Sleeping Arrangements with a 1.5year old

[kdka421]

You've gotten a ton of great advice already, but I'm just going to second what worked for me. We are just back from a stay with our 1.5 year old, we were at Caribbean Beach, so similar layout with the rooms, and very similar all around to what you described with your daughter.

We thought about putting the pack and play in the bathroom area, but ended up just putting it at the foot of the bed closest to the bathroom. We brought a white noise maker from home (as well as her favorite stuffed animal and blanket to make it familiar). There is a makeup mirror in the bathroom which has a light, we turned that on and it provided a bit of a nightlight into the room even with those doors closed. We kept her nighttime routine as close to usual as possible - roughly the same time, gave her a bath, story, then bed. Turned out the lights & she fell asleep pretty easily.

We did have grandparents traveling with us, and we did request and receive connecting rooms. So depending on the day, sometimes gramma/grandpa took her home early and did bedtime routine and then left into their room with the connecting door open to listen for her. Sometimes we took her back and then just went into the other room with the rest of the family while she fell asleep. And sometimes we just got into bed at the same time as her. All worked very well.

I think the part about them being so exhausted is just so true. I am pregnant again, and was up most nights to use the bathroom, and the doors/toilet/etc didn't wake her up.

Glad to offer any more advice as we just went through pretty much the same trip!! Have a blast!

 

[Maxpowers]

I've stayed at Coronado with a 13 month old. The great part about those rooms is that you can fit a pack and play in the sink part of the bathroom area and close the doors. It's dark and fairly isolated form the main part of the rooms. They won't be able to see you at all. The downfall of this strategy is that going to the bathroom is a little bit tricky. We luckily were staying with others and were able to use their bathrooms, but in the night we were able to open the door a little and head in without waking her up.

Also consider they will likely be very tired and go to sleep pretty easily. We had great plans of putting our kids to bed fairly early (usually 8 to 8:30 somewhere), but I'd say the average bedtime while we were at WDW was about 9:30.

 

[Willow1213]

We stayed at Coronado with our 10 m.o. last year. The pack and play fit just fine in the "closet" area with the door closed. The only issue we had was the light coming in to that area. There was a small gap in the 2 doors that allowed a small stream of light into the space. We had to keep most of the lights off in the main area of the room. My husband would leave the room when I put him down and use the time to refill our mugs, do a load of laundry, or make a quick run to WalMart. By the time he returned, we could turn on the lights and TV because he was passed out! Also make sure the area is cool enough. We had one night where it got very warm in that space and our little guy woke up hot and upset.

 

[kandb]

Hello All,

After having been to DW with just my wife and I 15 times over the years, we took our DD at 4months old to DW a few months ago and she slept great, napping in her stroller around the parks, and we put her to sleep around 9pm. We were Co-Sleeping then (she hated a crib then). She would fall asleep almost instantly when she cuddled up to my wife. After she was asleep, we could turn on the TV and still talk and she would be fine but in Oct we are headed back and she will be 18months old. She now sleeps full time in her crib in her dedicated room and we haven't slept in a hotel together since that trip.

Usually when we put her down for bed now at around 830, she might fuss and cry a little bit, sometimes up to 15minutes at most, but will fall asleep in her crib, but its her own room that is pitch dark. We are kinda worried now about all staying in 1 room. Once we put her into her crib, we can't really go anywhere and we think she is going to continue to see us and not go to sleep. Right now we have 2 reservations (for 12 days each), one is a Business room at Coronado (no balcony to escape out onto) and the other is a Cabin at Fort Wilderness (which is a 1bedroom but comes at a much higher cost and we lose some amenaties being there so we are struggling with what to do cause we are afraid of what will happen at Coronado with her.

What have all you more experience DW with young kids experts found works best for you?

Thanks

I never heard of putting a child in a "pitch dark room" to sleep. Just wondering, why wouldn't you put a night light in her room? Maybe the pitch dark room is scary to her.

 

[kwdw]

Growing up - I slept in a stone quiet, pitch dark room from, well, forever. There was a nightlight in the hall when I got to be the age to head to the bathroom in the middle of the night on my own for a few years, but never in my room. But since from a very young age I learned that hotel sleeping meant the family shared a room and I wasn't going to get that - trip exhaustion usually got me to sleep. Even to this day when traveling with my boyfriend, I can fall asleep with dim lights and some noise in hotel rooms - and I can't do that at home at all! Home still has to be quiet and dark. Talk about conditioning! It's your first trip with the kid at this age - but I think if you just start setting the precedents of what to expect for the future when traveling, you'll be fine. I do suspect the first night will be hardest and there's some science behind why that first night in a new place is so tough. But after that - I think exhaustion is going to win out.

I'd just put the PnP wherever is easiest for you - and minimize lighting and noise but still allow yourself to get some stuff done - and I suspect you'll be just fine (after the first night).

 

[quagmire0]

I never heard of putting a child in a "pitch dark room" to sleep. Just wondering, why wouldn't you put a night light in her room? Maybe the pitch dark room is scary to her.

With our first kid, we were sort of neurotic about the sleeping conditions being perfect - dark room, no light, white noise, etc. etc. 3 kids later, we know that kids adjust. We have a night light now. But having the room pitch dark for a younger kid is not abnormal IMO. Kids (at least ours) didn't get sensitive about the room being dark until they were 2+.

 

[bigbabyblues]

The first time we took our boys, the youngest was 15 months old. We stayed at ASMo, and he was just in a pack and play in the main part of the room. We put them to bed and watched tv or read or whatever. Ours have never had to have dark or quiet to sleep, though, I guess we were lucky. I used to run the sweeper while the oldest was taking a nap in the family room when he was a baby.

 

[monorailsilver]

We have come back to our room 10-11pm, tv goes on by a little person, Jammie's get put on, lights are on, kids get in bed/crib, me/dh are getting out Jammie's on, turn around and have passed out kids.

 

[kohlby]

We have one parent hide out in the bathroom with a book or the ipad and the other parent wanders around the hotel - sometimes taking another child as we've had to juggle kids with different bedtimes.

 

[MouseMama11]

We went through this last August when my daughter was about 18 months old. I requested a Pack N Play and she was at the stage where she was fuss/cry for a few mins before falling asleep. She also was in a crib full time at home in her own room.

On our trip, she fell asleep either in the baby carrier on me or in the stroller for naps fine, but bc she wasn't used to the PNP she would refuse to fall asleep at night, even with her sound machine. I would put her down and hide in the bathroom until she cried herself to sleep then would sneak back out and go to sleep myself. But I don't know if it was timing with teething or bc she was sleeping in a weird place but she woke up A LOT during the night. I would often dose off cuddling her in our bed (we had a king). It was awful. I got no sleep that trip, and she didn't really get much sleep either.

Every child is different but you might wanna get 2 queens at CSR? Request the PNP AND bed rails. That way if she doesn't fall asleep in the PNP (where ever you put it), one of you can sleep with her in the queen and still have room. Our DD will be almost 2.5 this year when we go and that's what we're doing. I wish we had that option last trip!

 

[StuCrew]

First of all, she will likely be so wiped from her busy day of stimulation, you might not have to do more than dim the lights. I'd also consider bringing some kind of white noise machine or using a white noise app on your phone to help her. A thought for the future or if you want to switch is to check availability of renting DVC points or getting a studio at the Polynesian. The studio has a split bathroom, one with a toilet, tub, sink and the other with a sink and stand up shower. You guys could put her PNP in the one without the toilet each night.

I would highly recommend the iPhone app Naturespace for white noise. My daughter is almost a year and sleeps to the Indigo Raindrop track every night.

 

[Meeko5]

Last fall with our family of 4 at Pop, we asked for a PNP at check in but by bedtime it still hadnt arrived. Called, and they said they were out of them for the night but could get one tomorrow. I was super annoyed, since it was listed on my online reservation as well as physically at check in. I asked for 2 bed rails then and they said they would send someone right away. She showed up with 1 bedrail and said she couldn't find 2, would 1 work. When I said absolutely not she said "what if we push the bed against the wall"

so we did, and it worked out great. We ended up keeping the bed against the wall the whole week and never called back about the pack and play

 

[Lvsdisney]

I never heard of putting a child in a "pitch dark room" to sleep. Just wondering, why wouldn't you put a night light in her room? Maybe the pitch dark room is scary to her.

My son hates any light in his room. He's been that way since he was a baby. Some kids don't fall asleep with light.

 

[DisneyOma]

Sleeping with a light on is supposedly bad for your sleep cycle. I know when I put the room darkening curtains on our bedroom windows it made me feel like I got more restful sleep - no more street lighting coming in.

Our nightlights are in the bathroom and hallway, and not bright enough to shine into a bedroom.

 

[MalkaR]

We weren't at Disney, but trying to put our kids to bed in a one room hotel room was not easy. It took hours for them to fall asleep and the kids were tired the next day. We're getting a three bedroom townhome with disney decorations, tons of toys and books, a private pool and three bathrooms for 120 a night. Add in a rental car and parking and we're still saving a lot over the family suite I was originally looking at. Everyone will have their own bed, we can do a regular bedtime, and I have high hopes for good sleep. I still get little pangs of "aw, wish we could stay on property", but then I think of how complicated sleeping and food (very restrictive food rules) would be and I look at the pictures of the gorgeous townhome 15 minutes from Disney and they go right away!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We have come back to our room 10-11pm, tv goes on by a little person, Jammie's get put on, lights are on, kids get in bed/crib, me/dh are getting out Jammie's on, turn around and have passed out kids.

Exactly!

We took DD when she was 2 and 3. I also took DS when he was 3. Both times when DD was young, DS would sleep with DH in one bed and DD and I would sleep in the other bed. She would fall asleep in 2 minutes before I even got into bed with her. Or sometimes on the bus ride back to the room. They are exhausted and just pass out. She was dead to the world and we would watch tv, chat, get a snack. She never woke up.

When I had my first baby my mother told me to get them used to noise while they slept. From the time they were born I would vacuum, play music, have the tv on and just live normally while they slept. I've never had a problem with my kids sleeping on vacation. They literally fall asleep anywhere and stay asleep.

 

[Lupeix]

The times I have been at WDW with those ages I always made sure to have a separate place for the LO to go to sleep earlier at night. We did travel to places at that age where we had to share a room. What worked for us was to put DS (then 13 months) to sleep in his stroller, then go do something adult like in a not too noisy place. It was a life saver when customary dinner time was 9 pm. I will give DS dinner, put him in in his jammies, give him his blankie and paci and recline the stroller fully. I had an extra stroller shade so I could cover him completely. Then we will go for a leisurely walk, 15 minutes later he was out, we sat outside at a cafe and had some wine and tapas. By the time we got back, we all went to bed. I could easily transfer him from the stroller to the PnP without him waking up. I did something similar for naps at WDW when DS was 2, since he refused to nap in his room and staying in the park was too stimulating. The ferry from MK will almost always knock him down, then we will go to one of the resorts. Maybe you can try that?