Prioritizing and planning...

[fiestymama]

We are a little over three months away from our very first Disney vacation and couldn't be more excited :-D Have been giving a lot of thought to prioritizing and figuring out each day's plan, like the Type A Mama that I am, and trying to wrap my head around what DS8 and DD6 will be capable of handling in terms of the long days.

In your opinion, is it a better strategy to make rope drop and leave the park before fireworks/evening shows OR sleep in and stay until fireworks/evening shows?

Which fireworks/evening shows are best and not to be missed?

Thanks for your insight and opinions in advance! I know everyone's opinions and what each family enjoys will vary, but would like to hear your experiences since I'm a newbie to WDW.

 

[Maggie Lizer]

How many days are you there for? Would you be able to plan one rope drop and one evening at both MK and Epcot? I would not want to miss Wishes or Illuminations, but rope drop is pretty important for MK at least (not as much for Epcot with FP+, IMHO).

AK closes early, so I'd plan RD on my AK day.

My kids are too little to get jazzed over the idea of Fantasmic, so I do not have that as a "must do", but I think DHS is a rope-drop park, too.

If you don't have enough days to do a mix of RD and late nights, consider taking a couple hour break in the afternoon so the kids can stay up for the nighttime shows you want to catch.

 

[fiestymama]

We will be there Nov 1-8, and intend to follow this plan:
Sat - travel day
Sun - AK (open 9-5)
Mon - MK (open 9-9)
Tues - HS (open 9-7)
Wed - rest/resort/DTD day
Thurs - Epcot (open 9-9)
Fri - MK (open 9-7, no evening shows)

 

[kohlby]

It depends on your kids - will they sleep in? And if they don't get enough sleep, does everyone suffer? The answers for my kids are that they won't sleep in nor nap and one of the three will make everyone around her suffer if she doesn't get enough sleep. So, sleep has always been a priority for us. Due to that, we have picked night time activities carefully, making sure not to have too many. In the past, we went in the winter, when these started much earlier. Staying for Wishes at 8pm was actually considered a late night for us. In the past, we planned the later nights on our very last night and then one in the middle before an off-day, with the middle one not as late as the last one. The last one is anything goes, as we can deal with over-tired kids on the way back.

We haven't made it to Illuminations with the kids yet, but do either Wishes or Fantasmic each trip. Our next trip might have Fantasmic with us splitting up. But we're doing the Halloween party so that's our ultimate in late nights.

Another option is to do a bit of both. Hit some rope drops and do some later nights and mix it up. My kids will wake up in time for rope drop no matter what, so we don't have the option of sleeping in. But if yours will sleep-in, then you have more flexibility. As for picking which ones, look at the times and also ask your kids. For us, Illuminations has always been the latest at 9pm due to going in the winter. But on our next trip in Sept, that is not the case.

Trip length makes a huge difference too. If it's a short trip, going late and long can be okay. But if it's a long trip, pacing is essential. We don't want to tour with over-tired kids. But it's fine if they're over-tired on the way home!

 

[Pkltm]

Our first trip my kids were that age. We would do RD, a mid day rest and then go back in the evening.

 

[Chuckers]

Just my two cents... Do you have park hoppers? I plan around park hopping..

Do a rope drop then come back to the hotel around 2 or so.. TAKE A NAP! Down time is important and it allows you and the little ones to recharge.
Go to another park for night time fun.

Saw your fast passes for the afternoon/night park, since you can do headliners at rope drop.

I would definitely see Fantasmic and Wishes. Illuminations is okay.. but there's really no story and ends up being lots of exploding fireworks.

 

[butterfly71076]

We are a little over three months away from our very first Disney vacation and couldn't be more excited :-D Have been giving a lot of thought to prioritizing and figuring out each day's plan, like the Type A Mama that I am, and trying to wrap my head around what DS8 and DD6 will be capable of handling in terms of the long days.

In your opinion, is it a better strategy to make rope drop and leave the park before fireworks/evening shows OR sleep in and stay until fireworks/evening shows?

Which fireworks/evening shows are best and not to be missed?

Thanks for your insight and opinions in advance! I know everyone's opinions and what each family enjoys will vary, but would like to hear your experiences since I'm a newbie to WDW.

We utilize morning EMH (extra magic hours) whenever possible. I would suggest hitting RD at MK, and mid day break back to the resort, then go back for Wishes. I would also hit RD at HS, and it might be a half day park for you guys depending on if your kids can/will ride TOT or RNR, and the same, mid day break, then Fantasmic.

Evening shows not to missed, IMO, Wishes and Fantasmic. We've done Illuminations a couple times, are not impressed by it, but some people love it

 

[mymommom]

Grandmom here. Our November group includes two 9 yr olds, an 8 yr old, a 5 year old, a 3 year old and a 3 month old. We Always start with MK - it's a great beginning to the trip with everything your little ones will love. We use easywdw.com as a resource and really trust his advice. Based on his November calendar (and our touring preference) I would do:
Saturday - travel day {Great idea to swim and relax the first day!}
Sunday - MK - Definitely do rope drop - I wouldn't miss Wishes @ 9pm
Monday - HS - Definitely do rope drop - We have dinner about 4:30 then relax
Tuesday - AK - A much more low key day!
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - EP - Rides early - then enjoy WS
Friday - MK - Enjoy your last day at MK - I would see the FOF Parade @ 3 today!
Have Fun!

 

[rani8600]

just my two cents... Do you have park hoppers? I plan around park hopping..

Do a rope drop then come back to the hotel around 2 or so.. Take a nap! down time is important and it allows you and the little ones to recharge.
Go to another park for night time fun.

Saw your fast passes for the afternoon/night park, since you can do headliners at rope drop.

I would definitely see fantasmic and wishes. Illuminations is okay.. But there's really no story and ends up being lots of exploding fireworks.

this^^^

 

[ptlohmysoul]

We are a little over three months away from our very first Disney vacation and couldn't be more excited :-D Have been giving a lot of thought to prioritizing and figuring out each day's plan, like the Type A Mama that I am, and trying to wrap my head around what DS8 and DD6 will be capable of handling in terms of the long days.

In your opinion, is it a better strategy to make rope drop and leave the park before fireworks/evening shows OR sleep in and stay until fireworks/evening shows?

Which fireworks/evening shows are best and not to be missed?

Thanks for your insight and opinions in advance! I know everyone's opinions and what each family enjoys will vary, but would like to hear your experiences since I'm a newbie to WDW.

We always found it best to mimic what we do at home. However, we do make 1 exception in order to see fireworks.

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

To RD or not to RD tends to be grounds for WWIII on this site. Personally I think it depends on your lil' ones and their personal habits. For us the first hour post RD is invaluable, for others they are fine standing on lines. It really depends your own preferences.

 

[boltfan]

We've always done rope drop and then an afternoon break, and then back to the parks. This way you get to do everything and not have to pick mornings or evenings.

 

[Ksquared]

I think at your kids' ages, you should probably plan for a mix of rope drop days and maybe one or two that you stay later.

Even though we seem to plan out our trips well in advance, don't be afraid to change things up once you get there and see how the kids are doing. Nothing wrong with that!

 

[GillianP1301]

We always found it best to mimic what we do at home. However, we do make 1 exception in order to see fireworks.

This is our strategy as well. Sleep & meal times are kept pretty consistent with home. On our first two trips with DS (when he was 4 and 5), we had 1 evening for fireworks in our plan. This trip he's now 6, so I'm building in 2 evenings one for Wishes and 1 for Wishes Dessert Party.

We don't tend to do afternoon breaks and then return. We just start when we're up (naturally early risers) and go until we're tired, which is sometimes right after lunch and sometimes after dinner and then turn the rest of the day into pool/relax time. We end up with a pretty good balance of park and resort time that way.

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

hmmm, many will suggest mid day breaks... and I suppose if you were considering skipping morning or evening I would too opt to take a mid day break. You dont want to lose those first few hours in the park nor the amazing shows in the evenings.

With that being said... we've always hit the parks from open to close (well, at least we do for MK!). My daughter is 7 and has been doing it since she was 2, she used to sleep in the stroller, this year she will be trooping it out with us.

 

[evcollins]

Just my two cents... Do you have park hoppers? I plan around park hopping..

Do a rope drop then come back to the hotel around 2 or so.. TAKE A NAP! Down time is important and it allows you and the little ones to recharge.
Go to another park for night time fun.

Saw your fast passes for the afternoon/night park, since you can do headliners at rope drop.

I would definitely see Fantasmic and Wishes. Illuminations is okay.. but there's really no story and ends up being lots of exploding fireworks.

I agree with this, too! If your family doesn't want to take the mid-day break, be sure to hit some indoor attractions to rest a bit. We schedule mid-day breaks, but it all depends on the mood of my kids. Sometimes they'd rather keep going, so we do until they start slowing down and then we're done for the night. Have fun!

 

[HHMcG]

As everyone has said it depends on your kids.

Last trip my kids (7 & 6 years old) could go all day about half the days with some planning. We made sure we had a TS meal for lunch or dinner to rest a bit. And we usually tried to find some unstructured play time for them to break up the day. They wouldn't nap but pool or playground time helped. Something as simple as playing on Tom Sawyer Island or the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground.

For us the full days was most necessary at MK and HS (our favorite ride and favorite night time shows). Having those two back to back may be hard.

 

[EvangelineG]

I agree with the PPs saying that it depends on your usual schedule and your kids' energy levels and needs. Are they morning people or night owls? Are they the type to need a break and a rest after 6 hours at school, or can you take them straight to activities afterwards? How do they generally cope with a long day, lots of stimulation like at a local fair or amusement park?

My guys were early birds, so rope drop was perfect for us. They stopped napping at early ages so that would have just been an exercise in frustration, but a quiet midday break with a swim often worked well. Some days they really wanted to keep going, but without that midday rest they were grouchy, tired messes by the time fireworks rolled around.

 

[harbin]

It may also depend on whether or not you have a time difference. We are coming from the west coast... so when it is 8am at WDW it is only 5am at home Therefore we sleep in and hit the parks mid morning (think 10ish). This and a late afternoon break allows us to close the parks every night. Last trip we found the waits late at night to be just as short as rope drop waits, especially in MK. We rode everything we wanted multiple times, and this was over spring break! We didn't take naps, but did have a few days of afternoon pool time for the kids, and cocktails for mom and dad. It worked perfectly. This is what we plan on doing in our trip coming up too. Kids are 8 and 3.

Our schedule on a typical MK day:
Wake up, around 9am, head to park. Arrive by 10-10:30.

FP+ rides
Lunch
Head back to resort around 2
Stay at resort, swim, relax until 5ish
Head back to MK
Dinner
Stay until close....

On parks with shorter hours like AK we may just stay the whole day, and call it an early night. Or if kids are still going strong, then we hop to MK or Epcot.

Can't wait to go back!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

When my kids were that little, we only did Wishes.

We would plan that day so we'd go to rope drop (they were early risers no matter what), but then be back in our room by 1pm for swimming and naps.

Then we'd head back out after eating dinner at the resort and would stay through Wishes.

For the other parks, we just got there early morning - stayed until the kids were tired and spent the rest of the time at the resort.
Sometimes my husband would stay with the kids while I went back to Epcot for touring the World Showcase.

The key for us was being flexible. We based everything on how the kids were after our first couple of commando trips with them that didn't go well.