Stroller and jet lag

[abnihon]

Traveling with my 6.5 year old next week for our first Disneyland trip.

Wasn’t planning to bring a stroller but second guessing myself. Last time we went to WDW he was 5 and we had a stroller. He spent some time in it but I know WDW is a lot bigger and he’s older now.
We’ll have two parks days where we have to walk back to the HOJO after - worried he’ll be exhausted.
The other 3 park days we’re staying at the GCH so less of a worry.

Also wondering what to expect with my son and jet lag coming from the East Coast. At WDW he’s usually good to go till about 10pm and prefers to sleep late (8-9am)
Hoping we’ll be able to tackle early mornings at DL but worried he won’t make it till fireworks, F! (Seeing it on our 5th day) or WOC (was planning to see it on the 2nd day but worried he won’t make it past afternoon...)

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Traveling with my 6.5 year old next week for our first Disneyland trip.

Wasn’t planning to bring a stroller but second guessing myself. Last time we went to WDW he was 5 and we had a stroller. He spent some time in it but I know WDW is a lot bigger and he’s older now.
We’ll have two parks days where we have to walk back to the HOJO after - worried he’ll be exhausted.
The other 3 park days we’re staying at the GCH so less of a worry.

Also wondering what to expect with my son and jet lag coming from the East Coast. At WDW he’s usually good to go till about 10pm and prefers to sleep late (8-9am)
Hoping we’ll be able to tackle early mornings at DL but worried he won’t make it till fireworks, F! (Seeing it on our 5th day) or WOC (was planning to see it on the 2nd day but worried he won’t make it past afternoon...)

My sister brings her kids from the East Coast, and some things work in their favor. For example, they usually dine at off peak times because the kids are hungry earlier for dinner -- so that means shorter lines for CS, easier reservations for TS, and less crowded restaurants in general. (But always have some good snacks and protein bars handy to stave off hanger -- not everything is open earlier in the morning when the kids want more than a muffin.) As for making it through the whole day, mornings are usually good, especially when the kids realize that the lines are shorter for fun stuff. Her oldest was more of a power napper, so a few rounds on the train worked fine for him as an afternoon break. If he needed another rest, we did "Great Naps with Mr. Lincoln" or something similar. Her youngest was a different story. He had to have a bed and a quiet room, so someone had to take him back to the hotel. You'll find out what works better for your son. As for the stroller, you can always rent one for the parks if he needs it. If you don't want to lug a stroller around just for the hotel, you could get a travel booster (fits in a tote bag or a locker) and use Uber for the ride back to the HOJO. The Harbor drop off/pick up is right outside the Harbor entrance. Someone posted recently that the Mifold travel booster works just fine with Uber.
As for fireworks, we generally recommend trying to view them earlier in your trip. Fireworks can get cancelled at DL, usually for safety reasons (wind speed and/or direction), so saving them until late in your visit is risky. If you view earlier in your visit and the show gets cancelled, you'll still have several more chances to try again.

 

[abnihon]

My sister brings her kids from the East Coast, and some things work in their favor. For example, they usually dine at off peak times because the kids are hungry earlier for dinner -- so that means shorter lines for CS, easier reservations for TS, and less crowded restaurants in general. (But always have some good snacks and protein bars handy to stave off hanger -- not everything is open earlier in the morning when the kids want more than a muffin.) As for making it through the whole day, mornings are usually good, especially when the kids realize that the lines are shorter for fun stuff. Her oldest was more of a power napper, so a few rounds on the train worked fine for him as an afternoon break. If he needed another rest, we did "Great Naps with Mr. Lincoln" or something similar. Her youngest was a different story. He had to have a bed and a quiet room, so someone had to take him back to the hotel. You'll find out what works better for your son. As for the stroller, you can always rent one for the parks if he needs it. If you don't want to lug a stroller around just for the hotel, you could get a travel booster (fits in a tote bag or a locker) and use Uber for the ride back to the HOJO. The Harbor drop off/pick up is right outside the Harbor entrance. Someone posted recently that the Mifold travel booster works just fine with Uber.

I had thought of renting a stroller in the park if he needs it. And good thought on Uber. I’ll have my bubblebum. Maybe will bring it to park on 2nd day after we see how first day goes.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I had thought of renting a stroller in the park if he needs it. And good thought on Uber. I’ll have my bubblebum. Maybe will bring it to park on 2nd day after we see how first day goes.

You can always just bring it and stash it in a locker on the first day. Then, if your son really needs it, you'll already have it.

 

[EmJ]

Is HOJO at the beginning or end of your trip? If it’s at the end, I’d bring your own stroller as the concern is walking to and from the hotel, not inside the park so a rented stroller wouldn’t help with that. If it’s at the beginning of the trip and he’s “fresh” it’s maybe a lesser concern. You can always bring it and just use it on the two HOJO days.

As to the evening shows, I hear you. My son is a naturally early riser, naps daily, and goes to bed by early too. I just decided we won’t be able to see the evening shows this trip, because he’d be a disaster the next day. So in our case at least, “seeing it all” definitely would not equal “more fun”. It’s a bummer because I’ve heard such great things, but at least I know I don’t have to worry about getting him up and to the gates by rope drop!

 

[abnihon]

Is HOJO at the beginning or end of your trip? If it’s at the end, I’d bring your own stroller as the concern is walking to and from the hotel, not inside the park so a rented stroller wouldn’t help with that. If it’s at the beginning of the trip and he’s “fresh” it’s maybe a lesser concern. You can always bring it and just use it on the two HOJO days.

As to the evening shows, I hear you. My son is a naturally early riser, naps daily, and goes to bed by early too. I just decided we won’t be able to see the evening shows this trip, because he’d be a disaster the next day. So in our case at least, “seeing it all” definitely would not equal “more fun”. It’s a bummer because I’ve heard such great things, but at least I know I don’t have to worry about getting him up and to the gates by rope drop!

Hojo is beginning so hoping he’ll be fine!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

The rented stroller suggestion was to conserve the OP's son's energy inside the parks, if needed, and to provide a place to rest during the day, again if needed, if they won't be returning to the HOJO for a break. At the end of the day, I really would just use Uber rather than lug a stroller I might not need on a round trip flight.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

So, all kids are different, of course, but some anecdotal experience: my daughter turned six at the end of April, and we spent that week in London and Paris, including two days at DL Paris. My phone thinks I walked over 150,000 steps that week, including over 28,000 steps at our first DL Paris day (our hotel, while "on-site," was about a 15 minute walk - I've stayed at HoJo and this was farther away). So, that's a LOT of walking.

Anyway, she's been stroller-less at DL here in California for a couple of years, EXCEPT when we're going full-day - back last June, last October, and even this January, when we went "rope drop to post-fireworks," I took her stroller and she fell asleep in it during the afternoon (even though she dropped naps over a year ago other than these three days). So, based on that, I was expecting to need to rent her a stroller at DL Paris. I thought that for sure, the full week of walking + jet lag/time change + the fact that she doesn't even go a full DL CA day without a stroller... surely we'd need one.

She was fine. No stroller. She did complain that her legs hurt a few times, and I did give her a piggy-back ride for about half the way back to the hotel that first night, but otherwise... she rolled with it. She also did rope drop to post-fireworks there - and their fireworks show doesn't even start until 10pm!

Now, this is a kid who's very used to traveling and who has a LOT of Disney stamina, but still... you may be pleasantly surprised! And if you do need a stroller, you can rent one. So I think you'll be fine either way!

 

[Skyegirl1999]

Is HOJO at the beginning or end of your trip? If it’s at the end, I’d bring your own stroller as the concern is walking to and from the hotel, not inside the park so a rented stroller wouldn’t help with that. If it’s at the beginning of the trip and he’s “fresh” it’s maybe a lesser concern. You can always bring it and just use it on the two HOJO days.

As to the evening shows, I hear you. My son is a naturally early riser, naps daily, and goes to bed by early too. I just decided we won’t be able to see the evening shows this trip, because he’d be a disaster the next day. So in our case at least, “seeing it all” definitely would not equal “more fun”. It’s a bummer because I’ve heard such great things, but at least I know I don’t have to worry about getting him up and to the gates by rope drop!

He may be different by next March... my kiddo changes a lot from year to year. You also may decide to throw caution to the wind the last night, because... why not? That's what we've done on our Disney cruises, tried to have SOME semblance of "bedtime" until the final night, and then... just deal with the meltdown the last morning after she's been out until the wee hours. Because she's gonna meltdown either way when we get off of that ship, so may as well do ALL THE THINGS the night before.

 

[EmJ]

He may be different by next March... my kiddo changes a lot from year to year. You also may decide to throw caution to the wind the last night, because... why not? That's what we've done on our Disney cruises, tried to have SOME semblance of "bedtime" until the final night, and then... just deal with the meltdown the last morning after she's been out until the wee hours. Because she's gonna meltdown either way when we get off of that ship, so may as well do ALL THE THINGS the night before.

He may definitely be different in a year (in fact I can count on it!) but he’s always been a high needs sleeper and is very unpleasant when tired. Even he knows it and generally puts himself to bed during his evening “quiet playtime” and asks for an early tuck in, lol.

I have planned for a slightly later last night, but the rub there is that it is Friday and all the shows aren’t until 9:30. If hes already wiped from a busy week, I question whether he will have the stamina to wait an hour or more just for Fantasmic to start. Idk. It’s all preliminary now anyway, to be firmed up in January!

 

[smartlabelprint]

Our kids go to bed early. One of us goes to the park for alone time or shows if we want.

 

[Indiana Scott]

I don't know if this is helpful but in our case, we feel jetlag when heading East and not so much heading West - gaining time doesn't seem to be nearly as bad as losing it.
So going to the parks wouldn't be so bad but going home could be a bear.

 

[lcp9]

My kids are 7, 5, 3, baby, and we went last fall so oldest was just turned 7. I'm not sure I would have brought a stroller just for her, but we are on mountain time and spend full days at the parks - so by fireworks she was out. We just crammed everyone into our stroller for the walk back to the hotel. So, it will probably be useful...whether necessary or not I don't know. We also spent a full day at the park plus halloween party one day, and she took a nap in it from 3-4ish so that helped her enjoy more of the party.

 

[bumbershoot]

Hojo is close. And the Grand is not always near. The one (and only) room I had there was literally as far from the center of the esplanade as the sidewalk outside hojo. Yes I mapped it. It was a maddening room.

That was our last trip when my son was 5. We didn’t use strollers at home other than my jogger which was used for jogging. We only used strollers at Disney. He needed it on that trip at 5 bc the room at the Grand was so ridiculously far from things.

We went to Wdw and UO when he was 6.5. We brihhht the umbrella stroller just in case. Let it be his choice.

It stayed in the corner of the room. He never once wanted it. At all.


FYI if you use a rideshare to hojo it’s longer than you’ll expect bc of the way cars have to leave on Harbor from
the pickup area. In all likelihood if you had part of the party walk and the other Lyft, the walkers might get there first.


Early mornings are so easy for east coasters in Anaheim. Enjoy that.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

... So going to the parks wouldn't be so bad but going home could be a bear.

My sister said this, too, but at least the kids could collapse in their own beds and melt down in their own house!

@smartlabelprint : Good to see you back! You've been missed around here.

 

[Indiana Scott]

My sister said this, too, but at least the kids could collapse in their own beds and melt down in their own house!

@smartlabelprint : Good to see you back! You've been missed around here.

Well thank you very much for your kind comments!
I don't post much because we don't get to the parks very often but I sure enjoy reading about other folks experiences.

Best regards,
Scott