Advice on sharing room with 2 preschoolers?

[TxDisFans]

We're heading on our first WDW trip at the end of this month, staying at GF for six nights - yippee!

We'll be staying in the same room with our two small kids, and they go to bed *early* - 7 pm. I'm sure we'll all stay up late one or two nights to see fireworks, etc..... but, on the nights when we keep them on their regular routine, DH and I will be sort of stuck in a dark hotel room.

Anyone been down this road? Advice? Tips for staying up without waking the kids?

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[thegrimdwarf]

We went down that road once, and we'll never do it again. I was fit to be tied after the second night of lights-out at 7:30. If you enjoy reading, stock up on reading material and get one of those clip lights. Or crossword/soduko/word search books. That's what kept me from jumping off the roof for nights 3 and 4.

 

[Bethy Lou]

We found that longer naps in the day time kept them up longer. But we also brought blankets with us for the double stroller and did not worry if they fell asleep while we were leaving the park.

 

[tzolkin]

i'm hoping we're all going to be so tired that we just pass out.

at home bedtime is later than yours (830), but they sleep until 830am. we'll be waking them up early to get to the parks for EMH (hope that goes well...) and then returning to swim/nap in the afternoon (hope that goes well too...) my youngest takes a 3-4 hour nap everyday, but that's in a room by himself. i don't know if he'll sleep during the day with the rest of us in the room even if we're all lying down. we're planning to go back to the parks until we're almost ready for bed

 

[ChristusG]

We dont do bedtimes while at Disney. We dont want to be stuck in a dark hotel room at 7PM while on vacation.

 

[Stasieki]

We just experienced that at Disney and said we will be back at condos until she is older (I only have one DD2). I am sure, though the GF rooms are bigger than we were at, so will be easier for you. At CSR, she was in a pack n play. The first night was rough - she is a very light sleeper, so it was lights out at 8:30 for everyone. The 2nd and 3rd days we figured it out better. What worked for us was having her fall asleep with the room TV on, but no volume. After she was asleep, we could turn it up and she wouldn't wake. Naps were pretty funny (we made the best out of it). When we didn't want to nap, but the room needed to be dark, me and DH took his laptop into the bathroom and checked emails and looked at the previous days pics. At first we were not liking it, but then we made the best of it and now we will always remember sitting in the bathroom for 2 hours. It was actually nice, quiet time for us to reflect. You guys will be able to make it work, but for us, we will probably not do a hotel again unless it is a suite or something. Have a great time!

 

[DVCsince02]

We're heading on our first WDW trip at the end of this month, staying at GF for six nights - yippee!

We'll be staying in the same room with our two small kids, and they go to bed *early* - 7 pm. I'm sure we'll all stay up late one or two nights to see fireworks, etc..... but, on the nights when we keep them on their regular routine, DH and I will be sort of stuck in a dark hotel room.

Anyone been down this road? Advice? Tips for staying up without waking the kids?

Thanks in advance!!!

Go out on your balcony and throw a few back!
or
Take turns going for walks or to the pool.

 

[mommy-on-the-move]

We dont do bedtimes while at Disney. We dont want to be stuck in a dark hotel room at 7PM while on vacation.

Same here, on vacation we forget bedtimes- younger kids will fall asleep being carried or in stroller and we carry on but I'll admit I'm really lucky in that my younger 3 would sleep on a broom handle- noise, light, movement etc doesn't wake them once they've dropped, they've dropped and my eldest is fabulous about managing long hours (she's 10)

I did worry it would throw them out of sync when they got home but we've never had that problem because vacation is such a busy different time none of them have had adjustment problems going home.

 

[Traveliz]

I agree with not doing bedtimes at Disney and just carrying them from stroller to bed if necessary -- but if that won't work for you I would probably take turns with going out.

And by out I mean out to the parks, downtown Disney, wherever.

My husband though is an avid reader and would be content to stay put with a book whereas I would not. So he always got the sick child back to the room duty.

If you are fortunate enough to have a balcony with a view desserts and wine out there might be nice too.

Have fun!

Liz

 

[mom2jcc]

We did this last year when our twins were 13 months. We HAD to stick to schedule or it would be a not so happy vacation. After they fell asleep, we were able to turn the tv on very lightly

 

[mom2jcc]

Oh, forgot to say that this year when we go they will be almost three yrs. old. Even though they are still on a strict bedtime schedule at home, we plan on by-passing that as long as they can handle it. I'm not saying we will stay out until 11pm, but maybe we can handle 9ish on a few nights.

 

[jodifla]

We're heading on our first WDW trip at the end of this month, staying at GF for six nights - yippee!

We'll be staying in the same room with our two small kids, and they go to bed *early* - 7 pm. I'm sure we'll all stay up late one or two nights to see fireworks, etc..... but, on the nights when we keep them on their regular routine, DH and I will be sort of stuck in a dark hotel room.

Anyone been down this road? Advice? Tips for staying up without waking the kids?

Thanks in advance!!!

Your situation is EXACTLY why we invested in DVC 12 years ago.

But, in the few times we have stayed in a studio, what we did is stay up past his bedtime, then when he was sleepy, I'd dim the lights and put him in his pack and play, with the TV on really low, but the pack n play in a corner of the room. This normally worked, and by the time he fell asleep, we could turn up the TV a bit and watch while he slept.

 

[asktriplets]

We're heading on our first WDW trip at the end of this month, staying at GF for six nights - yippee!

We'll be staying in the same room with our two small kids, and they go to bed *early* - 7 pm. I'm sure we'll all stay up late one or two nights to see fireworks, etc..... but, on the nights when we keep them on their regular routine, DH and I will be sort of stuck in a dark hotel room.

Anyone been down this road? Advice? Tips for staying up without waking the kids?

Thanks in advance!!!

not sure how old your kids are, but here is what works for us:

1) bring plastic shower curtain for between fitted sheet and mattress pad (in case of potty-trained kid's accident)....after a day at WDW, my kids wipe out HARD. this one is a bit irrelevant to your question, but i try to pass this advice along to other preschool parents, just in case!

2) bring a noise machine...it blocks both the sound through the door from the hallway and other random noises that you guys make

3)previously, we have brought a small string of christmas lights and used them as "night lights" in the room...dim enough so it isn't too bright, but bright enough so that the adults can move around without bumping into stuff. not sure about other remodeled resort rooms, but these days, the poly and beach club have AWESOME dimmer lights on their bedside lamps--great for turning down when the kids are falling asleep, but you can turn them up a bit once they fall asleep to read.

4)we've done it all as suggested by PPs: download/look at the day's photos on the laptop on the bed next to the kids, sit out on the balcony/patio and have a drink or 2 with the sliding door barely open a crack to be able to hear the kids (my personal favorite...it's a great date at the end of a long family day), taking turns walking around/going to gift shop/refilling our mug at the resort food ct. area, and plan next day's itinerary in the bathroom while the kids are falling asleep...in fact, there was quite an interesting thread a few years back about "romance" in the bathroom while the kids are asleep --hey, you do what you gotta do to find time for each other, right?

5)some nights, we'll take turns doing laundry or running to the grocery store. this is a great example of why the noise machine is so helpful to block out the sound of that loud "chunk!" sound the room door makes as it closes and locks!

6) while i don't recommend going to sleep at 7:00 with the kids, i have say that DH and i get the BEST sleep at WDW because we do usually go to sleep earlier than normal, and it feels SOOOO good to indulge in that 8-9 hours of sleep every night!!!


we'll be at the GF at the end of the month, too! have a GREAT time!

 

[ekball]

I agree with the last poster! DH and I love that we feel rested at the end of our Disney vacations because we don't burn the candle at both ends. We are tired at the end of the day too, so we are usually asleep pretty early. We like to enjoy a drink on the balcony, watching the EWP as it goes by, fireworks when we can see them, etc. It's a relaxing end to a busy day and we really enjoy our quiet nighttime routine.

 

[my2princessgirls]

This is one reason why we only stay at the deluxe resorts. When the girls are napping or sleeping at night, Dh and I can go on the balcony/patio and relax together with a drink or snack. We request ground floor, and when we have been able to get it, it's even better because DH can go to the lounge and get drinks to bring back without disturbing the kids (although the times we haven't been ground floor, they still stay asleep for the most part because they sleep so hard at WDW!).

Since you are staying at the GF, you should have a balcony/patio as an option instead of being holed up in the dark, LOL!

 

[jnsma]

Isn't that why there are 1 bedroom villas?
Seriously, we opted for a 1 bedroom at Wilderness Lodge over GF just to have the extra room.

We also did a DCL cruise which just had a curtain divider. We watched movies on a laptop with a DVD player and headphones on. Needed to take the laptop anyway and the kids used it on the plane to watch movies. I'm assuming the small portable DVD players would work just as well.

 

[canadianmom2three]

That was my only complaint from last year, and my kids aren't even as young as the OP. Our kids are 11,8,5 and while we didn't have a strict bedtime, we wanted them to be well rested, and even rest during the day sometimes. This is why we are going with two rooms this year!!! We downgraded to the All Star movies to afford it, but I am sooooo looking forward to DH and I in one room, and the kids in their own, THAT is a vacation to me, all 5 of us jammed in one room, I needed my own vacation after that!!!

 

[nessz79]

That was my only complaint from last year, and my kids aren't even as young as the OP. Our kids are 11,8,5 and while we didn't have a strict bedtime, we wanted them to be well rested, and even rest during the day sometimes. This is why we are going with two rooms this year!!! We downgraded to the All Star movies to afford it, but I am sooooo looking forward to DH and I in one room, and the kids in their own, THAT is a vacation to me, all 5 of us jammed in one room, I needed my own vacation after that!!!

This is also what we did. We stayed at WL when the boys were 3 and 1.5 and it was really hard. We were so bored!

So this last time we got 2 rooms at an All Star Resort and it was so much better...plus they were older. I put them to bed with the door between our rooms open. We watched tv in the other room at a quiet volume and it was no problem.

 

[mrsbelle]

I have found that on vacation, my son is pretty adaptable, and can handle a slightly later bedtime (especially if a time change works in your favor). I hope things work out for you!

 

[Bugsmom73]

We just enjoyed time on the balcony or sat in the hallway outside our room.