Does everyone really go back to the hotel mid day?

[holly7347]

Hi all,
I keep seeing posts and even the guide books and TV shows suggest going back to the room mid-day to nap, rest, swim etc. Does everyone really do that? We will be at WDW 7 days with myself, DH, a 5 1/2 and a 3 1/2 year old DD's. My youngest hasn't napped since she was 2. I was just hoping that we could plan TS meals for lunch to get inside out of the heat and rest then. As well as doing more shows or longer sit down rides when we needed a break. Am I nuts to think we can do this without planning a trip back to the hotel each afternoon. I just keep thinking there is so much we want to do and so little time I just don't want to waste time going back to the hotel. By the way we will be there in early October so most of the parks are closing around 6 or 7pm so I'm hoping that will make a difference since it isn't like I'm keeping the kids running around from attraction to attraction until 11pm.

 

[Aliceacc]

We're going in August, so I think that matters a lot-- it will be HOT and HUMID!!

Also, my kids would be entirely happy with any vacation that involved a pool, so pool time is vital to their idea of a vacation.

You know your kids best. But if I want the happy, fun, excited kids I know and love (and not the whiny complaining imposters who sometimes inhabit their bodies) we're planning on that daily break.

 

[mommy2aprincess4]

We usually go in January and we generally do a character lunch to sit down and rest as you said and then stay at the park a few more hours and head back to the hotel around 6 or 7 (my daughter 4 is scared of the noise from the fireworks so we never stay for them)

I am taking her alone in June and will probably head to the parks in the morning and leave in the late afternoon.

 

[rt2dz]

We don't do it. I have been going to WDW for years (decades) without doing it. In 2005 I was pregnant, and since everyone swears you should anyhow, we decided we would do it. BIG mistake.

My kids were never ready to leave when leaving would have been appropriate. They would have melt downs. Once we go them there, we had the same thing happen in reverse. By the time we did get back to the parks, it was worthless.

DH & I decided after 2 or 3 days, forget it. Guess what? We were back to the wonderful, well behaved kids we always had before. It's a one-size-fits-all advice, and like one-size-fits-all clothing, it doesn't fit everyone.

There used to be, and may still be, a couple of threads on the tips board about the biggest mistakes and advice you found useless and every couple of pages, people would list leaving the parks for breaks. Everyone had different reasons why. The big thing is, most who do stay in the parks, take in-park breaks. A TS meal, a long(er) show, indoor rides, a ride around the parks in the RR, a park switch, etc. It gave the change of pace without the problems some people have with leaving the parks.

My advice is don't think you have to go back to the hotel for a break. It may work for you or it may not. Try it both ways and see what does work for you and be flexible; if something stops working, try something else.

 

[dougsmom98]

We do not go back for a midday break most of the time. The exception to that was our June trip. It was so hot, humid and miserable that we had no choice but to go back and swim, shower, and change our clothes. It the weather cooperates with you, then I would not bother to go back for a nap. If it is humid, you may not have a choice. I have never been in October so I am not sure what the humidity is like.

 

[stopher1]

We've never done it. We always hear about it as one of "the things to do" - but the transportation tends to take too long. DW only wants to get back on the busses or monorail if we're park hopping.

 

[Hawk]

We do, but we are normally there 16-18 days at least twice a year. We get to the parks at rope drop and have most of the major rides done before noon. It may not be necessary if your kids are older and you will be leaving late afternoon or early evening or if you are just enjoying a few shows and an in park meal. If we were staying less than 10 days we might spend longer lengths of time in the parks. Eight hours is a long time for small children, toddlers or infants - even at the Happiest Place On Earth!

Tim/Hawk

 

[donac]

We have always done it. It breaks up the day. But we also tend to go very early in the day to the parks. We usually go in Aug and with the hot weather it is great to swim or take a shower and change clothes.

 

[las3888]

We always do. DS just wears down...he is just over 3. We have been doing this since he was 8.5 mos, so we are in the routine of leaving for a nap and a swim. It definitely is a must when it's hot at least for us.

The bummer is that the transportation does pretty much eat about an hour or two out of your day just to go to your room and then make it back. It all depends on where you are staying and what park you are visiting though.

When DS is not napping any longer, we will still probably go back for a swim. right now we have to really squeeze it in and I am really looking forward to the time when we can have a lot of leisure time at the pool.

You could try doing it either way and see how it works out....maybe every other day take a break/swim or maybe every 3rd day, depending on how long you're there for???

 

[MinnieForMe]

We don't. It always seems like such a hassle if you're not staying on the monorail route. We find that an hour in an a/c character meal gets us rested up. Our toddler always sleeps in the stroller on vacation and my older two are fine without naps. That being said, we never last later than 6 pm.

This is the first year we are hoping to see fireworks!

 

[DNSYFRK]

we do it on occasion, especially if we are going to a nicer TS restaurant so we can shower and change and take a short nap, we usually only do it if we are going to enjoy EMH that night so it makes it less time restrictive.

 

[jessica52877]

We do not go back to the room, but mainly because the second I sit DS5 in his carseat he is out. He does not stay sleeping once stopped though, so no way to get him from the car to hotel room and no way he will go back to sleep. He will always either nap in the stroller or we'll sit on a bench and take a nap. I cannot imagine running all day but taking it easy is a different story. We also have our own car always. I don't think I would want to wait for buses.

 

[blessedby3]

We never go back midday for a break. We also go in the off season when it is cooler. The only time that we did go back midday was on our April trip in 2003. It was unusually hot and very humid and we just couldnt take the heat. DH actually went back with the younger two and my oldest DD and I stayed in the MK. We were scurrying around trying to find an inside ride and got in line at the HM. The line was very long and by the time we got inside we were go grateful for the bit of air. As soon as we got off we headed straight for the CR hotel to meet up with DH and we all swam to cool off. That is the last time I will go when there is any possibility of it being hot and humid. Now we go in Nov-March. I hate the heat!!
We have been in Oct and it can be quite hot then too. If the parks are closing at 6 or 7 I would definately try and stay in them and not go back. I agree with the previous posters that it is time consuming to go back.

 

[thegrimdwarf]

We will definitely take a break from the park each day.

There's 4 kids in our party, ages 4 (x2), 2.5 and 18 mos when we travel.. We're all early risers, so more than likely we'll be there for rope-drop every morning. We'll stay until just before or just after lunch (depending on if we eat in the parks), go back to the hotel to rest and/or swim. Then we'll do a different park in the afternoon until it closes or the kids are out of steam, whichever comes first. That's the way my parents always did it when I was a kid, and I'm traveling with my brother and his family, so it just seems like 'the way to do it' for us.

I don't think you're necessarily crazy for thinking you won't need to take a break, but I do think it would be wise to keep it in the back of your head as a possibly necessary evil. Disney is a whole lot of stimulation, and sometimes you just need to step away for a bit in order to enjoy it. Though I can certainly see why it would seem like a crazy idea - there's so much to see, and you've paid a lot of money for limited access - so leaving in the middle of the day is sorta like throwing money away.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[Nanu57v]

My DD is younger than yours (2.5 on our last trip) and we found it quite necessary. As an infant we didn't, because she couldn't care less if she napped in her stroller, but this last trip we tried to skip the pm break and she would have melt downs about 4 or 5 each night. We quickly revised to include the PM break and all was well. You could try skipping the hotel break, and you'll know quite clearly if it works or not.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

We always take a break. Of course we go in July and stay for two weeks. We always get to the park by rope drop (and do AM EMH at MK). By 12:00 or 1:00 we are ready for lunch and definitely a swim/nap break. My kids would be devestated if we didn't go back and swim every day.

Of course in the summer the parks are open late so we go back for dinner and to watch the parade and/or fireworks.

We've been doing it this way since 2003 when the kids were 2, 4 and 5 and it works for us.

 

[all4fun]

We usually don't because when ds was younger he was a great stroller napper and the times we did try to take a break at the hotel he usually fell asleep on the way there and woke up when we got there which made the whole ordeal of leaving the park totally pointless. His nap time in the stroller was also a perfect time for dh and I to ride some of the bigger rides (child swap) since he was asleep anyway. If your 5yr old is big enough to ride some rides your 3yr old is still to small for then you might also find this to be true as well (assuming your 3yr old does take a nap in the park - you never know). Since the days are shorter I think your plan sounds reasonable but like a pp said it never hurts to keep it in the back of your head as a possibility. We just got back and we had a 10 & 14yr old with us who loved to swim so on the days the weather was nice we did head back to our resort (BWV) for a swim break (our 4yr old also really appreciated this since he's recently been taking some swim lessons). We also had some early mornings and late evening opportunities so it worked out pretty well. We would have missed a lot in the parks though if they were closing at 7pm every night, especially since the parks were fairly crowded as it was. Just some thoughts. hth!

 

[disneymomof2boyz]

We most definently go back!! Our boys are toddler/pre-school age, and they still nap. So we would be doing our whole family a huge disservice by skipping our naps. The key word here is OUR naps!!lol All of us nap, and we are happy to do so. It makes us feel like we're really on vacation. Disney can be tiring if we don't stop to mellow and re-group. We really enjoy our naps, and DH and I are taking advantage of this b/c we know that as each year goes by our naping days are growing shorter and shorter. I doubt that as 7 or 8 yr olds, they'd want to stop and nap.

 

[Princess_Michelle]

......

 

[StephMK]

OP - your kids sound like mine, both of my younger ones gave up naps really early. We'd heard the mid-day break thing too but when we went early Nov when ours were 9, 4 & 2.5, it was very hot that yr (80-90) while there - we still didn't go back. We were not commando riders so we just took our time during the day, picked shows or inside rides, got snacks, etc. We didn't stay out late 8ish maybe and a few times the kids just napped in the stroller instead. It worked great because by bedtime, it didn't take long for them to fall asleep.

We did take our big, bulky Duoglider & despite the hassle on the bus, it was sooo handy. For stuff &/or kids during the day. Have a great trip!!