Best Monorail resort for a Toddler

[TonyLovesDis]

Taking my my son in January and first trip as DVC members. We'll be spending the last couple days at AK(Home resort). But first we'll be picking a Monorail resort to stay at for a few days. Which Resort is the best for the easiest less stressful way to MK and Epcot?

 

[cellomom]

BLT- it is a short walk to MK, the bus stop and parking lot. Elevators are near by even if your room is at the end of the hallway! Short walk across bridge for shopping and restaurants. Community room with activities and games. If you’re at MK, easy to take a midday break and return to room. easy to use the monorail to visit Epcot or other MK resorts on monorail Loop.

 

[CarolynFH]

I’d say Poly - from the DVC longhouses it’s just a short walk to the TTC, where you can catch the monorail to MK or to Epcot. You also have the options of taking the walkway past GF to MK or riding the launch from the Poly to MK.

BLT is a short walk directly to MK, but to get to Epcot requires catching the monorail and transferring at the TTC.

VGF you can walk, take the monorail or ride the launch to MK (launch goes to Poly before MK). For Epcot you’d monorail to TTC and transfer to the Epcot monorail.

 

[Her Dotness]

That's actually tougher to answer than I thought it would be.

Some depends on whether you want a studio or 1br.

Presuming you have enough points for either, I'd say a 1br at VGF:
--the largest villas of the 3
--closest to MK by monorail and boat, not as close by walkway as BLT and not as easy access to Epcot monorail as Poly. The new GF-MK walkway is much more pleasant than BLT-MK one which is a sidewalk with traffic crossings and can feel hectic.
--More restaurants but some quite pricey
--More shops
--less busy than the other two with option for resort studio or original studio if a 1br doesn't suit (although booking either studio may be a challenge, depending on when in January)

Yes, I'm biased. We own at VGF and love it.

Admittedly, either BLT or Poly is more popular with families with young kids, I think. Fewer points needed.

 

[Jgc014]

I don’t really think there is a “best” Monorail resort for toddlers. They all work well, so personally, I would just pick out what you like the most - theming, location, points, etc.

However if it were me, with a studio I would do Poly. Largest studio and easiest Monorail to Epcot using the TTC right there. I think the BLT studio is fairly small, so I would pass on that.

If a one bedroom, I would probably do BLT. Lower point chart, short and easy walk to MK, Chef Mickeys really close, which was a big hit for my toddlers. I also personally like the 2nd bathroom in their one bedrooms, but if you are just 3 with a toddler (especially if not potty trained), probably not overly necessary, but still doesn’t hurt.

 

[pianomanzano]

BLT > Poly

Poly's longhouses and overall resort setup aren't great if you have a stroller. Elevators in the longhouses are small and no great place to store a stroller in the room. The GCH always seems to have one elevator out of service, which adds time when taking the monorail and getting off the monorail to head back to your room (sometimes 15-20 minutes depending on how many other strollers/ECVs are waiting for the elevator).

 

[hilltopper152]

My stay at BLT is the easiest I felt for navigating the parks. Bus transportation is easy, the walk is perfect, and monorail usually is not full and easy to board. When we had more resort time, Poly was enjoyable for the pools and my wife seemed to stay in a good mood there ha. I had not stayed at Grand but spent a lot of time there and think with the walkway I would now consider it. Personally walking into MK is my number one thing for keeping my day stress free and would rank that as my most important. I would say BLT for park heavy, GF for nicer amenities but still MK heavy, and Poly as the more resort heavy or other theme park interest. None will be bad but will agree that strollers at Poly are very annoying at times and it is the loudest/busiest of all of them. When I stay at BLT it has things that are not as fun as the others but it never feels crowded in the grounds and you can easily just visit the others for those amenities with little trouble.

PS. I have had my toddler at Disney 3 times before 2 and she will be there at 28 months next time. Each time was dramatically different and the one thing that sucks more than anything is boarding a bus. Monorail was not too bad but it can be miserable boarding last on the loop. I am bias but personally I only desire to stay on the loop or Boardwalk area for that reason. Walking and proximity is so much nicer. I will be staying at AK for first time next time to see the savannah so that will be my first swing at being dependent on buses for 3 days....

 

[Cabius]

The best monorail resort for anybody is the Poly.

But, as others have stated, the ability to walk a stroller from BLT to MK sure is a nice perk.

 

[SLThomas318]

BLT > Poly

Poly's longhouses and overall resort setup aren't great if you have a stroller. Elevators in the longhouses are small and no great place to store a stroller in the room. The GCH always seems to have one elevator out of service, which adds time when taking the monorail and getting off the monorail to head back to your room (sometimes 15-20 minutes depending on how many other strollers/ECVs are waiting for the elevator).

So we were in Pago Pago third floor… it wasn’t till our last trip to MK that we realized it was sooooo much faster to get on/off at the TTC with the stroller. I agree the wait for the elevator at the GCH is a pain (never had an issue in Pago Pago but with 1 tiny elevator I could see it being an issue depending on guests/time of day).

 

[cellomom]

My stay at BLT is the easiest I felt for navigating the parks. Bus transportation is easy, the walk is perfect, and monorail usually is not full and easy to board. When we had more resort time, Poly was enjoyable for the pools and my wife seemed to stay in a good mood there ha. I had not stayed at Grand but spent a lot of time there and think with the walkway I would now consider it. Personally walking into MK is my number one thing for keeping my day stress free and would rank that as my most important. I would say BLT for park heavy, GF for nicer amenities but still MK heavy, and Poly as the more resort heavy or other theme park interest. None will be bad but will agree that strollers at Poly are very annoying at times and it is the loudest/busiest of all of them. When I stay at BLT it has things that are not as fun as the others but it never feels crowded in the grounds and you can easily just visit the others for those amenities with little trouble.

PS. I have had my toddler at Disney 3 times before 2 and she will be there at 28 months next time. Each time was dramatically different and the one thing that sucks more than anything is boarding a bus. Monorail was not too bad but it can be miserable boarding last on the loop. I am bias but personally I only desire to stay on the loop or Boardwalk area for that reason. Walking and proximity is so much nicer. I will be staying at AK for first time next time to see the savannah so that will be my first swing at being dependent on buses for 3 days....

The Minnie Vans are back, includes two car seats. More expensive than Lyft but it is something we have considered budgeting for. If you are staying at Kidani, Minnie Vans should pick up/drop off at your parking garage elevator .

 

[pianomanzano]

So we were in Pago Pago third floor… it wasn’t till our last trip to MK that we realized it was sooooo much faster to get on/off at the TTC with the stroller. I agree the wait for the elevator at the GCH is a pain (never had an issue in Pago Pago but with 1 tiny elevator I could see it being an issue depending on guests/time of day).

That's a good tip re:boarding/getting off at TTC. We stayed at Tokelau during our last stay and even that wasn't too far to the TTC. Next time we stay there we'll most likely do that although hopefully by then we'll be traveling without a stroller!

 

[PalmettoPath]

I would say Grand Floridian, followed by Contemporary/BLT (although technically it's a shorter walk). Grand Floridian has amazing lawns for kids to run and play on (real grass), fun sandy areas, a great splash pad, pools that are less overcrowded than Polynesian, for example, and many other pluses. Just my 2 cents.

 

[kboo]

my kids are 10 and 6 and finally out of strollers!! Have gone numerous times since my oldest was a toddler - I would say BLT - and we own at VGF and BLT.

The walk from MK - BLT is a LOT shorter than the walk to VGF. The BBQ pavilion by the lake is a great place for a stroller nap.
The boats to the resorts (except some boats at CCV/WL) need you to fold the stroller, which is pretty rough if the toddler is already asleep.

Poly I would put in second place because you could save yourself a monorail transfer if you go to Epcot from TTC, and you can take the big ferry from TTC to MK to not have to fold your stroller there.

To some extent it depends on where you'll be spending your time - if mostly at MK, then BLT. If more pool than anything else, Poly or VGF. If you're going to Epcot a bit then Probably Poly 1st then BLT. Overall though, BLT.

 

[PolynesianPip]

I’d go with Polynesian. We’ve stayed at VGF as well and just felt it was a little more… stuffy. Our toddler has been 4 times and we’d take Poly over VGF 10 out of 10 times with her.

We have never experienced any of the problems the previous poster mentioned about waiting 20 minutes for an elevator. It’s always easy.

We haven’t tried BLT and I’m sure the walking proximity to MK is nice.