taking a break mid-day so not worth it for us!

[Mariep26]

It definitely varies by kid/family. When we went in March it was really hot in the middle of the day so we left the parks and went to the pool at our resort. Our kids haven't napped in a long time so we didn't even bother trying that. We ate lunch and then went to the pool. A couple of the days, DD ended up taking a power nap on the lounge chair but even without the naps they were ready to go back to the parks for dinner and into the evening.

 

[brettcw23]

got back 2 weeks ago, first trip since Dh and I were small, took DD5 and DS1. everything was wonderful with the exception of a planning mistake the first day. so I have read everything saying its good to take little kids to the hotel mid day for a break/nap. we planned to do RD our first day then leave at noon, return around 5 so the kids could be happy and enjoy elec parade etc.

we hated leaving, but thought it was for the best..got back to hotel and ate, treid to nap. kids would not could not na a second, they were grumps and Dh ad I even got into a fight. I dont know why but it just did not work out for our family! we should have toughed it out. lesson learned, the only good thing was that day was very crowded and our other time at MK was easy and awesome. so I guess make sure your kids will really rest or nap if you take them home...

We have done all day at the parks and then just crash. This time we went back to the resort and it made our kids last alot longer. My girls are 8 and 5 (just turned 5 mid-October) and my 5 yr old still naps. She went napless but just the break from the lines and standing helped us out.

I'm thinking the mid-day breaks aren't for all! I can tell you that this 37 year old dad did not mine the mid-day cat nap

 

[shopgirl78]

We have done it both ways. Our first trip, DD & DS1 were fine during the day, no break needed. DS1 slept in the stroller and DD didn't need a break.

Our second trip, they wanted that mid day break mostly to go swim. They loved the pool at the POLY and it had been several months since they were last able to swim (March & winter), so mid day breaks were requested for swimming.

 

[4HppyCamprs]

got back 2 weeks ago, first trip since Dh and I were small, took DD5 and DS1. everything was wonderful with the exception of a planning mistake the first day. so I have read everything saying its good to take little kids to the hotel mid day for a break/nap. we planned to do RD our first day then leave at noon, return around 5 so the kids could be happy and enjoy elec parade etc.

we hated leaving, but thought it was for the best..got back to hotel and ate, treid to nap. kids would not could not na a second, they were grumps and Dh ad I even got into a fight. I dont know why but it just did not work out for our family! we should have toughed it out. lesson learned, the only good thing was that day was very crowded and our other time at MK was easy and awesome. so I guess make sure your kids will really rest or nap if you take them home...

We read about the midday break too before our first visit but it seemed more hassle than it was worth so we have never done it. I suspect it might work more seamlessly with your car as transport. For us losing a 1 1/2 for just transport was not appealing. We spend a lot of down time in sit down restaurants and the kids can nap in the stroller so maybe that relieves the pressure for even more downtime?

 

[angelmom27]

We have never stayed on property before so we always just stay all day. I am sure when we do stay on property we will do the same as we always do and stay all day. If the little ones want to nap they just nap in the stroller. I always bring their blankets with us so that way if they do they can cover up or use it as a pillow. They usually nap after lunch so its right around parade time we just find a good spot and take a rest while they nap. By the time the parade is over they are ready to go. We have even had little ones who slept through the whole thing and didn't even know they had missed it.

 

[brockash]

This is our experience as well. We tried doing the nap thing one time, but it just wasn't worth it. It seemed like a lot of work and wasted time. One day towards the end of our trip we all just looked at each other like why are we making ourselves do this, when none of us want to lol.

For us, having the little ones fall asleep in the stroller when they're tired just works better for us. I think we all got grumpier when we would go back for a nap and then all have to wake back up

We very seldom ever go back to the hotel in the middle of the day (only really if someone isn't feeling well, or if the weather is just really bad.)

 

[Svhadden]

We've never done mid-day breaks, either, and we've been going yearly since ours were 7 and 2. Those first couple of years, my son would take a 2 hour (glorious) nap in his stroller, and my daughter is the Energizer Bunny, so no break required.

As my son has gotten older and no longer naps, we just have to set a slower pace during the day, but we still do rope drop till lights out. A lot of the time, he'll fall asleep in my lap on the bus, so when we get back to the resort, I just change him into pj's, brush his teeth, make him potty, and he's out lol.

And if we do a very late night, we'll sleep in the next morning. As others have said, it just seems like too much lost time, and work/effort to get back and forth, etc. Just never seemed worth it to us, but it's absolutely something that each family has to work out.

 

[john1928]

Different strokes, go with what works.. Our kids are total nightowls, we were swimming after 1AM every night but one on our trip last December. Follow that with a later start, then straight through to close out the park is MUCH better than trying to do an early start, break, and return for us. That said we go during slow times of the year and the oldest was under 44" so several of the longest wait rides weren't on our agenda anyhow. We'll see how that holds up next week with an extra 0 year old in the mix...

 

[dznygurl]

We never took mid day breaks when our kids were younger. They did take small naps in their strollers on some days. However, on our trip (this week) we took a couple of afternoons off for mid day breaks bc the older two were "so exhausted". My DS17 actually took a nap on one day while my other two did some swimming. It amazed me that two 40-somethings had more energy than two teens.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

We napped almost every day for our WDW visit *10/09* it was super warm and muggy

My kids were 9 & 6 and my mom was a young *had her birthday during our trip* 49 year old.

When we visit DLR we nap daily *when hours are 8am-12am - but that's easy, we always stay within walking distance there.

 

[firecracker725]

We couldn't have survived without naps. We ate a late lunch in the parks and left around 2. We napped at the hotel and after freshening up, returned to the parks around 5pm.

 

[drinkme]

We don't do well with afternoon breaks either - I find that alternating late nights with late mornings works better. If we hit rope drop we try and be back to the resort by 7ish for a light dinner and maybe an evening swim with an early(ish) bedtime. If we are planning a late night for fireworks we sleep in a bit and head out later. Of course if everyone needs a break or chooses to swim on a hot afternoon we will head back to the resort and play the rest of the day by ear.

Same as above for us!

And I do have to reiterate that in the summer it's almost essential to leave the afternoon sun to go back to the room to swim or try to nap.

 

[discookiemonsta]

We never go back to the resort for naps. When our girls were younger they would just nap in the strollers, which worked really well for us. Usually once we enter a park, we stay at that park all day. The only two trips we took some afternoon breaks (NOT for naps though!) were in May and June, when the heat just got to us and we took a pool break some afternoons. During our winter trips, we never take afternoon breaks.

 

[nw2this]

My kids are teens and I'm still trying to decide if we need a midday break mainly to avoid the midday lines that are supposed to be longest during these hours.

If you stay all day, how do you find the lines between 12 and 3? Are they much longer than earlier or later in the day? Do you arrive early enough for emh or rope drop? and do you manage to stay until close? Thanks.

 

[disneypolybride2008]

my dd has always stubbornly taken her one afternoon nap. she is now 16 months and if she senses that i want her to nap, then she won't. i have to nurse her to sleep and then she'll comply. she's gone many days w/o any nap at all. i agree that wasting all that travel bus time and extra walking to try to take a nap is a huge waste of time and doubt the baby will sleep anyway. i hope she will just nap in her stroller when she is tired. -or take her on the jungle cruise, lol... there are a few rides that always get me to doze off, then put her in the stroller.