Why was there a Day 2 meltdown when Day 1 was so good?

[AllieV]

In preparation for our December 5-day trip to disney, we took DS 3.3 to Sesame Place for two days. Day 1 we drove 80 minutes, arrived at 12:30 and had a great day. He was patient for ride lines, smiled, greeted characters, didn't have any problems. Minor meltdown at 4pm when Abby didn't leave the parade line to say hi to him (he needed a nap). Hotel for the night, 10am wakeup, breakfast, park was 2 miles away. From the minute we hit the park, the meltdowns and fits started and didn't stop until we left at 2pm. They'd subside just to have something else trigger him.

This is my first (and only) kid. From your experience, is Day 1 better because it's all new? Is all the stimuli just overwhelming? Or maybe he just had a bad day for other reasons? I brought healthy snacks, made sure he ate and drank often, and he was well rested.

I'm trying to plan out our park day and thought this would help. I'm just more confused now as to when to eat, when to get there, how long to stay at the parks.

 

[chris31997]

From my expierances(with 2 kids), day 1 is the excitment day and usually the day they will go and go. Mostly because it is something new and exciting. Day 2 and beyond you might see more melt downs because the newness has worn off.

I have also seen with my kids each trip is differant. As my kids get older they are able to handle doing the parks comando style(long days and going ride to ride; getting as much as possible from the park). You might need to slow down, bring along some new cheap toys, keep up the healthy snacks and naps. Do what you would normally do at home routine for sleeping and eating as much as possible

 

[RooRach0906]

Does he have a schedule that he follows at home??? Was he off that schedue???
I only have 1 child and she is younger but I have 3 older sisters with older children and that was there biggest piece of advice, even on vacation stay as close to their normal schedule as possible, of course this is only meals and naps and a day or two of big change wont be the end of the world but they found it kept their kids happy majoroity of the time (there will always be at least one melt down) When we took DD on vacation a couple weeks ago she did wonderfully even at MK (we only did a day) because she was still on her basic schedule. Hope this helps you and hope you have a wonderful trip.

 

[dizneechic]

Does he have a schedule that he follows at home??? Was he off that schedue???
I only have 1 child and she is younger but I have 3 older sisters with older children and that was there biggest piece of advice, even on vacation stay as close to their normal schedule as possible, of course this is only meals and naps and a day or two of big change wont be the end of the world but they found it kept their kids happy majoroity of the time...

I completely agree with the above. However for us, being off schedule even a little WILL result in chaos and attitudes and general angst/stress for my kids. We wake on schedule, eat on schedule (all meals and snacks), and still get the kids in bed at their normal times (before 8pm) even when on vacation. We may have a night or 2 when we stay up late but we will and do pay for it the next day. It often means we wont get to do everything, see everything, or will miss out on some really fun stuff, but the general "peace" amongst my group far outweighs what we miss by trying to overdo on vacation. Most of the time we're back at the resort early afternoon, go for dinner somewhere and just relax at the end of the day.

The good thing about going in Dec is it gets dark earlier and night shows are earlier than the summer months so hopefully you will be able to enjoy some, but I wouldn't try pushing it and just plan to take the trip nice and slow and hopefully the excitement won't be as overwhelming.

 

[djp0630]

I think definitely since the newness has worn off and also because he could have been tired from the day before. If he missed his nap the day before, plus the driving, he could have been tired. Also, he could have been overstimulated. Definitely make sure to take breaks throughout the day at WDW.

Having taken my kids from ages 1-4, they did great at WDW just because it was so much to do. Make sure you have a plan so you don't wait in long lines and aren't standing around doing nothing trying to figure out where to go. I made lunch a little earlier than when we eat at home since I figured we'd have to wait some. Like 11:30 for lunch or 5/5:30 for dinner. We came home early most nights and didn't try to do the night entertainment, except one or two nights. But the next morning wasn't an early start. Have fun!

 

[lucigo]

The first thing you have to remember is that Disney World was made for ADULTS who in turn bring their children. Many times the adults want to be there a lot longer than the kids do! The stroller is your friend. I have 4 kids, including a child with autism so we always come well prepared. A large stroller with a big canopy is his refuge. Bring some favorite toys. Yes, my son was the one last week at Animal Kingdom with a magnadoodle in his stroller. LOL Kids can't stay excited about a ride while you wait in line for that long without growing bored and tired. Snacks from home are also a great idea.

Another important note: Pay attention to your child. We THINK we know what our kids should want to do at the parks, but do we really listen to them? When my son was 3 the things that he liked best about going to Disney included sitting in the numbers at Pop Century, studying the polished rocks in the gift shop, and riding the Disney bus. We made sure to give him time to do those things so that he would enjoy Disney and want to go back again!

Another thing that worked for us, and that you might try in the future...is that after our first trip we went to Shutterfly and made him his own personal Disney book, with all of his favorite things, and captions that he could read. He could share it with his friends, therapists, teachers, relatives etc. and remember that there was more to Disney than hot long lines and strange food.

Hope this helps!

 

[Kallista]

I think most kids have a point where they're tired and want to get out of the parks. They're just DONE with it.

My kids do very well with afternoon breaks. We hit it hard in the morning and then take a break in the afternoon and then go back for some (slower) touring in the evening.

It sounds like your kid is good for a day and then needs to take a break for a day. If you follow his lead on when enough is enough, you'll have a better trip.

 

[*Seanaci*]

For your Disney trip, stick to your regular feeding and/or nap routine you have at home. Even if he naps in the stroller while you guys tour the parks. We did that with my DS who was 15 months for our trip in 2008, and he did wonderfully.

 

[msmama]

I agree with doing what the kid wants to do - go at the kid pace.

If he'd already ridden the rides the day before, maybe he wanted to do something else the next day. Plus, Sesame is WAAAAAY smaller than Disney. It doesn't take much to get bored at Sesame. I'd like to see someone TRY to be bored at Disney.

 

[bumbershoot]

Tired. Overly stimulated by all the people, noise, noise, more noise, things to look at, etc, dehydration, and noise.

And for my son (and many other children and adults), weird sweeteners in food (anything based on corn syrup) and food dyes...


And did I mention the overwhelming noise? Earplugs are nice.

 

[dragonfly08]

I've found that with my girls (4 and 7) there's definitely a bit of added excitement on the first day that helps keep them going. Maybe for too long, which contributes to possible crashing on day 2 or beyond if I don't get things on a normal schedule ASAP.

We eat like we do at home. I make sure to build in time to sit, have a snack, and people watch because even if they'll never admit it I know they're tired. They go to bed at a reasonable hour (so we're back in the room by 8, and yep, that means we miss all of the evening entertainment that I'd enjoy). If they want to spend an hour in a shop looking at stuff, or they want to leave the parks to play in the pool, that's what we do. We miss a lot. But at least we fully enjoy the things we do get to, rather than doing everything and enjoying none of it because they're tired and/or cranky.

 

[burtonandlisa]

Naps and/or swimming in the afternoon really tend to help with meltdowns, though we have also seen the day two effect

 

[marcemc]

I think most kids have a point where they're tired and want to get out of the parks. They're just DONE with it.

My kids do very well with afternoon breaks. We hit it hard in the morning and then take a break in the afternoon and then go back for some (slower) touring in the evening.

It sounds like your kid is good for a day and then needs to take a break for a day. If you follow his lead on when enough is enough, you'll have a better trip.

This works for us very well & my kids are 8 & 5.

In order to reduce my 5 yo DS stress, the 1 st time he would ride something I would explain the ride before, it seems to work like a charm. Sometimes the anticipation of a ride could make a little guy cranky.

Have fun at Disney

 

[hannahdrewmom]

To be honest I don't think your son was as well rested as you think. Kids never sleep as well on vacation as at home. The first night is normally the roughest. So even though you may not have been woken up does not mean that he slept well. He also did not get nap the day before and it sounds to me like his schedule was off. Lack of sleep, plus over stimulation also make for a more difficult time sleeping anytime... let a lone in a new hotel room.

Day 1 in Disney is easy. It's the days that follow that are hard. Day 2 for us is often the hardest for the sleeping reason. We tend to try to take this day very slow and plan things light. Days 3+ tend to be better as we get into the swing of it.

Make sure that you are taking afternoon breaks EVERY day. It is too hot mid afternoon and too stimulating for young kids.

 

[AllieV]

OP here. Thanks for all the advice. I will have low expectations of doing much and consider this our dry run for future Disney visits. I cancelled all evening plans (including MVMCP) and will hang at the resort after the afternoon nap. Epcot and MGM are close, so if he seems up for it, we can take a swing over there.

Yeah, he may not have rested well. Hubby said that he didn't sleep well and that the kid was moving all night. He got a 1-hr nap the day before, but he usually has more.

 

[amym2]

Remember also that he will be quite a few months older by Dec. and may not typically nap as long or every day at that point. I'd definitely still factor in afternoon breaks, but I wouldn't hesitate to do MVMCP if it is something you really want to do. We find that day 1 we can't get our kids to nap, they are too excited, but day 2 they are tired and will at least rest. We also find that we have to get out of the parks by lunchtime or just after in order to make it back to nap at a decent hour. If we can rest from 1-3, then we can return to the parks for a few hours in the early evening. If we push it in the parks until later and try to rest from 3-5, that rules out evening park visits.