How crucial is the midday break?

[rentayenta]

Midday breaks have become crucial for us- even more so as the kids get older believe it or not. I miss the days when a stroller nap would suffice while watching a parade. Breaks at WDW are time consuming and I am not sure how much longer staying off-property would add. We plan at least 4 hours for our breaks- it takes a good 30 minutes to get where you are going and settle in and then some downtime too.

 

[4forMe]

For us we always take a break, honestly DH needs it more then anyone and we have four kids! We make sure we are at rope drop in the morning and then leave the parks after lunch. Then we go back in late afternoon/early evening depending on our dinner plans, the rest makes it more of a vacation and less like work for us
We do that for two days and then take a rest day, the repeat until it's time to go. Sometimes that night before the rest day we will go to evening EMH or stay in the parks later in the day then usual without a break, but we know we have that break coming, so we do fine.

The above bolded line is our family also! Our 2nd family trip was commando style (the way I like to tour), and DH was miserable. From then on, we have always had a midday break and a resort day in the middle of the trip. Also, the time of year your are going (September) is still very hot, and your family may appreciate the downtime in the afternoon. If you do plan on a long park day, just make sure you have leisurely activities planned in the afternoon (shows in air conditioning, long leisurely table service lunch, etc.) to give everyone a break from the heat.

Most of our stays have been off-site. We've never had a problem leaving @ 1 and returning by 5 p.m. The closer you stay to WDW, the faster you will get there. I would consider one of the DTD hotels, Bonnet Creek or Windsor Hills (our personal favorite). Check our the Orlando Hotels and Attractions forum of this board to get more information about off-site accomodations.

 

[MartDM]

In my opinion, for kids that age it's critical! They won't get good rest snoozing in a stroller. A couple hours of real naptime in a cool, comfortable hotel room will not only buy you some evenings without meltdowns, but also avoids that cumulative "overload" effect they get from being overstimulated for 7 days in a row.

Definitely try to snag a Villa if you can. It is well worth the additional expense in terms of convenience: you can keep groceries, get a healthy breakfast & lunch into them every day, have laundry in room (so you can pack light & wash/reuse clothing), and have a separate room to put them in during naptime so you don't have to tiptoe around whispering

Have a great trip!

 

[DanielJoseph]

Do you go back to the hotel midday? Can you still get a lot done this way? What if you are offsite?
We will have a 2.5 and 5 yo.
Not sure if we will be able to snag a DVC suite or if we will be offsite at Vistana or similar timeshare.
Growing up we NEVER left in the middle of the day and usually stayed till closing, but yes, we were tired. We are doing a 7 day trip and planning for one resort day in the middle of the week.
I like the idea, I want to like the idea of relaxing and taking it easy for the girls. But the inner original MIckey maniac in me cringes at the thought of losing 3 or 4 hours midday.
Would chilling at a quiet spot IN the park be better?
Please avail me of your thoughts on this.

If you have kids - and you do, you will do MUCH better if you go back to your resort at noon and don't head back into the parks until dinner time. Also - all the more reason to stay on WDW property. Let the kids splash around in the pool and then get a nap after they tire themselves out. They will be ready to go back to the parks after a nice dinner. Of course, this will require early mornings - but it's worth it
Dan

 

[HollVoll]

We have been there for free dining the past 2 years (Sept. 08 and Dec. 09). Our little guy was 4 and 5. He has Down syndrome and is used to a power nap every day.

Originally, we planned to go back to the room and rest. Well, we never did. All of our meals were 5pm-ish. We were there at rope drop, stayed all day, had dinner and went back early. That was our key. Just one late night for fireworks. We realized that if he got back to the room that he would just go and go. Our older boys were the same--just WAY too excited to rest a while. LOL!

It certainly worked well for us, but (like most things) just depends on your group. We're going back in Oct. and have no plans for a mid-day break. You also might find that late lunches, alternating days on afternoon breaks, etc. are some other options that might work.

I remember one day we went to Tom Sawyer Island and they ran and ran. Then we went to the Hall of Presidents. He fell asleep in there (cool and quiet) and that was great.

 

[SnackyStacky]

Our family couldn't survive without a midday break. It's just too much for us.

Having said that, as others have already mentioned, it's really a personal preference. If your family doesn't need the break, by all means; skip it. Your family will let you know. They're certainly not going to say: "Let's go back for a break!" But if everyone is dragging, and cranky and generally miserable - that means it's time to take it easy.

And to answer another of your questions - we learned the hard way that there really isn't a break if you don't get out of the park. Just finding an air-conditioned spot within the parks didn't work. But again - that's just us.

 

[LilGMom]

We've been taking our two kids to WDW since the oldest was 9 months old and he is now 9 yrs. old and have only left once for what we thought would be a mid-day break. He fell asleep on the tram, stayed asleep in the car to the resort but as soon as his head hit that pnp he was up and raring to go. After that one time we figured that we'd just find a relatively quiet place in the park for all of us to sit and have some "down time". This has always worked good for my kids but I know some kids absolutely have to have a full afternoon nap to keep a meltdown from happening. You have to do what you feel is best for your kids. I'd suggest planning for it for at least one day, see how they do with (or without) it and adjust the rest of your trip accordingly.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

I don't do a midday break but we are not rope drope kind of people and we sleep very late in the morning. My kids are also older.

There is no way in heck I would do any kind of theme park with a 2.5 year old and NOT take a break.

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

When took DD at 2.5 taking a midday break was the WORST idea i ever had!!

DD was sleeping in her stroller by the time we got out of the park & on the bus..
I held the strolller and DH held DD all the way back to the ASMo
when we got into the hotel room DD was wide awake and would not let DH or i get any rest..
So we got back up and went back to the park...

the next day we got on the TTA in MK and she feel alseep not 3min into the ride..
The cm let us ride it over and over untill she woke up..
we all got a rest and didn't have to leave the park...

When we went to epcot.. We started to walk around the showcase and she was out like a light in the stroller..

DD got a nap and DH and I got to SHOP!

I really think it has to do with how your kids nap.. or even if they need a nap!
If they need a nap & do not stroller nap easy then maybe a break to head back to the hotel is a good idea..

 

[Donut23]

I LOVE naps - always have. More importantly, if my DH or other guests want to share a park with me late at night (and I LOVE late nights in the parks), you WANT me to have a nap. I'm nortoriously cranky without them.

More importantly, our resort is part of our experience. We are out and about in the AM through lunch. After lunch we head back to the resort....nap....enjoy a quiet afternoon and then we are back out and about around 4 pm.

We go often so our lives will not end if we miss something on a Disney trip...unlike other trips where we are seeing something new and fabulous (Like Mt. McKinley in Denali or the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon).

 

[graceb59]

For those who take a break - when you say you take a 3 hr break, does this include travel time back & forth. We are staying at the POP 8/13-8/17. We are going with 2 grown children 18 & 21, but DH wants to "relax". The girls can just stay if they want. How long should we figure to get out of park, catch bus and get back to the POP?

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

In winter and fall, we don't always go back to the hotel for breaks, sometimes a nice sit down lunch or something is break enough. But, in the summer, esp. August, we definitely need that break! Sometimes we just sleep in late and do the parks late at night so we don't need a break if we got a late start. Other times we will get up early, hit the parks hard and then have a more restful evening planned, relaxing by the pool, etc. We plan this around EMH bc we love evening EMH, but with kids, that is different. As long as you plan for some downtime, you might not need to have a specific "afternoon break back at the hotel". I just think that after 7-9 hours in the parks, most of us get overstimulated, so its good to consider how you're going to split your time. Relaxing is part of the fun!

 

[KELLY]

At your kids age I think you may have to take a break. My girls are now 3 and 5. So my 3 year old will falll asleep for 20 mintutes to an hour in the stroller and be fine. My 5 year old can go all day now with no stroller. This will be are first year we hope to have no breaks. But we aren't rope drop people either. We usally get to the park around 9 or 10 and stay til the girls are tired. Some days we may just go at night. WE go for 10 days so no need to rush.

 

[clairemolly]

It totally depends on your kids. Mine have never napped on command outside of daycare. My 2 1/2 year old doesn't nap on the weekends anymore, unless she falls asleep in the car on the way home from somewhere, but still takes a 2 hour nap religiously every day during the week. When she was 2 months old, we tried 2 of our 8 days in 2008 to put her down for a nap. Both times she screamed for 2 hours, then fell asleep on the bus.

It is much easier for us to plan mid-day meals in air conditioning and just let the little one fall asleep in the stroller when she is ready, then do baby swap during that time. Just my $0.02.

 

[DisneyJen0504]

With our without children we ALWAYS take midday breaks. It is part of our WDW vacation style now. We never look at it like we are "losing" hours by going back to the resort. I feel like the naps, swims, showers, and relaxing for a few hours gives us the energy to truly enjoy our evening back out at the parks. Especially traveling in hot weather there is no way we would enjoy our day as much if we didn't take a break.
One thing I have to add is we always stay onsite and we tend to travel during summer months. We usually leave the park around by 1pm (we get there at rope drop) and head back out at night around 5.

 

[hogwartsdropout]

We usually take a nap in the middle of the day, at the hottest time. I don't think I'll be doing that this year because I always feel worse trying to get up after a nap. I will be swimming instead!

 

[mickeymaniac77]

Wow, I've never gotten so many responses!
All very good points. I guess I'll just wait and see what my littles are doing in a year as far as naps and also what my inlaws want to do. We are doing MK twice, so maybe we will start with a break and see how it goes. thank you and please tell me more.

 

[crisi]

For those who take a break - when you say you take a 3 hr break, does this include travel time back & forth. We are staying at the POP 8/13-8/17. We are going with 2 grown children 18 & 21, but DH wants to "relax". The girls can just stay if they want. How long should we figure to get out of park, catch bus and get back to the POP?

Depends on a lot of things, but here is sort of the "worst case"

You are at the back of the park when you decide to take a break. Its 20 minutes to the bus stop.
You wait 20 minutes for a bus.
Its a 20 minute ride on the bus.
Its a 10 minute walk back to your room

An hour and ten minutes - maybe a little longer.

On the way back. 10 minutes from room to bus stop
20 minutes for the bus
5 minutes through the security line.
35 minutes before you are through the turnstyles - maybe a little longer

Of course, you could get lucky and the bus could be right there, load quickly, no wait. And there are worse worst cases - if the line for the bus is long and you have to wait for a second bus. If there are a lot of ECVs and wheelchairs to load, that can add time as well.

When took DD at 2.5 taking a midday break was the WORST idea i ever had!!

DD was sleeping in her stroller by the time we got out of the park & on the bus..
I held the strolller and DH held DD all the way back to the ASMo
when we got into the hotel room DD was wide awake and would not let DH or i get any rest..
So we got back up and went back to the park...

the next day we got on the TTA in MK and she feel alseep not 3min into the ride..
The cm let us ride it over and over untill she woke up..
we all got a rest and didn't have to leave the park...

When we went to epcot.. We started to walk around the showcase and she was out like a light in the stroller..

DD got a nap and DH and I got to SHOP!

I really think it has to do with how your kids nap.. or even if they need a nap!
If they need a nap & do not stroller nap easy then maybe a break to head back to the hotel is a good idea..

That was us when the kids were little. Now that they are older, we do break for the pool. But when they were little, a midday break was a huge waste of time, since they'd fall asleep on the way. Beware the ten minute nap! For us, if they fell asleep in the stroller, on the MK train, the TTA, the monorail or the bus - we STAYED.

 

[Pakey]

For us, it's not about the napping or getting tired. We just need a break from the people, the lines, the stimulation, etc.

 

[walkdmc]

I love the midday breaks, especially if it's hot. However, I go with a loose plan. My kids are older than yours and do not need naps. If we're thinking of cutting out around 1pm but see that our favorite things have no wait, well....one thing leads to another and we don't leave until 4-5pm. When that happens, we rarely head back to the parks in the evening. If we leave at 1pm, we always return in the evening.