How realistic is it to take breaks?

[Sienna]

We (DH, DD 8, DD 4) will probably be staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge in January, and a lot of the guide books recommend arriving at the park when it opens, and going back to the hotel to rest or have pool time during the afternoon, then returning to the parks. Given the time it takes to get to/from the parks, and the limited park hours, how realistic is that? Should we just plan on being in the parks all day, and finding 'mellow' things to do for a break? My youngest (age 4, almost 5 by trip time) doesn't nap, but I'm guessing she'll get worn out sooner than the rest of us. Besides, we'll be on west coast time, so I'm not sure how realistic it'll be for us to be at the parks when they open. Thoughts? Advice?

 

[woodkins]

We (DH, DD 8, DD 4) will probably be staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge in January, and a lot of the guide books recommend arriving at the park when it opens, and going back to the hotel to rest or have pool time during the afternoon, then returning to the parks. Given the time it takes to get to/from the parks, and the limited park hours, how realistic is that? Should we just plan on being in the parks all day, and finding 'mellow' things to do for a break? My youngest (age 4, almost 5 by trip time) doesn't nap, but I'm guessing she'll get worn out sooner than the rest of us. Besides, we'll be on west coast time, so I'm not sure how realistic it'll be for us to be at the parks when they open. Thoughts? Advice?

We have been taking my dd (7) to WDW since she was 1 year old (this year was her 15th trip) and we have never made it to a park for opening. She is an early riser, but we would rather take it easy, wake up when we do and not rush around for a rope drop. That being said we don't do "power disney". We take breaks each afternoon to swim in the pool and cool off. We do a lot of character dinners and stay at the parks later in the evenings. Some of our favorite vacation time is spent at the hotel pool, and my dd picks her favorite hotels based upon their water slides!

 

[tigger51276]

We (DH, DD 8, DD 4) will probably be staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge in January, and a lot of the guide books recommend arriving at the park when it opens, and going back to the hotel to rest or have pool time during the afternoon, then returning to the parks. Given the time it takes to get to/from the parks, and the limited park hours, how realistic is that? Should we just plan on being in the parks all day, and finding 'mellow' things to do for a break? My youngest (age 4, almost 5 by trip time) doesn't nap, but I'm guessing she'll get worn out sooner than the rest of us. Besides, we'll be on west coast time, so I'm not sure how realistic it'll be for us to be at the parks when they open. Thoughts? Advice?

Honestly I think it depends on the type of family you are. If you are early risers then certainly getting their for rope drop is great. However if you are like my DD5 and I we are not morning people and prefer to sleep in and get to the parks around 10am and then we stay out till late at night. My DD when she was smaller would take naps in the hip carrier and then stroller when she got too big to be carried. We have never gone back to the room to take a nap/break, although I know what not all kids can do that. Honesty I may find that I can't stay out so late because my DD1 who's first trip is coming up goes to bed at 8pm and I'm not so sure she will make really late hours as well as her sister does. I say figure out what will work for you and your family when you get there especially since you are working with a time zone change!

 

[disney*mom*82]

We have never gone back for naps. Our kids have ranged in ages from 5 months up and we have never had the need to go back to rest. I know there are plenty of people that do go back to nap, but we never have. I totally had myself in th mind set thinking I would need to take our LO back most days and we went when she was 5 mo, 17mo, 23mo and will go back at around 2.5 yrs. Now, as to relate to one that age, our ds12 went one year when he was the same age 4 almost 5 and it was fine, he walked the whole trip, never needed a stroller and we stayed out all night.

You really have to decide what is best for your family. I would go there thinking that you may have to go back to rest at some point and after the first day or two you will know if you should do this each and every day or not. It really does take some time, Ide say probably 1 hr atleast to get there and back later. (could e quicker or take longer) If it really isnt needed and the child isnt complaining Ide just keep going. Maybe not stay out too late i the LO cant handle it or if you know your going to stay out late one night, go back that day for a rest. (ex. we stay out til 1am at MK everytime)

GL HTH!

 

[Chelley00]

We kinda play it by ear. Some days we do rope drop and leave the park early. Some days we arrive later and stay late. Some days we take the break. I find my kids are not predictable, so we just watch for cues and take their lead on breaks or not. We usually go for 10 days, and we might take afternoon breaks 3-4 of those days, usually if we have fireworks plans.

 

[donac]

I know that it depends on your family.

My trip this past AUg was one of the best. I am an early riser. 6am is almost late for me even in the summer when I am off school (I am at my desk at school by 6:45 and kids start coming for extra help at 7) Since this trip was just with dh, I only had to wait for him to wake up. WE made rope drops every day and that included eating breakfast at the food court.

We like going back to rest in the room or at the pool so this works for us. It was super important this time since I was just recovering from foot surgery.

We are just early morning people.

That said you know your kids best. If they are fine all day or want a slower start in the morning then I may not take a break but go back early to the room and eat in the room or at the pool. WE have also done this if we were in the parks all day. It is okay to not stay till midnight.

 

[Hannathy]

I don't think it is realistic at all in January. The park hours are going to be very short and taking at least 3 hours out of your day especially if you aren't there at opening will be a very large part of your day. We also found it is much to exhausting and too much hassle to leave a park walk to the bus, wait, walk to the room and then do it all in reverse just to rest for an hour. If we are tired we see a show, ride the train, go on a long ride like energy, ride the monorail, go to Tom Sawyer island, etc.

 

[okeydokey]

We never left the park and came back, even with a 2 year old. We try to travel at off times when the park hours are shorter anyway, and since it is not crowded you can do all you want to in a shorter day. When we were tired, we stopped to rest, kids napped in the stroller, we took in a show or had an ice cream while people watching on a bench. It never seemed worth it to me to take the time and trouble to leave the park and come back later.

 

[itJeff]

We have been to DW twice. Once with only a 3yr old. Last time we had a 2yr, 5yr and 8yr old. Both times we were with my wife's parents.

The first time we tried NOT to take breaks, and it was horrible. We figured out everyone (adults more so than our daughter) needed a break.
The second time we planned on taking breaks every day, but didn't always need them. Some days we managed to get around early, even made it for MK opening one day! Other days we didn't. If the younger girls got tired they took a nap wherever we were. So, by the time we got back to the hotel they weren't tired anymore!

I agree with the "plan on breaks" idea. That way you have it built into your schedule and might be glad that you did. If you figure out you don't need them then you have that much more time to enjoy the parks. There are things you can do in the parks that can give you a nice break.

If you plan to go back to your hotel and have a car there use it! We found it to be a lot easier to get around driving ourselves, than taking Disney's transportation. I know that won't hold true for everyone, but we had some horrible experiences with 'getting a bus'. We stayed at CB last time and drove everywhere. It took us 20 minutes tops from the door of our hotel to get inside the gate of any park, and vice versa. That was in September... so I don't know how well that works other times of the year.

Remember, you know your family and what they can handle, and what they can't.

 

[Cedarmom]

We will be at AKL in December. Given the length of park hours and how far out we are, we have decided to try to make it to rope drop most mornings, go go go until we are done, and then leave for the day. Some days that might be 2 pm, and that's okay. I've mostly made lunch ADRs so we aren't tied to a park until some ungodly hour with tired kiddos.

Now, this is our first trip so take it with a grain of salt, but it is what I'm feeling will work for our group. My guys are typically early risers, and rarely take naps at home. Who knows how it will play out, though.

 

[Macduffy]

I think it depends on the time of year you go too! Our breaks were for our 20 month old but on really hot days I'm glad we ALL took a break and stayed out of the heat/sun during the hottest time of day. I found the kids more energetic and happier in the evenings after a break and we could stay for fire works

 

[kohlby]

We tried going back for naps once - but our 3 year old wouldn't nap. Since he had stopped naps a year prior, I wasn't exactly surprised. Instead, we go when the parks open and leave when the kids need to, which is often around dinner time. If you had kids who still needed to nap but wouldn't nap at the parks, then I think it would make sense. Or if you're going in the summer. We've gone with kids 3 years and 2 months and 3.5 years and 9 months. Next trip is with a 6 year old, almost 4 year old and 11 month. (As babies they sleep in the sling or stroller).

By not taking a room break, we're back at the room in time for their regular bedtimes, which helps a lot.

 

[ddoconnell]

We usually stay at one of the DVC Villas and almost always plan some "down time" away from the park. Some days we hit our time to leave and aren't tired, so we stay...and other times we leave long before we planned because everyone is tired. I think making rope drop every morning would be exhausting, so pick the most important ones for you and go to those and go later to the other ones. If there is only one child that is tired, a power nap in the stroller or a show can help everyone make it through the rest of the day.

The most important thing is to read every one and make sure that no one is getting so tired that they will get cranky There is nothing worse than dragging a tired and cranky kid (or parent ) around the park!

Have a great time!

 

[NMAmy]

It kind of depends on your touring style. We go every year so it's not make or break for us to hit as many of the attractions as we can. We like to have a bit of a break during the middle of the day. DH and I are early morning people--we hit rope drop and stay until after lunch and then spend part of the afternoon sleeping or reading. My 18 yo dd and her friend sleep until lunch, meet up with us, and then they head out for most of the day. We usually meet up again for dinner.

When dd was young, I found that I needed a break from the constant crowds of people much more than she did. Even if we just hung around the room and watched tv, dd would color or play and we'd all have a much needed break from all the other people at WDW.

 

[Cruz91]

...when the kids were younger, we never missed naps. Now that they're a bit older - we try to hit a nap every-other day or so. Even though they are both well beyond nap age, we find we wear them out so much with our commando marches from FP to FP - they are ready to hit the bed some days!

Also, for what it's worth, we have found you can typically get more rides done in the first 2 to 3 hours after the park opens than you can the whole rest of the day - and that seems true even for less busy times.

 

[crisi]

It depends on what kind of priority you make breaks. Also, breaks don't have to be naps - nor do they have to involve going back to the hotel. A lot of people do take breaks (though AKL is difficult to get to - there are easier hotels to take a break at). And a lot of people commando through. And with January park hours, I think not taking a break makes a lot of sense. You need a break if you are going to be up until 11pm in July. When the MK closes at six - maybe you don't.

We usually take a swim break after lunch, then switch parks for dinner. But here are some other ideas.

Do "shows and quiet rides" from 1-3. Things like Hall of Presidents and Mickey's Philharmagic. Spaceship Earth.

Plan your tableservice meal as lunch. Sitting in a restaurant for an hour or so counts as a "break."

Switch parks. A different park sometimes is the "break" you need. For me this is really true at MK.

When our kids were younger we'd ride the bus or monorail for an hour. If we took them back to the room to nap, they were too hyped up and wanted to go back to the parks or the pool.

 

[tzolkin]

Last May we went back to the resort for a long break every day. We usually went to one of the AM EMHs and then headed back to the resort around 11:30. We ALL took a nap for several hours (about 1-4). (My kids were 9, 4, and almost 2 and none took a nap at home.) We were just really tired and it was nice for us to get out of the heat and crowds for a few hours. We headed back to another park around 5:00 and stayed until 8:30.

It seems a bit crazy to me that we were only in the parks for about 3 hours at a time, but it was a really relaxing trip. The kids never got too hot or over-stimulated. Everyone was pleasant and well rested. This year was about the same, but we didn't always sleep during our breaks.

Our trips were 9 and 12 days. I think if they were shorter, I would have felt pressured to stay in the parks so we would get "our money's worth".


My parents, adult sisters, and two year old niece just got back from a week-long trip. I thought they would have really needed breaks, especially with the heat and the little one. They said they only wound up going back to the resort once. They had the deluxe dining plan and had two table service meals scheduled for each day. Basically, they said that their meals were their "breaks"-- AC and sitting down for 1.5-2.5 hours.

 

[marymac123]

We tried 1 day out of our 8 day trip last month. It didn't work. DD4 is no longer a napper. I felt such pressure to get her to nap that I made myself crazy! I fugured the rest of the trip we would just go straight through each day slowly. That worked the best. We'd get back to WL & let her do the pool at night, take a quick bath & she'd go right out. You know your kid.

 

[cogero]

we plan on breaks but not for napping. we plan them for getting away from the crowds and enjoying the resort.

It is really nice. and since we go 2-3 times per year we figure we will see what we see and it is all good.

 

[LWatson]

We went in Feb for the first time and we did Rope drop to close w/o breaks w/ a 3yr old and 14m old except for 1 day. Our kids are used to napping in strollers since we prefer to shop while most people are at work. The one day we went back to the hotel for a break was because I had a headache from heck. But, all we did was when they were tired was lay the seats of the stroller back, let them sleep and we would go shopping in the stores, grab a drink and snack and sit down in a quiet area, or sit and watch the parades or whatever was going on (and yes, for some reason my kids can sleep through the parades). That way we didnt waste time going back to the hotel. They were never grumpy, and DH & I got some quiet time to do what we wanted (they were still in tow, but not begging for everything from the stores).