What to do while they're sleeping?!

[branv]

We're taking our 2 yo DS, who still naps and goes to bed around 8 pm. While DH will nap along with DS no problem (he used to nap during our WDW trips even before we had a child!), I tend to get fidgety after a half hour. And obviously, neither DH nor i will fall asleep at 8 pm. Worse, lately I've just been waking up super early for some reason (like 4:30 am!). No way can I just sit there in the dark for a few hours.

But how do you manage being awake while they're asleep? Tablets with headphones for Hulu/netflix? For naps and mornings, I'd just get up and look around the resort, get some coffee, but those doors!! If I remember correctly, no matter how quietly you try to open/close them, they make a terrible KA-CHUNK sound. (Is there some trick to this that I'm missing?) We thought about bringing our video monitor so we can sit out on the balcony, not sure if in November the mosquitoes/bugs are still prolific around the lake?

What do you do? Any tips?

 

[Disneylover99]

I'd leave and wander around the resort.....grab a coffee, head to the gift shop. But you're right about those doors. There is no way to close them silently.

 

[missbrooke06]

Is your child a very light sleeper? We just had a luggage mixup and all of our stuff went to my parents' room. It took me 5 trips to lug it all over and my 11 mos old (and husband) never stirred and the baby is not a particularly heavy sleeper.

 

[tmh43]

I was wondering the same thing about being an exceptionally light sleeper. On vacation we have no problems watching TV while he sleeps. Sometimes we take turns going for walks, in Disney DH will probably go for a swim, and one of us will bring back a snack and drinks. Hotel doors are ridiculously loud, but after a day at Disney once a kid is out, they're generally not waking unless they're a very light sleeper. If he is a light sleeper, a movie and headphones or an ebook on your phone might be your best bet.

 

[msmama]

I usually play on my phone or read on my kindle. But really, I go to bed early myself, too. I find WDW exhausting!!

 

[jvz82]

Last trip, my husband stayed and went to bed with the kids. I happened to be traveling with a few other members of my family, so my mom and sister and I actually went BACK to MK after everyone went to sleep. We had fast passes for space mountain that nobody had used during the day because the wait for space mountain had been sooo long that you couldn't even get in until like 9 pm. So we took all the fast passes and went on space mountain 3 times in a row, lol. It was a blast! Then we hit a few other rides as well and got back to the hotel super late. Honestly it is one of my favorite memories! We barely got any sleep but I was cool with that. The trip before it when my son was 2 he went back to the hotel to nap, and my husband napped too, and I went to the pool. I don't do well sitting around at Disney either!

 

[Imagineer5]

For nap time, I 99% of the time put DD to sleep in her stroller. I can stroll back to the room if I want to relax, OR I can be at the parks, pool, eat, etc. It keeps me mobile When I vacation with DH we use it as a time to do the grown up rides she can't do, since we can rider swap and all that. I also tend to get in a lot of shopping while she naps (that part is deadly, I spent WAY more when she isn't asking me to buy her something).

For bed time - at Disney she never makes her usual 7:30 bedtime. It's all too exciting and there is just too much to do! Since we are rope-droppers however it is rare that we are not in the room by 9 (late nights happen mainly when I plan to watch Wishes). She is fine staying up later at Disney and when she goes to sleep, I certainly do too as I'm exhausted (though sometimes I might put her to bed and grab a shower and play on the ipad or something, but only for a short while).

 

[pjacobi]

Whatever you do, please don't leave your children alone. Remember Madeline McCann?

-Paul

 

[Baklava]

Nobody has suggested leaving a child alone.

 

[branv]

Thanks everyone! He is *sometimes* a light sleeper. It's always a toss up! He is definitely a kid who if there is anything but still and darkness when he's trying to fall asleep is like, "Hey! Hey! Hey! What's happening?!" Lol. Though on the flip side he looooves his sleep, just like his father (thank goodness he hasn't taken after me in that!)

Whatever you do, please don't leave your children alone. Remember Madeline McCann?

-Paul

Well, I appreciate where your concern is coming from, but... . Definitely wasn't even on the periphery of a possibility. And I would think the type of parents who would go to the trouble of frequenting a Family sub-forum of a Disney planning site are probably more likely to over-think what is best for their kids versus abandoning them for party time. I would hope anyway.

 

[ban26ana]

This issue is one of the key things that led to us buying a camper. Not that we've used it for our Disney trips yet, but our kids are too young to be in a separate hotel room. But they can't fall asleep if dh and I are up and about. We once played cards in the hotel bathroom so we wouldn't wake them lol!!

Now we're staying in a 2BR, and I don't think I can ever go back to a regular hotel room.