Favorite resort on site for family with toddlers

[fedoragirl]

I have read so many blogs about this that my head is hurting. I am SO overwhelmed. I thought I'd start planning by looking at the resorts and after several past threads on BBB about POR FQ, I thought I'd go with that. But now, a lot of blogs are suggesting Polynesian or Art of Animation for families with toddlers and double strollers. We'll have a 5 yr. old and a 3 yr. old.
Where do I begin? I feel like chucking all the planning and just going . I love planning trips and do all the holiday planning in the family but WDW will probably drive me crazy.

[TwinFoxes]

Well, I think the main draw of PORFQ over the Poly would be price. It's a moderate, and Poly is Deluxe, and even for a Deluxe it's expensive because of it's great location. I don't know much about Art of Animation, it's a value resort, and it's new. They do have family suites which would be a plus.

We stayed at Boardwalk Villas. We loved it. It's a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) property. It is stroller distance to both Epcot and DHS. We really loved having a kitchen where the girls could eat breakfast in the morning, and the washing machine was great too. And separate sleeping area for the kids is a must for us, they go to bed super early. Of course it was there they figured out they could climb out of the pack and play...but they were 28 months, we had a good run. :)

You might also consider The Contemporary, although the theming isn't everyone's cup of tea (it's not very Disney), also Bay Lake Tower. They both have great location, the monorail goes right through The Contemporary, and BLT is the DVC property attached to the Contemporary.

Hope this helps!

[fedoragirl]

Yes, that helps a lot.
This blog here http://yourfirstvisit.net/planning-your-first-family-trip/where-to-stay/next-best-resort-choices/ is advising against staying in a DVC property for first-time visitors. I still don't get why as I was just browsing but I'll read more extensively here. the Boardwalk sounds lovely because of the suites. We are not thrilled about going to bed at the same time as the kids. Also, we won't be able to watch TV or talk after the kids go to bed.

[TwinFoxes]

Yes, that helps a lot.
This blog here http://yourfirstvisit.net/planning-your-first-family-trip/where-to-stay/next-best-resort-choices/ is advising against staying in a DVC property for first-time visitors. I still don't get why as I was just browsing but I'll read more extensively here. the Boardwalk sounds lovely because of the suites. We are not thrilled about going to bed at the same time as the kids. Also, we won't be able to watch TV or talk after the kids go to bed.

I just read that link, and I think it's pretty inane. Boardwalk Villas is walkable to TWO resorts, how is that not convenient? Honestly, I think they don't have toddlers. just being able to make them frozen waffles, or oatmeal, in the morning was awesome. Poly is nice, but the rooms are smallish. Also, they overlook the fact that you can buy points from DVC owners, or through a service. Check disboards for recommended owners/services. I'll be interested to see other BBBers opinions on that advice.

[123LuckyMom]

I just don't think there's any way to beat a room in the Tahiti longhouse of the Poly if you're rocking a big double stroller! You are literally steps away from the transportation and ticketing center. You can get the monorail to Epcot or MK, the ferry to MK, and any bus to anywhere. you can see the lagoon electrical floats and the fireworks at MK from the beach (or your room). It's a SUPER easy place to stay! It's also SUPER expensive! We stayed there on our first Disney trip as parents. We had budget help from my mom, and she and my sister came on the trip with us. No matter where you stay, you'll have to fold that stroller on the busses, so AK and DHS days will involve some maneuvering. You need to decide whether it's worth paying all that extra money to have the convenience of rolling onto the ferry or monorail all those other days. for us, it was, because we took a break in the middle of our MK and EPCOT days, so there was a fair bit of travel. I think on subsequent trips it may not be worth it to us.

[TwinFoxes]

BTW, we always had our car, so we didn't take the buses. Poly is definitely the most convenient resort if you're going to be at MK a lot.

Don't stress too much. :)

[lovemydeals]

We just stayed a week at port orleans french quarter and we had a great time. It was 4 of us, including our 2 and 5 year old. What's nice is that it is a small resort and everything is nearby. The kids loved the pool. We enjoyed taking the boat to downtown disney. We never had a long wait to catch the bus to the parks. The nice thing is that there is only one stop, so once you are on you are on your way to the park. Some of the other resorts have mutiple stops before they leave.

The only downside and its not really a downside is the food court. Not a huge selection, but decent. The beignets are yummy. Its a short walk to port orleans riverside or boat ride to DTD, so you have other options if you do not have a car.

[WatchingThemGrow]

I think POR gets more attn is because it is the only cheaper place to stay with a family of 5. There are so many more options for a family of 4. Double stroller worked out great for us at the Poly, so so at WL (had to fold it for some of the boats), and pitb for POR, and Pop Century b/c of the buses. For example, the last time we looked at rooms (July) it was $880 for a room at Poly, $550 at Art of Animation and (no lie) $220ish for POR. There's no question when it's like that. We can fold the stroller pretty quickly for $300.

[fedoragirl]

We can fold the stroller pretty quickly for $300.

LOL. Thanks for the feedback everyone. I am still getting a feel of which park would suit us best. I guess MK, Epcot, etc. are high on the list. I looked at Jan. 2014 prices (We'll be going Jan. 2015) and the Poly was $450 a night while Art of Animation was about $120 although a family suite there was about $300. I hate hate the décor of Art of A but for that price, I'll suck it up.
I've emailed a travel agent to get a handle on all things Disney.

[brittone2]

I looked at AoA as I liked the idea of a suite, but the theme and decor are a little much for me. We opted for POR as WTG said basically because the price was right for a family of 5. We considered the Contemporary or Poly, but I am not sure it is worth the price difference to us. This is our first family trip, so I may have a different POV afterward. If we were a family of 4, we probably would not stay at POR, as there are soooo many more. Poly is under construction right now and I suspect will be for a while as they are building a new DVC tower. So just read up on that before you decide. I wasn't sure how I would feel about that, having never been. There are also reports right now that they have been shutting down the monorail from 11-6 daily...I imagine that won't last for all that long, but I would have been ticked to pay for the access to a monorail resort and not have the monorail as an option to head back for rest time in the afternoon.

I am personally leaning toward renting a car as the bus service at POR seems to be hit or miss.

If we were not a family of 5, I'd probably look at the resorts walkable to Epcot. The prices seemed decent to me and I think that would be convenient.

For us, POR is averaging out to almost exactly 200 a night. I have no idea if we'll go back to Disney anytime soon, as we've never been. Perhaps we'll decide to do a deluxe or something in the future, but right now I'd rather save that $$ until I'm sure we really would benefit that much by paying for that large price jump. We also looked at staying off site, and may do that if we return in the future. It does seem like WBC, etc. have seen pretty good price hikes. When we were pricing those options out, we weren't saving as much as I thought by staying off site. Condos at WBC seem to have taken a decent price hike. I think we were getting quotes more like 1000+ for the week vs. 650-680 I've seen in the past. But I haven't looked into it that extensively past or present, so I may be wrong.

My other thought is once we go 1x, maybe if we go back we'd be satisfied with a shorter trip (having already seen the parks at least once) and might upgrade to a deluxe or monorail at that point. I didn't want to have to shorten our stay this time just to afford a deluxe. In the future, maybe we'd be open to that.

[hellokitty]

When are you going? Poly is under construction right now, but if this is farther in the future, poly would be ok. POFQ is a GREAT resort for those with young kids. It is quaint and has a small footprint, which means no more than a 5 min walk to anything, even from the farthest building. We were in building 4 at POFQ, it was the one next to the main building, next to the bus stop (did not hear any noise), very short walk to the lawn movie and the pool/laundry area too. We loved it, and if we were still a family of 4 we would stay there. If you can afford to stay at a monorail resort, then maybe you should look at the contemporary. Young kids typically like MK the best, so the walkability to MK, plus having access to the monorail if needed would be nice. We also tried POR last yr and unfortunately got stuck out in basically the most remote location in the AB section (family of 5). The resort is beautiful, but it is vast and there are 4 bus stops. If you stay at POR, I highly recommend you shell out the $ for a preferred room location, if we stay there again, I will pay for a preferred building, which is just ove the bridge to the main building and close to the main pool. Last time, we did not even get to use the main pool since it was so far away from the room, my kids would have turned into blue popsicles during the 10+ min walk back to our room. BTW, there is plenty of room at both POFQ and POR for a double stroller, so I'm not quite sure why you are worried about it, unless you are bringing some bohemouth, like a graco monster double or a jogging stroller (would not recommend, getting on and off a bus with a jogging stroller is not fun, saw many families who made the poor decision to do this struggle, along with those with graco beast doubles), you can even leave your double open in the room.

[westwoodmom04]

BTW, we always had our car, so we didn't take the buses. Poly is definitely the most convenient resort if you're going to be at MK a lot.

Don't stress too much. :)

I think Contemporary or Bay Lake Towers are equally if not more convenient for MK since you can walk (less than 10 minutes) or take the monorail. But I agree that Poly is the most convenient of that group for Epcot since you don't need to switch monorails. Not sure that Epcot would be of much interest to a 3 and 5 year old though.

Not sure why anyone would say that DVC not good for first time visitors. Other than Key West, they are all adjacent to regular resorts so easy access to restaurants, transportations, etc. . And you get the benefit of more living space, in room laundry, and kitchen (and with the larger units, an extra bathroom).

[Indianamom2]

Poly or Contemporary are the easiest as far as transportation, hands down. They are uber-expensive for a reason!! :)

We stayed (without kids) at PO-Riverside. It was nice, but the busses were SLOW and we walked a ton. I would definitely chose the French Quarter next time.

We just got back from AK lodge in a DVC room that we purchased from family members. The room was great and I have absolutely no idea why purchasing the points for a DVC room would not be recommended. I will say, however, that we won't be staying at AK again only because it is so far away from EVERYTHING except the AK.

Ideally, we'd choose the Poly, but realistically, will probably do the Wilderness Lodge or an Epcot resort next time.

[fedoragirl]

Ok, so I am going to look into renting DVC points (had no clue about them till I read some past threads) and see what we get. The Poly is way out of our budget. And DH says that he'd prefer renting a car as he's not a happy commuter on public transportation. He hates it and he's European. LOL
So, we may rent a car after all. I guess I'll be folding that stroller regardless. We are also looking into staying off site which seems like 1/3 the price of Disney resorts. I also like how many off site standard rooms are suites. Mousesavers highly recommends Caribe Royale so I'll look into that as well.
I thought I had narrowed down our choices but it seems like I am back to square one. Thankfully, I have a lot of time to plan.

[KrisM]

I'm not sure I should be answering since I've not been there, but...



Not sure why anyone would say that DVC not good for first time visitors. Other than Key West, they are all adjacent to regular resorts so easy access to restaurants, transportations, etc. . And you get the benefit of more living space, in room laundry, and kitchen (and with the larger units, an extra bathroom).

For us, it was so much more expensive to rent points for 5 of us, than stay at POR. I couldn't make the extra space or kitchen worth $1800 for 8 nights, when I expect we'll be at the parks the vast majority of the time. I don't see us spending a lot of time in the resort, since it's our first visit. So, sure there are bonus items, but we wouldn't get enough use out of them. The same went for the cabins, which I think look great, but were $1700 more for the week.


Ok, so I am going to look into renting DVC points (had no clue about them till I read some past threads) and see what we get. The Poly is way out of our budget. And DH says that he'd prefer renting a car as he's not a happy commuter on public transportation. He hates it and he's European. LOL
So, we may rent a car after all. I guess I'll be folding that stroller regardless. We are also looking into staying off site which seems like 1/3 the price of Disney resorts. I also like how many off site standard rooms are suites. Mousesavers highly recommends Caribe Royale so I'll look into that as well.
I thought I had narrowed down our choices but it seems like I am back to square one. Thankfully, I have a lot of time to plan.

An added bonus of a rental car is keeping the stroller in the trunk giving you more room space inside.

[TwinFoxes]

I'm not sure I should be answering since I've not been there, but...



For us, it was so much more expensive to rent points for 5 of us, than stay at POR. I couldn't make the extra space or kitchen worth $1800 for 8 nights, when I expect we'll be at the parks the vast majority of the time. I don't see us spending a lot of time in the resort, since it's our first visit. So, sure there are bonus items, but we wouldn't get enough use out of them. The same went for the cabins, which I think look great, but were $1700 more for the week.


Yes, but if price isn't an issue, I don't think they're any worse for first time visitors, vs other resorts.




An added bonus of a rental car is keeping the stroller in the trunk giving you more room space inside.

This is true, but honestly, the girls were so tired that we'd wheel them to the room. There's no way they'd walk, and we wouldn't want to carry them.

[acmom]

We've stated at wilderness lodge, poly and POR- all with 2 kids under 5. I totally understand your difficulty choosing (I hemmed and hawed over the choice every time!), but the good news is I'm sure you will have a great time no matter what you pick! We really loved all 3 trips and enjoyed all 3 resorts for different reasons.

Wilderness - beautiful grounds - loved theming, boat to MK was fast and easy, DH and I loved having a balcony to have a glass of wine after kids went to bed

Poly- kids loved the beach/pool, monorail access was great, could get anywhere easily by walking to transportation center, loved watching fireworks on the beach, balcony as well

POR- price was great, food court was by far best one we've been too, enjoyed boat to DTD, really liked theming, nice to have additional bed (one kid used Murphy bed, one used queen, DH and I used other), buses were very doable the week we went

I think you just have to weigh what's most important to you for your trip...budget, ease of transportation, etc., but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend any resort we stayed at. All are doable with little ones and a double stroller IMO. I can honestly say we enjoyed them all, as did the kids!

[egoldber]

We have stayed at a lot of resorts from Values to Deluxes. All of them have their pluses and minuses.

Our personal favs for when money is no object :) are the Epcot area resorts (Boardwalk, Beach Club, Yacht Club). We prefer to be walking distance to Epcot and DHS. We also like the restaurants and "night life" on the Boardwalk.

Our kids, however, really don't care. We've stayed at Pop Century several times and the kids LOVE it there. The food court there is HUGE and fantastic. The Values have the best food courts and on-site stores. As a general rule, the more full service restaurants a resort has, the worse the food court options and on-site stores tend to be.
Their bus service is also usually much better than bus service at Deluxes. Most values and moderates have dedicated bus service, and deluxes share bus service with several resorts.

My personal fav moderate is POFQ. Small footprint, pretty grounds (not as pretty as POR though), and a really good food court.

Yes, it is not as convenient to have to fold strollers to get on and off buses vs. a monorail or walking. But I will fold my stroller a LOT vs. paying top $$$ for a MK area deluxe. YMMV. :)

[fedoragirl]

Thank you for chiming in with some more thoughts. I've been spending my time reading all the discussions on the various Disney forums about off site vs on site accommodations.
I went to Disney with DH when we got engaged. We mostly went to Epcot so this is sort of a first visit for us. And we are flying into FL which is going to be $$$ especially since we are not going to be near family (and the sole reason I come back home with the kids). So, this Disney trip might be one of those "once in a 10 years" or something like that. I just want it to be special and feel that a resort on site will ensure that "magical feeling" everyone on the forums seems to be talking about. But we could really be off site and spread out a bit more and still come ahead.
So, it's very difficult to imagine. Out of all the resorts that I've looked into we'd really fit in best with AK or WL but we can't afford those at all unless they become heavily discounted.
I've been looking at DVC points and they are still double of what we'd pay off site. I wouldn't mind a 10-20% increase but paying double is hard to stomach.
I was hoping that a monorail would help with transportation of not having to fold the strollers but as Beth and another PP said, I'd fold that stroller everywhere if it saved me tons of money.

[lovemydeals]

Thank you for chiming in with some more thoughts. I've been spending my time reading all the discussions on the various Disney forums about off site vs on site accommodations.
I went to Disney with DH when we got engaged. We mostly went to Epcot so this is sort of a first visit for us. And we are flying into FL which is going to be $$$ especially since we are not going to be near family (and the sole reason I come back home with the kids). So, this Disney trip might be one of those "once in a 10 years" or something like that. I just want it to be special and feel that a resort on site will ensure that "magical feeling" everyone on the forums seems to be talking about. But we could really be off site and spread out a bit more and still come ahead.
So, it's very difficult to imagine. Out of all the resorts that I've looked into we'd really fit in best with AK or WL but we can't afford those at all unless they become heavily discounted.
I've been looking at DVC points and they are still double of what we'd pay off site. I wouldn't mind a 10-20% increase but paying double is hard to stomach.
I was hoping that a monorail would help with transportation of not having to fold the strollers but as Beth and another PP said, I'd fold that stroller everywhere if it saved me tons of money.

This was also for us a once every 10 year type of trip. My husband and I personally did not feel the trip was more magical staying on site. The kids might think differently. Its not like they had characters at the resort or really a lot of disney type theming, at least at the resort we were at (POFQ). I will say it was definitely more convenient and less stressful.

[mariza]

I have yet to find an offsite hotel that saves me double what a Disney hotel is. SIL offered us a FREE condo at WBC but we turned it down. After I factored in the cost of renting a car, paying for gas, parking the car at the parks daily, the $12 per day resort fee and paying for tickets it was about a $300 difference. We did get lucky and get free dining so that weighed heavily on our decision, but we gladly paid $300 more to have the transportation and food included. It's just more convenient.
FWIW, we stayed at POFQ this past trip and POP 2 years ago. The kids found POFQ to be "boring" (despite the water slide at the pool) and and asked to go back to Pop for the next trip. I wanted FQ for the bigger beds and bigger room but I would honestly skip those things next time as they weren't noticeably bigger to me. I do want to try WL next though, but for the money and enjoyment of the kids I think the values are awesome! We considered AoA this trip but they were not honoring free dining there and it was actually less money to stay at FQ than Pop due to the free dining. (Values only get free QS plans and to upgrade the dining pushed the cost up)


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[123LuckyMom]

I really would stay on site. I've only stayed off site once, and it was a REALLY long time ago when I was in high school. The hotel had a shuttle, so it was pretty convenient, but it just wasn't the same! I know lots of families stay very happily off site, but for me, the themed Disney hotels are an important part of the experience. We even make sure we save time on our trips (usually on travel days) to go visit other resorts and explore the theming.

I've only taken one trip so far as a parent, but I went every 3-4 years growing up. We only ever stayed at the monorail resorts or the swan/dolphin (one trip). In those days ;) there were no moderates or values. I don't think there were DVCs either. As DH and I save towards our Disney trips (we hope to go every 3-4 years as well), we are taking the increased cost of staying in a monorail hotel into account. On the next trip we'll still have a stroller, and to us, that means staying at the Poly or Contemporary. After that, we'll be stroller free (or down to a single umbrella), and we can save a bit more by staying in other levels of Disney resort or deluxes that are a bit more distant. I'd love to stay in the AK lodge! That hotel has the most extraordinary theming!!!

Whatever you choose, Disney is completely magical! I just feel like going on and off site doesn't let you stay immersed in the magic quite as beautifully.

[megs4413]

to me this all comes down to your personal needs/wants and budget.

personally, i *need* a queen size bed if I have to share with someone. I cannot tolerate sharing a full or double. Right there, I'm already limited to offsite or deluxe (with the exception of a couple mods.) If you do not *need* a bigger mattress, you have more options. I also want something that is themed and feels exclusively Disney. I want to feel immersed in the magic when I'm there. Other people don't care much about the theming.

So, at the end of the day, figure out what you want/need from a resort and go from there.

For us, we will probably always stay at a deluxe. AKL is my top choice because of DS' latex allergy (no balloons allowed to be brought through the resort...you can bring them in the door, but they have to stay at bell services.) My concern there now is that I will be traveling as a party of 5 from now on, so we may have to stay DVC.

[barkley1]

Fedoragirl, did you ever decide where to stay? I think we have kids the same age (mine will be 3 and 5 when we go in October). I am having the hardest time! It seems like WL and AoA are highly recommended. WL might not be in our budget, need to check. Any thoughts? Thx!

ETA: Anybody know where Fedoragirl is? I was going to pm her (wouldn't let me) and saw her last activity was 2 weeks ago...

[SnuggleBuggles]

Fedoragirl, did you ever decide where to stay? I think we have kids the same age (mine will be 3 and 5 when we go in October). I am having the hardest time! It seems like WL and AoA are highly recommended. WL might not be in our budget, need to check. Any thoughts? Thx!

ETA: Anybody know where Fedoragirl is? I was going to pm her (wouldn't let me) and saw her last activity was 2 weeks ago...

I think she's temporarily suspended.

[barkley1]

I think she's temporarily suspended.


Oh...somehow, despite the fact that I spend a ridiculous amount of time on here, I'm always out of the loop on these things! Thanks.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Oh...somehow, despite the fact that I spend a ridiculous amount of time on here, I'm always out of the loop on these things! Thanks.

I only know bc it came up under her name on an older thread I was reading.