Staying onsite with Kids and Bedtime

[kmacht]

I have a dilema and need some advice. We are planning on doing a family vacation down to disney the beginning of February. We have one daughter who will be just under 3 years old at the time. We did the same vacation last May but stayed offsite at a condo. With the buy 3 get 4 deal on moderate resorts during the week we are looking at we can actualy afford to stay onsite for about the same price as I paid for the condo. If I choose to not rent a car since we will be onsite it gets even cheaper. The dilema I am having has to do with what we will do about bed time for my 2-3 year old. Last trip she was able to out last us each day and had no problem staying up to 9 or later at night. Seeing how kids change so quickly I can't count on that this year. My concern is that if we stay onsite and she is having a rough day and needs an early bedtime say 7pm since it is only one room that would probably mean that my wife and I would also be relegated to going to bed at 7pm also. It would be nice to be able to shower or watch a little TV before turning in but I am worried that since we are all in the same room that she won't be able to fall asleep with us moving around or with the bathroom light going on or off. What have you all done in the past? Any way around this or good tips? We really wanted to stay onsite this time since it is a rare opportunity that we can afford a moderate resort for the week but does it not make sense for our family situation? Any advice you have is very much apprecaited.

Thanks,

Keith

 

[Darcy03231]

I never had an trouble with my kids falling asleep (and staying asleep) in a hotel room at WDW. They were so worn out they just crashed. What I did was to get them ready and in bed and put the tv on low to a children's show and turned out the lights. I then got a shower. By the time I was out of the shower they were out. At that point I was able to turn the tv to something I wanted to watch, or turn a light on low and read.

 

[mupt02]

We haven't done it at WDW yet, but we have experienced this at many other places. Usually we pack a nightlight or two and set those up. It then is similar to the lighting in the kids rooms at home. We find an outlet near the table or extra chair and then we just read by nightlight until the kids are asleep. Once they are asleep we can move around the room and quietly watch TV without any trouble.
The other thing we have done is have only one parent stay in the room with the kiddos. The other can go to the pool, lobby, or anywhere they want. Then alternate each night so each adult has the chance for some quiet time. We have tried arranging a certain time to come back, but that usually doesn't work. So, we usually just call the other adult with our cells when it is ok to come back. Again, once they are out, we can move around the room and quietly watch TV withtout any problem.

 

[Swimalie]

We are in a similar situation with our 4 (turning 5 at the park) year old son. We normally get a suite when we go to a hotel so we can relax more but that wasn't financially feasible at Disney. What we do is use our portable dvd player. My husband and I get all ready for bed when our son is getting ready. Once he's in bed, we plug in a movie for us, put on the headphones and put the dvd player on our lap. The light is minimal and there is no problem with sound with the headphones. Our son will usually stay awake a bit loner than if he was in his own room but not too bad. And I find that I'm so tired, I usually fall asleep right away, too.

Another option for you would be to get her a sleeping bag or blow up toddler bed and have her sleep on the floor, on the far side of the room from the bathrooms. Then you can move around a bit more without her seeing. We did this about 2 years ago and it wasn't too bad.

Good luck and most of all, enjoy the trip

 

[2Tiggies]

I have found the same to be true. My DD sometimes came back from the parks and sat on the floor to take off her shoes or something basic like that and within seconds I would turn around to see that she had literally toppled over and fallen asleep. Even dressing her in her pyjamas and lifting her into bed didn't rouse her. She did this when we went in April this year too and she is 7 now! I just try and make sure she has had her bath/shower after her swim or at some time during the day and use any opportunity for her to clean her teeth.

At 3 your little one would probably be best in the parks with a stroller. If you have one, depending on how you are travelling you may want to consider bringing your own for the sake of familiarity. Chances are she will fall asleep in there while you are walking around the parks at night and although it means you and your DH need to take turns watching her if you want to do attractions, at least you don't end up in bed at 7 pm! You know your child best, but as you say they are very unpredictable at Disney. I personally think staying on property with Disney transportation is still easier than being off property. You also get the option of using morning EMH if your little one does better with early mornings to help you achieve what you want to earier in the days, which you will with the advantage of lower crowds in the early mornings.

 

[kmacht]

A stroller is a definate must. We brought an umbrella stroller last time and it worked just fine for her. She only napped in it a few times and even then it was for less than an hour. I don't know where she got her energy from lastime we went. She was up dressed and ready to go by 8:30 most mornings and lasted until at least 9:30 every night with either no nap or a very short one. If I could count on that again this trip it would be a no brainer. Too bad kids aren't predictable.

Keith

 

[tlh0726]

If she is used to total quiet I would start trying to introducing background noise now so that it is not as drastic change while you are on vacation.
If you normally shut her door, start leaving it open once she is asleep. Turn on a hall light every once and a while. Turn on a radio or tv in another room loud enough to be heard. Make some loud noises.
Definitely bring a stroller, maybe pushing her around for awhile either at the parks or at the hotel will help lull her into bedtime mode.
Personally I do not think you will have a problem, most kids will go and go and go, then as soon as they become still they crash.


Here is DS (turned 3 last day of our March trip) and DD 4.5. They fell asleep while at the park, we loaded them into the car, drove back to POP Century, dumped into the stroller (yes dumped, I tripped over the front wheel), went to the room, put them into bed. They never woke up once.

 

[princessmom29]

WE just all went to bed at the same time last year. DD had just turned 5 and did just fine going down at like 9-9:30. We would put her in the bed as soon as we got back to the room, and the do our showering ect . She wasn't asleep, but was resting in the bed with the TV on low. When we were all ready we turned the lights out and went to bed. It worked out fine for us. If the little one gets tired I would suggest coming back to the hotel and having some wind down time before everyone goes to bed.

 

[momof2TNboys]

If you are in a mod resort, can you put crib in bathroom area and shut the curtain until your child is asleep? Has anyone done this before?

 

[bear_mom]

My dds listen to music to fall asleep - so they listen to music players. When dd was really young (3'ish) she had a Fisher Price music player that was toddler friendly. We stay in hotels often (dh ski patrols every other weekend during the winter and we go with him) and this works for us. Dds fall asleep while dh and I watch TV. I will say at Disney though, we are usually going to sleep not long after dds.

Emily

 

[sandym718]

Something that worked for us - get a 1st floor room! Then you can sit on the patio. We did this for both our trips, and mainly found the benefit at naptime, but also at night. DH and I would sit outside and chat or read (booklight). We could take turns going for a walk, or up to the main buidling (we were at the Poly) for a snack, etc. WE found it simpler and quieter to just re-enter through the sliding doors rather than the key in the lock, walking through the whole room, etc. Another benefit of the first floor - if you have a grassy area outside like we did, it feels like you have more space. The kids would play outside with DH while I finished getting ready in the morning or for dinner, etc. This last trip, DS was obsessed with the lizards and spent much of DD's naptime just chasing them around!

 

[bdiddy]

We went last year when our son was 2.5 and he fell asleep in the stroller every day like clockwork at 1pm for at least an hour sometimes more. We really played it by ear to see how he would do and he was fine later in the evening and if we were out past his bedtime he just went back to sleep in the stroller. On our last night at MK for the extra evening hours we were even taking him on rides asleep!! LOL...DH just held him on his shoulder and we went on a few favorites one last time like Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, etc.... He's a good sleeper in general though and either of our kids had any problem falling asleep in the room. That was the first time we had them share a bed too and they did great. They were so tired, DH and I moving around, having lights on and the tv didn't even bother them.

 

[brymolmom]

My kids rarely fall asleep immediately - as we don't run all night long but tend to keep them somewhat on their schedule. What we do is nothing too special - go thru the 'usual' bedtime routine (jammies, maybe bath, teeth, book and/or song) then tell the kids it is time for bed. We turn off all the lights but keep the bathroom light on with it mostly closed just for a 'nightlight' then I lay in bed and read with a flashlight or book lamp. DH usually takes one of the refillable mugs and heads to the food court and reads the paper or goes for a walk (he isn't as much of a reader as I am). On the first night - a few simple 'lay back down it's time for sleep now' reminders are sometimes needed (but if you only have one kid you might only want to say that once or twice and then just IGNORE the child - who will get tired of standing and lay back down if not acknowledged). But after the first night that's not even usually necessary. Depending what time we get in and get started - sometimes I turn the TV on low once they're asleep or a shower at this time would likely not disturb anyone - but sometimes I'm ready for sleep before it even gets to that point!

I wouldn't worry too much about it. You'll likely find quickly that it isn't a huge deal - especially at that age when your child can understand that you are on a vacation and will sleep in the same room. You might even want to explain that before you leave if you've never shared a hotel room.

 

[sharonabe]

The moderate resorts usually have a curtain (or even a moveable wall/door type thing at CSR) between the rooms and the vanity area, so you can easily close that to provide darkness in the sleeping area and still get your shower. If you go to the resort page, you can find a picture of the wall/door thing on the CSR thread.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

We have 4 kids and we stay in one room. They are so tired at the end of the day that I could have the Spectromagic parade in the room and they couldn't care less. I always watch tv and read with the lights on every night on vacation. I can't sleep without the tv on. I wouldn't worry about it. She'll sleep.

 

[tjmw2727]

We always stay in one room and somehow you make it work.

Like a pp if we didn't have a balcony, we requested first floor. One parent gets the kids to bed and then joins the other just outside the door.

I have two dd's and if one was having trouble one parent would walk them in the stroller until they fell asleep while the other dd went to bed in the room. The fresh air and walking the grounds always put the kids to sleep - it helps to have a full size reclining stroller though.

Once my kids are asleep dh and I could watch a little TV, read or talk in the room so it was never an issue.

We alternated late nights with pool/rest/nap breaks and then did some early resort nights. On the late nights the kids were always asleep before we hit the room!.

I would say have a few ideas and then go with the flow once you get on vacation. If she is up late and can't settle down then just schedule a sleep in less busy day the next day.

 

[billwendy]

Oh my - my neice and nephew are the same way!! They are usually asleep by the time we get off the bus - lol!! Does this picture look familiar?

 

[henry72]

If you are in a mod resort, can you put crib in bathroom area and shut the curtain until your child is asleep? Has anyone done this before?

Yes. We did this at the CBR when DS was 19 months old and plan to do it this Dec. for DD. There is a curtain that divides the vanity area from the rest of the bedroom. It made a nice area for DS to sleep and we could still leave the TV or lights on in our section.

 

[amberg@eastlink.ca]

we just came back on the 8th. by the time we hit the bus each evening my kids - 4 and 2 normally passed out. so once we got back our little guy was so out of it, we left him on our bed, got our showers etc, got ourselves ready for the next day, changed his bum, into bed clothes and he never woke up. between the running around, the excitement of disney and the heat, you'll probably be fine. we were all squished into a room at asmovies. and for the record, my little guy is a very light sleeper.

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

Oh my - my neice and nephew are the same way!! They are usually asleep by the time we get off the bus - lol!! Does this picture look familiar?

OT when I saw this post I thought it was the same two kids as the previous picture even after you put both pics in the same post. Appearently, Disney exhaustion looks the same on all kiddos!