Successful late nights with young kids/skipping RD?

[mshanson3121]

1. Has anyone ever had successful trips where you did later nights (9 or 10) with young kids (5 & 8)?
2. Has anyone done a trip where they didn't do ANY rope drops?

Still contemplating the extreme heat I know we're going to face, and trying to figure out the best way around it. I know most recommend doing RD, afternoon break, then going back in the evening. But.... DH is NOT a morning person. We're staying off-site, and darnit, it's vacation - the idea of having to get up at 6:30 on vacation just so we can get ourselves, the kids ready and packed to go and be out the door by 7:45 or 8:00 so we can be in the park by 9:00... REALLY is not appealing - at all. In fact, it sounds horrible to me as well. I guess I didn't realize we'd have to get up so early.

So... I'm thinking even if we could be to the parks for 10:00 or 10:30 instead, that would be better. We don't plan on staying longer than 4 hours, so we could do a 10-2 type thing. Will that really be THAT much worse than 9-1? I mean with FP+ and our DAS card, will the lines be that big of a deal?

The other thing we're considering is doing more evenings in the park instead. My only fear is if they'll get overtired from missing bedtimes. I don't know how much resting/napping they'll do, if any. So, I envision children that wake up at 7:00, then stay up all day, swimming etc... then head into the parks around 5:00 and then are utterly exhausted and lose it by 10:00... lol. But maybe the utter exhaustion will lead to a better sleep and they'll sleep in?

 

[Rosebud123]

We've been with kids your kids ages in September when it's been very hot. We usually ended up with 3/4 days (RD - 3 or 4) then a few hours at the pool. We liked to do a TS lunch ADR to get out of the heat and then eat CS by the pool, along with a few drinks. We'd also mix in a few days of late start/evening activity days (but not more than 2).

 

[KathyM2]

I totally understand where you are coming from - it's hard to get up that early, and you don't want to get back from vacation exhausted. The only problem with your proposed idea of going later and staying later is that you just don't get that prime RD time to get lots of attractions in. Once you get there, lineups will be bad for everything. Of course, you will have FP+ for your top 3 picks...and if you are ok with doing little else in addition to those pics and keep your expectations low for how much you can get done, then you can have a great time. I would just worry that your kids will see all these things they want to do, but the wait times will be ridiculous and then they will be dissapointed if they don't get a chance to ride. But if you can manage that, and be ok with doing less each day, then you should be fine with later arrivals.

 

[mshanson3121]

I totally understand where you are coming from - it's hard to get up that early, and you don't want to get back from vacation exhausted. The only problem with your proposed idea of going later and staying later is that you just don't get that prime RD time to get lots of attractions in. Once you get there, lineups will be bad for everything. Of course, you will have FP+ for your top 3 picks...and if you are ok with doing little else in addition to those pics and keep your expectations low for how much you can get done, then you can have a great time. I would just worry that your kids will see all these things they want to do, but the wait times will be ridiculous and then they will be dissapointed if they don't get a chance to ride. But if you can manage that, and be ok with doing less each day, then you should be fine with later arrivals.

We'll have our DAS card, so anything with a 20 minute (or less) wait, we'll be able to just use the FP+ line, and then anything over 20+ we can get a return time for, I'm hoping that will help some?

 

[Tink415]

Yes and yes. I let my oldest ride in a stroller at an "old age" because that gave her enough stamina to stay up late. I know some people hate seeing that. But my kids were always night owls and don't like getting up early. I think the longer you stay after 11-11;30 the heat and humidity really starts to build. Once I had my youngest I didn't care about squeezing every minute out of a park day.

 

[maryj11]

If you can stay late at MK the ride lines will decrease after the fireworks or during them. Even better if you can stay for MK evening EMH. If your kids can stay up that late that is. At AK a lot of people leave after 3:00 so crowds will drop off then also. You can always do your fastpasses and then ride the less popular rides that have low wait times then hit some of the more popular rides close to closing.

 

[Flametamr]

In 10 visits we have never made the Rope Drop. My kids are late risers and stay late in the parks. That seems to work best for us.

 

[ErinsMommy]

We've never done a RD - DD went to WDW with us first time @ 4 years of age and slept until 8-9, ate bkfst then went and stayed at park til it closed. Still do that with our last 3 trips and it works out great for us

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

My fondest Disney memory is chasing my then 3 year old daughter back to the entrance of Space Mountain moments before midnight with her screaming "one more time Daddy" all the way.

We find that multiple rerides are much easier late at night than any other time of the day.

We're at Disney right now, and have hit all the headliners several times. We try to arrive by 11 am or so and stay until the last park closes.

 

[ariane37]

I think all you can do is try it and see how they do! We've had our kids in the parks late since they were 4 and almost 1. If they were tired they slept in the stroller. When they reached 5 & 8, they could handle between 11-12 midnight in the parks if they hadn't been there since 8 a.m. I always found that their energy levels and sleep patters changed when in Disney, usually in our favor

 

[MouseMum]

My first time visiting Disney, I was 14 yrs old. I'm 49. We stayed at a hotel on International Drive. We knew nothing of RD and getting there early to beat the crowds. But we had the time of our lives!!!! On our honeymoon, in 1991, DH and I didn't plan, and I honestly don't recall having anything in the line of long waits that whole trip! (What you don't know...)

Today, I plan plan plan. Oh my! A change in times perhaps? I'm feeling a little nostalgic tonight, maybe that's it. Didn't even read through you whole post, OP. I'm sorry. Just needed to say this.

 

[mshanson3121]

I would love to do evenings in MK instead ofmornings/ afternoon, because of the heat and not having to get up so early. I would easily do a late afternoon arrival for HS, too, if the kids didn't want to do the Jedi academy so badly. But I don't want to risk not getting a spot.

Is RD important at AK if you're mostly going for the trails, safari and Lion King? (we'll go another day for RD, to do Conservation Station)

 

[IndyRnRfan]

We did both when our son was 8. We found it better to not do rope drop and stay out later. He was a trooper and hung with our fast walking 12-14 hrs/day. Now, when we got on the bus, he was out like a light and slept all night long. By 9 the next morning he was ready to go.

 

[MissionMouse]

mshanson3121 - We have done trips 9-10 night long; doing late nights (2am), MVMCP, and rope drops. I think the best plan is to have thought out a set of plans with options and be observant to know when to drop a plan and adopt another, based upon how everyone is doing each day. You know your kids better than anyone, so know when to adjust your plans on what you are seeing or hearing. I will note I have seen parent during every vacation to Disney World who ignore the signs and signals but continue with their schedule pushing young kids past their breaking points, since they want to "get their money's worth each day" or have to make that 7pm dinner at Chef Mickey's.

It's important to make a vacation a vacation, so "sleeping in" is a part of the deal. For us, not everyday, but we understand we need to do this on some days and our children help us gauge the need. If you get up early everyday during Summer you may start to observe its impact on their energy levels; especially if you are up early and out late in Summer. Could be dehydration (make sure to select water based drinks over soda) and not eating enough due to the hot temperatures. It's important to mention to stay hydrated each day, which may mean special attention to getting everyone to drink water or a water base drinks throughout the day. Walk in the shade whenever possible and take advantage of anyplace providing a break from the heat of the day which could include ice cream, wet ride, fan, A/C, etc.. Sunglasses can also avoid eye strain-fatigue which can make you feel tired all over. We also took midday or late afternoon pool breaks (stayed on-site). Just make sure "utter exhaustion" is not accompanied with dehydration or caused by dehydration or they will wake up less than ready to do it again the next morning.

 

[Baptist]

If you are not "rope drop people", don't do it. Yes, it's my #1 recommendation to everyone. However, you have to do what is best for your family. Plus, with FP+, you can guarantee 3 passes. No need to run at rope drop to get that Toy Story Mania fast pass. Have a great time, on your schedule.

I'm sometimes amazed at how hot it gets in Orlando, even in October let alone September.

 

[jolene63]

We feel the same as you about getting up super early on vacation. We have never done RD on any of our trips and have always had a terrific time. We love FP+ because we can sleep in a little and still have our favorite rides reserved for later in the day. Remember, you can get more FastPasses when your first three are used. We got so many extra FastPasses during our trip last June. We LOVE MK at night and always take advantage of the evening EMH. My kids (7 & 10) had no problem staying up until 3:00 AM last summer. You know your kids best. Stay late one night and see how they do.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I've always found it much easier to let my kids stay up late than make them get up early.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Yes!

And Yes! Though that was more back in the day...

Now we almost never do ACTUAL RD, but really try to arrive by 9:20am. We usually try to avoid being a park gate BEFORE it opens- to us that is wasted time. But we also don't beat ourselves up if we arrive at ten. So long as we arrive in time to use our first FP!

We did make a RD exception to see A&E back in Epcot, THAT was a true running of the bulls. Crazy! But I digress...

No matter the ages of our family members, we pretty much ALWAYS do late nights. They are SO much better than mid-days!

If someone is unhappy, tired or injured, we take a break. As long as everyone is good to go- we keep going. Mind that's a bit harder with having to rebook all your FP.

Now at Universal, FotLA gave us complete flexibility to come and go as we please...oops sorry, I digress again.

In all seriousness, in summer, the time to avoid the parks is afternoons: super hot, sticky, stormy, and crowded. The best park hours of the day are nights. The kids understand, especially by age 5, the difference between standing 70min in hot sun to ride Goofy's Barnstormer, vs. walking on the mtns in cool evening. The latter is far more relaxing.

If need be, we nap.

ADR's are also another big restriction in how we use our time. Again I hate the new rigidity of Disney, yuck! I'm very disappointed with the lack of dining at WDW. Getting a sit down meal shouldn't be a hassle. Sorry for the rant.

 

[Colleen27]

Late nights will depend on your kids. I've had mine in the Magic Kingdom as late as 3am and they do great, but they're very flexible kids. The youngest was only 4 the first time we did a super late night in the parks with her, but she's been sleeping where ever we happened to be since she was a baby (she's 7 & 10 years younger than her siblings and was born at the start of my son's first football season - sleeping despite noise, weather, and movement was a survival strategy for her!) so she just rolled with it. But I've seen enough kids her age melting down in the evenings to know not all can deal with it.

As far as rope drop, that's kind of a must. When it is warm we do split days - rope drop, long break, late night. In cooler weather we sometimes do rope drop straight through to close, but the parks close earlier when the crowds are low and nights aren't always warm enough to be pleasant in the winter. But even with FP+, the only park where rope drop isn't important is Animal Kingdom. At Studios and Epcot tiering forces us to ride at least one headliner standby, and rope drop is the best time to do so. And at Magic Kingdom, there are more than three long-wait attractions we want to see so once again we find rope drop is still important even with FP+.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I'm sometimes amazed at how hot it gets in Orlando, even in October let alone September.

Excellent point! Big difference btween winter and summer trips! In the winter, am's can be SO cold. (and for pm's we BUNDLE!) (the difference is what ever we bring in AM we have to carry. What we wear for pm, we wear.)

In the summer, you may find it pays to take advantage even of 8am, EMH- just to be about before the HIGH heat kicks up. By 3pm, real feel temps over 100. In summer, beak! is our hard rule.

Winter, the afternoon may be the only part of the day where it's warm enough to ENJOY being outdoors. Jan can = frost, huge plumes of steam from the pool.