Do you go back to the resort for naps?

[caracap]

or do your kids take naps in the stroller? The 1st year we went with my son he napped in the stroller, and it was great! He was 11 months. The second year we had to go back for him at age 2.2, but my DD who was 8 months at the time never would take a nap in the room, so that was a pain. Now this year my son will be 3.5, DD 2.2, and DD 11 months. I really hope they all take an afternoon nap in the room. Any suggestions on how to get them to?

I would hate to spend all that time traveling back from the parks to not have them nap.

 

[Ariel8676]

We always take an afternoon break back at the resort...sometimes they nap sometimes we just take some time to relax or swim.
I think its so important to take some time out of the day..there is so much to do and see, but if you are all hot and tired and cranky, then that is all you are going to rememeber.
We get out early and get to the parks at opening, stay until lunch..either eat at the park or go back and eat at the resort..then head back out around dinner time.

 

[JamesMom]

We plan on taking the kid back to the resort after lunch. My kids NEVER slept in the stroller and don't anticipate they'll start in Disney but then again, we are never out and about around nap time so draw your own conclusions

 

[Stephres]

My kids are 7 and 5 and we still go back to the resort for naps. They don't always sleep but we always have them lie down for a half an hour at least before we hit the pool. I think I might need it more than them!

 

[FoundMyPrince]

We had planned to go back to the resort for a nap, but the kids didn't want to (go figure). They were great; DD5, DS 3 both slept in strollers. On our most recent trip DD6, DS4, DD1; DD1 slept in the stroller and the older two just kept going! We left for the parks around 9:30a.m. and would return at closing each day.

I understand the convenience of going back to the resort for a nap, but we take the bus transportation; going back to the resort room would take about 40 minutes! Basically a round trip from the park, resort and back to the park would be a good nap!

 

[HelenePA]

We plan on taking the kid back to the resort after lunch. My kids NEVER slept in the stroller and don't anticipate they'll start in Disney but then again, we are never out and about around nap time so draw your own conclusions

I thought the same thing!! I was VERY wrong! I have many pics of my almost 2 yr old (he'll be 2 on the 24th) napping in his stroller each day we were at disney! I had "napped" time planned each day... but we'd be walking and just notice he was sleeping.. It was WONDERFUL!! The girls got to do big girl stuff with daddy and I got to sit

 

[eliza61]

or do your kids take naps in the stroller? The 1st year we went with my son he napped in the stroller, and it was great! He was 11 months. The second year we had to go back for him at age 2.2, but my DD who was 8 months at the time never would take a nap in the room, so that was a pain. Now this year my son will be 3.5, DD 2.2, and DD 11 months. I really hope they all take an afternoon nap in the room. Any suggestions on how to get them to?

I would hate to spend all that time traveling back from the parks to not have them nap.

We always go back. Even if they don't nap it's still nice to have the down time relaxing or at the pool.

 

[ashleypmo]

We would always switch parks around nap time. They would usually fall sound asleep the minute the bus took off, and have a good 1/2 hour nap in transit, then they'd stay asleep while we carried them to into the park and to the stroller rental station. Oftentimes they'd be so tired they would continue sleeping once we buckled them into the new stroller!

Our first trip w DD, who was 3 at the time, we skipped nap on the last day at the park. It happened to be the night we were going to Fantasmic. She fell sound asleep--read COMATOSE-- waiting in line. We tried bouncing her, slapping her cheeks (not too hard), blowing in her face, putting ice on her neck, EVERYTHING, and she would not wake up. After the show I told DH "We'd better head to the gift shop and buy her mucho stuff, because she is going to be really upset that she slept through Fantasmic, let alone the last night at WDW. She woke up as we approached the stroller return. "Are we at the Micky show, Mommy?" "Ummmm... Here honey, have a Minnie Mouse toy!" "Want an enormous lollipop?" Not a pleasant experience. We don't skip naps at Disney any more.

 

[JenEeyore]

My DS is now 5, but has been going to WDW since he was 10 months old. Occasionally we would go back for naps, but only if it was the park close to our resort (we are DVC members and usually stay at BCV or BWV). Otherwise, he would fall asleep in the stroller, or when he was smaller I would bring a front pack or a sling and would find a quiet corner somewhere and rock him to sleep and then we would do low key things while he slept. Now I admit, my kid could sleep in pretty loud situations, and I know many kids can't, but it worked for us. We also would sometimes go to the baby care stations where it was quieter for just some down time in AC. Do what works for your family. It does take a chunk out of your day to go back to the resort, but if it means a much happier day for the whole family to not have a tired and crabby child (or parent for that matter) then it is worth it. Most days there are Extra Magic Hours if you are staying at WDW so your park day can be extended that way if you like. Just enjoy!! However you need to schedule yourself.

Jen a.k.a. Noah's mom

 

[maxtomsmom]

My 2 cents - Play it by ear. Let your kids be the judge within reason. If they are cranky, go back for a short rest. It wouldn't be fun anyway. For us, it depended upon our day. Both times we went with our kids we went for 7 days and then 10 days. On the longer days we did nap or at least rested. Most days my older son did not nap, but my younger one did nap around 4:00 each time. We would generally leave the park by 3:00 and be settled in bed by 4. To get my younger son to nap, we had a no talking, no tv, no lights rule. No one talked or did anything for 20 minutes. One of us adults chose to be the time keeper and deal with the kids while the other one was free to nap or rest. Nap time lasted for 45 minutes. We then headed back or at dinner at the hotel. Although we headed back later, it worked out because we were able to stay longer at the parks. If we stayed out really late for a special event like MVMCP abd MNSSHP we definitely took naps then slept in the next morning. The next day we would all sleep in until 9 or 10:00 then head to the parks after lunch usually around 12:00. We did not nap on our late start just came back to the hotel at a reasonable hour like 7:00 to get us ready for the next day. We also had short days and spent time in DTD and at the pool. This helped to break up our days and have ample time to just sit and relax.

 

[cccm]

We went back last year and it was great. DD was 8 at the time. We would go back, swim for 1 hour, sleep for 1 hour and then we would shower and put on fresh clothes. We would head back to the parks around dinner time. This worked very well for us.

Plan on doing it once or twice this coming trip.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

sometimes it all depends on the kids

 

[rmjkharrisfam]

Nope - we never did. With the bus ride back to ASMu it was easier to find a cool place to sit. DD is 2 and fell asleep in her stroller everyday. DS is 4 and used this time to get to go on the "big kid" rides with Daddy. This was my time to relax and people watch in the parks.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

My two older ones are well past nap time, but my littlest guy does nap-he does it in the stroller. We don't do any crazy touring (IMO). We are there at the parks for opening and stay until around 2-3pm, then we head back to the resort where DH usually takes the kids to the pool and I am doing laundry, cleaning up or just chilling out in silence! When they all come back from the pool, we shower, dress and then go to dinner and hit a park afterwards until closing. Even with being back at the resort later in the day, nobody ever naps. When I've tried to make them take naps, it never works.

 

[monorailsilver]

We go back for naps too (even pre-kids).

As adults we like to relax a bit, cool down, swim & shower. Plus do laundry.

The first time I took my dd she was 15 months old. She fell asleep in her crib & dh & I sat out on the patio at the Poly (we dead bolted the front door) & we took turns leaving.

When we went in 2005, both my kids took naps in the room (they were 22 months & 4 ½-she didn't nap the first day & fell asleep at 6 in Epcot for an hour). Everyone was just told to be quiet & we all fell asleep.

I can tell you that our kids after their naps were good to go & not cranky like many other kids we ran into (they may have had naps, who knows?). Oh & us adults, aka dh was not cranky either!

 

[lcrane]

My two kids are 15 and 13 and guess what we go back and nap or swim, we are just as tired as they are and we feel better afterwards. One time my DH took a nap the 2 kids went swiming and I took a bath and read a book. It felt good to leave the parks for a little while each day and just to unwind for a couple of hours, we then would go and have dinner then go back to the park that was having late hours. We did this everyday of our trip and we plan on doing this in the furture.

Lisa

 

[Amirah95]

Our DD never needed a break nor did she ever turn cranky after being in the parks all day, thankfully (she's 11 years old now). I fear that we'll have to return to the resort for mid day breaks when we go next May. I hope this baby comes out a commando like the rest of us. *crossing my fingers*

 

[tlelliott]

I hope to schedule time back at the hotel to unwind...but with our ADRs, not exactly sure how it will all play out, we are going in a few more months.

Back in May 2006 we went to Disneyland, DD 5, DS 3, and we did go back to the hotel mid afternoon, no one ever took 'naps', but we were able to watch some tv in the air condition and unwind....I'm glad we did this, DH and I also needed it

Our last day there, the kids actually did fall asleep in the strollers at the parks....amazingly.... DH and I sat around on the benches and shopped while they slept at the park.

 

[kidtink]

What do they do at home? If they still take pretty hefty duty naps mid-day at home than they will definately need them at Disney World. If they are the type that can easily sleep in the car while your running errands then likewise they can probably get by with a cat nap in the stroller.

After three years of being in charge of a tour group of middle schoolers running them ragged from dawn until dusk I was sure I would resent my kids for having to go back to the hotel for a nap, but I enjoyed the afternoon much more because of the mid day break. I wasn't jumping on ho-hum rides as an excuse to sit down in air conditioning... I was experiencing things because I truly like them (what a concept).

 

[Juliet25]

or do your kids take naps in the stroller? The 1st year we went with my son he napped in the stroller, and it was great! He was 11 months. The second year we had to go back for him at age 2.2, but my DD who was 8 months at the time never would take a nap in the room, so that was a pain. Now this year my son will be 3.5, DD 2.2, and DD 11 months. I really hope they all take an afternoon nap in the room. Any suggestions on how to get them to?

I would hate to spend all that time traveling back from the parks to not have them nap.

My DD4 is *not* a napper at all, but she took a nap every day of our trip. All the "go-go-go" really catches up with them at this age. I was shocked by how much sleep she got on vacation! Sleep's always been an issue for her, but the pixie dust in the air worked its magic on her.