Early morning touring

[TikiGoddess]

Hi all!

My family and I visit the parks every summer. We have two children, ages 9 and 7.

In 2012 we plan on staying at WDW for 5 nights. We'll have 6 days to spend in the parks. Our usual plan is to get to the parks at opening, leave after lunch, either swim in the pool or nap, then return to a park in the evening for a while. Now that the girls are older we end up staying later. The only problem with this is it makes for a very long day, and thus, cranky children and tired adults the day after.

Over the years I have insisted that we get to the parks at opening -- how great is touring in the early morning (not even EMH, just regular opening time). I hate waiting in lines. This way we get to ride our favorites before the masses of people are even in the gates. But it always seems like my kids get their 2nd wind after dinner and we end up staying out later than we planned.

My husband would prefer to take it slower, and not have to be at rope drop every morning. We're planning a longer trip this year (6 days) so hopefully we can plan in a day off (or a late opening at a water park). Do you guys have any suggestions on other ways of keeping everyone happy?

Kathy

[Strmchsr]

Well, if your kids are tending towards being night owls maybe you should stay late and sleep in. To me, the lines tend to be just as low, or lower, in the late evenings than morning because so many parents with really young kids have left by then. I prefer sleeping in and staying late, even though, in general, I'm an early morning riser. But, the other solution is to take a break midday for nap or at least a rest period then go back to the parks. That can make for not such a long day and more fun.

[jkj1224]

If you guys are going to be here for 6 days you can always plan ahead of time to only do rope drop a couple of mornings, maybe at the parks where you typically enjoy more of the attractions and sleep in a little bit later every other morning.