Dealing with Fatigue at DW

[dwfun]

How do you deal with children getting tired at the end of the day at the park? My son and I just got back from our first day there (we're spending to thursday there and then going home), and at the end of the day he was dead tired. We had been to everything, and were starting to walk back to the car. When we were just about to leave at the exit, my son went over to a bench to sit down. I went over and asked him what was the matter. He told me he didn't feel well and was really tired. I told him he could sleep when we got back to the hotel, and that we had to get going. He said he was too tired to move. So, being the softie I am, I went over to the bench he was sitting and squatted to lift him. I picked him up (70lbs 9 year old) and carried him the rest of the way to the car.
--You can imagine how tired I was after that.
Stacey

 

[weregoingtodw]

We stop when we're tired. No one has any fun after being pushed beyond their physical limits. We're also big fans of the mid-day pool/nap break.

 

[pezpam]

I stick to DDs schedule. Sure, we miss some things, especially nighttime things, but we have a really excellent time, so it doesn't matter if we miss something. Saving the fireworks and such for a year she was able to stay up was SO worth missing them when she would have been whiny and not into them anyway. Even if that first trip had been our only one - at the time, we thought it would be - I still would have stopped when she needed to rather than pushing her to see things other people told me we HAD to see...... To this day, she'll talk for hours about the stuff she HAS seen, but barely remembers what she HASN'T seen.

 

[siouxi31]

Been there, done that! We now just take it easy. Before we're real tired we go for a swim. I even let the kids lay around in the room a bit and watch a little tube if they feel like it. Then we get back out. This is a vacation so enjoy it. Don't come home tired.

 

[SammieG]

we dont push our son at all. He is only 5, but we always make sure he has plenty of chilling out time when we are at Disney.
Having said that we go for 18 days at a time, 2 x a year, so we can afford to take our time if we want to... and I realise that others cant do that if they are on a shorter time scale.

This last trip in the 14 days we were at Disney, we only managed to do one illuminations (and then, my son was severely beginning to flag!), we also tried to do wishes one night, but he couldnt cope with it, so we left right at the beginning.

We try to keep him to his usual routine (which is hard with jet lag!!) - so bed by 8pm..
meals at regular times. We ask him what he would like to do... swimming or parks, or both...
When he wants to leave, or seems like he is getting too tired, we head out..
also keeping him well hydrated is important too..

Its tough.. but the kids come first..

 

[ninaeve]

Just returned from trip with 4 yr old and 22 mnth old. I am also 7 mnth pg.
We took breaks to sit down in the park, alternated rides with shows, kept hydrated, and took a hotel break in the late afternoon every day to rest or nap. My children had no problems with that schedule, were not cranky and irritable, and we got to see the night stuff. We did end up letting them sleep in a little more than we planned, thus, not making it first in line, but it was so worth it to all have a good time.

 

[Mom to Jordan]

We have a rule that if anyone needs a break, we take one. When DS was younger and did not know that he really needed a break, I would call for a break for him anyway. WE figure out what a break needs to be. Sometimes just a drink on a bench, sometimes a sitdown lunch and sometimes it means a rest at the resort. We balance late nights with late starts the next day. We only do EE at Mk, and we never try to do it all. It took a few trips to realize that less is more. Hope tomorrow is better. Don't forget that strollers will hold up to a small 12 year old. Sometimes that can make your day better for everyone.

Jordan's mom

 

[oogieboogie]

We always break the day into 2 or 3 chunks. Morning at the parks to lunchtime - then break at the resort, swim or nap - then dinner and evening at the parks again.

Plenty of breaks thruout the parks too. Plus when we go to Epcot, we always get a stroller, because it's the biggest walking park and the kids (7 and 4) would never make it.

 

[dis-happy]

He told me he didn't feel well and was really tired.

My ears perked up at this one----fatigue and not feeling well can also be a sign of dehydration. Make sure you guys drink enough water during the day (caffeinated sodas and drink can dehydrate you more).

Hope the rest of your visit goes well!

 

[dwfun]

We might not be able to go tomorrow, DS has a fever. Poor guy! No wonder why he was tired. I'll let you know if we end up going tomorrow.

 

[wright1baby]

AAAwww...please update us. Our thoughts are with you, hope he's feeling better real soon. A good nights rest should do him a world of good

 

[SammieG]

ahhh ... keep us posted....
hope he doesnt have sun stroke!

PD for a fast recovery whatever he has!

 

[devotedchristian]

I hope your son feels well! My son will be 3 when we go and I only plan to do the Preschooler rides and then we go home. I don't plan on returning to the parks in the evening. I plan on a nice dinner at the resort and relaxing by the pool.

At the first sign of fatigue, we go home.

 

[Disneyrsh]

Hey, my three year old daughter was doing tower of terror! I don't see why you think only the 'toddler' rides are on the list of to-do's? If he/she's tall enough, why not let them pick? My other daughter won't touch the fast rides and she wants shows.

Each kid to their own, and we always, ALWAYS, break for lunch, pool and nap in the middle of the day, usually a 4-5 hour block outside the parks where we can chill out and nap. And we all nap, which is funny since at home nobody naps. Then we've got lots of get up and go for the evening, when we pass throngs of exhausted, sunburnt vacationers staggering out of the parks around 5-6...

 

[devotedchristian]

Hey, my three year old daughter was doing tower of terror! I don't see why you think only the 'toddler' rides are on the list of to-do's? If he/she's tall enough, why not let them pick?

I see your point. I just say that now because DS is only 21 months old. He is my only child so I have a hard time picturing him at 3. If he meets the age requirements of Big Thrill rides and he wants to do them, we will let him...

However, I have been 'studying' the rides for all the parks and I just don't see him being able to ride say "Soaring" at Epcot. Otherwise, DH and I don't mind just focusing on Toddler Rides.

It's awesome your DD was able to ride Tower of Terror

 

[dwfun]

Well, we ended up going today, because DS was feeling better. I asked him if he wanted to stay home and rest, but he said he wanted to go, so I gave him some Tylenol just in case, and we left. When we got there, I carried him piggyback a lot at first so he wouldn't tire out, but then I got tired quickly, so I got him a stroller. That worked out much better because he was able to sit in the shade. We took lots of breaks, especially for water, and were able to hit the places we missed yesterday. We had a much better time today, because no one got tired. We finished at 5 o'clock, and went home, ready for another day tomorrow. Oh and by the way, I loved the animal kingdom! I had never been there before (the last time I went to DW it didn't exist), and I thought it was a lot of fun!

 

[oogieboogie]

Glad to hear everything worked out and he's feeling much better. I really think he may have had sunstroke + dehydration + overwhelmed + too much walking. All that adds up in the end and you end up crashing.

Glad to hear that you're having fun! Enjoy the rest of your trip!

 

[MommytoMJM]

However, I have been 'studying' the rides for all the parks and I just don't see him being able to ride say "Soaring" at Epcot.

My 4 yo doesn't like roller coasters or ToT and the like, but she loves Soarin'. It is a very easy smooth ride, not scary at all. Even I liked it and I get severly motion sick on most things.