Seriously - 10am c'mon!

[spacefly67]

My MIL made an ADR for EVERYONE in our party (9 adults and 2 kids) for Chef Mickeys at 10am on one day of our trip.
I like to go to the parks at rope drop and stay till after fireworks, so this messes up my whole plan.
Not going is not an option. Our trip is only for 6 days and I am figuring that we wont be getting to a park until 12 or 1. its a waste of a day to me, but I can't really do anything about it.
Any suggestions on what park to visit that day (8/31) or what else to do

 

[JimmyV]

Easy. Epcot. Spend the afternoon at World Showcase. That is always our choice when we burn the midnight oil the night before and can't make Rope Drop. Or when we have a morning activity (like golf) and can't get to a park before lunch. With FP+, you can still get a FP for one of the two major attractions if you want to spend some time at Future World, and supplement that with two additional FPs, though they might be for rides that don't really need them. Still, better to use them than lose them. Odds are, during your 6 day stay with 9 adults, you were going to spend a fair amount of time in World Showcase in any event. So this would be the perfect day to do that.

 

[CinderElsa]

My MIL made an ADR for EVERYONE in our party (9 adults and 2 kids) for Chef Mickeys at 10am on one day of our trip.
I like to go to the parks at rope drop and stay till after fireworks, so this messes up my whole plan.
Not going is not an option. Our trip is only for 6 days and I am figuring that we wont be getting to a park until 12 or 1. its a waste of a day to me, but I can't really do anything about it.
Any suggestions on what park to visit that day (8/31) or what else to do

Maybe this is your MIL's way of expressing her opinion about being in the parks from RD until close. Seriously, if you're in a group of 11 people, this is probably going to be the least of your problems.

You can always take a day off from the parks to swim, play mini golf, explore different resorts, etc. Might be a nice break.

 

[BellsFam]

Why can't you go into the parks at RD and head over to CM, meeting the family there? Then just head back to the park after... Obviously make it an MK day, you can walk from the CR to MK...

 

[Dawnlight]

From what I'm seeing as far as hours on 8/31, HS has 2 PM magic hours, so it'll be open until 10pm instead of 8pm. MK is open until 10pm. I think you should stick with MK. If the schedule changes and magic hours are added to MK for the morning, go hit a few rides at rope drop then go to your meal, and back to park after that. Maybe tour the other monorail resorts earlier in the morning before your ADR.

 

[cckp72]

Why did she chose 10am - curious. Is it because that is all they had available (then I emphasize with her) or is it because she is a later riser and this works better for her (then I think it's selfish) or does she have medical conditions that slow her down - for examples? I am sorry if I am being too nosy! I just think her motivations for doing this could help in planning the rest of your day

 

[Dawnlight]

I'll add that a 12pm-10pm day at MK is definitely not a wasted day, especially after a character brunch at Chef Mickeys.

Because it's a late breakfast/brunch time slot, you can skip lunch and just eat CS meal for dinner.

 

[scanmom]

Maybe this is your MIL's way of expressing her opinion about being in the parks from RD until close. Seriously, if you're in a group of 11 people, this is probably going to be the least of your problems.

You can always take a day off from the parks to swim, play mini golf, explore different resorts, etc. Might be a nice break.

Maybe this is your MIL's way of expressing her opinion about being in the parks from RD until close. Seriously, if you're in a group of 11 people, this is probably going to be the least of your problems.

You can always take a day off from the parks to swim, play mini golf, explore different resorts, etc. Might be a nice break.

Ii think these are all great ideas. Also, AK and HS are easily done in a half day, for us anyway. Actually any park but MK would work for an afternoon arrival. This is where FP+ is a huge benefit.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

I feel your pain. I like rope drop as well and used to always be there until park close. A 10:00 am reservation at a resort would drive me nuts because that's really not enough time to do anything before the reservation. I mean, you might be able to go to Magic Kingdom and ride one thing before heading over to Contemporary, but that's it. So now rope drop is out. I agree with the previous poster who suggested Epcot. It is the most recommended park on easywdw which is an added bonus! You can go there and enjoy World Showcase. And now that FP+ is the law of the land, you can book your fast passes for the afternoon. You won't likely get in both Soarin' and Test Track, but you will get in one of these and the other rides shouldn't have much of a wait when you arrive.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

Is she tied to that time? There are earlier openings that day for CM. With a group that big, dining does take longer, but an 8:00 am ADR would probably get you out close to 9:00.

Also, are you doing a park twice? You could schedule one of the times that day so that you still have a rope drop.

 

[nkereina]

Agree with PP - I would show up at MK by 8:30. Sometimes they open the gates a few minutes prior to 9. That would give you close to a full hour of park time at MK. If you leave by 9:45-9:50 to walk over to CM, you can meet the rest of the party there and just use the breakfast as a break.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Late breakfast is not our cup of tea for a variety of reasons. But sometimes, hanging out with the people is important. So I would suggest taking one for the team and enjoy this experience.

We had a late breakfast with friends our last trip. Getting a large group going is a lot do work. That day, we had MK plans--but it was our 3rd visit to MK that week.

As for a late arrival park, I would choose EPCOT. We did that as a late arrival the two times we visited in December and it was fine.

The suggestions to rope drop MK and then use breakfast as a break are good as well.

 

[Fastpassminus]

Josh has a pretty good plan for a late arrival at AK ( like 3pm late) using FP plus. Maybe do CM and then try that.

 

[Nancyg56]

I agree with the others, choose a park that you can stay at later, and use the breakfast as the start of that.

The problem rmthatviccurs when you travel as a larger party is that not everyone is on the same "clock". We usually try to go things like this if there is a compromise to be made, or on a relaxed or late day

 

[IrishNYC]

We ended up with a late ADR at CM breakfast for our upcoming trip, but it would have been one of 3 days at MK, so we're treating it like brunch and a chance to sleep in and be unstructured.

 

[PSUGuy]

Why can't you go into the parks at RD and head over to CM, meeting the family there? Then just head back to the park after... Obviously make it an MK day, you can walk from the CR to MK...

We did exactly this a few years back, didn't miss a beat.

Bill From PA

 

[JanaDee]

Why did she chose 10am - curious. Is it because that is all they had available (then I emphasize with her) or is it because she is a later riser and this works better for her (then I think it's selfish) or does she have medical conditions that slow her down - for examples? I am sorry if I am being too nosy! I just think her motivations for doing this could help in planning the rest of your day

If she's the one paying, she's the one that gets to decide when they're going to eat.

 

[cckp72]

If she's the one paying, she's the one that gets to decide when they're going to eat.

Ya, that's it! If she isn't though....well, I know what I would do

It sounds like the OP has no choice but to go along with it. It kind of sucks, but there are worse things than a paid for breakfast in WDW.

 

[JanaDee]

Is she tied to that time? There are earlier openings that day for CM. With a group that big, dining does take longer, but an 8:00 am ADR would probably get you out close to 9:00.

Also, are you doing a park twice? You could schedule one of the times that day so that you still have a rope drop.

I'd rather stick a fork in both eyes than be at a 7:45am appointment on vacation.

 

[JanaDee]

Ya, that's it! If she isn't though....well, I know what I would do

When you travel with a large group of varying ages, you're going to have to compromise. If you don't want to for whatever reason, prepare for the trip from hell.