Tips for Sharing a Hotel Room with Preschooler?

[wmjeffer]

We're driving down to Disney in a little over a week and since we will be coming from Virginia, we're breaking up the drive over two days. We've booked a (hopefully!) clean, but simple room for our group of three (my mother, myself, and my three year old daughter). It is a single room with two queen beds. One of us will be sharing with my daughter.

Any tips? I haven't slept in the same bed as my daughter in a long time, plus the whole 7pm bedtime will be not so much fun for the adults!

 

[brooke789]

Maybe you can put her to sleep in the bed and then hang out on the balcony.

For my current there year old we prefer taking a travel bed for him. We had a Kiddo Peapod. It keeps him in place, helps block out light and does t take up much space.

 

[wmjeffer]

Maybe you can put her to sleep in the bed and then hang out on the balcony.

For my current there year old we prefer taking a travel bed for him. We had a Kiddo Peapod. It keeps him in place, helps block out light and does t take up much space.

No balcony, unfortunately It's just the one room. And my three year old sleeps in a twin bed, so I don't think she would accept a travel bed on the floor.

 

[Gracie09]

Find a hotel with an indoor pool. Have your daughter swim for at least an hour. Then a warm shower and right to bed. She should be tired and relaxed and fall right to sleep. I usually read on my kindle when I share a room with my girls

 

[DisneyDiana!]

I like to place extra pillows at the edge so she won't roll off. If you hotel offers bed rails I'd ask for it. When they were smaller I would use a pack and play. I know she's 3 but if you bring a stroller she could fall asleep in it while you explore the hotel or have a late dinner/drinks. Then you could transfer her her to the bed when you're ready to sleep. That way she gets extra rest and you won't be stuck in the room. Swimming will always tire them out too.

 

[Tink_83]

My DD has a little pop up travel tent (although she is now too big for it anyway it worked great when we would travel and she got use to it being where she slept. The first few times we used it I pulled it out ahead of time and let her sleep in it at home; she thought it was tons of fun to not have to sleep in her bed, and she got use to it so when we traveled she looked at it as her own area. On occasion she gets scared in the middle of the night and come to sleep with us; the first 5 minutes of cuddling is always fun but rapidly she takes over the ENTIRE KING bed, I don't know how a small child can use up so much space but she does; so if your child sleeps like mine (i.e. all over the place) then a small travel bed may be something to consider; and I still don't know how she can sleep easily in a twin or an even smaller travel bed but STILL take up my entire king bed and kick me throughout the night on the rare occasion she hops in... I just don't get it!

 

[kboo]

No balcony, unfortunately It's just the one room. And my three year old sleeps in a twin bed, so I don't think she would accept a travel bed on the floor.

Our ODD slept fine in her inflatable travel bed wherever we went - we used The Shrunks that comes with its own electric pump, and she slept in a twin bed at home. Finally used the travel bed the last time about a year ago, when she was 4.5. She was fine with it. Now she either sleeps on a pullout, a rollaway (I know that's not an option at WDW) or share a bed with one of the parents in a 2-bedded room.

 

[Sundowner2]

Hello!! We are in Virginia too! And we also break it up with a nights stay.

We've had several nights in hotels with kids in our bed, (heck, they seem to find it every night at home too! But I never mind!) I don't know if your little one is the sort of fall asleep where ever she is, not caring that it's all different and new, but my boys are always way too excited, so I kind of go into it with telling them that it's a part of our vacation, like a sleepover party, we are still going to get jammies on, and etc, but if too excited to sleep, can lay next to me and watch a cartoon on tv, or on the kindle, etc, until such and such time, and then just snuggles. They do tend to stay up later than usual, but then the next day tend to take a nap and ask a whole lot less are we theres!

If you are worried about her being able to sleep next to someone, start prepping a little bit beforehand, and maybe tell her its going to be a sleepover, and you guys get to stay up late and snuggle together and watch a movie so Grandma has plenty of room, etc.

 

[Fosteringaprincess]

We bought this for my almost 3 year old when she outgrow the pack n play
http://www.target.com/p/regalo-my-c...F5bxvez_kxyaimAkmb6jYaAmA08P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds
She likes it alot. My daughter also have a great mattress on a twin bed at home, but she can sleep anywhere. I had her use it a night or two before we left for Disney and she thinks it's her " special bed". She also uses it when she's sick and needs to sleep in our room.
As far as an early bed time and everyone needing to be quiet. What we do is let the little one stay up later so we meet in the middle...we go to bed earlier and child goes to bed later than normal. We normally go swimming and everyone showers then bed.

 

[wmjeffer]

Thanks so much for the tips everyone!