Best Resort for a 12 Month Old

[bcooper]

My wife and I are traveling to Disney for Thanksgiving this year wich also happens to be my son's first birthday. We are wondering wich Disney Resort is best for traveling with a one year old. Both in closeness to all the theme parks and amenities at the resort. We were considering the CBR. Any advice.

Thanks

 

[Minniepooh29]

My wife and I are traveling to Disney for Thanksgiving this year wich also happens to be my son's first birthday. We are wondering wich Disney Resort is best for traveling with a one year old. Both in closeness to all the theme parks and amenities at the resort. We were considering the CBR. Any advice.

Thanks

When I have a child that age we stay at a deluxe. Usually Contemp or Poly. Nice to have the monorail but WL is great too and it was no problem bringing stroller on the boat. Be sure to get him a hair cut on Main street in MK. They make such a big deal it is wonderful. They save the hair, give stickers mouse ears that say first hair cut, pixie dust. It is just so cute! If Marta is there ask for her she always cuts my gangs hair. If you can't do a deluxe try CBR. Always alot going on at OPR and they have a lot ot offer. Ask for building 45 or pay the extra for a close room.

 

[dreamalittledream]

I agree about being on monorail if you are able to $ but it depends on what parks you will be spending your time. It is close to MK and convenient to Epcot to back to the room for a nap or anything that comes up. Dealing with a stroller on the bus can be cumbersome unless you have extra hands to fold and hold it while you hold the baby. When the bus is crowded we had to hold the stroller on our lap.

Be sure to stop in the play areas to let the little one practice any new walking skills. I liked the ones at Toon town and at AK by the little slides.

 

[kelscross]

I would also recommend a Deluxe resort depending on what your budget is.

We stayed at CBR when my youngest was 18mos old and although she loved the kiddie pool area (but heck...she'll swim in a bathtub! ha!) I didn't care for the walk around the resort to get a refill or grab something to eat. Unless you can get a real close building.

When we stayed at the Poly the next year we decided right then and there that we would stay on a monorail resort until the kids got out of strollers. It was so convenient to just push the stroller right on the monorail when the kids were sleeping etc. Our main park is MK right now so that's a given. It was also nice for nap time to just hop on the monorail and go to the resort. At the Poly and GF (I'm not sure about CR) there is the zero entry pool feature which was very nice.

We stayed one night last year at ASMO before our package started at the Poly and the kids loved it. We were in the Toy story buildings and they loved to play in "Andy's room". The Mickey pool was nice sized and they had a kiddie area off to the side that was pretty cool. Of course you still have the stroller on the bus issue.

So my recommendation would be monorail resort if that fits in your budget..if not then ASMO. I would love to stay at AKL but until the kids are out of strollers then we'll stay on the monorail.

Have fun!

 

[Princess Mindy]

POR or French Quarter have a boat option for parks in addition to buses, so maybe that would be an option if you are worried about transportation and do not have the budget for deluxe. I haven't stayed there personally, but I have heard a lot of nice things about them. French Quarter is also small so getting around it shouldn't be as big a problem as it might be at CBR, especially if you have to stay somewhere far. But if you do stay at CBR, I would fork over the upcharge for Martinique or Trinidad North. It is nearby everything. Aruba is where I stayed and while that is nice, you do have to cross the bridge to get to the main pool and food court. But do not get Trinidad South. This is too far from everything.

 

[Minniepooh29]

POR or French Quarter have a boat option for parks in addition to buses, so maybe that would be an option if you are worried about transportation and do not have the budget for deluxe. I haven't stayed there personally, but I have heard a lot of nice things about them. French Quarter is also small so getting around it shouldn't be as big a problem as it might be at CBR, especially if you have to stay somewhere far. But if you do stay at CBR, I would fork over the upcharge for Martinique or Trinidad North. It is nearby everything. Aruba is where I stayed and while that is nice, you do have to cross the bridge to get to the main pool and food court. But do not get Trinidad South. This is too far from everything.

POR and POFQ have a boat but it only goes to Downtown Disney. Not to the parks. BTW we loved going over the bridge to OPR. They play caribbean music its just lovely. If you are bringing a stroller I wouldn't worry about the walk. You can also take the buses to get to OPR.

 

[barbarabini]

I have taken my daughter at 12 mos, 18 mos and 24 mos.

WL was great for the following reasons:

1. Proximity to Magic Kingdom
2. We rented a car and they had valet parking.
3. They have the general store inside the hotel itself -- great for milk and other things babies need. (no long walks late at night)
4. Room service and the ability to order out from the restaraunts inside the hotel. We ordered mac and cheese and had the baby eat it in the room on nights that we knew she wouldn't sit through dinner.
5. Artist Point Lounge: If the 12mo old falls asleep and you still want to do something, wheel her into the lounge (pretty quiet) and order deserts, drinks or appetizers.
6. The boat was an easy way to commute with the stroller.
7. They havea playground with baby swing and from the playground, you can see light water light parade, another good option if the baby falls asleep and you want to do something.
8. ROARING FORKS : Microwave - for warming bottles, baby food ect. very convenient to the hotel rooms.

I stayed at CBR before kids and while it was nice, I faound the bus waits to be long because they stop at every "island" in the resort before making it to the actual parks. This is long.. especially on the way home. Also, no matter what, you have to take a walk to get to the food area... a little inconvenient if you want ot heat bottles ect.
If you have any other ques. let me know.

 

[jrogers345]

Have to agree that the resorts on the Monorail are the best for young children since you're probably going to spend most time at magic kingdom. More $$ but very convenient. You want your vacation to be enjoyable and run more smoothly. You can even walk back to the Contemporary from MK. Takes 5 minutes.

 

[bcooper]

Thank you for all your advice. We were lucky enough to get a reservation at the CR after many days of checking for a vacancy. I think it will be a lot more fun and easier for naps and breaks to be on the monorail. Surprisingly the money was not that much more and you only have one first birthday way be cheap and regret it later.

 

[MinniMama]

The only problem with CR is you are after MK so you will have to ride all the way around Poly is much better imho because you don't go by the TTC crowds - I also love poly atmosphere CR is cold to me enjoy your trip it will be magical with a little one no matter where you stay

 

[dreamalittledream]

But being able to walk to the MK is a great!

 

[bcooper]

Yeah it is nice to be able to walk to MK because my son can fall asleep on the way back to the hotel and get a head start on his nap. Also I think it is more important to be the first stop coming home when we are tired and need a nap then the first stop in the morning going to the parks. We can enjoy the ride when we are all rested and excited for the day.

 

[MinniMama]

Great! We were not able to walk as we had several older people with us so we had to ride all the way around and driving away from Mk into crowds agrivated me LOL