any tips for making it to EARLY ADRs with little kids?

[MomtothreeEs]

My kids are naturally early risers. We have a several 8am ADRs so we can get our character dining experiences done with before the parks open. I believe that these character dining experiences will be a highlight of our trip for the kids. Now that we focusing in on the details of our itinerary, I'm starting to get a bit nervous about making it to our ADRs on time. I will be so upset if we get there late, miss our experience, and then have to pay the $10 per person penalty. Sigh.

I really think we can do it so I'm not ready to cancel our ADRs yet, but does anyone here have tips/secrets for getting up and going while on vacation? We will be renting a minivan while we are there, and I am hoping our room is close to a parking lot (AoA). I already told DD that I can do her hair while we're waiting in line someplace or in the car. LOL.

We leave in one month!!!

 

[epsmith921]

I know I got up before 6 every day at Disney. Shockingly it was easy since I knew what I had to look forward to!

Then I would set out everyone's clothes the night before and make sure all the bags were packed and ready to go. This includes setting out my husband's clothes. This way, one of us could get our toddler ready and not have to worry about the right outfit or anything.

We did take disney transportation everywhere so I think you have an advantage with the car, but it worked for us and was relatively simple.

 

[maxiesmom]

How about packing each outfit for the day into it's own baggie? That way you can just grab a bag, and not have to look around for socks or a matching top.

I would also suggest making sure any park bag you use is prepped the night before. Make sure you have all of the magic bands or room keys. Refill any meds or sunscreen you may have used up the day before. You don't want to have to spend time hunting down that one item you need. Make sure you have grabbed anything (camera, cell phone) off of the chargers and have those too.

 

[tourguide81]

We had no issues making a few early ADRs w/ a 3 year old and infant. We packed up our back pack the night before and I might have even laid out the kid's clothes so that we had one less thing to do. We only had a few, though, not every day. We also took disney transportation and had no issues.

 

[esquared221]

I agree that deciding on outfits the night before is a good idea! That way when the kids get up they can grab their clothes and get dressed while you and hubby shower and get dressed and deal with the youngest that need help. Packing your snacks and drinks the night before, plus the bags with whatever you may need is a great idea as well. Make it as easy as possible for yourself in the morning. Grab and Go!

 

[luvmy2babies]

We’ve had several of these early ADRs. I have one child that is an early riser and another who sleeps like she worked the night shift.

I really don’t have much to add to what has been posted other than we also do baths the night before, so faces and hands were what was left to wash in the morning. I also made sure we were not out too late the day before so they could be in bed (at least in bed if not asleep) early enough to get plenty of rest.

It will be important to allow enough “wind down” time before you want the children to go down for the night. Sometimes children pass out, but other times I found it could be kind of hard to wind down after a day at one of the parks. We don’t really tour in a way that drains us. In 2012, we got back to All Star Movies after 10 hours in DHS. We’d had an 8am ADR at Hollywood and Vine that day actually. It was around 6 in the evening and my children spent 30 minutes running around the Andy’s Room icons in the courtyard.

Usually I would get up first, put sunscreen on, get dressed and then put sunscreen on both children. My daughter would actually sleep through that including being turned over multiple times. My son I have to get him covered before he’s fully awake because once he is I have Tigger on my hands. Any extra motivation I need to get them up, I have in a personalized invitation to the meal. I usually have one for each Table Service reservation we have.

Another note. If you're driving and have a meal at MK, remember to leave extra time for the journey from the parking lot (Transportation and Ticket Center) to the park across the water, which will either be by ferry or monorail. Sometimes even when people have their own vehicles they opt to take the bus to MK because they don't have to worry about that step.

 

[tanyaandallie]

Have you considered switching a few to lunch instead? We always do 1 early AM ADR but more than 1 is just not happening for us. It's tough to get to the parks every day by 8.

On a trip long ago when kids were young we scheduled one our first morning. Big mistake. With the 1 hour time difference PLUS getting used to sleeping in a hotel it was not fun. We were dragging! We made it but were totally exhausted. I made a vow to never make them on our first morning ever again.

 

[MandiC]

We made it to all our early ADRs...it wasn't fun but we made it If you are taking the buses you want to be at the stop at your resort an hour before your ADR to leave plenty of time to get there. So we woke up 2 hours before we needed to be there. Not sure what time zone you are in but that can be VERY early for even an early riser I'm an early riser but waking up at what would have been 5am at home was rough.

 

[MandiC]

And I agree, having everything ready the night before is helpful. I always took the time each night to get everything ready for the next day. Lay out everyone's clothes and hair supplies and I packed my park bag for the next day. If I knew my kids needed showers I would have them do that at night when we got back so that dh and I (and honestly sometimes I showered at night as well) had the shower in the morning. So we pretty much had to get dressed and do hair and that was it.

 

[MSSANDRA]

I agree to go everything the night before. Take showers, pack bags, lay out clothes etc. I often dressed my boys, when they were little, in the clothes they were going to wear to the park the next day. Always comfortable shorts or pants with t-shirts. Just add shoes and brush teeth and hair and go! We do minimum primping and can be out the door is under 15 minutes. If you are driving, be sure you know where you are going, and what to do when you get there. Allow time to park, get to the gate, through security, find the early ADR line and to the restaurant.

Now....we use to do quite a few of these, but,we have decided to switch to late am breakfast or lunch or dinners. That first 1/2 hour in the park is great for getting in a long line ride or two with no lines. If you do an 8 breakfast, you either rush or miss rope drop. Hate to rush an expensive meal, and hate to miss my hope drop

 

[Happyjen27]

Early bedtimes will be the key to your success!

Whenever we had a morning ADR, we made sure we were in the hotel room no later than 6PM the night before. My pair usually gets 12 hours of sleep a night at home, and while they didn't always sleep 12 hours at Disney I wanted to give the opportunity for that.

Otherwise, like everyone said, make sure the park bag is packed, the clothes are laid out and hopefully your husband is an active partner, not an extra child in this scenario. There is no reason you need to carry the burden all on your own. DH and I would decide our shower times the night before and while one parent was showering, the other was hands-on getting the kids dressed, sunscreened and a bit of a snack (just a granola bar or piece of fruit so the kids aren't starving when they arrive at the restaurant).

 

[OhStuffandFluff]

Honestly for us early ADRs are easier to make then late ones. When our kids were younger they were much earlier risers so the early ADRs fit right into their normal schedule. However, they had a hard time staying out late so we often times were back at the resort by 8 or 8:30pm.

 

[SEA333]

As a person who is always on time for everything, I have to say that the biggest factor is YOU. Are you a person who makes being on time for things a priority, or are you always running late? Little kids do not make a difference in getting someplace on time in my world because I plan for the next day and make sure I work in enough time for everyone to get ready. My three are 13, 9, and 8 now, and I'll tell you that it is MUCH harder now to get everyone out the door on time than it was when they were little and I was helping them. Now, I tell them to get ready and expect them to do so, but they have other ideas! LOL So, I will think we are set to go, and then one cannot find their shoes, one's hair isn't combed...the other is searching for a sock. I MISS the days when they were little and I had their outfits ready to go, I got them dressed and fed, and out the door on MY schedule! (and my kids have always been "sleeping in" kids, so I have ALWAYS woken up before them, which in many ways makes it easier for ME to get ready first before I woke them up) And I have a 4 year age gap between the first two, and a 19 month age gap between the 2nd two, so I know what it is like to have to get three kids under the age of 6, with two of them under the age of 2, ready and out the door!

Anyway, sorry for digressing....I would get outfits ready to go the night before, pack your bag for the park, get any fridge items (if any) together in the fridge packaged how they need to be so you can grab them at the last minute and head out. Leave plenty of time for transportation and have a PLAN. If it normally takes you 90 minutes to get up, get ready, get the kids up and ready, etc. then plan for two hours when you HAVE to be somewhere.

Being on time is something you have decide is important enough to make sure it happens. Chronically late people are late because they are getting something out of being late (attention, adrenaline rush, whatever else). It's a proven psychological fact. And something you can change if you really want to. (not necessarily YOU, but all people. I am assuming you have at least a little issue with being late or you wouldn't have started this thread....but I could be wrong!) And remember, in a few very short years, if not already if you work and your kids are in daycare, you will be doing this Every Single Morning for school, so think of it as a "must do" rather than fearing it!

 

[KelleyK75]

If you are driving to the parks and don't have to rely on the buses, I think you will be fine. I just got back from a trip where we had 4 early morning ADR's and we made all of them on time, and this was surprising because one of the other adults in our party always has a hard time getting up and going. The kids never had a problem getting up and going, as they were excited for the day. And my plan was to leave POR every day by 7am so we could make our 8:00 or 8:10 ADR's. Every day we missed that 7am mark and left as late as 7:25 and still made it to the parks before they let in the breakfast ADR people. So I think leaving by 7:00-7:15 would give you a good jump on getting there, getting the kids out of the car, stroller, etc, and getting to the check in point. I was a little concerned myself because everyone always talks about leaving extremely early to make it on time, but like I said, that never affected us. It wouldn't take more than 10-15 minutes to get to the park and then parking and getting to the gate was pretty fast, too.

 

[dunbarfamily]

We have five children ages 2-12. We have no issues arriving for early ADRs with my huge crew of little people, and in fact, I love to make ADRs between 7:15-7:45. We use a taxi or drive to the location to save time. I also lay out clothes and accessories the night before, make sure the diaper bag and stroller is ready to go, camera charged, etc. I also shower the night before, as does my husband. Anything we can do the night before, we do.

 

[annainohio]

I feel the same way about our ADRs, that I'll be irritated if we miss them. I'm considering not having a dinning plan for this reason. I'll be aggravated if we have to use a TS credit for a QS meal, and such.

I think it will help us that we are in one room. If my daughter's up, and she never sleeps past 6:30, everyone else will be, too!

 

[mom2maggie]

My kids are early risers too, and we always do a early morning ADR for breakfast. For us, we bathe the kids the night before, set out the clothes, and pack up our bags. But my kids will get up at 6am even if they didn't go to sleep until midnight

 

[dsneygirl]

I find as the week goes on we get up later. I would personally not do more than 1, maybe 2 really early meals.

Your van will help but location is a factor too. Some places you have quite a hike from the parking lot to restaurant.

 

[ClaireW]

I only have one tip - make sure that whatever your morning plan is, that you and DH have discussed it the night before! If you both know who is doing what hopefully everything will go much more smoothly

 

[Lisa71]

It rely depends on the kids. Our DS was 3 our first trip and early rising was not an issue..DD was 4 and it was a big mistake...totally meltdowns ...next trip we did no early ADRs..and had a great time..upcoming trip I am worried about and earliest is 10..but we are west coasters !!