Wanting to make time for daily naps, please share how it did/didn't work for you.

[HisQween]

Hello All,

This is our first family trip to Disney World, planned for June. I'm starting to plan our daily schedules, and I'm needing advice on when/how to schedule in daily naps. I am hoping that we can make it to the rope drops; however, I know that we will need to rest during the day if we want to make it to the nightly fireworks.

How did your plans work with naps? Did it still leave plenty of time to return and still do more? & of course any other helpful information is appreciated.

TIA

 

[deannanb]

do you have kids?
what ages?

and where are you staying?

Last summer we stayed at CR - the little boys (ages almost 2 and 5.5) slept in the strollers during the day. A few days we were back in the room around 4ish and relaxed and got ready for dinner. Adults changed clothes and rested.

but we didn't take naps.

we also didn't go back to the parks for fireworks. we were able to watch them from our hotel room. We did watch the show at EPCOT one night.

you might want to search under the family board for naps. you might get some more answers.

 

[HisQween]

Yes, we have a little girl, shes 4. We are staying offsite in downtown disney. Besides going back to the park for fireworks, we want to go back to enjoy other activities we may have skipped.

 

[ktlm]

It did not work for us AT ALL!! Just plan on being flexible and adjusting your plan to do what works best for your child. DD was 2 yrs 10 months, on her first trip. She is a high energy kid. I was convinced from these boards that we needed to leave the park mid-day for a nap. We tried it the first day-- BIG MISTAKE. What we got was a child we had to drag out of MK kicking and screaming and then when we got back to WL, we had a very angry child who refused to nap for 2-3 hours. When we finally gave up and just went back to MK, she promptly turned into a happy kid and crawled into a stroller and took a long nap. After that, we just stayed in the parks from open to close, and she took stroller naps when she was tired. We had 2 trips when she was 3, and one when she was 4, and also one to DL when she was 4 and that has always worked for us. The afternoon nap works great for some people, but not for us.

 

[Wiloughby1]

DS was 22mos on our last trip and he ALWAYS napped in the stroller. One of us would say "we should head back to take a nap" then pull back the stroller shade to see him sound asleep. We never wake a sleeping DS!

Play it by ear. Some kids need it. We did much better with a stroller nap. DD naps in her stroller on the weekends in our house after we take a neighborhood walk, so I'm guessing we'll have the same routine this time around...

But you NEVER know who your kids will be in WDW until you're there.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Our kids were stroller nappers too. We stayed offsite, so leaving the park for naps and coming back wasn't an option.

 

[riley2008]

Both trips we napped EVERY day. We would leave the park between 1-2 and return about 5. My boys were 4, almost 5 the first time and nearly 6 the second time. (Our first trip we took my 11yo cousin too. No one complained of naps.) We ALL napped, too.

We also stayed onsite - AllStar Music and Wilderness Lodge.

We planned on this and knew we wouldn't see everything. It worked GREAT for us and I'd highly recommend it.

 

[mousegear]

We took afternoon breaks everyday although DS was 6 last Sept. We always did rope drop and came back to our resort by 2pm latest. We swam/relaxed and took naps. We were much refreshed and energized for our evening activities at the park. We rode many rides and stayed for evening parades/fire works etc. I think even adults could use some.

For our coming trip, we built afternoon break and hopefully it works just as well.

We took DS to DW when he was 3 and he often slept on his stroller. Gone are those days....
I think younger kids could nap on stroller and often they just fall asleep while touring the parks. But I think kids older than 3 find stroller not that comfortable to sleep in IMO. Although we used stroller for DS until he was 5, he would not sleep in stroller and be cranky/whiny later so we started taking afternoon breaks. It works well for our family.

You've got to decide for yourself... Would your daughter fall asleep on stroller depite all the excitement and so much to see? Or would she need quiet time for a nap?

 

[pooh2001]

The only one who naps during the day would be my DH if he gets up at 3 am to do work that he brought with him before our day in the park.
Yes we have a picture of him on a cell phone with a client (for 30 minutes) about 20 feet from from the entrance to EPCOT (on the EPCOT side, where the pictures of people are on 'walls').

Now we have teens, the only early morning will be for MK. Every other park they do the late hours, even into 1 am or 2 am.
So if you consider sleeping in till 9 or 10 am napping - then we nap

 

[teacup princess]

Count me in as a commando/no nap type family. We tried it the first day after reading on these boards that we had to come back and take a nap in the afternoon. Didn't work for us at all. We just ended up laying in a dark room, eyes wide open for two hours. Everyone was frustrated and just wanted to head back to the park. After that, we realized our kids were happier just napping in the stroller. The downside of this is most of our family photopass pictures from that trip are of a sleeping 2y.o., but I guess in future years we'll remember how precious he was and see the humor in it. It was just so hard to catch a photographer when everyone was awake.

 

[MHSweb79]

Our trips improved dramatically when we started taking the afternoon breaks. We hit rope drop, tour until noon or so. Then back to our resort for a rest or a swim (everyone had a choice). Around 4pm we'd head out to our dinnertime park. Now our DD is grown up (20!) and we still do this!

This type of plan works best with park hoppers. Many people who don't do this say it's because they hate to waste all that time travelling to/ from their resort. For us, the nice cool bus ride is a great break from the overstimulation of the parks.

 

[Dragonfly_34]

When we took DS14 for the first time he was 5 years old, so past the naptime stage but he couldn't do full days at the park. We ended up leaving every afternoon and going back to the hotel so he could swim and rest but he didn't actually nap. We went back to the parks every evening since that's where our dinner reservations were, and one night we took him to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween (in costume) so he could go trick-or-treating at the Magic Kingdom. Park hoppers were a great option for us because we could visit whatever parks we wanted to, whenever we wanted.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Our trips improved dramatically when we started taking the afternoon breaks. We hit rope drop, tour until noon or so. Then back to our resort for a rest or a swim (everyone had a choice). Around 4pm we'd head out to our dinnertime park. Now our DD is grown up (20!) and we still do this!

This type of plan works best with park hoppers. Many people who don't do this say it's because they hate to waste all that time travelling to/ from their resort. For us, the nice cool bus ride is a great break from the overstimulation of the parks.

And will continue to do so.....we make the morning RD, stay till 11 or 12 and are out the park while all the others are jamming it up.....we do the resort break and head back out around 5 or 6 for more park time....

Now that we've been empty nesters for the past 5+ trips...we still break out of the parks....it's just too hot to enjoy and the cooling resort pool is just what we need, plus we do pool picnics and a few drinks to recharge....

We get plenty of time in the parks and staying opening to close is just too much...we pay for a deluxe resort all the time, so why not use it....plus we have a complete down day, no parks, middle of the trip to enjoy all the other activities on property...and we come home refreshed..

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

we turn 28 and 31 next week and we're passed out by 2pm everyday there

we get to the park early to ride, have lunch, go back to the resort and sleep, up for dinner and back to the parks. it's just how we do it! we both work 2 jobs and are constantely on the go. it's nice to relax and catch up--keeps us happy

 

[brookmey]

But you NEVER know who your kids will be in WDW until you're there.

So, so true! One of the best things you can do is to be willing to change your plans based on your kids' needs at the time.

One year we went with my SIL and her daughter and my SIL insisted that my niece (3 at the time) didn't need a lot a sleep, was a night owl and didn't take naps. SIL said she could survive on 8 or 9 hours of sleep. Well, on day 2 of the parks, DN was a complete mess. SIL didn't understand it because DN wasn't like this at home. But at home, there was just mom and daughter and DN preferred to play in her room by herself or watch TV. There was virtually no outside stimuli and DN lived a very quiet life. Sometimes a friend came over to play, but only 1 friend at a time. DN's behavior didn't fit with what she was like at home, so my SIL believed DN was getting molars and refused to adjust any of their plans because DN's behavior had nothing to do with WDW. SIL said my DN was a really easygoing kid and could handle anything. DH and I thought differently, we saw it as the noise of the parks was too much for DN and she needed time away. SIL and DN ended up having a miserable time and SIL refuses to back because "WDW is way overrated."

We always leave the parks around lunchtime and go back around dinner. The kids nap or if they can't sleep, we swim to cool off. Mainly it's to give them a break from the chaos and noise of the parks and to just relax. My kids are super energetic, so the nap in the stroller would never work because they were too concerned with what was going on around them.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[mommystieg]

We tried the midday break once on our very first trip. By the time we made it to the front of the park, boarded the monorail, got to the car and drove to the room the kid was completely rested and we were exhausted....and we were staying onsite. Our girls always stroller-napped after that. There are so many indoor dark attractions that are great nap-starters -- Spaceship Earth, Hall of Presidents, the American Adventure to name a few. We also used naptime as a chance to wander through all of the shops. A round trip monorail ride is also a great way to get out of the heat and sun for a little while.

 

[ZeroMyHero]

I agree with all the other PPs: you've got to be flexible and be willing to change your plan. We leave in 10 days and I still don't know what's going to happen. Last time we went, DD7 had just turned 4 and had just dropped her nap about two weeks prior to our trip. We planned on leaving the park every day after lunch so she could rest and recharge, but on the first day we realized she would be able to go the distance. During the whole trip she fell asleep in the stroller only once or twice for a short nap but that was it. We were so surprised how much stamina she had while we were in the parks, and at night she slept like a rock. We had a wonderful time. Now we have two kids, DD7 and DDalmost2. Our plan right now is to go back to our resort for a rest/nap every day, but who knows? YDD might be a fabulous stroller napper. If so, we'll stay all day. If not, ODD will be able to enjoy the pool while YDD naps.

 

[DISNEYGIRL16]

Hello All,

This is our first family trip to Disney World, planned for June. I'm starting to plan our daily schedules, and I'm needing advice on when/how to schedule in daily naps. I am hoping that we can make it to the rope drops; however, I know that we will need to rest during the day if we want to make it to the nightly fireworks.

How did your plans work with naps? Did it still leave plenty of time to return and still do more? & of course any other helpful information is appreciated.

TIA

Well,first..book character breakfasts for the Morning and Parks for the night. During the day when your supposed to be swimming (around the afternoon~12:00 pm) is when you should take a nap. So eat in the morning. Come back,nap and then go to the parks at night. Taking a nap in the afternoon will guarantee your kids being awake for the exciting things the parks have to offer at night.

 

[humalexis]

We are newbies too and going in June. We won't have a stroller so no stroller naps here. Since we are staying offsite to save on money I figured we would eat breakfast get to rope drop and then leave around noon. Our townhouse has a splash pool so the girls can swim or nap. Then we can have dinner at the townhouse and go back to the parks. And of course we may have to be flexible. Oh, and we will take a day off in the middle of the week to sleep in and play at the resort pool. Just relax that day.

Can't wait!! It's already May and I am starting to realize we will be in WDW soon!!!

 

[sassyredhead]

No nappers here! Tried it our first trip, and were too tired to head back to the park for our dinner reservation. Instead, we take rests on long rides/attractions and early sit down dinners.

Because of our commando style, we do like to rest a full day at the resort, though!