How To Get Toddler a Nap in a Long Day at DW?

[Suziannie]

The train at MK is a good nap place; takes about 1 'go round' for them to fall asleep and then you stay on the train for as long as it takes to rest them. I've circled for a LONG time.

My husband actually suggested this, he's something of a train fanatic so I'm pretty sure if we can pull this off I'll get to ride lots of rides while he pretends to be a conductor.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

I know we are the odd ones but going back to the room never worked for us. grandkids would fall asleep for the 15 minute ride on bus or boat then wake up and not go back to sleep, which made them crankier that before short nap and screaming for the hour we tried to rest. we ended up just letting them crash in the strollers and it worked better for us. kids were 16 months, 2.5 years and 2 that were 5 years old at the time

 

[lotus1197]

I know we are the odd ones but going back to the room never worked for us. grandkids would fall asleep for the 15 minute ride on bus or boat then wake up and not go back to sleep, which made them crankier that before short nap and screaming for the hour we tried to rest. we ended up just letting them crash in the strollers and it worked better for us. kids were 16 months, 2.5 years and 2 that were 5 years old at the time

Same happened with our 3yr old on his 1st trip..the 2nd time he went we just let him sleep in the stroller and took turns with our oldest riding things...this gave me and my wife each a chance to sit and relax for 20-30mins

 

[jennylyn_b]

We plan on going back to our hotel every third day or so. We tell her its nap time and we cannot go back to the parks until she naps. We close the curtains and it's all dark. She naps. Sometimes it takes 10 mins sometimes 45 but she falls asleep.

 

[3pletprincesses]

I just came back with my 18 month old daughter and the only way I could get her to sleep was to return to the resort. I made a point to return every day around nap time for her usual nap. It was a deserved down time for everyone. My 7yo DDs were not happy but they grew to like it after a few days LOL

 

[canadawithboys]

Thanks for the monorail info! So can you get onto the Epcot loop from Magic Kingdom at all? When the monorail is busy, do they make you get off and on? Which loop is least likely to be crowded?
Thanks again everyone! My son ended up with diarrhea and puking that whole day so we just stayed in the hotel room that entire day, and although today he seemed completely back to normal, we traded in today's original Magic Kingdom plans for a low key airboat ride, Cirque Du Soleil and most importantly... a NAP in the middle of the day! Tomorrow and the next day are back to the parks (MK and Epcot) and then home, so I'll be putting your nap ideas to use and making sure he gets his rest!

 

[surferdave]

Thanks for the monorail info! So can you get onto the Epcot loop from Magic Kingdom at all? When the monorail is busy, do they make you get off and on? Which loop is least likely to be crowded?
Thanks again everyone! My son ended up with diarrhea and puking that whole day so we just stayed in the hotel room that entire day, and although today he seemed completely back to normal, we traded in today's original Magic Kingdom plans for a low key airboat ride, Cirque Du Soleil and most importantly... a NAP in the middle of the day! Tomorrow and the next day are back to the parks (MK and Epcot) and then home, so I'll be putting your nap ideas to use and making sure he gets his rest!

You have to use one of the other two monorails (or the ferry) to get from MK to the TTC and transfer. It's been a while since my daughter was that young, but we found the Epcot monorail to be the longest uninterrupted ride and not very busy at all in the middle of the day. I've never seen anyone asked to get off the monorail because it is busy, but if it's busy I think the odds of the nap working go down.

 

[Angel Ariel]

There's close to no way he would fall asleep at a park because of all the noise and people and things going on.

When we needed DD to fall asleep in the parks, we'd use chip clips (or clothespins..anything like that would work) to clip a lightweight blanket on the sunshade so that it blocked her view of the hustle and bustle. Then someone would just walk with the stroller until she fell asleep.

We always thought the noise would be an issue, but taking away the visual stimulation allowed her to calm down and nap in the stroller.

To also note, she had a reclining stroller and when we wanted her to fall asleep, we'd recline her as flat as the stroller would go. That also helped. We stuck to her routine from home (in terms of timing of naps) as much as possible, even if it meant someone missing out on a ride or two to walk with her til she fell asleep.

I remember at Disneyland, there were hotels close by and you could probably easily go nap partway through the day, but here that's not doable because it takes so much more time to actually get to and from the parks.
Anyone have any ideas on how you got your toddler to nap, stay rested and not get burnt out while at DW?

TBH, if your child absolutely won't fall asleep in the parks no matter what you do, I think taking them back to the hotel is a necessity. The baby's routine and need for sleep is more important, IMO. We are thankful DD has been great with napping in her stroller, but if she weren't we'd do what we need to so she could get the sleep she needs.

 

[binkblum]

These are great tips. Thanks. I am worried about our 2.5 yr old DD cat napping on the ride back for nap that she won't sleep once she gets to the room. Those cat naps are worse than not having a nap. At least for her.

 

[NotUrsula]

The key is a comfy stroller and the induction of boredom.

At the MK it's easy: all you have to do is go to Carousel of Progress or the Hall of Presidents and sit in the back; wee ones will nod off very quickly. Failing that, recline him in the stroller and go take a slow walk on the back path between Tommorowland and the Circus area; it is very quiet back there once you get past the cars on the Speedway. (God, how I wish they would make those things electric!)

As to the other parks, the simplest thing to do if the stimulation is keeping them awake is to plop them in the stroller and leave the park. However, you needn't go further than the parking lot. Just exit the park and walk around the lot for a few minutes with the kiddo in the stroller until he falls asleep, then cover the stroller hood with a cloth and go back into the park. (You can also do this at the MK if necessary; just stroll down the path that leads to the CR.)

 

[disneypolybride2008]

our dd2 was up once a night to nurse or more likely awakened by all the snoring of DH and I and wanted me, so i nursed her and let her stay in my bed from 3:30am-5:30am when she would wake up all excited.. she did not nap all day except for 1 day mid-week. She was fussy during Festival of the Lion King so i was rocking her and she zonked out. Then we left the park and let her nap in the room. we just made it an early night and got her to bed early. For the rest of the days i would make sure we left the park early, like 5-6 doing dinner QS at the resort and getting her to bed by 7-8pm.. but yes that is still a long day for her! She was SO hyped up though and loved every second. If they're tired enough they'll zonk out like mine did, and otherwise just get them to bed early. She is back to normal at home right away, so they'll catch up. She also napped before take-off until touch down on our 2 hour flight home.. catching up on sleep.

 

[AutumnDavis]

Does anyone know if you are able to take a stroller into the hall of presidents or carousel of progress? I believe these would help a little one fall asleep to help him get in a nap while at Magic Kingdom, especially since they are air conditioned. He will not go to sleep when there are other things going on around him, so just walking around the park won't work, and he will wake up if i have to transport him back into or out of the stroller. Any tips?

 

[Angel Ariel]

Does anyone know if you are able to take a stroller into the hall of presidents or carousel of progress? I believe these would help a little one fall asleep to help him get in a nap while at Magic Kingdom, especially since they are air conditioned. He will not go to sleep when there are other things going on around him, so just walking around the park won't work, and he will wake up if i have to transport him back into or out of the stroller. Any tips?

I believe to take a stroller into attractions you generally need to have the stroller as a wheelchair placard.

I understand your plight, as my daughter was the same way when she was napping. I ended up making astroller cover out of light fabric that tied to the handles of the city mini and draped around the front, but higher than the wheels (the back is vented so there was always air flow). It helped block the visuals so we could just walk her around and get her to sleep. It was cheap and easy to make (and I am not a seamstress at all).

 

[eeyoreandtink]

.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Does anyone know if you are able to take a stroller into the hall of presidents or carousel of progress? I believe these would help a little one fall asleep to help him get in a nap while at Magic Kingdom, especially since they are air conditioned. He will not go to sleep when there are other things going on around him, so just walking around the park won't work, and he will wake up if i have to transport him back into or out of the stroller. Any tips?

No, you cannot, pretty much every attraction requires you to park the stroller. Finding an out of the way corner and using yourself as a sight blocker would be all I could think of.

 

[MudQueen22]

My older child appeared to be an insomniac and didn't sleep at home, let alone anywhere else, until she was about 5 or 6.
With the younger one, I would not have been able to get away with going back to the hotel. He would have given me the toddler finger and refused to sleep. He would, however, fall asleep in his stroller if I reclined the seat in increments as we strolled around.

 

[Tyra1276]

Our 2yr old struggled with that while in Disney in Dec. We were there for 11 days. Think he napped in the stroller 4 or 5 of the 11 days. The other days he just went and went until he became a nightmare. We were staying offsite, so in order to go back to the house we were renting, we would need to pay an additional $25 in parking. We did do that one day that we were planning on staying at Hollywood Studios all day. Mom and I took him back to the house, he had a GREAT 2.5 hour nap, then we went back and had a wonderful evening. Other days we left the parks no later than 6, or didn't start until afternoon.

 

[tjmw2727]

Our 2yr old struggled with that while in Disney in Dec. We were there for 11 days. Think he napped in the stroller 4 or 5 of the 11 days. The other days he just went and went until he became a nightmare. We were staying offsite, so in order to go back to the house we were renting, we would need to pay an additional $25 in parking. We did do that one day that we were planning on staying at Hollywood Studios all day. Mom and I took him back to the house, he had a GREAT 2.5 hour nap, then we went back and had a wonderful evening. Other days we left the parks no later than 6, or didn't start until afternoon.

Why would you need to pay for parking twice? Just keep the receipt as parking is good all day in all parks, you can come and go as you please.

I was lucky as my kids were good stroller sleepers - I did invest in a good quality stroller with a full recline and a stroller fan for comfort and white noise.

 

[Orionreplay]

Yep... been there, done that. For both kids at that stage we purposely stopped, caught the bus back to the resort and took an hour or so break. They might act angry about it, but it never failed: once in the room, they zonked out. I'd wander the resort and get coffee and explore.