Transport toddler back to hotel for naps?

[heathercj]

Hi Everyone,

I will have a 23 month old for our WDW vacation January, 2010. I think I want to bring her back to the hotel each afternoon to nap. Which Disney hotel has the best (quickest) transportation to and from the parks? We will probably spend the most time at MK, but plan to visit all of the parks. Do you think I should just give up on the nap and have her sleep in the stroller?

Thanks for any thoughts!

 

[natnelliesmom]

Any resort along the monorail system will be your quickest bet to return for nap. You should still budget 40 mins one way just to be safe.
I really don't think you should need to do this every day though. My little ones always napped when they were tired, right in the stroller.
-Sarah

 

[MarriedToAPrince]

We are planning the same thing for next year when we are planning on taking our DD who will have just turned 3. We are planning on doing lunch at the hotel and having quiet time, nap time or just play and swim time so she has some time to rest during the afternoon.

 

[MinnieTink]

I agree... The monorail resorts are great. We also had good transport at Wilderness Lodge. And very good transportation 'karma' at Pop if you are looking for Value.

We just played it by ear with our kids. If they fell asleep in the stroller I would try and find a quiet shady spot to give them some rest. If it looked like they were fighting the nap that day, it was off to the resort where we ALL ended up taking great power naps.

 

[williamson_ja]

Contemporary would be great because you can walk back from Magic Kingdom if you don't want to wait for the monorail. We stayed at POR last year and went back almost every day for naps and a swim. It takes a little bit of time, but it was worth it for my family to get out of the parks and get some rest and relaxation before hitting them again in the evening. This was valuable to my older kids (ages9-13) as well as my younger dd (3).

 

[Tiffany_PartyOf7]

We have a bunch of little kids. We love love love the Poly. The theme is great. The kids LOVE it. It has an amazing pool. And the best part - it's on monorail. We refuse to stay anywhere without a monorail until our kids are all out of strollers. 90% of our time is spent at MK since all of our favorites are there. We always head back to the hotel midday when the parks are crowded and just hang out in the room or go swimming. My kids enjoy that even because the hotel is fun.

That said, I also let them nap in strollers. We don't plan to go back to the hotel for naps... We just go back when we are tired or the kids are too cranky. My kids are used to passing out wherever though LOL..

 

[snowy76]

I agree with the PP who said a monorail resort is best if you're going to be in MK most of the time. Keep in mind though, if you're visiting all the parks, that WDW is twice the size of Manhattan. So if you're at AK for example, and your DD comes up on naptime, you're looking at a much longer trip back to the resort. Just be prepared to go with the flow - there might be a scenario where it's just not worth going back.

 

[SaraMc]

We took DS (2) back to our resort most days, the days he fell asleep in his stroller on the way back to the resort we would often stay in the park then and do a lot of parent swap stuff.. I think that he was more rested when we went back to the resort and easier to rationalize with later in the day on the days we went back to the resort.
We went back to Pop Century every time, the ride isnt too far from MK.

 

[Tink6666]

we loved Wilderness lodge. The boats from MK were always quick. If you choose Contemporary you have multiple choices, monorail, boat, or walking. We still split our days with a nap / rest period in the middle and our kids are teenagers We also tend to park hop too.

 

[Hannathy]

I always found going back to the resort was too exhausting for ME! It was too much walking for a short nap so we always just let them nap in the stroller and never had a problem and we go from rope drop till closing(midnight during Spring break)

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

I agree with the PP. IMO, unless you can afford to stay at a monorail resort (specifically Contemporary where you could walk), going back to the hotel, is a pain! Transportation can sometimes take up to 40 minutes one way. So going back to the resort for an hour or two, can take up to 4 or 5 hours away from the parks. We have always stayed at the parks all day and our kids have been good at sleeping in their strollers. DH and I take that time to shop or just relax on a bench.

We do stay at the hotel once or twice during the trip for an afternoon, just so the kids can play and relax at the pool...usually the day that we spend the morning at AK.