Dealing With a Sleepy Tween

[Pooh Lover]

My husband and I will be taking my 12 year old niece to WDW in September along with my parents. While I know she is excited to be going, the first thing she asked me when I told her our flight for Orlando leaves at 9:00 a.m. was "What time do I have to get up?". This girl can easily sleep in on the weekends when visiting us until 2:00 p.m. I don't want to be the "mean aunt" and I'd like to be tactful, but I want it understood that we will be leaving for the parks much earlier than 2:00 p.m. Anyone have trouble with a sleeping beauty or tactful advice?

 

[JessicaB]

My 15-yo son can readily sleep until 3 or 4PM at home.

At Disney I've never had any problem getting him up to head to breakfast before the parks. His motivations are somewhat different at WDW! :lol:

My DS is the same. At home he'll stay up all night and sleep all day on the weekends. Disney I think he barely sleeps.

 

[wdwwdeagle]

I've found that turning on the TV in the room to the parks info. channel does the trick with my two kids (or 3 if you count Mr. Eagle).
The noise makes them stir, and then when they see all the rides being advertised, they get motivated to get up and get going.

 

[Phonedave]

I think you will find you will have an easier time getting her up while you are at WDW. My daughter is a sleeper too (it runs in the family ) But when we are there she is up and ready to go without grumpiness at all. Now me, when my husband wakes me up, I yell for my daughter to go first. haha

As for getting her up when it's time for school, when i was a kid I used to just turn my alarm off and go back to sleep. Finally my parents had had enough so they put my alarm all the way on the other side of the room. So I had to get up out of the bed to go turn it off. It worked. I know it's off topic but just thought I would pass that tip along.

Sounds like you needed a Clocky

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.htm...df&LNM=|B0013CTFQ4&CPNG=&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001

Clocky may be used as a regular alarm clock. However, after the second time the snooze button is pressed the device moves on its own power.[6] A microprocessor ensures that the device will move at a random speed direction, and around obstacles, using a different route each time. Large wheels on shock absorbers extend beyond the top of the clock to protect it from impact should it roll off a nightstand. By the time the alarm sounds again the device is in a place unknown to the user, who is forced to determine where it is, and possibly walk to that location to press the snooze button again.

 

[MICKEYEARSFL]

Traveling with a real life sleepy

I really dont think you will have a problem getting her up the morning of he trip. I remember doing the same thing when I was her age, my parents usually had to roll the bed over on me to get up! but the morning we would leave my i was already awake dressed and my luggage by the door waiting for the limmo ride to the airport. I even started a list of what i wanted to see, and planned to sleep on the plane.

as far as during your trip it should be about the same we built in one day to sleep in till 10 am, we did this as a water park day typhoon lagoon. What you could do is give her a map the night before to get an idea of what she wants to do the next day. What i found is it installs more excitement for the next day.

Another thing we used to do is go to the hotel about mid day for an hour or so to either take a nap go to the pool or just relax. This works great cutting down fitigue espiscially with a young tween. This also helps in having to fight a lot of the crowds. I hope this insight helps, and remember to ENJOY your trip.

 

[Thumbelina]

At wdw I dont know how anyone can sleep.
I am always to excited to sleep. lol

 

[dizzney]

I've found that turning on the TV in the room to the parks info. channel does the trick with my two kids (or 3 if you count Mr. Eagle).
The noise makes them stir, and then when they see all the rides being advertised, they get motivated to get up and get going.

That works, or for my DS ESPN, seriously I have an 18 year DS and an 11 year old DD that tend to sleep late and I have found I dont have a problem while at WDW. They want to get out and participate. Its understood that we are at Disney and we all want to enjoy it, so they get up.

 

[minnie2000]

I understand - I find it hard to get up in the morning - although not when I'm at WDW!

My suggestion is to wake her half an hour earlier than the time when she needs to get up. So, if you need to leave at 8.30, and she needs half an hour to get ready, wake her at 7.30 and let her have maybe fifteen minutes in bed, then fifteen minutes in a chair watching TV. If I get up as soon as I wake up, I feel odd all day. I generally set my clock for 6.30 and have a 'lie-in' until 7, it makes getting out of bed much easier.

Oh - and not too late to bed in the evenings!

Good luck!

 

[WishIWasAtWDW]

phonedave, the clocky sounds AMAZING! hahaha great find!

i also love to sleep. in college, i would sleep until 2 in the afternoon, easy. i would set two alarm clocks in the morning (one on the nightstand and one across the room) and i would still sleep in. i would get up, walk across the room and turn off the alarm clock, then get back in bed and sleep for another couple hours. its bad, real bad, but i just love to sleep! so you would think that when i go to disney i would not be able to wake up early but i do! on my spring break trip senior year of college i arrived at the magic kingdom for emh at 7am!! ME! the same person who would sleep the whole day away was up before the sun had even risen!

i would simply explain to your niece how much fun she will have at disney and how worth it it is to wake up early and beat the crowds in the park. arriving early means you get to go on more attractions and spend less time waiting in line. its worth it wake up early for disney. and she can sleep in any and every other day in her life if she wants to, but not in disney.

 

[Mikester71]

As others on here have already said, I don't have a problem getting the kids (13 and 18) up when we are at WDW. I think the thing most of us probably are overlooking is that when we are on vacation at WDW, or anywhere for that matter, we are likely WAY more active than we would normally be if we were at home or at work or school. So I know personally, we are tuckered out and in bed by 10 or 11pm most nights when we are down there. All the walking and fresh air works wonders on helping us get right to sleep too! At home, we are pretty much all nighthawks who are used to staying up late and sleeping in. But come 7 or 8 in the morning down there, we are up and ready for a full day at the parks!!!! :sohappy:

 

[WDW Monorail]

I have avoided being part of the sleeping till 12 crew by telling myself that I am more productive awake than I am asleep.
Tell her that she will miss so much if that's what she wants to do. You or her parets aren't spending several hunded dollars just for her to sleep in a different bed than the one at home.

 

[zurgandfriend]

And what about trying these INSIDE his room :shrug:

No power tools in his room but once I wake him up for chuch with an air horn, you know, the ones that work with the can of compressed air. He must have come up about 4 feet off the bed while still horizontal.

 

[wdwwdeagle]

No power tools in his room but once I wake him up for chuch with an air horn, you know, the ones that work with the can of compressed air. He must have come up about 4 feet off the bed while still horizontal.

You sound like my father! When I was a teenager my father would stomp around on the roof above my bedroom with a gas-powered (read: extremely loud) leaf-blower at 8:00 on Saturday mornings. It was delightful! (and it never worked... I'd stay in bed til 11 just to irritate him!)

 

[mp2bill]

I'm 28 and I can sleep to noon sometimes. However, that's usually when I go to bed around 3 or 4AM. If this is the case with your niece, I think by day 3, she'll more than likely be going to bed by 11PM (like I did last time I went) so waking up by 8 or 9AM won't be that big a deal.

All this, however, hinges upon taking at least a 5 day trip. Any shorter, and this problem may not work itself out as it did in my case.

 

[wvdisneyfamily]

Someone on this thread said you can sleep when you die. Good advice. There is too much in life to experience. Sleeping in is great. Naps are great. Don't sleep your life away. Disney is too expensive to sleep away.

 

[NewfieFan]

Sounds like you needed a Clocky

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.htm...df&LNM=|B0013CTFQ4&CPNG=&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001

Clocky may be used as a regular alarm clock. However, after the second time the snooze button is pressed the device moves on its own power.[6] A microprocessor ensures that the device will move at a random speed direction, and around obstacles, using a different route each time. Large wheels on shock absorbers extend beyond the top of the clock to protect it from impact should it roll off a nightstand. By the time the alarm sounds again the device is in a place unknown to the user, who is forced to determine where it is, and possibly walk to that location to press the snooze button again.

That product is crazy... I never knew such a thing existed!

 

[MouseDreaming]

I have a sleepyhead, well really, a family of sleepyheads! I usually get up, and start DH and DD stirring just by getting ready in the morning. My DS, who is 11 needs a little more coaxing. So I usually announce at about 9, "If you don't make it out of here and to the food court by 10, they stop serving breakfast." He is then usually dressed and ready to go in a few minutes!

 

[Jim L Clifton]

I don't see the problem,course I was a military brat.....Here's how I would deal with it,we are going to WDW,looking to have a wonderful time & want you there....but...we know you like to sleep...at WDW we start early!! Now if you want to go....we are NOT going to wake you up & wait....we will leave for the parks at**** you want to sleep in...your choice,we are NOT going to ruin our trip.Your choice,you decide if you want to go,if you don't think you can wake up ,go & have a great time & would rather stay home & sleep,no problem,your choice & we understand!This keeps it simple too me....rules are set down before hand!
Jim

 

[kasey1988]

I was a sleepy tween when i went with my grandparents in junior high..i had no problems getting up in disney however, i was to excited to start the day!
I found it helped to shower the night before so i could sleep in a little later in the morning. I also found that I was exhausted from the day in the park that i ended up going to bed pretty early, which made it easier to get up earlier!
Also, depending on how long you are going for (we went for 10 days)...we found that having one morning that we could sleep in a little later was nice, we woke up a bit later and spent the morning at the pool then headed to the parks in the afternoon!
Have a Great Trip

 

[DisneyDadof5]

Note to self: Pack Air-Horn for DS-16 for this August trip..

No power tools in his room but once I wake him up for chuch with an air horn, you know, the ones that work with the can of compressed air. He must have come up about 4 feet off the bed while still horizontal.

 

[Monty]

Sounds like you needed a Clocky

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/191-0886620-5262301?asin=B0013CTFQ4&AFID=Froogle_df&LNM=|B0013CTFQ4&CPNG=&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001

Clocky may be used as a regular alarm clock. However, after the second time the snooze button is pressed the device moves on its own power.[6] A microprocessor ensures that the device will move at a random speed direction, and around obstacles, using a different route each time. Large wheels on shock absorbers extend beyond the top of the clock to protect it from impact should it roll off a nightstand. By the time the alarm sounds again the device is in a place unknown to the user, who is forced to determine where it is, and possibly walk to that location to press the snooze button again.

As a teenager I learned quickly that alarms have a "Off" button in addition to the snooze button... Off stops all that from happening. :shrug: