Early bedtimes at WDW!

[RACHELSMOM1]

Time is different while at DW. We go in the am to the park of the day, then around 2pm we head to the resort. In the room we all put on our jammies and go to bed, I schedule a wakeup call for 2 hours before our evening ADR (I plan for later ADRs knowing that we will all be rested and there will be no meltdowns because we took our mandatory nap) -- naptime is a requirement, not a request, for our kids, they have no problem napping, they are so tired from walking the parks. Yes, sometimes they fuss and claim they are not sleepy, but they are required to lay still and before you know it they are sound asleep as well as mom and dad. It is a refreshing time we learned to require after our 2nd trip. Now it is just understood that it is part of our day. Early bedtimes are not part of Disney for us, it is "go to sleep as soon as we get in from our evening activities."

 

[WantToGoNow]

In the past, they would nap in the stroller if they got tired and we never took afternoon breaks. This time they (8 and 5) will be walking. We go when the parks close early so there really is not time to take a 3-4 hour break in the afternoon. A few nights will be early in but I will not miss Illuminations, Spectromagic and Wishes because I have kids - it is MY vacation too. I'm with the pp, most rules go out the door on vacation - early up, late to bed, more junk food than normal, more toys than normal, etc.

 

[tzolkin]

My kids were 9, 4, and turning 2 when we did our first trip. We went to a park almost every day for rope drop (usually EMH) and left by about 11:30. When we got to the room we shut off the lights and EVERYONE took a nap until after 4:00. We then went to another park from about 5-8:30. We came back to the room, had baths and showers and were all in bed by 10 or so. (Their usual bedtime is 8)

Before the trip I was a bit worried about the breaks. I thought my youngest would need one, but I wasn't sure if he would sleep. And I figured the rest of us would be bored out of our minds and irritated that we were missing time in the parks. But honestly, we all enjoyed the naps. We actually had a relaxing vacation at Disney and no one had any meltdowns (adults included )

This year things worked out about the same. But our next trip won't be for two years. I'm thinking the kids may not need a nap by then, but they'll also probably not use strollers (younger ones will by 5&7) so they may be more tired from all the walking. Then again, DH & I will likely still need the break.

 

[Zookeeperof4]

Well we are amusement park fiends..LOL..so I am thinking they wont nap in the day. My 4 year old is pretty good about staying up and moving and rarely takes naps. However my 7 year old takes a long nap everyday..she will not happily function without one and she puts herself to bed by 830. Should be interesting to see how she holds up in Dis next week