A few misc. Disney World questions

[thomma]

There's a possibility we'll be going mid-April. I know it's a busy time but I teach so it's what we're stuck with. (I did the whole take a week off last year...gotta wait for a new boss to do it again. :))

Anywho, we'll be getting the buy 4 nights, get 3 free deal. We're looking at CSR but not ruling out POFQ. I realize most people like POFQ for small children but would it be a big deal to stay at CSR with 2 five -almost six -year olds?

My dd isn't as keen on the "big" rides as her brother...she's takes after me that way. Any suggestions of things I could do with her while they do some of the faster/bigger rides? We'll be hitting all of the parks during our stay. For example, last year she got a kick out of Ariel's area in MK and the boneyard at AK. I don't want to be waiting around while the boys finish their rides.


Thanks-
Kim
ds&dd 5/03

[Jacksonvol]

I stayed at CSR w/ DD when she was 3. She loved the pool, the Pepper Market eating area allowed her to eat her faves while I had something I liked and there was also a great sand box area with toys. It is a huge place though. I would ask if you could get a room close to the dining area and bus stop. The good news was the space allowed her room to run and burn energy, but when she was tired, I was lugging her across the property and it was no fun.


As far as stuff to do while waiting on rides, you might use the time to get faces painted (the best $15.00 I spent at Disney) or wait in line to see characters. At MK there is the Toontown Fair area where you can explore Minnie and Mickey's houses and Epcot has "Kidcots" that DD still loves at 5. Not as familiar with the Studio and AK (we hit those pretty fast and move on).

Have fun.

[Momof3Labs]

Can't comment on the resorts as we haven't stayed moderate with younger kids yet. But I'd absolutely pick POFQ over CSR for the size and easy access to Downtown Disney (I've only visited CSR though - been years since I stayed at POFQ).

As far as activities with your DD while the boys ride the big rides, have you looked at park maps? We know the parks pretty well so split up regularly with the kids (DS1 is tall enough to ride everything and that's what he preferes to ride), and just use our cell phones to meet up again.

At DHS, your DD might like the Beauty & the Beast show, the Little Mermaid show and the High School Musical show (by the "big hat") while they ride the big rides. At AK, there are only a couple of big rides. DS2 likes watching the trains fly down the hill on Everest while we wait for DS1 to ride. While waiting for Dinosaur, we ride Triceratop Spin or play at the Boneyard.

At Epcot, you can explore Innoventions and Kidcot stations while they ride Mission Space and Test Track (she'd probably like Soarin, so plan on that one as a family).

At MK, take her through Fantasyland. Stand in line for some of her favorite characters. Watch the show in front of the castle. Go on the Tomorrowland Transportation Authority while they are on Space Mountain. Hop over to Tom Sawyer's Island while they are on BTMRR and Splash Mountain.

Learn the FastPass system and use it extensively - we avoided any long lines for the big rides and dramatically decreased the time we spent apart.

With cell phones, it's hard to imagine that you'd be sitting around waiting all the time. There's plenty to do in each park, and it's easy enough to meet up after rides.

[egoldber]

With cell phones, it's hard to imagine that you'd be sitting around waiting all the time. There's plenty to do in each park, and it's easy enough to meet up after rides.

:yeahthat: Cell phones and FastPass are your friends. :)

I would choose Port Orleans Riverside over CSR. Access to DD and also the ability to walk over to POFQ is a big plus IMO.

[JTsMom]

I survived 8 nights there with a 3 year old. I think you'll be fine! We were in Casitas 4, and were right next to bus stop 2 (first on, first off) and a quiet pool. It took me about 5 or 6 mins to walk to the pool and/or to El Centro. If that's too much though, you can easily drive if you have a car, or flag down one of the internal shuttles for a lift. Definitely request a bldg. you think would work for you.

I was not impressed with the food quality at the Pepper Market, so I didn't spend much time in El Centro anyway, and it was pretty cold for swimming, so we only went twice.

The resort has a lot going for it. It is really beautiful, the staff was helpful, and the pool and playground are great. There are queen beds in most of the rooms (I'd assume all by April), and they have extras on hand like bedrails and microwaves if you request them.



As for the parks, think about buying the touring plans from Tour Guide Mike. I was so happy we had them, even though it was pretty slow when we went. Just knowing which parks are the least crowded on which days was priceless! Once or twice we had a schedule conflict and had to go to a park on a day when TGM didn't rec it, and we were shocked at the difference.

[egoldber]

they have extras on hand like bedrails and microwaves if you request them.

Just FYI, all WDW resorts have these upon request.

I've stayed at CSR and of course it's doable. :) Just given the *choice*, I would personally prefer PORS or POFQ over CSR or CBR. JMO.

On our recent stay, we stayed at Pop Century for 2 nights (a Value resort) and Sarah *loved* it. She preferred it to our stay the other nights at Boardwalk Villas LOL!!

[Brad]

Hi, I found this thread via google, hope it's okay to pop in.

I wanted to offer a resource for additional information on kidcot including the location of all the stops in both Future World and World Showcase (including a downloadable cheat sheet) which can be found at http://www.stitchkingdom.com/kidcot . There is also a comparable activity at Disney's Animal Kingdom called the Kids' Discovery Club which you can find more info at http://www.stitchkingdom.com/discovery . The site is also very well known for its information on Disney's PhotoPass.

Disney also provides a web site aimed at the pre-K set (even though the kids here are just a bit older) which includes special downloadable maps and activities. That can be found at http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/experience/expLandingPage?id=PreKExpLandingPage

As for the resort choices, CSR and POFQ are a world apart in my opinion. CSR does have really great main pool (although POFQ's isn't all that bad either) but it's also a very large resort. Pepper Market wasn't all that impressive to me either and seemed fairly expensive, it also makes you tip your server - it's the only food court of its kind in that respect as far I know. On the same token, POFQ is actually my resort of choice and I've stayed at 10 or so so far including a few of the deluxes. POFQ is small, quiet, charming and there are no preferred rooms so the closest to the buses and main building are all standard. You also have beignets offered in the food court. And while it shares buses with POR, it's generally the first to be picked up and first to be dropped off. I think the only route where that's not the case is for Downtown Disney, but even then, you also have the boat as an option.

[thomma]

Thanks for your ideas and tips. We're definitely going in April but we've decided to stay in a bigger place off property. I want/need more space and we'll have our vehicle so it will be doable.

I'll be posting with more questions, I'm sure!

Kim
ds&dd 5/03