Sleeping Arrangements with a 1.5year old

[REL1203]

Hello All,

After having been to DW with just my wife and I 15 times over the years, we took our DD at 4months old to DW a few months ago and she slept great, napping in her stroller around the parks, and we put her to sleep around 9pm. We were Co-Sleeping then (she hated a crib then). She would fall asleep almost instantly when she cuddled up to my wife. After she was asleep, we could turn on the TV and still talk and she would be fine but in Oct we are headed back and she will be 18months old. She now sleeps full time in her crib in her dedicated room and we haven't slept in a hotel together since that trip.

Usually when we put her down for bed now at around 830, she might fuss and cry a little bit, sometimes up to 15minutes at most, but will fall asleep in her crib, but its her own room that is pitch dark. We are kinda worried now about all staying in 1 room. Once we put her into her crib, we can't really go anywhere and we think she is going to continue to see us and not go to sleep. Right now we have 2 reservations (for 12 days each), one is a Business room at Coronado (no balcony to escape out onto) and the other is a Cabin at Fort Wilderness (which is a 1bedroom but comes at a much higher cost and we lose some amenaties being there so we are struggling with what to do cause we are afraid of what will happen at Coronado with her.

What have all you more experience DW with young kids experts found works best for you?

Thanks

 

[ateam79828592]

I have stayed at moderates and put the pack n play in the sink area and closed the curtain separating the sink area from the main room. This helps with the light and seeing people.

 

[quagmire0]

I'd highly recommend looking at offsite options for your next trip. 2 and 3 bedroom condos are very affordable and allow you to go about your business while the kids sleep in their own room. Many even have a balcony you can hang out on. Doesn't really help in this case. Closest I've been to your situation was when we took our oldest when she was 6 months old on a cruise with us. (Something we'd never do again ). It was a little rough, but we made it work. Good news is that Disney tends to wear kids out.

 

[Pesky]

First of all, she will likely be so wiped from her busy day of stimulation, you might not have to do more than dim the lights. I'd also consider bringing some kind of white noise machine or using a white noise app on your phone to help her. A thought for the future or if you want to switch is to check availability of renting DVC points or getting a studio at the Polynesian. The studio has a split bathroom, one with a toilet, tub, sink and the other with a sink and stand up shower. You guys could put her PNP in the one without the toilet each night.

 

[Minnesota!]

I would bet she will fall asleep quickly after a long day at Disney. Back to room, bath, lower lights, turn on some white noise (get a fan or an app with some white noise), and tuck her into the bed.

Or, get a PNP and put it in the bathroom area and use the curtain/door to block her off into her own "room". A white noise machine in there should block out any noise you guys make in the main room.

FWIW - my kids have always fallen asleep at WDW without issue - with lights, TV on, me and husband talking. Whatever. The place just wipes them out.

 

[tlseege]

I had the same concerns when we took our 15 month old, especially with her big sister in the same room as us. I must say, however, that it wasn't a problem at all (all children are different, keep in mind). The pack and play went next to the TV/fridge area at the end of our bed. She played peek a boo for a couple minutes over the edge of the PNP but then laid herself down and went to sleep. Once she was out, we were free to move around the room (while she was going down we all laid in the beds and read or did a quiet activity).

 

[kayemgi]

We did the pack and play shoved into the sink area and the curtain pulled across to make it "private" too. Worked like a charm. But that was at a value -- I'm not sure if Coronado has the curtain across the sink area? We are staying at Beach Club on our next trip, and they don't have the curtain, so I'm planning on bringing a length of clothesline and a lightweight curtain panel to see if I can rig up some private space for her. I'm a little nervous about it!

 

[maxiesmom]

Coronado Springs has doors that separate the sink area from the rest of the bedroom. I'm not sure a pack and play would fit there though. And if it did it would make the bathroom inaccessible.

Have you looked at an All Star Family Suite? It would give you a lot more space plus 2 separate sleeping areas. It would be a little cheaper than the Fort Wilderness Cabins.

 

[teddygurl28]

a pack n play will fit behind the doors at Coronado in the sink area

 

[REL1203]

We are going for 12 days, and the increase in price to get a Cabin at FW was over $1000 more which I just can't seem to pull the trigger on OKing. We really want to make Coronado work, and from everything I have seen (we have stayed there twice in the last 10 years) I think the PNP would fit fine behind the doors. It will make the bathroom very hard to get to I think as well, but once she is out, i think we could maneuver our selves enough so that we could at least get into the bathroom to pee in the middle of the night. I actually never thought about putting her in that area, but after ATeam posted it, it dawned on that it could work very well.

We also are eliminating FW as on option cause then our families wouldn't be able to stay in the same resort as us (Both sets of Grand parents seem to want to come now). We thought about doing off property, but after going to DW at least once a year for 13 years now and always staying on property it just seems really hard to finally say OK to staying off site. I would have definitely considered the family suites at the values, but for our dates and the length of time we want they are all booked.

Thanks everyone for the comments.

 

[msmama]

My son sleeps with me when in a hotel. It's the only way he will sleep while traveling. It may not be the best option but it works.

So you have options if the pack n play doesn't work.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Hello All,

After having been to DW with just my wife and I 15 times over the years, we took our DD at 4months old to DW a few months ago and she slept great, napping in her stroller around the parks, and we put her to sleep around 9pm. We were Co-Sleeping then (she hated a crib then). She would fall asleep almost instantly when she cuddled up to my wife. After she was asleep, we could turn on the TV and still talk and she would be fine but in Oct we are headed back and she will be 18months old. She now sleeps full time in her crib in her dedicated room and we haven't slept in a hotel together since that trip.

Usually when we put her down for bed now at around 830, she might fuss and cry a little bit, sometimes up to 15minutes at most, but will fall asleep in her crib, but its her own room that is pitch dark. We are kinda worried now about all staying in 1 room. Once we put her into her crib, we can't really go anywhere and we think she is going to continue to see us and not go to sleep. Right now we have 2 reservations (for 12 days each), one is a Business room at Coronado (no balcony to escape out onto) and the other is a Cabin at Fort Wilderness (which is a 1bedroom but comes at a much higher cost and we lose some amenaties being there so we are struggling with what to do cause we are afraid of what will happen at Coronado with her.

What have all you more experience DW with young kids experts found works best for you?

Thanks

think you are going to like the cabin as you can place her Pack n play in the bedroom with door closed while you are in the living room area. plus having kitchen and refrig. the cabins are where I like to stay with small ones. one thing I would start now is playing music or some noise in her room while she sleeps. also you might try opening door after she falls sleep so there is some light. one thing I like about the cabins is you have no one on other side of walls but yourselves

 

[ajwolfe]

We had the same issue when we took our youngest at 18mths. He needed perfect quiet and darkness at home to sleep at that time. But honestly, we spend very little time in our rooms anyway (we stay in the parks until closures) so by the time we would get back and get ready for bed he was always out on his own in his PNP with no issue. I think for one you will be surprised at how much the change in routine will wipe them out and but you can definitely place the PNP in a way where they can't see as much of you (in the bathroom or up against the fridge, etc in some resorts).

Good luck!!

 

[DisneyOma]

We are going for 12 days, and the increase in price to get a Cabin at FW was over $1000 more which I just can't seem to pull the trigger on OKing. We really want to make Coronado work, and from everything I have seen (we have stayed there twice in the last 10 years) I think the PNP would fit fine behind the doors. It will make the bathroom very hard to get to I think as well, but once she is out, i think we could maneuver our selves enough so that we could at least get into the bathroom to pee in the middle of the night. I actually never thought about putting her in that area, but after ATeam posted it, it dawned on that it could work very well.

We also are eliminating FW as on option cause then our families wouldn't be able to stay in the same resort as us (Both sets of Grand parents seem to want to come now). We thought about doing off property, but after going to DW at least once a year for 13 years now and always staying on property it just seems really hard to finally say OK to staying off site. I would have definitely considered the family suites at the values, but for our dates and the length of time we want they are all booked.

Thanks everyone for the comments.

If the grandparents are coming too, you could try to get connecting rooms - put the baby in one and stay in the other until she falls asleep. This would only work if you were able to get connecting though, not adjoining.

Or try renting points for a villa for all of you to share, or at least one set of grandparents? A one bedroom would work for that.

 

[Mousemommy1]

We just got back from a trip with our 15 month old DS. He also sleeps in his crib in his own room. We were pretty worried about how that would go as the last time we went he was also 3 months old and still co-sleeping part of the time.

We got really spoiled in our AOA suite because we had the separate bedroom we could put him in. Then on the cruise, the room could be separated in half by a curtain. At the GF, there was really nothing. But, we ended up being fine just darkening the room and putting on his noise machine and he'd be out within minutes and we could just go about our business after that.

Obviously that might not work for everyone, but it did for us.

 

[brymolmom]

When we had one that age at Disney...DH would go get some coffee and read the paper (leave the room) and I would lay on the bed with a small book light and read my book. The first couple of times he/she would stand up and ask to get out, I would say 'lay down. it's time for sleep now.' - and then I just wouldn't say anything at all but read my book and remain quiet. This would only happen the first and MAYBE second night...Then it would be right to sleep. Even the first night or two this never lasted past 15 minutes. DH would come back to the room in an hour or so and we would usually just read or turn the TV on low at that point because the kids were OUT!

I don't think there's any need to spend money on a bigger room or a setup with a separate bedroom. It will be fine.

 

[kboo]

We've traveled a bunch with our ODD (now 4.5) and she had no problem going to sleep in a crib or PNP in the same room. Sometimes we'd escape to the balcony or the bathroom or somewhere out of sight just until she fell asleep. Then it was fine. Now, she goes to sleep in the same room (she slept on the pullout when we were at GF last month) and we can still be up and walking around, though we keep the room dim with the bathroom light on.

 

[kboo]

When we had one that age at Disney...DH would go get some coffee and read the paper (leave the room) and I would lay on the bed with a small book light and read my book. The first couple of times he/she would stand up and ask to get out, I would say 'lay down. it's time for sleep now.' - and then I just wouldn't say anything at all but read my book and remain quiet. This would only happen the first and MAYBE second night...Then it would be right to sleep. Even the first night or two this never lasted past 15 minutes. DH would come back to the room in an hour or so and we would usually just read or turn the TV on low at that point because the kids were OUT!

I don't think there's any need to spend money on a bigger room or a setup with a separate bedroom. It will be fine.

Yes! We did this too. Avoiding eye contact is key. Also, they can sense fear.

 

[buzznina]

We got 2 bedrails, and would also put something at the foot of the bed and then either DW or myself would lay with her until she fell asleep. Once she was out we had no problems talking, getting ready for the next day, having lights on or TV. I think what helped was we always had some sort of night light and music playing when we put them to sleep at home from infant on, so they do not need total darkness and silence to fall or stay asleep.

 

[connie1042]

The only problem with it in the bathroom area, is how LOUD the toilets flush!