To nap or not to nap...

[HouCuseChickie]

Every child is different, but our first two trips would have been all out disasters if I hadn't built in nap time for my girls. They were 2 and 4 on their first trip and 2.5 and 5 on their second trip. Neither napped really well (if at all) at home - and never in the stroller, but WDW is a totally different story (well, they still wouldn't nap in the stroller, but napping in the room a different story). We'd hit the parks at opening and go strong until about 2pm...then head back to our room for a substantial nap away from all of the stimulation of the parks. Seriously, the girls who never nap at home would hit the pillows and be zonked out until we made them get up...the park time was just that tiring for them. We had a few days where we tried to push it and boy did we regret it. We never felt like our midday nap breaks caused us to miss out because we tried to plan our park touring schedule around evening EHM. i.e. the kids would wake up around dinner, and after dinner, they'd be fresh for a nice evening in the parks.

Like I said, every child is different, but you might want to try a test run. Not that there's any great ways to simulate a day at WDW, but we tried testing this at our zoo (big enough to be an all day zoo) and our "local" Sea World before going live at WDW to determine if naps were needed and if we'd have to head back to the room.

 

[Michael Shiels]

This is very good advice! My wife and I will be bringing our son for his first trip in March, 2015. He will be 20 months old at that time. We have been planning to enjoy the parks during the morning and then head back to the resort around lunchtime.

 

[kettcobb]

In terms of the initial question we have always visited with young kids and generally they just napped in the pushchair (stroller).

 

[SAV]

We tour the parks commando and my daughter's first trip was when she was 2 and my sons was when he was 18months, I believe. There is a 4 year difference between their ages and we never once left the parks to go back for a nap. We just had them crash in the stroller. When she was the only child, we'd put her in the stroller with a light towel over the top and walk around on a bumpy area. It would just rock her to sleep and then we'd either walk around and take in the sites, shopping or switch off and go on a ride solo. With him, one of us would just walk around with them while the other one took my daughter on rides.

We only had 1 meltdown and that was because we were being too stubborn and kept him out too late in the night for Wishes. A nap wouldn't have mattered in that case because it was just too late. He was fine the rest of the days.

 

[MOXOMUMD]

In terms of the initial question we have always visited with young kids and generally they just napped in the pushchair (stroller).

The same. When my daughter did fall asleep in the stroller it was more of a hassle to go back to the resort.

 

[olinecoach61]

If you don't nap, you will experience a meltdown, if you do nap, you may experience a meltdown. To our family naps are essential to keeping everyone in the magical spirit.

 

[lebeau]

I always recommend afternoon breaks if not full naps.

The afternoon is when the parks are busiest. The lines are the longest. The temperature is the hottest. The parks are most likely to be miserable for everybody - but kids especially.

Some parents force their kids through this, but they are playing with fire. Kids (and many adults) will do better if you take a breather. You really won't miss much except longer lines and sweltering heat. And in exchange, everyone will be fresh when the lines are short and the temps are more moderate.

I'll never understand parents who push their kids until they crash in a stroller. How is that fun for anyone? Be sensible. Take a break.

 

[kettcobb]

Every family is different and there is no right or wrong. Personally we've always found that kids don't want to nap and behave well enough without one - they never had naps at home though so maybe that's the difference. I think if you went at it full pelt for the day without having breaks then maybe you'd notice.

How would parents push kids by the way?

 

[TeamRodriguez]

That was my question for months before my DD first trip...I had planned for everything and more. She was 2.5 at the time. We found it more of a hassle to go back to room & then back to the park. She liked relaxing in her stroller at the parks and when we noticed she was cranky. We went to relax in the AC or near a garden. It really depends on your child.

 

[RMichael21]

Nap!

 

[DisneyFreak23]

We have 5 kids (now ages 8-15) that have survived 3 previous trips to WDW. On park days we go early around rope drop and come back in the afternoon to nap (parents included) and swim a little and then go back around dinner time. Water park days we power through since they open later and close early. This has worked fine for us and other families we travel with.
Have fun in June!

 

[DisneyFreak23]

This year will be our first trip to WDW with our Granddaughter.
It'll be interesting to see who needs an afternoon nap the most, the little one, or Grandpa.

My moneys on Grandpa......

Probably both of you!

 

[Disneydreamer23]

I will be taking my daughter ( 16 months ) I was just going to do her naps in the stroller, my daughter is a great sleeper and can sleep through anything. I am hoping this will work.

 

[GenerationX]

We started going when the boys were 2, 4, and 6. By age 2, they were no longer napping at home. We typically did a morning tour at one of the parks, then went back to the resort to relax, then went back to one of the parks for an evening/night tour.

None of us ever napped, and it worked well for us. The time at the resort in mid-day typically involved swimming and maybe a visit to the arcade.

 

[40goingon7]

Can't imagine not napping at "home"; we just got back on April 20 from a 10 day trip and used every afternoon we were in the parks to return "home" for a nap after lunch (around 1:30-2). Found that when the kids and parents napped or at least relaxed a bit we could return at dinner to the parks and go till close (1 or 2am at MK some nights). Kids would start to fall asleep on the bus. Night time in the MK, especially Frontier Land is my favorite spot, and most rides are walk-on or short wait (funny thing with PPF, never seen the wait time shorter than 15 mins even when its a walk-on; perhaps it doesn't go any lower?).

 

[S. Paridon]

What time does your 5 year old last until (on a good day lol). I know every child is different, just trying to gauge things from the experiences of others!!

Gem x

My son (will be 5 this saturday when we arrive at WL) can roll all day long and well into the night without a problem for the first couple of days. My daughter (20 months) needs a nap in the afternoon or she is a beast. We are planning on her napping in the stroller (my son used to do it all the time when he was younger) and just rolling through. That being said, we always plan one day, usually in the middle of the trip, to hang out at our resort and just take it easy. That allows the kids, and parents, a day to catch up on naps and just breathing. That night we go to the parks and the kids are refreshed as are mom and dad.

 

[Mr Toad]

Naps and pool time will be required for me...not sure about the kids tho.

 

[Suwithoutane]

I'm not sure there's any way to effectively simulate a Disney trip, unfortunately, and not only are kids different from each other, but also seem to have very different needs at the World, even from their normal selves. That being said, the absolute best thing you can do is go in to the trip prepared to be FLEXIBLE - it doesn't matter if the majority of kids do or do not need naps, can or can't sleep in strollers, what have you - you just get there and do what's best for your kids. I think it's kind of like having a birth plan for labor - it's great if it works out that you can tour for 16 hours a day, but if you can't, you need to be ok with taking a break mid-day (and you may need it some days, and not others). It's probably best to not get too attached to one plan or another, because if you're anything like me, things not going "according to plan" can really mess me up, and as the poster child for pre-planning, it was easier to let things go a bit. Some days my daughter (2) napped in the stroller, some days we went back for a nap, some days we had to call it an early night, others she was raring to go until close, and taking time out to let them do things you wouldn't normally stop for (watching the jumping water in Epcot or dance parties in HS) make for awesome memories

 

[LAM378]

I had no idea what to expect from my non-napping 4.5yo in WDW. He's an energetic kid. We did return to our resort every afternoon. Most of our nights ended around 11 pm.

The days he napped on our trip were great; the days he didn't (2 out of 6) were a disaster. He was well aware that there were a million fun things he could be doing besides sleeping so it was rough to get him to sleep. He did conk out in the stroller a few times, and we had a car so if we were driving back from a park he was guaranteed to fall asleep.

Bottom line is that on future trips, I'll do whatever I can to get him to nap midday unless I want to call it a night at 7 pm. It's just too hot and overstimulating for a young child without some real meaningful rest. If yours conks out in the stroller, awesome--but if that's not happening, you might need to throw your plans out the window and head back to the resort to get away from the chaos for a while.