Hi Lynda,
Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel! How wonderful of you to take your granddaughter to visit the Walt Disney World Resort. I can imagine the delight in her expressions as she meets her favorite characters for the first time!
The naptime dilemma - naps are important for little ones! When our girls still needed a nap, we all actually returned to the resort for an afternoon nap and then went back to the parks for dinner. All of us needed the rest! If you want to keep exploring while she naps in the park, however, I suggest that you send her with Mom or Dad to one of the
Baby Care Centers. They are quiet and wonderfully air-conditioned. They are also stocked with a few supplies available for purchase.
Our ideal schedule when the girls needed a nap was to arrive at the park for park opening or early morning Extra Magic Hours. We would ride in the morning and then eat lunch around noon. Right after lunch, we headed back to the resort hotel for a nap. We would then head back out to dinner by 5:30 p.m. It was wonderful to relax at the resort and return to the parks re-energized! Just be sure to check the
park hours. On a few nights, I made our dinner reservations a tad too late so that when we left dinner, we did not have much time to ride additional rides before park closing.
Lynda, I also have learned that several days of early rising and late night fireworks can lead to meltdowns (for adults and little ones). So, now I schedule a late morning or afternoon start in the middle of our vacation. If we arrive on a Sunday for example, we will do a later breakfast on Wednesday so that everyone can sleep in or we can enjoy some pool time before hitting the parks.
Magic, memories and Minnie Mouse hugs,
Donyell