WDW in early February? Which resort?

[123LuckyMom]

This will be our second Disney trip with the kids. This time, they'll be 7 and almost 4. Last time they were 4.5 and 11 months, so it was massive double stroller time, and we chose to stay in the Poly for ease of transportation. This time, we're thinking of going from Jan. 30-Feb 6. It looks like Splash Mountain might open by the end (it's supposed to be closed only through Jan 30), and Little Mermaid won't close until Feb 2nd, so we're good, right? We don't mind missing Kali River Rapids. Is there any reason not to go at that time?

We're trying to decide on the resort. We have a nice budget, so price is not our top priority, though it's always wonderful to save money! I've only ever stayed at the Poly, Contemporary, Grand Floridian, the Swan, and the Dolphin. I know nothing about the other resorts! Our first impulse was to stay at the Contemporary for transportation access. The Poly was PERFECT for transportation, but we stayed there last time and are tempted to try something new. DH and I are both attracted to the Wilderness Lodge but are worried about transportation times. We figured that if we're going to have to take buses, why not stay at a moderate (probably POFQ) or value (no clue!) and save a lot of money. Then we thought we might rent a car, and that might change things drastically, but I don't know. Is driving faster than the buses, or will we end up sitting in traffic and taking trams from miles away?

If cost were not the biggest issue, you didn't care about having a suite or kitchen or whatnot (and so wanting a DVC option) or care a whit about the pool or restaurants (we do counter service, mostly), where would you stay? Last trip we did come back to the hotel in the afternoons for "naps". I'm not sure we'll do that this time, though I definitely enjoyed having that rest. We do love good theming, so that's a top priority (and a strike against the Contemporary), but speed and ease when getting to and from the parks are paramount. We really did hate the buses last time with our huge BOB, but we'll just be bringing umbrella stroller(s) this time. We'll be visiting MK and EPCOT two days each, DHS and AK one day each, and we'll be back again to WDW in another three years at the outside, so it's not a one-and-only trip. Should we venture outside the monorail loop, or will we regret it? If we do stay elsewhere, where should we stay and why? Should we rent a car or just use Disney transportation?

[SummerBaby]

We have stayed in a one bedroom at the Boardwalk twice and we love it. It's not big on theme, but I love the decor (the DVC side was very recently renovated- not sure about the inn). The kids love the pool and the Boardwalk- there are magicians/entertainers at night and my girls like to watch. You also can't beat the location. You can walk to Epcot in less than 10 minutes, and you can also walk to HS in about 15-20 minutes. You can also take a boat to Epcot and HS. We were there a couple weeks ago and IIRC they let people roll strollers right on. Anyway, you would only need a bus to MK and AK. I would really like to try the Beach Club too.

You could also try AKL. We also stayed there for two nights our last trip. It's beautiful, but isolated and we liked being closer to the parks at night time. We loved the restaurants there but if you are only doing quick service it may not be worth it.

[SummerBaby]

Also, we rent a car only because I have points and it only ends up costing me the tax. We barely use it except to go to MK and it is a bit of a pain taking the tram and then monorail. We haven't had problems with traffic at all. I dislike being able to come and go when I want but I think I might suck it up and take buses next time.

[acmom]

We have been several times in Feb and really like going that time of year. Swimming is iffy, some years it has been plenty warm to swim, some years not, but we have had low crowds and no crazy heat or waiting. We have always just used Disney transportation.

We have stayed at WL, Poly, Riverside and most recently Beach Club. Honestly, we have enjoyed them all for different reasons! But I think our favorite might have been Beach Club - we loved being able to walk to Epcot for dinner, fireworks etc at night even when we had hit a different park during the day. We did several days where we did a park in the morning/early afternoon, spent rest of afternoon relaxing at the pool and then headed to Epcot for the evening. We walked to HS too from Beach Club too. Loved the resort and pool area there as well and had a fun character meal there at Cape May. I think it is best to get the park hopper though to really take advantage of being so close to Epcot - not sure if you were planning on that or not.

WL was great too - if you are going to spend the bulk of your time at MK, we found the boat ride to MK quick and easy and we really liked the feel of that resort - beautiful lodge feel. Took buses to the rest of the parks.

And we gave Riverside a try bc we got a great deal - we were a little worried we would be disappointed after the deluxes we had stayed at, but really liked that one as well - great food court area there with tons of good options (by far the best counter service at a resort we have stayed at!). Liked the boat to Downtown Disney from Riverside too. We did a preferred room there on the Alligator Bayou side so we had the extra murphy bed which was nice and we were close to buses, pool, and food court. I know people that haven't done the preferred room there have complained that the resort is too big and it took too long to walk to those places, but we avoided that issue with the preferred location.

Its a hard choice...but the good news is that there are lots of great options!

[123LuckyMom]

It really is a hard choice! My experience is really limited when it comes to the hotels! I also hadn't considered staying near EPCOT. We are getting hoppers, but we LOVE the electrical parade and fireworks at MK, so we tend to gravitate back there at night. Any other opinions?

[egoldber]

Epcot and DHS are our fav parks. We own DVC at Boardwalk, so we stay there almost every time we go. I love the Boardwalk area. There is boat transportation to the two parks, but it is easier (IMO) to just walk. Epcot is 10 minutes and DHS is about 15-20. The boat almost always takes longer.

My kids love both Illuminations and Fantasmic. There are also tons of restaurants in that area. We love walking around the World Showcase and exploring all the countries.

[rkold]

We own at VGF and have stayed at: VGF, GF, BLT, Beach, Yacht, Poly, Caribbean, Coronado, and Jambo and Kidani. Next trip we're staying at Poly DVC and Kidani again.

All the resorts have pluses and minuses, I think a lot depends on which park you think you're going to be spending the most time visiting. We tend to spend a lot of time at MK so I like staying near it. My DD is almost 5 but short and can't make the 40 inch height lines so the Studios is only so interesting. We usually only spend 1/2 a day there and just to meet characters and do the sing along. I am hoping she will be over 40 inches so we can try more rides in Oct. I like the Studios but definitely think it is a park better suited for older/bigger kids since most of the rides have that 40 inch height line.

Both DD and I like Epcot. Though I am sad that the half of Innoventions we liked just closed since we wanted to do the piggy bank game again.

We also both like AK. Kali is fun, but it's not like Splash Mountain and you will get completely soaked on it. I've been in late Jan/early Feb when the weather was warm and sunny and other times when it has been super chilly. Heck, when we were there in mid to late Feb, one day it was 32 in the am on the Friday of the 5k and it was 75 the Sunday am of the 1/2.

If I knew for sure I was spending a lot of time at the pool, I would pick the Beach or Yacht. The Beach has more kids but they share pool facilities with the Yacht. The plus of the Yacht is they get on the bus first for MK, so there is always room vs. the Beach where sometimes you have to wait. I think the QS at the Beach+Yacht and Boardwalk is pretty horrible. I thought the Contemporary's was much better and seemed a little fresher. I also think there are slightly more restaurants options around the monorail vs. the Epcot resorts unless you have park tickets and can eat in Epcot. (We always travel with my non park visiting mother so don't do dinners in the park.) If everyone has park passes it is a non issue. I do like being able to walk to Epcot and the Studios.

I have started renting a car every trip. We had a bad experience with the ME and I like to pick up snacky foods at Target on the way to the hotel. The trip via car to nearly every park is consistently quicker than the bus. The only park where that comes into question is MK. I can get from the GF to the Studios including parking my car and walking to the front gate in 10 minutes. If I got lucky and caught a bus immediately, I might be able to get to the Studios in 10 minutes, but coming back even if you hit it ideally, you still have to wait for the bus to go to another hotel first. The only time the bus maybe would have been faster was when I couldn't find my rental car in the parking lot in AK. >>; With MK, it's not clear if the car will be faster since you need to take something from the TTC. If you rent a car, the Wilderness Lodge is nowhere near as far to things. I've never stayed there but we used their child care facilities and discovered it was not as far as I thought.

AKL is far from things other than AK Park but the theme, activities, and services are superb. I think they have the best free children's activities.

My mom hated Caribbean. It was huge and she had a hard time walking to all the services.

[Indianamom2]

We are staying at the Poly in November. You can't beat it for convenience and ability to watch fireworks from the beach.

That being said, we stayed at AK (Jambo House) a couple of years ago and while the hotel is nice, we decided that it is too far from everything to be convenient for us.

Pre-kids, we stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and liked it, but there was a lot of walking involved to get to the bus stops and in the off-season, the buses were SLOW. However, that's been 11+ years ago, so it may be better now.

I think if you like theming and want to be close to the MK and want to try something different then the Wilderness Lodge would be a good alternative. Dh and I looked into staying there this time, but there wasn't any availability when we wanted to go. We did stay there overnight once when we had to fill in one night and would do it again. It's really relaxing and taking the boat to the MK is easy.

I think the Epcot resorts look nice too, but no experience there (yet!). They do seem to be less themed in-room, but they look lovely and convenient.

[kristenk]

If you're interested in checking out WL, this might be a good trip to do it. The pool area is nice, but not as extensive as others, so going at a non-optimal-swim time might make this a good selection. (We just stayed at Beach Club and might not be able to stay anywhere else now that DD compares all other pools to that one!) The price is pretty good, too! We've stayed at WL in late Jan/early Feb twice. I love the theming there. You can take a boat to MK and to Fort Wilderness.

I think the Poly is the best for transportation, hands down. Just being close to the TTC makes it easy to get anywhere. You're going to lose that if you stay anywhere else. If you are planning to make lots of trips to and from parks each day, staying at the Poly might be best.

[DualvansMommy]

Tough choice we stayed at BC last year when our boys were almost 3 years old and 4 months old. The boys loved the pool at the resort but I hated the fact MK is only accessible from BC by bus. It wouldn't bother me if the boys were much older.

I would say poly based on its nearness to MK, the cool theming and decent dining choices. But since you had stayed there before, perhaps BC is good resort to try out. I know your kids would love the pool, as they're at a good age to enjoy it.


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