Do your kids need midday breaks at the parks?

[WendyLou]

ours have done great with no afternoon break as long as we have the stroller so the younger could nap if needed.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

We'll be traveling to Disney in May and my daughter will be 5. This is her first time at any place like Disney, and I'm not sure how tired/cranky she'll get if we're out all day. We do plan on bringing a stroller so she won't have to walk much. I would like to just "play it by ear" but I still have fastpass reservations to make so I'm trying to decide if I should try to schedule those to accommodate a break. And how long should a break be?

I have 2 kids, an 8 year old and a will be 20 month old at time of travel. We have the deluxe dining plan so that's 3 TS meals a day. We are early risers so all my breakfast adrs are before 8. I am going to try and cram my 3 FPs into our morning hours between 9 and 12ish if I can. Then we have our lunch scheduled (most of our lunch times can be tweaked in needed to accommodate the FP times). Anyways that leaves basically the afternoon to do whatever. I know my 20 month old is going to need a nap so my husband has already said he will take him back to the hotel for a nap after lunch. My older son on the other hand I will give him the option to either stay in the park and get another fast pass or go back to the hotel and swim for a bit.

If he chooses to go back to the hotel I figure we will prolly head back into the parks around 5ish. Most of our dinner ADRs are around 6. Then after dinner we can do some more stuff and the night time entertainment. Basically the way I am scheduling things is we have the time for a break if we need it and want it. I think you might want to build something into your schedule like that so u have it incase u want to use it.

 

[Happyjen27]

We did a break every day with our 5 year old twins. And again when they were 6. Each child is different, and each family has different goals. Our kids did best when we napped if we were going to be out late for dinner or fireworks. If we had an early morning the next day, we would still take a break, but, instead of napping we would swim, play games by the pool, relax, etc. That way they would go to bed on-time and we would all be well rested for the early morning the next morning.

For us, although it doesn't work for others, we were able to just make a longer, slower vacation so we weren't tempted to skip breaks or push people past their point of happily enjoying every single attraction. I read, and found, that 4 hours is the magic number of hours to be in a park before kids start to feel overtired, overstimulated and overdone. I found that true for me, too.

 

[Pesky]

Agree that every kid is different so you will have to play it by ear. I thought my DD, who was 6 when we visited DLR, might need the break but that my younger 4YO DS who had non-stop energy and had long given up naps, would be okay. Nope. It was the reverse. He was the one who needed the break away from the parks. We usually took a 2-3 hour break and that seemed about right. Now with DLR, things were much closer together and we were about a 10 minute walk away from our room. So you'll have to factor in transportation time as well.

 

[Julylady]

We divide each day into 3 parts - morning, afternoon, and evening. We spend two out of three parts of each day in a park. So, we might do rope drop and stay until noon. Then return to hotel for rest/swim. Then return to park about 5 pm until close. Or we might stay at the hotel in the morning, go to a park about noon and stay until close. You get the idea. We don't "nap" anymore, but everyone enjoys the down time at the resort. With this schedule, we no longer schedule a no park day during our trip.

 

[ABCastillo]

We just got back with our 3 yr old. He would sleep in the stroller. 1day we did go back for a break, but I find it is not worth the bus rides.

We have been very similar in the past. If we can get back to our hotel by walking or taking the monorail, then we go back for a break. But if it involves the bus, we just find a quiet place to nap at the park. Taking strollers on and off the bus multiple times a day can be a pain.

 

[clori]

When my kids were 4 and up we didn't use strollers. We went to the park for early entry every day. They never napped by age 2 at home or at Disney and never had meltdowns at Disney. We often did a sitdown meal for lunchtime at the parks. Since we went in winter we didn't swim much but if the weather cooperated would swim on our down day or leave parks early one day then go back at night. If we weren't swimming we would either eat quick service in the parks then head out to the room around 7:30. By 8ish it was showers and some down time followed by bed at 9. Some nights we did stay later for fireworks and illuminations but not every night.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

We don't take breaks. DD naps in the stroller, we typically go open to close. I'm pretty high energy and walk all day at my job, so being at the parks doesn't get to me. If we tried to take a break, DD would fall asleep in the car on the way back to the room, and when we got to the room, she'd wake up and wouldn't go back down, so I know a midday break would be a waste of time.

As for planning FP, I like to get them in by around lunch time so I can take advantage of the extra you get once you've used them up. Makes for a more relaxed afternoon. We are always able to do the attractions we want. Last trip we even managed to catch Anna and Elsa twice with a 20 minute standby.

People on these boards sometimes make it seem like this huge ordeal, but just relax and go with the flow, you'll have a great time.

 

[tzolkin]

For me taking a break has nothing to do with the age (and definitely isn't limited just to children).

Four out of the five people in my family are introverts. Contrary to what most people think that doesn't mean you're shy. It just means that you need some quiet time alone to "recharge your batteries". Our home is a quiet and calm place to escape after feeling "drained" by too much socialization (school/work/etc).

While we absolutely love Disney, the crowds are simply way to much stimulation. It's extremely loud, hot, and claustrophobic having people surrounding you constantly. If we did not take a break, we would all be completely miserable by the late afternoon. We like to go at rope drop (usually EMH), get as much done as possible, and be headed out by the time the crowds are pouring in (around 11). I know to many a midday break seems like a waste of time, but for us it's some of our most valuable time. Even just an empty bus or monorail ride in silence can be so relaxing.

Rope drop to close actually sounds like a miserable, anxiety filled, meltdown-provoking nightmare to me. Sure, we would have more (quantity) hours in the parks, but the breaks allow our family to have more quality hours in the parks.

 

[*pixie*dust*]

We go to WDW every year, sometimes more than once in a year. We no longer feel that we have to tour commando style. My DS does best when we mix things up -- some days we take a mid day break, other days we are done before dinner. When DS was 5 he definitely needed a break, there was just too much stimuli that he would hit overload by dinner time if we didn't take some sort of rest, quite time or splash in the pool.

 

[G719]

For me taking a break has nothing to do with the age (and definitely isn't limited just to children).

Four out of the five people in my family are introverts. Contrary to what most people think that doesn't mean you're shy. It just means that you need some quiet time alone to "recharge your batteries". Our home is a quiet and calm place to escape after feeling "drained" by too much socialization (school/work/etc).

While we absolutely love Disney, the crowds are simply way to much stimulation. It's extremely loud, hot, and claustrophobic having people surrounding you constantly. If we did not take a break, we would all be completely miserable by the late afternoon. We like to go at rope drop (usually EMH), get as much done as possible, and be headed out by the time the crowds are pouring in (around 11). I know to many a midday break seems like a waste of time, but for us it's some of our most valuable time. Even just an empty bus or monorail ride in silence can be so relaxing.

Rope drop to close actually sounds like a miserable, anxiety filled, meltdown-provoking nightmare to me. Sure, we would have more (quantity) hours in the parks, but the breaks allow our family to have more quality hours in the parks.

This sounds like us! Crowds stress me out. I need a break as much as the kids. We are night owls and I like to get to the park for rope drop. So the afternoon break works for us. DH naps and the kids go swimming. Time at the resort is part of the vacation for us.

 

[dprincessmom]

We are rope drop and late night people, so we are a mid day break family. We will hit rope drop and do everything we want/plan. Leaving around 1 or so. Back to resort for a "rest" typically ends with a nap for everyone, but we don't talk about that. Return to the park about 6 and stay thru EMH, then get up the next morning and do it all again. There is truly nothing more magical then the parks after dark and it is not something you typically do at home, the excitement of staying up and out late might be more fun then the rides and entertainment themselves. You can burn your FP+ before you leave at lunch and maybe pick up another one for later when you return.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

...
While we absolutely love Disney, the crowds are simply way to much stimulation. It's extremely loud, hot, and claustrophobic having people surrounding you constantly. If we did not take a break, we would all be completely miserable by the late afternoon. We like to go at rope drop (usually EMH), get as much done as possible, and be headed out by the time the crowds are pouring in (around 11). I know to many a midday break seems like a waste of time, but for us it's some of our most valuable time. Even just an empty bus or monorail ride in silence can be so relaxing.
...

ITA with this. It isn't about napping or anything like that (my kids never nap at home and rarely nap at Disney...I can remember my son napping once, in August), it's about getting away from all the stimulation of the parks. No matter where you go there are people, and music, and people, and music. It's a non-stop assault on your senses no matter where you go. Even the most uncrowded areas of the park have that background noise that is constantly coming at you. All four of us just need to get away from that.

We have gone opening to close without a break with success, but not multiple days in a row. That would be my version of hell.

 

[cnavarrete]

We plan mid-day breaks for about every other day. When the kids were younger we would take naps on some days and swim on other days. Now we swim on some days or just hang out at the resort and let the kids play with any new toys or just watch some tv. We almost always have a dinner reservation so it "forces" us to return to the parks, and we are always glad we did. It has worked well for us and keeps us out of the heat and crowds.

On days when we had a break planned and decided to skip it, there was usually a melt down around 8pm that left us thinking, "why did we think we could skip the break?!?" The most memorable was when my 6 year old son completely lost it waiting for our table outside of Akershus and then refused to meet any of the princesses. He declared he wanted to go back to Texas immediately. He did recover after he got some food in his stomach.

 

[Meghoya]

We like to take breaks every other day or so. As much for me as the kids. Crowds make me cranky!! So, we go for rope drop, stay for lunch, then maybe do a ride or two and head back to swim/nap at the hotel. Some nights we go back out after for dinner or parades with the kids, some nights with just our oldest, some nights alone (we bring the grandparents and they are happy to babysit at night).

 

[tcherjen]

We do. My youngest is 8, but still likes to go back to hotel for a break. I try and do rope drop at the parks and schedule FP for the evenings.

 

[BlueHippo]

We usually don't take a break. The times we have tried no one sleeps and it just seemed to make us all crabbier. If they are really tired they can usually fall asleep in a stroller. We also try and end some days early and just start a bit later some days.

 

[Keri]

We never really did a big back to the resort break, BUT we left the parks relatively early when they were young. We started going when they were 5 & 3 and I was pregnant. It was easier in Nov/Dec when we were going because the nighttime stuff wasn't super late. Last year we went in the summer & stayed at Boardwalk and we did go back once or twice. Usually though we "break" by having a sit down lunch or dinner. This year we did Chef Mickey early dinner & then went back and stayed until after the electrical parade & wishes. I DO recommend having a stroller, even for a 5 or 6 year old - It can be a lifesaver when the whining starts, even if they don't nap in it!

 

[DCbride]

My whole family needs a break. We have taken the boat to Wilderness area to play in the sand or playground, eat an ice cream and take the boat back. But many times we do like to go to our resort and enjoy the recreational stuff at our resort, pool, games,etc

 

[Mainemama]

Yes! Okay, I need a break! Kids will sleep in the stroller, but Mama is too big for the stroller. It can depend on the kid. We learned the hard way to take a break by 1:00, or we were in meltdown mode with my son (at 4 and 5). By 6, we mastered the meltdown prevention plan, and we have had two glorious, restful trips with a toddler and two big kids. We have gone into a park around lunch and closed it, or stayed until 3:00, but never done rope to close without a break! We have been lucky to stay on monorail, though. Can't say I would feel the same if we were busing or driving.