An URGENT "travelling with babies" question

[2BoysMom]

Hi All
Mother of twin boys here!
Based on some great advice I got from many of you, I am taking my twin sons to Disney the first week in May to celebrate their First Birthday.

Big question is: do I pay the much higher expense for the Polynesian resort (no availability at CR) to have the monorail at my convenience with the double stroller OR pick a moderate resort and drive to the parks. I love the transportation option of the resorts, but the bus would be too difficult with twins and a folded double stroller (unless the stroller goes "under" the bus...does anyone know??).

I've never "driven and parked" at Disney, but the idea seems horrifying. Please advise here, too.

Needless to say, I need to book quickly so ANY and ALL advice about this would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

[cbrfan]

Spring for the Poly!! In addition to the ease and convenience of the monorail you have a wonderful resort!!

 

[manhattan]

Go for the Poly.....the convenience of being able to push the stroller on and off the monorail is so worth it after a long day at the parks. I did the double stroller on the bus with my kids and it was not easy, so if you can avoid doing that for a day or two, go for it.

 

[ArRzrbk]

Based on a very quick price check, looks like you are talking about a difference of over $240.00 per night. If you stay just four nights you will have spent almost $1000.00 extra. That's a very significant chunk of change

We stayed at a moderate resort when it was just DH and I, and driving wasn't that big a deal. We stayed at Port Orleans in a King Room. You are already used to driving places with the two children, so this might not be as bad as you think. And the buses might work out. I just can't speak to that - no experience yet. Someone else will let you know soon I bet.

With all that said, I know the Poly would be wonderful, and if money is truly not an issue for you, go for it. This is a very special trip with the children's first birthday's and all, and again, if money isn't a problem, that extra $1000.00 may just very well be worth it. To sum up and add a little more food for thought...

1.) Is money a big issue? Does it mean the difference between using credit cards for the trip or bills or being able to pay them outright.

2.) What else does the Poly give you besides another transportation option that would make the trip easier or more enjoyable? Is it the theming? More extensive room service? Restaurants? Beach?

3.) Remember that you are making memories for you, not the children. Unfortunately, they won't be able to remember their first birthdays. Do what works best for you all as a family - that could mean saving money, or it could mean splurging to help you relax more, etc.

Good luck with your decision. Regardless, you'll have a wonderful time.

 

[Mellie0119]

We purchased an inexpensive double umbrella stroller for our trip to WDW with two kids (3 and not quite 1). It's doable on the busses, we made sure that we had the stroller folded up and could get on the bus easily. We could manage the stroller with one hand and hold our little one with the other, we stuck the stroller under our feet on the bus (sitting facing the center of the bus) and held the kids on our laps. That said, if I had the extra money to spend, I'd be a monorail resort in a heartbeat!

 

[*Susan*]

If it won't break the bank, I'd spring for the Poly. You can't beat the convenience of being on the monorail.

Another thought: what about WL? It is sort of a "deluxe lite" hotel - costs less than the other deluxes but has more features than the mods. Plus you have the boat ride to the MK and from there you can get on the monorail & head to Epcot.

Another thought: a garden wing room at the Cont - less money than the Poly and still on the monorail w/a walking path to the MK.

 

[kasia]

Hi there,

I am going to Disney in the first week of May with my 2 year old & 1 year old & we're staying at Fort Wilderness, in one of the cabins.

I think we'll go to MK by the boat (which I believe I can roll my double stroller on), but will do the remaining parks by car.

Would have loved to have done the Poly as it seems to have much more space than all the other resort rooms & seems so convenient, but pricing up 2 weeks from the UK including all the incidentals came to more than £6500, & FW comes in a good bit cheaper, with a separate bedroom & we can make our own breakfast.

To answer your question though - the poly does seem far more child friendly

Good luck & have a great trip - we'll be the ones with the screaming kids in the yucky lime green double stroller!

 

[mary174]

I'd second the recommendation for Wilderness Lodge if Magic Kingdom is your major or only park. If you're planning to visit all the parks then a moderate + car would probably be better. Keep trying for the Contemporary. If your stroller is a side by side then it would only fit on the handicap accessible monorail cars and you might have to wait awhile during peak times. Wilderness Lodge is accessable by boat to MK and is a lot cheaper then the Poly, but you might have to fold the stroller still during peak times. Our finances allow Pop Century, so this time we're doing two cannopied, reclining umbrella strollers. We couldn't face the huge stroller on the bus again.

 

[long4disney]

We have always stayed at a monorail resort because of the location and the pure joy and ease of the monorail to Magic Kingdom and Epcot. When you are traveling with little ones in strollers it is the best way to go, especially when my dd needed to go back to the resort for a nap, I could easily do it myself, while my dh and ds stayed in the parks. It would be a lot harder to try and fold up a stroller with the baby in your arms and board a bus. With the monorail we would just zip right on, and off to our room. If you plan to spend most of your time at MK and Epcot than the Monorail is the best choice, if you can afford to stay at a monorail resort. Good Luck with your plans!!!

 

[Princess Mommy]

If you can swing it- go to the Poly.
We did OKW and HATED having to deal with a double stroller (girls were 4 months & 2 at the time) & the buses exclusively.
The following Jan we stayed at CR & then this past Oct we stayed in the Poly & I tell you the location makes SUCH a difference.

 

[rt2dz]

driving to the parks is NOT a big deal. If you already have the car, then I wouldn't even worry about that.

Are you going to other parks besides MK? Are you staying for the full week or just a partial week? Cost can add up if what you truly want to do is save money over a full week. If you're doing other parks, you'll have to drive anyhow.

You might want to consider splitting your stay. Disney will move your luggage for you. Spend the first part at the Poly and do the MK/Epcot thing, then spend the rest of the week at a moderate for AK and MGM. Save some money and splurge at the same time. Then if the driving is a nightmare for you, you won't be doing it all week.

 

[donnajon]

The monorail isn't going to help you with AK or MGM. I don't have twins but I used a double stroller on our last trip. When we went in Nov'03 (the kids were 1, 4 and 6) and we took the bus. It was a little pain but ok. When we went again last May we drove our car to the parks. We will never take the bus again! It was so nice not to have to load/unload everything and collapse the stroller. And, if you get there at park opening you park close to the front of the lot. Unless money isn't an object, I'd go with the moderate.

 

[cinderkay]

Hi All
Mother of twin boys here!
Based on some great advice I got from many of you, I am taking my twin sons to Disney the first week in May to celebrate their First Birthday.

Big question is: do I pay the much higher expense for the Polynesian resort (no availability at CR) to have the monorail at my convenience with the double stroller OR pick a moderate resort and drive to the parks. I love the transportation option of the resorts, but the bus would be too difficult with twins and a folded double stroller (unless the stroller goes "under" the bus...does anyone know??).

I've never "driven and parked" at Disney, but the idea seems horrifying. Please advise here, too.

Needless to say, I need to book quickly so ANY and ALL advice about this would be GREATLY appreciated.

We are also having the same discussion at our house right now we are taking our two yr twin DS and four yr, DD in Sept. for thier first trip. We are going back and forth between the poly and FW. We are using AAA for thier discounted prices and this is making the difference between the two resorts about a $500. I recognize the great advantage of the monorail but we will still have to do the bus or drive to MGM and AK. Is it worth the extra $$ for the monorail for just two or three days outof the week?
I was originally the one that wanted to save money because I thought we would have to take the bus anyway, but now I am really starting to worry about the bus with 3 kids and only two adults. It sounds as if driving would be better than the bus even. Does anyone know how crowded it is in late sept.?
I am starting to lean more towards the monrail now because it seems taking breaks and traveling other places/ resorts for fun will be easier as well. If we come back for a nap from a bus resort do we really want to take the bus again to go back out for the evening? It may be easier to get on the monrail and head to MK for a few hours and not feel the pressure! I think with three small kids we are not going to be staying at one place for long. I hate to say it but I think my DH may be right about the monorail being worth the $$. Especially when I tell him he has to assemble two cribs!

 

[ducklite]

Here's a few other reasons to stay at the Polynesian...

When you put the babies down for a nap or at night you and your DH can go out onto your balcony with a beverage of your choice and relax and chat without keeping them awake.

ZERO ENTRY POOL! Anything from just the tip of the water to a few inches.

Captain Cooks is open 24 hours--that's a huge plus when you're travelling with little ones.

Much larger room will easily accomodate two pack-n-plays, IMHO a standard moderate room with two PNP's would be very, very cramped. At the Polynesian you'll still have plenty of crawling around space.

Anne

 

[TJA]

I can answer your question from personal experience. We have twin baby girls, almost 2 yrs old now. We took them to WDW when they were 7 months old and stayed at AKL. While it is a beautiful resort, we had to fold our stroller up every time we wanted to go to a park, whether it was by bus or car. It is doable, but we personally didn't enjoy the hassles. It is time consuming to pack the stroller each morning before the parks, and quite a hassle to then unload all that, plus the babies, just to get on a bus or in a car.

Since that trip, we have taken our twins to WDW 2 times. Live and learn, you could say, because we stayed at CR when they were 1 year old and then at Poly when they were 18 months old. What a difference the monorail made! We personally could not go to WDW without our comfy double stroller from home, especially with young babies. By staying at a monorail resort, all we had to do was roll it right on the monorail. This also enabled us to stay out later at night and our girls would just fall asleep right in the stroller. We could then just roll the stroller right on the monorail and head back to our resort. It was so relaxing.

In conclusion, I highly recommend staying at a monorail resort with twins of that age. If your budget does not allow, then WL is a nice choice because you can boat over to MK (just roll your stroller right on the boat, no folding), and then you have the monorail at MK to hop over to Epcot. If you're really adventurous, when you are in the Epcot countries exploring, why not go through the International Gateway and take the boat over to MGM.

Have fun with those twins in WDW!

 

[2BoysMom]

Thank you, thank you, to everyone who responded to this e-mail. I just thought I would share with you our plans.

My travel agent (Melissa -Magical Journeys) was finally able to get me into the Contemporary with a water view, cheaper rate than at the Poly. So I'm booked there! Considering going to Disney with twin babies will be an adventure in itself, I just thought (based on the advice most of you gave me) that the little more money was worth the convenience of the monorail. And I intend to do most of this trip at MK, with little sidejourns to Epcot, so the monorail makes perfect sense.

Don't get me wrong I've stayed at a Moderate before (CS) and I was amazed at how great it was, but I think I will save the Moderates for when the boys are old enough to really enjoy the pools and bus transportations.

(Have to close with the banana. Maybe I should change my user name to "Dancing Banana.")

 

[TJA]

Thanks for the update! I just wanted to say that we also stayed in a bay view room in the north wing of CR when our twins were one year old! It was the best trip of our lives! Maybe you already know this, but there is a walkway between CR and MK which is awesome with the babies as it is a quiet, peaceful walk without the crowds. It is only about a 10-minute walk. Some nights we would just walk over and watch Wishes or get some baked goods from Main Street bakery. Also, we did not make any PS's at Chef Mickey's and still got to eat there 3 times. It was so easy and convenient to just walk over to Chef M's and the longest wait we had was 30 minutes.

We have so many great memories from staying at CR with our twins. Best of wishes to you and yours!

 

[MrsPete]

Big question is: do I pay the much higher expense for the Polynesian resort (no availability at CR) to have the monorail at my convenience with the double stroller OR pick a moderate resort and drive to the parks. I love the transportation option of the resorts, but the bus would be too difficult with twins and a folded double stroller (unless the stroller goes "under" the bus...does anyone know??).

If transportation is your ONLY concern, stick with the moderate and ride the bus. Walk to the bus stop with the stroller folded. The aisles are wide, and you'll have no trouble (I assume your husband will be there, and you can each carry one baby). The seats in the back of the bus are oriented with their backs to the windows, and there's tons of space between those seats. The only time you'll have any difficulty with the bus is if you leave the parks right after the fireworks in the evenings (and you probably won't be doing that with one-year olds.)

Driving your own car is much more trouble. We always get lost. Even if you're staying onsite, you'lll have to wait while the 20 cars ahead of you pay. When you go to the Magic Kingdom you'll have to ride the ferry or the monorail (whereas the bus will drop you off by the door). And you'll have to walk a mile to your car, then put two tired babies into a hot car when you leave the parks.

You'll probably use the transportation 3-4 times each day, and your problems -- if you have any at all -- will be getting on and off; once you're on, you'll have no trouble. Is that worth $200 more per day? And, just for the record, the monorail is seriously over-rated.

 

[2BoysMom]

MrsPete makes a good point. She's right about the only inconvenience is getting right on and off the bus, then the stroller is open for use any other time. I will definately consider it for future trips, but right now we are scheduled for CR for their 1st birthday. I hope it makes for some nice memories.