Mid day break- is it really necessary?

[jenn3456]

We are taking our 5 kids to Disney for the 1st time this June. As much as I keep telling myself, we can go back to the room for a midday break, I know I and they are not really going to want to leave! (Just being honest) My kids are 11, 9,8, 6 &5 when we travel and we are a pretty active family. My 9 yo is probably my earliest to bed most nights at home 8 or 8:30. It just depends on when we can get him to sit down long enough But at the same time, he can stay up quite late when we are active. If we didn't push it, my other kids get up at 6:30 for school and could easily staty up to 10-11pm.
Please be honest, but how important do you think that midday break is. My other concern is we are staying at OKW and it is going to be a longer bus ride just to leave and come back to most parks.
Thanks

 

[aimsicle]

I went with some friends who do not typically take a mid-day break at WDW, and they did when they were with us. The next time my friend went with her kids, they didn't take the mid-day break (they were 11 and 8), and although she probably would not change what she did, she DID admit that her kids were definitely having more "meltdowns" or behavior problems on her trip without the break. I don't remember a single meltdown when we went, and my friend was impressed the entire trip how well the children behaved.

We would get a ton done before 11:30 or so, eat an early lunch, go back to the room, and we were back to the parks by 4 (if not before). Then we would be there late...sometimes not returning until 11 or so.

It is really up to you--I hate dealing with behavior problems, etc. I rather everyone be happy all of the time.

 

[Timandalicia]

We are taking our 5 kids to Disney for the 1st time this June. As much as I keep telling myself, we can go back to the room for a midday break, I know I and they are not really going to want to leave! (Just being honest) My kids are 11, 9,8, 6 &5 when we travel and we are a pretty active family. My 9 yo is probably my earliest to bed most nights at home 8 or 8:30. It just depends on when we can get him to sit down long enough But at the same time, he can stay up quite late when we are active. If we didn't push it, my other kids get up at 6:30 for school and could easily staty up to 10-11pm.
Please be honest, but how important do you think that midday break is. My other concern is we are staying at OKW and it is going to be a longer bus ride just to leave and come back to most parks.
Thanks

We never do a mid-day break, but we do three-quarter days many times in the trip. We look at the long-term rather than the short-term. It really depends on how many days. At your kids' ages, if you are only doing like 5 days, I think you can get away with 4 full days and one three-quarter day with no break.

 

[DznyPrnces]

I've never taken a mid day break. My DD (3) can go all day at Disneyland with a power stroller nap. I figure, if we take a mid day break at WDW she'll fall asleep on the bus and then be wide awake and raring to go when we get back to our resort. I'd rather she just fall asleep in the stroller, or if she doesn't then head home early.

ETA: I should add, we are not a rope drop family. We move slow in the mornings. When the kids are older I can see us closing the parks, but we'll probably never make rope drop. We usually get there around 10 or 11.

 

[Deb & Bill]

In our 15 years (and 30+ trips) of doing WDW, we have always taken a mid-day break except for one time. And that one time was horrible. We get to the park when it opens, do our favorite attractions, maybe eat lunch and head back to the resort to swim, take a nap, play on the computer, whatever. Then we head back to the parks around dinner time.

The one time we didn't take a break we where changing to an offsite resort for one night before we left to go home. And it was Christmas Eve. We left the park around eight PM after arriving when it opened and drove to the new hotel. Crawled into bed, got up the next morning with our small Christmas celebration. Had planned to go back for the morning, but decided to just head home instead because we had burned out the day before.

We see no point to going from park opening to park closing. It just wears you out. And if you want to take advantage of evening EMH, you really need to get a break in there somewhere.

 

[tigger51276]

I never go back to the room for breaks, but then again I don't do rope drop either. My kids and I sleep in and take our time in the morning and usually head out around 10 or 11am (sometimes later, or earlier if going to AK) and we then close the parks. My DD's have always taken naps during the day in their stroller.
All families and kids are different so you'd have to see what works best for your family when you get there. Also the parks aren't all that far from OKW, I've stayed there several times and find that except for MK the rides are pretty short.

 

[Aliceacc]

For our family it's absolutely necessary!

We go in August, maybe that's part of it. And my kids are all total water rats; a good pool is every bit as important to my kids as a place to sleep.

We're at the parks at rope drop, and most often stay until after fireworks. But that's something like a 14 hour day in the Florida August heat. Andd something like 10 miles a day of walking. Without a break, we would most certainly become the family that youtube videos are made of.

By the time we hit lunch, the parks are getting seriously crowded and just walking from point A to point B is a hassle. The lines are long. And the heat is overwhelming.

So we get back to the resort, and into that nice refreshing pool for a few hours. By about 4 or 4:30--earlier if a pop up storm interferes-- we're ready to change for dinner and head back to the parks.

That break is non-negotiable for my family. It makes our trip so much more enjoyable!!!

 

[Disneylover99]

I really like the idea of a mid day break, but it never quite works out for us the way we want.

We are rope drop people with two kids who are both early risers. We only go to DW in August.

We tour hard for the first three to four hours.

If we go back to our resort after lunch, we hit the pool for a few hours, shower and change. At that point, my kids are zonked, so they just want to read or color. Then they get hungry, so we eat, then they get sleepy and we are officially done for the day.

Now we try to stay through the afternoons, but in air conditioned places and in a very relaxed touring mode. It seems to work better for us.

 

[nicki.momof3]

For my family kids are 8,9,10. A mid day nap is 100% required. We do rope drop every morning and stay up until about midnight. We love the mid day nap. It gives everyone a chance to relax, refresh, and get ready for a great evening. We always plan a dinner ADR for every evening.

OUR SCHEDULE

Rope drop - 7am
Ride all big rides - 7am-1pm
Nap - 1pm-5pm
Dinner - 5:30-7:00
Smaller rides, shows, and so on - 7pm- 12 / 1am

We only go to WDW Easter or Christmas weeks so the parks are open early / late.

 

[Disneylover99]

For my family kids are 8,9,10. A mid day nap is 100% required. We do rope drop every morning and stay up until about midnight. We love the mid day nap. It gives everyone a chance to relax, refresh, and get ready for a great evening. We always plan a dinner ADR for every evening.

OUR SCHEDULE

Rope drop - 7am
Ride all big rides - 7am-1pm
Nap - 1pm-5pm
Dinner - 5:30-7:00
Smaller rides, shows, and so on - 7pm- 12 / 1am

We only go to WDW Easter or Christmas weeks so the parks are open early / late.

Wow! You can get an 8,9 and 10 year old to nap in the middle of the day?
That is amazing!!! I'm impressed!!!!

 

[zaz]

We don't take breaks, however, I combine late night/late wake-up, and early night/early wake-up.

We also plan table service dining as a mid-day break.

My daughters have also been stroller sleepers (even at 6!) in the afternoon, so that's when we tend to grab a fast pass for something where the return time is about 2 or 3 hours later... and we hop on the monorail (with daughters asleep in stroller) and go for a drink at one of the monorail hotels... and then come back to the park and wake them up!

 

[DVCJones]

We never go back to our room once we are at a park. My kids are 7&9 now, but even when they were babies, we just had them nap in their stroller. I would find a quiet place and let them take an hour power nap. I like Pecos Bill for naps. My DD took a nap there last year. She was 6. My DH and older DD rode SM and TMR while I sat in the cool dark corner with my DD. I pushed 2 stools together and she rested her head on my lap. She slept for about an hour and was good to go until closing. She doesn't typically need a nap each day at home, but all that walking and sun is sometimes draining on little ones. I can tell when my kids need some down time and just let them rest when they need it. It makes for a happier day.

 

[momto3gr8boys]

We always plan for mid-day breaks and they are so worth it. Back when the boys were babies it was out of necessity, and that was when I started planning two parks per day. Now I have gotten so used to two parks per day, so the break in the middle becomes a natural part of our day.

The few times we did not do breaks it was much harder. One time we were with a large group and another with friends who were staying off site. On both of those trips the kids were more tired and cranky and they never got a chance to swim, which was a disappointment. They were too tired by the end of the day.

I think you need to factor in the length of your trip too. On short trips (5 days or less) you could go non-stop. On longer trips you will need breaks. And for us 10 days or more get one or two resort or non-park days.

 

[CarpeDisney]

We always plan on mid day breaks and naps....especially during the summer months.

Like others have reported, we also get to the parks for rope drop, do as many rides/attractions as we can in a few hours, and are heading back to the hotel when the big crowds are filing in. We grab a quick bite either at the park or hotel, swim for a bit, nap, and are back to the parks for dinner reservations around 6ish. Then we stay at the parks for a few more rides and call it a night.

We also operate on vacation with the philosophy that we'd rather have well-rested children rather than feeling the need to run around to see everything and have them over-tired, over-stimulated, and cranky. (We also try to keep bed times consistent with the times from home, even if it means missing fireworks from time to time. It always amazes/bothers me to see parents boarding busses at resorts to go back to the parks at night carrying - or sometimes dragging - kids that are asleep or obviously about to fall asleep.....OK, off my soap box now)

...our children are 3 and 6, so you may do things differently with older kids. Have a great trip.

 

[pooh4evr]

We traditionally don't take breaks, but we don't go in the summer either. If I was going in the summer, I would take a break leave about 12- 1 go back swim refresh, maybe eat then return to the parks at 6 - 7 since they are open later in the summer. We did go for 2 days last July for a quick fix, we did rope drop, left at about 1 swam, ate dinner at POR food court, and showered when we returned we all were ready to hit the park until closing at 2 am. The nights are my favorite time to be there! It is cooler (a little) and the crowds are better.

 

[DisneyJen0504]

We always always take a midday break, even before children. We do arrive for rope drop and leave by noon. Naps, showers, snacks at the resort (always on site) and then we head back out at 5. We are relaxed and refreshed and ave found we enjoy the evening more.
My suggestion is to be flexible. Your family might be fine without the break but with the age range, I would bet a break would benefit everyone! If you are flexible, you may skip a break some days but take them on others. I just wouldn't rule them out without knowing how your family will be once you are there.

 

[TangledMama]

We just got back from an 8 day trip and we didn't really take breaks. We tried one day, but no one could sleep. We did spend 2 afternoons at the pool. I have 2 kids - my son is 7, and he was able to keep up without taking a midday break. (My daughter is 1, so she just took naps in the stroller/baby carrier).

You may want to schedule some pool time though. I would imagine OKW has an awesome pool and most kids love the pool (sometimes even more than the parks!)

 

[angelmom27]

We have never taken breaks. The little ones will just take a nap after lunch in the stroller so we will just find a good spot for the parade and the big ones will just sit and take a break too. If the baby sleeps she sleeps in the wrap so we can still continue with our day.

 

[3pletprincesses]

In the summer, we always take time back at the resort. We usually leave around lunch and come back after dinner. We take tha tdown time to swim and cool down. My girls are not good with heat and vomit as soon as they get too hot. The pool is our best friend. that down time is very appreciated. The girls get to swim and cool down and we get to enjoy the resort. The pools are not that busy,at least at POR there's not. We then head for our signature meal and back to the parks until it closes. We uaulloy do park from rope drop until it closes. it's the cooler time and the less busy.

 

[Spunky946]

It totally depends on your kids. Ours were 8 and 4 on this last trip. Our 4 year old gave up naps at the beginning of the school year, but she napped a couple of days. We prefer to take breaks, which we did some days, which gave us a break to nap, swim, relax away from the crowds.

We did the deluxe dining plan, so we had 2 adr's a day and sometimes we would get stuck in the park and it not being enough time to take a break at the hotel. So we would push through and by the time dinner ended, my kids were done.

If I wanted to make evening entertainment, then we needed to take a break. For instance we had a BOG adr at 4:40 and the kids wanted to make the rope drop show, so we went early and we could not leave because our adr was too early. By 7 they were done and we could not see wishes.

The next day was our last day, so we went to ak for a few last things for a couple of hours and then went back to the hotel around 11:30. Had lunch, swam, dd took a nap and we headed back out around 5. We were able to make it until after the second parade at 9. I think we left the park around 10 ish. Much better with a rest.

Maybe plan for one and if you don't want to leave, don't. Just try to be a little flexible for the first day or two to see how they do. Have fun.