Need advice...I have a toddler who never naps!

[bangzoom6877]

Hi, we are going to WDW in July 2008 with our two sons. My little one will be 14 months at the time of travel (he's 7 months now) and he has a very sweet disposition. He will sleep anywhere, whether we are holding him or he is in the stroller or a highchair, literally anywhere. However, my older one, who will be 3 and a half at the time of travel, refuses to nap anymore, even at home. He also has a very sweet disposition and is not a difficult child to be with in public. The problem is that once he is doing something fun (which doesn't take much for him to be enjoying himself), he does not want to miss out and he will not sit down to nap or anything.

A few examples of this, to give you an idea of how he is...........last year on New Year's Eve when we were at my sister's house we tried to get him to go to sleep just to make him comfortable as usual. He did not go to sleep in my niece's bed, and even in the stroller he was still awake. He was not cranky at all though. In fact, my cousins remarked on how wonderfully he was behaving throughout the night. He stayed up until 12:30 that night! Granted, he slept late the following morning (close to 11 AM), but he was back to his regular routine that day and that night, and he was not cranky or resistent at all. The next example was in July when we were at a wedding and he danced and had a great time the whole time. People are still talking about that. He had a lot of fun, and we left at 11 PM, then he fell asleep in the car. He got up the next morning at his usual "summertime" waking time, between 8 and 9 AM. The third example was in August when we went to Dutch Wonderland, a children's theme park in Pennsylvania. We were up early for breakfast, then got to the park a little before it opened (opening time was 10 AM). We were in the park for about 6 hours, including eating lunch, because at that point we had hit all the rides, attractions and shows. So we went back to the hotel before dinner to see if he needed a nap. He wouldn't go to sleep but he was fine and nice and calm. At the restaurant at dinner that night he was his usual self, no problems. We got up early the next morning to have breakfast with the characters and he loved it. Then we went home.

I know this all sounds like I am making my son out to be an angel, but of course he is still a toddler and I am wondering how he is going to handle himself during a big trip to such a big place. No doubt about it, he will love it all (he knows almost all the characters that will be there, from the Disney Channel and my obsession with Disney movies), but I am also certain he will resist napping. So I am wondering if it would even be worth it to go back to the hotel room in the middle of the day to try and get him to nap, because if he doesn't then we might not feel like going back to the park again. Sometimes at home when we try and get him to take a nap and he refuses, he gets a little cranky so I am worried that there is a chance of this happening if we leave the parks to go back to the room and try to get him to nap. We are planning to rent the double stroller for the kids, so he can rest and not have to walk everywhere unless he really wants to do that, since the parks are so large. We are going for 5 nights, spending 2 days at Magic Kingdom, and one at each of the other 3 Disney Parks. We are not doing the Park Hopper option since the kids are so little. One park per day, we feel, is better for us.

Anyone ever go to WDW with toddlers and they did not nap? We are not concerned with nighttime things like fireworks. That is not important to us at this point since we will be making plenty of future trips to WDW and know that realistically, especially with little ones, we will not be able to do everything in one trip. I would like to make it to the SpectroMagic Parade but if we don't, that would be fine too, if that is better for our children. I want this trip to be fun and for them to have a wonderful time. Any suggestions? Believe me, I am not exaggerating, it is impossible to get my son to nap if he is determined not to! However, as I said, he has a great disposition and loves to have fun, so being in the middle of Mickey and Minnie and all the other wonderful things he will be seeing and doing would probably distract him enough not to want to nap. Plus he is the type of kid who would go to bed early once he settles down in the room and then sleep through the whole night, without a problem. Much more of a nighttime early sleeper than a daytime napper! So of course, we plan on early dinners and early bedtime!

Sorry this is so long! Any advice would be appreciated since the last time I went to WDW I was 17!!

Thanks so much,
Bonnie

 

[tanyaandallie]

I would take a break regardless if your baby toddler sleeps or not. If you go commando and get to the park early, stay all day, by day 2 or 3 you and your babies are going to be very tired and worn out. We always take a break and go back to our hotel.

Also, one small piece of advice. I would not rent a double stroller for your children. Your 3 year old will be fine in a rental but your baby will not. These strollers are hard plastic and not good for a sleeping barely 1 year old. I would bring a stroller from home, at least for the little one.

 

[SmallWorld71]

I don't know how helpful I can be, I will say though that none of my kids napped past 2. I have never given anyone a nap in the hotel room, but I still think it is helpful to take a break. The parks are very overstimulating and a swim, some T.V./coloring or playing in the room can do a lot to rejuvenate everyone. You may also find that he gets tired enough to fall asleep in the stroller or on the transportation to/from the hotel and that he will get in some naps that way. DD4 still does this sometimes on our vacations.

 

[dreamin in pa]

Are you staying on-site? If you are, then I would go back to the hotel for the mid-afternoon break. Since you said you are going in July, it will be hot and humid and crowded. Disney can also be overwhelming at times. Between the heat and being excited about everything, a couple of hours in your cool hotel room will feel great to everyone.

Your son doesn't even have to nap at the hotel. You could go swimming, have a nice leisurely (sp) lunch or just hang out. You can then head back to the park feeling refreshed from being out of the heat and crowds for a while.

 

[bangzoom6877]

Thanks so much for the advice! What about the baby care centers in the theme parks? Would that be a good break in the middle of the day, say after lunch, for my son to color and relax a little? Or should we definitely go back to Pop Century for this?

We are planning to use the Disney transportation, although we will have a car with us. The reason I want to use the bus is because my aunt told me that even if you park your car at the theme park you still have to take a tram to the entrance from the parking lot. So I figured with the kids the bus would be better. That is also why I did not want to bring a stroller, also because we do not have a double one. My older son doesn't use a stroller anywhere we go anymore, but on a tiring trip like this I figured he might need it, and the little one definitely will, so I thought the double stroller rental might be good. Now I am not sure. I don't want to spend the money on a double stroller I will only need for a few days, so buying one is not practical for me. I also did not want to lug a stroller onto the bus. I was planning to do the Length of Stay Rental for the stroller. What if we bring something soft to put into the stroller, like a receiving blanket or something? Would that maybe make it more comfortable for the little one? Any other suggestions? Am I right about taking the tram from the parking lot to the entrance gate?

Thanks again,
Bonnie

 

[EnchantedPrincess]

I don't have any advise about nap since my dd gave up her nap just after she turned 2, and my ds stopped napping at 18 months old. For me, that just wasn't a battle worth fighting..so I just move their bedtime up and they both are usually in bed by 8pm every night. Although they both do not nap, we still take them back to the hotel during our trip to Disney in the afternoon just to take a break from the park. They just lay down on the bed and watch tv in our room, or just play with some toys. We also try to stick to their nightly routine so we didn't go to the park for fireworks or anything like that, but we did let the kids stay up couple nights nad watch fireworks from our balcony at Contemporary Resort.

 

[tanyaandallie]

If you don't have a double, I'd buy another inexpensive single and take 2 singles. Or rent a single for your older child. I just don't think the rentals are at all comfy for a small child. I'm not just talking not comfy for sleeping. I'm talking not comfy for spending an entire week sitting in all day. If this was a trip to the zoo, I'd say no worries, deal with the hard stroller. But a long trip to Disney? I'd bring a stroller your baby will be comfy in.

Here is a link with some good info on the strollers and links to pics of the rentals.

http://www.allearsnet.com/pl/strol_faq.htm

 

[dreamin in pa]

You definately don't want to use one of the Disney strollers for your little one. They are hard plastic and it would be difficult to nap in.

If you don't want to buy a new stoller just for Disney, you could try renting from A Baby's Best Friend. We rented from them two years ago and it was very easy. They drop off the stroller at your hotel on your arrival. You pick it up at luggage services. When you leave, you just leave it with luggage services again and they will come pick it up. You could get a reclining stoller from them for your little one and then just rent a Disney stroller for your older child if he needs one.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Our Ds never napped past 3 but her was in bed at 7:30 everynight, or should i say, would fall alseep at 7:30 everynight no matter where he was!!! I suggest to keep him on his regular bed time and play the rest but ear. In July, EVERYONE is going to need a break during the hot day. If he wnated a nap great, if not quite time watching cartoons on the bed is fine. I also encourage strollers from home for both of them.

 

[eliza61]

Hey Bonnie,
July in WDW is hot, hot, hot and remember the parks are open really late (11:00 PM most nights). Definitely take a break. Next, play every thing else by ear. Disney can be a sensory overload for a lot of kids and I've seen (and had) a kid who is normally a sweet child turn into satan child by the end of the day. You may find that your son does not make it until the end of the night, remember fireworks won't start until 9:30 some times 10:00 pm. That's a long day. Our first year we did not make any fireworks because my kids were just wiped out. I was too!! Remember no one is going to be pushing you in a stroller, I can't tell you how many parents I've seen have melt downs (which filters down to the kids) because they are hot, sweaty and tired. Take a break.

 

[hmacmahony]

My kids do not nap, with the exception of at disney!! They will just crash in the stoller as needed. We have never took breaks, but have only been to disney in the heat once (but it was september and the place was empty), and the heat kicked our butt. We used the baby care center once to cool down, and relax everyone, and change diapers. My kids will sleep late, so we get to the parks later, but stay through until closing. THe first time we went to the christmas party, we were pretty much the last ones out, we did not get back to the hotel until 145 in the morning, and my girls were 2 and 3 (and 9 weeks, but she slept anywhere), and were happy as could be.
THe heat I would think, will be your downfall, it can be hard to deal with, and long lines. But for us, going back to the hotel midday, even on our few early days, it way too much of a hassle. But, you have to know your kids, see what happens the first day, if you have to go back, go back, if you don't keep going.
He might surprise you, he might crash in the stoller, which for us is wonderful!
have a great time

 

[tanyaandallie]

Oh, I missed that you are going in July. In the heat, I think a break is critical!!!! You are going to be roasting and it will totally wear you out!!!! Have you checked out tourguidemike.com? We have used it to plan all of our trips. His planning tips are awesome and really helped us. I think in July it would be even more useful.

 

[GoinToDisney]

I only read a couple of responses, but wanted to say that leaving the park was just not worth it for us. We planned a break every day, and we tried it the first day. Just go with an open mind and have fun. My dd did fall asleep in the stroller, but we found it more relaxing to plan a nice long sit down meal and then find a quiet place in the park to get away from things for a while. Behind the castle at MK was one of our faves. Just wing it and see what you all can handle. We had a long walk back to our room and dealing with the travel. It was not worth 2 extra hours to us that we had to allow for travel for one or 2 hours of "rest" (keeping a 2 1/2 year old occupied in a hotel room). Now if our next little one is not a stroller napper, we will do breaks until he or she can handle skipping them. I also say that if your child will sleep in, let him a few days.

 

[Not so Dumbo]

Even if your DS doesn't need a break I think the rest of you will. At least try it for a day and see if it works out. If it is a waste of time then stay at the parks the rest of your trip. There is probably a rule somewhere that we broke, but when we didn't want to leave but DS needed to nap/rest I would ride the monorail with him back and forth to Epcot a few times and that seemed to do the trick.

 

[Elmo888]

I agree - take a break from the parks from the heat and from the overstimulation. I underestimated the overstimulation factor, and I think that the break from the parks help. Even just hanging out in the room is nice. Or you could have the little one nap with one parent and the other parent could take your older child to the pool or playground.

I also want to add to the advice to take a stroller or two. There is a lot of walking outside the parks...a lot of walking. You will have to walk from your resort room to the bus stop, bus stop to the park, etc. And if you don't have your own stroller, you will be carrying your baby. When your older one is tired on your way out of the park, you will probably be carrying him, too. I just can't stress this the need for your own stroller enough.

If you have a lightweight, compactly folding double or two singles, it isn't a problem on the bus. If you need one, there are some inexpensive ones out there.

The inconvenience of strollers on the bus far outweighs the inconvenience of having to carry two tired kids back to your resort room. If you find that you don't like this, you can always use your car and put your kids in the strollers to walk into the park (instead of using the tram).

Even if you bring only one stroller, then you will only be carrying one child instead of two. I could see the difficulty of two strollers. When we loaded on to the bus, DH folded and manned the stroller and I manned the kids (6 yo and 2 yo). If you had two strollers, that might be difficult, esp. since your kids are so little.

I need to say it again...bring at least one stroller!

Have a great trip!

 

[bangzoom6877]

Thank you so much everyone for your advice! I have taken everything into consideration that I have read here. DH and I were talking about it, and of course we have agreed, from the beginning when we first planned this trip anyway, that we are going to go at whatever pace is best for the kids. This will be the first of what I am sure will end up being quite a few trips to WDW and we have plenty of years to explore more so seeing everything is definitely not necessary, nor is it an option anyway. We feel this is the most realistic approach to take. Here is the very tentative itinerary as of now:

Sun., 7/13: arrive at 11AM (we will be coming from Boca Raton, FL); check in and go to Magic Kingdom for the day; dinner at Crystal Palace and then leave the park for an early night (I am aware that our room will not be guaranteed to be ready until 3, but I know we can drop off our luggage and get our tickets and head right to MK)

Mon., 7/14: Breakfast in the hotel room (we requested a refrigerator and will be having cereal in our room to save time); head to EPCOT for opening; attractions in the morning and EPCOT, have lunch (counter service), then go back to the room (leave EPCOT at 1:00); head back to EPCOT for a 5:30 dinner reservation either at Akershus or at the Biergarten; head back to the room after dinner and have an early night

Tue., 7/15: Breakfast in the room; head to Animal Kingdom for opening; stay until after the 3:00 parade, then head back to the hotel room to rest; make a 6PM ADR for Boma in the Animal Kingdom Lodge, then head back to the room for an early night

Wed., 7/16: Head to Disney Studios for the earliest seating of the breakfast at Hollywood 'n' Vine with the Playhouse DIsney characters (my son's favorites); stay at the Studios until after the 3:00 parade; go back to the hotel room to rest; go to dinner at Ohana (or another resort restaurant, perhaps the Cape May Cafe for the Clambake) at 6 PM; return to the room for an early night

Thu., 7/17: Breakfast in the room; head to Magic Kingdom for opening; enjoy attractions in the morning; have lunch and then head back to hotel at 2 PM for rest; return for a 5:30 dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern and stay until after the SpectroMagic parade; head back to the hotel after the parade (not staying late for fireworks)

Fri., 7/18: Go to Chef Mickey's for character breakfast, then drive back up north.

Does this plan sound good? Even if my son does not nap, my little one most likely will, and we could all just relax in our air-conditioned room. The plan is tentative because I am not sure when the extra magic hours will be for that week yet, so the days may change. However, we are definitely doing MK the day of arrival since that day will be cut short, and we are doing MK for 2 days anyway. What does everyone think?

I am still not sure what I am going to do regarding the stroller. I still have time though. The reason I want to plan out my days so early is because I would like to call for my dining reservations in January, as soon as I can make reservations. Right now on the calendar the extra magic hours are osted through June so I am sure July will be posted in the next month.

We are also ordering the custom maps of each park so that we can bring them with us and have them as soon as we enter, knowing where we are going. Sound good?

Thanks,
Bonnie

 

[Merriwind]

I would take a break regardless if the older one sleeps. The down time will do you all good. We get an early start each morning and after lunch is a good breaking point for us. I think your schedule sounds good!

Your son may surprise you. My DD9 doesn't nap anymore (although there are days she could use one!) At WDW though, at least some days she will fall asleep in the afternoons--so does DH! (She puts up a little bit of a "I'm too big to nap" fight, but once she's in bed, she usually dozes off.) The pace can knock out anyone.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[rt2dz]

My oldest gave up naps at about 15 months, everywhere but Disney. My middle one still naps--on a fence post if necessary. My youngest is in the process of giving up naps at 26 months. I don't fight it. They can do what they want--except when DS#2 goes to Kindergarten, he will have to give up that nap I'm sure he'll still be taking. That's something I don't push one way or another, as long as their behavior is OK. Usually, like yours, it is, but sometimes...

Going back to the hotel room is a one-size-fits-all piece of advice. And like one-size-fits-all things, it doesn't fit everyone. We went in the high heat one year and were determined to take breaks. It did not work. And I'm not talking about the napping. The kiddos were never ready to leave when leaving was worth while. Once we did get them to switch gears, they didn't ever want to leave the hotel room. It was two fights a day. After three days of this, we quit trying to take breaks back at the hotel. Gone were the hassles. What we do instead is, take in-park breaks. We have late sit-down lunches/early dinners. We go to air conditioned shows. We switch parks and enjoy a long monorail ride/bus ride. We sit down and people watch. We shop in the stores with the kids in the stroller. This works perfectly for us. And I've talked a lot to others and this works better for them too.

I would not use a Disney rental stroller. How envious were so many people as we wheeled about our sleeping children--and not just in the parks, but in the parking lot, through DTD, on the monorail/boats, and through the hotels. Not to mention that those horrible MK strollers would make anyone uncomfortable for a length of time. I suspect that some of those kids that walk because they just won't sit in the stroller do so because of how uncomfortable the stroller is. Plus, there is no room for packages and diaper bags in any park's stroller. Kids under six who are walking look miserable too!

If you don't want to bring one or buy a double, rent from a baby rental company. You do not have to take a tram from the parking lot to the gates entrance either. We walk it and frequently beat the tram!

I think the best thing you can do is just go with the flow. Try something, if it doesn't work, try something else.

 

[Sophie_2003]

a lot of good info here.

If I may chime in, we definitely do not take breaks but have never been in the heat. DD stopped napping around 2 1/2, and gets in a goove at the park. Sitting down somewhere for a show or a snack helped Sometimes she passed out in her stroller. She does not handle transitions well, so as a previous poster said, leaving would be a fight and coming back would be too...


sooooo. we get there for opening, have a plan for the first two hours, then we lunch and just chill and let the day take us wherever, grab some fastpasses. Usually we'll leave the park between 3h30 and 5h00 pm, and we will only go back to a park in the evening on the last day.

Glad to see so many kids not napping. All my DD's friends still nap and I am insanely envious!

 

[Elmo888]

Thank you so much everyone for your advice! I have taken everything into consideration that I have read here. DH and I were talking about it, and of course we have agreed, from the beginning when we first planned this trip anyway, that we are going to go at whatever pace is best for the kids. This will be the first of what I am sure will end up being quite a few trips to WDW and we have plenty of years to explore more so seeing everything is definitely not necessary, nor is it an option anyway. We feel this is the most realistic approach to take. Here is the very tentative itinerary as of now:

Sun., 7/13: arrive at 11AM (we will be coming from Boca Raton, FL); check in and go to Magic Kingdom for the day; dinner at Crystal Palace and then leave the park for an early night (I am aware that our room will not be guaranteed to be ready until 3, but I know we can drop off our luggage and get our tickets and head right to MK)

Mon., 7/14: Breakfast in the hotel room (we requested a refrigerator and will be having cereal in our room to save time); head to EPCOT for opening; attractions in the morning and EPCOT, have lunch (counter service), then go back to the room (leave EPCOT at 1:00); head back to EPCOT for a 5:30 dinner reservation either at Akershus or at the Biergarten; head back to the room after dinner and have an early night

Tue., 7/15: Breakfast in the room; head to Animal Kingdom for opening; stay until after the 3:00 parade, then head back to the hotel room to rest; make a 6PM ADR for Boma in the Animal Kingdom Lodge, then head back to the room for an early night

Wed., 7/16: Head to Disney Studios for the earliest seating of the breakfast at Hollywood 'n' Vine with the Playhouse DIsney characters (my son's favorites); stay at the Studios until after the 3:00 parade; go back to the hotel room to rest; go to dinner at Ohana (or another resort restaurant, perhaps the Cape May Cafe for the Clambake) at 6 PM; return to the room for an early night

Thu., 7/17: Breakfast in the room; head to Magic Kingdom for opening; enjoy attractions in the morning; have lunch and then head back to hotel at 2 PM for rest; return for a 5:30 dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern and stay until after the SpectroMagic parade; head back to the hotel after the parade (not staying late for fireworks)

Fri., 7/18: Go to Chef Mickey's for character breakfast, then drive back up north.

Does this plan sound good? Even if my son does not nap, my little one most likely will, and we could all just relax in our air-conditioned room. The plan is tentative because I am not sure when the extra magic hours will be for that week yet, so the days may change. However, we are definitely doing MK the day of arrival since that day will be cut short, and we are doing MK for 2 days anyway. What does everyone think?

I am still not sure what I am going to do regarding the stroller. I still have time though. The reason I want to plan out my days so early is because I would like to call for my dining reservations in January, as soon as I can make reservations. Right now on the calendar the extra magic hours are osted through June so I am sure July will be posted in the next month.

We are also ordering the custom maps of each park so that we can bring them with us and have them as soon as we enter, knowing where we are going. Sound good?

Thanks,
Bonnie

The afternoon break will mostly likely take 3 to 4 hours, including travel time. It is hard to believe, but it really is true. I read that and was surprised, but after our trip, I can agree. Looking at your Tuesday plan, for example, leaving a park after the 3 pm parade and being at dinner by 6 pm might be difficult. If you don't leave the park until 3:30 and you have to leave your resort by 5 if using bus and 5:30 if using your car, it could be tight. We didn't see any daytime parades when we were there because of the 3 pm time. It just wasn't possible with our napping DD2. We saw enough with character meals and characters in the park that I don't think DDs missed it.

Regarding the custom maps, they are neat looking, but rather large to use in the parks. Some of the guidebooks have good maps if you want to get familiar with the parks (Unofficial Guide to WDW is a good book and Passport, although I'm not crazy about it as a guidebook even though it has a lot of fans, has nice maps). You will want to get maps as you enter the parks because they have current info (times for shows, etc.). Plus, they make nice souvenirs!

We are going again in January, and I did the same thing. I planned our days using the Unofficial Guide's crowd estimates so I could plan our days and our ADRs way back in June. I did this last time, too. It worked well. Just make sure that, even with your plan, you remain flexible. I didn't have a specific time for leaving the parks in the afternoon. We just left when it appeared that DD2 had enough, which was usually around 1 pm.

Make sure that you have snacks with you. Most days, DDs needed a snack after nap, even though some of our ADRs were at 5:30 and we were on our way to them. I resisted at first, but then I gave in. It made everyone happy. Which reminds me - we had a difficult time getting to 5:30 ADRs if we went back to the resort. The CMs tell you to leave your room an hour before your ADR (and the CMs at the restaurants want you to check in 15 minutes before your ADR), and trying to leave the room by 4:30 was difficult. This time, for the days that we plan for napping, our ADRs are at 6 pm to allow for some extra time. (It didn't usually take an hour to get to most restaurants. Epcot restaurants might be an exception since most of them are at the back of the park. It takes a while to get to those restaurants in the WS.)

I just noticed that you are coming from Boca Raton! I lived in Boca Raton when I was young!

Have a great trip!