Very EARLy plane ride w/little ones?

[dsmith72]

We leave for WDW on Saturday May 20th. DH, DS5, DS2 and myself. Plane leaves at 7:05 AM. We need to be at airport at 5:45 AM and leave house by 5AM. This is their first plane ride so they are very excited so I do not know how well they will sleep on the plane (little less than 3 hour flight). Normally schedule is up around 7:30-8AM and in bed around 8:30 PM, not always takes naps, sometimes for DS2. I am thinking about waking them Friday AM around 6 AM-no nap and putting them to bed around 7 PM. WHat do you think? We are not going to park 1 st day, just pool and DTD. I just do not want to start out w/tired kids and not be able to recuperate. HELP!!!

[rkandmjsmommy]

We have flown quite often with young kids and early flights! We get everything ready, they get them in the car with PJ's on, literally pick them up out of bed and right into car. DH drops me and kids off with luggage, then he parks the car. I then take them in the bathroom adn get them changed. They usually sleep on the plane from pure exhaustion!!!! They also take a snooze in the car or ME. I would try not to mess up their schedule the day before, that usually backfires on us.

Good luck

[3princesses+aprince]

I went last year with my dd's and ds, my kids were 12 months, 3, 5, and 8
My kids didn't have a problem getting up yea they were alittle tired but sooo excited, chances are your little one might not be excited he probably doesnt' know too much of what is going on. But my 12 month old was fine, hey they might even take a nap on the plane . (mine did not) :rolleyes: My plane left at 7:25 so we had to get up at the same time. We didn't do a park that first day either, you are right that might be too much. We hung out and did a few little things and my kids did fine. They went to sleep nice and early for the next day. Have Fun

[3princesses+aprince]

Oh yes, also like previous post says, I would not mess up their schedule the day before , always backfires on us also. Good Luck, you'll do fine

[luvmesometigger]

I am right there with you.
Our flight is at 7 am so we need ot be there no later then 5:30. We will all be getting up around 4 or so. I am going to let the kids sleep until the airport shuttle shows up. My DD will probably snooze through it all. My DS will probably be off the walls!!
Our schedule will be thrown off the day before anyway because DD is being baptized that day. Kids are pretty resilent and can readjust much quicker then adults sometimes!
Have fun!

[MEredhead]

I agree as well with the pp about not changing their schedules the day before. We also had a 7:05 flight with DD3 and DD1. I let them sleep as long as possible and then dressed them while they were still half asleep. They were so excited that they didn't fall asleep on the plane. They did finally crash on the drive to the resort. It was just a long enough nap to get them through the rest of the day. I was surprised by how well they slept the first night - the swimming and the heat will wear them right out. Now the return flight home was a different story. We left at 6:50 am and they both fell fast asleep before we were in the air and sleep all the way to MHT - it made for a very nice flight home!

[bubba]

Our flight is at 6:10 am,the airport is 90 minutes (and a border crossing) away. We figure we need to leave the house at around 2:30 am. Usually my 3 year old DS does not sleep in the car, but we're hoping he'll make an exception this time ! We are also planning a 'down day' for arrival day. Swimming, exploring the resort, DTD for dinner and possibly DQ for DH and DS(7). Bed early and up early for Chef Mickeys ! 10 more sleeps !! :mickeyjum

[gianna2006]

We're flying out at 6:50am with my DS(7) and DD(4). We will be up at about 5:15am. I plan on putting the kids to bed semi-earlier the night before, maybe they'll sleep a little on the plane (but I won't count on it ;) ), and having them relax by the pool the first day we are there. My kids are still great nappers (even by 7-y-o), so they will probably pass out at one point or other during the day :thumbsup2 . I agree with the other posters...maybe putting the kids to bed a little early the night before, but I wouldn't alter their schedule in any other way. The other thing you may want to consider is putting the kids to bed in the clothes they will wear the next day - nothing too stiff so they are comfortable when they sleep, and nothing that will look too wrinkled, but something easy so you have to disturb them as little as possible in the early morning. This way, you get them out of bed, into the car, into the plane, and over to the world and only have to worry about keeping up with them and your luggage!!!!

[Cindy's Mom]

We leave for WDW on Saturday May 20th. DH, DS5, DS2 and myself. Plane leaves at 7:05 AM. We need to be at airport at 5:45 AM and leave house by 5AM. This is their first plane ride so they are very excited so I do not know how well they will sleep on the plane (little less than 3 hour flight). Normally schedule is up around 7:30-8AM and in bed around 8:30 PM, not always takes naps, sometimes for DS2. I am thinking about waking them Friday AM around 6 AM-no nap and putting them to bed around 7 PM. WHat do you think? We are not going to park 1 st day, just pool and DTD. I just do not want to start out w/tired kids and not be able to recuperate. HELP!!!

We take the same time flights and I learned the hard way - that we don't even hit the parks until the second day.....Our schedule is usually, day of arrival, we swim, hang around the hotel, the next day we do a character b-fast, swim - then go to the Boardwalk for dinner. Our kids are DD5 and DS4. But remember what ever is best for your family.

[knovak]

We have a 7:02 flight out. The airport is an hour from our home so we are staying at a hotel a few minutes from the airport the night before doing the Park & Fly option so we don't have to pay to park for the week. Plan on leaving the hotel by 5:30 and waking them up at the last minute to head out. :goodvibes

[golden1]

Thanks for this post! I have been debating which flight to take when fares become available for December from Jetblue - early (7:40) or mid-morning (10:40). I'm thinking that early might be better because my kids get up at 6 am anyway so getting up at 4:30-5am would not be too much of a stretch for them. If I take the 10:40 we will have to deal with Boston traffic into the airport.

[ctnurse]

I agree with staying over the night before. Park and fly works out really good.

[flynnmnstr]

We left for the airport around 5:30 am; kids were up by 5 am; kept their pjs on and put them in the car. Our kids are not plane sleepers so when we landed the 18mnth old crashed as soon as the car came to pick us up- he was super cranky on the plane; 4.5 DS was a champ. We didn't choose to do a down time day. With the price of tickets once you have a 4 day hopper we thought it was worth the $$ to be able to go to the parks right away. We choose Animal Kingdom due to TGMs recommendations and we didn't want to do MK or MGM to keep it as low key as possible. Kids did great both took snoozes in stroller went to bed and were ready to go the next day.

Honestly though I don't think I will ever choose to leave that early again. We normally choose to arrive later in the afternoon and like that much better. Check in is normally not until 4pm- we were lucky enough to get in one room of our suite when we got to the hotel around 11:30pm, but it wouldn't have been fun if we couldn't get into the room.

[cindermomma]

This last trip (Oct. 05') we were really nuts and had a 6:05 AM flight, so we had to leave our house at 3:15AM to get there in time! Our DS5 was put into the minivan in his PJ's and changed at the airport. He woke up until we got on the plane and then he slept. I would keep them on a regular schedule and let them sleep on the plane as much as possible. Good luck with whatever you decide and have a great trip!!!!! :banana:

[surfgirl]

Someone mentioned putting kids to bed in 'street' clothes - we do that... cotton leggings (girls) or sweats (boy) and t-shirt. Bring a sweatshirt - that way, they can manage their own comfort when the a/c is cranked on the plane.

I actually carried pj's on the flight in ziplocks - as a backup in case anyone got sick/spilled on/ etc. (its happened to me before).

I would also keep the same schedule the day before - last time we did a 6am flight, my 2 yo was awake the entire flight and in car, asleep before departing the airport. ach!

good luck -

[brettgirl]

We leave for POR May 20 and our flight was moved back an hour-6 AM, we must leave our home at least by 4 am. I have DD12 DS5, I let them sleep in street clothes. They probably will be so excited that they will not sleep!! Low key plans for when we get there, early to bed that nite and then we are off for 8 days of fun!

[phins_jazy]

We leave in 5 weeks! :Pinkbounc Our plane leaves at 5:45 AM!!!! My kids still have no idea. :rotfl2: I told them we're going on vacation to meet grandma and grandpa. We're staying offsite and they've got a cool waterslide. She thinks THAT'S the vacation! I can't wait to see the look on her face. We'll probably have them sleep in street clothes. We'll have to be at the airport by 4:45 and up by 4. The kids are 19 months and 7. I hope they'll sleep on the plane. I hope I can keep the secret of where we're going until we get there!!!

[angelsmom920]

Our flight home from WDW was at 630am and since we used ME we had to leave the hotel room at 3am. Tough, but the kids were troopers! My dd5 slept on the first leg of the tripp (o yeah we had a lay over) but she was awake on the second flight. A nice long nap was needed that day!

[dzorn]

We leave for POR May 20 and our flight was moved back an hour-6 AM, we must leave our home at least by 4 am. I have DD12 DS5, I let them sleep in street clothes. They probably will be so excited that they will not sleep!! Low key plans for when we get there, early to bed that nite and then we are off for 8 days of fun!

We'll be there 20th to 26th!!!
Just two weeks left!!!

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

[Disneywed]

We're flying out at 6:50am with my DS(7) and DD(4). We will be up at about 5:15am. I plan on putting the kids to bed semi-earlier the night before, maybe they'll sleep a little on the plane (but I won't count on it ;) ), and having them relax by the pool the first day we are there. My kids are still great nappers (even by 7-y-o), so they will probably pass out at one point or other during the day :thumbsup2 . I agree with the other posters...maybe putting the kids to bed a little early the night before, but I wouldn't alter their schedule in any other way. The other thing you may want to consider is putting the kids to bed in the clothes they will wear the next day - nothing too stiff so they are comfortable when they sleep, and nothing that will look too wrinkled, but something easy so you have to disturb them as little as possible in the early morning. This way, you get them out of bed, into the car, into the plane, and over to the world and only have to worry about keeping up with them and your luggage!!!!


Hey, are we on the same flight??? 12th out of McArthur?

[juliehry]

definetly don't skip that nap on friday! you will be kicking yourself for sure! If it were me i would nap a little earlier by 1/2 hour or so and bedtime the same amount earlier since they will be getting up earlier. take them in their pjs you can change them on the plane.

[rainy~daze]

we went in january. flight left at 6:30 am, with dd2, ds4. and stepDD15, we put the kids to bed, tried to sleep by 7 in little warmup suits ready to go, but didn't really happen. we thought for sure we could get up at 3 get ready then just put them in the car at 5 and go, nope, they were up at 3 coming down the steps more awake than us. they were great on the plane, we brought plenty of little snacks, and those little doodle things with the magnetic pens, plus i found travel crayola wonder packs for them. we brought sippy cups for them so they wouldn't spill, and i hoped it would help their ears upon landing ( not too helpful). i just would have brought some more of my own drinks with me, they were getting pretty thirsty, and a blanket it was cold! the only other thing that worked good was they wore pullups even though potty trained so we didn't have to make 30 bathroom trips.

[MeLaNie9]

We leave the 13th on a 7:30 am flight. DS (22 months) usually wakes up at 6:30 every morning, so we plan on getting him up just before leaving for the airport at 5am and hope that he sleeps a bit on the flight. We aren't planning on changing his schedule the day before. We plan on him napping upon arriving at the Poly if our room is ready or in the stroller at the MK where we plan on spending a half day of just getting oriented and seeing the afternoon parade and trying out a few rides. Can't wait - 5 more days! :cool1:

[Yensid_MD]

We always dress them in sweats the night before, and that is what they wear until we get to WDW. They are comfortable and look ready to go.

[nono]

definetly don't skip that nap on friday! you will be kicking yourself for sure! If it were me i would nap a little earlier by 1/2 hour or so and bedtime the same amount earlier since they will be getting up earlier. take them in their pjs you can change them on the plane.

Yep. And a trip to the bathroom to change can eat up some of the time on the plane! :thumbsup2

[momofmmsd5]

We will be doing this tomorrow morning!! :banana: :banana: We have a 7:05 flight so we have a car coming at 5am to pick us up. I already told the kids they will sleep in their clothes tonight. Only dd12 gave me a hard time about it :rolleyes: but I really wasn't worried about her anyway! I am really worried about the airport and the flight with 5 kids and JUST ME! DH is already there for work so I will be alone with all of them on the way down! They are a little older dd12 ds10 b/g twins8 and the baby is 1 1/2. I sent all the kids stuff down with dh but I will still have my bags, diaper bag, stroller, car seat ect... Well even though it will be a little crazy can't wait!!! :woohoo: :woohoo:

[AdriansMom]

We usualy leave early as well but this time we are trying a different approach. We are leaving in the evening, 7 p.m. arriving at 10ish. My DS2 does not nap that much anymore during the day so hopefully he'll sleep in the hotel by the time we get there.

[kurtech]

Someone mentioned putting kids to bed in 'street' clothes - we do that... cotton leggings (girls) or sweats (boy) and t-shirt. Bring a sweatshirt - that way, they can manage their own comfort when the a/c is cranked on the plane.

I actually carried pj's on the flight in ziplocks - as a backup in case anyone got sick/spilled on/ etc. (its happened to me before).

I would also keep the same schedule the day before - last time we did a 6am flight, my 2 yo was awake the entire flight and in car, asleep before departing the airport. ach!

good luck -
I totally agree. Works great whenever you have to get the kids into the car early (flight or road trip). They go right back to sleep and be in a much better mood when they wake up later.