Infant and naps

mikejs78

Premium Member
Original Poster
Going on a trip this April with our almost 8-year old son and 10-month old son. For those who have travelled with infants to WDW, how did you handle naps? We suspect he will (hopefully) be down to two naps by then and are thinking one nap in the stroller (morning) while in the parks and one back at the hotel in the afternoon (staying at Beach Club). Anyone have success with doing it this way or any other tips on naptime strategies and keeping an infant happy while at WDW?
 

ELeigh

Well-Known Member
i have traveled to wdw with both of my kids when they were ~1 and can't say enough about the value of taking a break for afternoon nap. I have also found that Epcot and animal kingdom can be great places to let the little one take a stroller nap (safari ride at animal kingdom has a 100% success rate for putting them to sleep as well), but in any park there are quiet corners you can find for a rest in the shade. I highly recommend packing not only spare clothes for the baby in your park bag, but an extra t shirt that could fit the adults as leaky diapers seemed to be more of an issue for us at WDW than any other time. Pack snacks for the baby and they should be sufficiently amused. There are so many baby friendly rides that it should be a great trip!
 

MagicalMommy

Active Member
We’ve visited with my son as young as almost 1, and he also was at two naps a day. His morning nap we did in the stroller or Ergo (highly recommend an ergo/other carrier for naps and waiting in lines), and then we went back to the resort after lunch for afternoon naps. With my kids at ages 3.5 and 7 now, we still take a break for afternoon naps at the resort!
 

Princess_Beatrice

New Member
at the time my 11 month old slept in his carrier as we roamed the parks, a few times he slept in the stroller. We tried planning around his schedule but it was difficult. Taking an afternoon break for naps is a great idea.
Also, consider the amount of time I takes to get from the park to your resort.
 

dreamfinder

Well-Known Member
We have done both trips back to hotel for nap, and naps in stroller/ergo. Depending on your child, either might work better for you. If they will sleep in the stroller/ergo, then I think that's much better at that age then going back to hotel. As they get older, the hotel can work better as they can play in the pool and such and unwind a bit, even if they no longer truly nap. We found the ergo to be amazing, 5 mins in that, and our DS was out cold for an hour or more. Stroller works better now that he is older and doesn't fit in the ergo, but we don't find the naps to be as long, but that may just be age.
 

TDGMedley

Active Member
I have taken both my kids as babies and never took them back for naps. they napped in stroller and in the Tula. i know all kids are different but we were able to stay in the park and still enjoy while they napped.
 

jimbojones

Well-Known Member
I have taken both my kids as babies and never took them back for naps. they napped in stroller and in the Tula. i know all kids are different but we were able to stay in the park and still enjoy while they napped.
We have also taken two kids as babies and did not stop for nap breaks and just let them sleep in a carrier or stroller.
 

newhorizons1

Well-Known Member
I took my son at 15 months. While we did go back to the room each day, mostly for a brief period, it just turned into a time to let him get some energy out. He refused to nap in the room. He did great napping in the stroller in the parks though, and even though he was down to one nap when we went, he still caught small naps here and there. We traveled with my parents too, so it was nice to have an extra pair of adults there to switch off walking him around in the stroller if he fell asleep.
 

jimbojones

Well-Known Member
I took my son at 15 months. While we did go back to the room each day, mostly for a brief period, it just turned into a time to let him get some energy out. He refused to nap in the room. He did great napping in the stroller in the parks though, and even though he was down to one nap when we went, he still caught small naps here and there. We traveled with my parents too, so it was nice to have an extra pair of adults there to switch off walking him around in the stroller if he fell asleep.
yeah we found this to be a bigger issue than naps as well. Our infants/toddlers really wanted to move and that is hard in the parks when they would be apt to get trampled. 8 or more hours in a stroller or sling is a lot of time trapped in one place. Some of the play areas at WDW can be reasonably quiet even on crowded days and are good spots to let a little one crawl or toddle a bit.
 

newhorizons1

Well-Known Member
yeah we found this to be a bigger issue than naps as well. Our infants/toddlers really wanted to move and that is hard in the parks when they would be apt to get trampled. 8 or more hours in a stroller or sling is a lot of time trapped in one place. Some of the play areas at WDW can be reasonably quiet even on crowded days and are good spots to let a little one crawl or toddle a bit.

We never made it to the kids areas, but we did let him crawl around the fake turf on the hub in the MK. Let's face it. His schedule was thrown completely out the window while we were there, and I'm fine with that. He was so worn out by the time we came back home it was easy for him to get right back on it.
 

disneygirl76

Carey Poppins - Nanny and Disney Enthusiest
Going on a trip this April with our almost 8-year old son and 10-month old son. For those who have travelled with infants to WDW, how did you handle naps? We suspect he will (hopefully) be down to two naps by then and are thinking one nap in the stroller (morning) while in the parks and one back at the hotel in the afternoon (staying at Beach Club). Anyone have success with doing it this way or any other tips on naptime strategies and keeping an infant happy while at WDW?

Hi! We took my son for his 1st birthday. I honestly didn't know how it was going to go so I got the park hopper and planned to head back to the resort in the middle of the day and then hit another park in the evening. That didn't end up happening! HA! :) My son was a car seat/stroller sleeper so he would take naps in his stroller. We would grab a snack, DH would hit a big ride we couldn't go on, find some shade, etc while he napped. We found that for us, it was best if we hit the park early, kept on a regular eating schedule like we had at home, and then let him nap when he wanted and for how long he wanted in the stroller and then headed back to the resort after dinner for a regular bedtime. In the years since, we have kept the pattern the same. He is 3 1/2 now and doesn't nap any longer, except the occasional cat nap in the car. We still hit the parks early, if he dozes off we let him, and then head back after dinner. We might only hit a night show once or twice. I think the best advice is to be flexible and it is normal for the schedules to go right out the window. I want to add, he went right back to a regular schedule when we returned home. :) Have a magical time!!!!
 

DisneyDaver

Well-Known Member
He is 3 1/2 now

3.5 already! ... it seems like just yesterday I was reading your posts from when he was born! I recently booked the first WDW trip for my kids who will be 3.5 (daughter) and 1 (son) at the time we go in November. The 3.5 year old won't need naps (though we may force some midday resting time), but I am really hoping the little guy will nap in the stroller. My 3.5 year old has never napped in the stroller or the car so not so optimistic about her brother ... how do you guys make it happen?!?
 

disneygirl76

Carey Poppins - Nanny and Disney Enthusiest
Time goes by so fast doesn't it!!! I promised myself I wouldn't let being a mom of a toddler stop me from trip reports and uploading photos but with a super active little guy, I am so far behind and do need to post an updated report on our trips!!! We have had some magical experiences!!!
As for napping....it was exhaustion. :) In order to try to get a snooze in, we would take a path less with less foot traffic and put the hood of the stroller up and recline him back. We also got a portable fan to clip on his stroller so he was nice and cool. And we would walk for longer to try and get him to sleep. Most of the time though, he would just doze off with out us really noticing...like in line at Peter Pan the first time we took him!!! :) It will be interesting what happens when he is 4 for our next trip. I don't think there will be any snoozes. :)
 

buseegal

Active Member
3.5 already! ... it seems like just yesterday I was reading your posts from when he was born! I recently booked the first WDW trip for my kids who will be 3.5 (daughter) and 1 (son) at the time we go in November. The 3.5 year old won't need naps (though we may force some midday resting time), but I am really hoping the little guy will nap in the stroller. My 3.5 year old has never napped in the stroller or the car so not so optimistic about her brother ... how do you guys make it happen?!?
our first trip with young grandkids we found going back to resort a big big mistake. 16 month old fell asleep on way back and screamed and I mean screamed could hear at other end of hall and then fell asleep during dinner. worse day ever in park. with your son I would see what happens a few times if you take a car ride of about 15 minutes and try to move him to bed close to time you have trip planned. remember that from park you have to get back to your resort then walk to your room plus we are never near the front of park at nap time. it is not as simple as going to his room and putting him down. my grandkids would just lay back in stroller and relax as we went and most were not normal stroller nappers
 

DisneyDaver

Well-Known Member
our first trip with young grandkids we found going back to resort a big big mistake. 16 month old fell asleep on way back and screamed and I mean screamed could hear at other end of hall and then fell asleep during dinner. worse day ever in park. with your son I would see what happens a few times if you take a car ride of about 15 minutes and try to move him to bed close to time you have trip planned. remember that from park you have to get back to your resort then walk to your room plus we are never near the front of park at nap time. it is not as simple as going to his room and putting him down. my grandkids would just lay back in stroller and relax as we went and most were not normal stroller nappers

Thanks for input. Good suggestions. We are staying at Bay Lake Tower so that will reduce the travel time back to the room at nap time when we are at MK. I'm hoping we can find a way for him to nap a bit in the stroller at the parks. If not, on the 3 days we will be at MK in the morning, my wife or I will take him back to the room around Noon for his lunch and nap while big sis stays at the park with one of us and my parents.
 

correcaminos

Well-Known Member
Mine never napped in the stroller, so we always went back. Even when it was 2 naps a day. We also picked resorts that were close to parks so we could come and go more easily. So staying at BLT will be a bonus. Not much time wasted and easy to come and go as needed.
 

buseegal

Active Member
Thanks for input. Good suggestions. We are staying at Bay Lake Tower so that will reduce the travel time back to the room at nap time when we are at MK. I'm hoping we can find a way for him to nap a bit in the stroller at the parks. If not, on the 3 days we will be at MK in the morning, my wife or I will take him back to the room around Noon for his lunch and nap while big sis stays at the park with one of us and my parents.
just remember that short walk from front of park can take almost 30 minutes from far side of park counting time to front gate
 

DisneyDaver

Well-Known Member
just remember that short walk from front of park can take almost 30 minutes from far side of park counting time to front gate

Yeah, that will take some extra planning. I figure one day for example we will try to make our last attraction before naptime the Tinkerbell M&G ... that way we are near the exit in case he won't nap in the stroller.
 

carriebeth

Well-Known Member
I have traveled to DIsney with babies from 6 weeks old on up. We always have done naps in a stroller or in a carrier on me. Its worked great for us but I understand some kids need quiet/dark/a bed to stretch out in to have a good rest. If your child is that way I guess you will have to leave the parks. For us, with many children, it worked great to just stay in parks. During naps times was a great opportunity to ride things that the napping, younger children were not able to ride anyways, they didn't even realize they were missing out on anything and being left back.
 

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