Best monorail resort with 2 small children

[Cobern]

On our way home from our first trip to Disney now. We absolutely hated our resort(POR) but DH fell in love with the monorail resorts (I think the concept of them). What would be the best one to book with 2 kids (3 and almost 2) at the time of travel? We are looking at going in January 2014. Thanks!

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

i like Poly or GF. The CR was hard to maneuver with the stroller ( you need to take a separate elevator to the platform and the space was tight.

 

[Cobern]

i like Poly or GF. The CR was hard to maneuver with the stroller ( you need to take a separate elevator to the platform and the space was tight.

Good to know we will have a double stroller. We were at thePoly and loved the ease of boarding . Had fun at the aloha show and then hoped the monorail to MK

 

[GaBelle]

For small children, the Poly. The convenience is great. GF is nice as well, and we haven't been since the addition of the splash pad, that may make a huge difference.
But the biggest factor for me would be location in proximity to MK and TTC.

 

[bdklein]

. We absolutely hated our resort(POR)

Why did you hate your resort??

 

[Heather1979]

On our way home from our first trip to Disney now. We absolutely hated our resort(POR) but DH fell in love with the monorail resorts (I think the concept of them). What would be the best one to book with 2 kids (3 and almost 2) at the time of travel? We are looking at going in January 2014. Thanks!

We just got back from a stay at Bay Lake Tower with a 3 year old and a 2 year old and had a double stroller. When we took the monorail it wasn't a huge deal to take the elevator, just remember to stay towards the "back" 3-4 cars of the monorail. I think we waited 3-4 minutes for an elevator during the "worst" time. The ability to walk to magic kingdom was a big plus for us too, where I don't think you can walk to the parks from the other monorail resorts.

 

[wiigirl]

I would suggest Poly.

 

[cheesemouse]

Hands down the Contemporary or Bay Lake Tower. There is a walkway to Magic Kingdom, so no need to wait for buses or monorails. The walk is about 10 minutes. Although we often use the monorail on the way home (CR is the first stop so it's super quick when you are tired). We had absolutely no problems with a stroller (double and single) during our 3 stays there. Yes, you need to take an elevator to the monorail instead of using the escalator, but really, no big deal.

 

[1971DBday]

For us its the Poly. You have access to two different monorails - one to MK and a very short walk over to TTC and monorail to EP. There is nothing better then just rolling them on without having to wake them up!

 

[Cobern]

Why did you hate your resort??

It was way too spread out. They changed our room (lady could never really explain it). We were way too far from everything, the food court was inconvenient to reach. Transportation to MK and Epcot was horrendous! The staff was not very friendly and when I mentioned at check out how the room was not where we were told all she said was we should have came and requested a room change. Not something I was going to attempt with 2 kids.

 

[Cobern]

For us its the Poly. You have access to two different monorails - one to MK and a very short walk over to TTC and monorail to EP. There is nothing better then just rolling them on without having to wake them up!

This was our theory. The bus rides were horrible with 2 tired kids

 

[Cobern]

Hands down the Contemporary or Bay Lake Tower. There is a walkway to Magic Kingdom, so no need to wait for buses or monorails. The walk is about 10 minutes. Although we often use the monorail on the way home (CR is the first stop so it's super quick when you are tired). We had absolutely no problems with a stroller (double and single) during our 3 stays there. Yes, you need to take an elevator to the monorail instead of using the escalator, but really, no big deal.

We used the elevator at the Poly it was tight with 4 adults, 1 double stroller and a wheel chair.

 

[mmmears]

I suggest the Poly. The pool is really nice, with the beach right there for sand play, and the view of the castle from the beach is really nice. Also, it's a great place for watching the fireworks over the MK at night. The Poly is not spread out like POR even though it is made up of several buildings. And you'll have direct transportation to both the MK and Epcot.

 

[TwinkleKS]

I've stayed at CR and GF in the last six months with kids ages 4,4, and 2. We preferred the CR.

The kiddie water play area was great at GF and the kids did love it. But factoring in what we (the adults) felt was most convenient and the best fit for our family, we preferred the CR. We felt that the rooms at GF were smaller and a few other comfort issues like that. But that being said, both are terrific choices.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

It was way too spread out. They changed our room (lady could never really explain it). We were way too far from everything, the food court was inconvenient to reach. Transportation to MK and Epcot was horrendous! The staff was not very friendly and when I mentioned at check out how the room was not where we were told all she said was we should have came and requested a room change. Not something I was going to attempt with 2 kids.

Given these issues with POR, perhaps CR would be a good choice for you. It is less spread out than the others and has the option of walking to MK. With the right elevator getting strollers to the Monorail isn't too bad. Besides, the CR is definitely monorail focused. Having the option of walking to the TTC is nice at Poly though, and avoids a Monorail transfer to get to Epcot. Either way enjoy your next trip.

 

[flamark]

I would think that if you are talking about ease of getting to and from the parks then the CR would be the winner if you're going to spend more time at MK than the other parks. If you are going to all the parks equally than the 3 monorail resorts are about equal in terms of transportation imo. The kids may like the pool more at POLY or GF. We recently returned from a stay at the POLY and loved it! You can't go wrong at any of the monorail resorts though.

 

[twodogs]

Another vote for BLT. You can get a 1 bedroom villa and have a kitchen and washer dryer. There is a king bed in the bedroom and kids can sleep in provided pack n play or on pull out sofa bed and pull out chair beds in living area. Two full bathrooms. Walk to MK (perhaps best aspect!), monorail home, easy transfer to Epcot monorail. Quiet. Splash pad and private pool with little slide for your ages of kids. Just LOVE BLT!!!

 

[Runnergal]

We haven't been in a few years but on our last trip we had a toddler and infant and loved the Poly. Like pps have said, being able to walk to both MK monorail and TTC was great. Loved the zero entry pool, and I think there was a little water play area too. We stayed CL and loved having breakfast in the lounge with a few of MK, also being able to watch fireworks from lounge in their pjs was great. We are staying there again in a few months and can't wait!

 

[720L]

For kids still in stroller, CR would be my choice because of the walkway to MK.....BUT the 2 parks not on the monorail (HS & AK)......the buses are horrible. Have you tried POFQ? Smaller resort than POR, moderate and the buses are ok. Or you could just do half day at HS & AK so you aren't trying to ride the bus with exhausted kids.

 

[Cobern]

Thank you everyone for your input! DH and I are leaning towards the Poly because he just fell in love with the decor . If my parents join us we might just book a 2 br at BLT for ease of us all being together.

Now time to pin down dates and see if my parents are joining us or not !