Afternoon napping?? Why????

[wildbill]

This will be our 4th trip. In the past once we left our room in the morning (around 8 a.m.) we have never returned until it was time to call it a day (usually around 10 p.m.). We have always gone the 2nd-3rd week of January. We would hit a park in the morning and then bounce over to Epcot afterwards for food (and beer).

This year we have to go in early June because of his school. Almost all the advice I see given here is to take an afternoon nap or swim. I suggested this to the family (DW and 15 year old DS) ((well sometimes 'darling' most times all teenager )) and I thought they were going to go ballistic on me! "Why waste time sleeping?" "Swimming-we can do that after the parks close; why waste an afternnon doing that?" "Any cooling off/resting we can do when we are park hopping."

What's the point in going back to your room? Have I missed something or is it because so many other travelers have young children? Is it the heat issue? (we're from Arkansas and a normal summer days is 'highs in the upper 90's or low 100's; humidity 90% +, 20% chance of late afternoon thunder showers)

Does anyone else spend all day, everyday in the parks? We've been doing it this way since our son was 8 and I wonder if I should 'mess with success'? We love Disney and only can get there about every other year so we don't want to make the best use of our time.

Bill

 

[WDSearcher]

For a lot of people, it's a combination of mid-day heat and crowds -- the desire to get out of the parks during the hottest and busiest times of the day in order to cool off and relax.

But it's not something everyone does, and some people don't mind the heat or the crowd levels. I, personally, like taking a break during the day, but I'm just as apt to break by sitting in the garden at France or having a cool drink inside a restaurant at Harambe as I am to break by going back to the resort and cooling off in the pool.

If your style works for you, then don't feel the need to change it simply because others have suggested it. Just do what your family prefers.

 

[luvmk]

I think many people who like to go back to the room have small children. We haven't taken our children as toddlers and I can only imagine what at day in the parks with 90 degree heat must be like. With that said our 9 and 6 year olds like to go back to the room in the afternoon to swim. We get to the parks early and are able to see alot by 1:00. They would prefer to swim and then get cleaned up and go to a different park for dinner and fireworks. We especially do this if we are going to be in the parks until 11:00pm or later. I think it's important to do what works best for you. Enjoy!


Rachel

 

[Marseeya]

This is our first trip to WDW and we're definitely going to take an afternoon break! We've made the mistake on other vacations of trying to do too much in a day and we end up paying for it the next day. We did that at Busch Gardens and we were so tired the next day that we didn't even want to go back! We did, but not the very next day.

I think we're only going to do half days in the parks when we do WDW. Much more relaxing.

 

[oogieboogie]

Our kids are young (7 and 4) and it's a nice way to break up the day. We love to park hop and we never stay in one park all day long. We usually break for lunch, then go back, and the kids can swim and take a nap (rarely happens) before going back for dinner and another park.

Plus we usually open a park, so with them, by lunch time they're wilting. They'd never make it to 9pm or more if we go commando. Sure, we swim also after the parks, but it's just nice to relax a bit.

We have annual passes so it's our objectives are a bit different. Our main objective to WDW vacation is that we're there instead of here and we usually just go really relaxed.
The first time we went commando, my DH nearly keeled over from exhaustion and the kids weren't any better.

Since I'm not a napper, I usually visit the outlet stores while DH and the kids swim or nap.

 

[mommykds]

We do the same thing as you...our kids are 9,6,& 4 now & we have always got out of the room by 7am & not back til 9 or later. Our kids napped in the stroller when they were very, very young, but we never saw a need to go back to the room & sleep. Do you know how much $ per hour you are wasting up by sleeping at WDW?

No seriously, you have to do what works best for your family. To each his/her own. Some people like to do Disney to the maximum extent the day will allow & some like to hang back more...If your plan has worked for you like it has for us then stick with it.

 

[buckylarue]

Because we're old, that's why!

Seriously, we don't feel a need to go-go-go all day long; we joined DVC so we could just relax on our vacations. We still hit the parks every day, usually more than 1 park a day, but do each for a few hours, hitting just those things we are most interested in (or have the shortest lines). An afternoon break for a swin, or even a nap, lets us keep going in the evening past Illuminations and to PI for the Adventurer's Club. Kungaloosh!

 

[lovethattink]

This will be our 4th trip. In the past once we left our room in the morning (around 8 a.m.) we have never returned until it was time to call it a day (usually around 10 p.m.). We have always gone the 2nd-3rd week of January. We would hit a park in the morning and then bounce over to Epcot afterwards for food (and beer).

This year we have to go in early June because of his school. Almost all the advice I see given here is to take an afternoon nap or swim. I suggested this to the family (DW and 15 year old DS) ((well sometimes 'darling' most times all teenager )) and I thought they were going to go ballistic on me! "Why waste time sleeping?" "Swimming-we can do that after the parks close; why waste an afternnon doing that?" "Any cooling off/resting we can do when we are park hopping."

What's the point in going back to your room? Have I missed something or is it because so many other travelers have young children? Is it the heat issue? (we're from Arkansas and a normal summer days is 'highs in the upper 90's or low 100's; humidity 90% +, 20% chance of late afternoon thunder showers)

Does anyone else spend all day, everyday in the parks? We've been doing it this way since our son was 8 and I wonder if I should 'mess with success'? We love Disney and only can get there about every other year so we don't want to make the best use of our time.

Bill

We spend the afternoon in the parks. Why? Because everyone else is swimming, napping, watching the parades, etc, so we're taking advantage of them not in lines! We're fortunate to have a baby who will sleep through anything. (Except the sound of toilets flushing at night.)

 

[Ilovestitch]

Seriously - you are saying you can go morning til night everyday for a week straight- the only time taking a break is sleeping at night??!?!?

My bf and I are young and there's no way we could do that! We get really burnt out from that. Walking around those parks (10-12 miles a day) takes A LOT out of you.

I also like taking a break in the afternoon to take a shower or freshen up. Eww I couldn't imagine walking around the parks from 8am and then going to a nice place for dinner- I would feel really gross! I need time to recharge before going out for the evening.

 

[PratersloveDW]

I think if all of you would rather just stay in the parks, than you should do so. My family likes to go back to the room for a couple reasons. One, I like for my DS2 to take a nap. However, while on vacation, he rarely tends to do so; thus, we take him to the pool where we are close to his bed (in the rare case he gets tired).

But two, we also like to get away from the crowds for a short time and grab a bite to eat. Since we usually park hop mid-day, we have come to notice that if we go back to rest or swim and grab a quick bite, we don't miss much that we could have accomplished had we hoped straight on a bus to the other park and had lunch there.

Have a magical time!

 

[Eeyore2003]

The two times when it was just DH and myself (in December), we kind of did what we did whenever and the "strict" afternoon break was not closely "enforced". But other time we have gone with a variety of people and mostly in July and August. When the kids were little, my MIL age 80, my niece and nephew 7 and 11.

Most of the time we went for EE, which means you get up around 6:30 to 7:30, and believe me, in the heat, with all the walking around, with that afternoon cool off, kids "magically" become "un-cranky", and older people, (by that I mean 80'ish), become "un-wilted". With MIL, my 16 year old would sometime go to a park in the afternoon by himself, or stay and relax in the pool.

Contrary to popular belief, even here in MN (close to the Iowa border), it's in the mid 90's and humid allot of the summer, so it's not so much JUST the heat in summer, as the combo of walking around in the hot sun, getting up early, the constant "stimulation" of the parks, and the lines getting longer. I think it just gets tiring and weary especially for kids and older seniors, and especially in the middle of the summer.

DH and I have gone in December, and we also went with my sister and friend in October and even though it was still quite hot the week we went in October, it was allot different without the hot, whiny kids. We still didn't take as long of a break, but most of the time we at least went back to the resort to relax and refresh for an hour or so. I don't think I would take my 15 year old back to the resort for a "nap", but would just "play the day by ear" and do what you want.

Lot different in January with an older child and shorter lines, than July with small children and higher crowd levels. It's really not worth it, in my opinion, in the middle of the day in the summer, with the long lines, for anyone.

But I really think people do it all different ways, even we do depending on the circumstance.

 

[vettechick99]

We don't have kids, but we do take afternoon naps. Well he naps, I chill (watch tv, do laundry, read a book, take a shower, make PSs...you get the idea). I think afternoon breaks are just a nice way to get away from the crowds/heat/constantoverwhelmingstimulation.

Disney is exhausting!

 

[mill4023]

This will be our first trip, but last summer, we did a S. Cal trip with Disneyland, Sea World, and hanging out in San Diego. We did open to close days at DL and Sea World and did quite a bit of walking around San Diego. By the end of the trip, we were very wiped out. I know that we are going to have to take it easier this trip or we will never survive 8 straight days of park-going. Whether or not we go back to the hotel for naps/swimming or just take a nice long relaxing lunch to rest will depend on how everyone is feeling. I also don't want to waste any time when there is so much to see and do. But I also know that if we push ourselves or the kids(10, 7, 4, 1) too hard, we will all end up tired, grumpy, irritable, and generally unhappy.

 

[wildbill]

Seriously - you are saying you can go morning til night everyday for a week straight- the only time taking a break is sleeping at night??!?!?

My bf and I are young and there's no way we could do that! We get really burnt out from that. Walking around those parks (10-12 miles a day) takes A LOT out of you.

I also like taking a break in the afternoon to take a shower or freshen up. Eww I couldn't imagine walking around the parks from 8am and then going to a nice place for dinner- I would feel really gross! I need time to recharge before going out for the evening.

Uhhhh...yep-that is exactly what I'm saying . Morning till night-I wonder how many miles we walk in the week we are there! I am also 6'3" and I do NOT walk slow. There is so much to see...so much to do-- even going every day for a week we always find new stuff we hadn't discovered before (or old stuff we enjoy so much we just have to do it again)

As for freshening up I guess thats why we always get a table off to the side all by ourselves

B

 

[Cameo]

Well, when we were young and childless, we used to go, go, go as well. But once the kids came along, we really do need the break. And, of course, having children added a few pounds to the midsection so now we really need the rest as well. The kids are now 7 and 5 and we are going to try to go all day for a couple of our 10 days on the next trip. That way we can see the parades. I'm guessing the kids will make it, but I'll be tuckered out!!

 

[DisneyJen0504]

We do not have children (yet) and we prefer to return to the resort in between. We enjoy our trip more this way. We do one park such as MK from early morning until after lunch, around 1-2pm. We return back to the resort for either a nap, swim, or just relax and watch tv. Usually DH naps and I just relax. Then we shower (I cant imagine not showering after all those hours in the park) and get ready to head out usually around 4-5pm for the next destination-usually a different park than the one we did earlier, and then we still have plenty of energy to head to Downtown Disney or Boardwalk after wards b/c we recharged in the afternoon. We also usually visit during warmer, more crowded times of year when the sun alone can drain you.
We plan on this every day and we find we are able to see everything-often more than just once, we can rest and be relaxed on our vacation and we enjoy it so much more!

 

[Becky2005]

I am with the "because I have young kids" crowd AND a DH who is looking forward to an afternoon snooze! LOL!!!!

If my kids were teens, I can pretty much say we would stay in the parks from opening to closing!

 

[JLTraveling]

Glad to see I'm not the only one here who enjoys going open to close every day. For me, it's just the way my parents raised me...Disney trips, Washington DC museum touring, cruise ship destinations... there's never enough time to see and do everything you want, so why waste time sleeping or swimming? You can sleep when you're dead...and we always had a pool at our house, so what's the big allure of the hotel pool? Every once in a while, on a 2-week or longer trip, my mom and I would "cheat" on our schedule, and spend an hour or two in the hot tub, but for the most part, we'd rather be touring.

I realize this type of schedule can be overwhelming to some people, and requires quite a lot of physical stamina. And I'll be the first to admit, when we got home from vacation, we always felt like we needed a vacation. But boy is it fun!!

Anyway, to each their own. I won't complain about the lack of lines during the afternoon when you're all out swimming and napping at the hotel. I just think it's cool that there are others on here who feel the way I do. Different strokes for different folks!!

 

[4greatboys]

We dont nap in the afternoon but thats just us. We do usually go in the off season and we sleep in in the mornings so it would be a huge waste of time for us to leave the parks again. If we didnt sleep in then we might nap in the afternoon (our youngest are 2 and 5). Our teens of course do not want to nap, lol.

 

[Danauk]

I guess it depends on the age range and stamina of your group. I always go on my Disney holidays with my DH and our 2 best friends (no kids). We like to get up and go out for the day (either to the parks, DTD or just to tour the resorts.) But we like to be back in our room between 4 and 6pm. Then we can relax, take a swim if there is time and shower before heading out for the evening. We enjoy dining at nice restaurants so in the evening usually go to one of the restaurants at a deluxe resort for dinner. We don't feel the need really to rest at our room but we do like to make an effort and get dressed for dinner. I guess to us that is what going on holiday is about. Our trips are usually 2 weeks long (one week if we go to DLP). Do what is best for your group. After all you are on holiday (or vacation as I guess you call it!)