Dear Cathy,
Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel and I hope that I can help you with your question!
I agree with many of those blogs that suggest a midday rest, especially with younger children. We never rent cars while we are at the
Walt Disney World Resort, and still have time to do this schedule when we want to.
I recommend an early wake up time and arrival to your desired park about 45-60 minutes before it opens. That means getting on a bus from your resort hotel around 90 minutes prior to park opening.
Then, I would stay and play until around noon, have some lunch, and head back to the resort buses or monorail, depending on where you're staying. That would get you back to your room in the 1:30-2pm range, sleep for 2 hours or so, and then head back out to the bus or monorail. If you leave by 4 or so, you'll be back to the park that you want to go to around 5 or 5:15 and can stay for the evening for the second round of fun and the cooler temperatures.
That's the schedule that worked for us,
especially when we had preschoolers! Good luck and don't be afraid to do less when needed. Otherwise, your littlest family members may tire out and that's not fun for anyone!
Have a magical time!
- Jan K.