Bedtime in a standard room

[cypressmom]

If you have young kids, how do you handle bedtime in a standard room? Do the parents go to sleep at the same time as the kids? We've always stayed where we can have a bedroom, so we can put the kids to bed and then we can go to bed at our leisure. I'd love to stay on-site one of these trips, but a 1 bedroom suite costs so much more, I cannot justify the cost. My kids are almost 4 and 7 and have a normal bedtime of 7:00-7:30. They might stay up a tad bit later on vacation, but not much or they would be having melt-downs from lack of sleep. There is no way my husband and I would be able top have lights out and be in bed at 7:30 or 8:00. So, what do you do?

 

[chrissiecutie]

Well....we do several different things depending on the room we have. We can't usually afford a suite or hotel room that has a separate room available, so we end up all in one room.

If we have a balcony we will put DS to bed and DH and I will sit on the balcony and have cocktail hour.

If we don't have a balcony (which is rare) then we put DS to bed and turn the lights off but will usually watch tv, read or DH will play his PSP while I read. We tell DS that he can stay awake but he's not allowed to talk or get out of bed once he's in it for the night. He's usually asleep within the hour. Granted, this is tough and bedtime is usually a little later then normal, but hey- we are all on vacation, right?

I have heard of people who bring small pop up tents and put their kiddos in the tent, kinda like a "separate room" but not really. They use the pop up tent and then may lay the bed comforter or blankets over the top to make the tent darker. I've never tried this, mainly because I didn't want the hassle of packing the tent and setting it up, but I have heard it works well.

Good luck!

 

[ahill004]

Our girls are the same ages and have relatively the same bedtime (7:30-8:00) as yours. We also travel quite a bit and prefer our own room as well. However, this summer we are sharing a room at the GCH and Hotel Del with them on a 10 day trip to southern california. And we have done other trips with them where sharing a room has been a necessity. In the past it was very difficult because they would get cranky if up too late and we didn't want lights out at 7:00.
However, in the last year they've really adjusted to vacation schedule and often stay up well past bedtime with no problem (other than sleeping in a little later the following morning). Also, they are both great sleepers and when they are tired (especially my youngest) they can sleep through anything (tv, us talking , etc...). On our Feb. trip to the Dominican my youngest would crash and my husband and I would stay up watching tv and having a few drinks. My oldest would sometimes fall asleep and sometimes watch tv with us. (We did have to monitor out tv watching bc of this). I don't know how well your kids sleep though.

 

[nutshell]

If you have a routine before bedtime now, make sure you use it on vacation too.

 

[cypressmom]

They are very good sleepers when in their own beds. My oldest is easier. She'll fall asleep when tired, so I wouldn't worry about her as my as my youngest. He just recently gave up naps, but has been waking early and on occassion, crashing late in the afternoon (either in the car or on the couch). He falls asleep as soon as we put him down but while on vacation has a hard time falling asleep and will cry for his bed and asks to go home. We traveled over Easter and he was difficult. Ugh... I probably asking for trouble next month. lol

 

[specialks]

We have done a few different things. Sometimes I read in the other bed with a book light and my husband uses his computer. Other times I have taken a bath and my DH has sat in the bathroom with me and we talk while enjoying a glass of wine. Sounds odd to some but we enjoy talking over our day and future plans.

 

[chrissiecutie]

Other times I have taken a bath and my DH has sat in the bathroom with me and we talk while enjoying a glass of wine. Sounds odd to some but we enjoy talking over our day and future plans.

LOL!

This made me laugh because DH and I have done this several times. Hiding out in the bathroom hoping that we've been in there long enough for DS to fall asleep.

Never works but we do get some real "quality" time, even though we are in the bathroom.

 

[pixarmom]

I know it's different for everyone, but I'll just share our WDW experience . . .

When we travel on non-Disney trips, we always like extra space and prefer a condo or more than one room.

On Disney trips, all 5 of us are in the same room (we have 3 boys ages pre-school to pre-teen) and it's usually a standard room in a deluxe resort. So it's not the smallest room in the world, but it's still one room. It's always been absolutely fine. Our boys have a lot of energy and they are going all day, so when we get back to the room our pre-schooler is usually already asleep or just about to fall asleep. Our older boys read or watch TV with us - or we've been out on the balcony when we have one. But we're not awake for long - we're at Disney and we're exhausted! So even though we like more space on other trips, we've never thought we needed to spend extra for more space or separate rooms at Disney.

Also, we always bring books for the bedtime routine of bath, books, etc., but he's usually so sleepy that we just let him sleep. Again, this is just at Disney and because our youngest expends significant amounts of energy during the day!

 

[cypressmom]

I love hearing what everyone does! It gives me hope that we might be able to pull it off too.

 

[Pixieflip]

I love hearing what everyone does! It gives me hope that we might be able to pull it off too.

Do have hope! Remember that the level of activity on vacation always exceeds a normal day and my kiddos are almost always ripe and ready for sleep. We usually bathe and put the tv on low volume and it doesn't take too long before we can watch what we want! We're tired, too, so not usually looking for a lot of entertainment either!

 

[farmfresh]

It is tricky, we normally prefer a separate room, but like OPS, there are times when this doesn't happen! A combo of all the ideas sometime is required. We do the following
1. A slightly later (say half an hour or so) bedtime.
2. One parent on sleep duty...the other goes out for a walk, shopping , etc. Sometimes it's nice to have an hour out, and you can take it in turns. (Text for return update!)
3. Hiding out - bathroom/balcony!
4. Sleep incentives....reward them for quick and quiet sleep - a souvenir, or pin, or something. Even if they are actually asleep, they are resting and quiet,and the next morning, they receive their reward.

Good luck

 

[Karebear]

We had this same problem last Fall I had originally booked a suite at a hotel on Harbor, but we really really wanted to stay onsite. So, we booked a room at the DLH. My kids were 4 & 6 on the trip and like yours, they are in bed by 7:30 or 7:45--my youngest really needs her sleep! We usually stay up until 11:00 or so. On prior vacations, we had booked suite hotels or condos, etc. I was really worried. On our first night there, we put dd to sleep in one of the queen beds, and son was on the day bed. My husband was on the other queen bed reading. I went into the bathroom to wash out our water bottles from the day and get them ready for the next day. When I came out of the bathroom, I was shocked--both kids were asleep! I did not think that I would have it this easy! We stayed there for 6 nights and each night was like this. I think that the parks wore them out each day. Good luck to you!

 

[cypressmom]

We had this same problem last Fall I had originally booked a suite at a hotel on Harbor, but we really really wanted to stay onsite. So, we booked a room at the DLH. My kids were 4 & 6 on the trip and like yours, they are in bed by 7:30 or 7:45--my youngest really needs her sleep! We usually stay up until 11:00 or so. On prior vacations, we had booked suite hotels or condos, etc. I was really worried. On our first night there, we put dd to sleep in one of the queen beds, and son was on the day bed. My husband was on the other queen bed reading. I went into the bathroom to wash out our water bottles from the day and get them ready for the next day. When I came out of the bathroom, I was shocked--both kids were asleep! I did not think that I would have it this easy! We stayed there for 6 nights and each night was like this. I think that the parks wore them out each day. Good luck to you!

Wow! A dream come true!!! We currently have a one bedroom on Harbor, but I'm rethinking it now.

 

[MomToOne]

When my daughter was younger, I'd put her to bed, turn off all the lights, etc. and just sit quietly on my bed until she fell asleep. The rule was no talking to Mom once the lights were out - if she tried to start a conversation, I'd just ignore her.

Once she was asleep she was a sound sleeper, so I could then get up and move around, get stuff ready for the next day, watch a bit of TV, etc. as long as I did it quietly.

Now, all that said, we had a pretty strict bed routine at home - no getting out of bed once she was in it or any games like that - so it really wasn't all that different from home, the only real difference was that I was in the room with her.

Kids are usually pretty drained after a day at Disney, so once you get them settled down and quiet (the hard part when they are amped!), they usually drop off to sleep quickly.

 

[Caroline NZ]

Our children were aged 4 & 7 on out trip last year. We stayed at Hojos in one room. They had no problems falling asleep. Like others have said, they were very tired after a busy day at the parks. I was too, so ended up going to sleep not longer after them anyway. Hubby stayed up later and watched TV.

 

[nana50]

When I'm with my grandkids, I lie in the same bed and use an "itty bitty book light" while I read and they feel safe and happy lying next to me in bed. After they're asleep I hop over to my bed and continue to read.

 

[darph nader]

One thing no one mentioned was time zone change. How well will the kids adjust to a 2hr difference?

 

[tdashgirl]

LOL!

This made me laugh because DH and I have done this several times. Hiding out in the bathroom hoping that we've been in there long enough for DS to fall asleep.

Never works but we do get some real "quality" time, even though we are in the bathroom.

DH & I too! Nice to know we're not the only couple hiding out in hotel room bathrooms

 

[rentayenta]

It never seemed to be an issue when the kids were younger and now that we own DVC we rarely stay in a regular hotel room at Disney unless it's just for one night.

 

[cypressmom]

Thank you to everyone fr your replies. I decided to cancel my reservation and and book a package through Costco. We're now in a standard room, but have the extra perks that come with that package. YAY!!!