SlumberPod for babies and toddlers—worth it?

[Reyofsunshine]

Hey all! We're heading to WDW soon and staying at Caribbean Beach. We'll be bringing our DD4 and our DD who is 18 months old. Last time we were in Disney with the kiddos (November 2018) the youngest had a REALLY hard time sleeping. She got up every few hours, we would have to rub her back and then she would settle down. Some nights we would have to hold her until she fell asleep. DH and I were drinking coffee like it was our job, and we were just exhausted. With DD4 sleeping in the same room, she would then wake up and get frustrated with the baby and she would try to talk to the baby-- it was a whole thing. So this time around I found out about SlumberPod which is a tent you can put over a pack n play. It has vents, a pocket for a monitor, and a zipper opening. I'm thinking it might help us get some extra sleep while we're all sharing a room, but wanted to see if anyone here had experience with it. It has a hefty price tag (around $150) and before I spend the money, I'd like to see if anyone had experience with it.

Note: We also are renting a wooden crib this time around in hopes that might help with sleeping. Maybe it'll be easier for her to be in a crib rather than a pack n play--we're desperate! My thinking is if we DO end up buying this, that we would test it out with our pack n play here at home so the toddler gets used to it before we use it on the road. If it works out, we would cancel the wooden crib rental since the tent probably won't fit.

 

[xdan0920]

Hey all! We're heading to WDW soon and staying at Caribbean Beach. We'll be bringing our DD4 and our DD who is 18 months old. Last time we were in Disney with the kiddos (November 2018) the youngest had a REALLY hard time sleeping. She got up every few hours, we would have to rub her back and then she would settle down. Some nights we would have to hold her until she fell asleep. DH and I were drinking coffee like it was our job, and we were just exhausted. With DD4 sleeping in the same room, she would then wake up and get frustrated with the baby and she would try to talk to the baby-- it was a whole thing. So this time around I found out about SlumberPod which is a tent you can put over a pack n play. It has vents, a pocket for a monitor, and a zipper opening. I'm thinking it might help us get some extra sleep while we're all sharing a room, but wanted to see if anyone here had experience with it. It has a hefty price tag (around $150) and before I spend the money, I'd like to see if anyone had experience with it.

Note: We also are renting a wooden crib this time around in hopes that might help with sleeping. Maybe it'll be easier for her to be in a crib rather than a pack n play--we're desperate! My thinking is if we DO end up buying this, that we would test it out with our pack n play here at home so the toddler gets used to it before we use it on the road. If it works out, we would cancel the wooden crib rental since the tent probably won't fit.

First let me say good luck. I’ve brought a 7 month old and a 9 month old. It can be trying.

Yes. Rent the crib. We use kingdom strollers for our rentals and they were great. Literally the best $100 we spent on both trips combined. It makes all the difference in the world to have an actual crib with an actual mattress. My guess is you won’t need the pod thing if you go this route.

 

[Reyofsunshine]

First let me say good luck. I’ve brought a 7 month old and a 9 month old. It can be trying.

Yes. Rent the crib. We use kingdom strollers for our rentals and they were great. Literally the best $100 we spent on both trips combined. It makes all the difference in the world to have an actual crib with an actual mattress. My guess is you won’t need the pod thing if you go this route.

We have our rental with kingdom strollers and I think it’ll make a huge difference to be in a real crib rather than a pack n play. I just don’t know if total darkness and no distractions would help her more than a real crib. Is it weird to tape/command tape a curtain to the ceiling? Yeah that’s weird. Hmmmm

 

[DrummerAlly]

Hey all! We're heading to WDW soon and staying at Caribbean Beach. We'll be bringing our DD4 and our DD who is 18 months old. Last time we were in Disney with the kiddos (November 2018) the youngest had a REALLY hard time sleeping. She got up every few hours, we would have to rub her back and then she would settle down. Some nights we would have to hold her until she fell asleep. DH and I were drinking coffee like it was our job, and we were just exhausted. With DD4 sleeping in the same room, she would then wake up and get frustrated with the baby and she would try to talk to the baby-- it was a whole thing. So this time around I found out about SlumberPod which is a tent you can put over a pack n play. It has vents, a pocket for a monitor, and a zipper opening. I'm thinking it might help us get some extra sleep while we're all sharing a room, but wanted to see if anyone here had experience with it. It has a hefty price tag (around $150) and before I spend the money, I'd like to see if anyone had experience with it.

Note: We also are renting a wooden crib this time around in hopes that might help with sleeping. Maybe it'll be easier for her to be in a crib rather than a pack n play--we're desperate! My thinking is if we DO end up buying this, that we would test it out with our pack n play here at home so the toddler gets used to it before we use it on the road. If it works out, we would cancel the wooden crib rental since the tent probably won't fit.

First let me say that I have three kids - 7, 4, and 2. The 7 and 4 year olds were horrible sleepers and I had PTSD flashbacks reading your post thinking back to a really bad WDW trip and even more horrible trips elsewhere with the kids at those ages.

Out of the box advice: Don't bring them or don't go. Leave the 18 month old home with a relative. Seriously - the stress isn't worth it. We just got back from a trip where we left our 23 month old at home and it was amazing (and he's the easiest of my 3). Kids ruin Disney World. I love my kids, but I'm actually currently planning a WDW trip for just my husband and I - we told the kids we're going to Wisconsin.

 

[Disorbust]

WEll being from Wisconsin, I'll take that as a compliment.

I may get barb-b-qued for saying this but we just had our DD at that age sleep with us and had no issues. The pack'n'plays never seem very comfortable and were always in the way. I actually loved taking my kids at that age and my favorite memories are seeing their reaction to everything there. It's when they became teenagers is when I should have left them at home.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Would your budget accommodate a larger room, such as a Fort Wilderness cabin or Art of Animation Family Suite?

FWIW, Disney has been rolling out (pun intended) new Pack'n'Plays and they're much nicer than the old ones.

Out of the box advice: Don't bring them or don't go. Leave the 18 month old home with a relative. Seriously - the stress isn't worth it. We just got back from a trip where we left our 23 month old at home and it was amazing (and he's the easiest of my 3). Kids ruin Disney World. I love my kids, but I'm actually currently planning a WDW trip for just my husband and I - we told the kids we're going to Wisconsin.

Our oldest is 4 and she's been to WDW 9 times, starting at 6 months. Every trip has been amazing and almost entirely stress free (one diaper blowout at Boma and one meltdown in Epcot over 70+ days at WDW isn't so bad). If you go at a reasonable pace and make sure everyone gets plenty of sleep, Disney World is about the easiest place on the planet to be with children. No driving, no cooking, no dishes, no laundry. Kids at WDW are a piece of cake.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

My mom always brought the bottom sheet off of our cribs from home plus a blanket. My brother and I both had our first trips at 5 months old; they also went to Maui and took me when I was 11 months. Between that and just having our favorite plushes, we never had issues.

 

[MegRuss626]

When we took our 16 month old this past October, we bought a tri-fold pack’n’play mattress from amazon. She slept great there with it and every time we’ve used it since then when we’ve stayed in a hotel! It was around $40-$50.