Parking for the day but using buses for midday breaks?

[4Rfamily]

Strongly leaning towards driving to the parks most days. Our family is planning to get to the parks early and take midday breaks so my 1 year old can nap at the hotel (POP).

Since we are getting to the parks early I'm hoping we would get decent parking. Considering taking WDW transportation back to the hotel for midday break so we can keep our parking spot for when we leave at night on the days we are not park hopping.

Do people do this?

Pros and cons of this idea?

 

[maxiesmom]

The con is dealing with your sleeping or tired son on the bus. If you are taking your own stroller you will have to hold that, and you may have to be standing while doing so. You may also have to stand while holding your son.

Honestly, I would drive back.

 

[lovethattink]

It's more convenient to drive from all the parks except MK for an afternoon break.

MK means getting first to the TTC by boat or monorail before you can even get to a tram to your car.

 

[Bullseye]

I couldn't imagine waiting for a bus twice a day when I got wheels at my command. I drive everywhere in WDW.

 

[Ambehnke]

I would drive midday except for MK. Sometimes they start you parking way off anyway so it's not always a better spot right away in the am.

 

[King of Naboombu]

I like to drive to the parks and have used WDW transportation for midday breaks often. Really worth it to have your car at the end of the night instead of dealing with the bus crowds. Only time it was an issue was when we decided on spending the evening at the resort instead of going back to the park. So I had to take a trip just to retrieve the car.

 

[4Rfamily]

The con is dealing with your sleeping or tired son on the bus. If you are taking your own stroller you will have to hold that, and you may have to be standing while doing so. You may also have to stand while holding your son.

Honestly, I would drive back.

Yes, these are exactly the reasons I think we should drive in the morning and at night. If its going to happen, I'd rather have him melt down while strapped in the car seat in our own vehicle when he's tired at night. I'm hoping or plan allows us to head back for break before he gets too tired to handle it but we could always play this by ear.

 

[DisneyOma]

Strongly leaning towards driving to the parks most days. Our family is planning to get to the parks early and take midday breaks so my 1 year old can nap at the hotel (POP).

Since we are getting to the parks early I'm hoping we would get decent parking. Considering taking WDW transportation back to the hotel for midday break so we can keep our parking spot for when we leave at night on the days we are not park hopping.

Do people do this?

Pros and cons of this idea?

How long does he nap? Plan at least a half hour for bus transportation - including waiting for the bus, etc. Then repeating the same process to get back. At MK, it could be over an hour one way as they don't run as many buses mid-day as they do around opening and closing. Could your one year old nap in the stroller at the parks?

 

[tlmadden73]

Just nap them in the park. I doubt it will be worth it to try and get a 1 year old back to a hotel (as far away as Pop Century) for a nap. It will simply take way too long and be too much of a hassle to get on/off a bus.

Chances are they will probably zonk out on the way TO the bus stop and just wake back up ON the bus.

When my son was 3, we took a break from MK to Pop Century after lunch (via bus) and by the time we got back, napped and went back to the park, we spent 3-4 hours. I would have rather have just rested in the park. I didn't like it, but I was with my in-laws AND it was pouring rain, so I was outvoted .

When my son was 2, we just had him nap in the parks and he would sleep 60-90 minutes in the stroller with ease.

I just went back with my son 4 and my daughter (5 mo).
We used a set of noise cancelling headphones and plop them on his/her head and lay the stroller back. Go find a shady spot or a cool indoor attraction (like any of the pavilions at Epcot). That worked great. She napped in the shade at MK and inside a pavilion or two at Epcot.
Though this is very dependent on the weather.

Better yet .. go to the Baby Center and chill out for a while there instead of going all the way back to the hotel.

 

[4Rfamily]

How long does he nap? Plan at least a half hour for bus transportation - including waiting for the bus, etc. Then repeating the same process to get back. At MK, it could be over an hour one way as they don't run as many buses mid-day as they do around opening and closing. Could you one year old nap in the stroller at the parks?

At home he naps about 2 hours but not sure how he'll do with travel. I'm hoping he can be flexible and do some stroller napping in the parks if he's tired at odd times but anytime we've tried stroller naps it's been awful, although maybe I an try some of the strategies others have used.

The trip is more for my 6 year old. We have 7 days and we'd like to see the night time shows too. Our kids are used to going to bed around 8 or 9 so they will already be off schedule for some of the days (which happens at home sometimes too). Although my sons nap is necessary, I think a midday park break will benefit us all. I love to go to parks early and be busy all day but that pace won't work for our kids. I know we'll be out of the parks several hours but I think between getting there early (kids are up early anyways), and using fastpass and rider switch over multiple days we can see our family's top picks.

 

[LeslieB123]

At home he naps about 2 hours but not sure how he'll do with travel. I'm hoping he can be flexible and do some stroller napping in the parks if he's tired at odd times but anytime we've tried stroller naps it's been awful, although maybe I an try some of the strategies others have used.

The trip is more for my 6 year old. We have 7 days and we'd like to see the night time shows too. Our kids are used to going to bed around 8 or 9 so they will already be off schedule for some of the days (which happens at home sometimes too). Although my sons nap is necessary, I think a midday park break will benefit us all. I love to go to parks early and be busy all day but that pace won't work for our kids. I know we'll be out of the parks several hours but I think between getting there early (kids are up early anyways), and using fastpass and rider switch over multiple days we can see our family's top picks.

I have another thread going and just said the same thing. I have the same plan and the same age kids as you, plus a 10 year old. I think the midday break will benefit my 6 year old too! My older son can swim so that will still be fun for him.

 

[OSUZorba]

I took my then 6mo in Sept. We were staying at BWV, and everyday after lunch we'd go back to the room for her to nap. I think it was only truly successful once. The other days it was just an exercise in frustration, and she is typically a good sleeper and we'd loose 3-4 hours. She'd fall asleep on the bus, then wake up when we got off or similar. On that trip she did sleep well in her stroller at unplanned times, which was nice even though it affected our plans. We got this before we went, and threw it on the stroller when she went to sleep: http://www.toysrus.com/buy/gear-accessories/babies-r-us-baby-shade-cover-1934049-18166366 it helped a lot, because she likes watching people.

On our last trip in Feb with our then 1yo we had planned on going back to the hotel (Wyndham Bonnet Creek), but we ended up getting her to sleep in her stroller pretty well in the parks and she seemed pretty happy with it. We'd feed her lunch, lay her down in the stroller, give her a bottle, after she finished the bottle we put the blackout cover on and she was out, while we walked and talked like normal. I also take a baby harness (chest carrier) and she falls asleep in it pretty well and can stay asleep in it throw all kinds of movement. If she was in her stroller DW and I would do some baby swap rides while she slept.

One great trick that has worked 6 out of 6 times. Every time we take her on The Haunted Mansion, she konks out, since she is in her harness we can go about our normal activities and she stayed asleep. This last trip, she was really going nuts, because she was overly tired, I got a FP for HM, took her in there, she went nuts all the way until the elevator scene and boom she was out.

BTW: Our travel stroller is a Chicco Liteway, that can lay almost completely flat and gives her enough room to stretch out without being bulky around the park. If your baby isn't used to sleeping with noise, I'd try to train them before going to Disney.

 

[barbliny]

Many trips with my girls from infants to post college grads. Predicting behavior and moods is impossible- trying to schedule them is an exercise in futility.

Disney is the apex of over-stimulation. You will see high highs and low lows and everything in between.

The most successful trips will be had when you follow 'their' lead. They will get tired faster and they will stay awake longer if that makes sense.

Playing it 'by ear' was much easier before FP+ - it's just added pressure now - years ago if they fell asleep in the stroller you would find a shady spot and wait it out before you sent someone with all the tickets to get the next fastpasses - now it's 'seriously, I stayed up all night and we only have 15 minutes left on the FP+ window I booked 60 days ago because you love Elsa'

In general, Disney is like the Twilight Zone for kids and families - the family norm does not exist inside the borders.

Your child will probably fall asleep in the stroller when you least expect it. They will be wired at their usual nap time. Trends don't exist anymore.

Play it by ear - with some sort of pre-planned structure.

And, I wish I could force my grown kids to take a mid-day nap!!

 

[Sprockie]

BTW: Our travel stroller is a Chicco Liteway, that can lay almost completely flat and gives her enough room to stretch out without being bulky around the park. If your baby isn't used to sleeping with noise, I'd try to train them before going to Disney.

 

[Sprockie]

I agree that the right stroller is key. I bought a stroller for my boy when he was about 3 for this purpose - one with lots of room and big canopy and reclines fully. He had lots of great naps at the parks.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Just nap them in the park.

This - we never returned to the resort to allow our boys to nap, we just found a quiet place in the parks (they all have quiet places for this). We did occasionally return to our room for an afternoon swim, but we drove back because we wanted the flexibility to go to a different park if we changed our minds after the swim.

As others have said, we drive to every park except MK. We save about 15 minutes each way taking buses to MK even during low crowd periods.

 

[4Rfamily]

Many trips with my girls from infants to post college grads. Predicting behavior and moods is impossible- trying to schedule them is an exercise in futility.

Disney is the apex of over-stimulation. You will see high highs and low lows and everything in between.

The most successful trips will be had when you follow 'their' lead. They will get tired faster and they will stay awake longer if that makes sense.

Playing it 'by ear' was much easier before FP+ - it's just added pressure now - years ago if they fell asleep in the stroller you would find a shady spot and wait it out before you sent someone with all the tickets to get the next fastpasses - now it's 'seriously, I stayed up all night and we only have 15 minutes left on the FP+ window I booked 60 days ago because you love Elsa'

In general, Disney is like the Twilight Zone for kids and families - the family norm does not exist inside the borders.

Your child will probably fall asleep in the stroller when you least expect it. They will be wired at their usual nap time. Trends don't exist anymore.

Play it by ear - with some sort of pre-planned structure.

And, I wish I could force my grown kids to take a mid-day nap!!

Exactly this!!! I know the best plan would be to wait and see what he does but Disney makes this near impossible. We have ADR's and will soon book fastpasses. I think we'll take breaks most days but I'll try to keep my expectations realistic as to whether the scheduled break matches the needed nap!! I like the idea of down time at the hotel for both kids. Swimming is still more of a break for all of us then a 13 hour park day and even if the toddler doesn't nap my husband and I can take turns! Thinking I'll probably do whatever I can to make stroller naps an option but maybe we'll stick to driving. If my son is tired, he's most likely to fall asleep in his car seat. That was my night plan but maybe I should stick to it even when the buses are an option midday.