To Nap or Not to Nap.....

[hart6066]

I have an almost 4 year old and a one year old and we're going 4 days end of Sep/beg Oct. My gut tells me to take the time to nap, but I'm not sure how much time we'll lose by going all the way back to the hotel. We're staying POFQ, and will take a reg stroller for the baby and an umbrella stroller for my 4 year old, but with dinner res around 6:30 each night, is it worth it to leave the park around 1 and not really do any other park things that day? I think the parks close early those days (we're not doing the Halloween thing) and with bus time from the park to the hotel and then bus back to Epcot for dinner, my guess is that a 2 hour nap will cost us at least 4 1/2 hours of time (ride on the bus, wait on the bus, walk to room, etc) What your thoughts, ideas?

 

[LynnTH]

I know a lot of people go the napping route. I am not one of them. I have been down 3 times in the past 5 years. My son was 1 the first year, 2 the second year and 4 the third year with my daughter then at 2. We have never gone back to the hotel for naps. If they got tired they would fall asleep in the stroller. We ususally go in Feb/March and the parks aren't open all that late either. We also don't do commando style. We kind of go the kids pace and sit down and rest when they need to. We have never had a problem doing it this way and plan to do the same next year when we go down. I don't like to waste the time going from park to hotel and then nap a few hours and then back - there goes half your day.

 

[Brian Noble]

Depends on your kids, but I'd lean towards taking a nap. WDW is much more tiring than most anything else they could be doing. Plus, the law of diminishing returns applies especially strongly to kids and theme parks, and if the kids get tired and cranky enough, the returns are negative.

My then-six and -four YOs were "not a napper" and "rarely a napper", respectively. We either took a break each day (and ate dinner slightly earlier than you plan to) or we stayed through mid-afternoon and then were done for the day. On break days, the rarely-a-napper napped every day. The not-a-napper napped 2-3 times. My kids are way too stimulated by WDW to even think about napping when we are in the parks.

Don't look at it as "time wasted." Look at it as an investment to make sure dinner and the evening are enjoyable for everyone.

 

[Grumpy92]

I think it is worth it, especiallly if you do the early entrance. I have seen too many guest try to do the disney marathon, bent on getting everything done. By the afternoon the children and the adults are cranky. Even I like to go back midday and have a swim or nap, then return to the park for dinner. Epcot will be open till 9pm so you can always go over there. Remember this is a Vacation too.

I recently went with a 4 year old. We brought his stroller never again. Everytime we wanted to get on transportation we would have to unload him, unload our stuff then fold it up before we could get on any bus, boat or monorail. Learned my lesson the next time we just rented, it was so much easier.

 

[beattyfamily]

We do the napping in the stroller. When DD was 1 we did try to get her to nap before MVMCP and she did but it was tough.

Now we do leave the park when we all want to to swim or relax for awhile and if they happen to nap at those times, great but they usually do not.

My 5 year old naps in the stroller and pretty much has been since 2 years old.

 

[civileng68]

We have a park philosophy that has been AWESOME over the past three years.

We have been about 30 times over the past 3 years. Within that time we've learned a great park touring method that works for us.

We never spend more than 9 hours of a day in the parks. We normally try 8. Think of it like this......you get tired working 8 hours a day, and for most, Disney is more work than working. I like to have the most fun possible without coming home and feeling worn out when having to go back to work.

The best way to do this is to get sleep while on your trip.

WE love the parks in the evenings, so what we do is, we take the time the park closes and go back 9 hours and that is when we go in. It's enough time in the parks so that when you leave you are worn out, but you dont have to get up early in the morning the next day.

I think even with a mid-day nap, it's hard to get up early when you were out late. The mid-day nap is great but you still are tired when you leave that night and you still get up early in the morning.

When it's super busy you can go in early to get stuff done but when it's slower just go in later.

That's what we do and it works GREAT!

 

[jann1033]

we've never done the nap route but we go off season so the heat and crowds are not overwhelming...i'd see how the kids handle it and then decide. if you do decide to go back, why not go back a little later in the day like maybe 3, you'd have a longer day in the park( especially if it was emh day) and still a few hrs to nap and relax before dinner ( figuring on a hr tranfer each time)

our "rest " time is a long sit down lunch but we are just adults now

we always go early to the parks and don't do a lot after park closing except dinner so we get agood night's sleep and don't mind gettting up.
usually we were headed back to our room for bed and others were just getting started to go to PI or someplace ( even little kids leaving at 10 pm for who knows where)!...

even off season the afternoons are much busier than the mornings.

 

[addicted2disney]

I have never gone back with the kids for naps. We first started going in 1999 when my DD's were almost 4 & 5 1/2. We didnt even take a stroller. The girls never got tired, whined, or complained. My DS was born in Oct 2001, and we took him in January. He just napped in the stroller, and again, we never had to leave to go back to the room. DS will be 4 next month and Thanksgiving 05 will mark his 8th trip. I have never taken him back for a nap. We go every January, and have gone once in OCtober and twice at Thanksgiving. The hours in January are so short, we would have missed out on so much. DS just this past January would fall asleep in the stroller when he was tired. It has always worked out perfect for us to stay in the parks and let him nap in the stroller.

Most people on the boards are going to tell you to go take the nap. We just dont get up and hit the parks by rope drop.. we get there by 10.. and stay all day. There are baby care centers when you can do feed the baby. They have changing tables, high chairs, a store to buy tons of baby items, a microwave and polar water. We just NEVER had a need to waste time going back to the room.

My advice.. try NOT going back the first day or 2. If they kids are tired and cranky and wont sleep in the strollers and are miserable by lunch time, then you might have to go back. I would make sure you have a reclining umbrella stroller for the 4 year old. It makes them sleep better !

Another thing we always do for down time with out leaving.. Make the hour before the parde, "down time". At MK. The parade is at 3. We head over to Main Street about 1:45. We get our prime parade viewing spot ( there is shade over there too) on Main street along the curb. We always sit by Casey's Corner. We get lunch at Caseys ( mmmmm hotdogs and cheese fries) and sit on the curb and eat. The ice cream parlor is right across the street, so we always have to get ice cream too. This accomplishes a few things.. 1. Great parade spot 2. Eating lunch 3. Kids are sitting down for almost 2 hours 4. ice cream!! We STILL do this as our MK tradition!!

 

[jonestavern]

I think it is worth it, especiallly if you do the early entrance. I have seen too many guest try to do the disney marathon, bent on getting everything done. By the afternoon the children and the adults are cranky. Even I like to go back midday and have a swim or nap, then return to the park for dinner. Epcot will be open till 9pm so you can always go over there. Remember this is a Vacation too.
/QUOTE]
We would get to the early opening with DSthen7, go 'soft' commando. Pretty much by noon he was all in-back to CBR, swim, lunch, nap & out again by 4. It does save a little time to do the earliest lunch ADRs in the world, then off to swim & nap. this was in the '90s & often at early EMH they would open the gates a half hr (or more!) earlier than stated. Then back to the parks! Our guy always liked his naps & for him the one day we kept hopping 'til 2 pm he rapidly melted down! Lesson learned, here. Your sweeties will let you know
We sat back & said, ya know we're just not going to see & do it all, it's Patrick's trip, we'll just have to come bacK!
-

Jean

 

[KimWDW]

I plan on trying for a stroller nap. I bought a reclining umbrella stroller for the trip. If he won't take a nap in the stroller, then we'll cut the day short and just go back to the hotel for the day in the early afternoon.

He won't take naps in a hotel, so I'm really hoping for a stroller nap. He'll do that at home.

 

[marj70]

I think this is such a personal decision based on your kids. I plan for a nap, but if DS falls asleep in the stroller or it's a short day anyway and we're all doing fine we will sometimes skip it. Sometimes a "nap" just means relaxing at the resort pool and refreshing for dinner. Usually DH is the one who needs the nap!

 

[*Fantasia*]

I nap! I need my mid-day nap! After all the walking and excitements... nap is good for me! My children... all they want is a break from the park to watch tv and play in the room and snack. I sleep, they play!

 

[crazy4disney01]

My DD is almost 4 too and we are going to take a break from all the magic midday and hopefully DD will take a good nap everyday. I guess it really depends on your kids. My DD would never make it past dinnertime to watch the fireworks if she didn't take a nap (waking up between 8-9 in the morning).

I don't really think of it as missing out on park time. I think there will always be things you don't get to see when you go regardless of the length of time you spend there.

Chelly
__________________________________
10 days until our 4th WDW Vacation!!!!

 

[goodferry]

We are resters. We get there for park opening, then head back to the Polynesian around 1:00 for a swim and a break. It's necessary for us in the heat! Plus, we have found that after about 4 hours the kids hit sensory overload and we go back for a break. One time we went in February and the naps were not as long or as necessary as they have been when we went in the warmer months. I think it will depend on your family.

 

[vettechick99]

I would also nap. You and your children will be much happier in the long run!

 

[can'twait]

I'm still struggling with this myself. 7 days from dawn to dusk will wipe anyone out, so we have scheduled rest times in the afternoon, but I was wondering if we just sat on a bench or rode the train in MK or the monorail through the resorts for an hour or so if that would give the little ones time to rest without wasting time waiting for the bus, walking back to the room, etc.

My kids are 5 & 7 and will not actually sleep in the room unless they are dog tired, especially if they are wired from the parks. So, if we can rest on the train or monorail a couple of times per day, why bother hoofing it all the way back to the room? Or maybe we can take naps on alternate days, depending on how we feel?

What do you all think?

We leave in 24 days! Yippee!

 

[addicted2disney]

Cantwait.. I doubt at ages 5 & 7 , your kids will want to nap! I dont think I could get my kids out of the park at that age if I tried. I posted earlier about how we get our down time in MK.. try that.. you are killing 3 birds with one stone.. rest.. lunch..great parade seats. Try having nice long lunches. We do Sci Fi every year, and Pizza Planet at MGM. Pecos Bills in MK is good. So is the one by Tomorrowland.. Cosmic Rays! We like to ride the TTA in MK.. if its not crowded, we get to stay on. Thats a nice ride. So is the train. And you can make a few circles on that!! I think MK is the most tiring. You are always trying to get to the next ride. Thats why the lunch/parade thing works well for us. Even though Epcot is big.. we really do take our time in there.. we hop over there everynight. We love browsing thru the countries slow at night. In Epcot.. we stop and sit at lots of counter services, Stop at Kidcot stations, Watch performances, Ellens ride is 45 minutes long AND airconditioned! lol We always go watch British Invasion and the kids love the maze back there. And we always catch Off Kilter. Just tons of places to sit and take a break there. MGM has alot of longer shows too, and a parade. Thats a good one to get a spot early for, and when the kids start getting restless, we get them ice cream. Works everytime. I think there are so many ways to get rest periods without every having to leave the park. January hours are shorter, so we let the kids night swim at the resort. We never want to go back for swimming either!

 

[sPaRkLeSpAz]

Nap. Definately nap. I'm 17 and my sister is 13. When our family goes, if we don't take a break and rest at the hotel for awhile, we get very worn out later.

 

[can'twait]

Thank you! That's about what I thought.

 

[Skroops]

The first trip with our toddler we didn't try to nap, because he was pretty comfy cat napping in the stroller. Apparently the cat naps weren't enough and we had a toddler meltdown while trying to enjoy dinner at Mama Melroses'. Our child has too much sensory overload at WDW and WILL breakdown if he does not rest. Well, he may break down anyway...
We have to get the room nice and dark so he knows it is rest time. For us, the evenings are much more enjoyable. We head back to park around 4-5 with dinner around 6. Every family is different in this regard. Which ever way enables you to enjoy your vacation better is the way to go. These nice WDW resorts are a treat to nap and take pool time at.