Resort Break or Stroller Break?

[Luvmnkytoe]

Hi! Headed for our first WDW trip last week of October. We have a 4yo and 2yo and assumed after reading we would go back in the afternoons for nap/rest time. But since the MK is open 9-7 and AK 9-5 on the days we are going, is it worth leaving and coming back? Or just try to get a quick rest/nap in the stroller? We are hoping to be at the parks at rope drop....also we are staying off-site (renting a house say 2 miles from WDW).
Thanks!

 

[BabyHabs]

If you are staying off site, I would recommend stroller breaks. When my kids were that age, my first time at Disney, I was determined to go back to the resort (also off site) for a mid-day break, but we never made it back to the parks. After lugging the kids out of the park and back to the hotel, napping, getting ready again, etc, it just took too long and wasn't worth it to us. What we did at that age was half days. We'd hit the park at rope drop, stay until mid/early afternoon and back to the hotel and relax, do the pool and be done for the day. The next day, we'd sleep in, kids would nap, and then we'd hit the park in the afternoon and stay until fireworks. I find that when staying off site, it just takes too much time to take an afternoon break and there's no way my kids would last an entire day at that age even with a stroller break.

 

[msb578]

Stroller breaks allowed our 2-year old twins to go from 8 am to 11 pm at MK. We're big fans.

 

[jacknsally19]

If I get there for rope drop and the park closes early, I usually call it a day around 3 or 4PM rather than having a nap break. For me (and my child), I feel like 7 hours is more than enough time.

 

[roller99]

We have a 5 day trip planned, and I am planning resort breaks for 2 days, stroller breaks for 2, and 1 will be a game-time decision lol. The resort breaks are on days that the parks are open until 8 or 9 so we would still have plenty of time to do something in the evening.

Since you're staying offsite, I'd probably avoid the resort break if possible, and do like a previous poster recommended, stroller break with an earlier departure.

 

[disney world dreamer]

personally i never recommend going back to the room for a nap.

my family has always done stroller naps with young kids and its worked out fine. (including when i was a little kid)

when kids are tired they will sleep anywhere any time.

in fact it often seems to be harder to go back to the room with a tired child.
i've left a park at 1pm (staying on property) and had to deal with a 20 minute ride with little terrors that screamed the entire time because they were so tired. had the parent just found a place to sit inside the park the child probably would have just zonked out in a few minutes and woke up refreshed. instead the child probably now has a raging headache (i know i did lol) and snot all over them and the parent is probably more frustrated than ever and needs a nap themselves at that point.

 

[BabyHabs]

If I tried to take a midday break, my luck would be kid would fall asleep 2 minutes before we get to the room and wake up the second we get through the door and refuse to nap again.

 

[worm761]

Another vote for stroller breaks. It's too much to go back to the room. We tried it and never made it back to the parks.

We don't use a stroller but walk at DD's pace. We still ended up at the resort pretty early in the evenings. I'm not sure if it was because it was August or because we had had a pretty busy week in St. Augustine before hitting Disney. We leave next Friday and have no plans for breaks. Usually I book our table service for lunch. It gives us a nice long break in the AC and off our feet.

 

[fujamaga]

We did stroller breaks, but still came back pretty early on HS and AK days so we could take advantage of the pool. That's my plan for this upcoming trip too.

 

[heath92681]

If I tried to take a midday break, my luck would be kid would fall asleep 2 minutes before we get to the room and wake up the second we get through the door and refuse to nap again.

This. Stroller breaks only for us!

 

[mcuoghi]

Another vote for stroller breaks. We would eat lunch, find a shady spot to sit along the parade route (usually somewhere near Country Bears), and park. By the time the 3 o'clock parade was starting the kids were awake and ready for the parade. DH and I would take turns sitting with the stroller while the other walked through the shops or took my older non napping DD to nearby things.

 

[DisneyDahling]

Just wanted to say thanks for this thread! We are taking our 4.5 year old son for the first time in 10 days and I have been agonizing over resort breaks or stroller breaks. He is completely out of naps at home and generally is an energizer bunny. I am starting to think that forcing a break on him will result in an epic child meltdown. I guess we play it by ear but from reading this thread, it sounds like a stroller break may be the best option. Thanks everyone.

 

[smiths02]

If I get there for rope drop and the park closes early, I usually call it a day around 3 or 4PM rather than having a nap break. For me (and my child), I feel like 7 hours is more than enough time.

I guess we are in the minority, but I agree that rope drop, sit down lunch, and a few more attractions worked the best for us.

I do agree with others, that a resort break doesn't work well if you are planning to get back to a park say before 6 or 7 pm. We made the mistake of planning park, resort break, dinner at our normal time (5-6pm). Well, we would get to the park and have so much fun that we would not get back the room until 2pm (normal naptime is 12-2pm), so then to get them bathed, settled, and back up by 4pm was VERY HARD. If you take a resort break, you need to be very disciplined about leaving on time.

 

[disneypolybride2008]

we are staying at the GF and are planning one day to go to MK in the am and then go to the resort for pool time (not napping), and then back to MK for parade and fireworks in the evening. I doubt i could get DD4 to go to bed in the middle of the day. If she's going to nap it would be in her stroller when she gets tired enough. I was thinking going back and forth to the MK would be wasting travel time, and that was for the GF.. in your case, way to big of a waste, especially since it closes early. On our day MK closes at 12am. If the kids need to sleep they can do so in their stroller. Mommy needs a vacation!

 

[disney world dreamer]

my niece yesterday mid afternoon at HS (also slept straight through the frozen sing along but my 7yr old niece thoroughly enjoyed it)
after this nap i received a video of her dancing during BATB so clearly it refreshed her.

 

[disney world dreamer]

another day another stroller nap.
i just couldn't resist sharing since my sister sent me this pic.
i may have to make it a daily post in this thread for the rest of their trip lol.

 

[PurpleKomodo]

We rocked the stroller naps on our last trip with DS who was almost 3. If we put him in the stroller and took a good 5-10 minute walk, he would be out and wake up refreshed and ready to go some more. I agree with PP that said her kid would fall asleep before getting to the resort. That would be mine. Asleep in the car then awake when we tried to transfer and refuse to sleep more. Stroller nap was a win for us.

 

[littleblackegg]

So many factors. Kids are different. Some just need more rest that others. Some can nap for an hour in a stroller without air conditioning, some are really sensitive to heat and hydration needs and need to go down for a nap in a bed. Some do well with some juice and AC and cartoons and then are ready for round two! Whatever refreshes them (and the parents) to maximize fun time is the way to go! Remember, when Disney does the polls about the most popular attraction, the resort pool wins every year! Kids love to refresh and cool off in the pool.

 

[Luvmnkytoe]

Thanks everyone for the feedback! I think we are leaning toward the stroller naps...at least attempt it and see how it goes. I'm trying to remind myself to be flexible!!

 

[mrsjoannh13]

Play it by ear? If my DD (almost 3) doesn't nap she turns into Joe Pesci in the Snickers commercial. It ain't pretty. I would love it if she'd take stroller naps. It would be a God-send. But with all the stimulation, I can't see it happening. And I'm traveling with my parents and they also nap every day. And they're not bringing strollers. Too bad

So we booked at Contemporary in hopes of (somewhat) quick midday trips back to the room to nap and recharge for a bit. We'll see how it goes. If DD sleeps in her stroller, we'll go with it.

If we were offsite, I doubt we would want to go back to the hotel. Only reason we'd entertain it (and why we chose CR) was to have easier access to a quiet and dark place to sleep with no dancing mice or ducks.