You want to keep the kids up HOW late??

[Hisgirl]

So 'Nina' and 'Papa' will be taking GS9, GS7, GS6 to WDW for their first trip. We'll be there in winter, Jan. 31 - Feb 8. These kids normally go to bed around 7 pm each night during the school year. I'm wondering what sort of timing we would be looking at if we kept them up for the MK fireworks and also a Sing along with Chip and Dale. (keeping in mind it will be getting dark super early)

Does anyone have a guestimate on how late we would actually be up considering we would have our own car and drive about 3 miles from the parks?

Thank you!

 

[luvmy2babies]

So 'Nina' and 'Papa' will be taking GS9, GS7, GS6 to WDW for their first trip. We'll be there in winter, Jan. 31 - Feb 8. These kids normally go to bed around 7 pm each night during the school year. I'm wondering what sort of timing we would be looking at if we kept them up for the MK fireworks and also a Sing along with Chip and Dale. (keeping in mind it will be getting dark super early)

Does anyone have a guestimate on how late we would actually be up considering we would have our own car and drive about 3 miles from the parks?

Thank you!

In 2011, my children and I visited Magic Kingdom on October 31st. MK closed at 9, same as it will that week you are speaking of. I should say, we were actually on the boat going back to the Transportation and Ticket Center while the fireworks were going off and watched them from there. Once we got to the TTC, we had to find a cab with a car seat. My son was 21 months old. We were staying on International Drive across from Sea World, which is much further than 3 miles away.

We were actually on a Sea World vacation. Our MK day was unplanned. I distinctly remember being back in our room by 10pm, but I checked the trip report from that trip and we were back in the room by 10. We had been at MK since rope drop, so I did have my daughter wipe down before going to bed. I wiped down my son as gently as I could as he was already asleep. He had only slept about 30 minutes during nap time and fell asleep on the boat. It was our last day though and all we had to do the next morning was be ready to check out by 11am as our plane home didn't leave until 2:00.

Hope I was of some help.

 

[scrappinginontario]

You'll be at Disney so plan in a number of later than normal nights if you want to take in the fireworks or just enjoy the parks after dark. My DD normally goes to bed at 7:30 and there was many a night in August when we were just returning to a park at that time with hours of fun in front of us.

Friends were there last month and I was reminded how different Disney hours are when I was getting my DD ready for bed and would receive a text that they were just getting ready to head back to the parks again.

For us, we enjoy it this way and rest up when we get home. Another friend who just returned from their first trip last week stated it well, 'We weren't on a vacation. We were on a trip....and now that we're home we sleep!'

Enjoy and have fun! You're at Disney....you can sleep anytime.

LOL - Can you tell my 4yo is a Disney party girl too? Some nights I suggested heading home around 8 and she encouraged me to keep going so keep going we did!

 

[happymommy]

We did just about the opposite: when my kids were that little, they never stayed up for fireworks. It was better to just keep their normal schedule, so at least my DD for sure was ready for bed by 8:00 at the latest.

Every family is different, so I don't know what to suggest. For my kids, it wouldn't have been worth getting them overtired for fireworks. They still had wonderful times at the parks and took naps in the stroller daily as well.

 

[lovin'fl]

When my kids were little and we went to WDW, I would say their bedtime was around 10pm (but their normal bedtime was around 8-9pm to get up around 7am for school). January, the parks close earlier (like 7-9pm) but you might have EMH (if staying at a WDW resort) a couple nights. We always tried to get out of the parks 30-60 minutes before closing to avoid long lines for a bus. Illuminations is 8pm, Wishes 9pm and Fantasmic around 7pm most nights in January. They will probably want to see each of those (unless they have been many times, like us and we now skip the fireworks). The nights you see those, you'll be heading out of the park with the masses and it might be a later night for your kids.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

It really depends on how you plan to tour, and how well your kids adapt. Check the park hours--if parks are closing early, probably not a huge deal to stay through the fireworks. Also, it depends on if you're rope drop people and/or afternoon nap people. If your kids are fairly flexible, you could have a late night followed by a sleep-in kind of day. It can really depend on the children, so I suggest you assess the total picture--nothing ruins a vacation faster than a child pushed beyond his limits.

We used to travel with my BIL and his family--his kids were older than ours. They thought we were nuts for doing an afternoon break, but his were the kids who were throwing up, getting sick, and the little one slept in her stroller the entire day on her one Magic Kingdom day. Meanwhile, the same day our poor niece hurled at dinner, total strangers came up and complimented DH and I on our well-behaved kids. I'm not suggesting everyone needs a break, but I knew my kids did. I had one, in particular, who wasn't adaptable at all and would lose consciousness and seize if he was stressed. So, to me, the break was nonnegotiable. Here's hoping you're luckier, and have more flexibility.

 

[Gracie09]

It really depends on how you plan to tour, and how well your kids adapt. Check the park hours--if parks are closing early, probably not a huge deal to stay through the fireworks. Also, it depends on if you're rope drop people and/or afternoon nap people. If your kids are fairly flexible, you could have a late night followed by a sleep-in kind of day. It can really depend on the children, so I suggest you assess the total picture--nothing ruins a vacation faster than a child pushed beyond his limits.

We used to travel with my BIL and his family--his kids were older than ours. They thought we were nuts for doing an afternoon break, but his were the kids who were throwing up, getting sick, and the little one slept in her stroller the entire day on her one Magic Kingdom day. Meanwhile, the same day our poor niece hurled at dinner, total strangers came up and complimented DH and I on our well-behaved kids. I'm not suggesting everyone needs a break, but I knew my kids did. I had one, in particular, who wasn't adaptable at all and would lose consciousness and seize if he was stressed. So, to me, the break was nonnegotiable. Here's hoping you're luckier, and have more flexibility.

That sounds more like they had a virus than sick due to lack of sleep. Even if you are well rested you can catch a virus.
We have two four year olds. We usually do one or two late nights in a week - to see wishes and illinations. The other days we leave shortly after an earlish dinner (5 or so) and head to the hotel for a swim and bath. The girls will sleep in their stroller if they are tired. We have never done a break back at te hotel. Our girls wouldn't sleep and it just caused them to cry so why bother when I can walk them around and actually get them to sleep.

 

[sb682]

Looking at the crowd calendars on EasyWDW, it looks like the parks are open until 9 or 10 most nights, but Wishes is at 8 most nights, Fantasmic is at 7 and Illuminations is at 9. If you plan to leave shortly after fireworks most nights, they'll be up 2 or 3 hours past their normal bedtimes. I think kids their age should be able to adapt pretty well, but I would build in some rest time in your hotel room each afternoon after lunch. Even if no one sleeps, you can all put your feet up and recharge your batteries before heading back to the parks mid-afternoon.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

One thing to keep in mind--not all kids will sleep (or sleep well) in a stroller. Mine never did. Ever. And I have 4! You don't know how I envied those parents whose kids were contentedly snoozing away while the family continued to enjoy the parks! If you know your kids will, then this is a great strategy, but if your kids won't, or you don't know, I wouldn't count on it--at least have a "plan B" in your mind.

 

[dsneygirl]

We don't go by the clock we go by their mood/temperment as to when we are done. My 7 year old made it to 12:05am at the Halloween Party last month. For kids that age I would expect they could easily do 10pm as long as they weren't up at rope drop every morning. Maybe spread out a couple late nights/sleep ins. The night after the campfire DS slept until 9:30.

 

[Hisgirl]

All good advice! Thank you!

My DIL and SIL are there too, as will be a new baby. DIL thinks the boys will only want to go to a park for 2 days (in the week) since they aren't used to WDW. This is actually a possibility as the house will have a pool and I can see them begging to go back and play! (I read in unofficial guide of kids begging to just stop...and run and play on some grass, haha!)

I think we'll plan just 2 nights out...fireworks at MK one night and if that goes ok, then do the Chip and Dale night. Hopefully DIL will be ok with a little schedule change.

 

[Moodyzblu]

I find the longer we are there, the later we stay out. The first few nights are rough for my kids .. but by the end of the trip we are getting back to the hotel well past their bedtime and they were fine with it. So, with that in mind, you might want to plan any late night activities further into your trip rather than the beginning.
That was MY experience though .. every child is different. Mine would also nap in the strollers with no problem .. and actually slept through parades and fireworks !

 

[wallskm]

We stick to a pretty regular (and early) bedtime at home, but at Disney it was fair game! We had them up watching the 11pm parade one night! We do as another poster said, we just watch the kids and not the clock. Our youngest is still a napper and on our last trip he would nap anywhere and everywhere so he didn't lose too much sleep. Our 4 year old doesn't nap much but he did take the occasional nap at Disney, allowing for him to last longer at night. They fell asleep on the bus ride home on the nights we stayed late. We also didn't try to make rope drop the next day after a late night (though they rarely slept in late!).

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Ah, a house with a pool...what a treat for the little guys! I must warn you, we've done offsite house rentals a few times. I have 4 kids over an 11-year span, and they couldn't agree that the sky is blue. But, they all agree 100% that a rental house with a pool is the COOLEST THING EVER!!!!! Oddly, we lived in a house with a built-in pool for ages, that was never as exciting as the rental! But my warning is, my youngest (now 7) would obsess about that pool. We'd be touring a park, and he'd be begging to go back and swim in the pool. So, plan on plenty of pool time. One time, we even took a non-Disney trip to Orlando and stayed in a rental house with a pool.

A couple other thoughts--since you're thinking maybe 2 park days, space them out a bit in the trip, so you have a down day in between. Also, my little guy's absolute favorite thing was, one night we let him do a "midnight swim"--it was actually closer to 9pm, but he was young and didn't care. Something about being in a pool at night with the pool lights on was just the ultimate in decadent luxury to him.

Another thought for your SIL--I found it easiest to get through the parks with an infant in a baby sling, versus a stroller. Not all babies like carriers--my boys did, my girls didn't--but it was a godsend when the little guy was 6mo. When he was alert, he could look out, but when he needed a nap, we could pull the sling to shield his face a bit, so he would have fewer distractions.

 

[buzznina]

Every family/child is different. When at Disney we throw the schedule out But we make sure that if we have a late night, then the next day we get off to a later start so that our DDs still get their rest. With our 1st DD we tried going back to the resort in the middle of the day and after the first few days we realized it was backfiring on us and made everyone cranky. She would end up falling asleep in the stroller and we have not looked back since. We would also have a down day every 2nd or 3rd day, disney is just a massive load of stimulation for little ones. Doing this have resulted in no big tantrums or meltdowns during all of our stays

 

[3pletprincesses]

My girls are 7yo and 1 yo. they are 7pm dodo time kiddos year long including summer. When we go to Disney, I can promise you that they never go to bed before 10pm however the trade off is that we take afternoon breaks at the hotel. Most days, they fall asleep as we are early riser and usually have the first ADR at a restaurant. by the time 1pm rolls with the heat, the quick swim, they normally fall asleep. We get back to the parts again around dinner time until almost closing. No melt downs yet except for the occasional "but I want that mom"

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

We've typically done late nights at least a few times every trip, even when our kids were little. I hate early bedtimes. They infringe on my plans. Even at home, our kids were never in bed before 8:00, and usually not till 8:30. Since that's 9:30 Disney time, staying up through 9:00 Illuminations or 9:00 Wishes isn't that far past their regular bedtime.

When our kids were napping age, we found that if we tried to go back to the room for a nap, the tired one would usually fall asleep with the rhythm of the bus, then wake up as we got to the resort, not to fall asleep again. We had better luck with them napping in the stroller.

 

[mousehunter3]

My kids are 5, 8, and 10. They are in bed before 8:30 when we are at home. My middle child especially falls asleep within 5 seconds of getting into bed- he is not a night owl.

BUT, when we are on vacation or it is a special occasion (like NYE), they can keep going pretty late! I don't like to stay up super late every night, but when we go on our vacation, they will be up really late for MNSSHP and probably until park closing every other night. We also scheduled a few "no park days" this time so we have some time to rest and recouperate.

 

[Zeebs]

We don't do late nights, my kids stick pretty much to routine, if they are tired, they are grumpy and if they are grumpy I am grumpy and then we are ALL Grumpy.

The benefit we have though is we are going for 14 days so we have plenty of time to do and see lots. Our last trip we did Fantasmic as our 1 late night entertainment. This trip will be Wishes.

This is another reason we love being in a villa, we can put the kids to bed, have a drink, swim or whatever we fancy and not have to be sitting in the dark waiting for them to fall asleep.

Kirsten

 

[kimnmiah]

My kids 3,5 closed the parks at every park the week we were there. They did fantasmic(830), illuminations (9) and did the mnsshp(12). They did great. The got to bed between 7-8 at home so this was really late for them. Luckily the 3yo slept like a champ in the stroller everyday. One day for 2.5 hours. We would actually usually leave the park for a break after his nap to swim and relax before going back to the park.

The best park about him napping was dd5 could do all the big rides without making him wait. It worked well for us. Plus he didn't have to go back to the room and nap while we were wanting to go to the pool.