and I wondered why people did that. Like you, my parents took us (6 kids) opening to close all 3 of our DL days - 8am to 1am (in the 70s and 80s) ...with open to close days at Magic Mountain and Knott's Berry Farm the same week. I have no idea how they did that, with my mom wearing a pant suit and heels, no less. I almost always do open to close with my kids, no matter the age, but I've never had 6 with me at once, and I'm certainly not wearing heels.

 

[starlite_]

I remember thinking this was odd as well, when I discovered DisBoards as an adult and planning my first trip with kids. I kept reading about these midday breaks and I wondered why people did that. Like you, my parents took us (6 kids) opening to close all 3 of our DL days - 8am to 1am (in the 70s and 80s) ...with open to close days at Magic Mountain and Knott's Berry Farm the same week. I have no idea how they did that, with my mom wearing a pant suit and heels, no less. I almost always do open to close with my kids, no matter the age, but I've never had 6 with me at once, and I'm certainly not wearing heels.

Heels! Your mom was on another level of epic haha. I would probably go barefoot before on heels to the Parks. My outmost respect to her.

 

[StormyCA]

Definitely put the onsites back on my radar! The restoration of EMH (in some form) and package delivery have made me 95% sure I'll be staying onsite. Before it was always the Grand, but the posts I've seen that onsite guests are again being allowed to use the Grand's front doors to ENTER the parks (NOT CONFIRMED BY DISNEY) and the new PPH/DCA gate are making me want to stay in the only onsite I've never stayed at. It was always the walk that stopped me from staying at PPH before.

 

[Kerr84]

My dad would force us to shut the place down! (MK not DL) The park would close and he would be shopping on Main Street for an hour or more afterwards. All 4 of us kids would fall asleep on the ferry ride back. I was 4 on my youngest trip though. No clue if I napped and no clue if we got their right at opening, probably an hour after if I'm guessing. We could only afford to go every 4 years or so, so he wanted to get his money's worth! My brother is now the same way and would not take a break for anything. I have a 2 1/2 year old and I take breaks sometimes. Sometimes she just naps in the stroller, and sometimes we go to the hotel if it is hot/crowded. We are staying at Tropicana in June. We may take a nap break in the hotel if she won't fall asleep in her stroller. I want to watch MSEP, Fantasmic, fireworks, and World of Color, so she will need some type of break.

 

[Chickinvic]

Doesn't change anything for me. It is SO much more expensive to stay onsite, that a bit of early entry wouldn't sway me (and yes, I am all about the rides and getting on as much as possible). I've never had a problem doing so, and I've never stayed on site.

 

[NewbieMouse]

If it means you'll give up special experiences I really don't think it's worth it. We stayed onsite once and did a split stay once and we really found it to be a poor value at DL. (At WDW though, I definitely thought it was worth it...)

 

[707MickeyGirl]

Yes agree. And it's another reason we will have a stroller for our 6 year old. We won't use it during the day, but will bring it at night for a place for her to crash if needed. It's also why we decided to do the 5 days so we can take our time.

I had a stroller for my granddaughter when she was six as well, and used it just as you plan to. The walk back to the hotel, even the Grand, is long at night for a tired child and I never wanted her to be miserable during our magical vacations.

 

[Ladyslug]

We are rope drop purists. I love being one of the first in the parks. Which is why it makes it hard for me not to cave. We always take an afternoon break and then come back. We have two kiddos. I can do drop drop to close when I am on my own. With them we need the break. My kids would LOVE the Disney pools. If I had the $$ without it impacting the rest of our trip I would 100% do it.

I expect that early entry will only be one park per day, as before, so hopefully you can still live your rope drop dreams in the off-day park while staying offsite. And there are so many offsite hotels that have nice suites, mini waterparks, etc. that are basically the same walking distance as DLH, but cost 1/4 as much!