Really, how do you do early mornings???

[redbonec]

I have read that it is good to get to the park early. I think I have read that an hour early is good to get there by. And that you can get so much done in the first two hours of the day.

I have been thinking it through:
To get to DL or CA for an 8:00 opening, we would need to get there by 7:00 supposedly.
Which means we would need to start eating breakfast by 6:15.
Which means we would need to get the kids (ages 5 and 8) around 5:45 a.m, which really to us is 3:45 a.m. since we will be flying in from Texas the day before.

So the above sounds tiring to me and that is just the start of the day.

Then I call our hotel (Embassy Suites South) and breakfast doesn't start until 6:30 a.m.
And the first shuttle starts at 7:15 a.m.
Which would not put us at DL until 7:30 a.m.

How important is it to get to DL an hour before opening and how does anybody do it that early??? Especially if you are coming in from a time zone east of California?

Just thinking of the above makes me cringe considering the one magic morning we would have on our tickets. Yikes.

Advice please!

 

[whoever]

For us, pretty critical. You eat a breakfast bar on the way. Check out the TR in my sig for how we do it and how AWESOME EMH is.

 

[lovebug33]

I usually get there a half hour early. We can't do an hour early. Our children do help out by getting up at 5:15 every morning. But our kids will be 1 and 2 when we go. Getting them dressed is a Herculean feat some mornings and we can't eat on the run.

 

[Congo Queen]

I would just say do the best you can to get there as early as you reasonably can. Even if you come 30 min after opening it is still going to be a lower crowd level than it will be at say 11am or noon. No sense in making everyone bleary eyed and miserable. We live in California so it is easier for us (no jet lag). I get up every day of my life at 5am anyway to go to the gym before work, so I am a trained early girl. My kids, however are another story. About a week before our trip I start to move their wake up time a bit earlier and earlier until they are getting up at 6am (our summer Dland wake up time). That helps but also being at Dland is a super big motivator for them. They want to get to the park at opening b/c crowds are so much lower. They will also hustle it in the morning knowing that they can have a long break and a nap midday. As for breakfast, we buy it the night before (i.e., pastries/bagels/turkey sandwich and milk from Downtown Dis or Jolly Holiday or Fidler Fifer) and have it all in the hotel fridge ready to go when we wake up so no need for spending time of sit down breakfast. We eat in the room while dressing and applying sunscreen. Have a great trip.

 

[marsh0013]

I have read that it is good to get to the park early. I think I have read that an hour early is good to get there by. And that you can get so much done in the first two hours of the day.

I have been thinking it through:
To get to DL or CA for an 8:00 opening, we would need to get there by 7:00 supposedly.
Which means we would need to start eating breakfast by 6:15.
Which means we would need to get the kids (ages 5 and 8) around 5:45 a.m, which really to us is 3:45 a.m. since we will be flying in from Texas the day before.

So the above sounds tiring to me and that is just the start of the day.

Then I call our hotel (Embassy Suites South) and breakfast doesn't start until 6:30 a.m.
And the first shuttle starts at 7:15 a.m.
Which would not put us at DL until 7:30 a.m.

How important is it to get to DL an hour before opening and how does anybody do it that early??? Especially if you are coming in from a time zone east of California?

Just thinking of the above makes me cringe considering the one magic morning we would have on our tickets. Yikes.

Advice please!

I think you have the time zone change backwards. 5:45am in CA would be 7:45am in TX, right? So it should actually be easier. We're counting on it, coming from the east coast. Those 7am EMH/MM will feel like 10am to us, at least our first day, so that seems much more doable.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

We drive in from about 90 minutes away. We get up at 5AM, bring bagels with us in the car, and get parked and to the turnstiles by 7:15AM. Every time.
We have small children, so for us, those first couple of hours are critical since waiting in line is harder later in the day. When we stay onsite, we bring food or buy some at the CVS on our first day and eat it on the way to the parks, or we grab something at McDonalds on the way in. My twins are 15 mos. old. It is very important to be able to carry some breakfast foods in your backpack that they can eat in the stroller while in line. Frozen go-gurts tend to work well, or bagels.

 

[lorijohnhill]

I wouldn't stress over it. The most important thing, in my opinion, is to do what works for YOUR family. We get up as early as we can handle each day, and go from there. If I start out the day stressed out just trying to get to the park, it will impact my enjoyment of the day.

 

[zanzibar138]

How many days do you have there? I usually try to do one RD morning per park (which would include your MM at DL), then allow ourselves to sleep in the other days. We come from Australia, so the time zone for us is so far out it's kind of irrelevant.

As far as logistics are concerned, it is one of the benefits of staying within walking distance that you don't have to rely on the shuttle schedule. If you decide that it's really important for you to be there before RD, and your budget allows for it, you could take a taxi there and then just use the shuttle on the way back. Or if you think the Toy Story parking lot is close enough, you could walk to there and take the free parking lot shuttle.

A lot seem to just have a quick snack style breakfast (yoghurt, granola bar, banana etc), and then stop for a late breakfast once the crowds start picking up. This wouldn't work if you want to take advantage of the free hotel breakfast though.

It is worthwhile if you can do it, but if logistics are too difficult for you, just get there as early as you can. There's no point in getting there early if you're just going to be tired, hungry and miserable! Each family has their own style of touring that works best for them.

 

[disney world dreamer]

i find getting to any disney park 20 minutes early is all you need.

in 2013 i arrived to DL and DCA 20 minutes prior to opening and i was among the first people into the parks.

i also find that DLR does not have that long of lines so there's no need to cram as many things as you can as early in the day as you can.

 

[ParkHopper1]

I am not a morning person. Personally I would much rather sleep, get a relaxed breakfast and then stay in the park till close. Being 100% at night in the park is far more enjoyable to me than being tired all day then zonking out into the night just to get a few extra rides in at park opening.

But I am counting on all you getting to the park first thing then tiring out so I can have the shorter lines at late night!...so Yes, GET THERE AT ROPE DROP!

We like to joke that around 10:00pm Disneyland transforms from the Happiest Place on Earth to the Grouchiest Place on Earth with all the families exhausted!

 

[LizzyS]

We don't run on this super strict schedule that you're describing (that many people recommend), but we DO roll out of bed early and get there before the park opens and get in those lines. The first three hours of the day are going to be the best, crowd-wise. Every time we've gone, 11am seems to be the time where you start to notice that many more people have entered the park.

 

[cmpeter]

You should still be good if you are there 30 minutes before opening. We plan for 45-60 minutes. We eat breakfast while waiting in line. One or two of run over to LaBrea Bakery in Downtown Disney while the others stay in line.

 

[jina]

We stay at HoJo's so it's a 10 min walk so we make sure we're awake an hour before rope drop - I make some instant oatmeal in the hotel room and we eat it w/ some banana or apple. Yesterday we decided to go to DL even though it was MM day w/ 9am regular opening - they start letting non-MM folks through the gates to line up on Main Street around 30 min prior to regular open so we plan to be at the gates 20 min prior to regular open (8:40 yesterday) so we can get through the gates in a minute or two, then walk to the end of Main Street and still have 5-10 min left to stand around with everyone else. The first few times we'd get there 45 min prior and would get through the gates 25 prior to open - we realized that was a waste of time for us.

We pretty much do the same for a non-MM day (as we did Fri morning after the Neverland 5K - we finished the run around 6, walked out to the GCH lobby around 6:30 and hung out in front of the fire until Storyteller's opened for breakfast. Then had a very leisurely breakfast until 8:30am. Walked out to the DL main gates and were at the end of main street at the rope at 8:50 - again 10 minutes waiting for rope drop.

If you are not walking from a hotel I'd think you need to plan extra time to get into a lot and take a tram or bus to the gates but unless you wanted to be first in line to maybe be selected as the family to open the park I really don't get why folks say to be at the gates so early. Last summer when getting through the gate meant you were at the head of the A&E meet and greet line then yes, getting there super early is important but now, not so much.

At DCA it's a similar story although we are not vying for RSR first thing.

 

[bumbershoot]

I think you have the time zone change backwards. 5:45am in CA would be 7:45am in TX, right? So it should actually be easier. We're counting on it, coming from the east coast. Those 7am EMH/MM will feel like 10am to us, at least our first day, so that seems much more doable.

Yep. When it's 5:45 in CA, and you're in TX, it's 7:45 for you.

That's why it's suggested to those traveling west to get those early mornings done FIRST in the trip, when it's easiest!


I have NEVER gotten to the gates a full hour earlier. Ever. And we're generally pretty close to the front of the lines.

And the earlier the opening time, the fewer people will be in those lines.

 

[tanyaegangibson]

The kids (DD10 and DS6) and I aren't early eaters (or early risers, or anything early, given a choice), so we don't eat much (or anything) before going into the park when we do EMH. We go on rides for an hour or two and then eat breakfast. Often we'll pick up coffee for me and milk or hot chocolate for them to drink as we wait in line (with maybe a croissant) and then have "real" breakfast closer to 9 or 10. We're also apt to go back to the hotel after lunch to hang out and rest for a few hours after having done all the early morning craziness.

 

[emmybee]

When my child was very young, my husband and I would joke w/ one another about how the good parents have taken their kids home in the evening, allowing us to close the park w/ our kid. Even now that the kid is on a normal schedule, we aren't early-risers, so we show up when it's good for us and stay as long as we can. That's why we stay several days so we don't feel rushed or stressed. We have never taken advantage of the MM because of this. Even if I were to fool myself into thinking I would be motivated to come in early, my husband would veto that notion!

 

[AngiTN]

I think you have the time zone change backwards. 5:45am in CA would be 7:45am in TX, right? So it should actually be easier. We're counting on it, coming from the east coast. Those 7am EMH/MM will feel like 10am to us, at least our first day, so that seems much more doable.

LOL.. Thank you. I kept wondering this myself. I was like "wait, we are Eastern and it's the other way around, EMH are easier for us at DL, not harder". I thought I was going crazy.

 

[PatMcDuck]

The first few days we are at DL from the east coast, I could be in the parks at 7 am, lol. (still on east coast time and all). Once we were there and DL opened at 7 am, because of the Miley Cyrus Sweet 16 party, and we made that.

We stay at one of the DL resort hotels, so it is easy for us, to walk over early. But, we use the main entrance for both parks, as the GC entrance to DCA can back up into the hotel lobby! (NOT kidding).

 

[PinkBudgie]

30 minutes early is the earliest we arrive. If we want to get on Peter Pan, we go on a non MM day, and arrive about 30 or 20 min early. We head straight there, do PP first, then the other Fantasyland rides and are usually done in FL by 9:30 am. Subs are another ride we would head straight to early on a different day. However, most days, we eat a relaxing breakfast, leave Candy Cane Inn by 7:50 and walk over to arrive at 8am. We find this to be plenty of time for all the other rides and don't need to rush.

We get FPs for RSR so we might get there early to get in the FP line and then head over to TSMM. We don't try to ride RSR first thing in the morning.

We always go back to our room around 3pm for a nap, then go back to the parks around 5 for the night time and stay until 10 or 11pm. We do this every day while we are there (6 days in summer). We figure we can sleep in at home and naps help us keep up the crazy schedule.

 

[agamble]

We rarely go an hour before opening. We tend to arrive at the gates 15-30 minutes before the park opens. At DCA they let you in the park 30 minutes before opening, but DL it's about 15 minutes before. Seriously if you can get to the park within 15 minutes of opening you SHOULD be able to get into the park by the time it opens. You won't be first in line at the rope so don't expect to walk on Peter Pan or RSR, but you'll be there before the mass crowds. At Disneyland pretty much everything except Peter Pan will be a walk on and at DCA everything but RSR will be a walk on. So I say eat your breakfast, catch the shuttle, and get to the park at least 15 minutes before it opens so you can be in the gates when they drop the ropes. If you have a MM at 7am, try to get there about 20 minutes early so you can be one of the first and get on Peter Pan with little wit that day, assuming you're going after July 1.