1 Hotel Room w/ A Toddler - How Did You Do It?

[MommyMK]

You know your child best. I will never forget arguing with my 2 yo about going to sleep after a very full day in the parks. She just wasn't having it. Nightmare trip.

 

[North of Mouse]

I second what a pp said about getting a noise machine. Dh & I love ours, using the 'white' noise. We've used it for years - since having noisy dog 'neighbors'.

I would get your child used to using it at home - works wonders there too - then it will be 'normal' on vacation - keeps them from hearing every little thing.

 

[GatorMama]

We drive to the parks instead of taking buses so that our kids pass out in the car. Then we just move them to the bed without waking them. Bonus points if you can get PJs on in the park parking lot before they conk out. This worked perfectly for MNSSHP last Fri and for our stay at POR. My 2 year old, who normally wakes a few times each night, he fell asleep at 9 pm in the stroller, partied asleep for three hours, got changed out of his costume when we got to the car, got strapped in, carried into our room and didn't wake up until 8:30 am. He's usually up at 6:30. I swear I heard angels singing!

 

[mrsksmithvt]

I have 2 boys and my youngest still doesn't sleep at Disney (or at home). The Wilderness Lodge has rocking chairs in the lobby and outside the villas of the train room. I also have moved the table and chairs to put the pack n play in the best spot. I hope you do get to stay at the Lodge it is worth it!

My best advice is to take your own sheets for the pack n play. I would use the sheet as a pillow case for a couple of nights before we left home, and then used it in the pack n play in the hotel room. Also bring the same blanket that was used at home and favorite stuffed animal and/ or toy to sleep with.

Our last trip we took a "ready bed" and it was so worth it. We let him "camp out" in our bedroom a few nights before we left home. He was actually willing to go to bed at night in his own special bed.

Routine usually works for my youngest at night. We will bring a few bath toys and bubble bath from home. He is now four and wants to buy the star wars one next time we go. If you do bath time, books, any routines every night do them on vacation.

Good Luck, I only wish you sleep filled nights at Disney!

 

[dsneygirl]

We stay out late and my boys always fall asleep in their strollers (or the bus, boat etc) I don't think I have ever brought them back at 8pm and said "time to go to sleep" Some of the best times for DH and I have been pushing a sleeping baby/toddler around late at night or walking back from MK or Epcot.

But I have never stuck to any kind of "routine" I tire them out until they can't go any further.

 

[Sevenfifty]

We stayed at POR over the summer and had the same worries...
Our son is 2.5 and can be hard to get down even at home. We were there 10 days and didnt have a single issue. He was so worn out by the time we got to the room every night that he fell asleep within minutes.

 

[JAM3]

We went to Home Depot and built our own version of this wall at portawall.com. We just used PVC piping and then put a dark colored sheet over it and pinned it to itself over the top. Was great! We used it for years! We still had to be quieter but not being able to see us was a huge help with sleeping!

 

[calngavinsmom]

One of my friends suggested this as well, so if we were to stay onsite, it would probably be at POR or POFQ (though the giant masks kind of freak me out). Do I sacrifice the space just to be in the bubble? DH could care less as this trip really is for me. All he needs is a fridge in the room, though he is strongly advocating a suite offsite (which is less expensive so a plus in his book), just to make sure we sleep.

If I were you...I would totally pick "be in the bubble" I absolutely LOVE POR, and we did just as others have suggested and put the pack and play in the sink area behind the curtain. It is a heavy curtain and does drown out some of the noise and most of the light. Another thing that helped was to keep the fan on in the bathroom area to create some white noise.

Good luck

 

[Minnesota!]

From day 1 (birth) I made sure my kids had lots of noise going on around them when it was sleep time...I never wanted to have to be quiet at nap or bed time.

So, sharing a hotel room has never been a problem because they sleep through any noise...talking, TV, us walking around, etc.

And, we do not stick to much of a routine at WDW...out till all hours, showers for the kids when we get back, and then to bed with the TV on and lights a blazing until mom and dad are ready to crash. Up at o dark thirty...

 

[ejgonz2]

We recently went with DD4 and DS22 month twins and got a suite at AoA (which we loved!). We put all three kids in there and everyone went to sleep just fine after long, tiring days. But my 'youngest' twin who gets up at 5-5:30 at home was still getting up between 5:30 and 6 and waking up everyone else in the house. So everyone was a bit crankier and the early parts of the day were harder than they would have been otherwise. And then the boys took 2 stroller naps at the park most days.

The point of my story is, if you can ensure your little gets good rest by not being in the same room, its probably worth considering. Plus with a suite, the adults can be up after the kids go to bed (and garden grocer delivers wine and beer....)

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

We are trying to head to WDW and I would LOOOOOOVVVVEEE to stay onsite. I have on may occasions, but I am a true Disney dork that drank the Disney Kool-Aid who loves the music that is piped into the bushes, the gift shops, the terrible QS food, the THEMES!!! Love it all.

We are heading down there with a toddler and we are not too keen on one sleeping space. We took a trip earlier this year and shared a room in my in-laws condo and our toddler woke up EARLY when he heard us tossing and turning in bed. The room was very small so the pack n play was at the foot of our bed, but needless to say, we did not sleep well. It was also nice to be able to stay awake a little later and not have to tip-toe around the baby, since we had a condo.

We are nervous the lack of sleep would happen in Disney. I have looked into off-site accommodations that have a separate sleeping space since a 1 bedroom at any of the deluxes would be out of budget.

I have read countless threads on travelling to WDW with toddlers and most have said everyone crashes at the end of the night. Bedtime is usually at 8 PM and we are going during low season so parks are not going to be open much later, so we would try to not be up too late.

After all of that, how do you sleep in one shared sleeping space with a toddler? Do you sit in the dark each night? Is everyone truly tired that it's really not much of an issue?

Any extra thoughts??? Experiences??

None of our toddlers have be we had issues. But we co-sleep so the hit do room don't really much different from home.

In my opinion, much has to do with how sleep occurs at home. Of the baby or toddler needs a closed quiet and dark room, the yes--a single hotel room shared with others is likely to be a problem.

We stay in DVC 2 bedrooms. So my suggestions like be look into a points rental for the full on site experience that beats replicates sleep arrangements at home. 2 bedroom would be my pick since a one bedroom has the living Room as the alternate sleeping location.

 

[powellrj]

I made sure to never let my kids get used to sleeping in total darkness and quiet. I had them nap out in the open so they would pretty much sleep anywhere and they did.