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hippiemama
09-22-2006, 08:43 PM
ugh ugh ugh.

We're going November 8th and 9th and the schedule says the park is open from 10am-8pm?
My kids are up at 6am?!?! Waiting til 8am has been tough enough in the past.
and Small world was closed last year when we visited and again for the holiday overlay this year. sigh

Ok. vent over. I'm not sure what I can do with them til 9:30 when we walk over tho.

The Real Cinderella
09-22-2006, 08:58 PM
Morning dip in the pool?

Bytebear
09-22-2006, 09:05 PM
Is Downtown Disney open? Maybe a trip to the Lego store? Breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen? World of Disney store?

Rhiannon8404
09-22-2006, 09:13 PM
Can you keep them up later in the evening so they sleep later? Or maybe bring a DVD player or laptop or something and have them watch movies when they first get up?

Good luck!

rentayenta
09-22-2006, 09:20 PM
I would do a character breakfast one morning. The stores in DTD aren't usually open before DL but you could check out the hotels.

annieb727
09-22-2006, 09:21 PM
I would do a character breakfast one morning. The stores in DTD aren't usually open before DL but you could check out the hotels.

i was going to suggest this too :)

ILovePoker
09-22-2006, 10:03 PM
ugh ugh ugh.

We're going November 8th and 9th and the schedule says the park is open from 10am-8pm?
My kids are up at 6am?!?! Waiting til 8am has been tough enough in the past.
and Small world was closed last year when we visited and again for the holiday overlay this year. sigh

Ok. vent over. I'm not sure what I can do with them til 9:30 when we walk over tho.
I sucked it up and we had a great time with no waits. What more do you want?

babytmakes5
09-23-2006, 05:35 AM
My kids are up at 6am?!?! Waiting til 8am has been tough enough in the past.
and Small world was closed last year when we visited and again for the holiday overlay this year. sigh



My kids get up at 6 am too, only we will have a two hour time change to deal with--this means they will be up around 4 am!!! We are also going in November, and I am dreading the mornings with up to 6 hours each morning hearing "When can we go?" Last time we filled up the time going to character breakfasts and running around the hotel grounds, but we still had a lot of waiting around to do.

Have fun! Just know you're not the only one with early bird children!

jMom
09-23-2006, 06:47 AM
I would do a character breakfast one morning. The stores in DTD aren't usually open before DL but you could check out the hotels.

I think the Compass bookstore opens early. They have coffee (Peets!!!), pastries/snacks, and books. You can take food and bevs to tables outside and let the kids run wild while you take it easy (as much as possible ;) ).

If the weather's not too bad I'd vote for the pool.

Someone should come up with a DTD Bingo kit for all those little early risers! :geek:

HydroGuy
09-23-2006, 06:48 AM
ugh ugh ugh.

We're going November 8th and 9th and the schedule says the park is open from 10am-8pm?
My kids are up at 6am?!?! Waiting til 8am has been tough enough in the past.
and Small world was closed last year when we visited and again for the holiday overlay this year. sigh

Ok. vent over. I'm not sure what I can do with them til 9:30 when we walk over tho.I do not understand your vent. You chose visiting days, probably on purpose, which were low season days. And then you complain about short park hours and rides being closed. That goes hand-in-hand with low season.

Here is an excerpt from "HydroGuy's High Season/Off Season Tradeoff Rule" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1199852 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1199852)


If you want to be able to experience all of the rides and see all of the shows, visit DLR during high season and learn how to work with crowds. If you want to visit when it is least crowded, expect to miss some rides and shows.

infinite
09-23-2006, 07:15 AM
I have the opposite problem, we just returned, and getting everyone showered and fed and out the door by 8:30 on early entry days was difficult…we are so lazy!

Ha ha ha

On the regular entry days we had breakfast at storytellers one day, and did build-a-bear the other day. The build a bear was a special early opening for resort hotel guests.

Actually if you are staying on-site there are a few early morning activities…build a bear, fitness walk through California Adventure park, washcloth creations, sitting in the lobby listening to music (I suppose you could do that no matter where you stay). Otherwise I suggest a character breakfast, or getting some craft supplies, movies books for the morning hours. You can even take a walk around the different hotel grounds and enjoy those.

annieb727
09-23-2006, 07:24 AM
i'm planning to bring our portable DVD player along with Disney Movies (what else, right?) - my son wakes up early too, so I'm sure we'll have some time watch them - HOWEVER, after the first day - he may be SO tired out that he'll actually sleep in the next morning...guess we'll see about that :p

kohl
09-23-2006, 09:07 AM
If the park opens up at 10am, I believe that they open main street at 9:30am to do shopping. I'm sure your little ones won't really want to shop, but at least they can explore Main Street!:D

Monte Cristo
09-23-2006, 12:47 PM
I sucked it up and we had a great time with no waits. What more do you want?

Yeah, I was going to say that the loss of the extra hour sucks, but it suggests on the other hand that crowds are expected to be very low.

julbright
09-23-2006, 12:55 PM
i'm planning to bring our portable DVD player along with Disney Movies (what else, right?) - my son wakes up early too, so I'm sure we'll have some time watch them - HOWEVER, after the first day - he may be SO tired out that he'll actually sleep in the next morning...guess we'll see about that :p

my kids (8 & 5) have done this - they are usually early risers, but the last several trips as long as we have the window drapes closed and the room is dark, we have had to wake them up to get them moving - usually to a protest. I hope it works out for you all...

hippiemama
09-23-2006, 04:55 PM
I would do a character breakfast one morning. The stores in DTD aren't usually open before DL but you could check out the hotels.
the character breakfast we booked won't seat us til 10:20am. Cuz they open late too I guess.

I guess my vent is that last year we went one week earlier and the park opened at 8:30am. So I was surprised

Malcon10t
09-23-2006, 06:30 PM
the character breakfast we booked won't seat us til 10:20am. Cuz they open late too I guess.

I guess my vent is that last year we went one week earlier and the park opened at 8:30am. So I was surprised
If you are staying at the resort, Thurs is EE and you can get in at 9. Also, Main Street will open at 930am, so it really is only one hour later than last year (Last year on Nov. 2, the park was open 9a-8p.)

samkj
09-23-2006, 07:54 PM
It sounds like you booked Minnie and Friends if that was the earliest seating, or else they are booked. That opens with the park. Try Goofy's Kitchen, Storytellers Cafe or Lilo and Stitch (PCH Grill), they all open much earlier.

jennynoel
09-26-2006, 07:22 AM
I think the Compass bookstore opens early. They have coffee (Peets!!!), pastries/snacks, and books. You can take food and bevs to tables outside and let the kids run wild while you take it easy (as much as possible ;) ).

According to their website, Compass opens at 8:00am. FYI :)

jMom
09-26-2006, 07:41 AM
According to their website, Compass opens at 8:00am. FYI :)

Well, that beats 10 am ;) ... thanks for checking ... it's good to know!

my3girls
09-26-2006, 11:15 AM
We tend to go in February and like that the park isn't open until 10. That way we can have a non-rushed delicious breakfast at Millie's on Harbor, doublecheck that we have everything (sunscreen, camera, wallet & hats) and make our way over to the entrance without feeling panicked. If the kids are antsy while we're getting ready I have them watch the Disney channel or break out the map and a pen and show us their "must sees" for the day. And because our trips are during the school year I get an Independant Study for them (so the school gets credit and my girls don't get behind in their work). So I also use this time to get a page or two of their work done. It works really well for us.

tinker3
09-27-2006, 06:01 PM
If you are staying at the resort, Thurs is EE and you can get in at 9. Also, Main Street will open at 930am, so it really is only one hour later than last year (Last year on Nov. 2, the park was open 9a-8p.)


I thought it opened earlier last year!

We are staying Wed - Sun 1st week of Nov. at the Paradise Pier, does anyone know if you just get one EE and is it just one park?

annieb727
09-27-2006, 07:23 PM
I thought it opened earlier last year!

We are staying Wed - Sun 1st week of Nov. at the Paradise Pier, does anyone know if you just get one EE and is it just one park?

EE is on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, & Saturdays - so you'll get two (Thurs & Sat). It is only at DL. Though something cool to know is that they open DCA early and starting 30 min before normal park operating hours you can ride Soarin' Over California. Earlier this month I did it, and rode it twice before the park even opened!! :D

julbright
09-27-2006, 07:28 PM
There are lots of surprises sometimes - last year we went in december and on two nights the park closed REALLY early - I want to say llike 6 or 7! I could be wrong but it was significantly different than what we thought we had seen on the website. It turned out it was some cast member family and friend evening and not only did it close early, but when we were all trying to get OUT of the park, everyone else was trying to get IN! It was a logisitcal nightmare ! You couldn't even enjoy downtown disney cuz people were mobbed everywhere!!!!!

tinker3
09-27-2006, 07:57 PM
Thanks for the info Annie! :)