Did your infant/toddler sleep well being in the same room as others?

[Ducky'sMom]

Hello!

We're taking a Sept 2022 trip with my younger sister (30) and it'll be my husband, me, our daughter (13) and our son (1 turning 2 during trip). 3 adults, 1 teen, 1 toddler. I'm trying to decide the best resort/room configuration, and I was wondering if anyone who's brought their toddler has had trouble trying to put them to sleep or nap in a crib while in a standard room or studio villa? In other words, a room where other people would be around?

I'm trying to stay around or under $300/night, and I don't know if we should book 2 standard rooms to put my sister and daughter in a separate room, a family suite so we could close off a room, or some type of DVC room (which I'd like to rent points, but I'm not sure if there would be availability for 8 nights which means possibly a split stay and we're already going to UO after WDW).

 

[DisneyHaru]

I think it all depends on how well your toddler sleeps. When I went with my husband and 2 sons (1 and 2 at the time), we stayed in a studio at Jambo house, which wasn't awful, we were able to get them both to sleep, but that left my husband and I having to sit in silence (my 1 year old was an awful sleeper). While it was doable, I wouldn't do it again, I like the ability to unwind and talk with my husband without having to whisper. Thankfully they didn't wake in the middle of the night, but toddler sleep can change day to day, and you risk keeping everyone up if they can't sleep.

If you're able to swing it, I'd opt for a family suite or a room where your sister and teen can sleep separately, I think it would be a lot less stressful.

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

If you rent DVC points to get a 2 bedroom (or 2 studios at Poly) just make sure to do it at 11 months. That will help you get the resort you want before availability books up. Keep in mind studios at resorts other than Poly won’t have the option to request connecting. A 2 bedroom would be a great fit though, otherwise I would do 2 rooms at a value or moderate. Definitely valuable to have separate spaces for members of your group.

 

[stephk1981]

I have a now DS12 and DD3, first off, ad easy as disney tries to make split stays.....it is still a huge endeavor for us.. ..ro hard with a baby or toddler. Our DD will not go to sleep with someone else in the room, our family now can only do a 1 bedroom villa. So that there are 2 separate sleeping areas. It's also really nice having a full sized kitchen. If everyone would go to bed when DD did, it would probably be okay in a standard room,, but for us, DH and DD want to stay up.

 

[Ducky'sMom]

If you rent DVC points to get a 2 bedroom (or 2 studios at Poly) just make sure to do it at 11 months. That will help you get the resort you want before availability books up. Keep in mind studios at resorts other than Poly won’t have the option to request connecting. A 2 bedroom would be a great fit though, otherwise I would do 2 rooms at a value or moderate. Definitely valuable to have separate spaces for members of your group.

Can DU do that? Or would I need to use some other service?

 

[Merlin's Magic]

It never was an issue for us on vacation. Naps didn't happen in the room - they always were in a carrier or stroller. At night, everyone was exhausted.
However, especially in the toddler years, we always packed a small nightlight for the room. It was comforting if a kid woke up in the middle of the night and felt disoriented.

 

[Haley R]

We’re going in September and ended up booking a family suite at AoA. Dh and I want the extra room while Ds naps so we can do our own thing. In May we stayed at the cabins and that worked really well too. I’m not sure when/if we’ll try a standard room or studio. Seems like it might not work for us

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

Can DU do that? Or would I need to use some other service?

I know DU works with DVC Rental Store to rent points from DVC members so check with them for sure. Plus you might be able to lock in a cash reservation with them now until the 11 month window opens up in case nothing ends up being available. Nice to have a backup.

 

[sponica]

My 20 month old stroller napped and for her at that time, she needed it PITCH DARK to sleep at night, so we stuck her P&P into the dressing area at POFQ.

We'll see what things are like next year when my oldest is 5 and my youngest is 20 months...but seeing as they share a room, and both will stroller nap if absolutely tired, and I'm comfortable that we can do some later nights, I think they'll both crash when we get back at night.

Now if I was the 13 year old, I'd totally prefer to get a room with my aunt

 

[annadreamsofdisneyworld]

No problems with toddlers. We turned off all the lights at the toddlers' bedtime (around 8), which was also when my husband wanted to go to bed. I would sit in bed on my phone for another 30-60 minutes then go to sleep. With this approach we were all well rested.

 

[slosinger]

Following this post as we have a 2 and 4 year old

 

[OpieDoodle]

We run my kids legs off so by the time we get back to the resort at night they're so tired they all go down pretty easy. When my youngest was there last time we stayed at Art of Animation. His brothers slept on the pull out couch and he was in the pack in play next to it. They all sat there watching TV until they fell asleep.

 

[sponica]

Following this post as we have a 2 and 4 year old

I really think the answer lies in how your kids are normally....my kids are 10 months and almost 5 and share a room, so right now they more or less aren't bothered by noises/people in the room but they do require some level of darkness.

 

[nancipants]

It depends on how they sleep and what they’re used to. My son sleeps in his own room with blackout shades and white noise. He needs to fall asleep on his own, so we make sure we have a balcony and leave the room until he’s out. This weekend we’re staying at the Fort Wilderness cabins and will hang out in the living room until we want to go to sleep. Once asleep, as long as the room is dark and he has white noise, other people being in the room doesn’t bother him and he either sleeps through the night or puts himself back to sleep when he wakes up.

he can nap in the stroller if we don’t feel like going back to the room. We have a fan, put down the canopy, and put white noise on our phones.

 

[Ducky'sMom]

Thanks everyone for the replies! It's hard to guess how my son will be next year, given how much he's going to change (9 months currently, will turn 2 during trip). We're looking at options that give a private bedroom or split us up into us/baby and my sister/our daughter so we can minimize distractions.

 

[westie55]

My kids never slept differently being around others. One of my sons was an excellent sleeper since birth; the other is almost 4 years old and still wakes up several times a night. They sleep the same regardless of the situation. I agree that it's hard to predict how your son will be that far down the road, but one thing you can be sure of is that Disney tires kids out so he will sleep eventually!

 

[KrzyKtty101]

Both of my kids were generally great sleepers, but if we were in the hotel room with them forget about it. I would at least try to swing for the cabins at Fort wilderness, or maybe art of animation. Something where you can go into the bedroom or another area to let the kids go to sleep. It was no fun sitting outside of our hotel room for an hour like misfit hobos.

 

[Ducky'sMom]

Both of my kids were generally great sleepers, but if we were in the hotel room with them forget about it. I would at least try to swing for the cabins at Fort wilderness, or maybe art of animation. Something where you can go into the bedroom or another area to let the kids go to sleep. It was no fun sitting outside of our hotel room for an hour like misfit hobos.

I bet! Yeah, we're looking at AOA or renting points for a 1 bedroom. I figured with this trip since my sister's joining us and our daughter's a teen now that having a bit of separation may be good for everyone.

 

[Rory607]

Our kids always fell asleep in a standard room, but they were closer in age and always exhausted by bedtime. So we were putting them down at the same time. I would think your teenager would appreciate having some space and the freedom to stay up later, so I would look into separate rooms or separate bedrooms.

 

[hpsalb]

My kids never never slept as well away from home, especially at young ages. We all ended up having to go to bed whenever the youngest needed to go to bed if we stayed in a single hotel room.

Our other issue is that someone - usually the youngest - would get up much earlier than everyone else. My youngest got up between 4-5 am every day during our last Disney cruise/park trip. We’ve waited several years to return so we could recover from that trip! With separate rooms at least we can manage early mornings a little easier too.