West Coast People -- Jet lag?

[soontobeatdisney]

Hi. We're visiting WDW from the west coast 9/13-9/20, staying at BWV. Everyone says: get to the parks early! However I'm worried about jet lag, if the park opens at 8am, that's 5am my time and we'd need to wake up about 2 hours before that... so that would be 3am. And we're taking our 17 month DS so it's hard to explain jet lag to him. Also, knowing my son, I want him to sleep as much as possible.

Maybe traveling will make us tired enough so we'll go to bed early the first night.

Anyone else encounter this problem? Did you have kids, what did you do to get them to sleep?

 

[msteddom]

I just got back from WDW and I didn't have any jet lag problems while I was there. Of course I only got about two hours sleep the night before I left. I was so tired by the time 10 PM rolled around that I crashed hard and didn't wake up untill Mickey called to say, "up and at 'em" the next morning. I don't have kids so I can't give you any advice there, but I think you guys will be just fine. Have fun!

Melissa

 

[peg2001]

Hey! I'm not from the West Coast but did take a vacation this summer from the Eastern Time Zone to West Coast. First, don't worry about your son, our kids adjusted faster than we did! Plus, he can just catch a nap as needed.

The main tip is to immediately adjust your day to the new time zone and go with it. Sure, you may be a bit more tired the first day or two but Disney is so exciting, you probably won't mind.

Have a great time.
Peggy

 

[Twigs]

I live on the east coast and found the jet lag traveling from the west back east has always been hard on me. But then that was after an active vacation. My family has never quite made it to the parks at opening, we usually get there around 9:30 and we always have a mental list of what we want to do most, then after we do those things, we go to the attractions we haven't seen, and we have never been diasappointed with our day. When my children were younger I usually took it alot slower because there is nothing worse than having cranky kids hanging on you. You know your chld best, I would probably take it slow the first day and see how everyone feels from there. Also it is really a help to go back to the hotel sometime in the afternoon for a short swim, this usually rejuvenates us for the rest of the day when we can fit it in.

 

[daannzzz]

I am in California and when i travel to Florida I always book the earliest flight possible. When you land in Florida you have some time left in the day and because you got up so early for the flight you will be tired earlier than usual. I also schedule nothing major for the next day so I can sleep a liitle but I am usually so excited to be there I am up at 6:00 - 7:00 anyway. I have not traveled with a little one though.

 

[gourt]

We just got back yesteday...and I, too, was worried about jet lag with my DD6. I told her several times in advance that the time was different, but the best thing we did was just immediately get into Florida time. Never once did we think "Oh, it's 4:00 in the morning at home."

Fortunately, the adrenaline and excitement took over the first few days and we had no trouble gettin up. After that, we were used to it. Every night we were so exhausted that we never had trouble sleeping...that definitely helped. We were usually asleep by 9:00 if it was an early day and 10:00 for a late day. Our DD6 was up by 7:00 or 7:30 the next morning.

Honestly, I was very worried about jet lag and it was never an issue. We were at the parks by opening every day...and it is worth it because you can do so much in the first couple of hours.

 

[helenm29]

We've taken the "redeye" from California before and let me tell you....we were ALL tired and grumpy when we got to DW! I think that the layover in the middle of the night didn't help our moods any and I had 2 - 8 year olds! this time we are taking an early morning flight and have decided on spending a night at a nearby hotel (inexpensive)so we can be fresh and ready to go the next morning. HAVE FUN! Helen

 

[PrincessAurora]

I leave Oakland around 7am, with one layover, I get to Orlando at 5:30pm. The trick is go to bed earlier and get up earlier a few days before you leave, DO NOT SLEEP ON THE PLANE, set your watch by Florida time and put your brain in that time. Start by going by their schedule.

I hear this is more difficult with kids. Their internal clocks can take longer to adjust.

 

[Tiiiigergirl]

We fly from the Mountain time zone. We fly in using the earliest flight we can get. We land about 4 to 5p. We eat dinner and then go to bed. Since we've been packing and couldn't sleep the night before because we were excited we can usually get to sleep pretty early. Then we are able to get up early the next morning and feel well rested.

I agree with the previous poster who said that they immediately change their watch and go on local time immediately. Don't try to convert or think at home its this time really. Just adopt your new time and it might be hard for the first day or so but everyone gets the hang of it.

Our son takes medication four times a day. On the travel day we move his dosing schedule up on hour and then the next day we give it local time (ahead another hour) but by that point he is on local time. Good luck and have fun!

 

[alaskantwinks]

Okay guys, you are on the West coast...I'm one hour behind you, so Florida is 4 hours ahead of us!! So take pity on us! (weep, weep) We are leaving from our small remote town on the evening of the 17th w/Alaska Airlines, don't leave out of Anchorage until after midnight (YES, THE DREADED RED-EYE!) and then we get to LAX after 630a, switch to American Airlines, non-stop to MCO, we get there at 5:30pm!! Its going to be quite the night/day of flights. We are going straight to the Royal Pacific *Universal* and than spending 5 nights there, heading over to WDW...so the good news is, by the time we get to WDW, our bodies (hopefully) should be on Florida time!! I'm planning a lot of rest and relaxation times in between all the craziness! ; ) Kelly We do have 2 kids, 11 and 8. It should be fun.

 

[rumblytumbly]

Jet lag? No way! Not with Mickey waiting. We fly from Seattle. Just take it easy the first evening, get to bed fairly early and you'll be ready to go bright and early!

 

[helenm29]

Hey Alaskantwinks: You are BRAVE SOULS! I am so proud of you for daring that trip! I hope you have a safe, FUN, FUN, FUN TRIP!
HM

 

[alaskantwinks]

helenm...thanks! We did it once before back in 1994. Since we are getting there at 5:30pm on the 18th (Sat.) we should be to the hotel by 7p (if all flights are on time, and traffic allows) we'll just kick back at the hotel and order some take in and relax! That way we can get to bed early, and be semi-rested in the a.m. setting the watch to florida time sounds like a good idea, actually I will do that after we leave LA. Kelly