11 days till we go (Parent needs help)

[jonnylbluejeans]

Ok, let me tell you where I'm at...

WDW trip in 11 days...

I've been 12 times since I was a kid, last time in 95, LOVED every time. My wife was been once, one after noon, with a stepdad who didn't want to be there, not fun.

We began planning a year ago to take our two girls (now 4 1/2 and 6 1/2). We are staying 5 nights, 4 days in the parks. (Nowhere near enough time, but that's another arguement.)

We are staying at the Wilderness Lodge. Have booked the Hoop-de-doo, Cinderella's Magic Breakfast in the castle, and just about every priority seating I could find.

So from that standpoint, I'm prepared. Here's where I've fallen short...

I've always been there when the park was open from like 8-midnight. After lunch, we'd go back to the hotel, take a nap, swim (maybe), and head back to the park shortly before (or after) dinner to enjoy the rest of the night.

Well, this is the first time that I will be going to WDW when the hours are from 9-7pm. No E-Nights. The problem is, do I trek back to the hotel for a nap and kill a good bit of the day? I've booked our priority seating dinners AFTER the parks are closed (8:15-8:30pm).

Please help. I can't decide whether or not to keep my little ones up all day or take a trip back to the room. Any input is welcome.

 

[Tiggerkeeper]

I guess the big questions here is how well will your children hold up with no nap? WDW zaps a lot of energy out of you and sometimes those naps are a lifesaver!!

You may just have to play it by ear. Have a great trip!!

 

[tricia]

With my little ones I always found it easier to stay in the park all day if they were past the napping stage. I always go in value or regular seasons. We eat at around 5:30 or 6 though and usually call it a night after that. They could not last until 8 or 8:30 for dinner, even if I fed them all day. They like to stick to basically the same eating and sleeping schedule we have at home. It makes life a lot easier, and them a lot less cranky.

 

[CamColt]

We just got back from WDW with our DSs, 3 1/2 & 6 1/2, and our friends with 2 boys, 4, and 6 1/2. My kids dont nap and are usually to bed fairly early and up early. The the other kids occasionally nap and stay up later and get up later.
Since I was the planner I planned early mornings. We only did EE at MK and AK, but were also at Epcot for opening(on our MGM day we did Chef Mickeys before the park).
We found breaks were in order on our AK and MK days. We were up early the other days too so I dont think it was a lack of sleep thing, but more of a heat and walking thing.
On our Epcot and MGM days we found we didnt need a break. At Epcot we had lunch in the park as our "break". Since there is so much indoors(AC) and a lot where the kids can get involved and burn off energy, we didnt feel we needed to leave. WE stayed 9:00-5:00, then went to the pool for a dip and had an early night. In MGM, like I said we went a little later than opening(around 10:00) because of breakfast. There we found a lot of sit down shows which helped the legs, and the kids burned off energy at Pizza Planet. We stayed 10:00-6:00 there, again having an early night so we could get up for EE the next day.
Good luck in your planning.

 

[Sanchez]

I don't think staying all day at the parks is a major problem. However the 8-8:30 PS events are difficult for any child without the benefit of a mid-day break. If you use EE during this time of year you should be able to do most everying in MGM and AK by early afternoon. Since EPCOT is open until 9 you could arrive at 5-5:30 after an afternoon break and see much of World Showcase - or at least as much as children would be interested in seeing.

We have two children, same ages as yours. They can probably handle one day of all-day touring but not back to back days.

 

[fiveforall]

Last year I took a 2 1/2 yr old, 4 1/2 yr old, and a 7 yr old. The baby definitely needed a nap, but the two oldest did just fine staying going from about nine in the morning until seven or eight at night. DH would take the baby back to the room, while the girls and I continued touring. If your kids aren't regular nappers, they go to bed early, and you schedule some down time into your day(sit down lunches for ex.) they should be fine. Just try it one day. The next day you may need to sleep a little bit later.

 

[Selket]

With kids that age, considering my kids, I'd stay at the park all day and make earlier dinner plans. My son who is almost 6 would NOT take a nap and he went swimming instead...which is fine too. In fact...he loved the pool at AKL so much that we had to change some of our plans around to make sure that he got pool time (we were there in rainy august when the afternoons meant the pool was closed due to storms).

If you are doing the early entry mornings however, you can get started at 8 a.m. and in that case you might want to come back to the hotel at lunch and go back to the park around 4. This all really depends on YOUR kids....are they used to getting up early? Can everyone get up and be at the gate by 7:45 for EE? Do they usually eat dinner at 8:30? We also found that even in August when it can be busy, we were able to change our PS's around fairly easily to accomodate how things were going that day.

As a side note, I was unprepared for the extent to which my almost 6 yr old was just overwhelmed by all the things to do...in the sense that he wanted to get up early, stay up late...do the pool, the water park, the parks....everything at once practically! We had a schedule...a plan in place and informed him of it, consulted his wishes, etc. as much as we could to be reasonable but he still had trouble realizing that if he was going to do X then he couldn't do Y. Our biggest issue was the pool...he could have stayed there ALL day! LOL! I don't blame him.

Have a wonderful trip and remember that there is so much to do there ... take your time to enjoy the hotel!

 

[TammiMcMan]

If you really want to stick with the ps times at 8:15 and beyond, then you probably will have to give up some time in the park. When mine were that young, I've actually had them fall asleep at the dinner table and have witnessed many melt downs from tired children and parents. I agree with the previous poster, that Disney takes a lot of energy and you do need time to recharge. You're going during a quiet time of year, so I don't think you'd have any problems with an early start to the park and maybe plan your downtime at the resort between 11:30am-2pm. That would give everyone a chance to dip in the pool for a cool off, then maybe a quick sandwich fixing in your hotel room of PB&J before a good hours nap.

Everyone wants to get the most out of their vacation at WDW, especially where you only have the 4 days, but it really is more important for everyone to relax and enjoy the time they have there. Maybe instead of trying to plan around all the ps's that you made, just pick one or two. I'd stick with Cinderella's and the Hoop De Doo. Then you can play the rest of the time by ear and make it a bit more relaxing on yourself. Something else you might want to add on is booking a carriage ride at Fort Wilderness for all of you. It's late notice, but they may have something open around your Hoop De Doo reservation and it's so nice to unwind and chat with your girls about their favorite things at Disney while enjoying the beauty of Fort Wilderness. Not too bad in the romance department either.

With young kids and limited time, you do need a plan at Disney, but I'd suggest looking over your itinerary again. Maybe make it a bit more flexible with plenty of well-rested, quality time. Check out the parks and as a family decide what are "must see" things. That way there, if you need a break, you won't be disappointed that you missed something that you really wanted to do. For our family, MGM is more of a half day park when we circle our favorites. The same for Animal Kingdom. If we get there early, we're pretty much done by 2pm. Depending on your girls interests, Epcot may not have a lot to offer, but maybe they wouldn't mind being pushed around in a carriage while you and your wife enjoy some of the world showcase. Not to mention, that you are staying in a beautiful resort and it would be a shame if you didn't plan some time to enjoy their pool and surroundings.

Whatever you decide, have a wonderful trip with your family and let us know how everything went.

 

[Kimberle]

Welcome! We'll probably see you there as we, too our staying at WL. Our dd is 4.5.

Don't worry abt the shorter hours, the park will be so "uncrowded" you will not waste much time waiting in line. I am not planning on "napping". We'll probably go to the parks early then back for a swim about 2-3.

My advise, just follow the lead of your children.

Remember, too, WL has the cubs den. So if you're kiddo's aren't up to a dinner out, you could "check" them in for a couple of hours while you & dw eat.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[swilphil]

I'd say if you do EE and plan a late dinner on the same day, take a break. The best thing may be to do a combination of the two--some days take a break, some days don't. See how things are going. Don't try to do too much. Enjoy!

 

[patsal]

Because you are staying at WL it will be very easy for you to get back to your hotel with the boat. Things I have done with my children when they were younger are getting to FL right at opening so they could do everything there then head to toontown which opens an hour later than the rest of the park. WHat else did they want to do, fast pass those things and head back to the room for a nap or swim about 11:30. There they can grab lunch without the crowds of the theme park as well. Head back to MK about 1:30 do a ride or two before staking out a spot for the parade. Watch the parade, enjoy a few rides, have dinner and depending on things like night time parade or fireworks , plan accordingly. Adjust accordingly, maybe they really don't want to rest and can handle the full day in the park. If you have a car you may find it easier to access the other parks that way rather than rely on the WDW bus transport system. I found at WL plan on an hour for anything involving a bus since you will be sharing th busses withthe campground.It can vvery often be easier to go to the CR by boat and catch the monorail, and switch to the Epcot monorail. WIth only the four day thing, you may be able to let them go commando style and sleep since they could be in bed by 8pm on MK day.

 

[jonnylbluejeans]

Well, we do have alot planned. I guess the most resounding bit of wisdom is be flexible and take cues from the kids.

One more question, I have planned to bring a small backpack with necessities (camera, hats, sunscreen, etc) Are we allowed to bring small snack items like Pepperidge Farms Goldfish or the like?

Not wanting to be cheap or anything , but my kids could snack all day.

 

[puffkin]

I have a suggestion.

I would change the late PS's to some lunches. That way, you can get in the parks early. When you are probably ready for the break (around lunch time) you will have your PS and can take a nice leisurely meal. Then you will probably be able to go strong until closing. Since the parks close early, the kids could probably get in a swim at night, and still be in bed by a decent time. Just a suggestion!

 

[Cindy'sCastle]

We've always brought in small snacks, crackers, beef sticks, gummies, something to have for them to chew on especially while waiting in line or between meal snacks. We've never had a problem with that. But definitely take time for naps if needed. One year, we were there our last day and were trying to get in as much as possible that day. My daughter started getting cranky and tired, she was around 5 at the time. Instead of going back to the room, we got on the monorail and rode it around while she slept. It was very nice scenery and the a/c felt great! We enjoyed the break.

Cindy

 

[Terry S]

Our upcoming trip will be our 6th trip with our kids now 6 and 7. What we have found to work out well is having a late night every other night. So I schedule Illuminations, Fantasmic and Spectro/FITS every other night and plan to be in the room and getting ready for bed on the opposite night by 9:00. We also plan a few mornings of sleeping in.

My kids stopped taking naps be age 4 so, that was out, but we do come back to the room mid day just to relax a bit and maybe swim for a bit. We try to just take it easy and as you mentioned take our cues from the kids. It really is much more enjoyable that way. We also go twice a year, so we know if we miss anything, we will be back.

 

[gibmom]

You might want to rent a stoller. They are big enough that both of your kids could take turns riding. Really helps to rest weary legs- especially at EPCOT !

 

[Selket]

If you are going to stay in the parks most of the day, I'd definitely rent a double stroller for your kids. My 5.5 yr old really needed it on the longer days. We had no trouble bringing in a smallish soft sided cooler with water bottles, drink paks, and some snacks in there. It was hot when we went so the water was our big concern. Many people have small coolers with them that have strollers. Otherwise perhaps it would fit in a locker...not sure about that (but then you gotta trek back to the locker!).

If your kids like to swim....just beware of the pool! LOL! I keep saying it but that ended up to be a really big part of our day...as both kids just loved loved loved the pool. You might feel like you're wasting park time but that's the way it goes! I just keep in mind when they are older and we can ride ToT over and over again together

Don't be disappointed if you get home, feel like you did only 10% of what was at WDW to do! Just start planning the next trip (and the next one...and the next one.... )