Afternoon break strategy?

[imfortune8]

Hello! We are less than 20 (Oct. 2nd thru 9th) days away from our 2nd trip to WDW and I need some advice. After reading all the suggestions from parents of little ones to stop in the middle of the afternoon, return to the hotel for swims - naps, et., I menitoned this plan to DH. He thought the idea was ridiculous! Since the fall hours are shorter anyway, and we tend to have leisurely mornings, he thought that leaving the park, riding the bus to OKW, getting to our hotel, changing the kids to swimming suits, swimming, redressing, getting the kids back on the bus to the park and re-entering for only a couple hours sounded crazy. (Our kids are 2 and 5) So, here is my question.

Has anyone had successful "Downtime" at the parks?

Are there "quiet" places you would recommend?

With the heat not being quite so intense as summer, is "downtime" still necessary?

Any suggestion would be appreciated!!

 

[kilee]

We took our then 18 month old neice to the parks last year. We didn't do any afternoon breaks. It worked for us, but might not with all kids. She would just sleep in her stroller when she was ready. If your kids (mostly the 2yr old) are going to need that nap, or to be in the quiet to avoid meltdown then going back to your resort is probably best.

Now, if you're going to be taking your time in the a.m. getting to the parks when you want. Some of the parks do close early during this season. So, it may not always be prudent to take the break. It really depends on your child. If you try and forego the break I would make your daily plans flexible and try not to push too much too fast.

 

[ErinInCT]

Depends on your kids. I'd say kids your age can probably do maybe 5-6 hrs b4 meltdown!! We went to Hershey park with dd's 4 & 1 & managed about 5 hrs nonstop for dd4, dd1 just slept in the stroller. But if you have a sit down lunch & do some lengthy quiet rides (Riverboat, TTA, etc) at times the kids need ti most, I think you could go all day. But just play it by ear & plan to leave if the kids are having a problem. Let the kids dictate the pace.
Have a great time.

 

[jcemom]

Definitely depends on your kids. We went in February...same shorter hours and even cooler temps than you should get in October. We took breaks most days, but my boys wanted to swim. Our days generally went like this: at the park before opening through lunchtime, break from around 1-5:00, then back to the parks for a show or fireworks. During the break the boys would swim and either DH or I would take DD back to the room for a nap if she needed it, or if she had napped in her stroller and it was warm enough she would swim too.

Maybe try mixing it up a bit? Some days take a swim break, some days stay in the park, after a particularly long day maybe sleep in and go to Epcot in the afternoon?

 

[Mickeyhugger]

Again, it depends on your child.

When our DD was 4, 5 and even 6, there was no way we could've enjoyed a full day at any of the parks w/out returning for nap. The nap took out about 3 full hours of the day, but Epcot was still open until 9pm, and MGM until 7. Less time at the parks, but much more enjoyment because we weren't dealing w/her crankiness. Good luck!

 

[decker96]

I agree it totally depends on your child. When we took our first trip our kids were the same ages as yours, 5 and 2. We went in Nov, so also dealt with shorter hours. The first day we went to MK and didn't leave the park. DS fell asleep in the stroller, so he got his nap there. We sat and watched the afternoon parade and we had a 4:30 PS at CRT for dinner, so those were a couple breaks where we weren't actually walking around touring. The next two days we did take a break and head back to POR for a nap and swim. But , both those days we had gotten up earlier so they needed a break. If you get a later start in the morning you may not need a break if the park closes at 6 or so and you sit and take a rest when the kids need to.