How late in the parks with little ones?

[emma'smom]

I have a dd1 and a dd3. I am wondering how late we'll really be able to stay in the parks before they'll be too tired- even if we take a mid-afternoon break back at the resort. For example, I notice that Wishes doesn't start until 10pm. Is it realistic to think they'll make it this long after a long day of park activity?

How long have your little ones lasted (even with a break in the middle of the day)?

 

[DisneyPhD]

That really depend on your kids more then anything else.

My 4 year old doesn't take naps anymore and goes to bed at home at 10:00 at night. However many nights at WDW she falls alseep while in the stroller and misses the night parade. The baby takes a nap during the day, and her bed time at home is 8:00. Some nights if we we still were in the park at 10:00 she was wide away.

If there was a lot of activiy and fun thing they both were pretty happy and stayed up. When we sat down to wait for something like fireworks, they often feel alseep.

Keep in mind if you stay until closing getting home on the bus can be hard with the kids.

However they both ALWAYS feel alseep on the way home. We did have a car this trip (we don't always) and did find it was much eaiser to go home with the car and them both safe asleep in the car seats then us trying to hold them, the double stroller and all our stuff on a very crowded bus (often standing up.)

If we went to one park in the AM and one in the PM we would often take the bus in the morning, but drive in the eveing, excpet to MK. Even then I think the boat to TTC might be better then waiting 30 min while 5 other busses come and go and the line is so long (if you stay to closing.)

We did find that when the kids were alseep when we reached the room it was much easier then trying to get them to fall alseep in the room. They would get second wind then and bounch off the walls!

If you want to view MK fireworks from a distance (good with kids sometimes) the beach from Poly can be a great place.

 

[missymagic]

The best thing to do is plan for it but be realistic if one of the children are getting tired to the point of needing a bed. My girls were able to stay up for fireworks after an afternoon nap. But they always fell asleep after foreworks on the way back to the room and continued sleeping while I changed them. This would never have happened at home. Every child is different. Maybe plan for the firworks early on in the trip before they are worn out tired.

 

[Del]

If Wishes is at 9 we can make it....if not ....we are out of there. They either have fallen asleep or about to meltdown even if they have napped. It's just too much for my kids. I also don't want them to be crankpots the next day. We go off schedule a bit but not crazy off schedule....otherwise we all suffer and it's not a fun vacation.

Del

 

[joesgirl]

My first post!!

We just got back a week and a half ago. My dd, who is 2 1/2, after an afternoon nap was able to stay awake until after the 9:00 Wishes show.

 

[Kahana-ri]

My DS, almost two just feel asleep in the stroller. He stayed up long enough to cry during the fireworks and then he dozed off to a solid slumber. This question reminds of all the little ones that were fast asleep in their parents arms on the bus back to the resort. There must of been at least five kids all ages passed out from a long fun day at WDW.

 

[owensamo]

Since our DD was about 2.5, we've always told her that if she naps in the stroller in the afternoon, we can stay for the fireworks and the parade. If not, then we go back to the room around her normal bedtime (8ish). She almost always naps, and when she does, she's good until 11. We usually end up missing the 3:00 parade (we aim for a nap starting around 2), but she doesn't mind. Touring this way, it's easiest to just stick to one park per day, and I don't think we've done any parkhopping in our last 2-3 trips (which can make tickets less expensive!)

She's almost 4 now and can usually stay up and happy until 9-9:30 without a nap, but 10:00 Wishes is pushing it. Hopefully we can use the same plan this August with evening Extra Magic Hours, but I expect after that trip we'll end up without the stroller, and the nap, and we'll have to rethink our park-going strategies.

Mur!

 

[Nicolepa]

We are in the Pacific time zone so we keep our kids on our time zone. They can easily go until midnight (with a nap during the day). The downside to this is that we aren't there early, but dh is not a morning person anyway.

In 10 years I don't think I've ever seen the rope drop!

 

[macmahony]

my girls are late sleepers, so we don't get to the parks until 11ish. We stay until the pass out, we have found for us, leaving the park does not work.
I have pictures of my almost three year old, eating ice cream, last year at the christmas party, on a deserted mainstreet (it had to of been pushing one in the morning, maybe even slightly later). The baby was passed out in the baby bjorn, and the almost 2 year old was asleep in the stroller. They all slept late the next morning (until at least 11:00).
My girls are now 3, 4 and 18 months, and this year we did the same thing, they did great.
The funny thing is at home, they are in bed by seven (maybe 730), and sleep until around 8 in the morning (the two big ones just gave up naps...)

 

[rt2dz]

Depends on the child, first and foremost. DS5 does not nap, hasn't since he was 2 1/2. At home he sleeps 8/8:30 pm- 7:30/8 am (usually 8-8), but at WDW he klonks out and naps and is up closer to 10 or 11. Other times, he just goes out in the stroller. DS2 naps once at home, but twice at WDW and will stay up later into the night. My kids never follow their home schedule while on vacation, but are back on it the day we get home. Back to routine I guess.