Extra Park Day for HMH on 1/21

[BuzzlightHead]

Should I schedule an extra park day for the final day of HMH?

Context: HM with the holiday overlay is my wife's favorite ride. We arrive in Anaheim on 1/21 in the afternoon, and we are in the parks between 1/22 - 1/26. We'll get to GCH around 2ish, so that's about when we could head to the park.

I usually would scoff at spending the money for an extra day when we are already doing 5 days. Especially knowing that this would be the last day the ride is open for the foreseeable future, so I bet it will be nuts. The 21st is also a travel day, so we won't have a full day the parks, and the LLs may already taken up for the day at that point.

Why am I considering spending the money? This is a special trip with my wife and daughter (for her 1st b-day). Her birth was fairly traumatic for us all, so this is our way of creating extra special memories on a beautiful, but also difficult day. My wife is fully aware we are going to Disney (her idea), but she doesn't know that we are staying at GCH or a few other special things that are planned. All of that to say - I'm not super concerned about spending the extra money for the park day because I am trying to make this our best trip yet, (and it's not something that will break the bank).

I hesitate and am trying to get opinions because of the reasons above AND because we are traveling with our daughter. A super long line would be tough for her to stomach. We could do rider swap, (I can wait in the line), but I'd hate to not be able to ride it as a family. Do you think the line would be more manageable late at night? (We keep a flexible schedule with our daughter pretty effectively). I just don't want really want to spend the money on a park day for HMH and end up not getting to do it.

All opinions are welcome! I know some may think the whole idea is dumb or maybe someone has an expert strategy of how to minimize our waitntime. Please let me know! Thank you!

 

[Aspencreek]

Someone else asked almost the same question a week or so ago about adding a half day on for the 21st to catch the last of the HM before shutdown. Here is what I said to that and I think it applies to you as well:

Last days of rides tend to get super busy so that will more than likely mean tons of people will all want to ride it one last time before the extended closure. So just be aware that if 3pm on the 21st is the earliest you can get to the parks it may be a crazy long line (like 120 minutes or more), Plus you may not be able to get a LL for that day since you can't reserve one until you are physically in the park and by afternoon the more popular rides can run out of LLs for the day.

 

[disneyfan150]

First, know that my heart goes out to you and your family. I can totally sympathize as the day my daughter was born we encountered the unexpected. As the years pass, the joyful memories outweight the others even though her struggle is a lifelong one. Hang in there!

Full disclosure: I know ZERO about DL as WDW is the park I have visited often. I came over to these boards to get ready for my DL trip next summer. But I do understand stress. Maybe adding the extra day for something that may not happen would add an unneeded stress. I am usually all for adding days to trips - I do it all the time. If one last ride was guaranteed, I would add the day. It seems like you have some very fun surprises to make this a wonderful trip. If it were me, I think I would just keep my plans as they are.

Whatever you decide to do, have a WONDERFUL trip!!

 

[StarlitNight05]

Hmmm, this is a tough one. You mention that adding the extra day won't break the bank, but if you end up not being able to ride HMH that day, would it potentially put a damper on your trip? Would it also add a layer of stress on the travel day (e.g., checking wait times, and LL availability constantly)? If the answer to both is "no" I would try for adding the extra day. It may even be a nice for your daughter to have a few hours of exposure to the parks before a full day, just to dip your toes into the crowds/lights/sounds.

I hope you have a great time regardless of your decision. Also, cheers to you for being such a thoughtful and caring partner!

 

[brightlined]

One thing to consider - HM/HMH doesn't have rider swap. (It's only available on rides with height restrictions.)

More importantly: you need to be confident that your daughter can handle the stretch room.

It's a common debate among parents - how young is too young for HM/HMH. (To be honest, I don't know that I've ever seen a parent ask about a child that young going on it.) Some parents say their toddlers ignored it and were fine (so long as the child was prepared for the dark), others said their kids reacted badly. There's no real consensus - it depends on the kid.

The stretch room is the main point of contention - it's dark and loud, and adults often scream. If your kid reacts badly, it'll not only ruin the ride for the other guests, it might ruin it for your wife. (And, unlike at WDW, there's no way to skip the stretch room.) That might be horrible, especially on day one, given the lengths you'd be going to to make that one ride happen.

If you think riding HMH would be important to her, I wouldn't necessarily discount the idea of you watching your daughter for a couple of hours late in the day and letting your wife ride HMH by herself, if that ends up being the only option. I've known young mothers who would think of a distraction-free solo ride on their favorite ride as a tremendous gift (and a clear sacrifice from their partner), especially at the end of year one. (It's the kind of gift that they would never ask for, and might be reluctant to accept without some real encouragement, but would dearly appreciate.)

Personally, I think the best play is to plan to do it, but play it by ear. Buy one-day DL tickets, but wait and see what the situation looks like when you get there - how long the line is, if LLs are still available, how you and your wife are feeling, etc. If it looks bad for any reason, just don't enter the park - keep the tickets for later and/or let them expire and use the credit on a future trip.

But I also wouldn't think of the tickets like, "we're buying these for HMH". Just treat those tickets as extra park time. (I wouldn't even mention to your wife that you bought them for that reason.) That way, if something happens (maybe the ride goes down), you can still have a fun time of it and not feel like you lost anything. It'll just be a nice first night in the park.

Having said all of that, if it were me, I'd run it past your wife and see how she feels now. If she knows about the Disney trip, you can just ask about this - this one carries enough risk that it doesn't need to be a surprise, especially with the other surprises in store. (You could leave out the part about buying the extra tickets - just focus on if it's something she wants to try.) For whatever reason, she might straight-up tell you that she'd rather wait for a future trip.

I hope it works out, and that your trip is wonderful!

 

[BuzzlightHead]

One thing to consider - HM/HMH doesn't have rider swap. (It's only available on rides with height restrictions.)

More importantly: you need to be confident that your daughter can handle the stretch room.

It's a common debate among parents - how young is too young for HM/HMH. (To be honest, I don't know that I've ever seen a parent ask about a child that young going on it.) Some parents say their toddlers ignored it and were fine (so long as the child was prepared for the dark), others said their kids reacted badly. There's no real consensus - it depends on the kid.

The stretch room is the main point of contention - it's dark and loud, and adults often scream. If your kid reacts badly, it'll not only ruin the ride for the other guests, it might ruin it for your wife. (And, unlike at WDW, there's no way to skip the stretch room.) That might be horrible, especially on day one, given the lengths you'd be going to to make that one ride happen.

If you think riding HMH would be important to her, I wouldn't necessarily discount the idea of you watching your daughter for a couple of hours late in the day and letting your wife ride HMH by herself, if that ends up being the only option. I've known young mothers who would think of a distraction-free solo ride on their favorite ride as a tremendous gift (and a clear sacrifice from their partner), especially at the end of year one. (It's the kind of gift that they would never ask for, and might be reluctant to accept without some real encouragement, but would dearly appreciate.)

Personally, I think the best play is to plan to do it, but play it by ear. Buy one-day DL tickets, but wait and see what the situation looks like when you get there - how long the line is, if LLs are still available, how you and your wife are feeling, etc. If it looks bad for any reason, just don't enter the park - keep the tickets for later and/or let them expire and use the credit on a future trip.

But I also wouldn't think of the tickets like, "we're buying these for HMH". Just treat those tickets as extra park time. (I wouldn't even mention to your wife that you bought them for that reason.) That way, if something happens (maybe the ride goes down), you can still have a fun time of it and not feel like you lost anything. It'll just be a nice first night in the park.

Having said all of that, if it were me, I'd run it past your wife and see how she feels now. If she knows about the Disney trip, you can just ask about this - this one carries enough risk that it doesn't need to be a surprise, especially with the other surprises in store. (You could leave out the part about buying the extra tickets - just focus on if it's something she wants to try.) For whatever reason, she might straight-up tell you that she'd rather wait for a future trip.

I hope it works out, and that your trip is wonderful!

I love this response, thank you so much! Everyone has given me a lot to consider, and I think what I'll end up doing is buying the single day, surprising my wife with the park when we get there, and play it by ear. Like you said, I won't consider the tickets for just HMH, they'll be just to dip our toes into the park, and if HMH happens it happens. I could absolutely tell her about the idea, but I know she would shut it down and say it's not worth it. Which is totally reasonable. I'll buy them with 0 expectations of getting anything done at the parks and use it just to soak in the parks and whatever we get done, we get done.

Thank you for the point on rider swap, I didn't even realize it was only for height restricted rides! One thing our daughter tolerates really well is external stimuli, but also a great point with the stretching room being a lot to take in. We have earmuffs for her to help with loud noise which we're hoping to utilize on rides so she doesn't get startled. We'll DEFINITELY ride something else before HM just to guage her reaction to things. If we think it'll be a problem, I will for sure encourage my wife to ride it alone! Like I said though, zero expectations.

Honestly, I think I would have a hard time not buying the single day tickets anyway because how do you get to a Disney hotel mid-day and NOT want to go into the parks?! Idk how people do it... it's our first time staying onsite and our first trip since 2019, so I know we'll be itching to get in!

Thanks so much everyone for the ideas and things to consider! I knownthere was a similar thread a few days back, but I selfishly didn't want my own question to get buried or ignored... I think I also wanted validation that I'm not crazy for wanting to buy tickets for a half day at the park

 

[disneyfan150]

zero expectations.: Yes! This changes my response. Buy those tickets. The must-do stress is gone. My fingers are crossed for you, though!

Honestly, I think I would have a hard time not buying the single day tickets anyway because how do you get to a Disney hotel mid-day and NOT want to go into the parks?! Idk how people do it... it's our first time staying onsite and our first trip since 2019, so I know we'll be itching to get in! This is totally why I am incorrigible and am always adding ticket days and nights.

I think I also wanted validation that I'm not crazy for wanting to buy tickets for a half day at the park Actually, we are probably all a little Disney crazy here. We like it that way.

Have a fantastic trip!!