Maybe it's just my kids...

[HouCuseChickie]

My kids were never ones to sleep in strollers - anywhere...and the parks were sensory overload after a certain point when they were of napping age. The few times we pressed our luck, we regretted it. The most magical place on earth is pretty darn miserable when you've got a kid in desperate need of a nap in a place without a million and one things happening around them. We never kept a "quiet house" or anything like that, but the noise of home vs. being in a theme park with tons of other people was a huge difference. Every kid is different and this was just a matter of us knowing our kids and what they needed.

Ultimately, we would hit the parks at opening, take a break from about 2pm until dinner, go to whatever TS dinner I had planned for the night, and then stay in whatever park until closing. It never felt like a waste to me, but we've also never been the commando style types in the traditional sense. IDK- that down time at the resorts in the afternoon always added extra depth to the immersive onsite experience. So, while some feel like they're wasting theme park time with breaks...without those breaks, I feel like I'm missing the bigger experience Disney has to offer.

 

[Courtney6682]

We've never done afternoon breaks anywhere.. If the kid is sleepy they go in the stroller and sleep... Of course we've never stayed on-site anywhere either. We've been to Florida before (Sea World parks)

It just seems to me a waste of time and a hassle.. And our kids have never complained

So how many of you take afternoon breaks ?

Same...but I only had one child...her first time was 17 months old and then anually after that and she just napped wherever we were...such a good baby...prefect actually until she turned 14

 

[Disneydreamer23]

My dd was 18 months first trip and 2 1/2 for this next trip. We stay at cbr if she naps she will do it in her stroller we made a cover for it to block the sun!

 

[jaklgreen]

We started taking our kids at 1&2 years old. When they were younger they slept in the stroller. But we are different. We like to sleep in on vacation. We did not get up at dawn and go go go. So maybe we were just not as tired as some of those that set alarms and got there at rope drop. We also tour more leisurely with a slower pace so afternoon breaks where not really necessary for us. I think a lot of peoples tiredness comes from lack of decent food. You get tired without energy(food). I know its vacation and we all tend to eat worse but we found if we had 1 good sit down meal during the mid day (and everyone ate good food((not pizza and mac and cheese and nuggets but real food like roast chicken and broccoli))) then we had no issues with being tired during the day.

 

[Cluno]

No breaks for us. We've only gone twice, and there was 6.5 years between the trips. No way we're we going to leave the parks! Maybe it would seem like a better idea of we were to visit more frequently, but when there's no "we'll just see what we missed next year" option, it's motivation to stay and do as much as possible.

 

[Otterhead]

It depends when you go. When I was younger, I went with my family during the summer, and an afternoon break was essential -- you miss the heaviest crowds, worst heat, and inevitable afternoon downpours. We'd go early, take a break, and come back after a dip in the pool when it's cooler in the evening. Worked out well.

These days I go during much cooler weather when crowds are slimmer. Afternoon breaks are still nice if the resort's nearby.

 

[PugsNotDrugs]

When I let my 4 year old nephew sleep in his stroller he gets a horrible nap and is a sweaty, cranky mess the rest of the night. He wakes up randomly and kicks around, whining super loud. We can't ride any rides or do anything but sit around in the heat until he wakes up. There's only 2 adults and we're not into solo riding, and if we try to remove him from the stroller and do something relaxing like The Ppl Mover he wakes up and goes crazy.

Now if I let him go back to the resort, swim for around 45 minutes and take a nap where he is cool and comfortable he wakes up at around 3pm and is ready to go for the rest of the night. We can do EMH until like 2am with zero whining. Shoot, us adults can even wash the sunscreen & grime from our bodies, catch some shut eye and start over too! It's only a couple hours of resting vs. many hours of hell. The park-rest-park approach, if there are EMH is the best for us. Hands down.

 

[PugsNotDrugs]

Edit: Also, we go to WDW every few weeks so there's no chance of us missing anything. I'm sure this is a huuuggge motivating factor for most people.

 

[Disvillain63]

With our own children, we were open to close. However, the parks closed by 9pm back then. Currently, with our grandchildren, we have done both...stayed from open until about 9 pm, and returned for an afternoon break...after the parade. When we decide to stay, we have taken two trips on the WDW Railroad....good for about a 40 minute nap. They also take stroller naps and we find a cool place to have a snack/drink and people watch.

 

[PrincessVic]

We haven't particularly stopped for a nap, but we stay offsite so is more of a hassle to do so. When our daughter was little, she would sleep in the buggy and we would take that time to do rides my husband wanted to and I didn't, or have a sit down and a drink etc. If we've come back for a late night such as New Years Eve, MNSSP or MVMCP, then we have gone back to the villa the back end of the afternoon - thats just as much for us as our daughter. Though on those days, we tend to go to the waterparks and be a bit more chilled rather than worn out already!

 

[HRHPrincessAriel]

My husband doesn't fit into a stroller well, at all, and my tall 7 and 8-year-olds would look pretty ridiculous in them with their limbs dangling out in all directions (indeed, I haven't tried to put my husband or children in a stroller for any reason in the past four years), so we always return to our hotel for at least 2-3 hours for a nice nap in the air-conditioning and sometimes a refreshing dip in the pool. We do stay on-site, so getting there is a relatively painless, and often pleasantly scenic, trip.

I am of the opinion that mid-day breaks and naps aren't just for kids, either! We never take naps at home, but at WDW, we're up early and hitting the parks hard in the morning (on our legs, sans stroller, even when the children were as young as four), so all four of us are more than ready for a rest by lunchtime, which is when the crowds, lines, noise and heat are reaching their peak. I have a slight hearing impairment that makes it difficult and stressful for me to function in big, noisy crowds for very long, so leaving at that point is especially nice for me, and by that hour, the kids are pretty wound up and overstimulated, as well.

Once we've taken our break, we can return to the parks, refreshed, recharged, relaxed and ready for a few more hours of fun before bedtime, just as the temperature is starting to cool, wait times are beginning to diminish, and the overtired crowds are beginning to drift toward the exit. I've never felt that the time we spent on our mid-day break was "wasted" in any way. Between rope drop arrivals and intelligent use of FP+, we've never missed out on anything we wanted to do, even with "only" two 4-5 hour touring sessions per day, and (knock on wood), none of us has ever had a meltdown over anything! I'm pro-break, all the way!

This. I thought I would hate it as I'm a go all day at the parks person.

Our kiddo does.not.sleep. In the stroller. She doesn't want to miss a thing. If we want her to rest we have to go back to resort.
I also am firm believer that you'll get a much better rest if you are in a quiet room's bed vs a stroller in abusy park no matter how quiet of a spot you could find

In our 8 day trip we only had one park melt down and I firmly believe leaving helped. The one and only melt down was our last day and we were leaving. We didn't have a break AND we were going home for good.

 

[LAKid53]

Same...but I only had one child...her first time was 17 months old and then anually after that and she just napped wherever we were...such a good baby...prefect actually until she turned 14

Oh, how true. They are utterly charming and adorable and then the teen years show up....

 

[sfeinst]

We've always done breaks regardless of age. The breaks weren't just for the kids. The adults needed it too. You think you are full of energy, and you might be. But a day of keeping an eye on the kids, making sure they have a good time, cleaning up after (if they can't), trying to not be like those rude other people , etc. all starts to wear on you. Going back to hotel for an hour, tell kids to sit on their beds or else, and close your eyes and pretend you are alone. Helps a ton. Especially when at the parks for a week. We tried no breaks once and it was a disaster. Both kids had their tantrums. I would recommend the break until kids are 15ish (and even then, consider it). Of course, we were on site so it was easier.

 

[blana]

We don't do afternoon breaks, but we also leave the parks earlier than most. We get there at rope drop & rarely stay after supper, just because we're ALL worn out. But that style touring works for us. (And while I've tried to get my gang to stay for the fireworks a couple of times, they're happier not staying, so I go along with them.)