DDP with a toddler and a baby

[Christymarie222]

Hello all! This is my first post so please excuse any errors in abbreviations! I tried a search but couldn't find an answer to this...
My children will be DD9, DD2 and DD1 when we do disney this august. I am hoping the free DDP will be offered. My question is do you think it will be better to do most of our TS meals at lunchtime? I was thinking a full morning of the parks, followed by a nice lunch, some more rides...then we could head back to CBR in the afternoon for a swim, naps, or just relaxing. That way we could just grab some quick food at the resort in the evening so we will be close to home for bedtime. My kids normally go to bed pretty early at home (7pm) Has anyone done this or do you have any opinions on the matter???
I will be doing either Hoopty dee do review or Mickey's BBQ one evening too! My DH and I will probably switch off nites to bring DD9 back to the parks at night for the fireworks and nitetime experience.
Thanks in advance!!!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Only you know how well your kiddos handle schedule changes. Personally even at 2 my DD never went to bed at a normal time at WDW so we always kept her out and did our TS at dinner. That being said, if your kids will go down at 7:30...absolutely do lunches. The earliest we do a dinner ADR unless it's at our hotel is 7pm. People don't figure in all the travel time to get around when they contemplate going back to the room to nap. For instance, POP and AKL to MK is at least a 25 minute drive and that's without the wait for the bus. So it could take you almost an hour each way travel time. If you leave the park at 2pm for a nap and have to be back for a 6pm dinner, you can't always do it!

The only advice about the afternoon nap thing is to TRY and nap them in their strollers and save the time back at the hotel for swimming and cooling down. At that age, they WILL fall asleep on the bus and if you have a longer ride, they will wake up *slightly* rested when you get back to the resort and won't go back down for a longer nap!!! Happens every time

 

[2binak]

We've been on 2 trips with DD - the 1st when she was 8 months old and the 2nd when she was almost 2 yrs. We definitely favor late TS lunches over dinner. We're late risers who always eat breakfast in the room so we would plan a 1:30 or 2pm lunch and just grab a snack around Noon. Though most nights DD was fine with being awake and willing to eat dinner at 6 or 6:30pm and stayed happy & awake until 8pm (sometimes even 10pm which is way past her 7:30pm bedtime), we didn't want to try to push her if she wasn't feeling up to it so we just stick with the late TS lunches. If you're up earlier though, a normal lunchtime would work too.

 

[kpm76]

I like your plan and this is essentially what we do with our 2 yr old. We do the parks in the morning, have a TS lunch and then head back to the resort for naps. We go back out for a few hours and put DD to bed at her normal time, 8pm. She thrives on routine and frankly, so do we. We can't do the parks all day everyday anymore and that's fine with us. DD is not a stroller napper and would never fall asleep on the bus, though we don't take the busses anymore. She's 2.5 now and she still sleeps for 2 hours in the afternoon so it's worth the trip back to the hotel for us. Plus, I like her to wind down and rest. Too much park time can lead to meltdowns.....hope this helps....have a great trip!

 

[frtchr]

OP, your plan sounds like what we do. Our last trip, DD was almost 3 and DS was 15 months. We went to the parks in the morning, had a TS lunch, then returned to the hotel for naps. After the naps, we went to the MK (every night), grabbed some QS meals, did a few things, and returned back for a bedtime no later than 8 PM. Our kids go to bed at home between 7:00 and 7:30 PM, and they thrive on that schedule. They're also not stroller nappers, and quite frankly, that's not something I would want for them anyway. We know we're never going to see or do everything, but we don't mind. Disney will always be there.

 

[candielips]

My only advice is try not to plan too much and go w/ your childrens moods.
We went last yr when DD was 22 months old and plan to return this fall w/ DD who will be 3 & DS who will be 10 months, so very much in the same predicament as your family.
When we were there w/ our DD we tried a few times to go back to the resort and our DD almost ALWAYS fell asleep on the way back. She also stayed up at least 2 hours past her bedtime every night. Too much excitement and stimulation!

This trip we are planning on heading back to the resort almost every afternoon and doing a later TS ADR so that we can be rejuvenated for fireworks.

 

[Christymarie222]

Thank you so much for your responses!!!! I appreciate the input. One last question (as least for now lol); what time are the fireworks? We will be going at the end of august...so I would imagine after 9pm, right? Have to wait til the sun goes down! Not sure if my youngest kiddos will make it that long... but my oldest will love them!

Thanks again!

 

[candielips]

9 or 10 usually at that time of year. The exact hrs for Sept are not out yet but here is a link.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/hours.htm