Nighttime Activities---What to expect OF a Toddler?

[emmocakeysari]

I have three DDs (ages 2, 4, 5). How reasonable is it to expect them to see all of the nighttime activities (ie Wishes, Fantasmic, Laser show at Epcot)? We are in WDW for 7 nights...should we space out our "late" nights?

 

[pezpam]

You know your kids best. How would they handle it if you kept them up that late for fireworks at home? Some kids might be fine if they get to sleep in the next morning, some will sleep right through it all, and some really need to stay close to their normal schedule.

While my DD has always behaved well in public situations, she was much happier if she got her rest at night, so we didn't see a single fireworks show when she was 5. It just made my life easier. However, if the kids can handle it without problems for them or you, then go for it.

 

[latexscooter]

We've always tried to maintain the same schedule at the parks as we do at home. So for us, we've always done afternoon naps and she has never seen Spectro, Illuminations, or Fantasmic. We did do a Wishes fireworks cruise once but she curled up on the boat and went to sleep so she missed the whole thing.

This year she will be 4 for our trip and we're going to shoot for Wishes and Spectro on different nights (they'll be at 9:00 during our trip) in hopes that she can experience it. But if she's not up for it we won't even try. We'll try the others another trip. Ultimately, for us, if she's cranky from lack of sleep or over stimulation we're all miserable so we don't really plan too much for the late activities.

ETA: If you do decide to do the late activities I recommend a sleep-in, not rope-drop, follow up morning.

 

[flynnmnstr]

Last trip our DSs were 4 & 1. We were able to see all the nighttime activities.

We spaced them out and took naps almost every day even if it was just the boys snoozing in their strollers while DH and I ate a late lunch so that everyone was well rested for the evenings. Though definitely doable; just make sure that you have a Plan B. For example, try to do Spectro earlier in your trip so that if you do not make it that night for one reason or another, you have another night to try to get to it. With 3 little ones you never know what's going to pop up.

The nighttime activities were much easier to schedule than the parades- they always seemed to be scheduled when they were napping.

 

[NU2WDW]

I have three DDs (ages 2, 4, 5). How reasonable is it to expect them to see all of the nighttime activities (ie Wishes, Fantasmic, Laser show at Epcot)? We are in WDW for 7 nights...should we space out our "late" nights?

Hi -- Our three girls are the same ages as yours. We're making our first WDW trip in June. I debated about the night activities too, but I think I am going to try one or two of them. We're staying 2 weeks and renting a house off-site, so with less pressure to "cram it all" into 1 week, and have days off in between to rest up and just swim or play, I think they might do okay. Even at 1 week, I would be willing to bet your kids could handle at least one night activity, just be sure to take it real easy the next day!

I really am getting so psyched for our trip. It'll be our first vacation in two years and I've never gone for two weeks at a time before!

 

[mom2jcc]

HI, I read a great tip on here months ago. If you stay out later than normal, bring your kids pajamas/sleepers so when you get back to where you are staying you can just put them right to bed.

 

[mom2my3kids]

When we went in October we were not prepared we were worn out by 5 and was back in our resort by 6 at night. We didn't do any of the night time activities with our 3 year old at the time it was just to much for him. This year I am going to plan it better and have a day off so hopefully we can do some night activities.

 

[NotUrsula]

How reasonable is it to expect them to see all of the nighttime activities (ie Wishes, Fantasmic, Laser show at Epcot)?

See them? Not so much. Sleep through them in the parks? You betcha. This is where a good comfy stroller is your best friend. At those ages, I would expect that if they manage to stay awake for the show, they will fall asleep as soon as it is over -- either way they probably all will need to be carried home out cold. You will want to plan for that and make sure that you have stroller capacity all the way to your vehicle/resort, or your hands free to carry them.

They will almost surely need a mid-day downtime if they are going to make it. Try to go back to your hotel for a nap if at all possible; even the grownups should rest so that they will have more patience dealing with the little ones later on. You probably want to head back in at about 5 pm.

Take the PJ's and the toothbrushes with you and get them ready for sleep at their usual times -- think of this like a drive-in movie experience. The excitement may probably keep them occupied until the show ends, but as soon as it is over they will be sleepy, and you will probably get crankiness if you try to keep them awake or wake them so that they can get ready for bed.

Don't worry too much about getting a "prime spot". Kids tend to do better when they are NOT right on top of the action for these loud shows, and the whole boring process of staking out a good spot for hours is not something they usually have much patience with.

 

[emmismom05]

Great thread! I was wondering the same thing.

In our situation, we will have a 3 hour time difference. Basically, DD2 goes to bed at 8pm here but in FL it would be 11pm. The only thing is she won't want to wake up early so that should be interesting/challenging. Does anyone have advice on how to handle that? Or any experience with time differences in your young kids?

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

I'd space them out, but also remember that their attention spans might not be what you wanted/expected. Mine was fine for Fantasmic and 4, but he was probably 10 before he wanted to sit still for a parade and he still thinks Illuminations, "bites." Whatever!

I remember seeing MSEP with him when he was much younger, probably 4ish. I was so excited about it and wanted to see joy on his face. He turned around and focused on some ducks that were begging for food the whole time. He had no intereset in the parade at all!

 

[Princess Roo]

I agree that it depends on the child. There is absolutely no way that DS could handle a 9PM fireworks show, but he's very much a "routine" kid and won't sleep in strollers. When we went in December, the fireworks were really early, so he got to see them then. BTW, I was surprised, but he really wasn't into them that much. Another factor is how they handle their naps at WDW, too. Some people have posted that their children crash in the strollers later than their typical naps and then are ready to stay up late afterwards.
You know your children best!

 

[pperfectmom]

I'm more worried about the afternoon parades too. Those will be during our scheduled down times. Our kids normally don't go to bed until 9:00ish anyway so I'm hoping we can see a few of the nighttime events.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

It really depends on your kids. DS4 is not a big napper unless he is sick or having a growth spurt. He usually goes to bed around 7:30 and crashes hard! But in WDW he is our little engine that could. He wanted to be out most nights till at least 10 pm and stayed at MVMCP (and wide awake to boot) till the very end. He did finally lose the battle on day 7 of our 8 day trip and zonked out cold during a 2pm showing of FOTLK and slept though it, the parade and the bus ride back to AKL. But that totally refreshed him to stay at MK that night till 11pm!

I guess you really won't know till you get there since we didn't expect him to be such a night owl!

 

[JacobsMommy11002]

Our kids tend to go to bed really early and don't deal well with late nights. To minimize it we went to MK one night and saw Spectromagic and Wishes, and then later in the week we went to an early showing of Fantasmic and then went to Epcot and saw Illuminations...it worked for us because we only had 2 late nights!

 

[BarbWB]

At home, my kids get up relatively early and go to bed early. At WDW, who knows????? They can stay up FOREVER.
Honestly, my BEST traveler last time was my 2yo!!! The 4, 6, and 8 yo's were melting down, but he was going strong at 10:00 one night waiting for the bus to POP after fireworks.
I think vacation is a weird time. It's hard to predict what your kids will do. Build in breaks and down time and don't get too upset if you have to miss something you have planned.
If you have something really special like Cindy's or HDD or something, plan around that and make sure they are rested. Otherwise, you really never know.
On our last trip, we planned to go back and take naps, but my little ones were troopers! They didn't need to sleep, so we pushed on through most days. We had "extra" time that we didn't plan on, so we were able to take it easy mid-day and see things that weren't on the schedule.
If there is something you REALLY want to do at night, plan an easy day the NEXT day. They will be tired.
It's so hard to plan, so don't try to do something you have your heart set on when you also plan a full day.
jmho!!
-Barb

 

[las3888]

You really have to know your kids and figure what will work best. Advice may not be that helpful at this point. I know many times people have told us your DC will have no problems sleeping at Disney - they will be so overtired they will just zonk out anywhere and that is very untrue for our DS. He also will not sleep in his stroller. If we took him to fireworks, sleeping would be the absolute last thing he would do.

For us, we usually do one later evening but that's about it. In our family, keeping to the schedule makes for happiness all around.

You really have to think about how your kids are with these kinds of things. Good luck!

 

[SnowWitch]

Best advise- go with the flow. When we started taking our boys in the early 90's they were 2 and 4. They would make it through e nights until 1-2 am, no meltdowns. They stayed up fairly late at home then, I had a very laid back attitude in my early 20's. They stayed that way. We were up early, back for an afternoon nap, and back to the parks by 5.

We now have 2 dd's, who are 22 and 3 months old. I am no longer in my early twenties and my 22 month old dd has recently been put on a schedule for her own good. She was a child who needed one. Up by 7am , nap at 1230, and bedtime at 8:30. She is great on this scedule. Will we stick to it on vacation this summer, who knows. We may try one late night with her at MK but if she melts down we will accomodate her by sticking to her schedule the rest of the vacation.

 

[Perditamarie]

How do your kids react to late nights? I know my kids get up at the same time (EARLY) no matter what, but are crabby, so it is not worth it to us to deviate from our regular schedule, especially since they have graduated from naps. The one time we did go, nobody liked it!! It was too loud, too cold (in August!!!), and too tired! I would bring earplugs if you go!!!