Best Hotel for Toddlers

[CdnKayDee]

Hi all.

I am still trying to plan our Disney convention trip. We have a little boy who will be almost 2 on the trip. A lot of the reviews for the rooms always say you don't go to Disney Land to spend time in the room. These scare me a little because I think we will be spending more time in our room. What hotels do you recommend and why?

Thanks!

 

[Mom2Joce]

After many trips with 2 toddlers (first my daughter and now my son) these are my top picks and my experiences:

1. Grand Californian ~ So convenient to the parks without a TON of walking, kid friendly hotel with LOTS to see, space to walk around (ok run), a toddler pool, convenient White Water Snack with cereals, milk, juice, etc. A full resturant that is kid friendly as they have the characters there for them in the morning with dancing, singing...seriously you leave the park BUT don't even feel like it...FULL Disney experience. Short walk to Downtown Disney where there is lots to see and do, Build A Bear, Jamba Juice, Music playing, stores to walk through and more! Also, (and most hotels do) I had groceries delivered there. I only packed a few diapers and wipes and had the rest delivered when we got there so I didn't have to pack so much. Same with snacks I know they like. Extra milk and juice and some fruit. HUGE help! OH, and they have a coin laundry facility on site Each room has a portacrib IN the closet.

2) Best Western Park Place Inn & Mini Suites ~ (some will disagree with me on this one and might say Disneyland Hotel). I have not stayed at that hotel (oddly enough) but I do know it too is very kid friendly...I'm just not sure about the amenities.
BWPPI is equal distance to the parks (ok probably a bit closer) than Disneyland Hotel and has always been great for us. It's a motel but the space in the rooms are wonderful. They have a pool, free breakfast and a resturant right next door...just a hop, skip and a jump next to that is Denny's. They too also have a coin laundry and when I'm traveling with the little ones I do laundry or need to wash SOMETHING at some point in time. And they have cribs you can use.
Next door on the other side is the Tropicana Motel and they have a little market with milk, juice, and anything else you might need at the last minute or have forgotten.

Those are my top picks and places I've stayed with toddlers MANY TIMES. I know that others will post their experiences and top picks so you'll have lots of information. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have

 

[heatherleigh]

Definitely stay on-site at any of the three DL resorts. We always do it because we have four kids under the age of 8. It's convenient when you have small kids, especially when you plan on spending time in the hotel (they're all Disney-themed.) You can have souvenirs you purchase in the park sent back to your rm at no additional charge, you get magic morning access, and you can't beat the location. The DLH has laundry facilities on-site which is very nice when you have kids.

 

[PrincessMira]

Add votes for GCH or DLH.

We got caught one night with a sleepy 4 yr old and had to carry him back to the hotel. Every step we took, we were thankful we were close at the DLH.

 

[HeatherAnn23]

Another vote for GCH! I initially talked my dh into it when our youngest was 1 for the convenience of the location. In addition to all of the things mentioned above it was so nice and quiet for mid-day naps! Easy to split up our party when the little one was over stimulated, the others could just pop downstairs to CA. Generally on our last day of vacation I beg my dh for just one more night and we end up across the street (we've done HoJo, BWPPI and Tropicana) and the daytime noise and standard of clean just was a world apart. When you have a crawling child, finding underwear under a chair is BEYOND gross! Go GCH!!

 

[kirstie101]

I'll vote for Best Western Park Place Inn as well. We stayed there last year with a 21 month old and the location was wonderful!!! The short walk saved us when DD got sick in the park. And after her quick recovery in the room it was a piece of cake walk back to the park for fireworks and shopping. Free breakfast, pool, awesome location, clean rooms....perfect IMO for our toddler. This year we would be staying there again but they are too expensive on our dates so it looks like we'll be trying its close neighbor, Park Vue Inn. I hope our experience here is as good as our experience at BWPPI. I should also add that our friends with a daughter the same age stayed at the BWPPI last year and also thought it was wonderful and are returning this year.

 

[01spirit750]

What you want is convience and close proximity. I do agree that you are not going to Disneyland for the room, but with a 2 year old you will be in the room more then most.

You do not want to have to wait for 20-40 minutes for a Anaheim Resort Transit bus to arrive. Then have to ride 20 minutes to get to your hotel.

Dealing with a stroller, backpack, 2 yearold and ART tickets can be a bit much.

We have done 6 trips since my daughter was 18 months, she is 4 now.

1. Grand Californian. A 5 minute walk from any part of the parks. Hard to beat when you have a toddler who needs some nap time. << We stay here, as long as I can get a decent price.

2. Disneyland hotel?? Long lines for the monorail in the morning and at night. If the monorail is not running, you have a really LONG walk.

3. Hotels across the street. We have stayed at the Camelot Hotel in the late 1990's and it was close and reasonably priced. Haven't been there lately so I cannot comment on the current value.

4. Hotels down the street. We just got back from a stay at the double tree. Excellent hotel, good value, great staff. It was just too far from the park and using the Anaheim Resort Transit can be an issue.

 

[thmar]

Grand Californian or Disneyland Hotel!! For us we always opt to stay on-site!!

We just got back from a trip with our 3 year old grandson and 1 year old granddaughter. We stayed at DLH and loved it. We've also stayed at GCH and love that too!! DLH is further than GCH, but for us on this trip it was no big deal. We had a double kolocraft wrangle jeep stroller. We usually just walked to the parks because it was faster than riding the monorail. Of course, we love to walk anyway. The kids loved the Neverland Pool and Goofy's Kitchen at DLH, but the rooms are definately more dated than GCH. The Grand California is great also, and is the closest to the both parks...it even has it's own entrance to DCA. We love the pool area, White Water Snacks, and Storyteller's Cafe (animal characters) at GCH. It is so nice to just walk through Downtown Disney to go the the hotel for an afternoon break (swim/nap), then head back to DL or DCA when everyone is rested and refreshed. I highly recommend the breaks especially when traveling with little ones!