Talk to Me About Taking a Toddler (infant info included!)

[YesterDark]

By who?

That works for some people, but not others. We tried it one day on our first trip when DS was 18 months and it was a miserable fail. He didn’t sleep at all. He slept so much better in the stroller in the park. I don’t think he was into the idea of a forced nap on vacation.

So while it is a good strategy for some, I wouldn’t say it’s “very recommended” as there are many for whom it is not a good strategy.

Every family is different (just in case people didn't realize that) so this is just my opinion and what works for us. My kids would never be able to nap at Disney (Currently have a 5 3 and 1 yo). The worst thing that would happen on vacation is to leave the park, go back to the resort, take a nap that doesn't work, give up after an hour, go back to the park and get back to having fun. That's like 4 hours out of your day right there given all the travel and unloading you have to do.

My wife always wants to go back to the resort to swim with the kids in the middle of the day. She suggests this because her friend did it and they liked doing so. I have to gently point out that they stay at the Contemporary and it was only a short walk back! If you wanted to go swimming in the middle of the day, it'll essentially eat up a solid 4-6 hours of time at the parks.

Anyway, I'm all for spending as much time in the parks as possible and letting the kiddos nap in the stroller.

 

[rideswithchrist]

To add to this, if you bring food into the park and plan to leave it in the stroller when you go on rides, make sure it is sealed and stashed well. We were at AK waiting for the Safari, and there was a squirrel working over the strollers. We watched it unzip a lunch bag and steal a baggie of chips. We couldn't do anything because we were too far from the stroller parking. We kind of stood in awe of that squirrel. We watched birds also try to steal stuff, but the squirrel was the real winner.

YES!!!! We left some some sort of snack in the stroller and a bird at it all and made a huge mess. I forgot about that!

 

[rideswithchrist]

Every family is different (just in case people didn't realize that) so this is just my opinion and what works for us. My kids would never be able to nap at Disney (Currently have a 5 3 and 1 yo). The worst thing that would happen on vacation is to leave the park, go back to the resort, take a nap that doesn't work, give up after an hour, go back to the park and get back to having fun. That's like 4 hours out of your day right there given all the travel and unloading you have to do.

My wife always wants to go back to the resort to swim with the kids in the middle of the day. She suggests this because her friend did it and they liked doing so. I have to gently point out that they stay at the Contemporary and it was only a short walk back! If you wanted to go swimming in the middle of the day, it'll essentially eat up a solid 4-6 hours of time at the parks.

Anyway, I'm all for spending as much time in the parks as possible and letting the kiddos nap in the stroller.

It is RECOMMENDED by multiple parents that don't like having cranky kids that are overstimulated on vacation- but obviously it is not a requirement haha.
Of course if your family is totally fine with 10 hours in park and baby/toddler will nap in the stroller, go for it.
But for US. We ended up waking our 2.5 year old early so we could go back to Epcot and he vomited down my back in line for the bus. Then my 7 year old was run ragged because she did 7AM-11PM for 4 days in a row and developed a fever in MK and sat in the stroller zonked, so we left early.

It is ok to change your plans when you have kids. We are night owls, so taking 2-4 hours midday for a nap or break is not a big deal as we will be staying in the EMH evening parks.
We also like to stay in the parks as much as possible, but for us last time- we enjoyed returning for a mid day break for lunch or whatever. This is also why we are extending our trip to 7 days so we can have a more leisurely vacation and not cram all the things into a 12 hours day because we only have a 5 day window

There is no right or wrong way to tour...have a plan and if after 2 days you have to adjust it, go ahead (that seems to be parenting life anyway bahaha)

 

[SRUAlmn]

We’re back from our week in WDW!! I’m going to catch up on the thread and post some findings and experiences during nap time today (hopefully, if I don’t also fall asleep, because taking a toddler is EXHAUSTING, haha!!!)

 

[SRUAlmn]

Wow, may I ask when you went? We went in Sept 2017, I'm wondering if it was after we went and if things have changed since. We never tried Cosmic Ray's but went into Pinocchios, Colombia Harbor House, Pesco Bills, Main Street Ice Creamery all with no issues at all. And sometimes our toddler wasn't even in the stroller, they just let us take the empty stroller inside. No one said anything.

This was when we went in April 2018. Although I’m about to post about our experience this time and it was very different!

To add to this, if you bring food into the park and plan to leave it in the stroller when you go on rides, make sure it is sealed and stashed well. We were at AK waiting for the Safari, and there was a squirrel working over the strollers. We watched it unzip a lunch bag and steal a baggie of chips. We couldn't do anything because we were too far from the stroller parking. We kind of stood in awe of that squirrel. We watched birds also try to steal stuff, but the squirrel was the real winner.

Yes!! I told my husband to empty the snack cups attached to our stroller every time we parked it for this exact reason!

This seems more much more like our typical experience. There are just some places that don’t allow it in and getting it in depends on how gracious the “bouncer” CM is. We’ve been told no plenty and we always ask very graciously and say “ok thank you” and walk away when they say no.

Satuli in Pandora is an example of a place where they’ve said yes and no before depending on the CM.

The Land pavilion is a place where they always say no. So you can’t get to sunshine seasons with stroller, even when our youngest was 11months old and fast asleep.

We had a very different experience this time! About to post it now!

 

[SRUAlmn]

We just got back and I wanted to share a few things and try to also share the comparison between taking a 7 month old vs a 17 month old!

Counter service wise, we were actually able to take our stroller in every single establishment we entered this time. Maybe it was because the crowds were a little lower than the last time we went? (Which was Spring Break!) There weren’t CMs at any of the doors so we just walked in with it, no one sent us out, and others had strollers too. I will say a few locations were very tough to navigate and get to a table with a stroller but we were glad to have it a few times because high chairs were hard to find in some locations or non existent in others (the outdoor locations like Harambe Market and Fairfax Fare.)

As for milk, we ordered from Amazon Prime Now and it was so easy and fast and perfect! We kept the milk in the room and took some to the food court for him to have with breakfast and then some before bed. If we came back mid day for a nap, he had some then, too. This alleviated a LOT of the cooler ice issue and made it so much easier than before when he was on formula and we HAD to have it in the parks with us!

I noticed the baby care centers had some Gerber pouches and puffs for sale (among MANY other things,) which I hadn’t noticed before because he wasn’t on full solids yet and I didn’t know to look! I took pics of a few of the centers’ offerings if anyone wants to see them!

We ended up taking our 4Moms Breeze Go P&P instead of using Disney’s. It fit in the room great but he slept HORRIBLY! I don’t know if it was the fact that we have a nice 3” mattress in it at home under the DockATot that we didn’t take or the fact that he was so overtired or the fact that the AC and mini fridge made loud thumping sounds all night? Probably a combo of all!

We did choose to try a morning nap (and sometimes short afternoon one) in the parks. It went ok most days. We found that going on a dark ride or into a dark show right around his nap time would get him asleep and then we’d transfer to the stroller and he’d stay asleep but normally not more than an hour. The bad nighttime sleep and short naps made for a very overtired little guy by our last day. He handled it SO well, but the drive home was not fun, ha!

Food options were a little tricky because he’s pretty picky. Doesn’t really do red meat and doesn’t like red sauce so we did a lot of plain pasta, turkey meatballs, chicken, and rice. Good thing we love Mexican food and had it almost every day for lunch (in some form.) We took fruit and veggie & applesauce pouches in our diaper bag to supplement! The one BIG issue I had is with a lack of whole grain options. One place had brown rice, but this lack of availability caused for some potty issues the last two days and he was a little miserable. Luckily I thought to get some mini apple juice bottles to take with us just in case because the sugars in it always help “get things moving,” ha!

I’ll post again if I can think of anything else! Let me know if anyone has questions!!

 

[SRUAlmn]

Have fun! Would love to hear your thoughts on what you thought about the differences in age when you get back. We took DS at 7 mos & plan to go again about the age of your DS now.

Hey!! Wanted to give you some thoughts! Every kiddo is different, though, so let me know if you have specific questions!

Trips at 7 months old vs 17 months old

Things that were easier:
- he was OBSESSED and I mean OBSESSED with the characters. He liked them and smiled last time but this time I was literally brought to tears watching him interact! So much fun! If your little one loves Disney Jr characters and Mickey I’d prioritize character Fastpasses if you can. I hate that Epcot puts the Character Spot in Tier I but we didn’t have a problem getting one after we rode Frozen and could make a new one.
- he was a little more flexible on this trip. He could handle napping in the stroller a little better and his schedule being adjusted from his normal home schedule. I was so nervous to change it up but last time we did NOTHING because my priority was his schedule.
- eating - it was fun to try new things and watch him enjoy some Disney faves like a few tastes of a Dole Whip!
- taking the buses! Last time we rode the bus once and I was done. He wasn’t super stable and I didn’t have a carrier and those bus drivers can slam on breaks and cut corners like no other. I felt unsafe holding him. Shout out to all the Mamas I saw rocking it with the littler ones. This time he LOVED the buses! He would sit on my lap so nicely and watch out the window or “talk” to other kids and it really added to the experience! We joked that we could’ve saved the $800 in park tickets and just rode the buses! Ha!
- the baby care centers - we liked them so much more this time since we didn’t need to worry about having quiet, private places to feed and rock him. We just made ourselves take him in and change him every time we were near one to avoid any emergency cross park treks/runs to change. I did change him in the bathrooms a few times but he HATES laying on those hard shelf things!

Things that were harder:
- he’s not fully walking yet so there I had this BUNDLE of energy who literally spends all day crawling around our house chasing balls and I stuck him in a stroller all day. It was hard to give him chances to get out his energy since he isn’t walking. Most floors (including our resort room) were not very clean, but I sucked it up a few times and let him crawl on the ground & resort floor a little. Epcot has an awesome Wreck it Ralph playground only for kids ages 2-5 and they let him in and (although he couldn’t do much,) it was super cool that they have it and I wish all the parks had something like that!
- finding places that had food we thought he’d like and eat AND that had food we thought we’d like and eat! Haha! Also, healthy options were available but not everywhere and not always what he’d eat. We took tons of snacks in our park bag but I think we “over Puffed” him when he was having rice with meals a lot and he got constipated (sorry for TMI!)
- a few of the parks didn’t have a ton he could ride or do so there was quite a bit of “down time.” I tried to schedule it so his naps fell when his Dad would be riding the big stuff but his schedule changed right before the trip and FPs weren’t always available to change and we had later nights than he has at home so it didn’t always work out the way I planned it and I had to just find a way to roll with it
- last time we did very little in the parks and he napped and slept AMAZINGLY well, this time he met so many characters, rode so many rides, had a million giggles and tons of fun but he slept AWFUL. It was a trade off we were willing to try but it made for three very exhausted troopers by the last day and a rough drive home.

I’ll post again if I can think of more! Let me know if you have specific questions!

 

[LSUmiss]

Hey!! Wanted to give you some thoughts! Every kiddo is different, though, so let me know if you have specific questions!

Trips at 7 months old vs 17 months old

Things that were easier:
- he was OBSESSED and I mean OBSESSED with the characters. He liked them and smiled last time but this time I was literally brought to tears watching him interact! So much fun! If your little one loves Disney Jr characters and Mickey I’d prioritize character Fastpasses if you can. I hate that Epcot puts the Character Spot in Tier I but we didn’t have a problem getting one after we rode Frozen and could make a new one.
- he was a little more flexible on this trip. He could handle napping in the stroller a little better and his schedule being adjusted from his normal home schedule. I was so nervous to change it up but last time we did NOTHING because my priority was his schedule.
- eating - it was fun to try new things and watch him enjoy some Disney faves like a few tastes of a Dole Whip!
- taking the buses! Last time we rode the bus once and I was done. He wasn’t super stable and I didn’t have a carrier and those bus drivers can slam on breaks and cut corners like no other. I felt unsafe holding him. Shout out to all the Mamas I saw rocking it with the littler ones. This time he LOVED the buses! He would sit on my lap so nicely and watch out the window or “talk” to other kids and it really added to the experience! We joked that we could’ve saved the $800 in park tickets and just rode the buses! Ha!
- the baby care centers - we liked them so much more this time since we didn’t need to worry about having quiet, private places to feed and rock him. We just made ourselves take him in and change him every time we were near one to avoid any emergency cross park treks/runs to change. I did change him in the bathrooms a few times but he HATES laying on those hard shelf things!

Things that were harder:
- he’s not fully walking yet so there I had this BUNDLE of energy who literally spends all day crawling around our house chasing balls and I stuck him in a stroller all day. It was hard to give him chances to get out his energy since he isn’t walking. Most floors (including our resort room) were not very clean, but I sucked it up a few times and let him crawl on the ground & resort floor a little. Epcot has an awesome Wreck it Ralph playground only for kids ages 2-5 and they let him in and (although he couldn’t do much,) it was super cool that they have it and I wish all the parks had something like that!
- finding places that had food we thought he’d like and eat AND that had food we thought we’d like and eat! Haha! Also, healthy options were available but not everywhere and not always what he’d eat. We took tons of snacks in our park bag but I think we “over Puffed” him when he was having rice with meals a lot and he got constipated (sorry for TMI!)
- a few of the parks didn’t have a ton he could ride or do so there was quite a bit of “down time.” I tried to schedule it so his naps fell when his Dad would be riding the big stuff but his schedule changed right before the trip and FPs weren’t always available to change and we had later nights than he has at home so it didn’t always work out the way I planned it and I had to just find a way to roll with it
- last time we did very little in the parks and he napped and slept AMAZINGLY well, this time he met so many characters, rode so many rides, had a million giggles and tons of fun but he slept AWFUL. It was a trade off we were willing to try but it made for three very exhausted troopers by the last day and a rough drive home.

I’ll post again if I can think of more! Let me know if you have specific questions!

Wow! Thank you so much! We brought DS at 7 mos too & he’ll be 17 mos next time we go. This is all great info! I know things could be different for him, but your trip at 7 mos sounds a lot like us too! How did he likes rides that he could do like IASW? DS LOVED that last time. When you said he didn’t sleep well, do you mean at night or naps or both? Thanks again!

ETA: Did y’all do character meals? That’s usually how we get our characters in.

 

[SRUAlmn]

Wow! Thank you so much! We brought DS at 7 mos too & he’ll be 17 mos next time we go. This is all great info! I know things could be different for him, but your trip at 7 mos sounds a lot like us too! How did he likes rides that he could do like IASW? DS LOVED that last time. When you said he didn’t sleep well, do you mean at night or naps or both? Thanks again!

ETA: Did y’all do character meals? That’s usually how we get our characters in.

He was just open mouthed in awe on all the rides! And he was obsessed with the TTA (that’s my boy, haha!)

The sleep issue was mainly at night. Potentially because of issues I mentioned earlier, but his naps were short and probably not super restful since we were in the parks and his bedtime at home is between 7-8 and there it was closer to between 9-10, so I think he was a little overtired and in an unfamiliar place.

We didn’t do any character meals. We rarely do table service meals. We prefer to snack and share counter service so we can try more rather than one meal filling us up for a whole day. We aren’t huge eaters so it doesn’t always seem like a great value for us. We really considered hopping over to Chef Mickeys this time once we saw how he responded to the characters but only dinner was available and we couldn’t rationalize spending $100 for as little as we’d eat!

 

[LSUmiss]

He was just open mouthed in awe on all the rides! And he was obsessed with the TTA (that’s my boy, haha!)

The sleep issue was mainly at night. Potentially because of issues I mentioned earlier, but his naps were short and probably not super restful since we were in the parks and his bedtime at home is between 7-8 and there it was closer to between 9-10, so I think he was a little overtired and in an unfamiliar place.

We didn’t do any character meals. We rarely do table service meals. We prefer to snack and share counter service so we can try more rather than one meal filling us up for a whole day. We aren’t huge eaters so it doesn’t always seem like a great value for us. We really considered hopping over to Chef Mickeys this time once we saw how he responded to the characters but only dinner was available and we couldn’t rationalize spending $100 for as little as we’d eat!

Great! Thanks! A couple more questions if you don’t mind? How many days did y’all go & where did you stay?

ETA: We are a ppl mover family too! Lol! Also, he loves Disney jr so I’m excited about that too!

 

[SRUAlmn]

Great! Thanks! A couple more questions if you don’t mind? How many days did y’all go & where did you stay?

ETA: We are a ppl mover family too! Lol! Also, he loves Disney jr so I’m excited about that too!

We were there from Sunday afternoon- Friday afternoon and stayed at Pop Century. I’m a total deluxe girl but my husband isn’t one to spend a lot on a hotel room and for most of our days Pop was $98/night!!

We were sooooo excited for him to experience the new Disney Jr show and......he fell asleep during it!! Ha! He was dancing and laughing and then got a little fussy so I held him and he was OUT. Amidst the lights and music and everything! Poor baby, so tired! I was so bummed he missed it!

Also, one more difference I can’t believe I forgot to mention! Trying to get ready in the morning was hugely different!! Last time I could plop him on the bed surrounded by pillows or on the DockATot and he was content! This time he was pulling things off shelves and out of drawers and all the towels were thrown all over, it was chaos, haha!! We came up with a system. We’d get up, Daddy would shower while I got baby ready for the day and gave him some Cheerios or yogurt and milk or OJ to tide him over until breakfast. Then Daddy would put him in the stroller and go for a little walk while I got ready and packed the diaper bag. It worked very well!!

 

[snm2017]

I’m so happy I found this thread! We are taking our daughter in September when she will be almost 18 months, and it has been a totally different experience trying to plan for 2 adults and a kid vs just 2 adults haha! So many little things to think of.

Did your little guy have any experience with characters before this trip? I’m nervous that our daughter will be terrified of the characters because she hasn’t really experienced that before.

 

[YesterDark]

It is RECOMMENDED by multiple parents that don't like having cranky kids that are overstimulated on vacation- but obviously it is not a requirement haha.
Of course if your family is totally fine with 10 hours in park and baby/toddler will nap in the stroller, go for it.
But for US. We ended up waking our 2.5 year old early so we could go back to Epcot and he vomited down my back in line for the bus. Then my 7 year old was run ragged because she did 7AM-11PM for 4 days in a row and developed a fever in MK and sat in the stroller zonked, so we left early.

It is ok to change your plans when you have kids. We are night owls, so taking 2-4 hours midday for a nap or break is not a big deal as we will be staying in the EMH evening parks.
We also like to stay in the parks as much as possible, but for us last time- we enjoyed returning for a mid day break for lunch or whatever. This is also why we are extending our trip to 7 days so we can have a more leisurely vacation and not cram all the things into a 12 hours day because we only have a 5 day window

There is no right or wrong way to tour...have a plan and if after 2 days you have to adjust it, go ahead (that seems to be parenting life anyway bahaha)

Lol, that sounds rough!

Our last vacation we never did more than 2 park days in a row. It's a lot for me. But to give you an idea, our Hollywood studio day, we basically did all the shows, and ended the day with a character meal at 5ish. Sat around until the firework show, then went back. It was a very slow day. For MK, we did two sit down meals that took out a good 3-4 hours of the day to do so. Then sat down in front of the castle for an hour or so before the fireworks. This was all about finding places to rest and take in the scenary. I could never do a full blast park day with the little ones.

I plan my days around meals and rest periods and not fastpasses and attraction touring guides.

But that was a short trip, only 4 full days on property. Our next trip will be a bit longer and I'm looking forward to it. More leisurely.

 

[SRUAlmn]

I’m so happy I found this thread! We are taking our daughter in September when she will be almost 18 months, and it has been a totally different experience trying to plan for 2 adults and a kid vs just 2 adults haha! So many little things to think of.

Did your little guy have any experience with characters before this trip? I’m nervous that our daughter will be terrified of the characters because she hasn’t really experienced that before.

Yay!! Glad it’s helping!! I wanted to start it so there could be a place where there was info all in one place specific to this age group! It is COMPLETELY different than going as 2 adults. Many pros and definitely some things that can feel like cons, haha! We were always night time park people so it has felt very different for us to be back to our room by 8:00-9:00 and not see most of the fireworks, but the joy of seeing him have so much fun definitely outweighs that!

Our little guy hadn’t had any experience with characters outside of WDW. We took him at 7 months old and he would sort of sheepishly smile or laugh if they played peek a boo. Taking him at 17 months, he was hysterically laughing and so insanely joyful and smiling ear to ear! He does watch Disney Jr so I think that helped him recognize the characters and he loves them on TV and as stuffies so I was hoping that love would transfer. He was very cautious with new people/CMs/face characters that talked to him but the costumed characters were his JAM!!

 

[rideswithchrist]

Sounds like you had a great time!

 

[SRUAlmn]

Sounds like you had a great time!

We really did!! The sleep struggles made it tough but it was so much fun!!

 

[LSUmiss]

We really did!! The sleep struggles made it tough but it was so much fun!!

Does your DS usually sleep better at home? Did y’all keep his schedule in WDW? And, was it going to sleep or staying asleep or what? And, has he returned to “normal” now that y’all are home? Hope you don’t mind me asking. My DS is a great sleeper & I don’t want to mess that up!!

 

[rideswithchrist]

We really did!! The sleep struggles made it tough but it was so much fun!!

That's what I am not looking forward to with my 2 year old. He does not sleep when we are away from home and does not really nap until 3-4PM so I hope he will sleep in the stroller or maybe on the bus haha. I told my hubby that if he gets too cranky, he can stay in the parks with the kids and I can take him back to the campsite to nap.

 

[SRUAlmn]

Does your DS usually sleep better at home? Did y’all keep his schedule in WDW? And, was it going to sleep or staying asleep or what? And, has he returned to “normal” now that y’all are home? Hope you don’t mind me asking. My DS is a great sleeper & I don’t want to mess that up!!

I completely get it!! When we went when he was 7 months old I prioritized his schedule for that reason. He slept great during our trip, but we literally did nothing! He was napping twice a day and wasn’t napping well in the stroller so we were going back to the room for every nap. Since there were only about 3 hrs between naps, and Disney transport can take some time, we were spending like 1-2 hrs a day in the parks...total. And you know with Disney that can mean like doing 1 thing.

This time, since he was older, I wanted to try a little more flexibility. We tried doing the morning nap in the park (since it’s normally shorter) and then coming back for the afternoon nap, and then going to a park for a few evening hours. That was the plan.

The reality of it, though, was that available fastpass times, show times, bus schedules, etc... don’t always fit your plan. We’d let him sleep in as late as he needed (which most days was until about 7:30.) Then we’d get ready and eat breakfast at our resort which meant most days we’d be at a park by 10. His morning nap is normally about 3 hours after he gets up so he’d be ready to nap within an hour of getting to the park. Most days he did in the stroller, but going on a darker ride around that time helped “trigger” the nap and then we’d transfer him back to the stroller (he tends to like to be held to fall asleep at home, bad habit I know, but oh well! Haha) Again, Disney schedules and fastpasses and there wasn’t always a darker ride option available, but most days it worked! Then we’d do lunch in the park and a few rides/shows/meet n greets and then head back to the resort for the afternoon nap. The “issue” was that by the time we got back it was usually about 4:00 (or sometimes later.) He’d be so tired that he’d often sleep until 5:30-6 and the parks closed around 9 so it seemed silly to get all packed up again and on a bus to go back for like an hour and a half or less, and also then he’d be getting back way past his bedtime. This was the struggle. One night we just stayed at the resort and tried to do a normal bedtime, another day we just stayed at the park and tried to do the afternoon nap in the stroller, one day we did run back to MK to do dinner and part of the fireworks but wanted to leave before it was over in order to not get stuck in giant bus lines that would’ve pushed back our return time to way too late. Sorry, I know this is prob just a lot of rambling, but my point is that the afternoon nap/bedtime/park visiting timing was the biggest challenge.

I do believe that quite a few loud noises in the room, plus being off schedule, plus the AC blasting and then loudly shutting off all night was the combo reason for the sleep challenges, in addition to his bed not being as comfy as home. He is a great sleeper at home (barring a few little regressions we’ve had) and he was back on track a few days after we got home, but it did take a couple days. I hope that helped and wasn't too much info!

That's what I am not looking forward to with my 2 year old. He does not sleep when we are away from home and does not really nap until 3-4PM so I hope he will sleep in the stroller or maybe on the bus haha. I told my hubby that if he gets too cranky, he can stay in the parks with the kids and I can take him back to the campsite to nap.

It’s such a challenge because you know they need the sleep but it’s not always feasible to make it happen at the exact minute they need it because of schedules and transportation. We knew the times he normally naps at home and they’d been at around 10:00 and 3:30 like clockwork, but then you’re busy and running and doing more and not sleeping as well and things change. At home it’s easier to adjust on the fly as needed but at Disney you’re bound to so many schedules and buses that it makes it harder to make changes at the last minute!

 

[LSUmiss]

I completely get it!! When we went when he was 7 months old I prioritized his schedule for that reason. He slept great during our trip, but we literally did nothing! He was napping twice a day and wasn’t napping well in the stroller so we were going back to the room for every nap. Since there were only about 3 hrs between naps, and Disney transport can take some time, we were spending like 1-2 hrs a day in the parks...total. And you know with Disney that can mean like doing 1 thing.

This time, since he was older, I wanted to try a little more flexibility. We tried doing the morning nap in the park (since it’s normally shorter) and then coming back for the afternoon nap, and then going to a park for a few evening hours. That was the plan.

The reality of it, though, was that available fastpass times, show times, bus schedules, etc... don’t always fit your plan. We’d let him sleep in as late as he needed (which most days was until about 7:30.) Then we’d get ready and eat breakfast at our resort which meant most days we’d be at a park by 10. His morning nap is normally about 3 hours after he gets up so he’d be ready to nap within an hour of getting to the park. Most days he did in the stroller, but going on a darker ride around that time helped “trigger” the nap and then we’d transfer him back to the stroller (he tends to like to be held to fall asleep at home, bad habit I know, but oh well! Haha) Again, Disney schedules and fastpasses and there wasn’t always a darker ride option available, but most days it worked! Then we’d do lunch in the park and a few rides/shows/meet n greets and then head back to the resort for the afternoon nap. The “issue” was that by the time we got back it was usually about 4:00 (or sometimes later.) He’d be so tired that he’d often sleep until 5:30-6 and the parks closed around 9 so it seemed silly to get all packed up again and on a bus to go back for like an hour and a half or less, and also then he’d be getting back way past his bedtime. This was the struggle. One night we just stayed at the resort and tried to do a normal bedtime, another day we just stayed at the park and tried to do the afternoon nap in the stroller, one day we did run back to MK to do dinner and part of the fireworks but wanted to leave before it was over in order to not get stuck in giant bus lines that would’ve pushed back our return time to way too late. Sorry, I know this is prob just a lot of rambling, but my point is that the afternoon nap/bedtime/park visiting timing was the biggest challenge.

I do believe that quite a few loud noises in the room, plus being off schedule, plus the AC blasting and then loudly shutting off all night was the combo reason for the sleep challenges, in addition to his bed not being as comfy as home. He is a great sleeper at home (barring a few little regressions we’ve had) and he was back on track a few days after we got home, but it did take a couple days. I hope that helped and wasn't too much info!



It’s such a challenge because you know they need the sleep but it’s not always feasible to make it happen at the exact minute they need it because of schedules and transportation. We knew the times he normally naps at home and they’d been at around 10:00 and 3:30 like clockwork, but then you’re busy and running and doing more and not sleeping as well and things change. At home it’s easier to adjust on the fly as needed but at Disney you’re bound to so many schedules and buses that it makes it harder to make changes at the last minute!

Thanks! That definitely helps! DS did well at 7 mos & slept in the stroller so we were able to stay in the parks from like 10-5 & then do his regular bedtime. We have the same habit of holding him to sleep for naps! I have to hold him the whole time unless he falls asleep in the stroller (but that only happens in WDW). He’s still 9 mos now so maybe we can start working on that!