Tell me about the Nickelodeon Resort at WDW

[HIU8]

A cousin suggested that as a good place for us to stay when in WDW next January. Is this a good hotel for a 2.5 yr old and a 5 yr old? Plus my mother will be with us for about 3 days.

[natmurr]

There is no Nickelodeon resort at WDW - I believe there is a Nick resort at Universal Studios (I've never been so I'm not positive)

That said there are plenty of resort options within WDW and in my opinion its best to stay on resort - especially with kids. The flexibility of being able to quickly get from the parks to the hotel is great plus you never leave that "Disney Magic"!

We stayed at Pop Century during our Feb/09 stay and loved it. The kids enjoyed it and the price was right!

HTH
Natalie

[SnuggleBuggles]

I haven't stayed there but it looks like fun! It might be about a 20 minute drive to WDW from there and it isn't on the Disney properties. It is not at Universal, btw. It is just randomly placed in Orlando near many of the other hotels.

Beth

[s7714]

There used to be a Nickelodeon section at Universal, but that closed down in like '05 or '06 I think it was. The resort is totally separate, but I haven't ever been there.

[Melbel]

We have not stayed there, but friends who have stated that it was over priced and dirty. The reviews on tripadvisor.com are mixed:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g34515-d144437-Reviews-Nickelodeon_Family_Suites_Nick_Hotel-Orlando_Florida.html

One of the main features of the hotel is an elaborate water slide area. Considering the ages of your children, I think there are better choices closer to WDW. I hope you enjoy your trip!

[egoldber]

I have never stayed there, just seen it driving in from the airport. It is close to WDW. If you're moving hotels anyway, why not stay at a WDW property so you can take advantage of the WDW buses and other amenities?

[Momof3Labs]

WDW has been running great deals this year for stays at its resorts - ranging from free dining to kids free (gets them free tickets and dining) to free nights. I wouldn't at all be surprised if you can get a deal like this onsite for January; currently, I think that the deals only run through early October.

There are huge advantages to staying onsite IMO, including the ability to split up and take one child back while the other stays in the park. We did that a ton when DS1 was 5.5yo and DS2 was 2yo. If you stay offsite you'll pretty much have to rent a car and leave the parks all together.

Perhaps it would help if you tell us what you hope to gain by staying offsite - is it a price issue? A space issue? If the latter, you might be happiest renting a condo or house offsite.

[HIU8]

Wow. I had no idea it was not on property. The way my cousin talked it sounded like it was. I'm hip deep in research and it is getting a bit confusing. We want to stay on the WDW property so it will be easier for us. We will either fly and rent a car to drive to the wedding we are going to in Orlando or drive to WDW and have our own car (personally that is what I want, but DH would rather fly).

[SnuggleBuggles]

Nickelodeon and Disney are competitors :) Maybe some day they will join forces but now they have their own turf. :)

Best of luck with your research! That's why I like Disneyland- not very many choices. :)

Beth

[egoldber]

You can check out the various WDW on property hotel options here:

http://allears.net/acc/faq_hot.htm

We have stayed at many of the WDW hotels. My oldest DD's favorite is Pop Century (one of the Value resorts!).

[JTsMom]

I'm hip deep in research and it is getting a bit confusing.

Well I love to talk Disney, so let me know if I can help with anything. :) Have you ordered the free planning DVD from Disney? That's a really easy way to get a good overview of all of the resorts. I agonized about which to pick for our trip back in Nov/Dec, and what I've learned is that there aren't really any bad choices. All of the resorts have something to offer, whether it's price, amenities, theme, or location. It just depends on what the most important pros are to your family.

Do you know which category of resort you are interested in? Disney has the Values (the least expensive, but with some really fun themes), Moderates (kind of middle of the road- the pools have slides, rooms are a little more $), Deluxes (most expensive, although there is a huge range in price depending on what you go for- they obviously have the best amenities, and some have perks like being in walking distance to the MK- that's the Contemporary, or being on the monorail- Contemporary, Polynesian and Grand Floridian), then there are also the DVC properties, which have small kitchens, and are more like home.

If you can tell us some of your wants/needs, we could help steer you in the right direction.