how do young kids deal w/ time change

[maggie1]

Hi - we are planning our first trip to WDW with our son. he will be 5. Anyone out there from the west coast who can offer advice on dealing with the time change. We've travelled a fair bit and for some reason the 3 hrs really hits me - wondering how kids make out, 8 am entry being - gasp - 5 am. Any tips, or have you found they adjust quite well...thanks in advance.

 

[mulanrouge]

We went last October. My kids, daughter (3) and son (7) adjusted really well to the time difference (only 2 hours for us). We had to get up at 3:30am to get to the airport for our flight, with the excitement of the trip, and the plane, they did not sleep until we were driving to the resort in Orlando. They went to sleep about 9:00pm Florida time, and woke up at 6:30 (ouch!) florida time. Then you spend so much time in the parks, walking and seeing everything, that they are so tuckered out by the time you get back to your resort, they are ready to eat, maybe take a swim and go to bed again. I don't think you will find a problem with the time change (I don't know, maybe it was just my kids, but that is what I found). Good luck and have fun!!

 

[maggie1]

Thanks!

 

[wee-haggis]

We've done several trips over to Europe and I find that the kids adapt easier than the adults.
Your kids will be fine and be raring to go the first day they arrive....believe me.

 

[eritouma]

In the past we have begun to tell our kids about 1 - 2 weeks before we leave that we are switching times and run our house an hour or two difference. If it is summer or winter vacation this seems to work not too bad...

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

Make sure to drink lots of water, dehydration makes jet lag worse. One of the keys to beating jet lag is on the first day, no matter what time it is back home, stay awake until it would be bedtime where you're at ... so, if your normal bedtime is 9:30pm, when you get to WDW, stay up until 9:30pm, no naps or anything.