What do you all think? DH and I have stayed at All Star Sports, POR, and POFQ. We prefer POR of those, but are considering even going deluxe if we can get a good discount. We're planning on going next August and will probably have a car and enough space to bring whatever we want. Though we've never used a car and have always relied on disney transportation. I think a monorail resort would be nice, but I've found the monorail can sometimes be more of a crowded PITA than the buses. Do you still get free parking at the parks if you stay at a WDW resort? Thanks!!
We stayed at POR when our oldest was 1. I really like the resort, but the size of the resort with a one year old was a little too much. Walks to the food court or pool could take a very long time. POFQ may be better, since it's more compact, it's just not a favorite of ours. You may also consider the CBR, where you can pay for a preferred location. The new pool looks good for little ones, and if you're in a building adjacent to Port Royale, the walk is not as much of an issue. We switched to Deluxes when our kids were very young. Our family favorite is the AKL. We've been going there since my youngest was 11 months. My kids loved the animals, and the pool is good for young kids (it is zero entry). The location is way out there, but it has dedicated bus service (and if you have a car, it's often easier to drive). We have also been lucky to be close to the lobby area on all 3 of our trips, so it's quick to get to the food, the pool and the bus stops. We like the Wilderness Lodge because it is close to the MK, and the boat ride to the MK is very nice (we drove to other parks), but it doesn't have a zero entry pool. The Poly is great for transportation options (strollers don't need to be folded on the monorail), has a zero entry pool, but no playground. It can also be cost prohibitive. GF has the same advantages/disadvantages of the Poly. The Contemporary can be more affordable, but the pool is not zero entry. The location is great though... you can even walk to the MK. And yes, parking is free at the parks for Disney resort guests. And congratulations on your new addition
The real plus with the monorail is that you can leave your child in the stroller. I would much rather be on a crowded monorail than a crowded bus. Somehow it is always relaxing and almost a "ride" in itself. I agree that AKL is a wonderful place to stay and is my favorite even though we take the buses to all the parks. We have stayed at different resorts with grandchildren at different ages, and it seems no matter where we stayed we didn't have any problems.
I've spoiled my daughter -- she's not yet 4 and she's been to WDW 5 times. We've stayed at a number of resorts, but the ones she's loved most were Pop Century -- she loves the giant Mickey phone -- and AKL, where she can see the animals.
Thanks everyone!! Karen your advice is so helpful!! We obviously have plenty of time to pick a resort, but it sounds like we can be happy anywhere, espcially with a car...we just have such a fear of NOT using Disney transportation! lol I think DH would be fine with lugging the stroller on the buses, but if we can swing it financially, I'd love to at least try AKL or WL. I'll be back once I have to really make a decision! lol
Buses compared to monorail??? Oh, monorail wins, hands down! We stayed at Poly JUST because of the monorail, so when it was naptime on MK day, then we just popped over to the room on the monorail. Monorail, no need to UNLOAD your stroller, of your child or your belongings jammed into the stroller. We will NEVER ride the buses again... we will drive before getting on the bus with a stroller.
I love the Wilderness Lodge, and on some of the boats to the MK, you don't have to fold a stroller either. Beautiful hotel!!!
If money is not an issue, I'd stay at a resort on the monorail. We stayed at the poly when our kids were 4 and 2 1/2, and they loved the monorail. We mostly went to MK and Epcot, so it was fine. Yours will be younger, but not having to fold or unfold a stroller is very, very nice. We stayed at WL the last time with the girls and our son, who was 1. There are two different boats that go to the MK - one is larger and does not require that you fold up the stroller, but the other one does. You really never knew which you were getting and having to wait for another one was a pain, so we'd go with whatever showed up.
If your able to stay at a Deluxe Resort with a 1 year old I would highly recommend the Contemporary, because they are the closest resort to the Magic Kingdom and I would think you would be spending a lot of time there. They are also the only location which has a walkway to and from the Magic Kingdom, you also have the Resort Monorail and their standard rooms are among the largest of the Deluxe Resorts.
If there is a discount available, I would recommend Poly or Wilderness Lodge. WL is easy to get around and you can get a good room rate there if you can catch a woods view or standard view discounted. Obviously the Polynesian is wonderful, but a bit more expensive. We will be there next Saturday My DM is taking us. If we were on our own without my DM's help with the cost, we would be going to the WL or AKL.(with a discount) I love several Disney resorts equally so it can be hard for me to make a decision. My youngest DS is 3 and I am bringing an umbrella stroller for him. Half the fun is planning
GF is a beautiful resort. Staying on a monorail resort is wonderful if you have a young child...being able to go back to the resorts for naps and then back to MK is amazing. GF is 5 mins away from MK and one stop boat ride back to GF. We used to stay at Mods but after we had my son we stay at deluxe for the convience.
I would also say stay at a monorail resort. We stayed at Poly when DS was 19 mos old & it was nice to not have to fold up stroller, hold diaper bag, shopping bags while getting on/off buses. It was nice to ride monorail & ferry most of the week. We only had to deal w/a few buses. Our 2nd DS will be 1 yr for our next trip & we are staying at CR this time. We are willing to pay more for convenience.
I'm going to put a spin in things and say to look at the Epcot resorts, especially Beach Club. When our twins were age 1, we found that they were happy at any park that we were at. So we spent a LOT of time in Epcot and HS and by staying at BC we could easily walk back and forth to those 2 parks. I think it's fantastic when you have a young child and stroller to not have to unload and fold it for a bus or car. And we could also enjoy the boardwalk each night as the babies slept in the stroller. Having said that, I also do like the monorail resorts -- you really can't beat staying at a resort where you don't have to unload and fold the stroller.
We're staying at the BWV in January with my nephew who'll be about 18 months. We booked the trip before we planned on bringing him, but now i'm gald we chose to stay there. You don't have to fold the stroller on the boats, and we can easily walk to HS and Epcot. Since we have park hoppers we'll probably start at Epcot then head to MK on the monorail in the afternoons. I agree with the PP, at that age, they don't really care what park you are in, and Epcot does have lots that a one yo could do. If you want an MK resort, there were some really great deals for mid august this year at WL. I think about $140 a night for standard view. It's something to keep in mind...
We've taken our daughter at different stages. Our last trip was her second birthday and we stayed at the Polynesian. I'm just not a big fan of the "convenience" of the monorail. At park closing time, it was insane. We had to wait much longer than the express loop. And my daughter is NOT the kind of kid who will fall asleep in a stroller. Instead she'll climb in, out and around it, smack herself, scream at the top of her lungs - whatever she has to do to make sure she doesn't fall asleep. NOT fun in a throng of people!!!!!! But knowing what I know now, I think I definitely would choose the Animal Kingdom Lodge or the Wilderness Lodge - especially if you have your own car. I like that everything is in one building. Those afternoon showers were a PITA at the Polynesian if you wanted to get lunch, a snack - or basically anything else from the main building. It's easy enough to just fold down the stroller and hop in the car to any one of the parks. If your budget won't allow a deluxe, I would pick Port Orleans French Quarter. The compact size makes it much easier to navigate with a wee one in tow. As far as a value - my personal pick would Pop Century. Good luck with your decision! Have a fantastic trip!
We have been taking our DD(almost 5) since she was 7 months old and have stayed at all 3 resort levels and did not have any issues with any of them. We found out that our DD had no problem sleeping in the stroller so we did not have to go back to the resorts. We thought the monorail was neat but with only one child not that big of a convenience and for us we cannot justify the cost. We never had issues with strollers on buses, we bought a couple of Disney convas bags that we keep our park stuff in (snacks, clothes...) and when it's time to fold the stroller up I just grab the 2 bags out of the basket and fold the stroller, 30 seconds tops. I just ask other stroller parents to be considerate, don't wait until your at the buses door to fold your stroller The bottom line is pick the resort you want and go and just enjoy your baby and WDW
