How long can your kids keep going?

[jbrule]

I have a 9 yo DD and 6 yo DS and I am wondering how much we can do in one day and enjoy it? We have never gone before so I have a hard time imagining the size of the parks and the amount of wait time for rides etc......

 

[churchpilot]

My kids were 7 and 3 this past Feb. while we were at Disney. We were in the parks 7 straight days. We left the parks and went pack to our resort every day except for two. Those two days we reclined our stroller and our youngest took at least an hour nap. They both did great. A couple of times, our 7 year old would have loved for us to have a stroller for him in the evenings, but he pressed on and did fine. We never did early magic hours, but we were always at the parks at opening or very soon after. Hope this helps.

 

[DisneyWalle]

When we first went to Disney, which was 3 years ago, our son was 5. We only did Magic Kingdom but we were there from 8:00am - 9:00pm. We went through the park at our son's pace -which was really a 12 hour sprint - he never slowed down except to eat dinner at LTT. However at 9:00pm, he was exhausted and we didn't get to see the parade or fireworks. In fact, he fell asleep in the bus back to POP.
Now last year, we did 2 parks back to back (MK & EPCOT). We stayed in MK again for 13 hours, but we only managed 8 hours in Epcot (2nd day). To be fair to my son, I was the one that was exhausted and ready to leave Epcot not him.
This year, we are in Disney for 9 days and each day we are in a park. It is not my son that I'm worried about giving out but myself and DH. We have no built in rest days but I'm sure we will be taking mid afternoon breaks at some point in this marathon vacation, at least I hope so. But again, we will let our DS set the pace.

So to hopefully help answer your question. If you are staying on site at a Disney resort, go and enjoy the day but when you get tired head back to the resort for a rest and then go back to the park that evening. As you can see from my family, and each family will be different, it is not my son that gets tired but me and DH.

 

[Darcy03231]

When my kids were 6 & 8 I found we did the best by getting up early and getting to a park. We stayed until about 1 pm and then went back to the hotel for lunch and a swim/rest. We were back in the parks by 3-4 and stayed until close (10-11 pm). We didn't do any of the extra magic hours. We found taking a break in the middle of the day helped to recharge everyone. Plus it was really hot when we were there and a swim in the middle of the day was really nice.

 

[jbrule]

We are going in December for a full week.

My DS gets up very early every single day so we will definitely be getting an early start....maybe too early for me!

I guess we will have to play it by ear somewhat, and try to have some sit downs for shows etc mixed in.

Thanks, this board is the best!

 

[nilseks]

My boys are almost 5 and 7. Like may others, we start out early, go back mid-day for a mandatory "rest break", then head back out to the parks. DH and I need the break as much as the kids. We tell them they have to lay on the bed for at least an hour and they can either watch TV or go to sleep but they have to be quiet. Most times we all end up falling asleep but if not it's nice to have a little time to decompress. We love the park hoppers for this purpose b/c we jump around a lot, usually hit one park in the a.m. and a different one after naps.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

I have a 9 yo DD and 6 yo DS and I am wondering how much we can do in one day and enjoy it? We have never gone before so I have a hard time imagining the size of the parks and the amount of wait time for rides etc......

When we were there last September for 9 days we only went back to the resort to rest mid-day twice. We were pretty much in the parks from open to close the other days. There's just so much to see and do our kids never wanted to go back to the room. We do go at slower times of year though, so the parks aren't open that late at night. We usually average 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., so about 12 hours per day. We do an early table service/sit-down meal every night, so that gives us a nice break to sit and rest for a little while before seeing the fireworks and heading back to the room.

 

[jason128]

we try not to push it. stay an extra day or two and dont go all day and night. go back to hotel in afternoon for pool, nap etc and then go back

 

[jason128]

THe best kid is a rested kid.

 

[HeatherC]

We have 3 kids who are now 12, 10 and 7. We first started going when my oldest was 5.

My kids have always been early risers, so we would be at the parks when it opened. We would see almost everything we wanted in the morning, have a sit down lunch (Crystal Palace is a favorite) and then play it by ear. (We would also get fast passes for a ride before we went to lunch so we could come out and get right on something. Kids loved that.)
If the kids were tired, we left the parks and went swimming and they were in bed pretty early.

We also rented strollers until my oldest was like 9. It may sound silly, but you can cover twice as much ground without them getting as tired and they get to rest. We would get a double and they would take turns in it.

We also find that we all have more fun if we don't go to the parks a couple days in a row. As an adult, I would love to. But the kids like that break of not having a schedule. So we would do like every other day or do two days on and one day at the pool or shopping, etc..

Every family is different, and there is no right or wrong way to see Disney. It is HUGE and can be exhausting. But you just find what works for you and it will be awesome!!

 

[TinaLala]

We went for a week in April and my kids are 9 and 6. I always get a stroller - I don't care how old they are. They need that rest period for their feet and legs. We usualy go to the park aroud 9am and stay there until 4ish, go to dinner, go back to the room to unload and go back to the park for the night show.

I do agree that a rested kid is the best and you should take some down time back at your room for a swim or a nap between 12-4pm and then go back to the parks. We usually go 8-10 days so my kids know if they didn't get to go on their ride 4x they'll have another day to do it.

Don't schedule naps or try to keep them to a routine. It will never work. I let the girls nap in the stroller if need be and roll with it. My girls NEVER nap at home, but all day out in the fresh air running around - a nap is inevitable.

 

[rbork]

Forget about the kid's keeping up, it's you! You should worry about
We took DS4 and DS6 a couple of years ago. We were at MK at opening and we closed down the park. Kid's were amazingly cheerful and energized. They did pass out asleep on the bus back to the resort. I was so tired that trip that I had a hard time keeping up with commando kid's and DH. We go back this year with DS9 and DS11. I'll have to train for a marathon prior
We typically go for 9-11 days at a time so we have the option of not getting to everything in one day. I also agree that sit down meals are a nice break and well as afternoon breaks, so I hope my family will let me go take an afternoon nap!

 

[my*2*angels]

You know your kids best, and what they can handle! My 4yo has been several times and even at 2yo she could go all day and be fine! But that is just how she is, she requires very little rest and does not tire easily. Now I have an almost 2yo and I know that when we go back, she will need rest! They are just different. So i would say if your kids need naps on a daily basis, plan for rest breaks, or it will be a rough afternoon!!LOL

 

[disneyfan2]

the first trip is always exciting, and easily over-excited. How long are you going for? Our first trip we had only 4 full days, and really tried to get in as much as we can. Unforunately my DD3 at the time got sick so we were forced to leave early. If you are there for 1 week you should be able to plan lots of breaks. Best to get early and leave in the afteroon for a swim or rest, then go to dinner and return for night entertainment. The first few days you will probably get going longer without breaks but by day 3 or so, you will need to schedule some downtime etc. Have fun

 

[NY_MOM]

I guess you should play it by ear according to how your children feels. You know them best and know what they need. My DD (5) is quite the energizer bunny everyday. When we took her to Disney for the first time she was 2 and she was fine all day long and usually passed out in the car at around 11p.m. when we were on our way back to the resort. So just keep on eye on them and see how they do the first day and then you'll have a better gage as to how to deal with this.

 

[WindyLea]

We always "plan" to go back to the resort for a mid-day break, but never actually do it. We are just back from a 10 day trip with DD8 and DD3. We only made it to opening ceremony twice, and every other day we arrived around 10am and stayed as late as possible. If there were PM EMH, we did it, and we did NOJ (horrible, by the way). DD3 took a nap every day in the stroller, and one day DH was exhausted as was DD#, so the 2 of them took the bus back to the resort for a nap while DD8 and I strolled the countries in EPCOT. I'm always surprised at the stamina of my little ones. The excitement helps them keep on trucking!

 

[princesspiglet]

I definetly think that each kid is different and you will know yours best and how they can handle the day.

Our most recent trip DD was 4 and went non-stop, literally wearing out me and DH. She was up at the crack of dawn and never stopped until midnight. And she did this for 7 days straight! We thought we would have to stop and take naps, but we never did. She also didn't use a stroller. We left DW on a saturday afternoon flight and she slept on the 2 hour plane ride, the 1 hour car ride home and for another 7 hours straight! On Sunday morning she slept in until 12 and went to bed that night at 6- so she was definetly catching up on her missed sleep.

We are going again in February (she will be 6) and I am really hoping she will want to take some breaks this time- I was exhausted!

 

[perkinsrose]

I have a 9 yo DD and 6 yo DS and I am wondering how much we can do in one day and enjoy it? We have never gone before so I have a hard time imagining the size of the parks and the amount of wait time for rides etc......

When youngest was 4, we went on first trip. It was a whirlwind 4 days and we wanted to see as much as we could. Dkids are early risers. We stuck close to their wake/sleep and eating schedule. I'm a big believer in 3 meals and a morning and afternoon snack for elementary kids.

We would do rope drop (offseason) at 8:00 or 9:00 and go until 7/8ish in the evening. DD would crash out for hour or so nap in the stroller when she was 4.

If they weren't able to handle the sometimes 11-12 hours in the parks we certainly would've altered our schedule. Dkids were happy, agreeable and got their 10-11 hours of sleep at the resort. We do DDiningPlan so we usually had an hour or more of relaxing sitdown time at a restaurant once a day.

Now that kids are a few years older-no naps and an hour or so less sleep a night. We still do ropedrop and usually hit Fantasmic or Wishes (early 7 or 8o in offseason) before calling it a day. Illuminations is tougher to hit when you do a ropedrop and no resort-nap midday.

All day touring works for us. Kids are happy, we're happy. Though I can imagine a totally different situation in the heat/humidity of summer or if we didn't stick to our eating schedule/routine or make sure they're getting enough sleep.

Prior to WDW trips, we would do family walks of many miles MONTHS before trip, so kids had stamina and endurance for all the walking. We all wear good, sturdy, broken-in already, walking shoes (no flipflops here) and I think that's key too.

We also often park-hop. Some people think that's more effort/tiring. Its sometimes nice to break up a morning of alot of walking or rides with an afternoon with alot of shows that parkhopping allows for.

 

[kellyg403]

When we went on our first trip, my dkids were older. Aging from 9-14. The first day we pulled into wdw after driving for 10 hours and hit MGM. Next day up at 6 to hit rope drop at MK. This went on for the first 3 days. Day 4 we were so darn tired we couldn't stand the sight of each other. We went back to the resort at 3 in the afternoon and slept. We missed our ADR and everything. We learned our lesson though. In trips after we always get there and take it easy the first day. We always try to not get up early if we stay out late the night before etc. We definitely even to this day hit a wall around the 3rd day. We just make it a day for the resort/pool and maybe dq that night. Its sensory overload for my crew.

Kelly

 

[Chelley00]

We're another group who planned to take afternoon breaks and only did it twice in a 10 day trip (one day for MNSSHP and one day because I was tired, not the kids) I just made sure I varied our routine a little bit. Some days we did early mornings, but left earlier in the evening. On days I knew we were going to be out late, we didn't go to the parks until later morning. Just listen to your kids, and be flexible.