Maintaining peace w/ the fam & managing fatigue

[JackStraw]

Hitting the parks for 5 days with wife and two kids (2.5 and 6.5). First trip for us. Staying at The Poly. Very psyched. Trying to determine how critical it is to go back to hotel for mid-day rest/swim...or not. Because my 2 yr old can nap in the stroller. And the rest of us can park it on a bench as needed. Having not been to DW, I am trying to figure out if it is worth it to head back to the ranch and recharge the batteries. We are going to be at the parks early, but not at rope drop. And I don't anticipate any late nights (except when we get a sitter on one night). Still, I have much more stamina than my wife (although we are both in good shape). I don't want to push her over the edge. Not because I have a huge check list of attractions that we need to tick off. Honestly, I am just happy to be there regardless of what we hit or what we miss. Going in with a very flexible attitude. But when you read these boards, everyone stresses importance of taking a mid-day siesta which does not always work...at least not every day. Any vets out there care to comment

[Goofy + 3]

Originally Posted by JackStraw

Hitting the parks for 5 days with wife and two kids (2.5 and 6.5). First trip for us. Staying at The Poly. Very psyched. Trying to determine how critical it is to go back to hotel for mid-day rest/swim...or not. Because my 2 yr old can nap in the stroller. And the rest of us can park it on a bench as needed. Having not been to DW, I am trying to figure out if it is worth it to head back to the ranch and recharge the batteries. We are going to be at the parks early, but not at rope drop. And I don't anticipate any late nights (except when we get a sitter on one night). Still, I have much more stamina than my wife (although we are both in good shape). I don't want to push her over the edge. Not because I have a huge check list of attractions that we need to tick off. Honestly, I am just happy to be there regardless of what we hit or what we miss. Going in with a very flexible attitude. But when you read these boards, everyone stresses importance of taking a mid-day siesta which does not always work...at least not every day. Any vets out there care to comment

Some of the guys on here wouldn't go back for a rest in a million years. Depending on your family, that may be fine. I prefer to rest and let the kids recharge. It also depends what time of year you're going. In the heat of the summer, the parks are open late so you can afford to give away a few hours in the middle of the day to rest and come back late for fireworks. But if you do that, I'd suggest you reconsider your plan to not be there at rope drop. You can get a lot done between 9 and 10 or 11 when the parks fill up.

[AJRitz]

Here's my take. With two kids under seven, you should plan on taking a mid-afternoon break - for a couple of reasons. First, the best times to be in the theme parks are first thing in the morning and at the end of the night. Why waste their energy/stamina at 2 p.m., when lines are the longest they'll be all day, and risk having them melt down before whatever that evening's Nighttime Spectacular is?

A few things to keep in mind: 1) Walt Disney World is BIG. You and your kids (well, at least one of them) are going to be doing a LOT of walking; 2) It's Florida. It's hot. With very few exceptions, the heat and humidity will wear you down more than you expect; and (probably most importantly) 3) Whether you check-off every attraction on your list is less important than making sure that each experience is enjoyed to the fullest.

You're staying at a great resort for convenient returns for breaks. The Poly has direct access to both the Epcot monorail and the Magic Kingdom monorail loop. It also has boat launches across the lagoon to the Magic Kingdom. Even the buses from the other parks aren't bad, partially because the Poly is a relatively small resort.

I would seriously reconsider the decision not be be in the parks at rope drop. It really is worth it. Assuming that park opens at 9 a.m., the crowd wave builds rapidly between 9 and 11 a.m. If you get to the park at rope drop, you will find yourself able to accomplish more in the first three hours of your park day than you will likely be able to accomplish between Noon and 5 p.m. But that advantage erodes geometrically. Get to the park at 9:30 a.m., and the crowd wave is already in front of you. You're already fighting the lines.

My general rule is to plan carefully, specifically so that it's easy to throw away the plan if I want to. I would suggest that you plan on taking a break. If it turns out you, your spouse, and your kids don't need it, fine. Skip it. But remember that if you skip it, you're likely giving up the nighttime shows, which are some pretty amazing Disney magic.

[JackStraw]

Excellent advice, gents. Thank you. We will be there beginning this Sunday. Unfortunately, rope drop at MK is 8am (7am with Extra Magic Hours) so that is pretty much out of the question unless I find a divorce attorney and put him on speed dial Plus, we have a 7:30 character breakfast one morning so won't get to MK until 9. Can get there by 8:30 another morning. Same deal with HS. Rope drop is 9am at AK -- we can make that happen.

As for the evenings, I am on the fence. Prefer to have the 2 yr old in bed by 8 which limits us a little bit, especially with the kids wanting to eat dinner at 5:30. Not an issue if we eat at park each night, but problematic if we eat at hotel which we will be doing at least a couple of nights.

[AirGoofy]

Originally Posted by JackStraw

Hitting the parks for 5 days with wife and two kids (2.5 and 6.5). First trip for us. Staying at The Poly. Very psyched. Trying to determine how critical it is to go back to hotel for mid-day rest/swim...or not. Because my 2 yr old can nap in the stroller. And the rest of us can park it on a bench as needed. Having not been to DW, I am trying to figure out if it is worth it to head back to the ranch and recharge the batteries. We are going to be at the parks early, but not at rope drop. And I don't anticipate any late nights (except when we get a sitter on one night). Still, I have much more stamina than my wife (although we are both in good shape). I don't want to push her over the edge. Not because I have a huge check list of attractions that we need to tick off. Honestly, I am just happy to be there regardless of what we hit or what we miss. Going in with a very flexible attitude. But when you read these boards, everyone stresses importance of taking a mid-day siesta which does not always work...at least not every day. Any vets out there care to comment

My $.02. I am one of the Disney Commandos - we start RD and go to park close, have a game plan, and maximum our time. For the first 3 trips with dds, youngest at 18 months, we did parks early in morning, nap at resort, and then back to parks. One more trip, napping only in the stoller. I dragged them everywhere.

Then we bought DVC and realized there was a lot more at WDW than just the theme parks. We started going to the parks every other day and enjoying the resort days in between. Now, those park days are from RD to close, but those days at the resort, pool, nice dining, are really fun. We've never stayed at the Poly, but it is a beautiful resort. Have a great trip.

[mm1971]

Originally Posted by JackStraw

Hitting the parks for 5 days with wife and two kids (2.5 and 6.5). First trip for us. Staying at The Poly. Very psyched. Trying to determine how critical it is to go back to hotel for mid-day rest/swim...or not. Because my 2 yr old can nap in the stroller. And the rest of us can park it on a bench as needed. Having not been to DW, I am trying to figure out if it is worth it to head back to the ranch and recharge the batteries. We are going to be at the parks early, but not at rope drop. And I don't anticipate any late nights (except when we get a sitter on one night). Still, I have much more stamina than my wife (although we are both in good shape). I don't want to push her over the edge. Not because I have a huge check list of attractions that we need to tick off. Honestly, I am just happy to be there regardless of what we hit or what we miss. Going in with a very flexible attitude. But when you read these boards, everyone stresses importance of taking a mid-day siesta which does not always work...at least not every day. Any vets out there care to comment

We usually head out in the afternoon to take a swim and relax if we go at morning RD. Then we return to the parks in the evening. If we go on later in the morning, we'll usually skip it. We enjoy the evening EMH so on the following mornings either head over later or have a hotel/pool day. Since you don't plan to do any late nights, you may not need the breaks. I would keep any eye on the young ones and play it by ear. If they seem tired, take a break. If not, push on.

I will say that my kids have always LOVED swimming and the pool is an important part of our vacation for them. We try to spend some time each day swimming.

Have a great trip.