First Family Trip with 1 & 2.5yo

[Golfjbc89]

I've been going to WDW with friends and my wife several times. Haven't been in a while as I was growing out my family. Everything I know about Disney touring plans are rope drop to park closing, which seems impossible given my new situation.

I am anxiously trying to understand what a trip looks like with my new family. I'm looking at going next fall with my then wife, 1yo and 2.5yo daughters. What would a touring plan look like for our family of 4? Just for reference we typically do naps 9-10am and 1-3 with our first at around the same age.

Do people go back to the resort for all naps?
Do people throw out the schedule and hope for the best?

TIA, looking for any and all advice!

 

[CaptainAmerica]

My kids are 7, 4, and 2 and we've been going roughly twice a year since the oldest was born so I'm right in your wheelhouse.

We usually do parks 9 to 1, break 1 to 4, parks 4 to 8. We like to go for as many days as possible so there's no pressure to rush. We never completely take a day off. We get bored. But we'll skip a morning park or an evening park to talk a half-day off a few times.

 

[stephk1981]

We always went back to the resorts for naps, which helps if you stay at a resort nearest to the parks. Our almost 4 year old now has dropped her nap mostly, but you may be surprised by the then 1 year old. Neither of mine were still on a 2 nap a day by age 1. If you can cut it down to one nap, it will be easier. With babies, toddlers we go into a park until lunch, head back for nap, then swim and possibly have dinner in a park ( possibly a couple more rides) then back for bedtime routine. We have always found sticking to our at home schedule really helps ( we haven't had any major meltdowns, so it works for us!) Good luck, and always plan to not get in everything that you hope to do. As long as you are flexible, your family will have an amazing time!

 

[Betty Rohrer]

I've been going to WDW with friends and my wife several times. Haven't been in a while as I was growing out my family. Everything I know about Disney touring plans are rope drop to park closing, which seems impossible given my new situation.

I am anxiously trying to understand what a trip looks like with my new family. I'm looking at going next fall with my then wife, 1yo and 2.5yo daughters. What would a touring plan look like for our family of 4? Just for reference we typically do naps 9-10am and 1-3 with our first at around the same age.

Do people go back to the resort for all naps?
Do people throw out the schedule and hope for the best?

TIA, looking for any and all advice!

going back to resort for naps was a huge fail for us toddler fell asleep on way back to resort and then screamed for 2 hours and then fell asleep at dinner. we did better with stroller naps in the park. know this is not popular but be ready to change your plans on the fly with young kids

 

[mjkacmom]

My kids napped twice a day until around 18 months, (9 - 11, 2 - 4) and then transitioned to 1 - 4. They were not stroller nappers. You just need to wait and see how they are.

 

[GBRforWDW]

My wife prefers naps outside the park. But I'd rather find a nice quiet show to relax to and take a break. Probably will be a go with the flow for you, but there's definitely a lot of stimulation in the parks, which may help some kids sleep while keeps others awake. Even if you cover the stroller, they'll still get the audio stimulation.

If you're still doing a 9-10 nap, I wouldn't plan to hit the park til after that, especially if you don't think they'd sleep in the park. For the afternoon nap, if you leave the park, plan to be gone for close to 4 hours due to waiting on the buses, bus rides, time to get to/from room, etc.

Overall though, every family is different, just do what works best for your kids and wife.

 

[nancipants]

We are locals so have a different perspective. But when my son was doing two naps, we would usually do his first nap at home, then head to a park. He would have his second nap in the stroller, and we would leave by 6:30 for him to get to bed by 7:30. He's almost two now and has one nap after lunch, so we either go to a park in the morning or in the afternoon after his nap. Occasionally, if we're meeting family or friends for a full day, we'll have him nap in the stroller, but it doesn't last very long. We do everything in our power to keep him from falling asleep on the way home because he doesn't transition to the crib, so our nap for the day would be ruined. Also, he stopped two naps at one year old due to his daycare schedule, so you might try to push your youngest so they're both on the same schedule.

 

[nancipants]

My kids napped twice a day until around 18 months, (9 - 11, 2 - 4) and then transitioned to 1 - 4. They were not stroller nappers. You just need to wait and see how they are.

I am so jealous of those nap lengths. Our son has dropped down to 1.5 hours once per day.

 

[Rory607]

We always threw out the schedule and went with the flow. But our kids napped in the stroller and are also farther apart in age than your kiddos. So if the baby fell asleep in the stroller midway through the morning, one of us would find a quiet spot to park and sit with him. The other parent would take the preschooler to do rides. Then sometimes they would both fall asleep in the afternoon. That’s a great time to be at Epcot so mom and dad can sit and enjoy a drink

Rope drop to close is not very realistic, though. I would pick one or the other and plan accordingly. We would usually pick one night to stay for fireworks.

 

[sponica]

I only had one the last time we went, but when I went with a 20 month old, we did from around park open until about 7 PM most days without a problem. But we've always done short trips (4 park days) so having super active days is the only way to do anything.

I echo what was said earlier, it really depends on the kids. Mine were ALWAYS stroller nappers in the real world. But this time around, the oldest will be 5.5 and the youngest 1.5...so anything goes...

 

[Anna131517]

Whether you go to the hotel for naps depends on your child. My kids have always napped in the stroller at Disney, which we LOVE. However, some kids need a bed to nap. My advice is rent a double citi mini stroller (easy to push, great shade, near full recline, comes with rain cover and cup holder, super easy one handed fold and lightweight) and stay someplace off the monorail so you can take the kids back to the resort without having to take them out of the stroller. Also bring a baby carrier for carrying the youngest while in line. We stayed at the Contemporary once when we only had 2 kids, who were 2 1/2 and 9 months. That location was amazing for littles because we could easily go back and forth between the hotel and MK.

 

[Golfjbc89]

Thanks all for the response! Definitely thinking about a monorail resort and renting DVC for a larger room. I would LOVE it if the kid slept in strollers, but its not something they do a lot right now. I'm hoping the almost 3yo will be able to go longer some days and maybe mom and I can split with the kids some days to get in that extra park time.

It feels like learning a whole new system with the kids, nervous and anxious all together but excited to be able to visit again!

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Thanks all for the response! Definitely thinking about a monorail resort and renting DVC for a larger room. I would LOVE it if the kid slept in strollers, but its not something they do a lot right now. I'm hoping the almost 3yo will be able to go longer some days and maybe mom and I can split with the kids some days to get in that extra park time.

It feels like learning a whole new system with the kids, nervous and anxious all together but excited to be able to visit again!

remember what can happen if younger falls asleep on way to nap. does that one go back to sleep if falls asleep on car ride home for a nap or is nap over? or even walking out of park. if that can ruin a nap at home plan on that also happening at Disney. we found that bout the hard way and ruined first day in the parks. I would be doing some practicing around nap time now at home