Another Midday Break Post

[abinormal]

I've been playing around with Touring Plans and I see so many people so adamant that a midday break is pretty much required. But it seems like there's also an assumption that you'll be staying until the fireworks.

My kids don't nap. My youngest on very rare occasions and then he just crashes at dinner time. So they go to bed at like seven. And they're up at seven pretty much no matter what time they go to bed.

So if you're leaving at dinner time, is an afternoon break really all that necessary? I will of course be playing it by ear do if things change course I'll just roll with it, but I was just curious.

 

[LovesTimone]

There are lots of reason that people head back to resorts for a break, Mid-day it is super crowded, and hot/ humid and the lines are getting super long. So for us its a chance to cool off, use the pool, and give our feet a rest, my DD was not a nap taker, but at Disney after being up early and all the walking, we would swim then head back to the room to rest and in about 2 minutes she would be fast asleep. Even the grown ups would rest, yep.. nap time for Mom and Dad . Once everyone woke up and we headed out again, it was nice to be refreshed. The nighttime festivities are really worth seeing. The parade and fireworks are so amazing. Some of my favorite memories are during the night time events.

 

[bookem]

Our 2 DD's wouldn't nap either. We forced mid-day naps on a couple days so we could do the night time festivities, but the other days it was early rise / early to bed!

 

[msmama]

We do exactly what you said. Stay until about dinner time - sometimes head back to the resort for dinner, sometimes eat dinner then go.

Like PP said, though, be aware that it can get hot and crowded in the middle part of the day so adjust accordingly. Often we'll do shows in the afternoon or that's when we do our "sightseeing" instead of riding (although I do expect to get more rides in the afternoon now with FP+).

I'll be keeping my son up for Star Wars Weekend fireworks this year and I just have my fingers crossed.

 

[MandiC]

For us, we went in February with a 7 and 9 year old and it was completely unnecessary to have a mid-day break. One day we did one and tried to nap but couldn't so we ended up going to the pool for a bit. We did rope drop to fireworks 3 of our 6 park days.
With younger kids I might try more...but being at Disney might hamper any nap attempts I guess we'll see on our next trip but I'm hoping since my youngest will be 4 at that point that we can get by with a small nap in a stroller or something.

 

[AFwifelife]

For us, a midday break is a nice way to relax a bit. Even without small kids that require naps, it's nice to take a break from the parks to explore the resort and kick our feet up on a comfy bed. I also like going back to the resort to unload extra things we've been carrying around and swim/shower if it's hot out. We don't feel as burnt out doing the parks multiple days in a row when there is a break in the day.

 

[MrInfinity]

Of course it's not required.

The whole concept of a midday nap is pretty much just a Disney World construct anyways... it doesn't really apply elsewhere. i.e. if we were going to Great America, the Zoo, or a Chicago Museum for a day, all of which are about a 45 min drive, we would not even consider going for 3 hours, then going home for the afternoon, then driving back again for the evening. That would be crazy, it would be sitting in the car, parking lots, and walking for most of the day. Even if we lived in the city and had a bus pass, I still wouldn't see us doing that. If we lived down the block and could walk... then maybe.

Same thing at Disney. Unless you are a close to your resort... like MK-Poly/CR/GV, HS-Boardwalk, or EC-Beach Club... I don't recommend ppl take naps. Too much time waiting for busses.

I've also found the parks do not clear out after 7 or so... they stay pretty jam packed up till 10pm, so if you want short lines, you have to be prepared to stay really late, which is not us.

We go in the mornings, stay till we're good, then go back and relax. Pool, beach, food. There is rarely a case in which we'd then want to reenergize and go back to the parks, knowing we'll be getting up at 6 or 7 again the next morning. Plus our kids actually like the pool and hanging out. Getting them out of the pool or beach is a task of its own!

 

[tink9702]

We did NOT do any afternoon naps/break time during our November trip. The kids are 4 & 5. We went from Rope Drop until dinner/right after dinner. My kids would never nap and it wasn't worth the travel time. it's possible I'd do this differently if we were visiting in the hot summer months though!

That being said we didn't make it to any fireworks so you'd be giving that up. We hit rides all morning, lunch break, a couple rides then mostly shows in the later afternoon/when we needed a break. I could have pushed them to stay later some of the days but knew we'd be up early the next day. My kids refuse to sleep in no matter how late they stay up so we kept a consistent schedule to make life easier. We also took a day in the middle of the trip where we did pool/Gatorland.

It's definitely a personal decision. You can make either scenario work for you.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

We've also followed the RD, stay until dinner, dinner at a park/resort, and then back to our own resort for pool/chill time, fairly early bed.

We've also done days where we did take a short break and then stayed until after fireworks. But we don't do the night time shows every night. I know this is totally frowned upon around here, but we don't feel a need to see fireworks/Illuminations/Fantasmic every time!

Do what works for your family and don't feel you're missing out on anything if you call it an early night!

 

[mm1971]

I've been playing around with Touring Plans and I see so many people so adamant that a midday break is pretty much required. But it seems like there's also an assumption that you'll be staying until the fireworks.

My kids don't nap. My youngest on very rare occasions and then he just crashes at dinner time. So they go to bed at like seven. And they're up at seven pretty much no matter what time they go to bed.

So if you're leaving at dinner time, is an afternoon break really all that necessary? I will of course be playing it by ear do if things change course I'll just roll with it, but I was just curious.

Taking a break is not required or necessary for a lot of people. We typically break in the afternoon because we like to swim and hang at the pool during the afternoon when the sun is hottest and the parks get busier. It is a quality choice for us, relaxing family time without the hectic running around. We just enjoy swimming around then and want to use the resort. My brother and his family have always been rope drop to close without ever taking a break. Taking breaks will be based on how you plan to tour the parks. I would guess that if you plan to be leaving at dinner time, you would not need to take a break. Just my opinion.

I will say that we park hop as well. So we may do the EMH at one park in the morning and then another park for evening EMH after our break. We also like to try new restaurants and eat in Epcot at the WS a lot.

 

[buzznina]

Go Honolulu blue and silver
Based on your post, at least for us, there is no need to go back to your resort for a break. You can always take a break somewhere in the park, if needed.

 

[Feberin]

We had planned on doing breaks most days but tried it one day and I wasn't a fan. My daughter slept like a log but my son swam for a little while then sat on the ipad watching shows with headphones since we needed him to be quiet. It felt like a waste of time since I didn't come to Disney to plop him down for some screen time. My kids also go to bed at 7 pm and I found that instead of keeping them out late just staying out all day then heading back around 7ish worked better. I also didn't notice an extremely large amount of crowds in the afternoons and when we went in May it was unbearably hot in my opinion. Also my daughter would nap in a stroller or carrier so she was good anywhere and it took us awhile to get back to our room. We did take a break in the parks in the afternoon most days and get a snack.

 

[abinormal]

Thanks for the opinions! I suppose it's something you just can't know until you get there. I'll make sure to follow the kids' lead and do what works for them.

We're staying at WBC and renting a car so it wouldn't be too taxing to take a break, at least at Epcot or DHS. It's so hard because playing with touring plans and such is like my new favorite pastime, lol.

Our trip is the end of April, so it will be hot, but I hope not miserably so. I like the idea of shows and indoor things in the afternoon to beat the heat. I can very much see my kids being pissed off being dragged out of the parks, only to refuse to leave the pool to go back.

 

[abinormal]

Go Honolulu blue and silver .

One Pride!

 

[AlexisMaxMommy]

Breaks work for some and not for others. You need to take cues from your kids and see how it goes. My kids haven't napped in awhile, but we have gone back to our resort for a little while to have some downtime because we like to go back to the parks and stay until closing time. My kiddos wouldn't be able to go from open to close without a little break.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

In the late fall/winter/early spring we don't usually take a break. We always take a break if we go in the summer because I can't take the heat and need some pool time.

 

[galaxygirl76]

My now 3 year old doesn't really nap either, but she was getting cranky at the end of the mornings so we did do breaks(also because my husband enjoys naps lol) just to give her a break from being in the parks. We would relax in the room with some quiet time, or watch a movie together until 4 or 5pm.

 

[DCbride]

Summer breaks are a must but other times we always decided day of. You know if your kid (or anyone in the family really) needs a break from heat or crowds. There were times we would go back to nap and we would fall asleep quickly and DD would watch tv or play with stuffed animals.

DD7's favorite break place at Epcot was either the splash pads or the maze in England when she was little. She could spend an hour playing hide and seek. At MK, the wait area in Dumbo was a favorite, much more so for her than the actual ride. At AK, the train to Rafiki's and DHS, we have never stayed past lunch for a full day. So, basically, a break doesn't have to mean leave the park. Just a break from crowds, lines, structure and people.

 

[Okimom]

It really depends on the children and the parents.. Last time I went I had 4 kiddos ages 7 and under. I tried going back to the room once and it was a disaster. It hyped up the older ones and got the little ones worked up and tired at the same time.. The rest of the time we just put the littles in the stroller if they needed a nap and they conked out. The older ones were perfectly fine with continuing on. We usually went from opening until around 5-6pm then went back to the hotel or met up with family (my hubby's parents live 20 minutes from Disney). They were in bed by 7-8pm, easiest time getting them to sleep I have had in a while.