1st timers- 2 adults w/ 20 month old -- where to stay? so confused!

[nbsmjs]

please help... i've been on every discussion board and read books and i still am torn about where to stay...

as awful as this sounds, i'm a self-admitted hotel snob -- hotels just skive me out, which makes it hard to travel.... so i need to pick a hotel that is in good condition and really clean...

And, we are taking our son, who will be 20 months old at the time we travel and therefore we want to factor that in... ie., is it really going to be much more convenient for us to stay on the monorail? if so, should we pick the Contemporary or the Grand Floridian (for some reason, my husband has eliminated the Poly... no idea why, but not worth arguing with him about it)... and should we request to stay in a particular area of the hotel?

I've also heard great things about the Beach Club... any thoughts about that versus the Contemporary or the Grand Floridian for us?

i'm thinking we will rent a car anyway... is it hard to get your car each day from certain resorts (i heard the valet is slow at the GF and the self-parking lot is far away -- not sure if that is true or if any other resorts are better)?

please help!!!

thanks!

 

[PrincessBear]

GF is great!

 

[TaraPA]

You'll get a lot of different responses here - but I would vote for any of the Epcot area hotels for one reason - LOCATION! It's so nice to be able to relax strolling around the Boardwalk in the evenings after a day at the parks. You can also walk to Epcot & MGM from any of these hotels (take the stroller!) which is a HUGE plus for us. There is boat transportation to Epcot & MGM as well from any of these resorts. Out of the Epcot hotels I've only stayed at The Swan & most recently The Dolphin - both of which had exceptional service, cleanliness, transportation, etc. There is also The Boardwalk Inn, Boardwalk Villas (might be nice with a 20-month old), Beach Club & Yacht Club. Have fun planning!

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

Welcome to the DIS! I'm sure you'll get many conflicting opinions on your question, not sure if this will help or make you more torn, lol. If you have a little one and will be spending a lot of time at the MK, then one of the MK resorts would be great. IMO, the monorail resorts are highly overrated. Even if you stay in one, you still have to transfer monorails to get to Epcot, which is a big hassle with a stroller and all the baby gear. There are a lot of people who find it easier to stay at a resort on the monorail line with little ones, but I can't really justify the price of the rooms just for that purpose since the monorail only goes to 2 parks, plus the transfer thing as well.
Our favorite resort is the Wilderness Lodge, which is also on Bay Lake (along with the Poly, and GF) and it is a fraction of the cost. There is a boat to the Magic Kingdom, and also one over to the Contemporary Resort as well (which makes dining there very easy). Let us know what you decide, and happy planning!

P.S. I have a dd who will be not quite 1 when we check into the WL in May, and have been taking my 8 yr. old since she was 1 as well. We stayed offisite in Oct. (the little one was 3 mos. old) and drove our car. NEVER AGAIN will I see a parking lot of a WDW park. (especially lugging the stroller, diaper bag, etc.) I hated the parking lot trams!

 

[abner1776]

The Epcot resorts are convenient to Epcot but not that much for MK or AK. I also think the monorail resorts are overrated and overpriced and the CR is simply too "Holiday Inn'ish" and lacks the WDW themeing, but that may not be a problem with the age of your child.

I would also vote for WL as it has the feeling and amenities of a deluxe resort without the price and it is very convenient to MK. Contrary to some comments, I have not found the bus trans from WL to be a problem but then again, I did not have a wee one with the stroller, etc.

I have found that choosing a resort for someone else is like trying to tell them what color car to buy.

Good luck

 

[CinderellyCinderelly]

I have been going to GF since I was 1 year old and my parents loved it, if that helps any!

 

[Kimberle]

Welcome to the Dis!

As the others have said, your resort choice is very personal. You should decide where you're going to be spending most of your time and look in that area.

With a young child, you may want to be close to MK. The MK resorts are WL, CR, Poly & GF. You've ruled out the Poly. I've stayed at WL & CR. I love both resorts. Is a pool important for your child? CR has a lovely Mickey Head pool, but no kiddie or zero entry. It's tough with a non-swimming child. WL has a kiddie pool. I believe GF has zero entry.

I've also recently stayed at AKL. It is amazing to wake up and see the animals right outside your room. It was a quiet resort (the construction didn't bother us at all) with a lovely zero entry pool. It's close to AK, but a bit of a bus ride everywhere else.

I haven't stayed at the Epcot resorts. If you or your spouse is a teacher, the Swan/Dolpin give special teachers rates. I believe they are also for military and gov't personal as well.

Then, you've got the Mods, Values, Home away from home (time share rental), plus Fort Wilderness (cabins). A fairly new room type is the family suites at the All Stars. 2 rooms, 2 bathrooms, and a sm kitchen area.

With a tot, do you need/want a full kitchen or part of a kitchen? The deluxe rooms have small fridges and coffee pots. The food courts have microwaves you can use to warm your tots food/beverages.

WDW can be overwhelming your first time. Think about what you want, and read, read, read!

good luck!!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

While I love the EPCOT resorts, I think with your ds being so little a monorail resort is the way to go! My personal preference would be GF over CR, but that's mainly for theming. GF also has a nice little kiddie pool at the courtyard pool, and the beach pool is zero entry. They have tables and chairs set up at Gasparilla's where you can sit with a drink or an ice cream and watch the fireworks at night. I don't think you can go wrong with the GF, plus it's almost done being refurbished so practically everything in the rooms are new.

 

[pwrflpills]

Based on your "skive" factor, I would think the Contemporary would be your best choice due to the recent refurbing of rooms and clean cut, modern style of the place. Then you're right there at MK and can take monorail to EPCOT.

I don't know how recently the Grand Floridian's rooms have been redone. As I'm sure you know, it's like the polar opposite of the CR in style, so if you love your grandmother's house this would be a good choice. I'm sure the rooms are kept nice since it's basically the flagship resort.

I've heard the rooms are a little "tired" at the Boardwalk, so you may want to avoid that. AKL has some miles on it now too, although its rooms are pretty nice, but I wouldn't want to deal with a little one at that resort. We stayed there last year and I don't plan on going back. I'll bet the Yacht Club and Beach Club have similar wear and tear as the BW.

Anyway, just wanted to suggest the Contemporary. Good luck!

 

[nklooz]

This is a tough one. Personally, if money wasn't being taken into consideration, and, I was going w/a child that age, I would be at a MK resort, for sure.

IMO, MK is by far where little kids will want to spend the most of their time and where a 20 month old will see the most "magic" that they know how to respond to.

When it comes to which one, I would pick WL for my family. Not Contemporary, as we don't care for the decor, or no kiddie pool. GF is too formal and not worth shelling out the cash, for us. WL has a great theme and is so much more affordable!

Another good consideration, is AKL, I would think they would love seeing the animals, and, while it is not super close to any park but the AK, it does have dedicated bus service, which most of the other deluxes do not.

All of this said, if you cannot or do not want to spend the money on a deluxe, I believe that the moderates can be very nice places. I was very nervous about staying at a moderate, we did POR, and, ended up loving it. I would say, if you do go moderate, with your child, go w/POFQ, as it is very compact and easiest to get around.

HTH.

 

[Phedre]

i'm thinking we will rent a car anyway... is it hard to get your car each day from certain resorts (i heard the valet is slow at the GF and the self-parking lot is far away -- not sure if that is true or if any other resorts are better)?

I think that if you are using valet parking, you shouldn't really have any problems. If you are worried, just call from your room to have them bring the car up before you leave your hotel room.

We used the valet several times at GF, Beach Club and AKV on our trip in November and found it wonderful each time, except one really, really slow experience at Beach Club but I'm sure it can happen anywhere, and we should have called from the room first but didn't.

 

[nbsmjs]

is there a charge for valet parking at the GF?

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Based on your "skive" factor, I would think the Contemporary would be your best choice due to the recent refurbing of rooms and clean cut, modern style of the place. Then you're right there at MK and can take monorail to EPCOT.

I don't know how recently the Grand Floridian's rooms have been redone. As I'm sure you know, it's like the polar opposite of the CR in style, so if you love your grandmother's house this would be a good choice. I'm sure the rooms are kept nice since it's basically the flagship resort.

I've heard the rooms are a little "tired" at the Boardwalk, so you may want to avoid that. AKL has some miles on it now too, although its rooms are pretty nice, but I wouldn't want to deal with a little one at that resort. We stayed there last year and I don't plan on going back. I'll bet the Yacht Club and Beach Club have similar wear and tear as the BW.

Anyway, just wanted to suggest the Contemporary. Good luck!

Actually GF is just finishing their refurbishment. Brand spanking new!