WDW advice needed

[srkaplan]

DH has a conference in Orlando 4/7 - 4/12 at WDW Coronado Springs resort. DD will be a little over 20 months old at the time. I know that she may be a little young to really get the full experience, but since the trip is free, we're going to take her.

When we stay in hotels, we typically get a suite or 2 adjoining rooms so that we can put DD to bed, close the door, and still be able to watch TV, eat dinner, etc. Is there a Disney hotel that would meet our needs better than others? The preference would be to stay at Coronado Springs since DH's conference is there, but it's not mandatory. We will most likely be paying the difference between the conference hotel rate and whatever we end up with, so cost is a bit of a factor but we will pay what we need to have a comfortable situation.

As of now, DD still takes 2 naps a day. She wakes around 7am, has nap #1 from 10am - 11:30, nap#2 is usually from 4:30 - 5:30, and she's asleep for the night around 8pm. With the 2 naps factoring in, what is our best plan to see and enjoy the parks (the stuff that she will enjoy and be able to do)? I'm guessing that we will need to get a multi-day park-hopper pass so that we can come and go as we please and not feel stressed that we need to get to all of one particular park in a single day.

Any other thoughts or recommendations based on our situation & DD's age would be greatly appreciated!

[egoldber]

Just FYI, that is spring break time and will be a VERY VERY busy week at WDW.

[srkaplan]

Just FYI, that is spring break time and will be a VERY VERY busy week at WDW.

I just read that in another thread! Ugh!

[SnuggleBuggles]

It;s the week after Easter so hopefully it won't be as bad.

I would much prefer a suite to 2 adjoining rooms. I think it would likely be safer but I have no rational reason for saying that. It's probably be cheaper than 2 rooms ( you wouldn't have to pay all the taxes and fees double...). I know that doesn't address your resort specific q though. I'm sorry!

Beth

[clc053103]

I believe there are some values and a moderate with suites- hopefully someone can chime in with that info. I did look into suites at deluxe resorts and they were really pricey- like celebrity rooms! LOL! A 1 br villa at a DVC property may be a good fit for your needs too! They have a washer/dryer which would be great with a young one!

as for your schedule- you could head first thing to a park with early magic hours, enter at rope drop and get a few hours in before nap, have lunch and hit a park after nap 1, then go back for nap 2. After nap 2 you could head out for dinner and possibly another hour or so in a park before bedtime. another idea is to head to a character breakfast in the AM and then nap before heading to a park. You also may find DD is exhausted enough to nap in a stroller for one of the naps so you can stay out and about and do some shopping.

[JTsMom]

I am pretty sure they won't guarantee adjoining rooms, so I would avoid that option.

[kristenk]

Will you guys have a car? Just trying to figure out how DH will get to the conference every day if you stay at a different resort.

Will you and DD go into the parks during the day while DH is at the conference?

[egoldber]

Just trying to figure out how DH will get to the conference every day if you stay at a different resort.

He can take WDW bus transportation, but it could take awhile because there are no direct resort to resort buses, he'd have to transfer at a theme park or Downtown Disney.

You can request connecting rooms (not adjoining rooms). The problem is this is a VERY busy time of year and the resort may easily be sold out and they may have no connecting rooms to give you.

I think the week after Easter is just as likely to be busy as the week before.

[kristenk]

He can take WDW bus transportation, but it could take awhile because there are no direct resort to resort buses, he'd have to transfer at a theme park or Downtown Disney.

Right. That's why I was asking about a car. I thought if they didn't have a car it would be more useful to recommend a resort that would be less of a pain to get to from Coronado Springs. I remember seeing a general transportation timing chart somewhere (which wouldn't be exact, of course) that I thought might be helpful if they're relying on WDW transport. Now to locate it...!

[srkaplan]

Will you guys have a car? Just trying to figure out how DH will get to the conference every day if you stay at a different resort.

Will you and DD go into the parks during the day while DH is at the conference?

We haven't figured out if we will need a car or not, but can certainly rent one if it makes things easier. We're already going to be bringing DD's car seat for the plane, and I hate the thought of trying to install a car seat in a taxi, so my hunch is that we will be renting a car. I also just like to have the luxury of going off-property if the mood strikes us.

Yes, my plan is that DD and I will go to the parks while DH is at his conference. Fortunately, he will only be tied up for about 4 hrs a day, and will have all day Sunday free, so he will be able to join us for a lot of the time.

[srkaplan]

another idea is to head to a character breakfast in the AM and then nap before heading to a park.

I'm definitely hoping to do this at least one of the mornings, but now that I'm hearing about how busy it will be, I'm nervous I'm too late to get reservations. I'm going to have to get on that right away!

[erosenst]

We made a relatively recent decision to go there April 5-8th. We were able to get dining reservations, although they're filling up very quickly. We also were able to get room reservations.

We have always elected to get a suite (for similar reasons to yours). Among other things, they will not guarantee connecting rooms, and I'm not willing to take the risk.

You can play around on their website to see what options are available. We're staying at Bay Lake Towers, but it is not inexpensive. (Convenient to MK, the monorail, etc...but not inexpensive.)

[klwa]

CSR does have junior suites, which might meet your requirements, if they're still open:

http://coronado_springs.tripod.com/content/suite.htm

[hillview]

Also an option for breakfast is to do a later seating for breakfast do EMH for that park, do breakfast sort of as brunch and then do nap.
/hillary