best place to stay with 2yo and 8mo?

[nancy drew]

wasnt sure if this belonged in here or the resort section...

we are trying to plan a trip to disney in may, and are having a tough time justifying the cost of staying at a monorail hotel or WL. we are drawn by the easy access to MK, where we will spend most of our time, but its so much $$$. we would have to shorten our trip considerably in order to afford the more convenient hotels. so we are considering the POFQ, POR, CBR, and the value hotels. my concern with those is the hassle of taking the shuttle to and from MK all day. we would probably want to come back to the hotel for naptime, is it really that much of a pain with two little ones? they will be 2 and 8 months old at the time we travel.

sorry if my thoughts jump all over the place, my 5 month old is in my lap and is trying to eat my arms and its hard to concentrate on what i want to say.

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

I've stayed at only Values--Pop, Movies and Music. We were very happy with all of them. My son was 9 months when we first went and 18 months this last time at Pop. He loved the water jet fountains at Pop and the theming is great at the values. We have thought about moving up to a moderate for our upcoming trip, but I'm not sure I can justify spending the extra money...I definitely don't want to sacrifice days over resort!! And, from what I hear the moderate rooms aren't that much bigger than value. IF money was no object I would try a monorail resort, however that is not an option for me IMO, the best bust service is at Pop, they don't share a bus like the other values do...and don't forget the bus drops you off at the gate...so that is very nice too!

 

[nancy drew]

thanks, that is good to know about not sharing a bus! if we are going to come back from the parks for a nap then less stops is much better!

i guess i was also wondering if it would somehow be better at a moderate because it would theoretically be a shorter bus ride. that would cut down on the travel time, which can be outrageous with 2 kids and all their related gear.

 

[linda_loo]

nancy_drew - do I know you? (same name on lj) I am thinking I might.
I have stayed at Sports, but that was before my own kids (it was when I was a HS band director). I don't remember the bus ride being terrible, it was really convenient to have the nice-priced concessions that were there and the students had a great time overall. We stayed at the Dolphin last year, when A was almost 3 and M was 1.5. The busses were honestly the worst part of the trip for us. But here we go again - Dolphin in April, because dh has a conference and we can get a good rate. I have read that the Mears cars are $16+gratuity, and I am considering using them at least a couple times. Especially for the days when dh isn't coming with me. Not sure if that answered your question or not... I was just thinking that it is another option if you are finding the busses to be a pain... still less $$$ than a place on the monorail.

 

[nancy drew]

why yes, its me! i suppose message board addicts like us are bound to find each other, eh?

that is helpful info, thanks i was thinking about staying at the dolphin or swan, because i heard they have direct access to epcot and you can then take the monorail to MK. but i couldnt get a package at either of those that included MYW tickets, and i am too lazy to go buy them seperately (though if it saves $ perhaps it could be a good idea?). do ou know if they do have walkways to epcot? one place i read said they have a water launch to epcot. but i cant find that in every description i read so perhaps its no longer there?

last year i was pg and solo with s (was 15 mo), and the bus was a HUGE PITA for me. i also had the dipe bag and a cooler of rice milk and snacks for s. i was thinking it may be easier since dh will be there, but since ds will be there too im guessing it will still be a pain. though if i sling n and carry an umbrella type stroller and let dh deal with the bigger stroller and s, maybe it wont be as bad?

 

[Lisa10]

We went to WDW in January with 10, 8 and 6 year olds. We booked 6 nights at at the POR. I had stayed at the Poly several times as a child with my family (in the 70's) so I knew what that was all about, but booked at the POR because it was so much more affordable. We stayed two nights and switched over to the Poly. There is no comparison. It is sooooo nice to just hop on the monorail and be at the MK or Epcot. Requesting the Rarotonga or the Tokelau are your best bets, both are close to the main building (restaurants, monorail, shops, Captain Jack's fast food), the beach, pools or to the TTC to get a monorail to Epcot. The POR was alright, but the Poly is so beautiful, you feel like you are in Polynesia. The pool areas are amazing, the restaurants (especially 'Ohana) are terrific, the beach is great - you could sit out there at night and watch the fireworks over that beautiful castle just being steps away from your room. It's like your still right there with all the magic of the Magic Kingdom. If you stay at the POR you'll be hiking to a busstop to wait around for crowded shuttle bus that takes a long time to get anywhere because of all the stops. The rooms at the Poly are so spacious and beautiful. I would rather stay a shorter time at the Poly than longer anywhere else. The extra money was so worth it.

 

[linda_loo]

i suppose message board addicts like us are bound to find each other, eh

hehe. And of course, another lj'er is the one to have sucked me over here last year!

Yes, you can walk to Epcot. We didn't, actually, we didn't go to Epcot. But we did take the boat to MGM, which was the BEST FUN for the girls. They loved it and I loved that we could wheel the strollers right onto the boat. Didn't even have to fold them. I never thought of monorail to MK... good idea!

 

[nancy drew]

And of course, another lj'er is the one to have sucked me over here last year!

how does that song go? "its a small world after all..."

we stayed at the wilderness lodge and it was so awesome to just roll the stroller onto the boat and not break it down and carry s and the stroller and all the other stuff.

lisa10 oooooh you are making me want to stay at the poly! we honeymooned in french polynesia and it would be so cool to stay at the poly and be reminded of our honeymoon. :sigh:

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I have traveled with children that young (mine are currently 3,2 and 4 months) and I will tell you honestly that the buses are miserable for Mk! Now don't get me wrong- the service is great, but if you have strollers and stuff it can be very hard. At WL it was easy to just roll onto the boat and a monorail resort is even easier. We obviously take buses to other parks but they are never as crowded as the MK ones so it is not bad. I am sure that you will manage no matter what you chose, but for us, until the kids are older we prefer the ease of the boat or monorail. JMHO.

 

[stacy6552]

You're overlooking your best option: a Ft Wilderness cabin. AAA offers a 25% discount, which makes it almost the cost of a moderate. You will have a bedroom (with door) so you can put the little ones to bed and stay up without disterbing them. You will also have a full kitchen, which is great with the baby. And you have the proximity to MK that you are looking for.

 

[nancy drew]

Mouse House Mama thanks for telling me that about the buses. i really dont want to deal with the crowds and stuff and im glad to know that im not being overly dramatic in thinking it will be a pain with 2 kids riding the bus all the time.

stacy6552 i wish i had AAA just for the discounts i could get that would be a great way to go, though, but without the discount it would probably cost a lot.

 

[stacy6552]

nancy, AAA costs $60 a year to join. Youll get that back in resort discount alone. Nows the time to sign up.

 

[nancy drew]

wow thanks for the tip! i just signed up. hopefully this will work out for us. thanks again!!!

 

[justhat]

I love the values and moderates and have stayed at all but CBR, but with kids that young I'd definitely spend the extra on a monorail resort. We've stayed at all 3 'classes' of resorts with our daughter, and after having stayed at the Poly most recently I can tell you how much nicer it was to just get on the monorail back to the room when my daughter was napping. She'd generally fall asleep in the stroller when we were at MK so I'd just roll her onto the monorail and into the room and she'd never wake up. When we stayed at the values, moderates, or AKL (which I love, but just not convenient with a baby) we almost never went back to the room during the day cause it was such a pain to get on/off the buses with a sleeping baby, stroller, and diaper bag. I also did it alone when she was 9 months old and while it was managable, it wasn't fun (I had her in a Bjorn, diaper backpack on my back, and carried the stroller onto the bus). While they're young and in strollers, I'd go for the convenience and stay at either one of the Epcot resorts so you can walk/boat to MGM and Epcot then monorail to MK if you want or an MK resort so you have boat/monorail (or even walking from the CR).

 

[ApolloSaturnV]

If naps are a major concern and priority, I would choose the Contemporary. Walking distance to the MK (where you will probably spend a lot of your time). Also your children can see the MK from there.

 

[goingsoonw/2]

of course we all have our own opinions,
But I just got back a week ago. My son is 3 and dd is 18mos.
We stayed at the Boardwalk Villas. We got a discount at AAA as well. It depends on your budget but although it is considered a deluxe resort, it is less then the monorail properties.
The perks are full kitchen, washer in dryer (IN YOUR ROOM!) and separate bedrooom. (we had a 1 bedroom villa)
I don't know if I could stay anywhere else with kids after our trip.
good luck!

 

[nancy drew]

justhat last year i stayed at the WL with dd, who was 15 months, and it was so great to just roll th stroller right onto and off of the boat for MK. thats what i was hoping for this time, too. i was thinking it would be much more of a hassle to deal with 2 kids and strollers and buses.

ApolloSaturnV im not sure how big a deal naps will be. i know my 2 year old will be fine without naps, she hardly takes them anymore here. but my 8 month old will need them. im just not sure if he will nap in the stroller or not. right now he only naps in his crib or car seat. if we can keep him in the stroller for naps, then it wont be necessary to go back to the room during the day. but if he wont, then we will need to, and we wont know which way things will go until we are there, i guess

goingsoonw/2 how was it taking buses with 2 younger kids? did you go back to the room for naps or just stay at the parks all day?