Shorter hours so will they be able to handle w/o a break

[vivianmarie244]

My DS is 7 and my DD is 5. We will be going to DW for 8 days last week of September. We don't plan on making rope drop but have planned on having breakfast at 9ish every morning. Since the parks will have shorter hours, I was hoping to make it through the day without having to go back to the hotel. We are offsite so we would easily waste 2-3 hours going back and forth. I just planned on relaxing somewhere and having a snack.

I was just wondering what others have experienced doing that. Did it work for you?

 

[My2Qtz0205]

I usually take no breaks during our last park day. I think a big factor for you will be the heat. My kids are 10 and 7, and they get antsy after 3 or 4 hours and are ready for a change in scenery.
How far off-site are you? Do you have a rental car, or are you relying on shuttles?

 

[vivianmarie244]

We have a rental car. Based on the hotel's website, it's a 15 minute ride. So, I figure a total of 30 minutes from the park to the car and 30 minutes back and forth from the hotel. Then at least an hour rest to make it worth it. My kids are not nappers so, if we did it, it would literally be time to just sit down and rest.

 

[My2Qtz0205]

Only you can determine what is best for your family. My family does not do well without breaks, and they value their pool time. We usually grab a quick breakfast in the room, then try to get to the parks as close to rope drop as possible. We stay until late morning/early afternoon, take our break, and head back in the late afternoon and stay until closing. Exceptions to this are the days we tour Animal Kingdom (get there early, leave after the parade), and the day we tour World Showcase, since that doesn't open until 11am.
You may have to try it out the first day, and see how they do.

 

[Iri920]

Every family is different so it's a hard question to answer. Maybe you can just play it by ear? I think at they're age they should be fine all day, but you know them best.

We personally have never taken mid day breaks when we do the parks even when we had a 3 month old with us in August weather. We take lots of breaks in the air conditioning, make sure they're fed and hydrated and they take naps in the stroller or carrier. Our kids are more laid back and easy going though. In contrast, our good friends who came with us last trip and have two kids the same ages as ours needed that break because their kids would just be done by lunch time.

 

[noahdove]

From experience, and I have taken children 9 years and under and all I can say, they need a change of scenery and a cool place to rest...I have been to Disney in August many times and it's only me....I like the rest and cool down time myself...good luck..

 

[jpessa]

I would agree that taking a break is a good idea. However, you don't need to go back to your hotel to have a break. MK for example has that splash pad in the circus area. You could do lunch at an air conditioned TS restaurant then hit the splash area, change clothes after they get all wet, then maybe ride the train around MK twice or go around the monorail. Or take the monorail to a resort and have lunch at their cafe, sit in the lobby, let the kids have some down time with electronics without needing to leave.

Sometimes all they need is a change of scenery and time out of the sun.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

For my family, taking a break was all about the heat and crowd level, not about our attention span. If it's really hot or crowded, and we've already ridden on everything we planned on riding that day, we might head back to the hotel until dinner time. Sometimes we stay through the afternoon. Of course, age of your children does matter.

 

[vivianmarie244]

I would agree that taking a break is a good idea. However, you don't need to go back to your hotel to have a break. MK for example has that splash pad in the circus area. You could do lunch at an air conditioned TS restaurant then hit the splash area, change clothes after they get all wet, then maybe ride the train around MK twice or go around the monorail. Or take the monorail to a resort and have lunch at their cafe, sit in the lobby, let the kids have some down time with electronics without needing to leave.

Sometimes all they need is a change of scenery and time out of the sun.

That's kind of what I was thinking. If we just gave them some down time in the middle of the day to decompress, maybe we would be okay. Not necessarily back to the hotel but somewhere out of the main hubbub of the park. I can hope.

 

[mom2cgj]

That's kind of what I was thinking. If we just gave them some down time in the middle of the day to decompress, maybe we would be okay. Not necessarily back to the hotel but somewhere out of the main hubbub of the park. I can hope.

With our kids (8,5,4) we found that even just a show in the afternoon in a cool place was enough of a rest. The 4yo fell asleep a couple of times, and took a short nap, but was ready to go after the show. (I think all of us fell asleep in the Country Bears!) All families are different, but if they aren't used to naps, they may be able to go all day just fine. Just find someplace to sit quiet for 15-20 minutes and they may be more refreshed than you are!

 

[Spunky946]

Totally depends on the kids. If we want to go past 7, then we need to take a break out of the parks.

 

[AntFarm]

I agree that you don't have to leave WDW property for a break out of the heat or for some downtime. Sit on a bench with some ice cream for awhile then go see one of the shows such as Nemo at AK or even sit in Hall of Presidents for awhile in the MK. If you really want out of the parks, instead of going back to your place offsite just catch a resort bus to one of the resorts and eat at one of the resort restaurants or food courts then find somewhere to sit and relax and enjoy the scenery until you are ready to head back out to the parks to finish your day.

 

[amym2]

At those ages, our kids could make it a couple of days without a mid-day break but by the third day we all needed a rest. Our kids weren't nappers either, but at 7 and 5 in order to make it through the nighttime entertainment, they needed a nap (and were willing to take one when it meant they got to stay up late). Otherwise we could make it through until 4 or 5 and then leave the parks for the night.

ETA: While it sounds nice to take a break from the parks and just sit and relax for a while, that is not something my kids have ever been willing to do. If they are in the parks, they want to be doing something. I'd be perfectly happy to sit and people watch, but the only way they'd do it is if they're eating Mickey ice cream bar. And then it's not really much of a break. I'm sure there are kids who that would work for, but only you know if it would work for yours.

 

[SEA333]

We went from about 9:30AM till after Wishes (in March, so I *think* MK closed at 10? 11?) with the kids when they were 7 1/2 and 6 (just barely - he was in Kindergarten and just turned 6 about a month before we went), and older DS who was 11 1/2 (6th grade). It was DS11 who complained the most! LOL

Anyway, the kids did just fine - but we were only there for a day. I think 8 days would be too much to be in a park ALL DAY, EVERY DAY, so break times would be a good thing for us!

 

[kim929]

I have gone with children from 6 mo to 18. I always stay on site so going back and forth to the hotel isn't as bad ( but sometimes having to wait for a bus to go back and forth could possibly take the same amount of time for some off site guests)
When the kids were younger, I would just find a shady place while the kids napped in the carriage, that worked fine for us. I also rode the people mover a few times in a row, the carousel of progress the hall of presidents and just having a sit down meal in a cool place was enough some days.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

We don't take nap breaks since our kids are teens (although Mom would like one!). We do, however, try to plan a long, relaxing lunch on most days. One of the best lunch breaks we took was taking the Monorail from MK to the Contemporary. The Monorail wasn't crowded at that time of day. The Contemporary lobby was quiet, no lines for restrooms, etc. We had lunch at the counter service place. Again, not at all crowded, very quiet, and fun to watch the Monorails come and go overhead. After lunch, we wandered through the shops, and then hopped back on the Monorail for the trip back. It was nice to spend time in the air conditioning and away from the noise and crowds at MK.