Successful late nights with young kids/skipping RD?

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

Personally I can't wait till my 4 year old is at a point where he actually wants to sleep in. It's our biggest problem on WDW trips. Even on nights we close down MK at midnight, by 7:30am he is up and not going back down, plus he rarely naps. He'll go like that for a few days, then need a crash day. We're avid RD folks, out of necessity.

As for heat avoidance in Aug/Sept, RD and evening hours are being 500 feet from the surface of the sun, rather than directly on it at Noon. The difference we feel is marginal.

 

[jcemom]

As for heat avoidance in Aug/Sept, RD and evening hours are being 500 feet from the surface of the sun, rather than directly on it at Noon. The difference we feel is marginal.

True lol. Every time we go in September we get there and I am saying "OMG I feel like I am walking on the face of the sun!" But then we turn around and book another September trip anyway lol. It isn't anything like late fall and early spring when the mornings and evenings are pleasantly cool then it's hot midday. Summer and early fall at Disney are just plain hot. All the time. We would joke that when we stepped outside the air conditioning it was like running into a wall. The humid air actually feels solid sometimes. Still, we go back, so it must not be that bad.

 

[kmoore7]

We have always done extended stays so RD was never an issue. We would eat a nice breakfast, take our time getting to parks, then close them down. Rest the day after, then repeat. Only day we get up early is for AK. That one is hot and humid by 8am. Even when they were that young, seemed easier to keep them going late rather than up that early.

BTW,I have witnessed several parental meltdowns in the parks too. Lol.

Have a magical trip

 

[DisMommyTX]

We have always toured late. Kids are now 7 and 10, and have been traveling mid-summer since the oldest was 2. We wake up slowly, swim at the condo eat a good lunch, then hit the parks. Haven't seen a rope drop yet, but never miss the fireworks. We usually get there about noon, earlier for AK, later if MK is open until midnight. It's your vacation -- enjoy it your way!

 

[JZCubed]

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?

You've hit on all the issues.

So the question you and your kids have to answer is what time to get out of bed.

If they are typically capable of staying up past 10pm, then you have a workable plan.

You might think about making that adjustment before getting to Disney - allowing them to stay up later than their typical bedtimes.

 

[mshanson3121]

You've hit on all the issues.

So the question you and your kids have to answer is what time to get out of bed.

If they are typically capable of staying up past 10pm, then you have a workable plan.

You might think about making that adjustment before getting to Disney - allowing them to stay up later than their typical bedtimes.

Funny, we talked about this very thing. And we actually planned it at least a bit becauase of the time change (Florida time is 1 hour behind us, so if their bedtime is 8:00 here, then putting them to bed at 8:00 in Florida would be the equivalent of them staying up till 9:00). So I think over the next couple weeks we'll push it to a 9:00 bedtime, and then we'll just go from there. Even if we could go to the parks from 5-9 or 6-10 we'd be happy.

 

[GatorMama]

My kids naturally wake at 6:45/7 and always have. Husband and I are not morning people.
I planned all RDs for our first trip. Things went so smoothly. I was praised as a rock star for getting most rides in Fantasyland done in 45 mins. (Before the expansion, but it still included Peter Pan, Pooh, Snow White, IASW, Barnstormer)
The second trip we did RD twice and DH insisted on touring slowly the other two mornings. We followed him... With no plan into DHS around an hour after opening and were met with a 2 hour wait time at TSMM. Almost as bad at RNR... Didn't even ride Star Tours.
He let me RD the next day instead of strolling in whenever we woke up.

We also do the halloween party. We've onlybdone it once in addition to a regular trip and twice with that being the only park day. We are at the party from 4 PM til midnight. First year we had a 3 year old only. Next year was 4 and a 16 month old.... And the last year we took both too.. And I was very very sick while pregnant with #3. But we still did all eight hours.

And then we laid on the couch ALLLLLLL day the following days. The first year our day after was the drive home and it was miserable.

This year our plan is to do the halloween party our second night. Then plan a slow day at the resort the next day. Our only firm plans are a pirate adventure for our oldest for his 6th birthday and an ADRS at Boma. THEN begin our 4 park days...

All that to say that I think trying out different touring styles will help you figure out what is best for your family.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I'll never forget, how COOL FL was in AUGUST one trip. We booked BC and set our hearts on swimming, never thinking it would be too cool in AUGUST in FL! We stood at the top of the slide tower with blue lips and chattering teeth! We also wore long pants (nights).

Mind, we've also seen it rather warm in September. Weather is always a big variable!

Storms often cool things down. Also, I think I disagree slightly with an above poster. Everything is relative, and what evening temps your used to at home. Florida is a peninsula, and it is very flat. If there is any breeze, the heat blows off.

We've also been pleasantly surprised by how comfortable the FL beaches have been in summer. Before we went, we just assumed they'd be miserably hot. We found they were perfect, and very reasonably priced!
**********
We've also seen it both ways with crowds. Before the recession, EE was new; AK was once so crowded we couldn't move. On that trip, strict RD/late night were the only way to get anything done. A scary mob swarmed the POR to MK bus.

Other times, big rides are walk-on all day. I lost much respect for crowd prediction sites (not that much) one March trip of supposed 8/9's. Most rides were walk-ons instead. It was super slow one rainy day. That morning, we were going to do our usual, almost RD. Just as we were about to leave, we looked out the window of our hotel room and only saw white. We waited a bit.

 

[JZCubed]

Funny, we talked about this very thing. And we actually planned it at least a bit becauase of the time change (Florida time is 1 hour behind us, so if their bedtime is 8:00 here, then putting them to bed at 8:00 in Florida would be the equivalent of them staying up till 9:00). So I think over the next couple weeks we'll push it to a 9:00 bedtime, and then we'll just go from there. Even if we could go to the parks from 5-9 or 6-10 we'd be happy.

You're managing the thought process correctly, imho.

The Guidebooks suggest kids have a 4-hour window and you are planning to stay in that timeframe.

Scheduling late breakfast and/or early lunches may give you a way to manage some of the early times while also avoiding the heat.

 

[mshanson3121]

You're managing the thought process correctly, imho.

The Guidebooks suggest kids have a 4-hour window and you are planning to stay in that timeframe.

Scheduling late breakfast and/or early lunches may give you a way to manage some of the early times while also avoiding the heat.

Well as luck would have it last night was DD's birthday party and the kids were up till 11:00 pm our time (10:00 EST), and lo and behold they slept int till 9:00 and 9:30 this morning! So, that definitely gives up some hope, lol. I do think they'll be more likely to sleep in the next morning if they're running around, active, and really wearing themselves out.

We've pretty well made our plans so that in 10 days, we're only doing 3 early mornings: two at AK and one at Blizzard Beach. HS we're just going to go in the late afternoon and stay through till F! Epcot we're just going to do one or two evenings. MK we're going to do one late morning arrival (we have HDDR at 4:00, so we'll leave around 2:00ish for the boat over), one afternoon arrival (come in time to watch FoF), and one evening.

The kids are fine with getting up early, as am I, but DH isn't, and since he didn't want to come on this trip in the first place (he's only going because he knows the kids and I want to), I figure the least I can do is let him sleep in on vacation most days.

 

[HCinKC]

My 6yo did very well. His bedtime at home is 8. There was only one night where he was in bed close to that. With the exception of one morning, we were out of our room by about 7:45 every day. We had one very late night (SWW Fireworks) for him, getting back about 11. He was fine, but we were both tired and did not make our planned SWW RD the next morning. Otherwise, he did very well. We stayed out for IllumiNations one night. We did MSEP and Wishes. He actually did fall asleep during Wishes, but I am not surprised since it was our last night. The week had finally caught up with him. I was pretty sure he would be fine running on an extended schedule. He sleeps well but is not greatly affected by being off schedule. He doesn't get crabby really. Plus, I knew the excitement of Disney would fuel his fire. We had originally planned on afternoon breaks since we also have a 10mo. We did it a couple of times, but even the baby did pretty well on a messed up schedule. It all depends on temperament, and you know your kids best. Follow your instincts and adjust from there!

 

[JZCubed]

Well as luck would have it last night was DD's birthday party and the kids were up till 11:00 pm our time (10:00 EST), and lo and behold they slept int till 9:00 and 9:30 this morning! So, that definitely gives up some hope, lol. I do think they'll be more likely to sleep in the next morning if they're running around, active, and really wearing themselves out.

We've pretty well made our plans so that in 10 days, we're only doing 3 early mornings: two at AK and one at Blizzard Beach. HS we're just going to go in the late afternoon and stay through till F! Epcot we're just going to do one or two evenings. MK we're going to do one late morning arrival (we have HDDR at 4:00, so we'll leave around 2:00ish for the boat over), one afternoon arrival (come in time to watch FoF), and one evening.

The kids are fine with getting up early, as am I, but DH isn't, and since he didn't want to come on this trip in the first place (he's only going because he knows the kids and I want to), I figure the least I can do is let him sleep in on vacation most days.

You have plenty of time between now and your long enough stay to likely see all of the various combinations and permutations of second-guessing your plans every step of the way.

If you keep practicing with the kids getting to bed later in the evening, husband might find 9am-11pm gets him a solid 8 hours of sleeping…..and after spending 40 minutes at security to get to a 1-hour wait for the first rides - he'll understand the benefit of rope drop by the end of your journey.

I don;t recall where you're staying, but if it's available and works for you and/or husband - locate the lounge with adult beverages and figure out of there's a corner for the kids to crash while the adults unwind. You also can accomplish many family events without going back into the Parks. Disney is huge and sometimes 'people watching' is more fun than going to Parks or events.

 

[mshanson3121]

You have plenty of time between now and your long enough stay to likely see all of the various combinations and permutations of second-guessing your plans every step of the way.

If you keep practicing with the kids getting to bed later in the evening, husband might find 9am-11pm gets him a solid 8 hours of sleeping…..and after spending 40 minutes at security to get to a 1-hour wait for the first rides - he'll understand the benefit of rope drop by the end of your journey.

I don;t recall where you're staying, but if it's available and works for you and/or husband - locate the lounge with adult beverages and figure out of there's a corner for the kids to crash while the adults unwind. You also can accomplish many family events without going back into the Parks. Disney is huge and sometimes 'people watching' is more fun than going to Parks or events.

There will be no 1 hour waits for us thankfully. We will have a DAS card for both of the kids, so between FP+ and DAS, we shouldn't have to wait more than 20 minutes thankfully (aside from parades etc). We were able to get FP+ for all the major rides we wanted in each park: A&E, 7D, Splash, Thunder, HM, TSMM, Safari, Kali, TT etc... (happy dance) We will not be in any parks from RD to close, ever. Both kids have special needs and there's just no way that would ever happen. We are planning 4-5 hours max, each day in a park, with the exception of one day at MK where we're *hoping* to arrive in time for FoF and stay for MSEP/Wishes. We have BBB at 5:00 and CRT at 6:50, so I'm hoping that between sitting watching the FoF, plus the two ressies which will give a good couple hours inside in a/c, that those things will provide enough down time, but.. if they're shot before MSEP/Wishes, then so be it.

Though I agree that keeping them up later is likely to result in us getting a good solid sleep! lol.

 

[twodogs]

I haven't read all of the posts, but will add my thoughts. Our daughters are the same age as yours, and we have made 4 Disney trips in 4 years. They are typically morning kids, up early and we do RD at all of the parks. However, this trip we did it a little differently, at least on arrival day. We live in Texas, so the first night is the best chance of staying up/out later since they are still on Dallas time. Our flight got in at noon, we took DME to AKL and then went to AK. Closed that park at 6pm, went to MK for CRT dinner. Then we stayed in MK and didn't leave until about 11PM. We rode pretty much everything but SDMT as walk-on during the MSEP and Wishes, which my kids have seen many times and didn't mind missing. I think we rode Buzz (twice), BTMRR (twice), Tomorrowland Speedway (twice), Magic Carpets of Aladdin (3), POTC, and several other rides multiple times that night in just 2 hours. Once Wishes was over, we did a few more rides and headed out. It was great to not have the waits! I wish they could stay out that late every night, but not with the early risers that they still are... maybe when they are teenagers!!

 

[mort1331]

As almost everyone has said, you have to be the judge of your family. Ours bucks the trend of a lot on this thread. My girls 4&8 wake up everyday at home, they wouldn't and don't sleep in at Disney. We RD everyday, and stay for fireworks and parades, but we have never stayed after. Would love to try, but the girls are sleeping by the time they step on the bus.
Know your children, plan accordingly and have a great time.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

The kids are fine with getting up early, as am I, but DH isn't, and since he didn't want to come on this trip in the first place (he's only going because he knows the kids and I want to), I figure the least I can do is let him sleep in on vacation most days.

Here's hoping he acquires the Disney bug!

Funny thing too, often at WDW, we go with a rough plan, but modify as needed. (At least to the extent that's now possible).

Sometimes we last longer than expected. Other trips, we take it easier than expected.

Beyond the parks, I encourage you to look over the resort activities list. All the WDW resorts have fun little extras, such as movies, some have campfire stories w/marshmallows, poolside fun, free temp tattoos, scavenger hunts (with little freebie prizes). Every day each resort has a unique list. Free cookie decorating is lots of fun! Those activities don't get tons of publicity, but they are fun, and low key. since they are at the resort, you don't have to worry about a long commute back to your room.

Conversely, if you're up and he isn't- you might be able to do a resort activity while waiting.

We also always take time to explore our home resort- even offsite.

Then again, (I don't know the needs of your children) Disney's transportation makes it easy to split up, if DH needs extra sleep. (Getting the resort of the family out of the room helps). We've done that many times at WDW as well. Before cell phones, we had to plan meet ups, but now calling is super easy.

 

[Goldilocks07]

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?

We are the EXACT same way- before kids and now even with one: mornings are no fun, especially having to get up/wake up and get out the door and rush to RD and all that. Totally not our thing (though I did try once, lol. We didn't make it. haha)

That being said, we find that having a relaxing morning is a bit better for our Disney-style, and we take our time getting to the parks, and STAY LATE. Most families and kids get there early, eat, rest, back to the parks..just like you mentioned. By going an hour or two off of this schedule, we tend to skip a bit of the crowd surge. We are on rides during lunch hours, and eat a bit later. During the first parade, we go on rides- then try and make the later one.

FYI, my DD never slept in. LOL
Wishful thinking.