To drop or not to drop?

[BrerEthan]

So here's my question, adult travelers. How do you make sure your vacation to WDW doesn't tire you out? I'm 26 and going with my athletic 60 year old mother, so we are prepared for plenty of walking but I don't see myself being anywhere for rope drop. We are going 5 days mid-May, but I want to try and see WDW at a more leisurely pace. I feel like I tried doing that my last few tips with varying degrees of success so I wonder if it can actually be done? Can you try and see WDW at a slower pace, or will you miss out? I just don't want to come home from my one and potentially only vacation this year and be exhausted. Or am I looking at it the wrong way? Any help, greatly appreciated...

 

[DisNerd12]

DH and I try to do every other day in the parks. On off-days, we usually shop at DD and have ADR's somewhere on property. We aren't big pool people but we did enjoy squeezing in a little pool time on the off days! Planning this way seems to combat the park exhaustion!

ALSO-know yourselves!

If you are absolutely going to want to stay to see Wishes, Illuminations, or Fantasmic, the rope drop probably isn't for you! You could always take a nap at the resort mid-day or something in order to do both, but for us, once we are in the parks we are there and once we leave we are done for that day. It's too much of a hassle with transportation.

You won't feel as if you missed out on anything if you make a list on "Have-to's" for example, in MK "I have to ride Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, and eat at the "Be Our Guest Restaurant". If I make a plan to do these 3 things, then no matter what else happens I consider it success.

Be flexible! I cannot stress this enough! On MK day during our DisneyMoon I almost collapsed because of my sugar levels! (I have PCOS and am pre-diabetic). DH grabbed an iced coffee and we went to see the castle show instead of pushing through rides and that moment was one of the most magical moments ever! I think we ended up only riding 2-3 rides that day total!!!!

 

[Brocktoon]

I try to hit rope drop or close to it when possible. You can usually get a ton of stuff done in the parks during the early hours. At the same time, I know hitting near rope drop means there's no way I'm spending all day in the park. If I hit a park early, I usually get an early lunch around 11 AM, or head back to the resort or an out of park bar area to relax. After relaxing or napping for a few hours I usually head back out for some more park time, dinner, and nighttime entertainment.

One of the few times I'll do an extended all day thing would be Epcot. By the time I get all the Future World stuff done early, it's usually time to hit the World Showcase. Places like La Cava are great for sitting down and relaxing for a while, and drinking/eating around the WS isn't as fast paced as other parks, so I can usually spend the day there until dinner.

 

[richmo]

On the rope drop question -- you don't need to bother. To me, one of the great things of vacation is getting away from the morning alarm clock. If, when there, you happen to wake up early and want to go for it, fine. But, personally, I never plan on rope drop arrival. The hours are plenty long and there's plenty of things to do. Maybe you'll have to do a little more waiting arriving later, but be smart with your FastPasses and you'll do fine.

 

[BrerEthan]

Thanks Richmo. I think that will be plan of action!

 

[jagfanjosh3252]

I'm like Brock. Early rope drop. Eat lunch head bak to resort and nap/chill by pool. Leave around 5. Eat dinner and enjoy the night.

You get so much so much done in the am. Hit l the headliners. Then when I come back at night. Hit the smaller rides. This works best at MK IMO. But can be applied anywhere.

 

[mecllap]

Try to get to MK for rope drop -- the pre-show is cute and it's fun to be in the Park when it's uncrowded, for pics, and you can do whatever mountains are your faves easily. Then take an afternoon break and go back later for Wishes, etc. The other parks, not so much, unless you really are into Toy Story at DHS-- rope drop can be helpful for that (but for me it's kind of, meh? 3-D shooting at stuff, so what?).
Oh-- when in mid-May? -- are you there for the first Star Wars Weekend, May 17, 18, 19 at DHS? You definitely have to get there really early (like on the 17th) for that experience (well, you can go later, but . . . . .)