Afternoon breaks - how long?

[TheBigQ]

I would appreciate any help. First some information - DW and our 3 kids (DD2, DD4.5, DS8) are going to WDW the second week of May 07. We're staying at VWL. Just wondering what others do for an afternoon break? How long would you think is a good break in the afternoon?

We've played around with our itinerary and right now it looks like we have between 3-4 hours including transportation back to resort until we need to board the bus to go to dinner adrs at 5:30 or 6:00. Is that sufficient? Should I change adrs that I can to a later time? Trying to keep the same schedule as at home.

We thought we'd be at the parks at rope drop have lunch around 11:30 or maybe just a snack and then have lunch around 12-12:30. Leave the park by 1:00-1:30, be back to hotel by 1:45-2:15. Then those who want to nap or swim can and then leave by 4:30 for a 5:30 adr or 5:00 for a 6:00 adr.

Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[marciemi]

The biggest issue is whether they're going to nap or not and how long they'll last if they don't. When my kids were young and all napped (especially since we'd gotten up by 7), we'd take a very long afternoon break. Do EMH at 8, stay until around 12, then go back and swim first then eat, then sleep from about 2-5. This really refreshed the kids and we could go until 9 or 10pm then at night.

But once they got a bit older and truly wouldn't nap, then even with a break, if we got up that early, they'd be losing it by about 6 or 7pm. Then we found a more minimal break worked better, with an earlier bedtime. Same morning schedule, then pool/lunch, but then just rest/watch TV for about an hour and go back to the parks by around 3 for the parade and leave by 6-7 and literally be in bed asleep (we have videos of this!) by 7:30 or so!

Now mine are teens (or almost!) and our last trip (only 3 days) was go, go, go! Started at the same time, skipped the pool since it was in the 50's, and didn't get back to our room until after late EMH's around 10:30 or 11. However, we are NOT doing that again and this time plan to go for 2 weeks in the summer and get up early, go hard from opening until 1:30 or so, then call it a day. We'll be renting a house so they can swim, play in the gameroom, play video games, watch TV (in their own rooms), etc. If we go in the parks in the evening, it will just be to see a show or pin trade or eat.

Your itinerary sounds possible, but I'd be the most worried about the middle one. I'm sure your youngest will nap, and oldest will be fine without one, but at 4.5, she's probably too old to nap and too young to survive without it. How late do you plan on staying at the parks then? I know one visit we did it alternate-day naps - one day we'd do a full day with only a shorter break for swimming and tv and still stay at the parks until 9 or so and then get up early the next morning. After that, they'd be exhausted and nap for 3 hours and we could get in a good evening. Next day they'd be rested enough to not want a nap, etc. They were probably 5-8 years old the time we did that.

I guess just be prepared to give up plans if one kid is just losing it or have a stroller that any can fit in if necessary (even if the younger 2 nap well and are now alert and happy, the oldest could still appreciate the stroller by the end of the day just to give his feet a break!)

 

[DisneyKidds]

That is about the schedule we keep at the WL. Our kids (3, 5 and 8) are no longer regular nappers. Our little guy will sometimes nap in the stroller if he really gets tired in the early afternoon, but forget trying to get him to lie down in the room and sleep. 2 to 3 hours back at the resort is plenty of time to unwind and hit the pools/hot tubs, rent a boat (my 5 yo loves the Sea Raycers), throw a load of laundry in, or do whatever. Enough time to refresh, get changed, and then head out for the evening. If your kids nap, I'd imagine that a couple hours would be suffiecient as well, but no pool time.

Without any naps happening, our kids were pretty much done by 9:00 each night. Even our 8 yo couldn't make it past that. That was when we were glad we had a stroller seat we could let her sleep in. Yes, even at 3, 5 and 8 we had sure we had 3 stroller seats available for the end of the day.

 

[TheBigQ]

In the evenings we aren't planning on staying out late except for Spectromagic one night and then maybe DTD. We'd like to have the kids in bed by 9 - 9:30. There are 2 dinner adrs that I could cancel IF we have to although I think the kids would love Crystal Palace and Coral Reef.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Tammi67]

The thing I remember about my DD was that if she napped and I had to wake her up out of a deep sleep, she was cranky for the next hour or 2 (until she fully woke up). But later in the evening she was raring to go! Do you have a rest day, where you aren't going to a park at all? When my DD was 2.5, even with daily naps, she had a meltdown halfway through our week. If you have a middle day that you can just hang around the resort or DTD and catch up on rest, that might be good too.

 

[mtemm]

on our trip in october (with kids 4, 2, 2), we left the parks by noon or 1 to head back to the YC. We would nap and swim, usually 3-4 hours total, and had adrs at 5. worked out perfectly! Mine normally are up early, by 6:30/7, and are in bed by 7 at night. mornings we kept the same, and evenings were a toss up...some they were in bed by 8, one night we stayed out until around 10 for mnsshp, and then one night we didn't get back to the hotel until 9. We let the kids lead, and we had no meltdowns, just had a great time. I think the mid-day break, especially the nap really made a difference. even my 4 year old slept every day. and playing in the pool was a huge highlight.

I would NOT change the adrs to later. I kept mine at 5pm because that is when my kids want to eat. I think keeping that routine really helped them, too. over hungry kids tends to equal cranky kids, don't forget.

 

[TikiGoddess]

I took a 2 & 4 yr old last year and we didn't do actual nap times. What we did was plan to alternate rides with shows and more relaxing sit down meals. We also alternated the days we went early and the days we slept a little late. Granted they were usually in bed no later than 9 and fast asleep, but it worked really well for us.
You didn't mention what resort you're staying at, but some of the transports can really eat up your time. We did attempt a nap one day and found it just wasn't worth it for us. They wouldn't rest at all and just wanted to be back at the parks. However, we rented a double stroller daily and they took it pretty easy in that. We didn't have any meltdowns and it worked great. However you choose to do it, I'm sure you'll have a great time.

 

[kohlby]

I think it really varies by the kids. We found that going back to our room was useless with DS, who was barely 3 for our last trip. He wouldn't nap so it was wasted time. (Nor would he nap in the stroller). Since he didn't nap, he needed to keep an early bedtime. We found that just staying in the parks until around 6pm worked the best for us. However, we don't do ADR since my son can't handle most restaurants. Add in that he'll likely be tired, and it would be a disaster. Our dinner plan is just to get counter service at the park or cafeteria style from our hotel. (And we packed some just add water Raman meals figuring we could get hot water from the coffee maker if we were too tired at the end of the day).

*We told our son that as long as he listened to us and behaved that we could do more rides. He's a rather active and testing child and was the best behaved I've ever seen him so we could stay! I'm not sure if your 2 year old will be an old 2 or a young 2, but explaining how behavior was linked to how long we stayed really worked.

Our baby was only 2 months old then so she napped easily in the sling. She's 8 months for our next trip - which starts tomorrow - so I'm a bit more nervous how she's going to nap.

 

[TheBigQ]

Its really going to be a "toss up" as to whether DD2 will nap or not - she may be too hyped up from the parks. If this happens we'll have to change our plans but I think even some quiet time away from the parks and swim time would be good for all of us. I think I will keep our evening adrs as is - its around their usual dinner time plus we could get to bed fairly early if things aren't going well.

I am concerned once we go back to the resort for a break it will be difficult to get everyone back to the parks/to dinner. But we'll see how it goes. As much as I would hate to -I guess we could always cancel if we have to. Thanks for all the advice. It really is interesting reading and "food for thought".

 

[vital]

I would appreciate any help. First some information - DW and our 3 kids (DD2, DD4.5, DS8) are going to WDW the second week of May 07. We're staying at VWL. Just wondering what others do for an afternoon break? How long would you think is a good break in the afternoon?

We've played around with our itinerary and right now it looks like we have between 3-4 hours including transportation back to resort until we need to board the bus to go to dinner adrs at 5:30 or 6:00. Is that sufficient? Should I change adrs that I can to a later time? Trying to keep the same schedule as at home.

We thought we'd be at the parks at rope drop have lunch around 11:30 or maybe just a snack and then have lunch around 12-12:30. Leave the park by 1:00-1:30, be back to hotel by 1:45-2:15. Then those who want to nap or swim can and then leave by 4:30 for a 5:30 adr or 5:00 for a 6:00 adr.

Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks in advance.

We went for the first time in June 06 and this is the EXACT schedule we kept! We (me35, exMIL50, DS6) stayed at POFQ. We were at the bus stop by 0800 every day and made rope drop. We did most of the kiddie attractions in MK before 1000 with 20 min being the longest line we waited in. I used Tour Guide Mike and rocked his system very well. We had such a good time and it was the last week in June when it's supposed to be the busiest time of year!
We swam everyday for a little while to cool off and relax. Then we layed down in the room for a bit and the others slept while the first one took a shower. I don't know if this is the first time you've been, but I was surprised at how refreshed I was after just a short break. I also LOVE the parks at night. It's a totally different feel than the day. I was concerned about wearing out my son, but he was right there with us wanting to go back to the parks at night. If your littlest ones get tired, one of you could take them back to resort and the other stay out with your 8 yo. He'll love it!

ETA: We also had a rest day in the middle of the week. We slept in and swam during the morning and early afternoon. Then we rested a bit and went to the park that night. We had ADR's for 600 or 630 every night except one. I found this to be a good time b/c we were freshly rested and if we were tired, we could go back to resort. If we wanted to stay in the parks, we had plenty of time!