How Do You Handle Sharing a Room with Small Children?

[chrisw127]

How do you all handle sharing a room with small kids or do you always go with the suite option. Our kids go to bed really early, so I'm thinking that we'll always go with a suite (or rent a house) but that cuts out a lot of resorts that I would really like to stay at. Does it get easier to share a room when they're older?

 

[EnchantedPrincess]

Our kids are 4 and 2, and go to bed early as well..and we stayed at Contemporary during our last trip. We just stayed up while our kids were already asleep but we do not watch TV. We brought our laptop with us, so one of us use the laptop and the other usually read. DS was in a pack n play, and dd was in one of the bed, so we just keep one light on really dim....while this arrangement might not work for every family, but we don't mind not getting to watch tv, or having to tip toe around, and keeping the lights dim. It worked really well for us.

 

[kim_o]

I still have young children and because of that stay at the Doubleetree suites right near DTD. As they get older, I'm sure the suites won't be necessary anymore - thus opening up a range of options.

 

[mommy-on-the-move]

We have 4 (who will be 18months, 4, 5 and 10 when we travel) and when we travel we share a room with them, I'm fortunate that if tired they can sleep pretty much anywhere- with lights on or off, through any noise (I put it down to not having schedule nap/bedtimes when tiny- we're a family constantly on the go so v.little set routine/ritual surrounding sleep) they all settle to sleep pretty easily too which is a big bonus.

This trip as ASmo only had rooms for 4 (and the party we're with booked our whole group there) we're putting 2 of our kids in with my parents so it's lucky they settle like they do.

I am guessing after days at the park they'll be out sound anyway.

 

[jodifla]

Honestly, this is why we bought DVC!

We have occasionally shared a single room with our DS, and most of the time, it worked out OK.

But a true vacation for us is being able to put the child to bed, and enjoy some nice time as a couple -- without feeling the need to sit in the dark and be quiet.

 

[ChelleinNC]

Disney is the only place that I will "share" a room with my kids, and that was especially true when they were little. We found that by the time we got back to the room after a full day at the parks, they were ready to sleep (and we weren't far behind ) We always stay deluxe, one kid on the daybed and the other on the real bed. DH and I would sit on the balcony for a little while and then watch TV.

Now that they're older (14 & 10) we own DVC and stay in a 1br, so that everyone can have some space

 

[pha1226]

When our kids were smaller, we would bring reading lights to read when our kids fell asleep. Usually we were so tired that we just went to bed when they did. Then we were all well rested to get an early start on the parks the next day.

 

[Harlie]

We are driving and its 24 hours worth of driving too. We figured we would need rest. We have shared rooms with our children and end up sharing the bed with the younger boy ds3 so the older two can sleep as our younger one likes to "pet" and hold hands and play with hair of whoever is in bed with and since daddy has not hair it is usually mommy, and mommy thinks its cute but can not sleep and mommy gets cranky fast without sleep lol!

We decided to splurge on the a two bedroom suite this time because we are vacationing for two weeks and that is too long to go with very little sleep especailly in a park.

The perk to this is once the kids are down and out. we can have some privacy! Yay privacy!

 

[budbeerlady]

We do 1 room with DD. At AKL we went on the balcony for a before bed glass of wine and some watching.

At Pop we put our chairs outside in front of the door and talked while DD went to sleep. (We were the people who got crazy looks sitting on the cement in chairs looking at the lake. We could talk about the next day, relax and have some down time. )We put on the noise machine part of the alarm clock, stuck our heads in a couple of times so she saw we were really only on the other side of the door and she was out.

 

[ChrisAlli]

we've stayed in the cabins at FW and put the kids to bed in the bedroom and we could sit in the living room and watch TV or out on the deck. It was great.

 

[bear_mom]

Our kids were 4 and 6 when we went and they each had a music player - the 4 yr old had a Fisher Price FP3 player and the older one Disney Stix. They put those on and listened to music and were out in 5 min. Dh and I could then watch TV without it bothering them.

Emily

 

[stone0990]

Well, I admit, I am selfish with my time with DH!! We don't get much alone time, and he is in sales and travels ALOT, and I am a SAHM so our time alone is precious!! When we go on vacation it is not only our time together as a family (VERY important) but also time for us to "reconnect"!!

The first time we went to Disney we stayed at the Holiday Inn Family Suites (now Nick Hotel) and it was GREAT. We only had 2 kids at the time (ages 4 and 7) We had a 2 BR..kids had their own tv and bunk beds, DH and I had our own BR and there was a living area. It only took about 10 minutes to get to the parks so we took those breaks..from the parks and each other!!!

The last 3 times we went (with 3 kids...then 4 kids...then 5 kids) we now rent a house (4 BR) in Emerald Park! It is GREAT!! There is room to put the baby in a room in a crib (FULL SIZE and provided at the house) and there are twin beds in one room (perfect for the 4 and 6 year old) Our 15 year old daughter gets her own room and own BATHROOM!!!, and DS (11) gets the pull out sofa (VERY comfy!!) And we get our own room and own bathroom!! And we ALWAYS take afternoon breaks and are back at the house within 10 min (on heavy traffic days) **Plus our own pool, washer and dryer and garage!) **We can even see fireworks on some nights..not sure if it is Illuminations or Wishes from the pool area***

I realize we give up some of the "MAGIC"...but with 5 kids, I can't imagine being able to afford Disney without making a few concessions!! I would rather have Disney from a distance...than NO DISNEY at all!! I figure if we stayed on property we would have to do 2 rooms at POP..which is actually FURTHER away than the gated community we stay in!!

If we still just had the 2 older kids (11 and 15) we would probably stay on property as it is just easier to adjust schedules the older you get..rather than adjust to a toddlers schedule!!

I know some would never trade staying on property and I totally respect that, but for us, off property works best..at least for now!!

Alicia

 

[sahm1000]

Last April we went and stayed at Beach Club Villas. We had a two bedroom villa that was fantastic! The master bedroom had a king size bed and an attached bathroom. The second bedroom had a queen size bed and a pullout sofa with a queen size bed. Our girls were 1 1/2 and 3 1/2 at the time. We are very structured about bed and nap time and they are used to things being very quiet and dark. This worked out wonderful and we were all able to get a good night's rest.

We may be going in February and if we do we are staying at the Doubletree Suites in DTD. We will have a seperate bedroom from the tv area so hopefully that will work out too.

Over Christmas we stayed at my parents' house and my girls (now 2 and 4) had to share a bed in their own room. This was the first time they had ever shared a bed and although they got to sleep okay, they woke up very early. We compensated by longer naps.

Once they get older I think just a regular hotel room will be fine but in the meantime we need seperate living space from sleep space.

 

[stepnut]

We did it twice when our kids were about 5 & 7, and thier normal bedtime was 8pm, even on vacation. It was horrible. The first night, we put them in the same bed, while me and husband sat in the dark waiting for them to go to sleep. That was ridiculous...same bed? What were we thinking? We split them apart between the two beds, and me & husband sat in the dark waiting for them to go to sleep. That was almost as ridiculous. When we thought they were asleep, we turned on the TV with the lowest volume possible, but the light woke them up. SO we all went to bed, me with my daughter, and husband with my son. The only ones who got any sleep were the kids. Husband & I were kicked and poked all night.

For another trip (not to WDW) we got a hotel room that had a bunk bed in a section of the room separated by a tall wall. That was marginally better, but the light from the TV still kept them awake. Kids were till only 5&7.

Finally, for our 1st WDW trip last summer, I priced two rooms in a Value, or a condo-like place in the moderates, and about choked on the costs. We ended up going to VRBO and renting 2br condo for about half the cost.

We did the same thing this past trip, only it was a 3br condo (each child had thier own bedroom & TV). I'll hesitate to do it any other way in the future! It was ideal!!!!!!!!!! Kids still are only 7 & 8.5, and their bedtime is still only 8:30, far earlier than mine.

Condos...the way to go!!!

 

[shirleyb]

I guess I was lucky. My kids could sleep through anything, including the TV. We still read/watched TV after they fell asleep, although we probably didn't stay up too much later.

 

[JoanneNC]

We do 1 room with DD. At AKL we went on the balcony for a before bed glass of wine and some watching.

This is our game plan

 

[jazzmine]

We've been fortunate because the past couple of vacations, we went with family. Went on a cruise with my family and we had rooms next to each other so after we would put DS to sleep, someone would hang out in the other room and have the monitor on so we could hear him. It wasn't easy in the mornings though when he'd wake up and see us!

When we go to Disney, we use my in-laws timeshare that they have in the area. Last time he was in the room with us but the closet was so big (walk-in) that we had his crib in there! This time around it will be just us at the timeshare so he'll have his own room.

In our experience, it's really difficult when they are young to share with them unless it is what they are used to at home.

 

[Flea]

I've been wondering about this too, we will be sharing a room with my sister, my 2 dd's and my DH -I'm hoping that things will work out - I don't think we can afford a suite as we are travelling from New Zealand so have that extra cost.

We will be away for 3 weeks though (2 weeks in California 1 week in Hawaii) so it might be a bit too much invasion of privacy.....

Maybe I do need to rethink the sleeping situation.

 

[hlbrink]

We have stayed in a hotel room with our two kids exactly twice and it was horrible both times. The kids usually sleep great but being in the same room had them all wound up and they were awake later than usual. Then they woke up extra early because once one person roused, we all had to wake up. I couldn't sleep at all either time and we now try to avoid traditional hotels at all costs.

We are renting a 3 BR townhome in Windsor Hills for our May vacation, and try to only go places where we can rent a condo/townhome or stay with family (at least until the kids are a bit older). We stayed in a condo last year in Destin and it worked out great

I know it will get better when they get older, but it just isn't worth it to us now. I'm sure we'll go back to staying on WDW property in the future.

 

[jhnsnfamily]

We've done about every combination possible. I recall when our oldest was 20 months old (before his little brother came along) and we went to Myrtle Beach. We took the crib mattress with us and put it in the floor of our bedroom in the corner with a toddler bed railing. Worked out great ... until he woke up in the middle of the night and was wandering around the bedroom. I also not so fondly recall sharing a hotel room with two double beds at an indoor water park 2 years ago. The boys were 7 and 5 then. Like someone else said, the boys slept, and DH and I tossed and turned ALL ... NIGHT ... LONG. We were very cranky the next day.

Finally, in 2006 we went to MB again, but this time, we got the boys their own room with their own bathroom (family trip/7br/7bath house on the beach). IT WAS HEAVEN! They had their toys, playstation, and mess ALL IN ANOTHER ROOM! And DH and I had our own space ... with a jacuzzi tub!

Finally, last Spring Break we went on a cruise. It was actually CHEAPER for us two book to side-by-side cabins than for all four of us to cram into one cabin! Plus we got 2 bathrooms out of the deal! So, DH and 1 son in one, and myself and the other DS in the other. We didn't get to share a bed, but I can tell you we took advantage of the kids programs ...

So, if you can swing it, give them their own space ... bring a baby monitor if you need to ... family together time is great... but there's that old saying, "too much of a good thing is not always a good thing!"