Advice for 2 young girls

[Bode316]

Hello,

I am planning a trip for May 2013 with my wife and 2 girls. They are 3 and 4.

We plan to stay a full week.

Can anyone recommend the best place to stay for them? I was thinking animal kingdom lodge? They love belle and Cinderella.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[WILDERNESS FAN 55]

Hello,

I am planning a trip for May 2013 with my wife and 2 girls. They are 3 and 4.

We plan to stay a full week.

Can anyone recommend the best place to stay for them? I was thinking animal kingdom lodge? They love belle and Cinderella.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I have 2 daughters as well and when they were that age we stayed either at the AllStar resorts (they loved the larger than life characters) Or the Cabins in Ft Wilderness. It was like a whole seperate vacation there beyond the parks. The Cabins did become our favorite with the golf cart rentals-quiet pools-horses-bike riding-canoe rental-Chip&Dale campfire and marshmallow roast......AHH I gotta stay there again soon !Did I mention while they napped DW and I sat out on the deck with adult beverage in hand!
Seriously at that age they'll probably love any hotel that fits your family and budget.
Careful mine are still Disneyaholics 20 years later

 

[Bode316]

Thank you so much for the reply.

What do you recommend as far as meals? Should we just buy a package? This stuff is a little confusing and overwhelming!

Any other advice?

 

[jcieutat]

I guess it really depends on how much money you are wanting to spend. We have two girls (9 & 4). We started taking my oldest when she was 2 and have gone each year since then. We like POFQ because it is a small resort. There is only one bus stop (we fly so no car). We will probably never go again without the dining plan. We like to eat and the character meals get very expensive. The only issue is getting dining reservations. You must book them asap and then you will have to visit the dining reservations page frequently because you will probably never get everything you want. Good luck and have a great trip.

 

[WILDERNESS FAN 55]

Thank you so much for the reply.

What do you recommend as far as meals? Should we just buy a package? This stuff is a little confusing and overwhelming!

Any other advice?

I would not get the dining plan. Never found it worth it for my kids but you know how you eat. Think you have to eat a lot to make it worth it. Especially if it's overwhelming currently the dining plan just will make it more confusing.Character meal resv should be made asap for prime times.However I think you still have plenty to choose from for May unless you're going Memorial wknd. Meals are another reason we loved the Cabins when my girls were young. Full kitchen for most breakfast's and some dinners.
My family also going in May It's gonna be great ! Have fun with the planning . Any more questions feel free to ask. Lots of help on here for ya!

 

[disprincess4ever]

You should try the new Art of Animation resort. Its brand new and is a value hotel. There is a little mermaid section which usually runs around or under $150 per night. There are larger than life figures from the little mermaid. The hotel also has nemo, lion king, and cars sections all with huge characters and pools! If I was still a little girl I would LOVE that hotel.
For the dining plan, it's only really worth it if you eat a lot or are planning a lot of sit down restaurants that require reservations. And when I say eat a lot I mean drink, entree, and desert twice a day plus a snack. But overall, you could Defidently do without it.

 

[Metro West]

Welcome!

 

[princessesintraining]

We went last February when my girls were 4 & 7 and stayed at the Wilderness Lodge. My girls loved it and it was only a boat ride away from the magic kingdom, which is where they wanted to spend most of there time. We had a great time at Whispering Canyon Cafe for dinner one night, which was perfect for my youngest who loves Jessie. Cinderella's Royal table was a nice way to finish our day after going to BBB. My youngest loved CRT, so much that the next night we went back to MK and ate at Peco Bill's and she threw a fit that she was a princess and she should be eating at the castle.

 

[StephMS]

I have 2 granddaughters (3 & 5). Last year they stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge and loved it! They are currently planning a trip for next year and the girls have chosen Caribbean Beach.

Previously we have stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and the Boardwalk and they enjoyed those as well.

As for the dining plan, we tend to use it when our entire family is traveling just to simplify things and with the girls we attend more character dinners. Our next trip is just me and hubby and we chose not to get the dining plan because we want to just enjoy our trip without being tied to reservations and having to be in a certain place at a certain time every day. With the kids, I'm a lot more concerned about eating decent meals on schedule.

 

[meredith1]

I have three kids. On our next trip they will be ages 5, 3 and 3). I prefer to stay close to Magic Kingdom only because that's where we spend the majority of our time with such young kids. There are three resorts on the monorail that service the Magic Kingdom and they are Contemporary, Grand Floridian and Polynesian with the Contemporary being within a ten minute walk to MK.

We like to stay at Contemporary or Bay Lake Tower, which is connected to the Contemporary, simply because if we need to get back to the room quickly with one of our kids-it's easy to do so staying there.

I've never stayed at Animal Kingdom just because it is so far away and isolated from the other parks-maybe when the kids get older, we'll take the plunge. It does look nice though.

 

[Bode316]

You should try the new Art of Animation resort. Its brand new and is a value hotel. There is a little mermaid section which usually runs around or under $150 per night. There are larger than life figures from the little mermaid. The hotel also has nemo, lion king, and cars sections all with huge characters and pools! If I was still a little girl I would LOVE that hotel.
For the dining plan, it's only really worth it if you eat a lot or are planning a lot of sit down restaurants that require reservations. And when I say eat a lot I mean drink, entree, and desert twice a day plus a snack. But overall, you could Defidently do without it.

I saw this! The little mermaid looks like a very great place to stay!

Any other help anyone would like to give me would be greatly appreciated. We are planning on going May 8th through the 14th.

We are going with another couple that has a 3 year old girl also.

 

[WILDERNESS FAN 55]

I saw this! The little mermaid looks like a very great place to stay!

Any other help anyone would like to give me would be greatly appreciated. We are planning on going May 8th through the 14th.

We are going with another couple that has a 3 year old girl also.

Don't know for sure what kind of money you want to spend but if you want to go in with the other couple and get a villa at one of Disney Vacation Clubs. You could easily share a 2 br at any of these resorts. Then , just like the Cabins at Ft Wilderness you could do some meals there.

 

[Bode316]

Well, I have come across DVC rentals. They look like you could save quite a bit of money. I am going to price them out. I am 4-5 months early, so I may be able to get lucky. Any advice would be great.

 

[WILDERNESS FAN 55]

Well, I have come across DVC rentals. They look like you could save quite a bit of money. I am going to price them out. I am 4-5 months early, so I may be able to get lucky. Any advice would be great.

Contact David's Vaction Club rentals I believe they are a sponsor here and have them give you a quote. I've never used them but see lots of good things about them on these boards.

 

[Bode316]

I just contacted david for a quote.

I am really leaning towards the little mermaid room or even the carribean beach resort. If anyone can give advice about either or another suggestion that would be great!

 

[WILDERNESS FAN 55]

I just contacted david for a quote.

I am really leaning towards the little mermaid room or even the carribean beach resort. If anyone can give advice about either or another suggestion that would be great!

Have stayed 3 times at CBR and it is a very good choice. Great food court-pools both quiet and main pool(recently refurbished) Some rooms you can see Illuminations fireworks from EPCOT at nite.

 

[sullins5]

I just contacted david for a quote.

I am really leaning towards the little mermaid room or even the carribean beach resort. If anyone can give advice about either or another suggestion that would be great!

to the boards!!!

As you can see, there are lots of favorites on the Dis!!!

Thought I'd chime in since you mentioned CBR and it's our favorite!! It was our first onsite property to stay at when our kids were 5 and 6. Check out the CBR thread and photos in the Resorts forum!

What we love about CBR? Everything! The minute you enter, you feel as if your on a tropical island. We always see birds, turtles, rabbits, and other animals as you're walking back and forth. There are bus stations relatively close to each village, individual pools as well as the Port Royale pool. We love the music, the food court, walking back and forth to the pool, watching movies outside on the patio. It's our favorite so much, that if I can't stay there, I don't feel like I'm at Disney!:

We just love it! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

 

[SA mom]

Port Orleans Riverside has Royal Rooms that look really neat. I think if our girls were really into princesses, we'd stay there.

We found the dining plan a good value when our kids were still kids. You could usually pay for the cost of the basic plan with one table service meal for kids. After our kids turned 10, they no longer qualified for the kids' plan so it was not a good value for us.

Our kids really enjoyed Coronado Springs at age 6. We've also stayed at French Quarter. Last time we stayed at the Swan and loved it.

The Swan and Dolphin are actually Starwood Hotels. Swan is a Westin, Dolphin is a Sheraton. You can earn points toward your stay by signing up for the Starwood American Express Card. The last time we were at WDW we stayed 5 nights on points. They are not Disney themed, but they are wonderful resorts.

 

[Bode316]

We are booked for the Art of Animation Little mermaid room for April for 7 nights. We cant wait!

 

[Ln42]

Congrats! You are going to have a great time. What other questions do you have?