Do your 3 year-olds nap at WDW?

[KimWDW]

My son is 3. He'll be almost 3.5 when we go to WDW in October. He naps maybe one out of every five days now. I suppose by October, his nap will be completely gone. He's not a fan of it anymore and fights it big time.

If you brought a 3-4 year old to WDW, did they take a nap? Did you have them nap in the stroller or go back to the room?

We just got back from a vacation (beach, not WDW) and he refused to nap. He wouldn't nap in the hotel because it was just too new and exciting for him. It was a nightmare because some days he really needed it and it made for cranky afternoons. I'm scared for our Disney trip now.

 

[RichieGraciemom]

dont waste time if you dont want to if he wont nap. our son was 2.5 when he stopped and daugher is now 3. they sleep in stroller. we have gone back when smaller and they napped, play it by ear, maybe the parents want a nap.

 

[Dizneydaz]

On my DD first trip in 2002, she was 2 yrs, 9 mo. and she did nap. Sometime in the room, sometimes in the stroller, and sometimes on rides (she fell asleep first thing in the a.m. on the Safari ride) We're from CA so part of the reason she napped was the time change.

On her second trip in Dec. 2003, she was just over 4 and I don't remember her napping at all. Maybe once or twice in stroller? Of course, with the parks closed earlier we spent a little more time in the room.

On our last trip, Jan. 2005, (she was 5 then) the only nap she took was upon arrival since we took a red-eye that trip, (Never again!).

She hasn't been much of a napper for the past few years and her habits (other than small adjustments for the time dif) don't really change when we go to the "World", Like most kids, she doesn't admit when she's tired-she might miss out on something.

52 days and counting

 

[Bella2000]

My daughter never napped and the only time she did was at WDW. If you build in downtime back in room perhaps if he doesn't nap at least he will be away from all of the excitement and have some downtime. We always go back in the afternoon to swim and then go to the room and nap (grown-ups too).

 

[new mom11]

My DS turned 3 in March and still takes 2 hour naps. I wish I could take all the credit, but I can't. He's in a full time daycare; it's pretty structured. Last year when we went he was 2 1/2 and we were still able to get him to take his naps most days. But he had a playyard then. Now that he's outgrown that, I'm hoping we don't have a problem. 10/6 MNSSHP is the one day I going to make sure he sleeps so he will make it until 9 (or hopefully a little later). It usually all works out. I find that the days he didn't nap we just turned in a little earlier and got a earlier start the next morning. I'm sure you know this, but it isn't always easy to "stick to the plan" when travelling with a toddler or preschooler. But that's ok. When I go with him, I'm there FOR HIM. As long as he's having fun, so am I. Although sometimes I do long for the time when DH and I could ride SM or TM together.

 

[5kwallace]

We took DS for his 1st trip at age 2.5. We would go back to the room and he would take a nap. When we went back he was 3 and still would take a nap in the room (never fell asleep in the stroller). At 3.5 he would not nap even though he really needed it. What worked for us was to leave the park and go back to the hotel for a swim. Not as good as a nap but certainly improved his mood. Have a great time.

 

[amw]

I would say stick to whatever schedule your son has at the time. My DD didn't nap on the last trip when she was three, and I know my younger who is now 3 won't. She hasn't napped since she was 2 However, I make sure to watch their "tired" level at the parks, and we generally left at 3 or 4 pm and that was it for the day. We also made every other day a rest day to relax at the pool or shop at Downtown Disney.

 

[can'twait]

Well, would you?! ;-) LOL!

My kids would not nap or sleep in a hotel when they were 3 and did not want to sit in a stroller either. Nightmare!

We bought a white noise machine, which blocks out all extraneous noises and I swear makes you sleepy. You can get them at the Sharper Image and they are SO worth it. We use it at home every day because my DH will wake up if someone slams a car door 3 blocks away, but it can be a lifesaver at a hotel where people are running around, babies are crying in the room next door, etc. It might make the difference to help her relax for a while at least.

Good luck!

 

[rt2dz]

DS4 quit napping at 2. He went to WDW at 3 and 4, and napped there. DS18 months was there last at 15 months (normally a once a day napper) and he napped twice a day. They both just napped in the stroller.

We tried going back to the hotel for breaks, and that was a bad mistake. It does not work for everyone. It caused more problems than it was worth. There was a thread on here for awhile where quite a few people were saying how afternoon breaks didn't work for them either. We just took in-park breaks (park hopping, shows, train ride in MK, ie), let the kids wake-up/nap/go to sleep on whatever schedule they were keeping at WDW, and THAT worked wonderfully.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We took our boys last year, they were 3.5 yo and 15 months old, and we went back to the room every day for a rest/nap/swim. We all napped actually, but my little guys both take 3-4 hour naps each day, and the same was true on vacation. The baby won't nap in the stroller, ever, never has; the 3.5 year old didn't have a stroller, he walked the entire time almost. Only one time did he ask for a stroller in the 10-day trip, it was after Fantasmic was over, the baby was asleep and DH was carrying him, 3.5 yo asked if he could ride in the stroller since it wasn't being used.

Naps are a must for us!

 

[Mr Poohbrain]

We're there too - fights the nap like you wouldn't believe and then conks out early (at home, daycare, and vacation).

I think they think that they're going to miss out on something.

I would suggest going back to the room for some "quiet time" to help recharge. He may not take the nap, but if he can "veg out", it might refresh all of you.

Good luck,

Mrs PB

 

[cl1067]

The first time we went to WDW, my oldest DD was almost 2 and was still taking naps. We never went back to the hotel for a nap, she just napped in the stroller whenever she wanted.

We just returned this December...my oldest DD was 8 and youngest DD was 4. The youngest still takes about a 45 min to hour nap at daycare, but I dont' make her nap at home anymore unless she is crabby. If she napped when we were there it was in the stroller and a few times on the bus My oldest even used the stroller if she needed a rest period...it really worked out great for us.

 

[Aneille]

First trip daughter was 2 and 11 months and she napped pretty much everyday if I remember. Most times in the stroller.

Second trip she was 3.5 and she didn't nap the first days of the trip but by mid-way we needed to bring her back to the hotel around 3pm for a nap or she was awful. She usually napped if we brought her back but sometimes she didn't. Just the down-time seemed to help though.

By the end of the trip she was back to falling asleep in the stroller. Which was really good for us, since if my youngest was not napping at the same time she could get some time in the park and get all the attention which she seemed to really enjoy.

 

[ksoehrlein]

Stroller naps work well for us. When we would try going back to the hotel, DD would fall asleep in the car/bus which made transferring her to the room and her bed a pain. Now that we have DS as well, we have a double stroller with reclining seats. They'll swear up and down that they're not tired, but sooner or later, one of them conks out as we're going between attractions. At that point, we slow down usually shopping quietly until everyone is awake again. It's great that we're still at the park because the minute they wake up, we can get right back into touring!

 

[Crazy4Disney06]

We took our ds to DisneyLand twice once at 18 month and once last summer at 2.5 years old, both trips he only naped if he fell asleep in the stroller which he did some , but not very much. I figure it's a vacation......It's ok if the little ones stray away from their schedule while on vaction.

 

[owensamo]

On our last trip with our DD in Feb, she was 2 months shy of 3. She'd already stopped napping pretty much completely as a daily thing. She's a pretty seasoned WDW traveller already, so while we don't use the stroller much at home, she's used to it at the parks, and she's really great about napping in it. I think on our last week-long trip, she napped every afternoon in the stroller. She loves the nighttime fireworks and parades, so if she's reluctant to nap, we give her a choice - take a nap and stay for the fun stuff, or stay awake and we go back to the hotel for her normal at-home bedtime (8). She's managed to nap every time so far.

One good thing we found about her naps is it gave us an opportunity to park her somewhere cool (Electric Umbrella with some sodas, the tables outside El Pirate y El Perrico, a bench in the shade, etc) and just sit and enjoy the parks and chat and peoplewatch. It gave us an opportunity to really relax and enjoy the fact that we were *in* one of the happiest places on earth.

We're going again in less than 2 weeks and staying off-site. Since we won't have easy access to the hotel, we'll definately be staying in the park and napping in the stroller. Of course, being so hot, maybe we'll hop over to a nearby resort and wander around that and nap in relative air-conditioned comfort. Hmm...

Mur!

 

[MelodyMack]

I got SOOOOOO lucky! My DD had just turned 4 before we went and she hadn't been in a stroller for over a year. To my relief she loved riding in her stroller!

Every afternoon when I could see her starting to "crash" I would recline that stroller all the way back and pull over to a quiet area and turn her stroller so that she could not people watch. I explained that she had to lay still for 15 minutes with her head down and then she could get up. Of course she argued, but I held firm, and eventually she would lay her head back and within three minutes everytime she was O U T!

I got a two+ hour nap from her every day (except the last one, but I didn't mind). It was a nice break and I could take my time and see things I wanted to check out. More importantly, it allowed us to stay in the parks all day. Without that nap in the stroller I would have taken her back to the room for some more regimented nap period.

Every kid is different - GOOD LUCK!
Mel

 

[JennaTX]

Hi, we went this summer with DS 2 1/2 and DD almost 6. DS still takes naps, but DD quit taking them 3 years ago. We got to the parks at opening each day and went back and took a nap around 1:00 every day. We all did this, we would come back to the resort, take a quick cool shower, throw on tshirts, close the drapes and sleep for about 1 - 2 hours. Our incentive for the kids was if they napped we would go swimming in the pool before going back to the parks. We didn't really need the incentive, we were all so tired and ready for a nap. This also insured very few "terrible two's" meltdowns for us!

Hope you have a great trip!!!