Afternoon break

[buggy2727]

I'm looking for some input on the recommended afternoon break, especially with kids We will have DS-8, DD-6 and DD-4.5. They are all pretty active in their regular life and we've done other trips where they were able to keep up until late in the evening. I don't want to be commando, running from thing to thing but do want to cover as much as we can. The "issue" I have with the afternoon break is the time wasted I don't look forward to losing 4 hours. So far I only "planned" one day with a break. Of course if we are having a melt down, we'll have to adjust but am I being way to optimistic here?? The only other problem we have with afternoon breaks, if our kids nap they may not sleep at a decent time (especially 6yo) and then won't want to wake in the morning!

Day 1 - Mid day arrival, no parks, relax day
Day 2 - 8am ADR for CRT, spend the day at MK but not stay until MSEP
Day 3 - DHS for 8:30am ADR and stay through to Fantasmic
Day 4 - DHS for 9:10 ADR, park hop to Epcot and stay for Illuminations
Day 5 - RD for MK, mid day break, return to park for MSEP / FW
Day 6 - RD for EMH at AK, mid day break, ADR at 7pm for Chef Mickey (unless I can get an earlier ressie)
Day 7 - 11am flight home

Is that way too aggressive of a plan??? Every day we would have an early start....

 

[DopeyDame]

Only you know your kids and if its too optomistic. Your schedule would be too much for my DS, but my DD would probably be fine.

You don't actually need a trip all the way back to the hotel for a break, though. If you're at the MK, a ride on the boat to and from the TTC gives the kids a nice change of pace and gets all of you away from the crowds and the overstimulation for a little while. And if they are tired, they may fall asleep on the boat - we spent one afternoon riding the boat for 1.5 hours! The cast members were really sweet and friendly to us the whole time. (We did have to change boats once when one was going out of service)
From Epcot, hop on the monorail and ride around a few times or take a walk over to the boardwalk for lunch or ice cream or something. Take a boat from DHS and have lunch at the swan or dolphin.

I just think SOME sort of break midday is really helpful for little kids. When 1:30pm comes and you all feel like you're hot and crabby and might start to melt down - leave the park! Your afternoon and evening will be so much better because of it.

 

[buggy2727]

Thanks DopeyDame - I never really thought of it that way! I always thought of it as "going back to the hotel" and to me, that seemed more of a hassle than a relaxing thing!!!

 

[Happyjen27]

I would worry less about the mid-day break and more about the Turn and Burn hours (staying up late and getting up early).

If Illuminations doesn't start until 9:30 you're probably not making it back to your room until roughly 10:30 or later. To be up at 6:30 or 7AM to make it to RD at MK would be too much to ask of my kids. My pair sleeps at least 11-12 hours a night, and even on vacation I like to give them that opportunity to set them up for active, fun days.

If I were planning on early mornings, I would not plan on more than 1 nighttime show. Your mileage may vary based on your kids of course, I've only got one frame of reference, my own kids.

 

[happymommy]

Are you bringing a double stroller?

Our first trip with both our kids, they were 2 1/2 and 4 1/2, and we had their double stroller. We took our time and did what we pleased, but every afternoon they would fall asleep in the stroller for a nice nap (shorter one for DS) so we just found a nice spot to relax (most memorable one was at the Dawa Bar at DAK where DH and I had a couple of beers, then DS woke up and had a Sprite, which, of course, he didn't drink but he thought was cool).

I find sometimes trying to go back during the day to actually nap is futile. My DS wouldn't have napped in the room, and we would end up wasting half a day. We would stay out until maybe early dinner and then go back and get them ready for bed at pretty much normal time. It just worked better for us that way.

Sometimes we'd go back and let them swim for a while then get them cleaned up and maybe have a couple of hours, depending on how they felt, at a park again. We didn't stress too much about it.

One thing is now, with the whole new dinner reservation penalty if you don't show, I won't make any at all. If my kids were younger, I wouldn't, since I never knew how they may feel. My kids are much better winging it.

 

[buggy2727]

Are you bringing a double stroller?

Our first trip with both our kids, they were 2 1/2 and 4 1/2, and we had their double stroller. We took our time and did what we pleased, but every afternoon they would fall asleep in the stroller for a nice nap (shorter one for DS) so we just found a nice spot to relax (most memorable one was at the Dawa Bar at DAK where DH and I had a couple of beers, then DS woke up and had a Sprite, which, of course, he didn't drink but he thought was cool).

I find sometimes trying to go back during the day to actually nap is futile. My DS wouldn't have napped in the room, and we would end up wasting half a day. We would stay out until maybe early dinner and then go back and get them ready for bed at pretty much normal time. It just worked better for us that way.

Sometimes we'd go back and let them swim for a while then get them cleaned up and maybe have a couple of hours, depending on how they felt, at a park again. We didn't stress too much about it.

One thing is now, with the whole new dinner reservation penalty if you don't show, I won't make any at all. If my kids were younger, I wouldn't, since I never knew how they may feel. My kids are much better winging it.

We are actually going to rent a double and hopefully the younger two will catch a nap here and there. Of course I don't know if that will happen but we can hope! It's so hard with only 5 nights and 3 late night shows and 3 early morning ADR's!

PP - those "turn and burn" days are the ones that concern me the most!

 

[lizard1]

I'm looking for some input on the recommended afternoon break, especially with kids We will have DS-8, DD-6 and DD-4.5. They are all pretty active in their regular life and we've done other trips where they were able to keep up until late in the evening. I don't want to be commando, running from thing to thing but do want to cover as much as we can. The "issue" I have with the afternoon break is the time wasted I don't look forward to losing 4 hours. So far I only "planned" one day with a break. Of course if we are having a melt down, we'll have to adjust but am I being way to optimistic here?? The only other problem we have with afternoon breaks, if our kids nap they may not sleep at a decent time (especially 6yo) and then won't want to wake in the morning!

Day 1 - Mid day arrival, no parks, relax day
Day 2 - 8am ADR for CRT, spend the day at MK but not stay until MSEP
Day 3 - DHS for 8:30am ADR and stay through to Fantasmic
Day 4 - DHS for 9:10 ADR, park hop to Epcot and stay for Illuminations
Day 5 - RD for MK, mid day break, return to park for MSEP / FW
Day 6 - RD for EMH at AK, mid day break, ADR at 7pm for Chef Mickey (unless I can get an earlier ressie)
Day 7 - 11am flight home

Is that way too aggressive of a plan??? Every day we would have an early start....

The only thing that would concern me is number of days in a row that you plan on doing RD and then staying until the end of the night. If it were me I would pick either RD or the evening shows because you have to figure that after the shows it takes quite awhile to be able to get out of the parks due to traffic and then there is still the time it takes to get back to the resort and get ready for bed. Even if your kids are able to do it (or if they take naps in the stroller) it may still be unpleasant for YOU to be running on so few hours of sleep night after night (you may have to be up by 6 in order to have everyone ready and get transportation to the parks for your early reservations and then you may be up until after midnight by the time you get back and get everyone ready for bed). May be easy for the first day, but I know I would be really feeling it after that.

 

[MandiC]

When we do Disney again I will seriously limit our early am ADRs...and morning EMH had no appeal to us. It was so hard to get the kids up and ready in time to leave for 8am reservations (you pretty much have to plan to be at the bus by 7am if you are relying on Disney transport...and take into account if your home is not in an eastern time zone that this will feel even earlier for you/your kids, my kids are early risers at home but asking them to be ready to leave by 6am our time? It was rough) So something to consider. I think in the future we will do Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios after our late nights because for those parks I think we'd be fine showing up after rope drop

 

[Jewel3k]

I would do mor lunch adr's than morning if you aren't leaving the park. The crowds are less in the morning so you can get more done. As the parks fill up and you get hot a nice ac lunch will be a great break. We did take a swimming break every day. My kids love to swim. By 1 they were hot and tired. The time spent in the pool perked them back up and we had wonderful evenings in the parks.

 

[buggy2727]

Lots of great advice, thank you! I do feel a little like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place - I have to have two bfast ADR's: CRT and Sci Fi dining for Star Wars. I guess I don't *have* to do Sofia / H&V as another early morning ADR and can do that as a lunch instead... Maybe a late lunch the same day as Sci Fi - honestly with DHS I definitely need to be there at RD to sign up for Jedi Training. I'm not a huge fan of doing two TS meals in one day (especially when one is two credits) but that may save me another early morning... or I could push back my current Sci Fi breakfast but the later I push it, the later we'll get to Epcot. We don't need to be at RD for Epcot or AK and I could swap those days if I need. I have to keep MK on Saturday & Tuesday though... I'll have to see what I can move around - hard to plan around ADR's!

 

[Spunky946]

You have some awfully long days with you being up for rope drop and staying through the evening shows. We personally could never do that. You may want to think about afternoon breaks. It's really not that bad going back and forth, you can't think about it as wasting time, more like saving the trip.

For us the resorts and swimming were part of the vacation. Don't be afraid to do that if your kids need a break, or if you do.

Don't push too hard at the beginning of your trip, because by the end you will have a revolt.

 

[JillShari]

We just got back, so we were in the midst of some of the spring break crowds and I was so grateful that we planned to go back to the hotel everyday. We stayed at AoA and I have a almost 5 and almost 9 year old.

One day, we came back on our first day and all laid down. So, the 9 year old was the only one that didn't sleep, but at least he rested. Then we were able to go back out and really have lots of energy for walking and nighttime events. (Going to futureworld in Epcot after 6 made riding all of the rides super easy which was awesome!)

The second day, we went back and everyone went swimming. One of the favorite memories of our kids is the times they swam in the pool. Especially after the winter we have had in the NE... we were all so grateful for that time. And on that day, we participated in some of the poolside activities, and the late movie... with my oldest going to the arcade with Dad, while the youngest and I kept his normal bedtime.

Our last night, I REALLY wanted them rested and REALLY wanted to take them to experience the magic kingdom electricial parade and fireworks. And honestly... the MK got sooooo crowded around 12 noon, that it was getting hard to maneuver and I was ready for a break. The wait times had gotten crazy and it got overwhelming. Dh got the little one to sleep and we had an amazing night... and no sleeping or cranky kids riding the bus back to the resort.

We didn't do any breakfasts... I had garden grocer deliver to our room, so we could get ready quicker in the mornings. We did mostly sit down lunches before we left parks which was a great reprieve.

Just be mindful like others have said, that trying to do a rope drop to end of day at any park for any adult is exhausting. I don't know that I could wake up early the next day ready to go.

I would be happy to share more of our experience with you if you want to ask any more questions. I just know that everyone likes to go at different paces and I think this particular trip, we all had a blast because we didn't try to do too much, but accomplished a ton in the process.

 

[wallskm]

We tried the breaks last year and it didn't work for us. My kids were 3 and 16 months at the time. Our issue was that the 16 month old would be asleep long before we could make it out of the park! Ours were obviously younger than yours and were smaller, they were comfortable resting in the stroller- my 16 month old took 1.5-2 hour naps in the stroller every day, and my 3 year old (almost 4 at the time, was not napping at home anymore) slept a few times too. We just had low-key afternoons but didn't actually leave the park most days. There's lots of ways to rest but stay in the park- in MK you can ride the train around a bunch, in others you can watch a show, etc, find somewhere that is air conditioned and prop your feet up for a while. We also do sit down restaurants for lunch sometimes which gives a nice cool break.

This time our strategy may not work- our (then) 16 month old is now 2.5! We may end up napping in the room more!

 

[jvattes]

I'm looking for some input on the recommended afternoon break, especially with kids We will have DS-8, DD-6 and DD-4.5. They are all pretty active in their regular life and we've done other trips where they were able to keep up until late in the evening. I don't want to be commando, running from thing to thing but do want to cover as much as we can. The "issue" I have with the afternoon break is the time wasted I don't look forward to losing 4 hours. So far I only "planned" one day with a break. Of course if we are having a melt down, we'll have to adjust but am I being way to optimistic here?? The only other problem we have with afternoon breaks, if our kids nap they may not sleep at a decent time (especially 6yo) and then won't want to wake in the morning!

Day 1 - Mid day arrival, no parks, relax day
Day 2 - 8am ADR for CRT, spend the day at MK but not stay until MSEP
Day 3 - DHS for 8:30am ADR and stay through to Fantasmic
Day 4 - DHS for 9:10 ADR, park hop to Epcot and stay for Illuminations
Day 5 - RD for MK, mid day break, return to park for MSEP / FW
Day 6 - RD for EMH at AK, mid day break, ADR at 7pm for Chef Mickey (unless I can get an earlier ressie)
Day 7 - 11am flight home

Is that way too aggressive of a plan??? Every day we would have an early start....

One key piece of info, at least IMO, that is missing here is WHEN your trip is. We are going at the end of July/beginning of August and as such we are ABSOLUTELY scheduling a 3-4 hour break mid-day almost every day. If we were traveling at a more mild, less crowded time of year we might just go all day. But the heat and the crowds, for us, dictates that we get away from it for a while in order to make our trip more enjoyable.

FWIW We = Me, DH, DD10, DS6

 

[happymommy]

I kind of agree that I wouldn't do the early ADR's (well, if it were me, I'd just grab breakfast and go). I find that for a first trip, there is so much to see and do, and sit down meals are better at lunch or dinner (if at all). My kids would rather have cereal in the room while we're getting ready, then when you go out you can do rides and shows early while the lines are shorter.

Also, getting up early is hard on vacation. Part of vacation to us is relaxing a bit. We just got back and I had Garden Grocer deliver stuff for us (breakfast foods, snacks, and of course wine for me!). A glass of wine in the afternoon before heading back out was nice! Only table service meal we had last week was a late lunch at Sci Fi (DD's birthday and she wanted to go back there).

The kids will remember meals less than other things in my opinion. We've done several meals at Disney, but never more than one or two a trip (we prefer to snack at counter service places more, so we don't have to plan so much).

 

[ktlm]

It just depends on your family and your kids. If they are high energy they may not need breaks at all. DD is 8 and we have been going every year since she was 2. She is a high energy kid. That would be a too slow schedule for us, except for the early morning ADRs, and definitely not enough EPCOT which has always been DD's favorite park after MK. We usually do 2 or 3 full MK days, 2 full EPCOT days, 1 DHS day, and 1 AK day (which is usually a 1/2 day because DD gets bored with AK pretty fast and starts asking to leave around noon- although the new Wilderness Explorer book kept her entertained and kept her there longer on our last trip), and we don't take breaks during the day and we don't take days off between parks. We've only taken a mid-day break once in all our trips to WDW, and that was the first day of our first trip when she was 2, and we found out those did not work for us. When we stayed 8 nights on our last trip and were at BC with the Stormalong Bay pool, we did leave the park in the late afternoon one day, to have an entire evening at Stormalong Bay. Other than that, the only time we go back to the room during the day is if it is a party night and we are park-hopping and want to change clothes before the party. From ages 2-5, DD would nap in the stroller occasionally during the day. Your 4.5 year old will likely need a stroller to do open to close days as they just don't quite have the stamina for all that walking yet at that age. By age 6 and 7, DD could spend a 12 hour day walking the park with no issues, and be ready to head out again for rope drop the next morning. The key is to take "mini breaks" in the park- such as sitting on a bench and having a Mickey Head Ice Cream bar, or going to a show (like Philharmagic), or a long ride (like Living with the Land or Great Movie Ride or People Mover etc) to get a little time to sit and rest. You already have your ADRs set, but for us a TS lunch is a good aid for a long park day. We get there at rope drop, get some good hours in, sit down and rest our feet at lunch and get fed and energized, to keep going the rest of the day.

Are your kids early risers? My DD is a night owl, not an early bird. As a result we found that pre-park opening breakfasts did not work for her at all. If she had to get up early enough to get to a pre-park opening breakfast, she was a cranky kid and would be for the first few hours of the morning. We just did CS breakfast at the resort- usually DH just brings it to the room while we get ready. If your kids are early risers they may do great with the pre-park opening breakfast, but they may not do as well late in the parks at night.

I definitely don't think your plan is too aggressive at all, especially if you have morning kids. That said, while your schedule would be too slow for us as we are a high energy family, my BIL/SIL and niece are a low energy family. They rarely make it 2 or 3 hours anywhere on vacation without needing to go back to their room and take a nap and they can sit in the hotel room for hours and be happy. Where we would hate your early morning breakfast, they are early risers and would love those, but the rest of your schedule might kill them! Everyone is different! I also think you never know how the kids are going to be until you get there. I would say just be prepared to adjust based on how they are doing.

 

[brockash]

Where are you staying and will you have a stroller (single or double)? If you're not going to have a stroller, then yes I think it's being pretty optimistic, however as long as you have a stroller then I think you'll be fine. We often stay open to close and yes we found going back to the resort mid-day was more of a pain than anything else.

If you are staying on a monorail resort then I'd be okay with going back on your MK/Epcot days and if you're staying at an Epcot resort than I might be okay with going back on your Epcot/DHS days.

What are the park hours during your stay?

 

[brockash]

We are actually going to rent a double and hopefully the younger two will catch a nap here and there. Of course I don't know if that will happen but we can hope! It's so hard with only 5 nights and 3 late night shows and 3 early morning ADR's!

PP - those "turn and burn" days are the ones that concern me the most!

5 days and you're going to have a double stroller, then I think you should be fine, even if you wanted to do open to close each of those days.

 

[buggy2727]

Thanks for the advice. One of the reasons we are getting the double stroller is to push the limit a little. Of course, nothing is set in stone and if we need to rethink and cut back, we can do so! Our kids, especially the 8 & 6 yo, are very active high energy kids as well and the 4 yo usually just drops when she's done