3 kids under age 5

[rebecca donohue]

1. Are we crazy to go to disney with a 4,3 and 1 year old?
2. I want to rent a villa because i think the kitchenette or full kitchen will help. Which vilas are closest to the lodges and transportation? We will bring a stroller for the baby but the 4 and 3 year old will have to walk from the room until we get to the parks and can get a stroller and back to the room. I am concerned that some of the villas are remote. Disney gave me estimates of up to a 10 minute walk.
3. Once i rent points from someone, what is the best way or time of year to get a close villa?
4. How do i find out about check in and out time.
5. How do i make sure i am not being scammed by people offering to rent me points.
6. Is the weather about the same from January until Mid Feb? Should we bother bringingswimsuits for that time of year
Thanks

 

[cmcvean]

Hi Rebecca,

You are definately NOT crazy! Last year my children were 5, 4, 2, and 1 when we went in January and we had a blast. We stayed at the Polynesian which was fantastic. The room was large, very convienant to the monorail which is only two stops from Magic Kingdom, which I'm assuming you will spend a lot of time in

I don't know anything about renting points, so I will leave that to someone else.

Have a great time

Christine

 

[TigerB]

1. I would say you are crazy except in Feb. we are going with a 4, 4, and 1 year old.

2. We are staying at the Old Key West resort and they seem to have a lot of busses for transportation on the resort property with numerous bus stops. Don't know if that helps. We are bringing umbrella strollers for the two 4 year olds. DH thought *his* son was too old/good for a stroller, but we went to a county fair this summer and BOY did DH change his mind in 15 mins when his son wanted to be carried all the way!

3. don't know #3 - we are using grandpa's timeshare

4. check in (I think for most places) is check in at 3 check out at 11. That's what it is for Key West anyway. But if you get there early, you can store your luggage with them and leave (till it's time to check in later). I bet if you go to allearsnet.com there's a section on ALL the hotels and that prob. includes check-in/out times.

5. not sure on #5

6. Yes, bring your swim suits: ALL the water parks and pools are heated at Disney properties for year-round swimming. In the winter though, only 1 water park will be open. I think it's going to be Typhoon Lagoon this Feb. It will be coold Jan/Feb - mid 60's I believe - so dress in layers. Also check out weather. com for weather trends/averages.

 

[Barb D]

I would SERIOUSLY reconsider the stroller issue. We stayed at POR last trip, and had a L-O-N-G walk to our room just about anywhere. And late at night after a full day at the parks 4yo DD fell asleep on whatever transportation we used. It got to the point one night that I just COULD NOT carry her any farther, and had to put her on her feet and sort of guide/move her along. I truly wished I'd had a stroller for her at the resorts instead of just renting at the parks.

I would suggest that you get at least one more stroller, so that your older kids could trade off (or they could each ride in a stroller while you carry the little one in a sling or something.) You can even get umbrella stroller connectors to attach two strollers together, so that one person could push them both at the same time.

 

[Buttercup26]

A stroller to/from the resort is a MUST. Have taken DD and various nieces at 2 - 4 y/o and they get tired! Especially as you leave the park, once there are no more rides, etc.. to entice them to keep moving they go comatose!!

 

[rebecca donohue]

My oldest will turn 5 in Feb and the next one will be 4 in april and they are both big for their age. I dont even think they will fit in an umbrella stroller-maybe ok for to and from the room but my plan was to rent the strollers in the park which i heard are quite big. So what do i do with my umbrellas at the park if i need the bigger park strollers? Are there lockers or do the park strollers have baskets that the umbrella strollers would fit in?

 

[lovesdumbo]

We leave next week with 5, 3, 1 year olds. Like Christine we also love the Poly! We stay concierge and find the convenience well worth the price. We are lucky that a friend has agreed to go with us so we'll have 3 kids/3 adults. We went in Jan and I took my double umbrella stroller and rented a larger single stroller for my then almost 1 year old from A Baby's Best Friend. That worked OK but I was hoping the older kids would be up for more walking and we wouldn't have to deal with 2 strollers in the room and the the double umbrella was a pain on the tram. Another problem is my 20 month old HATES umbrella strollers and hates the double even more-doesn't want to share her space with anyone! So I think I've found the perfect stroller for us-the Peg Perego Pliko P3. Baby can ride and a 2nd child can hop on the running board on the back. It is much more comforatable than the umbrella, baby can sit straight up and see all thats going on around her, has a snack tray, has a huge sun shade and stands when folded. It folds like an umbrella so even though it is a bit bulkier than our single umbrella it is much more managable than our double umbrella. I plan on renting a double stroller in the parks as needed(Epcot/AK/afternoons....) and if the kids get real tired after a long day I can have 1 older child in my Pliko the other older child on the running board and we can carry the baby. My 5 year old is 44"/42lbs and she fits in the Pliko fine.

Now for Jan-it was very cold when we were there 1/6 to 1/11/04. In the 30's one night but it was well below zero at home. Yet we still got in the pool one day and could have on another day as well. Some days were in the 50's but we had at least 1 in the 70's. I've been in Dec 3 times and once was cold and the other 2 were in the 80's/90's. The real problem with Jan is that you've got to pack for all kinds of possible weather. We were there during the marathon and I found the crowds on the Sat before the marathon at MK much bigger than expected.

 

[momof3greatboys]

You're not crazy!

In May of 2003 we went with a 5 year old, 2 year old, and 8 month old. With little ones ,staying onsite is the way to go. We stayed (and are staying again in Dec. 04) at the Wilderness Lodge Villas. Absolutely recommend it! Just a 1 bedroom is fine because the living room has a pullout bed and we kind of tucked the pack-n-play away in the closet (not as bad as it sounds) The best part is only 15 minutes from our room to being INSIDE the Magic Kingdom via boat. It was so easy to be there right at 9:00 for the opening and get a bunch of rides in while people staying offsite were still parking their cars, riding the trams, getting on the monorail. Plus, you get to take advantage of the Magic Hour if it fits your schedule. It was so easy to head back to the Villas for naptime and since there is a separate bedroom you can watch tv or snack and talk without interupting their sleep. Usually we would all go back and then one of us would take our oldest son back to the Magic Kingdom while the other 2 slept. They have nice big strollers there to rent (singles and doubles) and we did in the past when we went with just our oldest. But we felt we needed to bring our own stroller in the airport etc... with the younger kids. Getting them there also you have to wait in line and it's extra money ($15 a day I think) Even if your 3 year old doesn't usually ride in a stroller, it's a lot of walking and he/she may get tired. We didn't do rent points, we just booked it through 1-407-w-disney. I looked into the points and for staying over mostly a weekend, the money wasn't that much difference to take the chance of something going wrong. But you have to check it out for yourself. Good Luck, Have fun!

 

[swilphil]

I would rent points at Beach Club Villas or Boardwalk Villas. I think those are the best transportation options. You will have a very short walk to Epcot and a nice boatride to MGM. You will have to take the bus to MK and AK. At that time of the year renting points, especially Sun-Thurs, is pretty reasonable. The only problem you may have is availability, especially at Beach Club, if you are going in the next few months. Check the DVC board for more information about renting points.

 

[SnoWhiteRabbit]

Our last trip my oldest turned 4 during the trip, and my other 2 children were 2, and 10 months.

We brought our double stroller (Combi - folds up really small and is really light) for the younger two and rented a single for the 4 year old when she wanted a break, too. I thought this worked very well.

I would do it all over again, but it was definitely more work than the 2 trips before with only one and two young kids. We did not stay at a monorail hotel and we wished we had. It would have beenmuch better to just push the stroller on and off the monorail than folding it up for the bus (or car).

Good luck and enjoy!

 

[Laurabearz]

I would ask these questions over on the DVC board. But I will try and answer some...
1. We have traveled with our three kids a couple of times. Great times! They are 5, almost 4, and 18 months.
2. There are several DVC resorts to choose from, some with longer walks than others, but more in the 5 minute range. I agree with others... strollers help a lot. Less walking happier children and it isnt a vacation is the children are not happy! KWIM? Another option is renting a stroller from a place like www.abbf.com we have used them several times. The Sit and Stand worked nicely. Our 3 YO sits in the front and our 5 YO rides in the back.
3. DVC members can book their home resort 11 months out or another resort 7 months out. Booking early may or may not effect the room you get, we are forever debating it on the DVC board here... lol . The most spread out resort currently is Old key west (with Sarasota springs catching up fast) but the interal bus stations are a short walk from the villas, and you can take just about any bus to the main building/feature pool.
4. Check in is after 4, check out is at 11am. When staying on points, you DO NOT get housekeeping everyday... trips under a week only get a trash and towel day.....
5. Research.... ask a lot of questions, look up and read a bunch of posts from the person to see if you get a feel for them...

And I would like to add.... see about renting a one bedroom. There is nothing like putting the kids down for a nap and having somewhere to go and be alone.... LOL Trust me. You can watch TV after they go to bed.... or wink wink nudge nudge say no more.... HUGE tubs at OKW. HUGE. We take family baths where we are there!! And some nights, when it is too chilly to swim, the kids dont care because they can swim in the tub.

Oh and WELCOME TO THE DIS

 

[robinb]

First of all ....

Welcome to the DIS!!!

Originally posted by rebecca donohue
1. Are we crazy to go to disney with a 4,3 and 1 year old?

As the parent of only one child ... never mind .... I just won't go there . Disney will be different and more challenging than everyday life with 3 kids under 5, but I'm sure you have the major coping skills down. I think it'll be a great experience for your family.

2. I want to rent a villa because i think the kitchenette or full kitchen will help. Which vilas are closest to the lodges and transportation?


Do you really want to cook on vacation? Is that really important? We own at DVC and find that we very rarely use the kitchen. We'll do a quick breakfast before going to the parks and we also bring PB&J sandwiches into the parks. My DD is a picky eater. Both of those things can be done in a hotel room as easily as a villa.

We will bring a stroller for the baby but the 4 and 3 year old will have to walk from the room until we get to the parks and can get a stroller and back to the room.


I will also suggest that you bring strollers for everyone, or at least the 1 and 3 year old. My DD used the stroller until she was 4 1/2. Our last trip, her 5th birthday trip, was the first time we didn't use a stroller, but I'm thinking about bringing one with me anyway for my NYE trip.

3. Once i rent points from someone, what is the best way or time of year to get a close villa?

The DVC units are now assigned at check-in. Like any of the Disney resorts, you can make a request for a unit close to the bus stop or pool (like at Old Key West) or close to the elevator (like at Boardwalk Villas) along with your other requests. Requests are just that, and are not guaranteed. The person renting you the points will make any requests for you since you can't speak to DVC member services yourself. Think of that person as your travel agent.

4. How do i find out about check in and out time.

Check in at DVC resorts is 4:00 pm and check-out is 11:00 am. You can try to check in earlier, but since DVC villas require more cleaning than regular hotel rooms I've often had to wait until the late afternoon to get into my unit.

5. How do i make sure i am not being scammed by people offering to rent me points.

I would make sure that the person is not a new poster here, only using the site to rent their points. I would also ask for a reference. Make sure you know and understand the payment schedule (if any) and the cancellation policy. Have the DVC member send a confirmation to you in your name and set up a 3-way call to member services to verify the reservation. There is a lot of trust involved in renting DVC points. I have been on both sides of the rental transaction and never had a problem, but that doesn't mean there are some "bad eggs" out there.

6. Is the weather about the same from January until Mid Feb? Should we bother bringingswimsuits for that time of year


Yes! Bring your swimsuits!

If you have any other questions, the people here are always happy to help. If you have any more DVC questions, the DVC board is probably best .

 

[crisi]

If you are interested in renting points with kids that age - I'd look into Wilderness Lodge. A boat ride from the MK - and with little kids you'll probably spend more time there than anywhere else.

Almost all the Villas are a hike from their transportation - Disney resorts are large and with WL and BCV the DVC part of the resort is sort of "added on". As was said, you can make requests on where you want to be, but they are not guarenteed. Even things that should be basic - like non-smoking rooms - aren't guarenteed with DVC. List your requests in order of preference.

You could also looking into the cabins at Ft. Wilderness, if you want several rooms.

You might want to consider bringing another adult, if you can swing it. Our first trip our two kids were 2 and 3 - and with just two it was difficult to keep an eye on them. My parents joined us for a few days and that was great - more adults than kids! Even with strollers, there was still a lot of lifting and fussing around to do with two little ones - sharing the load was nice.

 

[Took]

Add me to the list of those who say rent at WLV--great for young kids. And, despite the extra cost, I'd rent the one BR villa, less for the kitchen than for the separate king bed and big tub! They're just heaven after a hard day, AND you'll have privacy.

Good luck and enjoy. They're only kids once.

TOok

PS Forfot to add, do read the DVC Rent/Trade Boards FAQ for info on how to successfully rent from a DVC member via these boards. Lots of good suggestions. And, yes, check out the renter's posts, etc. to get a feel for them, and, by all means, ask for a couple of references. We've rented three times, all with no problems; just do your homework.