night before you leave question...

[AwaitingTheMagic]

I am going to the World for the first time in a couple months. Here is the thing...

We leave at 5:26am. This means we have to be at the airport about 3:30am.

I know I will not be able to fall asleep at 6pm just to get my usual hours of sleep. What do you do?!? We are getting to Orlando in the early afternoon, so we have a full day ahead of us...I don't want to go without sleep, but I think it's going to be impossible! (Oh, and you can't tell me to sleep on the plane...even on a 9 hour ride to Europe I could not sleep...Just like I can't sleep in a moving car either).

So what would you suggest? I am thinking of:

a) 2 days before we go, stay up as late as I possibly can so hopefully I will be so tired that I WILL want to go to bed at 6pm the night before we leave

b) hope this doesn't cause controversy...but has anyone ever taking sleep medication? I do not own any and have never taken any, but am wondering if something like this would ensure I get a full night's rest.

BUT I am thinking that even if I do not get enough sleep, I will be too excited when I get to Orlando that I won't even be tired till late at night...Here's to hoping...lol

 

[Sparkled]

I am going to the World for the first time in a couple months. Here is the thing...

We leave at 5:26am. This means we have to be at the airport about 3:30am.

I know I will not be able to fall asleep at 6pm just to get my usual hours of sleep. What do you do?!? We are getting to Orlando in the early afternoon, so we have a full day ahead of us...I don't want to go without sleep, but I think it's going to be impossible! (Oh, and you can't tell me to sleep on the plane...even on a 9 hour ride to Europe I could not sleep...Just like I can't sleep in a moving car either).

So what would you suggest? I am thinking of:

a) 2 days before we go, stay up as late as I possibly can so hopefully I will be so tired that I WILL want to go to bed at 6pm the night before we leave

b) hope this doesn't cause controversy...but has anyone ever taking sleep medication? I do not own any and have never taken any, but am wondering if something like this would ensure I get a full night's rest.

BUT I am thinking that even if I do not get enough sleep, I will be too excited when I get to Orlando that I won't even be tired till late at night...Here's to hoping...lol

I would suggest sleeping pills but you must take them 8 and 1/2 hours before you want to get up. Otherwise you'll be in a heap of trouble! Enjoy your trip!

 

[Cinderumbrella]

We always take the early flight like you. I put DS to bed a little early to help and I am usually in bed by 10pm. I just don't think of it as going to bed, but rather taking a nap. We also try to make it back to our hotel room that first night by 9pm at the latest (which would be like 8pm our time) and get to bed so we are refreshed for the next day.

Have fun!!

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

I usually can't sleep the night before we leave because i am so excited. I will pack the car and make sure my children sleep in the the clothes we are leaving in. I am the type of person that needs 10 hours of sleep at night and a nap during the day. I book the earliest plane possible and end up sleeping 1-2 hours on the plane and I am usually fine all day. BY the time we get there I am ready to go. Nothing can stop me. My whole trip, I may get 6-7 hours of sleep without naps and I do fine.
If you don't normally take sleeping pills, I wouldn't suggest starting the night before your vacation. You don't know what your reaction may be to them and it may make you too groggy.

 

[snowman]

I am going to the World for the first time in a couple months. Here is the thing...

We leave at 5:26am. This means we have to be at the airport about 3:30am.

Are you sure you aren't traveling with us? While we don't have to be at the airport at 330am, we need to get up by then. And like you I simply cannot sleep on the plane.

We are leaning towards staying up alllllll night Friday night, going to bed at like 6 Saturday evening to get up at the right time.

I thought about sleeping meds (like tylenol pm or such), but decided I really want to be alert during our airport transfers, so that shot that idea out the window.

We arrive in Orlando @1pm.....and will be keeping our fingers crossed that our room is ready so we can take a nap before heading to MK for EMH night.

Good luck, good sleeping & have fun.

 

[AwaitingTheMagic]

Thanks for the advice you guys!

I have decided to not to the sleeping meds...like you said, since I have never taken them, I do not know what to expect and wouldn't want them to make me groggy!

I will just attempt to sleep before we leave...doubt that will happen! haha...

But I think the excitement of being there should keep me awake. We are also getting there around 1pm, so I think we will just relax around the resort and then go out after dinner or something.

It's funny because I will often keep myself awake late thinking about this trip...and it is still 2 months away! haha

Thanks for all the replies!

 

[themudd4]

WHO SLEEPS????
I don't care how early or how late I am leaving, I don't sleep the night before anyway!
Just like the commercial...I'M TOO EXCITED TO SLEEP!

We were planning on leaving a couple years back about 6 am. It was funny, without waking up the kids or each other, we all just sort of got up and ready and were on the road by 4:30 am.

 

[Maine-iac]

It's funny because I will often keep myself awake late thinking about this trip...and it is still 2 months away! haha

LOL that is totally normal around here. We all can associate with that.

 

[dzneelvr]

We do everything as normal as possible pre-trip (meaning we don't puposely mess with sleep patterns prior to the trip) and then second day I don't book anything until afternoon That way, we drop exhausted into bed the first night and sleep until we wake up that first morning at the resort. Always works for us! OH--don't forget to secure the "do not disburb" sign on your door or mousekeeping will walk in by mistake.

 

[farcus17]

Sleep is only needed when you get back from Disney... I dont think i got more then 3-4 hours sleep from the day we left to the day after we got back... But if you can get as much as you can before you go because sleep is something that is not thought about much when you get there.. LOL

 

[Luckymommyx2]

We usually wake up at 3 or 3:30 for our flight to MCO. We go to bed between 6 and 7 knowing that we're not going to go to sleep right away but if we can at least rest, that's better than nothing. I can never sleep the night before but I haven't had any problems the next day. I think the adreneline carries me through. Good luck!

 

[Ears]

For our first trip together, my wife and I thought we could sleep. NOPE. The second one, we tried again, but nope. After that, we just try to sleep late the day before, the go out for late Bingo or something to distract us. The past few trips, we have stayed at a hotel figuring we still won't sleep, but at least it feels like the trip started earlier and we won't have to drive to the airport (shuttle).

 

[Maverick Mike]

I love the "night before excitement!" It is great! The car is pack, the snacks are ready, and all you have to do is sleep... right!

We planned on leaving at 7 am a few years back. We have now moved it back to 4am since our last few trips. If you are going to be up, why not just start driving??

MM

 

[WillCAD]

I always have trouble sleeping the night before a vacation or trip anywhere. I just schedule lots of last-minute stuff for the day before to tire myself out, go to bed at my regular time or maybe a few hours early, and try to relax as much as possible.

If i tried any kind of medication, I would be too sleepy in the morning during my flight and landing in Orlando, which is one of my favorite parts of the trip, so I just tough it out and try to get a little rest on the plane or while sitting in the airport before the flight.

 

[storzo]

When I have early flights like that I just stay up all night. I'm usually packing last minute anyway. I can sleep anywhere at any time, except for on a plane (don't know why). Yes, I start to feel exhausted, but something about the start of a vacation, arriving in a new place, is just a high that will wake me up and keep me going.

 

[tkhkroberts]

We end up with this same problem before we go anywhere also, but hey at least it is to Disney. This is also the only time my kids ever jump straight out of bed in the morning. I have always found that the excitement of the first day will keep me going through the tiredness. If you want to look at sleeping pills, keep in mind the over the counter one are nothing more than Benadryl. If this usually makes you sleepy, I would go for it to get a couple of hours in anyway. Enjoy the vacation.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Enjoy that first time ever, make those lifetime memories.

 

[AwaitingTheMagic]

AHHHH you guys are all making me even more excited!!!! I can't believe it!

 

[Susan555]

We do Benadryl for everyone the night before ANY long trip - two each for me and dh, one each for the kids. I take mine REALLY early because I'm the one that does the driving. I might take it at 6 PM, fight sleep until 9 or so, then sleep from 9 to 4:30, then I get up, load the car, make sure everything is ready, then I wake up dh and the kids and we hit the road. They generally will go back to sleep until 8 or so, and by the time they wake up we're 3 hours into our trip. I bring a Diet Coke along to make SURE I can stay awake.

Some people take Tylenol PM to get some rest - all that is is Tylenol plus Benadryl. So unless you have a headache, take some Benadryl. We always use the Wal Mart brand, and it works like a charm.

 

[Tasmen]

We are flying a red eye flight (leaving at 11:45pm and getting in at 9:45pm with a stop in DFW). I plan on trying to sleep as much as I can on the plane (I don't expect that to be much. The DH, however, can fall asleep anywhere & anytime -- even a table at a restaurant ) and then taking a mid-afternoon nap (would normally be our mid-afternoon break) that day after we can get our room.

I figure once we arrive even if we have gotten very little sleep the night before, we'll be so amped to be at the World, we'll have adrenaline to keep us going.