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

[canadawithboys]

My two year old is used to napping almost every day, minus a day here and there. We've been here at DW one week and my toddler has not had time for a nap all week. Yesterday we had a day where he was awake 16 hours until he completely passed out on the monorail and slept like a log all night, then woke up this morning, threw up, went back to sleep... and remains sleeping now.
I'm feeling bad for him. Poor baby needs more sleep but how do you fit in a sleep for a little guy who doesn't want to fall asleep and miss out on the action? There's close to no way he would fall asleep at a park because of all the noise and people and things going on.
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?

 

[rebelzrule]

My son is like that. What we typically do is just plan on day 3 or 4 to go back to the resort in the middle of the day for a couple hours. Clothes the curtains and make it real dark and he'll pass out. Not as good as a nap everyday, but at least at about the halfway point of the trip he can get a little re-charge. Or we found that some of the darker shows (like Carousel of Prgoress) worked well. Sit down in there in the dark and he is usually out for the count. Then we'd put him in the stroller and let him sleep.

My daughter, on the other hand, would fall asleep in the middle of the park with no problem. Once she got tired, she was out.

 

[ABCastillo]

We ended up going back to the room almost every day for nap because there was just to much going on for her. We did finally get her to nap in stroller at AK by just walking in circles and then once when riding the monorail to Epcot for fireworks (slept through fireworks too. Lol) maybe a little ride on the monorail if you think he will sleep in stroller?

 

[surferdave]

When our daughter was that age we didn't stand a chance of getting her to lie down and nap in the resort room. So we got on the Epcot/Transportation Center Monorail, which she seemed to think of as a ride, in the middle of the day and she passed out in her stroller. We rode it a couple of loops around until she woke up, and never seemed to know she missed anything.

 

[DisneyRegulars]

We just resigned ourselves to the fact that we will not see it all, and we leave the parks around 1pm and go back and nap at our room. Often we don't even return to the parks in the evening. We visit every year though, so we feel no pressure to see and do everything. Without naps my son turns into a monster, so naps keep everyone in the family happier.

 

[dsneygirl]

We could never get a toddler to nap in the room either. My ODS always just slept in the stroller sometimes on the monorail , boat etc.

In Sept my YDS was 21 months and almost every day at noon he would pass out in the stroller. One of us would wait in the shade or A/C and the other would take ODS on some rides. We'd let him sleep then head back around 2-3 for a swim and back in the evening.

is your trip almost over? I would think he would be so exhausted he just couldn't go on. I would try the monorail loop or a boat ride maybe.

 

[Woodmnky]

We just resigned ourselves to the fact that we will not see it all, and we leave the parks around 1pm and go back and nap at our room. Often we don't even return to the parks in the evening. We visit every year though, so we feel no pressure to see and do everything. Without naps my son turns into a monster, so naps keep everyone in the family happier.

This is our plan. I know that we will miss out on some things, but a child's health is more important.

 

[margaret07013]

in April 2013 we stayed at WL. on the long days (MK) we would go in the morning and come back to the resort for 1-2 hrs so both kids could get some sleep. than back at MK around 3-4pm and stayed till 10:30pm without any problems. AK or Epcot days - both kids simply passed out around 2pm after lunch. in the afternoons - we simply stayed at the resort and enjoyed the pool.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Hop a bus back to your resort and let the baby nap. Or head to the pool and let the baby nap in the stroller there while you swim.

 

[bumbershoot]

Yesterday we had a day where he was awake 16 hours until he completely passed out on the monorail and slept like a log all night, then woke up this morning, threw up, went back to sleep... and remains sleeping now.
I'm feeling bad for him. Poor baby needs more sleep but how do you fit in a sleep for a little guy who doesn't want to fall asleep and miss out on the action?

Sounds like he's worked out a way to get a nice nap. Or he's now sick. My son seems to always get sick on vacation; him or my husband. I got sick AFTER our first WDW vacation, really really sick. We're slow learners, though. Finally realizing that even going slow doesn't work for us; we NEED some days off.



How do you fit in sleep without missing action? Take him away from the action. Seems the monorail works for him. Or take time to get back to the resort, have a swim, then get warm and cozy and see if that works (swimming has always worn me out and I'm not a napper by nature, nearly drove my mom up the wall as I was growing up).

 

[MSSANDRA]

I would simply take however much time it takes to return to the room and let him nap if he will do so in the room. If you are off site, consider simply getting in your car and driving for a couple hours if he will sleep in the car. What worked for me when DS was little was to find a quite place in the park, and walk him to sleep in my arms, and then find an out of the way place to hold him and let him sleep in my arm. Rotten I know, but we had rocked him to sleep at home and he was not going to go to sleep in that stroller. There are baby care centers in all the parks, plus nice garden areas in the WS and around the castle in the MK. Lots of out of the way trails in AK. If it hot, look for a not busy indoor CS place and sit there. No trip is worth your baby getting sick. Slow down and do what you can do without stressing anyone out.

 

[Ladcassidy]

This is our plan. I know that we will miss out on some things, but a child's health is more important.[/QUOTE

We do it this way, too. Get to the park early, and enjoy a well deserved break after lunch.

 

[Suziannie]

I have a 2 year old who needs a long nap each day so when we booked we opted for a family suite to accommodate that because when left alone, she'll sleep. Eventually.

Having said that...based on our trips to my mother's house for the weekend over the past few months I'm not exactly holding my breath out on her taking a full naps. Or even partial ones that are an hour long.

BUT...

I've tailored each ADR, Fastpass+ etc to meet this need. I don't really care if she sleeps on the bus, monorail or in the rental care. Or even in her stroller (these are where I'd put money on her sleeping) while her father and I wander aimlessly around too scared to go on a ride or stop walking for fear of waking her...but we absolutely will be returning to the room each day for 3-4 hours. We may end up in the pool, or even just wandering around outside but I really believe that toddlers need a break away from the parks.

Who am I kidding? I need the break too.

My point is, take the break during the day. You may be able to spend more time in the parks each night this way. You may not be, but it's just not worth pushing through naps imo.

 

[Haley]

On our last trip my dd would fall asleep on the busses - I'd hold her and she'd zonk out on my shoulder.

 

[Lanie]

Personnally we always took an afternoon break pre-kids, but now that we have à toddler, we Knowles that for him, naps in the room are ont an option. We go to the pool and relax in the room around lunch, then we go back to the parks or shopping because we know hé will pass out in the stroller.

Figure out where/when your lo Will sleep and arrange your plans accordingly. À cranky toddler will ruin your fun à lot faster than à few "lost" Hours.

 

[canadawithboys]

Thanks so much everyone! We've been sleeping in and rarely wake up early, so I figured that as long as we continued sleeping in, no one would get burnt out. Wrong!!
Thanks for the tip about the monorail! I can't believe I never thought of that! There are different monorails, right? I didn't realize that! Which one has the longest loop?

 

[dsneygirl]

Are you a baby wearer at all? DS would sleep in the Ergo with the closeness.

 

[canadawithboys]

And yes, it is so easy to get swept away and forget about the need for rest! Yesterday we went to the park and stayed for Mickey's Christmas party and the lines were non-existent and we were able to practically walk on all the rides and got carried away with that, even the baby wanted to ride all his favorite rides. But it's so important to be able to know that even though you're there in a great moment, sometimes you have to say "We're done!" and just leave!

 

[Fratthouse]

Thanks so much everyone! We've been sleeping in and rarely wake up early, so I figured that as long as we continued sleeping in, no one would get burnt out. Wrong!!
Thanks for the tip about the monorail! I can't believe I never thought of that! There are different monorails, right? I didn't realize that! Which one has the longest loop?

There are three different monorail loops.

1 - Magic Kingdom to Transporation / Ticket Center (shortest)
2 - Epcot to Transportation / Ticket Center (longer)
3 - Resort Loop (goes in a circle with stops at MK, Contemporary Resort, Transport / Ticket Center, Poly Resort, and Grand Floridian Resort) - this probably takes the longest, but has lots of stops along the way with people getting on and off. It may or may not interrupt their nap.

We took our 1 yr old last year and had a similar experience - he wouldn't sleep ANYWHERE! Even in our hotel room. He got sick, and I got sick, too! It wasn't a great trip. I'm really hoping he does better when we go in two weeks!

Hope the rest of your trip gets better

 

[Aunt Bee]

I'm the official 'nap giver' for my grandbabies when we are in the 'world'. Here are some places where I sit and rest them (and me).

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. At Epcot, there's a little garden type area in the United Kingdom that's quiet and has seating. If you have a stroller, point him toward something boring, hopefully he will go to sleep with a bit of joggling. At AK, there are some very quiet trails when you first enter the park; just stroll around and around. If you want to sit at AK, the dinosaur ride has shady trails nearby with seating. At MGM, it's so crazy crowded that it's hard to find a place, but the back-lot express has tables in the shade.

You can also ride the boats around to the Swan, Dolphin, etc. Very relaxing.