ALWAYS necessary to nap?

[daraddg]

we have never stopped for naps though my kids were slightly older at 5 & 8 but it was august and my 5 yr old was undergoing cancer treatment at the time she didnt want to stop going! we broke up the hot times of day with CRT and indoor rides (laugh floor,philharmagic etc) carried spray bottle for the heat etc. depends on your kids really

 

[beccaisqueen]

I think it depends on your kids, but we always had better luck giving them the opportunity to nap. Sometimes they wouldn't actually sleep, but the break in the action made the rest of the day go smoother.

 

[scot@dvcstore]

I always try to get in a short nap a couple time while on vacation. Generally relaxing around the pool makes me sleep for a short period of time and wake up refreshed and ready to go.

 

[CanadianPaco]

If your child doesn't nap in the stroller, they might just get too much "magic" in the parks all day....On your MK day/s, I would not necessarily take my kids back to the room for a nap, but I would take them out of the park, and do something different...like a monorail ride around the MK resorts and back just to get away from the same old atmosphere...maybe stop at one of the resorts and have a quick snack just to see the decorations at the Poly or Contemporary....this would only take an hour or so, and would break up the day.

Our kids (we have 4 and have been going to WDW since our oldest was 18mos), have all been big nappers, so we could not go without an actual nap, and I felt it ate up alot of our day, as well, and we always went during offpeak season, so I just always did ParkHoppers and utilized EMH....but I could nopt stand the thought of being one of those parents/families with whining/crying kids at the end of the day...I also realize that what worked for us might not fit your plans, and your child might not be a big napper (mine took minimum 3 hour naps until they were almost 5, then it was 2 hours)...so I thought an alternative might work better for you.

now, with some older and some still in nap mode, we divide and conquer....

I also sent you a PM...so check that out as well.

Napping depends on the husband. Sometimes he gets cranky without a good 2hr nappy-nap

 

[tomaszewski58]

I always enjoyed that hour or two back at the pool. Get to the parks early and then leave at noon or one when they are at the hieght of crowds and heat. Then go back from 4 til 8-9 PM.

 

[Rpsemont]

Our first trips were always at slow times and we never went back for nap, despite what the guidebooks said. OUr DD was 4 on the first trip.
I could never understand how people could do it, because if you head back to the resort for mid afternoon, you miss the afternoon parades. And those first trips with EMH opening at 8AM, and parks closing at 6 or 7 or 8pm, I couldn't justify taking what ends up being at LEAST 3 hours to leave the park to return to the hotel, rest, and return back. We were never at any monorail resort. I agree with others, though, who have suggested plan for a couple days of non stop park touring, then plan for a day that is a "down day" whether it be a water park, that opens later, or where you go back to the resort for the afternoon.

Of course, everybody's kids are different, so you have to try and figure out what's best for yours.

 

[Tltorrez]

We made sure to leave the park by 11:30am so that we made it back in time for the 3:00 parades. But I agree that if the park is closing at 6 or 7 that's a less viable option. Then again, if the park closes that early most kids can probably get by without it. We did the nap thing when the park was closing at 10:00 or midnight and it made all the difference.

 

[mupt02]

I would suggest just waiting and seeing how it goes. Aim to stay in the parks, but be prepared to leave if it is needed. We never needed to head back for naps. Our 4 year old never slept. Our 2 year old dozed off occasionally in the stroller. The 9 month old would fall asleep almost anywhere. Now, the only times we were in the park at rope drop were the few mornings that we had early ADR's. Otherwise about 10 was our average. We also only stayed for the night time shows twice. We usually made our way back to the resort after dinner and then would do a little swimming or wander around the resort for a little bit before bed. The 4 year old also had a stroller. This worked for us. But, we were prepared to head back to the resort if we needed it to preserve the enjoyment of all.

I don't think you will have to worry about getting out of CRT before rope drop. With our 805 ADR we got out right at 9 as the park was opening. It was great to be in Fantasyland already. We were able to buzz through there with only about 5-10 minute waits. As for getting in, all parks have a marked entrance. There is someone there to check your name to make sure that you have an ADR. I'm one who likes to be early for pretty much everything so I think we left 45-60 min before our ADR's when we were driving.

Hope you have a wonderful time!!

 

[chs27]

After all, if you are staying in a Disney Resort, you should allow time to enjoy it. A "nap" for us means DH sleeps while we explore our resort or swim.

 

[tinkangell]

No nap. It takes a while to get back to your resort and then nap and then back you loose to much time.

 

[spencerbomar]

If you have a car, use it to go to the park. Be aware of the time the parking lot opens.

The pop resorts are massive. Buses at opening and closing times are packed.
Foreign guests are booked at these (think large groups of them) and they rely upon the buses for transport.

Even without the foreign groups, the buses will take a lot of time to get you to a park. They are crowded, don't run as often as they should and are just not worth it.

Naps- you don't necessarily have to go back to the room for a 3 year old- or even for yourself. Simply take the monorail to the Contemporary, the grand floridian, or the poly (or even better) go to the wilderness lodge to find a nice comfy place to relax (even if you don't sleep) for some down-time after lunch. It makes a world of difference on how you will feel later in the day. There's some nice quiet spots at all of these resorts.

Plan on having a nice lunch at Wilderness and then find a spot in front of the fire to digest your meal and relax. Or not. Go back to a park.
Use your car to do this though. Going from resort to resort can take as much as 45mins to an hour 1 way. The car will take no more than 10-12 mins.

 

[SPBendersky]

I have stated it before, again and again. If you have kids get to bed early, wake up early eat in the room if possible and be at the park 15 min before open. You will get a ton done then at between 12-1 you will notice the lines a little longer, go out and get something to eat, take that nap and go back in for round two at 5 till when ever. If you go till closing then the next day switch it up, maybe pool a nap and the a park.

 

[ktlm]

When we took DD on her first trip, she was 2 yrs 10 months, I was convinced by these boards that we needed to leave the park for an afternoon nap. DD (4) has now been to WDW 4 times (and DL once) and of all those trips we have left the parks for her to nap 1 Day...the first day of her first trip...and it was a disaster. We dragged her kicking and screaming out of the park, and all I got was an angry child who stood in the resort room and and refused to nap for 2-3 hours. We finally gave up and took her back to the park, where she crawled right in her stroller and fell asleep. Since that first day, we have always stayed in the parks pretty much from open to close, and she has crawled in the stroller and napped when she got tired.

Now, what you will need, even if your child no longer uses it, is a stroller. DD has refused to use a stroller since she was 12 months old and could walk except for at WDW. The only time we have ever used a stroller since she took her first steps was at WDW. WDW is huge. DH asked her if she still wanted the stroller for our recent trip, she will be 5 in a couple months, and she looked at him like he was crazy and said "of course I do".

 

[quagmire0]

It all depends on your kids. If our kids don't nap, they get cranky - and it gets worse and worse as you stack up days where they don't nap. I'm not sure if DD (who will be 4) will nap at all at that point, but we'll at least take her back to the condo and let her lay on the couch and watch a movie or something. DS will be 18mo, so he'll definitely need the nap.

My advice would probably be to stagger marathon days. So if you do one marathon day, the next day you nap. That may stave off any cumulative crankiness.

 

[travelbel]

Our kids are 7 and 4. We aren't going to go back to the resort for a nap, since the latest anywhere is open is 9pm. If they want to nap in the stroller, that's great. If not, no biggie - we'll all be in bed early enough!

 

[p&tbrown]

My son is VERY ROUTINED! When we went in 11/2009 he was 19 mths and still taking 2 naps a day. Even being DVC, we chose not to go back and nap. He stayed up for a while and was in a good mood. When he finally couldn't hold out, he wouldn't get out of his stroller and we just walked around. Within 5 minutes, he would sleep in his stroller. Worked out great when I wanted to shop at Epcot.

 

[ncbunnie]

Just to update everyone on what did work for our family on our trip:

We did not go back to the resort to nap. When we could tell our daughter was getting tired, we'd say, "okay, time to take a rest!" and she would immediately lay her head back in the stroller and go to sleep w/in 10 minutes. It was COLD during our vacation so my hubby and I stayed warm in the shops and spent too much $$$ on stuff while she napped for an hour.

It is totally a whatever-works-for-your-child situation. I was totally amazed at how many MISERABLE children and parents I saw during our week at DW! If you are miserable or if your child is miserable, you're wasting money- go back to the room, rest, re-set- do SOMETHING to have a good time!

We had a blast, planning 2011 trip now... come on free dining! Best thing we did the entire week: CRT. Hands down, the most amazing thing I've ever done with my family!

 

[homedad]

we have always taken a break but not necessaryily(sp?) napped, and we have gone in Sept in 05,07, 09 when kids started out as 2 and 4. The swinning pool takes the edge off and we have not had the dreaded meltdown, knock on wood!!

 

[mickey50]

Skip the nap your at Disney. Just get a good nights rest and hit the park till dark.

have fun!

 

[ABE4DISNEY]

Another vote for just let them nap in their strollers. My kids were very routine, but this worked out great for them. They got enough rest to take the edge off.