Can kids last for full days in the parks?

[Carla1183]

As my parents say now... If we had not behaved well they would not have continued to take us.
We rarely had meltdowns because they simply would not tolerate it.
If we started to act up the quite deep voice of my dad saying stop it fixed that.
I recall the last time I ever got nasty on vacation. I was 10 and gave my dad an attitude about something and a little smack on my butt as I walked away ended that then and there.
Like I said in a previous post we went all day. If we were tired we took a nap. If we needed a break we'd grab a snack and relax for a little while. No need to leave the parks in my opinion but of course all children are different.

Haha this reminds me of what we tell our kids now for days at 6 flags (or anything fun we do really), and will be applying it to Disney. "If you guys do a great job, and make this really easy and fun for us, are we more likely to come back? If you cry, and whine and make it a hard, frustrating day for us, will we probably not want to do it again?" They are 3 and 5 and definitely get this!
Though I know Disney is a whole other level of stimulation and I am so not one to say "my precious angels would NEVER!" bc as soon as I say that I'll have one kid lost in fantasyland and the other crying on the sidewalk

 

[JAMIESMITH]

She couldn't do this for consecutive days, but when we went in April of last year my eight year old daughter stuck it out in Magic Kingdom from 7:45-11:00. We slept late and had a pool/Disney Springs day the next day.

 

[mco65]

They handle it better between 9-11 than they do at 16 or 17.. JMO

When my kids were younger, they were full throttle from Rope Drop till fireworks... but the older one (now 16) is starting to slow a bit..

I think they got tired when they were younger but didn't care enough to complain. They were too busy having fun!

 

[Vijoge]

We're taking DGD's, 11, 8, and 6, next week. These are all kids who need their sleep. Yesterday, about 5PM, the 6 y/o was on the sofa watching a movie on Netflix. She stood up, looked at me and said "I'm tired", then went to the bedroom, closed the door, laid down, and went to sleep. She didn't sleep long, 45 min-an hour, but when she needs to crash only a bed will do. Her sisters are pretty much the same, and none of them are morning people. They don't mind staying up late, even very late, as long as they can sleep in in the morning. Our earliest FP is 11, and we only have one breakfast ADR. They may surprise me, but I'm betting not.

 

[minoh]

Early bedtimes will be essential all week. My dd and I are definitely not early risers, so getting to EMM early might be the hardest part of the day. At least we're coming from the Atlantic time zone so our home time will be an hour ahead, which will help. Also, I made the dinner reservation for late afternoon instead of evening.

Fingers crossed we all make it through the day. It'll be a [hopefully] fun experiment!

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Haha this reminds me of what we tell our kids now for days at 6 flags (or anything fun we do really), and will be applying it to Disney. "If you guys do a great job, and make this really easy and fun for us, are we more likely to come back? If you cry, and whine and make it a hard, frustrating day for us, will we probably not want to do it again?" They are 3 and 5 and definitely get this!
Though I know Disney is a whole other level of stimulation and I am so not one to say "my precious angels would NEVER!" bc as soon as I say that I'll have one kid lost in fantasyland and the other crying on the sidewalk

Oh my parents never actually said that to us as children but as adults looking back they say that if we had not behaved they would not have kept taking us.
Back then we just knew not to act up.
My parents have always been amazing to us but they also grew up back in the age where it was an unwritten rule of if you behave you get to do fun things. They raised us in that same way.

 

[DisneyLove2015]

We've done multiple trips with our son since he was 1 (and our daughter since she 3m and she's now 23m) and he's now 9. At least 4 of the trips have been in the summer. We've never taken a midday break. Ever. When he was younger, he would nap in the stroller. DD napped in the stroller or the carrier her last two trips. When he was past the nap stage, he'd rest in the stroller if tired. We'd go from well before rope drop to night time. If he was tired and wanted to leave before the fireworks, we would.

The most intense experience we've had was for Star Wars weekend last May. He was 7. We'd be up and at the park by 7:15 and stay through the fireworks/fantasmic for all except the very last night. Did that for 4 straight days our first day was MK and was a little earlier night time (8 or 9?. His choice. He was told he could sleep in but he wanted to do JTA every day.

Had he ever become whiney or extremely grumpy, we would have left earlier. Same with my DD. If she ever can't handle all day there, we would leave earlier. Thankfully haven't had that issue yet.

 

[Tattylou]

My kids are 6 and 8. Started going when they were 3 (almost 4) and 5. We always take the midday swim/rest break. They love the pool as much as the parks and it's a chance for everyone to chill out in a relaxed environment. My mom and I usually swim with the kids. My father and DH usually take naps. We usually go to a different park at night than we were at in the morning too.

 

[frog3101]

It's been five years (sigh) but we took midday breaks, kids were 1 and 3 at the time. For us it was the best option. We were there during low crowd levels and getting to and from the resort never seemed to take that long. The kids enjoyed the resort as much as the park and sun"grown ups" appreciated the change of pace. We are headed back this year and plan to do the same, but will change course if need be.
You know your kids and will get a system that works best for you. Have a great trip!

 

[minoh]

I was worried that going back and forth between the parks and resort would take up a a lot of time. But looking at times from CSR, it's under 20 min, so totally easy to do if everyone needs a break (that's without bus waiting times, but still should be no big deal).

 

[KrazeeK120]

I was worried that going back and forth between the parks and resort would take up a a lot of time. But looking at times from CSR, it's under 20 min, so totally easy to do if everyone needs a break (that's without bus waiting times, but still should be no big deal).

That's just travel time for the bus though. You'll need to factor in waiting for the bus, walking back to your room, walking back to the bus stop, and waiting again. Plus, CSR is a large resort with multiple stops. It can take several minutes to get all the way around to the last stop (or, if you're the first stop, you'll make multiple stops on the way back out). It's not really a 40 minute round trip.

 

[WhispyPixie]

It comes down to one thing..KNOWING your kids.

For us, we got up early..hit the parks...grabbed lunch and then went to the resort for some rest (swimming & nap) then hit the parks for dinner and more fun. Even as adult kids..this works fantastic for all parties involved.

 

[Ava]

Our first trip with both kids they were 16 months and 5 and we didn't take a break every day. The baby would nap in her carrier or stroller. The next trip when they were 2 and 6 we took more breaks, but it was a longer trip (10 days) and we had grandparents along who appreciated the breaks as well. This year they will be 4 and 8 and I'm not specifically planning breaks. I'll plan our days through lunch and then we'll play it by ear after that. We're also not on a dining plan this time so we won't be locked into an ADR every day.

 

[Kerriowl]

I would say keep this in mind that I read on a Disney Blog. If your children need a break, TAKE a break. It doesn't have to be a nap back at the hotel. It can be a nap in a quiet attraction (Ellen's Energy, Hall of Presidents), a quiet meal in some air conditioning, or just finding a place where your children can chill out and not have to do what the adults say all the time. I know for my kiddo, getting to go to the Dumbo playground or one of the other playgrounds was like a break for him. He needed a chance to just be and not worry about not bothering other people in line or something. He got this sense of relief from just getting to run around. Also, I recently asked my 9 year old what he was looking most forward to for our next trip. He named the Dumbo playground!

 

[Lavitz]

Absolutely you can do it, but it depends on your kids. Our last trip with DD12, DD5 and DS3 we were at the parks from 9am-7pm every single day for 8 days straight and our kids wouldn't have it any other way. If they every needed it though we'd cut it short, or if we ever went in the summer we'd take mid day breaks for the pool to get out of the heat.

 

[minoh]

Thanks y'all, for sharing your experiences! Counting down the weeks until our trip with much excitement!

 

[monorailsilver]

My kids are pretty mellow and tend to not have public tantrums!! They wait until they are home and drive DH and I bonkers!

I have 3 kids and while they could last the entire day, why would I do that to them and US!

My oldest is now 15, took a nap on Sunday afternoon because she is doing so much...I am kidding all she did that day while I worked was was dan and Phil in YouTube! She is the one hat needs the most sleep. Always been like that. So for her a nap is vital otherwise the claws come out. The first time I took her after she was done with naps, she was 4. DH stayed in the room with our son and I took her to the pool for our mid day break and she fell asleep right after we ate dinner at about 6pm in Epcot so after that it was nap time and she didnt fight it!

My son, 13, can go either way. He is can easily stay up til midnigt and be up at 6. He has always been like that. On his 3 Disney trips, e easily napped at age 2, age 4/almost 5 he fought naps and while we were trying to sleep he kept saying "dad (FYI I am mom) dad, dad, when we go back to the park later can we go back on x..". The only time he easily fell asleep that trip was out last park day when he got a Benadryl because he touched milk (allergic) and had hives. When he was 9 when we last went he did sleep at break/nap time.

Youngest, 10, napped with out issues in her 2 trips.

We are the family that I get up at 6, shower, DH gets up while I am in the shower and *reads*-don't judge, I am a nurse and have seen it all plus if he doesn't *read* then, well then he screws up the entire day like he did the first trip he went on with me and we didn't get to a park until 9:30...the horror! Anyways, he is done by the time I am ready to get out of the shower. Slowly 1 by 1 the kids come in brush and get dressed. They eat while DH is getting ready...he takes a while where as I don't. Then he eats while I am finishing packing/loading up the refillable water containers and we are out the door between 7-7:25 for the early entry park.

We leave after we had lunch. Oh and I like to go in August so yes leaving at high noon is a must! We return to our room and nap until about 3:30-4. Then we all shower (not together) and return to the park until closing. Some nights we are lucky to leave Epcot after illuminations and then get to the Poly to watch wishes.

Max park days are 2 n a row. I give everyone the opportunity to sleep in in non park days. Except me, my internal clock can't sleep in so I am up at 6, bathing suit on and laundry gets done and once it's done it is pool time for me!

That is what works for us. I won't do a park on arrival day because we are already tired from the not sleeping excitement of the trip (the only time my kids are up before they need to be and dressed!). I don't want to start my trip off exhausted and never catch up.

If you choose no breaks, definetlay plan 1-2 non park days.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

My kid has gone rope drop to fireworks or later every trip. We started going when she had just turned 5.

 

[hsmamato2]

we always did long days when our kids were little (budget constraints,bought just a few park days per trip) so when we went in ,it was all out start to finish. Over the years we used strollers for naps, slow times and coffee breaks, feet up on benches for people watching, spend some time eating a meal.... our kids did fine. But they were adaptable from a very young age anyway.... Some of my best memories are just sitting on a bench in the warm sun while the young ones napped in the stroller...we'd get a drink and just chill out till we felt like moving again. I can't think of one trip where we took mid day breaks.....

 

[Mousemommy1]

You know your kids best.

We were surprised on our 1st trip when our girls were 3 and 5 that they were able to go all day with no breaks. We had planned to take nap time, etc...but it turned out they didn't need it.

That being said, DH and I were EXHAUSTED. After that, we vowed to take rest during the day from then on. We have enjoyed our trips so much more since we have worked in that downtime during the day. Our kids love the resort time and being able to go in the pool.

We are super refreshed when we hit the parks again at night time.

Every family is different but rest times work best for our family.