Toddler napping in stroller or going back to hotel for nap?

[FireflyTrance]

I am just starting to plan a trip for next year for the time when my daughter will be somewhere between 18 - 22 months. I am wondering, do you think it is better to have your child take a nap in the stroller, or go back to the hotel to take a nap? Are the rental strollers at all comfortable, or should we bring our own that reclines?

We are thinking of staying in AKL. I haven't stayed there before, but just thinking about the location it seems like it would take forever to go back and forth from say MK to AKL to take a nap. My daughter will take short naps in her stroller now, but never more than about 30 minutes. I've thought about staying in one of the resorts closer to MK, but the only reason would be for naps, as we really want to stay at AKL. Also open to hearing any thoughts on if AKL is a good resort for a toddler, I thought it would be since DD seems to love animals.

 

[dprincessmom]

Naps are a must for us when we go in the Summer with the longer hours and the hotter temps. I would go back to the resort for a nap, not count on a stroller snooze.

The rentals at the parks are hard plastic and don't look that comfie at all. We rented one for our first trip. If you go that route, take a beach towel or blanket to cushion the stroller.

The real thing to think about is when you are going, and how does your child do without a real nap. Cranky child will make a long day longer. If she naps for 2 hours, plan on 3 or 3.5 to travel back and forth. My experience is it is well worth the time to keep everyone happy.

Good Luck.

 

[DCbride]

We stayed at AKL and going back for a nap wasnt bad. I like having down time for everyone and your resort is so pretty you can sit on your balcony and have a relaxing time while she gets a decent nap.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

we had the other view of going back to resort, grandson fell asleep on bus for 5 minutes, woke up as bus stopped and screamed for the next2 to3 hours that we tried to get him back to sleep. not restful ay all for anyone. granted he took more shorter naps per day but worked better for us to use the stroller in the parks. to make your decision think about how your child does with falling asleep in the car and moving to house and staying asleep. that will give you some idea how returning to room will work for naps

 

[Momofcteam]

We are trying to figure out what the best thing is for us to do with our almost 3 year old as well! Our issue is we are staying offsite, so I'm wondering if it's really worth it to get in the car and drive back to our condo. We are going to experiment and try both out! The first day we will drive back to the condo and see if he will stay asleep (because I know he'll fall asleep in the car!). If that doesn't work/or it takes too long, we'll try the napping in the stroller. I doubt that will work because I think he'll be too interested in everything going on around him! I'll also probably just plan on some shorter days by leaving early afternoon and not coming back to the parks.

Good luck!

 

[Gracie09]

Our kids always napped in the stroller. The only meltdown we have ever had was when we tried to leave mk one day for a nap/pool time. We don't got all day and all night. We get there around rope drop. The girls napped after lunch (we would walk around and pull their sunshade all the way down and lay them back. Took about ten minutes to get them to sleep. Then we would relax or take turns on a ride. We had early dinner plans at the park or a close hotel and except for one night we stayed for fireworks at mk would be leaving around 6 every night. Then we would hit the pool take showers/baths and were in bed close to normal bedtime. Then dh and I would enjoy and adult beverage and dessert on the balcony or in our bedroom. It was nice an relaxing way to enjoy the parks without over tiring the kids

 

[Gillyrose779]

This is tough bc every kid is diff. We went in sept with my 2 and 4 year olds and going back for naps was a must. We like Hollywood studios the most so we stayed at boardwalk which is walking distance and that was wonderful. I did see many kids nap in the rental strollers but renting can get expensive after a few days.

 

[mouseguy77]

It really depends on your kid, but I would recommend going back to the hotel. They will generally get better sleep in the hotel and it gives the grown ups a chance to relax too. When we were at AoA last year, my wife and I brought our son back to the hotel for a midday nap and it really worked out well for everyone.

 

[kmb584]

It depends on your DD. My little one was 15-months-old when I first took her to WDW and I planned our days around going back to the resort for her nap. It was an epic fail. That first afternoon she stood in her pack 'n play, pointing at the door and yelling "Ma! Go!"; she was just too wired from all of the new and exciting sights to even remotely consider napping. I tried again the next day with the same result. On day 3, while contemplating whether to leave or not, I lost track of time and whereas I was heading out of the park at 12pm for naps at the resort, it was now 12:30pm and DD was fast asleep in her stroller... and she stayed that way for 2.5 hours! She had no trouble falling asleep in her stroller and discovering that made for a happy little girl and even happier Mommy (as I was nearing the "I'm going to pull out my hair!" stage as she was positively miserable by late afternoon without naps).

 

[JulieODC]

Our DD did well napping in the stroller when we went at 14 mo and 26 mo. Granted, she napped less than at home -- but it worked well for us, and didn't cause any meltdowns later.

 

[twinboysmom]

We have taken our boys 8 times before they turned 4. We have tried and tried to get them to nap at the hotel and it has not been successful for us. It works much better for us to let them nap in the stroller and then we go back to the resort and swim, relax in room, play on playground, that type of thing. As for renting a stroller from wdw, no way would I even consider it. They're hard plastic, no recline, and the back isn't even a full back. They are also pricey and I think you will want a stroller to use around the resort as well.

I like the citi mini stroller that is rented by the offsite companies the best. Huge canopy, full recline, great fold, and it steers well. I have also stayed twice at AKL with my boys. I think it's a good choice. I found the bus service to be excellent and while yes, it is far out, I think it's a quicker trip in that staying at a moderate resort (and some deluxes) that make multiple stops. The AKL bus stops a take kidani first, then picks up the lodge and then it's straight to the park. We have found them very efficient from that resort.

 

[Deb & Bill]

When our son was little, we took advantage of the time back at the resort to refresh ourselves. A little pool time, maybe even a nap. Our nieces, who were with us, also used the time at the pool where Uncle would treat them to ice cream or sodas.

 

[Schmeck]

Stroller naps for our little one. Lots of nice places to sit and rest at the parks. No need to walk to the bus stop, take the child out of the stroller, fold the stroller, board the bus, hope to find a seat, get off the bus, open the stroller, put child in stroller, walk to room, take child out of stroller...

 

[geniegirl]

We stroller nap as well. Tend to find a nice quite place till they calm down and go to sleep then the big people can go enjoy the day while the little ones sleep.

 

[bigbabyblues]

My kids would never nap in the stroller. We always took them back to the room after lunch. They may not be the norm, though, but were taking 2-hour naps every day until they went to kindergarten.

 

[lucyem]

Totally depends on you and your child.

These are my experiences.
- ds1 was 3 and i was pregnant. Stayed at poly. I HAD to nap. I napped and he jumped in a crib for an hour each day. He would finally pass out at dinnertime. Naps were frustrating. Because of that experience we did things differently with ds2.
-ds2 would fall asleep in his stroller at ages 3, 4 & even 5. It worked a lot better since we had ds1 who wanted to stay in the parks. Plus ds2 always fell asleep on the bus or monorail and wake up at the hotel arrival and then not nap at the hotel. A nap in a stroller beats not napping any day.
-we have good friends who have been to wdw repeatedly with their ds since he was born. They would bring his stroller and a blanket and let him fall asleep in the stroller.

 

[want2bamommy]

Stroller naps for our little one. Lots of nice places to sit and rest at the parks. No need to walk to the bus stop, take the child out of the stroller, fold the stroller, board the bus, hope to find a seat, get off the bus, open the stroller, put child in stroller, walk to room, take child out of stroller...

^This . We definitely find it easier to have our daughter nap in the stroller. If the adults need a little break too then we go to a counter service restaurant for a meal and relax.

 

[FireflyTrance]

Thanks for all your input, I guess we can always try both and see what works better. At this point I don't really know which would work better for DD as we haven't been on a real trip (besides visiting family) with her yet. I think either way we will just stay at AKL since we like the theme. I also thought it would be a good resort in the evenings because DD goes to bed early, so we could sit out on the balcony for a while before we go to bed.

 

[wallskm]

Going back for a nap didn't really work for us. We tried it the first day and we didn't find it very relaxing. I was having to work so hard to keep our youngest (then 16 months) awake to make it back to the hotel that I felt super stressed about it. I felt like I was watching the clock trying to get out of there before he fell asleep. He did take a good nap that day but by the time we got back to the park that evening, it was way busier and we felt like we had lost tons of time.

The second day he fell asleep before we could get out of the park so we decided to stay...it went way better- he took a 2 hour nap that day in the stroller. From there we never looked back. Each day our kids napped in the stroller and did just fine with it. YMMV.

 

[PrncessA]

We did a combination of both. DD was 2 1/2 when we went and some days she would nap in the stroller and others she napped in the room. Although she didn't always take a nap in the room, we always (minus one day) took a mid-day break back at the resort for everyone to refresh. It was a real lifesaver! The one day we did the entire day at the park (DHS), DD napped in the stroller and I brought clean clothes for the kids and we refreshed them in a restroom. It wasn't as relaxing but it worked.