What to do about late risers?

[Jennasis]

Ditch 'em! Lol

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

Accept that YOU should compromise and stay LATE in a park one night!!!
Explain to them they too need to compromise and get up early one morning.
Plan these days accordingly so you all get the rest you need, not necessarily the rest you want!

 

[Smugpugmug]

I had a similar issue with my friend and sister on my May trip. My sister is okay with getting up early, though it's not preferrable but my friend is the type of person that will sleep in until noon and will be ready to go at 3pm. I am an early bird, especially at Disney. I HATE being in the hotel room on vacation and I want to be out and exploring. Rather than fight with them, I told them that they are more than welcome to sleep in but I would leave without them. They were welcome to join me later if they wanted to. Both of them ended up getting up early and coming with me but I was prepared to head off to the parks on my own. Even on the Universal day where we would've had to catch a ride share to the parks, I would've done that solo too. We did do afternoon breaks at the hotel (where they napped and I swam at the pool) and returned to the parks in the evenings.

I think in your scenario, I would go to the parks without them and do some rides without Genie+ while stacking for your family to join you later if they absolutely refuse to get up with you.

 

[IndyToThere]

I'm not an early riser either. My wife and I finally realized it was best for her to just get up and go when she's ready, and I sleep in and enjoy my coffee before heading in and meeting up. It works out for both of us. I miss an attraction or two that she did, but in the end I get a full day in so it's no big deal.

I'd say you and DS go in early and let DD and DH sleep in and then meet up when everyone is there. Maybe purchase a LL for DD and DH for later in the evening if there is something they want to do that they can't do during the day.
Also, don't forget DD and DH can hit up a big attraction at the end of day by getting into the line just before park close.

 

[Orsino]

There is a cost to do this, which you can show everyone, including your husband who is motivated by savings. After seeing the cost, he may decide it's "worth it" to get up early.

Show your daughter how much more she can do if she gets up early. Get her excited about all she can do. If two people agree to get up early, the third will probably go along.

My rope drop anecdote is we were at MK for Early Entry waiting with the masses for rope to drop and the rush to SDMT. The family next to us was discussing the current situation. Dad and daughter were of the opinion that this is all madness, why had they gotten up early for this! Mom was trying to explain the glory of rope drop, but Dad and daughter were not having it. Comments like, if we come later the lines will be really long were met with retorts that, we're waiting really long NOW. What's the difference? I kind of felt bad for the mom, since we were rope drop proponents too. But Kid and Dad had good points. There were tons of people at MK for early entry and the benefits of rope drop were not nearly as good as they used to be.

The kicker? SDMT was down at rope drop. A bunch of rides were down at rope drop or went down shortly after opening. It was a bad morning at MK.
I feel so bad for that mom.

I say this because you know your family best. If they aren't going to accept rope drop (and the risks!), then you might be better off skipping rope drop. Rope drop isn't as shiny as it used to be.

BTW, after that MK rope drop fiasco (and our attempt at Epcot when Remy was down at EE opening) we, who were avid rope drop proponets, stopped rope dropping for the rest our vacation. So maybe try it once, and be willing to skip future mornings if it isn't great?

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

I’m a morning person but DD and DH are not. It takes them until 10 to get out of the hotel room and they don’t eat breakfast. The issue is that On our next trip DD wants to do more parks but I know that we can’t get on all the rides without rope drop and strategy. Last year DD and I did AK because DH isn’t into spending the money and doesn’t like the crowds. I know we could stay at the park later but I’m not a night person! Is there any strategy that can work in the parks with this kind of family dynamic? Thank you!

I really don't think you have to be early risers to do it all, you just need to be ok with a little compromising on schedules and possibly ok with purchasing G+/iLL$. I think depending on which parks you go to and what time of year you visit, you can accomplish a lot sans G+, but for some parks like MK/DHS, it makes life a lot easier and will save you time. If it's not in the budget, you may need to do some park close nights to get it done and if the parks close at 9p or 7p like AK, it's not really that late.

We are a blend of early risers/night owls, family with teens so we compromised and did one earlier day and the other two days, we arrived later. We also took midday breaks and then stayed until close these days. I find it easier and more relaxing to stay in the parks late than trying to bust our butts to get out the door early to RD. It's just not for our family anymore. We did a number of trips like that and it worked when the kids were younger but now we've slowed the pace some.

If you do decide to use G+, you need to create a strategy for what rides you want to purchase first. You can get some good ride coverage that way, you just have to be flexible and for us, that means we don't really do any ADRs so we can arrive at the park when we want to/need to for rides. Also, we figure the money saved eating QS as opposed to TS meals goes towards our G+ funding. I felt like for our last trip back in April, over spring break, with larger crowds we accomplished a good bit.

We did MK, DHS and Epcot in three days. We arrived at MK around 11:15am did a break that day and took advantage of EEH that night so we left the park right around 1a. It was a great day, think we hit around 13/14 rides and some we did twice. We did not buy any iLL$ at MK but did buy G+. We were able to get 6 G+ rides that day.

For DHS, we arrived around lunch time and managed 9 rides w/ a midday break and returned, stayed until close, there were no EEH. We bought iLL$ for SWROR and used G+, secured 5 G+ rides. Park closed at 9p so not a really late night.

For Epcot, this was our early day since I bought Remy and the time was 8:45am. We did not use G+ at Epcot and managed to ride 7 rides- Frozen, TT, Remy again standby, Nemo, Gran Fiesta, Living with the land, Soarin. Park closed at 9p so again, not very late.

I just think you have to be flexible but it's all very doable, just need to decide what's important to your family and go from there.

ETA- We stayed at the dolphin so close proximity for the epcot/dhs days was great for our breaks, MK was hit or miss since we'd take the boardwalk bus back sometimes or the S/D bus so that ate a good bit of our MK time up but having EEH made up for it. So our early day being Epcot meant walking out the hotel room door around 8:15a so while it's early, it's not crack of dawn early.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

My rope drop anecdote is we were at MK for Early Entry waiting with the masses for rope to drop and the rush to SDMT. The family next to us was discussing the current situation. Dad and daughter were of the opinion that this is all madness, why had they gotten up early for this! Mom was trying to explain the glory of rope drop, but Dad and daughter were not having it. Comments like, if we come later the lines will be really long were met with retorts that, we're waiting really long NOW. What's the difference? I kind of felt bad for the mom, since we were rope drop proponents too. But Kid and Dad had good points. There were tons of people at MK for early entry and the benefits of rope drop were not nearly as good as they used to be.

The kicker? SDMT was down at rope drop. A bunch of rides were down at rope drop or went down shortly after opening. It was a bad morning at MK.
I feel so bad for that mom.

I say this because you know your family best. If they aren't going to accept rope drop (and the risks!), then you might be better off skipping rope drop. Rope drop isn't as shiny as it used to be.

BTW, after that MK rope drop fiasco (and our attempt at Epcot when Remy was down at EE opening) we, who were avid rope drop proponets, stopped rope dropping for the rest our vacation. So maybe try it once, and be willing to skip future mornings if it isn't great?

I think this is great advice, RD with early theme park entry is nothing special anymore given it's only 30 minutes. I miss Extra Magic Hours.

 

[bumbershoot]

DD wants to do more parks but I know that we can’t get on all the rides without rope drop and strategy.

Explain it to her. See if her wish is stronger than her sleepiness.

I have no desire to be forced to wake up early to plan my day on a vacation.

You don't actually have to. You just have to be willing to take the sort of day that happens when you don't start early.

Accept that YOU should compromise and stay LATE in a park one night!!!

Good point.

Comments like, if we come later the lines will be really long were met with retorts that, we're waiting really long NOW. What's the difference?

Waiting one long time allows you to get (on normal days) many very short waits for rides, which increases the fun.

OP... Let them sleep in. Discuss it now, so they don't think you're being passive-aggressive when you get up and tell them it's OK for them to sleep in. (been there done that and no one got what they wanted that day, since they decided to get up but they were slooooow, so they were up earlier than they wanted and I missed the quiet hour i was attempting to get at Disneyland)

I myself am a nightowl, but I also have a hard time with darkness (stupid-lasik in 2002 messed up my eyes), and at Disney I am up early. Even when the time change isn't helpful (west coaster going east). But the occasional nighttime park visit is very nice as well.

 

[figmentdream]

My daughter and I are early risers AND night owls. My husband and son are night owls only. Last summer, my daughter and I would get up and go. Husband and son would meet up with us later and we'd close the parks. Towards the end of our trip, we got tired and slept in, but we kept it up for as long as we could. Going again in less than 3 weeks and that remains my plan.

 

[SwanVT2]

We are staying at SSR so will have evening hours

If you don't want to get up early, don't want to spend money, don't want to wait in lines, and don't like crowds, maybe WDW is not the right vacation choice.

The other options might be to buy something like a Halloween/Christmas ticket instead and make the most of those hours. Or, stay deluxe and use the deluxe after hours. Or, you could do the ILL$$$ ride in the afternoon and be content with that. I have seen people stacking up Genie+ for the afternoon, but it was a miserable failure when I tried it last week. G+ was a complete let-down to me, and I wouldn't plan on it working well for you. It was particularly bad in HS, just because the rides are so limited, constantly breaking, and ToT is currently half down.

 

[SwanVT2]

Blunt, but honest advice. This is one of the many reasons we're not planning on any Disney trips for the foreseeable future. I have no desire to be forced to wake up early to plan my day on a vacation.

We really go for relaxation at the hotel and pool to escape VT winter and just spend a few days at the parks and like to eat at the Disney restaurants and DS. I am very aware of the crowds and getting your money’s worth. I’m mostly curious about strategy with afternoon entry and evening EMH as we have not done this before.

 

[RoseGold]

You have to decide whether it’s worth paying for tickets for just late hours.

Parks are very crowded. Even mid-week, even when school isn’t out, even on alien saucers and barnstormer. It’s a Wednesday at noon and haunted mansion is an hour. Maybe you’re ok with less rides, that’s a choice have to make.

The current setup, even ILL$ and G+ heavily favors at least someone doing things in the morning.

I have an AP (which I may not renew based on my last trip) and am planning an august trip for just late hours. But that’s a harder sell if you are paying full freight.

 

[Selket]

I’m a morning person but DD and DH are not. It takes them until 10 to get out of the hotel room and they don’t eat breakfast. The issue is that On our next trip DD wants to do more parks but I know that we can’t get on all the rides without rope drop and strategy. Last year DD and I did AK because DH isn’t into spending the money and doesn’t like the crowds. I know we could stay at the park later but I’m not a night person! Is there any strategy that can work in the parks with this kind of family dynamic? Thank you!

I agree with others that suggest you go on your own in the morning and enjoy yourself. Meet up with family whenever they want (it's their vacation too) and Genie+ stacking could be your friend. You'd be up early to handle the Genie stuff for them. You can head back to the room when you're ready and they can finish up in the parks. I don't about you but getting back to the room first and having it all to myself to shower and relax is not a bad thing! I'm a night person however. I can get up early but eventually I'm just miserable if I don't get enough sleep. The Genie+ cost is probably worth a try one day and see how it goes.

 

[Geomom]

Because we have been to Disney at least yearly, we don't mind missing some rides. We were there from 6/25-7/2. Did not pay for genie+ or any ILL. Got into parks around 12-1pm, letting our 18 and 22 yr old sleep in, usually stayed until 8-11pm. We had 3MK, 3EP, and 1HS day. Got on most rides we wanted during our time except 7D mine train, big thunder, and rise. Got lucky with Remy ride as we were in the area when it came back up after being down for hours and just waited 10 minutes. Longest wait we had was test track (1 hr) during extended evening hrs...because they were letting people in lightning lane??? At least we walked on soarin before that. We did rides during MK fireworks with little to no wait for jungle cruise and peter pan one night. Ride times were getting lower by dinner time. We did things like hall of presidents, carousel of progress, country bears, American adventure, etc during the busiest and hottest times of day.

If you're an early bird, you can go do rides on your own and meet up with the rest of your group for lunch, and leave the parks early, or take an afternoon break and meet up with them 1 evening

 

[RoseGold]

Longest wait we had was test track (1 hr) during extended evening hrs...because they were letting people in lightning lane???

That's DAS (and rider swap). They are now allowing DAS during extended hours, which I don't think was true early on. For one of the first extended hours, I was in the mostly outside Remy line for a long time and didn't see any.

 

[Geomom]

That's DAS (and rider swap). They are now allowing DAS during extended hours, which I don't think was true early on. For one of the first extended hours, I was in the mostly outside Remy line for a long time and didn't see any.

Thanks, we just weren't moving for 10-15 minutes at a time, couldn't believe how long it was taking and how few extended hours people they let in. It originally said 35 minutes when we got in line, a few minutes later it said 60 minutes. We stuck it out as it's a ride that shuts down in rainy weather, so we just wanted to do it when we could.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Ditch 'em! Lol

We have a saying in my family; nothing motivates like abandonment. As soon as my kids were HS age, we told them when we were leaving the room to get on the bus in time for RD. If they chose to sleep in instead, they have an MB that gets them into the room and the park, and we all have cell phones so you know where we are and how to find us. I won't give my 8yo the option, but my HS age (and now college age) kids certainly navigate tougher streets than you will find at WDW on a daily basis. I'm not going to fight them if they'd really rather sleep, but I'm also not going to sit around for hours in the room as the lines build. Same goes for the end of the day; if you want to head back to the room early, go ahead.

Funny, they've always been ready to go when we are though and no one has ever taken me up on the offer to sleep in. DW and DD have headed back early though. That's OK, that's always been a big benefit of staying on property for us.

 

[WALTSAGOD]

What’s wrong with breaking up and meeting later on somewhere?

 

[erinch]

We just spent 2 weeks at WDW, staying offsite at the Vistana. DH, newly married DD and her pilot hubby all consider getting to a park for an 11:30 ADR getting up early. DH has had several skin cancers and needs to limit sun exposure.

What worked for us was Genie+, which is genius if you are going in the afternoon and evening, and close down the park rather than open it up. By the time we got there, I had 3 or 4 LLs stacked, which meant that we NEVER waited and rode everything but RoTR. I took an Uber seeral times to get my early morning in the park fix, and then met them at the lunch ADR. Probably our happiest and most relaxed trip.

 

[cjlong88]

I think all that's needed is a conversation. Let them sleep in. You go to the parks early. As long as they understand that might miss stuff and as long as you are okay doing Disney in the morning alone, it could be a great plan. FWIW, I love strolling around the parks on my own. I get to do whatever I want, whenever I want, at my own pace. They can join you in the late morning or early afternoon when they are ready.

Stacking LL's in the afternoon and evening would be a great strategy for this. Being able to book some of the attractions that you would want to ride together in the afternoon when it's the busiest means less waiting in line for them and you.

I'm traveling with my in-laws, BIL, and husband in December. I definitely plan on having this exact conversation because I'm the one making the itinerary. If I'm rope dropping, I'm definitely coming back to the hotel for a nap and quick dip in the pool before going back out at night. That's what I'll need to make this a great trip for me. They can stay all day if that makes them happier. I want them to do that, but I want to make sure all of us are happy without anyone needing to compromise what makes this feel like a true vacation.

If you can arrange it, make it so they are happy AND you are happy.