Do you get enough sleep each night during you Disney World vacation?

[ssidiouss@mac.c]

After doing our recent plans for our next Disney World trip coming up thing december... I realized that we are out until very late each night and up very early each morning. It limits our sleep each to about 5.5 hours each night. We usually use the motto of that we can sleep when we get home

I'm curious if everyone does that or do you put sleep up as a higher priority on your vacation?

 

[phichi17]

What is this sleep thing you speak of??

 

[Raven66]

We only get to go once a year, so there is no sleeping allowed. :lol: We actually get about 5-6 hours a night. Even my 8 year old dd is up way early. We don't even have to wake her. As soon as the wake-up call comes in she is up and ready to go. I think there was once or twice she had to make me get out of bed. :lookaroun

 

[WDFAN1977]

Every time I have gone to WDW we get up and are out the door in time to open one of the parks and don't slow down until after 12am. I don't have any kids yet so I am sure when I do that sort of schedule will change.

 

[DisneyMarg]

If it were just me, I'd Disney 24x7 while there. However, DH and DKs insist on actually sleeping - the wusses. I have to plan around afternoon naps (for a 49 yo, 18yo, and 16yo!!) and early to bed - well, no later than 11, and preferably 10. I figure it's a small price to pay for getting to go, so I do it.

 

[awallaceunc]

It's a good thing that the parks aren't 24/7, because I may very well collapse otherwise. :lol: I have to talk myself into sleeping. I just can't justify NOT doing something Disney while I'm down there. I want to go, go, go and do it as much as I can while I have the chance, because I'll spend the rest of my time at home before my next trip wishing I'm there. Honestly, I have a hard time sleeping there. The sun and hustle-bustle can be tiring and so I sleep very well when I fall asleep, but I wake up VERY early from excitement and I have a lot of trouble falling asleep due to excitement too. Now if only the people I traveled with were the same (they never are).

-Aaron

 

[crazydaveh]

This sleep you speak of, is it possible to get while at WDW? I think not.

When I am down there, I usually hit the bar at the hotel to try and relax to help me sleep, but then when I'm about to sleep I start watching the resort network and stay up until 3 or 4 in the morning!

This hit hard this past Christmas. The whole family (Mom, dad, sister, brother in law, and niece) came down for my niece's first dose of the magic.

We hit Universal the first day. This is after the family drove six hours the day before, then two more the morning of to Orlando. We left the parks around 6 and went to Margaritaville for dinner. It was about 11 PM before we checked into the Corronado Springs.

We all had king deluxe rooms and hit the sack. The next morning (Christmas Eve) were all surprised when my niece was too sleepy to eat breakfast with Cinderella! She was so tired from the day before, but once she was awake enough to realize she was going to see all the Princesses, man was she up and ready to go!

We were all fine until about 2 PM. It hit us! Sugar and Caffine were the choices we all were going for, my niece passed out in her stroller and woke up. The rest of the day was fine!

On Christmas day, the two previous days really hit. We all slept about 6 hours that night. Santa came to my niece's room and she got her first big girl bike! Everyone on our wing got a wake up call or bump from her riding it down the path!

By 3 PM, after Playhouse Disney, it was lights out for everyone! My mom and I stayed at MGM to ride ToT 5 times (rain kept everyone away) and then we went back to dry off. The whole family went back to MK that night with no problem.

The final day, we were dragging! We went to SeaWorld and we didn't care what we were looking at, as long as we were sitting down doing it!

I try to sleep at the parks, but it's too hard! I want to have too much fun than sleep! Sleep is for the recreational tourists. Send them back to their I Drive hotels while I am hitting the parks!

 

[CaptainMichael]

Nope! No sleep. Who needs sleep at Walt Disney World??? You can sleep when you get home!

 

[soccer9miahamm]

It never seems like we get enough sleep. We try to stay more laid back and relax and what not, but the long days of walking and late nights seem to take more out of a person. That's why it's hard to go during the school year...more homework to make up when you're tired anyway.

 

[DDuckFan130]

This is an interesthing thread :lol:

When we were younger, we'd make our parents get up early so we could hit the parks. Now that I'm 20, my brother 17, and sister 16, we don't really need them to go to the parks. I pay for the meals with my room key (my mom, dad, and I are the only ones who have charging privileges) and we can hit the parks as early and late as we want. My parents have never had more relaxing trips than the last ones.

We get up early, while my parents sleep in until about 11-12 noon. My mom thinks we're nuts for wanting to wake up at 5:30-6 to get to MK at park opening. We think it's worth it and she can just get there when she feels like it. Yes, we're definitely tired, but that's why we walk at a leisurely pace, sit whenever we feel tired, or do attractions that are more relaxed.

 

[DisneyFreak529]

I'm a bad sleeper (most of you know because I post late at night). I sleep better when I'm on vacation because by the time our days is done I'm so tired I can't even walk any more. I sleep 100x better when I'm away!!

 

[Nansafan]

Sleep, we don't need no stinkin' sleep! Our kids, teens 18, 17 and 14 are late nighters and late risers. My brother and I are of the early to bed, early to rise types. While on vacation this sometimes becomes an issue. Last year, my bro and I decided to quit worrying about the kids and do our own thing. When we're up, we go off for a quiet breakfast then come back and wake up the slackers so we can start the day. We have gotten into the habit of planning a "hotel pool fun day" in the middle of the trip so that we can recharge. We'll let the kids sleep in then hang at the pool, shower, dinner at ESPN club and then to Fantasia Gardens for some mini golf. It helps bring the energy level back up for the last few days of vacation.

 

[FBullock]

When we were down for my wife & twin sister's birthday's (50) in May, we opened the parks 5 out of 6 days and stayed till they closed. If the park closed early, (before 10) we went & spend a hour or so @ DTD. We came home on Friday night & crashed on Sat. & Sunday. That's what a Disney vacation is all about.

 

[josh_e_washie]

My body tells me to sleep..but I never do. Somehow there is still energy after a long day to ride ToT just ONE more time! LOL

 

[Craig & Lisa]

:animwink: The family and I found out early that taking a nap during the day is the best thing to keep going, if your staying on Disney property then it's easy, but if not you may die from not sleeping.LOL During the certain times of the day, and year it can and will get very crowded, so you won't be missing much. Then after you'll have all the energy for a late eve, then sleep will not be a problem when you get back because you'll be thru your 2nd wind, and you still won't have to worry that your not getting that much sleep during the night and still get up early. And the best thing about this is that no one gets cranky from lack of sleep. It works for us.

 

[Pippa]

We always have a early evening nap before heading to PI, that way we stay fresh and ready for more liquor at the AC :lol:

 

[JoeyJoe]

This is actually a great topic that hasn't been covered (as far as I know)

I usually get much less sleep somehow and we leave the parks almost like zombies sometimes.

 

[d'Isigny]

After doing our recent plans for our next Disney World trip coming up thing december... I realized that we are out until very late each night and up very early each morning. It limits our sleep each to about 5.5 hours each night. We usually use the motto of that we can sleep when we get home

I'm curious if everyone does that or do you put sleep up as a higher priority on your vacation?

I'm with you there...

we can sleep when we get home...

I only sleep 5.5 hours a night anyway

 

[Cosmo]

i have a bit of a different take on the subject, I suppose. I actually look forward to the rest/sleep i get at disney! We're ap holders so we go all the time so we don't feel like we HAVE to see something. At home, even on the weekends, I have trouble sleeping in in the morning. I know that there's always stuff to do (cut the grass, paint, clean, etc etc etc) and I can't rest knowing that. Add to that two demons from the nether regions of the inferno (aka cats) and I'm up shortly after the crack of dawn. But at disney, boy, i can just sleep in and the beds (esp at the delux resorts) are so darn comfy. I know that i don't HAVE to do anything, no cooking, no cleaning, no mowing, no cat behinds in my face...About the only thing i get up for is so that we can still make it to breakfast, usually around 1130 or so...though sometimes we just have lunch for breakfast. :lol:

 

[lawyergirl77]

i have a bit of a different take on the subject, I suppose. I actually look forward to the rest/sleep i get at disney! We're ap holders so we go all the time so we don't feel like we HAVE to see something. At home, even on the weekends, I have trouble sleeping in in the morning. I know that there's always stuff to do (cut the grass, paint, clean, etc etc etc) and I can't rest knowing that. Add to that two demons from the nether regions of the inferno (aka cats) and I'm up shortly after the crack of dawn. But at disney, boy, i can just sleep in and the beds (esp at the delux resorts) are so darn comfy. I know that i don't HAVE to do anything, no cooking, no cleaning, no mowing, no cat behinds in my face...About the only thing i get up for is so that we can still make it to breakfast, usually around 1130 or so...though sometimes we just have lunch for breakfast. :lol:

LOL - I thought I was the only person who felt that way! Mind you, I only get about 5 hours sleep on an average night at home, so the 6 I get divided up throughout the day at WDW is already better for me...

That being said, 2 hours at WDW is better than 6 hours anywhere else! There really is something about going to sleep there, knowing that, when you wake up in the morning, you'll still be in the Happiest Place on Earth that just makes everything feel a little bit better!!!

 

[coasterphil]

The rest of my family usually gets to bed by 11 and wakes up a little before 7 when at WDW. Thats pretty close to what they usually get here at home. I on the other hand have a tough time getting to sleep. I usually worry about the plan for the next day and whether or not everybody is going to come back happy. Almost the whole planning of the trip, from accomodations to restaurants to ride order is done by me so when something goes wrong I take it pretty hard. I also hate trying to sleep in hotel beds so I usually end up going to sleep at 1 and toss and turn until 6. Our last trip was better because we stayed at a house and they were nice, soft, normal beds and I had us running so much that I was exhausted. The plans worked flawlessly though, even though waits at MK were up to 2 hours at lunch we were out of there of there by 2.