If you could only rope drop 2 of 5 park days, at which parks would you do it?
I get up by 5am for work, DS16 gets up at 8 for school, so we have drastically different ideas of what time to start the day, especially on vacation. I can probably cajole him into rope dropping twice, max. How to make the most of those two days? DH and FIL do not “walk with purpose” so there’s that consideration (as in if we’re just going to mosey along does rope dropping even matter?).
(I’m also revisiting trip reports involving teens for advice on how others dealt with the whole teen-at-WDW thing-- like the need to sleep in so darn late-- so feel free to link those here to!)
Definitely AK - Flight of Passage. Then maybe Expedition Everest. The two teens with us* were on and off FoP before the park officially opened.
IF there are Star Wars fans, or interest, then HS.
IF your group is more interested in quantity at MK then MK instead of HS. There is some indication that some of HS wait times decrease later in the evening.
In June with no Genie or Lightning Lanes the two teens with us were on and off Rise of the Resistance before HS officially opened. Your mileage may vary. HS CMs don’t always let guests in early.
DH and I followed along after sleeping another hour and then having a good breakfast. We barely walk and definitely intentionally. We don’t just jump up and walk for the fun of it.
*June was the 10th trip, maybe, for the older teen who normally sleeps till noon. The younger teen - second trip - followed the older’s lead. They were out the door to the bus stop every morning by 7 am at the latest. Older teen: it’s Disney. I can sleep at home. They rope dropped 5 days in a row.
For my family it would be HS and AK. Even when we stayed through deluxe hours at Epcot DS14 wanted to RD AK. He loves FoP and wanted to ride twice (bought ILL). Plus I think we all really like that park the best early in the morning. It’s quiet, cool, and just beautiful.
Maybe- and I’ll definitely check with the fam as the week goes on, but the ability of the teenager to ignore that which does not suit them is astounding
Fair! I guess it really depends on what your priorities are for the trip. As @simba77 mentioned, RDing is great if you want to ride FoP. @HutchFamily what are your priorities for each park?
MK= SDMT, Space Mountain, BTMR
EP= TT, FEA, Cosmic Rewind and Ratatouille
AK= Pandora, EE
HS= all things SWGE with ToT and RnRC for DD
I read posts from folks who take it slow and do non-ride things but I can’t seem to be one of them! I’ll be okay if I don’t do all the things, but when we try to get everyone’s faves and you’re a party of 6 you fill up a day quick.
Mine has fun, but he just can’t be seen being enthusiastic about it. Having the grandparents and “doing it for them” is my best bet for mornings (they’re up by 4 to deal with animals most of the time). Just can’t count on it lasting a whole week!
Are you planning to get genie +? If so, on the days you want to RD you could do RD with those that will get up for it, and plan to stack LL/ILL for the afternoon and evening when your teen will go. Then on all other days just plan a relaxed morning and stack LL.
(1) Which days (if any) are you going to get G+ and/or ILL?
(2) Are you staying on-site with access to Early Entry?
(3) How are you dividing your 5 park days between the 2 parks?
(4) Are you getting park hoppers?
The answers to these questions will impact my suggestions.
For my recent trip with 8 adults and 5 young kids (all under 8) we also decided on only 2 RD days. We went with MK and Epcot, but I might have a different thought for your group.
