What do you do for toddler's naps at Disney?

[London910]

DH and I are taking our 1 yr old son to Disney for the first time in May and to finally meet Orlando-based family members of mine he hasn't seen yet. He'll be 18 months at the time of the trip. We're staying at The Dolphin and will have a car.

Right now he's still taking 2 long (2+ hour) naps a day, so what do people usually do during those times? Hope the baby will nap in stroller or do you leave the park? DS is one of those "I have to be in my crib" nappers so I'm skeptical that he'd fall asleep in a stroller, especially when so much is going on around him. Are there any long, dark or boring rides that might do the trick to get him to fall asleep? Hall of Presidents maybe? lol.

If he took one nap it would be one thing, but going back to the resort to accommodate both naps would be difficult without sitting in a hotel half the day while he slept. He's gone without one of the naps before during holidays or day trips and been fine if there's a lot going on to keep him occupied, but other times he's skipped naps and been fussy. It's a toss up.

Any tips appreciated! TIA

 

[wallskm]

Our son was 16 months when we went and I worked him down to 1 nap by the trip to make it easier. (He was ready anyway) The first day we tried going back to the resort to nap and he made it before falling asleep but it was stressful. I felt like we dragged our whole family out of the park just so he could nap. I had to really work to keep him awake and we left right after lunch. Of course once we got back to the room he didn't want to nap so by the time we got him to go to sleep and finish up his nap it felt late before we made it back to the park.

The second day we planned to leave again but he fell asleep in the middle of our 11:30 lunch. The night before we had stayed out past bedtime and he just zonked out. We ended up just putting him in the stroller and stayed at the park and it was so much less stressful. From then on we just let him fall asleep when he was tired and it worked fine. I had never made a habit of having him sleep anywhere other than his crib before but he adjusted fine.

We are going again in April and he will be 2 years 4 months and we are not planning to go back to the room for naps, though if he needs to we will. I think you just have to get there and see what works.

 

[tourguide81]

I'd go back for one nap but shoot to get the other nap on the go. Perhaps this is when he'll finally drop the morning nap? 18 months is pretty old to have 2 naps that long!

My kids always surprise me w/ their sleeping when we travel - falling asleep in the stroller, the ergo, odd times, etc. It's almost like they get that they just have to sleep when the mood strikes them and go w/ it. We do lots of stroller naps and stroller bedtimes. You can always have one person take a few minutes to set the nap time "tone" and push him in a shadier spot for a few minutes to see if he'll pass out. I found that once they fall asleep then you can usually go back about your business.

 

[wallskm]

Oh and I should add that your trip is 4-5 months away, he may very well be down to one nap by then. I think most kids that age are.

 

[RachaelA]

My kid only naps in her crib at home. She passed out in the stroller parked on Main Street as a marching band went by. Disney is exhausting. You'd be surprised what they can sleep through when they are really tired.

First trip DD1 was 11.5 months and napping twice a day. Second trip she was 18 months and napping once a day. Both trips we tried to get back to the room for a nap if possible

I think you are going to have to take it day by day but I would shoot to go back to the room once later in the day unless he really seems overtired and melting down in the morning

 

[kellyjeanie]

My son was 2-1/2 and I was surprised that he fell asleep in the stroller every day. It wasn't his usual 2-hr nap, so we had some early nights. But it was pretty consistent every day - we'd have a late lunch, put him back in the stroller, and he'd conk right out just walking around. We brought a muslin blanket to cover the stroller with.

 

[tourguide81]

I'll add that whether he's taking one nap or 2, we don't just go back to the resort for the kid that "needs" the nap. We all need/want some down time. A quiet, cool room or even some time at the pool. Often this is when I take a shower or do something else relaxing b/c by the time we get back at night, I'm ready for bed!

I know not everyone likes the midday break, but it works for us w/ or w/o kids.

 

[shanejoseph]

I truly would not go back to resort for naps. Like a previous post stated, by the time of your trip, he should be down to one nap. The way we do The World, no matter whats going on around her, our daughter would zonk out, on the go, in the stroller! Now she's a trooper like us, from rope drop 'til they kick us out!

 

[JillianLeigh]

I wouldn't leave the parks. For my DS what would most likely happen is we would make it onto a bus and he would fall asleep on the ride to the resort. Then he'd wake up getting off of the bus, and we wouldn't be able to get him back to sleep in the room.

 

[Disney Diva Mom]

My favorite nap place for my kids: they are always so tired they fall asleep in the stroller. When in the magic kingdom we hop on the monorail to the resorts and go to the GF. An ice coffee and the wonderful couches in the lobby are a great place for the kids to sleep in the stroller an me to relax. Sometimes we are even lucky enough to hear the piano player or string quartet playing. Heaven!!

 

[MomofIndigo]

My favorite nap place for my kids: they are always so tired they fall asleep in the stroller. When in the magic kingdom we hop on the monorail to the resorts and go to the GF. An ice coffee and the wonderful couches in the lobby are a great place for the kids to sleep in the stroller an me to relax. Sometimes we are even lucky enough to hear the piano player or string quartet playing. Heaven!!

YEP! We did "monorail" naps. Then we would go to the WS and have some coffee and sit on a bench for a good rest.

 

[London910]

I wouldn't leave the parks. For my DS what would most likely happen is we would make it onto a bus and he would fall asleep on the ride to the resort. Then he'd wake up getting off of the bus, and we wouldn't be able to get him back to sleep in the room.

This is exactly what I feel like my son would do! haha! If he falls asleep in the car, the second the engine stops he wakes up then it's hard for us to get him back to sleep inside.

Thanks for all of the advice. I think we'll probably try and stay at the parks as much as possible, unless he's having crazy meltdowns and won't nap in the stroller. With all of the activity and added excitement of my family who will be new to him paying attention, he might not even want to nap. And like others said, by then he might be down to 1 nap anyway.

 

[mrsdaly]

I think you may be surprised, he may be down to one nap a day by 18 months. My son is 17 months, and always took 2 naps. And then one day (right around the new year), he just wouldn't. I couldn't get him to go to sleep in the morning. That was it. Now he takes a nap around noon, sometimes 1 if we're out and about.

He's also a "I only take naps in my crib" (or the car), so I think we will plan on going back for a nap around 1 when we are there next week.

 

[eskimopie]

My DD just slept in her stroller. We went she was 20 months and almost 3. Both times she slept really well in the stroller.

Also, in MK, the People Mover is great for getting a kid to fall asleep!

 

[scoutie]

We left the parks after lunchtime, and went back to the resort for my toddler's naps. The older two kids went with my husband to the pool. I need downtime myself, so I read in the room or out on the balcony during the nap.

Everybody was refreshed after the break to enjoy the parks again later in the day.

 

[dsneygirl]

We were there 10 days in Sept and my son napped in the stroller for 2 hours every day. We did some bigger rides with ODS and then went back to the resort to swim, play etc.

With ODS #1 we spent a few frustrating days in the room trying to get him to sleep but he was too overstimulated it seemed. But for some reason sleeping on the go was no issue for either one.

 

[KristenCarll]

My daughter was an "only sleep in her crib" type of child but let me tell you she napped sooooo well in a stroller at Disney. It is absolutely EXHAUSTING for them, and they end up sleeping anywhere. We found it to be a great time for us to hit the bigger rides. One of us(or both when my mom sat with her) would go on a "big kid" ride like space mountain while she napped. If you have a carrier you can always take them on certain rides with you like that as well. Or if you want to watch a show(Beauty and the Beast, Lion King) it's a perfect time if it works into the same schedule. That said, if you are tired don't hesitate to go back to the room and rest for one of the naps. But I definitely would not leave for both. Have fun! :]

 

[Annie78]

My son was a tough napper at home and even tougher at Disney. He only napped well when there was a very steady routine, such as at daycare. On our first Disney trip, age 2.75, we took him back to our room for a nap every day and on only one day of the 8-day trip did he ever fall asleep. He also never fell asleep in the stroller. On the last day he took a nice nap while on DH's back in an Ergo - we hadn't expected that, but once he passed out we found a cool, quiet place for DH to sit. I wish we hadn't gone back to the room those other days - complete waste of time.
Second trip was a very short one at age 3.25 and I didn't even try to go back to the hotel. The first full day he finally passed out in his stroller at 4PM and had to be shaken awake for dinner at 6PM. Second full day he was again resisting falling asleep in the stroller, so I took him on the monorail and he fell asleep for a little while. Departure day he powered through until our mid-afternoon ME pickup.
My plan next time (just after turning 4) is to get him a cozy stroller, maybe give the monorail a try around early afternoon, and otherwise just let whatever happens, happen. If he naps, we can stay out later. If he doesn't nap, we have an early bed time. It's not worth scheduling our trip (and limiting our park time) around naps that he very likely will not want to take.

 

[eangel12]

We went when my oldest was almost 21 months old. We originally planned to rush back to our room each day and let him nap. We found out very quickly that our plan didn't work. We would no sooner load him into our rental car and he would be out...which meant we would SIT in our car for 2 hours while he napped. After that we just let him sleep in the stroller while we ate lunch in a nice air conditioned restaurant. When he woke up, he ate a quick service meal and then we kept going.

 

[PocahontasLookALike]

We took out daughter to Disneyland when she was 16 mos old. We tried to get her to nap in the room but never had much luck. We found she napped everyday for 30-45 mins a few times a day in the stroller. That's when having a cozy stroller is so worth it (we have a b ready).

When we go again to DL our kids will be 16 mos and almost 3 and I plan on them just napping in the stroller.