Best resort for 3 year old?

[Dakota731]

Important to consider - time to get to parks and back if he needs a nap? We love the idea of Animal Kingdom so he can see the animals but we were there one and the waits for buses and transport time was very long. We also tried POFQ and thought the walk to the room was very long for toddlers. Hubby doesn't want a value but are open other than that.
Any suggestions are appreciated!

 

[T00dles]

Boardwalk or Beach club Walk to Epcot and Hollywood studios. And don't discount Epcot for the toddler set! Our 3 yo adored the trains in Germany! It was her only requested redo. She also liked the kidcot (where you color a Duffy and get a stamp)

Of course Contemporary or BLT for walking distance to MK. We own DVC points at VGF so I like that too. One stop to MK on the monorail and the first stop home on the boat. We also find the rooms very quiet. The kids also loved the pool and splash area.

If cash isn't an option you can try to rent DVC points and get a room that way.

 

[BigRed321]

I would suggest POFQ.. due to its size. Less walking and a dedicated bus..

Also has two queen beds..

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

My first thought was a monorail resort. Grand Floridian has an adorable splash pad next to their pool that is Alice in Wonderland themed. However, when previous poster said Beach Club I thought that sounded even better. That is a short walk to Epcot, a slightly longer walk to Hollywood Studios, or a very pleasant boat ride to either. That leaves you with just taking the boat to two parks. The pool at Yacht and Beach is absolutely fantastic and while older kids will love the water slide and size of the pool, your little one would likely adore floating in the lazy river.

If you really don't want a long walk to you room, you might consider Wilderness Lodge. One of the great things about this resort is that it was built up rather than out so you are never really too far from anything in the hotel. You can take a very pleasant boat ride to the Magic Kingdom and usually will only share a bus with another resort if you go to a water park or Disney Springs. I bet he would enjoy watching Fire Rock Geyser go off at the top of every hour, as well.

 

[buzznina]

POFQ is the smallest resort and if you thought the walk was to long there, then you will have to go to a resort that has preferred rooms that are closer to the main building. Even at the Epcot and Monorail resorts you can have a walk longer then at POFQ from your room. Hopefully you have a stroller, that will help a lot also.

 

[HopperFan]

Important to consider - time to get to parks and back if he needs a nap? We love the idea of Animal Kingdom so he can see the animals but we were there one and the waits for buses and transport time was very long. We also tried POFQ and thought the walk to the room was very long for toddlers. Hubby doesn't want a value but are open other than that.
Any suggestions are appreciated!

In this case, I would suggest a deluxe. POFQ has one of the shorter walks overall for moderate and values so maybe they are not a good pick for you.

I agree that Wilderness Lodge could be a good pick. Tight footprint, smaller resort, not far to bus or boat. We stayed there with a 1.5 and 5.5 year old and loved the proximity and ease in getting around. Beautiful resort for adults and with fun things to look at for kids. We loved sitting at beach watching the Electric Water Parade.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

For proximity to MK, Contemporary can't be beat. You can walk back and forth to MK and you can also take the monorail to TTC to catch the EP monorail.

Poly and GF are also great because of monorail and boat access to MK. With Poly, you can also walk to TTC to catch the monorail to EP. I would probably lean toward Poly with a little boy. The theming is a lot of fun and they have a great kids splash pad.

WL is also lovely and you would have boat access to MK. It will price out less than the monorail resorts.

If you will be spending more time in EP and DHS, I would consider BWI and BC which are within walking distance of EP and DHS. We love the theming at BWI and they have great entertainment at night. BC has some lovely children's pool areas and a little slide for little ones as well.

If you want a mod, I agree with the others regarding POFQ. It's lovely and on the smaller side.

 

[ncc1701]

If you do go back to POFQ book pool view rooms. They are located in buildings 2 & 5 so straight through the lobby then go to the right or left side of the pool.

 

[cruisingtwins]

Contemporary for sure.

 

[Babsy]

The CR is your best bet. Stay in the tower and you will have a very short walk to your room. The elevators are in the centre so no room is vert far away. The MK is walking distance from theCR so going 'home' for naps is easy and going to from th MK at park opening and closing is a dream.

My grand daughters loved the monorail going through the resort and enjoyed watching the fireworks in their pjs on the balcony. It is a really nice resort to stay in with children in strollers.

Enjoy!

 

[happymommy]

One thing to consider is bringing a good, comfortable stroller that reclines. Planned afternoon breaks for naps in the room never worked out for us; the kids would sleep in the stroller. We just kept fairly close to their normal schedule, though, so they went to bed at a pretty normal time (by 7 or 8). If we tried to get back to the room to nap, it just never worked out!

I preferred monorail or Epcot area resorts when they were that age. AKL is fine but not my favorite; you can always plan to visit and have dinner at Boma or something.

Nothing wrong with value resorts, but having a balcony to relax on when the kids go to sleep in nice at deluxe resorts.

 

[Mama Lo]

If you love the idea of AKL just add a little Uber money into your budget.

The buses have a board that will tell you when to expect the next bus. If you see that it's too long to wait you can always get an Uber. We were just at WDW a couple weeks ago and we got a car within 2-3 minutes of requesting. Uber Family will have a car seat for your little one.

If you do go with AKL ask for a room near the lobby. The walks there can be long!

Have a great trip!

 

[bumbershoot]

One thing to consider is bringing a good, comfortable stroller that reclines. Planned afternoon breaks for naps in the room never worked out for us; the kids would sleep in the stroller. .... If we tried to get back to the room to nap, it just never worked out!

Yes.

Apart from a jogging stroller for actual jogging, we didn't use a stroller at home at all. The smaller stroller was solely used at Disney. The time involved to get to a resort for a break, even at Disneyland (where we were going while ds was still using a stroller) was just too much. Didn't work for anyone. Stroller naps were the best.

 

[johnsgrl]

Contemporary or BLT, took our 2.5 year old DGS last month to BLT and the location was perfect. Quick walk to MK, where we spent most of our park time. Walked over to the Contemporary to monorail for EPCOT and boat to HWS so we never needed to board a bus. We had our car so just drove to AK, but being able to either walk to a park or use monorail/boats was awesome!

 

[TowMater92]

Contemporary or BLT, took our 2.5 year old DGS last month to BLT and the location was perfect. Quick walk to MK, where we spent most of our park time. Walked over to the Contemporary to monorail for EPCOT and boat to HWS so we never needed to board a bus. We had our car so just drove to AK, but being able to either walk to a park or use monorail/boats was awesome!

So you road the monorail to the TTC changed monorails to the Epcot monorail road it to Epcot entered Epcot walked all the way through Epcot out the Internation Gate which is a very long walk got on the boat to DHS and did the 20-25 minute ride stopping at the BW, YC/BC then the Swan/Dolphin on your way to DHS to keep from riding a bus? So you also had park hoppers? I'm also guessing you meant DHS not HWS?

 

[Nancyg56]

POFQ is the smallest resort and if you thought the walk was to long there, then you will have to go to a resort that has preferred rooms that are closer to the main building. Even at the Epcot and Monorail resorts you can have a walk longer then at POFQ from your room. Hopefully you have a stroller, that will help a lot also.

I agree. Even the deluxe resorts can be a walk. If you stay at the BC, the walk from one any one place to another can be LONG, and that is inside.

POFQ is the most compact. I request building 4 or 5 and am centered.

 

[Tk0021]

Important to consider - time to get to parks and back if he needs a nap? We love the idea of Animal Kingdom so he can see the animals but we were there one and the waits for buses and transport time was very long. We also tried POFQ and thought the walk to the room was very long for toddlers. Hubby doesn't want a value but are open other than that.
Any suggestions are appreciated!

We went last year with 5 and 3 year old girls and stayed at the Contemporary. The walk to MK (as others stated) is the best thing about the hotel. Not only for trips back during the day, but at night if my kids fell asleep in the stroller ( which they did every night) my wife and I could continue to walk around and shop while they slept knowing that we did not have to wake them up to get in a bus. We just walked back to our room and put them to bed.

 

[LSLS]

I know when talking to my mom when we went when I was younger (I was more like 5), all I wanted to do was ride the monorail and sit and watch it go through the hotel (we were at the contemporary). That would be my young boy perspective (I still love that hotel for that reason). We took our 3 year old to the beach club and she really liked it (she loved playing in the sand at the pool), and the proximity to two parks was great. Epcot is also great for her cause she loves princesses and you can meet quite a few there. Our last stay was at Coronado Springs and we really liked it. Pool was really nice, it's really centrally located (much more than I expected), and even though it is spread out a bit, it never felt too long waiting for buses to get somewhere

 

[Dakota731]

I've narrowed it down to Beach Club, Wilderness Lodge, AKL or Contemporary. We are going the first week of next December. Any of those resorts do a better job at decorating for Christmas? So many things to consider! Thought my little guy would like the animals but now I'm worried about long bus waits and rides. Which one of the resorts I've listed has the best theming or attractions for little ones?

 

[LSLS]

Depends what he is in to. Wilderness usually is the prettiest at Christmas. If he really likes trains, go Contemporary. If he is really into animals, the bus ride from AKL isn't too bad, it's more a pain that you don't have the easy access to any park, but with how it looks and what you get out of it (go Savannah view definitely), I don't think it would be too bad for you. Beach Club will be the best if you are thinking you will swim/play in the sand, or if you want to be close to Epcot (if you think there will be a lot for him there). Honestly you will love every one of them, don't stress too much about it.