Will everyone judge me if we keep DS out late?

[DaughteroftheKing]

Meh. I don't care what you do. Disney isn't cheap, we're all there spending a fair amount of money and trying to enjoy ourselves. And if for your family that means your little one stays up to watch a 10pm parade, go for it!

As far as if he happens to throw a fit? Hey I'm just glad it isn't one of MINE throwing a fit. (one of them laid on the floor and cried in the Pirates of the Caribbean store last year. That was special.) It's Disney. There are kids. There are tantrums. No biggee. I'll smile at you and get out of your way.

 

[jec6613]

If your kid is being well behaved at 10 PM or midnight, yeah, I'll judge you as a good parent!

When my little brother used to do WDW at that age, when he got tired it was time for HOP or COP or even the WDWRR, and just take a nap and relax for a half an hour to recharge. Actually, as adults last year, my little brother and I were wiped out by about 3 PM from the early wake-up and activity, and just climbed on DLRR and took two circuits around and snored through 80% of it, then kept going to close down the park that night!

 

[Cruisin Spartan]

I think it's been stated plenty already. It's your vacation. Enjoy it your way, and know that plenty of other people (myself included) will have you kids out way past normal bedtimes.

Have Fun! It's Disney!!!

 

[delfin59]

There will be a lot of kids around. I'm planning to have DD with me for the fireworks, if she gets fussy I'm just going to wear her since that usually makes her sleepy.

Enjoy Disney the way you want to!

 

[Crystal824]

There were be lots of kids of all ages around out late. Don't worry about it. Do what works for your family. We always keep our kids up late at WDW. At that age, they fell asleep in the stroller at night easily.

 

[disneydremr]

Also, there are lots of families travelling from different time zones around the world. How to we know what time bedtime is for these families? As long as no one (adults included) is melting down, its all good!
ET: And even if there is a meltdown, its all good, haha!

 

[GeraldineW]

I wouldn’t worry about what others think. It is vacation and even for older kids (and adults) we alter our sleeping schedule/patterns for WDW. You may find that all the excitement, stimulation and perhaps added sugar will all help keep your toddler awake longer at night. I would worry about whether and how changing your toddler’s schedule will impact your trip, and whether after a late night out your toddler will need a rest morning with little stimulation. And, whether you will get more done by staying late at night or returning for normal bedtime and getting up for EMH or Rope drop.

What our family did may not work for your family. We chose to keep our toddler up for the nighttime parade and fireworks one night, the last night of our trip. The rest of the nights we may have kept her up past her usual bedtime but not by a lot. We found that by keeping our child on a schedule, she was not overtired or cranky, allowed us to get to rope drop and get a lot done, and still allowed some nighttime entertainment. But as the kids have gotten older we have had no problem keeping them up much later than their bedtimes (until midnight or 1am) as long as we had a rest day the following day.

 

[Mrs Eeyore]

From what I've read on these boards, I think more people would judge you for putting your kid to bed on time at WDW. Have a great trip!

 

[ilovefh]

Like many others have said, don't worry about what others think. There will always be someone judging you for something!

We lived 15 mins from Disney until DS was 2.5 and we went a lot! Because of his epilepsy we always try to not let him get too tired but thankfully for us he was a great stroller sleeper. Whenever he was tired he just fell asleep. Our friend called them "Walt naps." He was even at the second 24 hour event until 2 am, but he had been sleeping for a while. We always brought pajamas at night to change him into and we were lucky that he always slept through the transition from stroller to car seat and car seat to crib.

Go, have fun! And don't worry about what anyone thinks!

ETA: We really don't care about being judged! Two weeks ago DS had a sleep deprived EEG (meaning he needed to stay up late and wake up early) an hour and a half away from home. We knew driving 1.5 hours right before the EEG would cause him to sleep so we stayed with my cousin who lives in the town the hospital is in. We actually had him out at a restaurant until they closed at 11. We knew the stimulation of my cousin and chips and dip would keep him awake versus hanging out at her apartment. It was a Wednesday night so I'm sure we were judged! The waitress asked why we were out so late and we told her. I'm sure they get a lot of patients there because it's right across from the hospital which is pretty prestigious and people travel long distances to go to.

 

[FunkyDuckToo]

We went when my youngest was 1.5 years old...I never gave it a thought and never was made to feel awkward or uncomfortable. It's vacation...you do what is right for you and your family...no worries or fears...ENJOY and HAVE FUN!!!

 

[Under the Library]

You do you, I won't bat an eye. My kids are a bit older than yours but even when they were younger we'd keep them out later for certain things. To each their own but it's vacation!

 

[TheDisneyNurse]

Of course I wouldn't! You're on vacation, now's the time to stay up late and party on in the parks with your family As long as your kids are fine with it, I'd endorse the idea!

 

[Berlioz70]

Bring a nice fold down stroll so if the child gets sleepy they can take a nap. My DD has no problems napping in her stroller, which has allowed us to easily travel to the parks all times of day, this photo was taken at 12:30a

 

[amygphillips]

My kids go to bed by 730 to 830 at home but at Disney they do fine out until 10 to 12. Noone will judge you! Even if they don't sleep in in the mornings at home they may sleep alittle later at disney. Also if you plan to stay for fireworks late don't plan an early breakfast for the next am. Have a great trip

 

[tadamom]

Noone will judge you....everyone else will be doing it too!!! During my son's first trip (he was 2.5) one of our most favorite nights was during EMH at MK. We were there until 3am.....he loved it!!

 

[Jenna319]

We are taking our 1-year old for Halloween and plan on taking her to MNSSHP.... when she gets tired, I plan on giving her to dad to tuck in for the night (DH isn't going to the party) and continuing on at the party with my 7-year old niece. She typically goes to bed between 630-7p. I plan to see if she will make it for 4th of July fireworks at home! I will be on her schedule so I will be out as late as she will allow! When she gets fussy, I will call it a night, but if she falls asleep in her stroller, I'll enjoy another hour

 

[ftwdw]

That place is special, there's no time limits. LOL. I intend to do the same thing! Memories are made that way!

 

[Jfsag123]

As far as if he happens to throw a fit? Hey I'm just glad it isn't one of MINE throwing a fit. (one of them laid on the floor and cried in the Pirates of the Caribbean store last year. That was special.) It's Disney. There are kids. There are tantrums. No biggee. I'll smile at you and get out of your way.

Ha! This makes me feel better. My son laid on the floor and cried in the Animation building. This was in the middle of the afternoon and he had been fed and had napped. Sometimes kids flip out. It happens. This same kid stayed up for the 10pm fireworks at the Wishes Dessert Party as a 2.5 year old, then trooped back to New Fantasyland after the fireworks and happily played Chip in Enchanted Tales with Belle. You know your kid. Do whatever works best for your family and don't worry about any potential judgy folk.