Best Resort for Family with 3 Very Young Children

[jasonumcp]

We are in the process of planning a 10 night family trip. We will be traveling with our three very young children: the twins will be 2 years 4 months, and our third will be 11 months. My question is what is the best resort / room type to stay in?

I have read a number of posts, and the consensus seems to be staying at either the Contemporary or Polynesian (because of the monorail). However, considering we are going for 10 nights I don't know if I want to spend that much extra money. We really had planned on trying to stay in either a value or moderate. We will be traveling in the December time frame and probably spend time hopping to see the decorations at all the resorts.

Based on that, I am also trying to figure out what type of room(s) to reserve. While we have a number of other family members going, I think we want our own room (as opposed to a suite or villa) to have some time away from the other family members. In addition, I am not sure whether the twins can share one of the beds (with bed rails of course), or whether I need to try and fit 3 cribs in the room.

The options I see (in rough order of expense) are a single value room, a single moderate room, the family suite at ASM, or two adjoining value rooms. A single value seems to small for all of us, although the theme at the values is probably most appropriate for small kids. I'm not wild about staying at ASM - we had a less than great experience with the All Stars and the bus system (the buses kept filling up and short circuiting our resort). As a result, we prefer to stay at POP if we stay at a value. So if we decide to do adjoining rooms we would probably try POP. As of late I prefer staying at a moderate, but do not want to spring for adjoining there and I am not sure if 1 moderate is big enough for the 5 of us and all the strollers and other stuff.

So the long and short of it is any advice for us? We have been to Disney a number of times, but never with kids and especially not this young. And advice would be appreciated.

 

[davids68girl]

The first time I went with my family it was with four children under 12-the youngest was 18 months. My parents came along and we had ajoining rooms at AS Sports. We had a great time. I don't think we would have enjoyed it in one Value room though, I agree that might be a bit small. I like your idea of 2 Pop rooms. I love Pop and the themeing there is great for kids-as is the water play area.

 

[Adistar]

You could do one room at POR, it sleeps 5. In the alligator bayou area there are two double beds and a pull out trundle bed which one of the twins could sleep on. Prices there in dec are very reasonable

 

[SusieBea]

Have you considered renting points from a DVC member? If you got a 1 bdrom villa, particularly at OKW, you'd have a lot of room, plus a full kitchen and full size washer and dryer - that's especially helpful with little guys.

 

[chrisw127]

Try the cabins at Ft. Wilderness. You'll get a bedroom that will easily fit a pack and play and a murphy bed out in the living area, plus there's a full kitchen. I have twins as well and we had 2 pack and plays in the bedroom. My older son slept in there as well. We were very comfortable. I actually need to add a night to my AKL reservation in December so I just checked on Ft. Wilderness cabins and they're going for around $300 a night, but you can likely find a discount (don't pay full-price unless you absolutely have to, there's lots of info on this board about discounts if you haven't seen it already).

The thing I really liked about the cabins is that the kids could be as loud as they wanted to be which, as you probably know with three little ones, is a big issue in a hotel room. It's probably the most peaceful resort and at Christmas, people decorate their cabins and campers. You'll love it. It's a great place for making memories of your first trip.

Good luck.

 

[msjprincess]

With kids that age I think POFQ would be a good choice. It's nice and compact so not a lot of walking.

 

[michael's mom]

I think any mod with bed rails would be fine for your lil' ones. You could have the twins sleep in the bed with a bed rail and then have the baby in the pack and play that they give you. You can store the strollers a little better because they do have more room. I'm a big CBR fan and those mod rooms I believe are bigger than the other mod rooms. Plus, the new pool area there has a great kiddie section. DS loved playing in it because it was just his size And, CBR has it's own bus line so you wouldn't have the problem of being short circuited. I know that POR and POFQ share a bus line. I'm not sure if Pop shares or not as I've never stayed there and we usually have a rental car anyway.

Good luck! It should be magical

 

[KellyNY]

I would vote for 2 rooms at POP. You have strollers and small but 3 kids. Bus system is also the best in POP out of all value and moderates, only 1 stop. I think you may feel crowded in 1 room even in moderares(the biggest rooms are at CBR). Also consider renting DVC points or staying off site in 1 bdr condo/ villa with kitchen, you may find it useful with little kids.

 

[mombg20062009]

I just got back from POP. We were planning on staying at WL, but then our plans changed and our nephews came with us. We decided to have 2 connecting rooms at POP. It was so nice to put the little kids to bed and then have the other room to wind down and play games with the older kids. My 4 year old loved the pools at POP and since everything is so close to each other- we were able to visit all three. We stayed in the 70s section and on the way to the food court, there are little water jets themed with goofy (I forget the name). My 15 month old LOVED that. She would have been there the whole time if she had her way. I don't regret going to POP to have the extra room and convenience of having everything close together. I would just suggest trying not to get a room facing a courtyard/pool. We had a lot of music noise in the afternoon while taking a nap and a lot of people noise at night when going to sleep. We were on the ground floor, so maybe a higher level would have worked better, but not having to put the strollers in the elevator all the time was nice.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I would say it's the Contemporary because they are the closest resort to the Magic Kingdom, the only one with a walkway that goes there, Resort Monorail access, their standard rooms are among the biggest of the Deluxe Resorts and if cost is a consideration their Garden Wing rooms has the least expensive rate among the Monorail Resorts.

 

[raven69david]

Because the kids are so young, I would definetly save your money and do any of the Values. There are lots of characters for them to see around the resort and that will keep them entertained for sure. The mods and deluxes are nice, but the only one that I think they'd like is AKL as they can see the animals around the resort. All the other hotels are awesome - for older kids and adults. For young children like yours, I'd give them visual pleasure by staying at a Value, specifically Pop or All-Star Movies although any will do. You may also want to consider the Family Suite at ASMu.

If you go Moderate, I would consider either CSR for the larger-sized queen beds or CBR if you need a slightly bigger room. Here is a ROOM SIZE chart for most Disney resorts, excluding the newer DVC resorts.

 

[Missytara]

You could do one room at POR, it sleeps 5. In the alligator bayou area there are two double beds and a pull out trundle bed which one of the twins could sleep on. Prices there in dec are very reasonable

It is my understanding that POR is booked the week after Thanksgiving, which is my week, already due to the free dining and the monster pin code.

It is also most likely that POR is also booked (or blocked out) for the following week as well, since it has infamously been the moderate for the Pop Warner kids. I would definately NOT suggest a family with three young children end up at a resort where it is going to be overrun by teenagers.

 

[ckent]

I'd vote for the 2 single rooms at a Value. Kids love the theming and the food courts are perfect for kids. Bus service is also excellent.

 

[ckent]

I would say it's the Contemporary because they are the closest resort to the Magic Kingdom, the only one with a walkway that goes there, Resort Monorail access, their standard rooms are among the biggest of the Deluxe Resorts and if cost is a consideration their Garden Wing rooms has the least expensive rate among the Monorail Resorts.

From original post doesn't sound like Contemporary is an option:

"However, considering we are going for 10 nights I don't know if I want to spend that much extra money. We really had planned on trying to stay in either a value or moderate."

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Have you thought about WL? Bigger rooms and you have the boat that takes you right to MK. Also the standard wing rooms are less expensive than most deluxes and the rooms are huge. You can also walk to MK or take the monorail to both MK and the TTC to catch the EPCOT monorail.

We always stayed at a monorail resort when the kids were still in strollers and believe me it can make your life so much easier!

 

[Coconuts]

I'd pick connecting rooms at Pop.

 

[jasonumcp]

Thanks for all the excellent responses and ideas. Looking at all of them, it seems like two adjoining rooms at POP might work the best for us. I understand all the reasons to stay at a Monorail resort or one of the other nearby Deluxes, I am just not sure I want to pay that big a difference over the course of 10 nights. There are also going to be a number of other family and friends tagging along (maybe another 15 or so people) so staying in a Value may be the nicer thing for their pockets if they want to be in the same resort as us. Also, as noted, the over-the-top larger-than-life theming may appeal more to kids this young.

I welcome more opinions / inputs / experiences that anyone wishes to share.

 

[Kelly in NY]

my suggestion was going to be POFQ. it has more space than one room at pop, but i see from your last post that you are considering adjoining rooms at pop which would definately be more space than one room at POFQ, but also more $$. the thing I like about POFQ is the small size of the resort and the mods all come with a refrigerator in the room. you need to pay to have one in the values (adds to the cost). with the young kids you will probably want one, I know we did when my twins were 3 and my youngest was 11 mos. (that's when we stayed at POFQ). We had plenty of room for the double stroller and single stroller folded up in the room (sometimes even had the single open for the baby to sit in) and the pack and play. What we did for sleeping arrangements was the baby was in the pack and play and DH and I split up and each slept with one of the twins. you could do that and only put the bed rail on the side of the bed where the child is. You'll be able to have more of a feeling when one of them is getting up or out of bed and may give more peace of mind if each of you sleep with one of the twins. Just a thought. Either way, you'll have lots of help and a great time whether you choose pop or a moderate!(I would really suggest remembering the fridge at the pop though!)

 

[Big Daddy Incredible]

We stayed at AKL during our first trip to WDW. Like you, our first trip was at the beginning of December and our kids were very young at that time - 4, 3 and 1. You will be able to keep your family of 5 in a room meant for 4 due to your youngest being under the age of 2 or 3.

When we went at that time, AKL was pretty bare. It just seemed like there was never a lot of people there during our 9 night stay. We had booked a savannah room and they upgraded us to deluxe savannah room when we checked in.

I don't know if they will have the 40% discount at that time, but if they do, you should be able to get a room at an affordable rate. And you just may be able to work yourself an upgrade at that time.

By the way, our kids loved being in a room with the animals outside. Also, AKL looks fantastic at Christmas time.

 

[Taja]

Thanks for all the excellent responses and ideas. Looking at all of them, it seems like two adjoining rooms at POP might work the best for us. I understand all the reasons to stay at a Monorail resort or one of the other nearby Deluxes, I am just not sure I want to pay that big a difference over the course of 10 nights. There are also going to be a number of other family and friends tagging along (maybe another 15 or so people) so staying in a Value may be the nicer thing for their pockets if they want to be in the same resort as us. Also, as noted, the over-the-top larger-than-life theming may appeal more to kids this young.

I welcome more opinions / inputs / experiences that anyone wishes to share.

You will have two reservations requesting *connecting* rooms at Pop Century. Be sure to ask them to link the two reservations--it makes it easier when the rooms are assigned.

Although you don't love the All Star Resorts, a Family Suite at ASMu definitely would suit your needs just a little better, since it has a small kitchenette. That would be so convneient with three little ones!

Pop Century is an awesome resort! We've stayed there four times--it's becoming out home-away-from-home! We just don't use the amenities at the moderate or deluxe resorts on most of our WDW visits!

Where ever you stay, you're going to have a magical holiday!