Q: Taking afternoon breaks with toddlers

[bangzoom6877]

We're going in July with a 3 and a half year old and a 14-month-old and I am aware of the 90% chance that we will all need a break to go back to the hotel in the middle of the day each day. However, I would like people's opinions about this some more...

For instance...how long do you really need to tour each of the 4 Disney Parks with 2 toddlers? We are going to Magic Kingdom the day of arrival (figure right around or right after lunchtime to arrive there, depending on where we decide to eat lunch when we first arrive) and for a full day near the end of the trip, with morning EMH (staying at Pop Century). We are going to the other 3 Disney parks one day each. No Park Hopper for us this trip. So one park a day, plenty for the little guys. Afternoon parades are not that important to us, even though it would be great to see them. But not a first priority. Attractions are much moreso than parades. We will definitely do one parade, the SpectroMagic at MK. Epcot is a regular non-EMH morning. So is Disney Studios but we have an early character breakfast there at 8 AM, before the park opens. Animal Kingdom is a morning-EMH day for us.

Is it possible to do a lot of things by 3 PM or so if we get to the parks as early as possible (exception is the first day at MK when we will stay until our 5 PM dinner ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern). If we leave the parks at 3, we have time to go back to the room and relax a little before a 6 PM ADR right? Other than the first day with the 5:00 ADR at LTT, our other dinners are at 6 or 6:15. Two are at resorts, the rest at parks. We are also thinking of staying in the parks all day until after dinner, the days we eat in parks (Magic Kingdom both days we will be there and Epcot). Then leaving after dinner (except one day at MK to see evening parade). I think my kids can handle it. We will have the double stroller with us and they will sleep in it. However, I don't have a definite plan with taking breaks or not...we are just going to do whatever is best for our sons at any given moment so that we all have a good time. I don't want them to be miserable in the parks either...no fun for them or for us that way.

Anyone have any experience either with or without midday breaks? Also, we will be driving back to Pop Century from the parks, not taking the bus, so figure on at least 30 minutes to get back right?

Thanks,
Bonnie

 

[ADAMANDLISA]

How much you get done depends on the crowd levels. Haven't been in July, so I'm not sure about that. The best advice I can give you on afternoon breaks is to make sure you take them before your little ones are completely worn out. You don't want them falling asleep on the bus and then not wanting to go back to bed.

I honestly think that the afternoon breaks helped us as much as our boys. We always went back to the parks feeling very refreshed. We never had any expectations of how much we were going to get done, or how late we would stay and this worked out great for us. (We were also there in Sept. last year and the crowds were minimal....we got on everything with hardly any wait)

Have a great time and enjoy yourselves!

 

[bangzoom6877]

A lot of my friends and family who have been to Disney with little ones said that they would have taken breaks even if they didn't have the kids with them.

I am anticipating lots of crowds. In fact I already started explaining to my 3-year-old that the lines will be much longer than at our local amusement park here in Brooklyn, NY! I started to explain to him that we have to wait our turn and it might take a while, but that we will have a lot of fun there.

What I am hoping for is that the day we go to MK for morning EMH, we will get a lot done in Fantasyland during that first hour when certain things are open. The plan for the first day (MK around lunchtime) is to head left to Adventureland and Frontierland, since I am anticipating lots of crowds in Fantasyland at that point. We were thinking of hitting Hall of Presidents, Enchanted Tiki Room, and Pirates of the Caribbean the first day since they are also pretty close to LTT where we will have dinner that evening. I even wanna try to head to Thunder Mountain Railroad that day, if we can without too long a wait, while in Frontierland.

Is it true though what I have heard, that Animal Kingdom is the most relaxed park for families with little kids, since fewer attractions have lines and you can do more of your own thing there? We will hit the Safari first thing for morning EMH, our priority of attractions at AK!

One other question...since I was last there in 1994 and Fast Pass did not exist back then...do these save you a ton of time? They seem too good to be true. I guess because I never have experienced them. It seems as though they are doing it right by having these. Are they complicated though?

Thanks again,
Bonnie

 

[SmallWorld71]

My best advice is to get there for park opening in order to get the most done possible in the crowds. We travel in August, not July, but either way it the heat will get to you. We get there at opening and are always ready to leave by 1 or 2 o'clock at the LATEST. One day out of 6, we made it until 3. You may find that on the day you have MK reservations at 5, that taking a break is still probably a good idea or everyone will be mighty cranky at dinner. My kids are older than your little ones and they never objected when it was time to leave, they were more than ready to watch T.V. in the room or swim before dinner.
I've been to Disney in winter, spring and fall. IMHO breaks are essential in the summer for both the grown-up and the kids. Don't push yourself or you will be absolutely miserable!
Have a great trip.

 

[coconutisland9@yahoo]

We have 2 boys that we took last June and they were 4 1/2 and 13 months at the time. What worked best for us was to get there for park opening and leave for lunch or right after lunch (depending where you want to grab food). We had plenty of time to get through quite a few attractions and were heading out when things got really busy and the kids were getting cranky and ready for some down time. It gave time for our 13 month old to nap and the 4 1/2 year old to take a swim and relax a little. They were refreshed and much easier going for the evening.

Our first day we had pushed them and the 13 month old had a 45 minute nap in the stroller. He ended up not being as cooperative and I ended up missing portions of shows and attractions because he was fussy.

Your schedule might be a little tough to go that long each day. If the kids get nice naps they will be more refreshed and make it easier to keep moving when you are in the parks.

The kids will love the spectromagic parade. Another parade favorite was at Animal Kingdom!

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Mom2JPL]

We were at the parks last Oct with our (then) 4, 2 1/2 and 12 month old children. We were at each park at rope drop (or had breakfast in park before rope drop) and by lunch time we were all tired! The heat and humidity did us all in! After lunch in the parks we'd head back to our resort and nap (sometimes my dh and I napped too). We'd be back at the park around 4ish and ready for the rest of our night. We'd then be back on the bus for our resort around 8ish...the kids were TIRED! This plan worked for us and we all had a great time. We only had 5 days for the parks (short first trip over Columbus day weekend) but did get to see and do a lot - BUT, don't be surprised with how much you actually don't get to do - the parks are huge, and there's no way you're going to see and do it all! Take your time and really enjoy yourselves, you can always go back, even if it takes a few years to do it.

Have a great trip!

 

[monorailsilver]

We do breaks, always had, even growing up as a kid, teenager & adult.

We can usually get all of Fantasyland done in the am when we arrive for opening/EMH. But we sometimes have to go on a ride a few times, aka the carosel.

We also hit Toon Town to get pictures with the characters. And sometimes we are able to get another ride or two in before we leave.

We leave around noon & try to eat lunch in the park when the kids are tired but still able to sit up & eat vs taking the monorail/bus back & then get in that drop dead from the heat tired mode.

We go back to the room, I do laundry & pre kids my dh would nap while I went to the pool/laundry. Now with kids, he still naps & I do laundry (last trip I napped since I was about 2-3 months pregnant). The kids napped until 4 or 5 from about 1 & no I am not kidding they were that tired from the walking/riding/sun.

So they got up we gave them a quick shower/bath & went off to the park & they were the best children, better then at home. They didn't cry, moan, etc.. We watched Wishes or Illumination (or both some nights) every night.

I want to say you have to play it by ear with kids. I don't want to tell you that you can get it all done in that amount of time because you may not.

And since you are going to get to a park at about lunch time, you most likely will have longer lines for rides then say first thing in the am.

I am always amazed at the amount of people entering the turn styles at the MK mainly at around noon. Heck one day we left at 11 am because we did alot that am. It was an early entry day & the hoards of people coming in & we were so happy to be going back for our break & swim.

 

[sbrotherton]

One other question...since I was last there in 1994 and Fast Pass did not exist back then...do these save you a ton of time? They seem too good to be true. I guess because I never have experienced them. It seems as though they are doing it right by having these. Are they complicated though?

Thanks again,
Bonnie

All I can say is that whoever came up with the idea of Fast Pass and figured out how to time everything deserved one heck of a bonus or raise. Remember, though, it's not always a time savings, but rather a more efficient way of spending your time. For example, if a standby line for a ride is 90 minutes, your Fast Pass return time will likely be a bit longer, but you are free to do something other than look at the butts in front of you for 90 minutes. Grab a snack, let the kids blow off steam at a "playgroundish" attraction, go see a show, etc. Fast Pass totally changes what you get to do on a trip because it redirects your time to see things that you didn't use to have the time to see.

To the OP, your plan could be a bit aggressive if your kids aren't, as I like to call them, "built for speed." If you know your kids and they seem to have some stamina, you might pull it off, but IMO, quality is much better than quantity when doing a Disney trip with kids.

Whenever DH, our big kids or I see "fried" kids who are well beyond needing a nap, we hum the tune to "Time to Say Goodbye" by Andrea Bocelli. We changed the words to "Time to Take a Nap," but we have a lot of fun amongst ourselves! In fact, we have a lot more fun than the parents of the fried child!

 

[Elmo888]

My best advice is to get there for park opening in order to get the most done possible in the crowds. We travel in August, not July, but either way it the heat will get to you. We get there at opening and are always ready to leave by 1 or 2 o'clock at the LATEST. One day out of 6, we made it until 3. You may find that on the day you have MK reservations at 5, that taking a break is still probably a good idea or everyone will be mighty cranky at dinner. My kids are older than your little ones and they never objected when it was time to leave, they were more than ready to watch T.V. in the room or swim before dinner.
I've been to Disney in winter, spring and fall. IMHO breaks are essential in the summer for both the grown-up and the kids. Don't push yourself or you will be absolutely miserable!
Have a great trip.

I completely agree with this. Even in January, our breaks started by 1 pm (headed back to the resort at 1). Even if you are driving, I would count on 3 to 4 hour break, including traveling time (I imagine that walking to your car and driving back to your resort can add up). This means that you would be heading out of the park at 1, be back at your resort between 1:30 and 2 pm, and leave your resort around 3:30 or 4 pm, and be back at the park between 4 and 5. You could easily make it back for a 5 pm ADR. I wouldn't plan on going from park opening until a 5 pm dinner. (Just thinking about doing that in July wears me out!) Going back to the resort in July will also keep you and the kids out of the heat of the day.

For touring, here's what I would do (what I have done)...look at all of the attractions (you can use the Disney web site or a book - try The Unofficial Guide to WDW) and make a list of what you would like to do. And then, have a plan. The Unofficial Guide's touring plans are good for this. You can get a lot done. With kids as little as yours, there is some stuff that you will just want to skip (like Space Mountain and Hall of Presidents, although I read someone's idea that this is a good place to nap in the AC!). With a good plan and an early start, you can easily knock out a bunch of the attractions before you leave for your afternoon nap. Just remember that you can't see everything!

Have a great trip!

 

[Miz Diz]

It will be very hot! Even if you are used to heat. As a previous poster said, get there for opening or close to it and do what you can. When the heat really starts to get to you, leave for a rest and head back out later.

My family usually goes to the parks in the morning, until about 1 or 2. We then take naps or I will take dd3 for a nap and my dh will take ds7 to swim. We get dressed for dinner, eat and go back out to the parks.

I think when you are at the parks in the morning, you will know when it is time for your family to take a break.

 

[alexb]

Here's another vote for going at opening, leaving around 1-2 and coming back around 4-5. Another reason for the break is that the afternoon can be the hottest part of the day, in my opinion, so go rest or swim. Everyone returns to the park refreshed and ready for the rest of the day and evening. Also, the crowds my be slightly worse in the afternoon because all the people that slept in arrive later, of course this is a broad generalizations but that's what it seems like. Also, arriving early you can see and do a lot of things in a shorter amount of time due to shorter lines.

 

[abouley]

I have to agree with most of the advice. We are more disneyland vets but we have found that taking afternoon breaks is so worth it. Get to the park early and leave early afternoon when it is getting busy and hot. We like to nap, swim etc and then get back into the parks in time for the shows/parades. Our 4 year old napped great in his stroller when he was little but as he got older, he wouldn't take a nap in the stroller and then would be out for the night by about 5 or 6. Can't tell you how many times he slept in the stroller through dinner on our trips.

Also, you might get away with a longer day one day but then want to make sure you go back to rest the next day. We are planning our trip for Dec and I decided to do more lunch reservations than dinner because I don't want to be rushed back to the park for 5 or 6:00 dinner reservations. We don't normally eat bit lunches but figured we'll do light breakfast and then have lunch be our big meal for the trip. We'll see how this works!

I guess the good thing about not seeing everything, is that it gives you a good reason to go back!

Alison

 

[bangzoom6877]

Thank you everyone for the advice! I figured a break in the afternoon would be good since it is the hottest part of the day.

I am fine with not seeing everything and I am also realistic about this since there is a ton to do. And yes, we will be taking more trips to WDW in the future (already talking about going back in 2 years again with the entire family instead of just the 4 of us!) so we can do other things then, or just do the same things as this trip if we enjoy them that much (I'm sure we will!). And like others have pointed out, we will not be doing certain things like thrill rides since the kids are so little. Maybe BTMRR with the older one if he is tall enough, and maybe Splash but that would be it.

The only day we will not be at the park for rope drop is the first day since we are driving up from Boca Raton. My travel agent got us a 5-day ticket for the same price of a 4-day which is why we decided to go to a park the first day there. We chose to do this at MK since we will be going back there later in the trip for a full day beginning with morning EMH. We figured that the kids would enjoy MK the most out of all 4 parks so 2 days there would be good.

My sister actually suggested that we just relax and maybe have lunch at DOwntown Disney on the first day, or go to the Boardwalk and enjoy ourselves, then head to MK at like 3, go on rides while others are at the parade (shorter lines at that time most likely), and go to our 5:00 dinner reservation, then head to the SpectroMagic parade. She said that way we are not rushed to go right to a park after a 3-hour drive to get there, and then later in the week we go to MK at 8AM anyway and have the whole morning then take a break after lunch. My uncle also told me that the rides have very short lines during parades. Something to consider. DH is fine with anything we do that first day. Maybe it is better not to rush right to the park and rather have a more leisurely lunch and check out the area and then head to MK.

For all the other 4 days at the parks, we will get there for opening time. Here are things we would like to get a chance to do at each park:

MK: Winnie the Pooh ride; Peter Pan; Snow White; Mickey's PhilHarMagic; BTMRR; possibly Splash Mountain; Pirates of the Caribbean; Dumbo (saving this for the EMH day); Hall of Presidents; Tomorrowland Transit; Tomorrowland Indy Speedway; and probably a few more I am forgetting at the moment.

Epcot: Spaceship Earth; possibly Test Track; Figment; Soarin' (if DS3 is tall enough); World Showcase and lots of shopping!; Finding Nemo & Turtle Talk

DHS: Playhouse Disney Live; Muppet 3D; Honey I shrunk the Kids; Stunt show; Great movie ride; Star Tours if DS3 is tall enough

AK: Safari for sure; everything else here will play by ear since many things you do not have to wait in line to do

I think I am looking at things realistically. Anything in addition we get to do will be nice though!

Thanks everyone,
Bonnie