2 young children and 1 hotel room - am I crazy?

[Cassander]

I will be visiting Disney in October with my husband and 2 young children (3 years, and 18 months) and I am wondering - how do families make due in 1 hotel room??? It really is the only affordable option for staying at a resort since I am attending a conference and want to stay on site. I don't want to be forced to go to bed at 8pm every night! Thanks!

 

[disneygal2007]

Your not crazy at all. This is what we do. We just turn off the lights at night while the kids are going to sleep. Then we turn on the lamp at the far side of the room away from their eyes and we carry on with stuff just quiet. The kids are going to be so tired that after a warm bath they are gonna pass out. Good Luck. And

 

[tzolkin]

We've done one room with three kids for 8 and 11 nights. No problems.

The first trip we were exhausted when we got back to the room and got everyone bathed, so we all just went to sleep. This last year DH and I watched TV a few nights while the kids were sleeping.

 

[Serling126]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Last trip it was me, DH, my sis and her son all in one room. This trip it will be me, my grandma and my 2 girls (ages 7 & 4) in one hotel room. Just remember to keep a sense of humor

 

[Cassander]

Thanks for the input! I tried to tell my husband that we would all be so tired that we would just want to crash, but he said he would refuse to go if we all stayed in the same room

I'm glad to hear it is possible - I figured as such since there are so many single rooms in the family resorts!

 

[cm8]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Last trip it was me, DH, my sis and her son all in one room. This trip it will be me, my grandma and my 2 girls (ages 7 & 4) in one hotel room. Just remember to keep a sense of humor

Wow, I am not sure I could share a room with other people ( family) or not with DH, I am too "touchy feely" and they would be traumatize!!

 

[campingdawgs]

We have not ever kept the house quiet when the kids are sleeping - at home or on vacation. They can sleep through anything now. We have always shared one room at WDW (even our camper is like one big room) with no problems. Perhaps a room with a balcony would work for you. You and DH could sit outside and talk when the kids go to bed.

 

[Cassander]

DH is warm to the idea of a balcony...he just may agree to to come!

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[TINAS74]

I have been to Disney many many times and I always get one room for my husband, myself and our 3 boys. Just this summer we had a 2 double bed room in which my husband, myself and the 6 year old slept in one bed and the 8 year old and 11 year old slept in the other. We have always vacations like this and by now its old hat. Your kids are young. You will have 2 beds most likely and 1 child was 18 months... you most likely will have a crib. Just put the other child down in bed and either go out on a balcony like suggested or just rest with your husband and watch tv with the volume on low. Chances are your child will be so exhausted they will fall asleep on the bus ride home and only stagger groggily around getting the pjs on and teeth brushed and fall asleep the minute the head hits the pillow.

 

[brymolmom]

Been there...Done that. My theory is that by starting to get the kids used to it at a young age - it'll be much smoother as they get older. We will be able to vacation more if we don't need to spend the cash for 1 or 2 bedroom places, so we make due with a single room at a Value.

When the kids were real young, like OP's - the first night or two is usually interesting. We turn off all the lights save a book-light that I use and I lie on my bed to read (dh goes out of the room to take a walk or read the paper by the pool) and do our 'usual' nighttime routine and put the kids in their beds. They usually stand up, sit up, ask questions for a few minutes to which I reply 'lie down, it is time for sleep'...then after a few minutes I just ignore them (unless they try to get out of their bed, then I tell them to get back). Usually doesn't take long for them to lie back down and go to sleep - ESPEICALLY since we're all exhausted from our vacation.

 

[LWatson]

Growing up that is all we did, and now that is all we do. I cant imagine having 2 diff rooms (one just for kids would scare me). Besides remind your hubby about all the money you will save by NOT spending it on 2 rooms.

 

[Kies99]

I will be visiting Disney in October with my husband and 2 young children (3 years, and 18 months) and I am wondering - how do families make due in 1 hotel room??? It really is the only affordable option for staying at a resort since I am attending a conference and want to stay on site. I don't want to be forced to go to bed at 8pm every night! Thanks!

We have 2 kids and we stayed at PoP. We put the kids to bed and then dragged two chairs outside and had a bottle of wine while looking at the lake. We propped the door open so we could hear anything, but it worked really well.

 

[Mickeypooh99]

No way will we ever do that! We rent a condo or townhouse in Windsor hills. We get our own bedroom, kitchen, extra bathroom, washer and dryer, and even a splash pool in the townhouse. Before we found Windsor Hills we always stayed off site in a 2 room hotel suite.

We need space to move around. My kids sleep so much better with the lights all out and the bedroom door shut. I don't want them exhausted on vacation since we like to stay very busy during the days. They need the good nights sleep each night.

 

[mjkacmom]

LOL - we stay in a one room cabin when we camp, and there are 7 of us! Seriously, the more kids we had, the more we were able to function together. We also stay together at the great wolf lodge, one of the only hotels where we can share a room - having one bathroom is always a hardship, but everyone sleeps well.

 

[jodifla]

This is why we bought DVC!!!


But seriously OP, it is doable, particularly if you have a balcony.

 

[MamaJessie]

When we went in October we had all four with us at POR, so yes, two is COMPLETELY doable.

 

[tzolkin]

DH is warm to the idea of a balcony...he just may agree to to come!

Thanks for the suggestion!

Even without a balcony we have gone out of the room. Our kids are older than yours, but we were also right outside the door. We don't do it every night, but once or twice during the trip DH and I will each take a beer and our planning sheets and sit outside to discuss our plans for the next few days.

Last trip I got sick and went to bed extra early with the kids. DH got a margarita and sat by the quiet pool for an hour or two until he was ready to go to sleep.

 

[dizneechic]

I have heard of families who bring command strip hooks and place them on opposite walls. Then string a string up between the 2 and put a sheet up with clothes pins kind of giving the kids their own private "room". It doesn't help too much with noise, but at least eliminates the distraction of parents staying up and walking around, watching TV etc.

For us I have 1 child who literally needs his own room or he can't sleep... he will stay up all night and bug the heck out of anyone in his space. We rent a house or 2 hotel rooms when we travel, but most of the time need to since we are 5 and many places only allow 4 per room.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

That's our plan, but DD is a night owl and goes to bed w/ us. I'm not sure how the new baby is going to go, but if s/he is anything like his/her sister... the baby will be a night owl too. Or not! lol

 

[Mouse House Mama]

We always stay in one room. We have 4 kids (soon to be 5!) so we will need a second room next trip or a suite. We never have a problem. The kids are so exhausted by the end of the day. We don't even turn off the lights or tv and they fall asleep. Of course we don't have a super quiet house at home so they are used to noise. Last trip was for 2 weeks and we shared a room with no problems.