To afternoon nap or not?

[JoMarie]

I always go to DL with my friends (we're 22/23ish) and we ALWAYS nap. This past summer we got McDonalds, ate in our room and then took a dip in the pool. One friend and I wanted to go see the Mad Hatter at Coke Corner at 2:30, so after the dip in the pool we changed our sweaty clothes into fresh nice smelling clothes. (Gotta smell good for the Hatter!) 2 of our friends stay in the hotel and took a nap while we went and watched the Musical Chairs. They met up with us when they were done napping.

Normally, we nap around 1-3/4ish. We drive up from San Diego and usually spend a day and a half. The day we get there we normally wake up around 5:30 and leave at 6:30am, so around 1, we are beat so we go back and check into the hotel. I don't know if it's normal for people in their early 20's to need a nap, but we nap everyday at home so if we don't nap in Disneyland, we'd get mighty cranky. Even in the happiest place on earth we need our sleep.

 

[daneenm]

We usually visit when park hours are longer and always take a break mid-day. When our children were younger, this might have meant mapping some days, but not always. We like to hang out by the pool. The children swim, DH and I take a dip and then read or nap by the pool. Works out very well for us. We find that we just need the break from the masses and waiting in lines.

 

[letthembelittle]

For our first trip when dd was 3 and ds was 1 we only had one day at the park so we powered through without naps, though ds did eventually fall asleep just before the parade at DCA. This time they will be a bit older so some days we might skip naps but since we will be there for 6 days we wont feel like we have to cram everything in. I think the break might be nice!

 

[MichaelColey]

Great point. For longer stays, taking a break during the day or going just part of the day is a much easier decision. If you're just there one or two days, you want to do as much as you can.

If you have to choose between the early, middle, and late parts of the day, I think most people would agree that the middle part of the day is the least important time to be there. Early is great because the lines are so short. Late is essential if you want to see fireworks or Fantasmic (but less important otherwise). Middle is usually the busiest, hottest (only an issue in the summer), and most crowded.

Maximizing the early and late time by napping in the middle has another advantage: collecting FastPasses. Collect them all morning as you ride the slower rides, collect one for one of the busiest rides (2+ hours out) before leaving for a nap, then you'll be ready to collect your next one when you return and redeem them all during the busy late afternoon and evening (collecting 2-3 more).

 

[HydroGuy]

This is something I hadn't thought of. We have typically gone to the park when the hours are short (10-8) so we don't bother with the nap and the kids have done fine. This year however we will be there on Veteran's day with monster long hours and I've never done that before.

I tend to try to cram in as much as possible and not want to take breaks. I know we will have a better time if we slow it down, but it's hard for me not to try to squeeze in every possible ride/show/etc.

Yep. Adding here to what others have said...

When park hours are long (8AM-Midnight - 16 hours - plus one more on MM days) it is just too long for almost anyone. I am a high energy person in good physical condition and I can do 16 hours straight (just did it last August). But from 6PM onwards I feel fatigued.

Most people are better with 10-12 hours inside the parks each day rather than 16. So let's use a busy 12 hour day as a guide to what most humans can tolerate. If one is going to spend 12 hours at DLR each day, when should those hours be spent? 8AM-8AM? Well that means being there during the busiest part of the day and missing the short lines late at night and evening entertainment. Noon-Midnight? That means missing the short lines early in the morning and being unable to pick up FPs. Both of these approaches have reduced FP usage because in the second case you get FPs until noon and in the first you can't use them after 8PM.

I have figured out it is better to spend those 12 hours at 8AM-1PM, then a four hour break, then 5PM-Midnight. Still 12 hours total. I get a 2-3 hour nap mid-day with my kids. We feel fresh all evening. Plus we miss the biggest crowds and, in the summer, the mid-day heat. We also get better FP usage. We can pick up lots of them in the morning and use them before the break or in the evening. And we can get more FPs in the evening.

When park hours are long I think folks need to get it out of their head that they are missing things by taking a break. They are in fact allowing themselves to experience more things and feel fresher while they do it.

When park are shorter and crowds are less I can see how the scale may tip away from mid-day breaks.

 

[foleyfun]

Our daughter is 4 years old and we were there this past weekend. We got to Anaheim around 4:00 and checked into our hotel and vegged until it was time to go the TOT party. We stayed till the end at 11:30. The next morning we were in DL by 9:00. We stayed in the park until 1:00 when the crowds started getting pretty bad, then headed back to the hotel for a nap. Our DD fell asleep in the stroller on the way back so we wheeled her into the room and left her sleep there. Both my DH and I laid down to veg out and ended up falling asleep for 2 hours! It felt so good and we were all ready and refreshed for the rest of the evening in the park. After eating dinner near our hotel we were back in the park by 5:30. If we hadn't have taken the nap I don't think we would have made it to fireworks that night.