Hi Kristin,
Welcome back to the Disney Parks Moms Panel! We love it when guests like you return with new questions for their next Walt Disney World Resort vacation. Most of my fellow panelists and I start planning our next vacation as soon as we leave our Resort Hotel to head back home!
I love the
Extra Magic Hours benefit of staying at a
Walt Disney World Resort Hotel. I recommend taking advantage of Extra Magic Hours at
Magic Kingdom Park if you can. You said that you are able to wrangle your crew together to make rope drop when the parks open so I don't think Extra Magic Hours will be too early for you. I have found we can visit several attractions in a short period of time if we're willing to wake up a little earlier. It's also just a tiny bit cooler in the mornings which can make a tremendous difference especially when you're visiting during the warmer summer months.
We will go to Extra Magic Hours and continue touring the parks until lunchtime. My crew still likes to take an afternoon break for some downtime. Sometimes we nap, sometimes we swim, and sometimes we do both. Then we return to the parks refreshed and ready to close them down at night. In the past we have also visited during Extra Magic Hours then as soon as the park opens to day guests, we have hopped to another park.
If you have night owls who will not want to wake up early then you might want to give Extra Magic Hours a pass. If you don't plan to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours I recommend starting your day at a park without Extra Magic Hours. I have found the parks who are not having Extra Magic Hours tend to have ever-so-slightly lighter crowds.
Kristin, I hope this helps with your decision. Thank you again for visiting us with another question! Please let us know if we can help you with any other planning questions.
Wishing you a magical vacation,
Amy H.