Best Resort for Small children

simpsonps121

Mouseketeer
Joined
Apr 19, 2006
Messages
113
Hi Guys,
You have been a tremendous help already, so I will ask for your advice yet again.

I have 2 kids - 4 year old girl and and 3 year old boy.
I want to make this is a great time for them, but money is limited.
What resort would they hate?
What resort would they love?
Which resort will we get the most value out of?

My kids do not care about the room they sleep in. (Mom and Dad might, but they won't.) But they will care about everything else - walking, playing, swimming etc.

Also, with 2 small kids, is the public transportation going to be effective? Or will the wait make this unbearable for them?

Thanks guys,
Matthew
 
They would the All Star Movie Resort!

Did you know if you count all of the Dalmatians (the icons plus the puppies on the buildings) you will come up with 101 Dalmatians?
Now how cool is that?

That is one of my favorite WDW trivia facts. I love the way Disney pays attention to details!

-------------------------------------------------------------

I love The All Star Resorts.

I am 55 years old and travel several times a year. I often stay at 4 star hotels.
So the deluxe resorts do not have anything special for me.
All Star is like being in the heart of the Magic and that is where I want to be.

Here is the map of All Movies.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/allstarmovie.JPG
The Fantasia Buildings are the preferred buildings.
The All Star Movie Fantasia pool has Mickey.
It is a great place to stay.
Preschoolers love it.
It is like being in the middle of a Disney Movie Fantasyland.
All Star Movies has a Fantasia themed children's pool area.

The buses are wonderful.

Bus rides are quite short from the ALL Stars according to PassPorter.com

All Star Buses-CBR buses---POPbuses--PO buses--- Contemporary
MK 20 min---- 20 min-----25 min------10 min---20 min(mono)
Epcot 10 min-- 15 min-----20 min------10 min---15 min
MGM 10 min----12 min-----15 min------15 min---20min
AK 10 min------20min-------15 min----15 min---20 min
DTD 15 min----20 min------20 min-----15 min---35 min

It only takes 10 minutes to get to Epcot, MGM and AK from All Stars.
MK is 20 min away. That's the same amount of time it takes on the monorail from the Contemporary.

A WORD ABOUT BUS SHARING

To me Bus Sharing at the All Stars is really a non issue.

In the mornings during Park opening hours each All Star usually has a dedicated bus.
During mid day it is usually just our stop and maybe one more on the way to the parks. On the way back sometimes it is all 3 but often Sports and Music share and Movies has it's own bus back.

I guess some people who stay at POP see all 3 All Star names on the return sign of our bus stop when they head to the POP bus stop and think All Stars also has 3 stops on the way to the park.
(Even when we stop at another AS resort to load up it has not taken more than 5 minutes and we are on our way!)

The gift shops are separate from the food court at the All Stars.
The gift shop and food court are combined at Pop.


Pop has 2,880 guest rooms. 4 floors in each building.
Each of the All Stars has 1,960 rooms. 3 floors in each building. That means more people in the food courts, in the pools and waiting at the bus stop at POP than at the All Stars.
The pools at The All Stars are very kid friendly.

When staying at the All Stars you can use any of the All Star pools.That means 3 main pools ,3 quiet pools and 3 kiddie pools to chose from.

The All Star Movie Fantasia pool has Mickey.

The Calypso pool at ASMU has Donald Duck.

And the Surfs up pool at All Star Sports has giant surf boards.

Here are a few pool photos.

astar3.jpg


All Star Sports pool.

asm_pool2.jpg


All Star Music Donald pool.

asmv20.jpg


All Star Movies Mickey Pool.

I have visited WDW more than a dozen times with the 1st time in Oct. 1971. It was brand new. I've stayed at FW, Disney Inn, a few the of Hotels on hotel Blvd., CBR and the towers at the Contemporary. I got to see the MK from my balcony at the Contemporary and I'm happy I got to experience it once. I just prefer the All Star Resorts.
The theming is pure Disney.
My last 5 visits have been at The All Stars and last fall when we took dd,dsil, and our grandson age 3 for 8 nights we stayed at the All Stars Music. I thought about AKL and even though we can well afford AKL I just wanted Alex to experience the Disney Magic :wizard: at the All Stars on his first visit.
Where else can one find Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse at the pool?

Have a great time at Disney!
 
Well, with small kids, Deluxes really are the best, IMHO. The reason: better transportation. The Deluxe with the best transportation in all of WDW is the Poly. You can walk to the TTC next door and catch a monorail to EPCOT, or ride the resort monorail next to the lobby to MK, or boat there. If you take the monorails to MK or EPCOT, you don't have to fold a stroller all day, which is pretty nice.

The Poly also has an excellent pool with 0-depth entry, though no hot tubs. The Poly is just awesome for kids that age, as I've been twice with my girls when they've been in that age range.

You said money was tight, so my suggestion of the Poly may not be helpful, but it really is about the best there is for travelling with young kids.

If you want to save some money, try to book during the free dining plan promotion, and at the same time make sure you book during your resort's value season. If you don't get the free dining plan, make sure you check AAA rates for the room and any other discounts available.
 
Just wanted to add:
Disney's value resorts are a total bargain. You get so many perks (Disney themeing, Disney transportation, and EMH)
Any of Disney's resort guests (even those staying at a value or mod) are allowed to shop, dine, use the transportation or spa facilities at any of the Disney Resorts. (Of course pool hopping is not allowed.)


Have fun at Disney!
 

My kids have always been drawn to the value resorts (DD2, DD6). We've stayed at AsMo and they LOVED it for the theming. It's truly, in my opinion, one of the most Disney themed of all the resorts. We also stayed at GF on our last trip and while the two resorts are drastically different in price and theme, my two daughters didn't really care for it other than the water slide (which my DD2 wasn't allowed to go on because she couldn't go down on our laps - lifeguard rule). I personally LOVED the GF and am glad we enjoyed it, but we're going back and the girls picked Pop Century this time. My husband is tickled pink because it's a value resort and he's a big cheapie! But, the reality is - Pop will be way more fun for them. We haven't done any moderates yet, so I'll have to defer comments to another poster on those!

As for the bus transportation. For our last two trips we have not rented a car - we've used WDW transportation 100% and did not have any problems. But we also tend to travel light and with only one small stroller. JMHO!

Good luck!!
 
Matthew,

For Value, KID exciting and Bus Transportation...my vote is the POP Century!!!

My Kid wont stay anywhere else! We are going for our third time to POP this summer....I REALLY like this resort too!

:wizard: Andy
 
Totally agree with the Value resorts! My sister and I stayed at the Pop Century and it was very kid-friendly (not to mention wallet-friendly)! They'll love the atmosphere and all the big huge icons that they can climb all over and have fun with. They're remarkably themed resorts.
Plus, now they rolled out those All Star Suites, which from what I read, are also a huge bargain giving you more space for a bigger family! Because, in all honesty, just a tip- the rooms aren't that small, but your bathroom space is!

...On the more exorbitant side, I would think that kids would adore the Animal Kingdom Lodge, just because of all the animals.
 
agreed the values resort if you have a limited budget can't be beat....

that say - POFQ has a slide made for kids your age.

here it is
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=1390&sort=1&cat=541&page=2

more pictures of POFQ
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=541

pictures of Pop Century
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=537

pictures of All Star movie
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=533

see you have more of a choice than you thought.....
 
the value resort do not have a slides.

but your kids won't miss something they never had.... :thumbsup2
 
We stayed at ASMo in Oct of 05 and loved it. We had a 2 &4 year old w/us and they were in heaven. Of course they couldn't have cared less about the room, but for the price I thought the room was fine. We really only showered and slept there. We had absolutely no problems with the buses. We maybe waited twice the entire time we were there and that was a short wait. I don't know what time of year you're planning to go, but for small children, you can't beat the price of the All Stars. I think movies is probably most appropriate for little ones. It features Toy Story, 101 Dalmations, Herbie the Love Bug, Fantasia, Mighty Ducks and lots of cool Disney icons. The food court wasn't bad either.
 
I would try for either All Star Movies (the theming and price can't be beat) or look into getting an AAA membership to get you a discount at Port Orleans French Quarter. POFQ is the smallest mod (by far) so you won't have to worry about long walks or have to pay for a preferred room, it has the dragon slide pool that is aimed at younger children, is first on and off the buses to/from the parks and has the boat to Downtown Disney. Fodor's Walt Disney World With Kids 2006 named it the Best Mid-Priced Resort:

"Relaced and homey, the Port Orleans Resorts have the charm of the luxury resorts at a reduced cost. The French Quarter is smaller and quieter that it's sister, so it gets our nod as being easier for families with young kids."

We're going during regular season, and if we upgraded to a preferred location and paid for a fridge (for milk) at ASMO, compared to booking the AAA rate at POFQ (fridge included and no need for preferred location), the price difference was really minimal.
 
I was wondering about this as I will be planning a surprise trip for my kidlets who will be 1, 3, and 6 at the time. We went in 2006 and we stayed in Savannah side room at AKL, and they really enjoyed the animals. Disney is so magical to me, so I really want to keep that experience for them (they had a lot of fun playing on the themed thingamabobs at the airport!).

I was considering POFQ, because I loved the theming (LOL), but was also considering AsMo.

Decisions, Decisions!! But this was definitely helpful! If we do AsMo, we may just upgrade the room.
 
Your kids will love all of them and not hate a single one. The least expensive are the All-Stars and Pop. Next would be moderates. Differences? Slightly larger rooms at the mods, slides at the main pools and small fridges in the rooms. If I were you, I'd pick how much you want to spend and then pick the theme that most appeals to the adults. The kids will be happy anywhere. Depending on how much your budget is Wilderness Lodge and AKL are "cheaper" deluxes. The cabins in Ft Wilderness campground are also a lot of fun. Look at pics of all the resorts that fit in the budget and see which theme fits your family. Have a great time.:)
 
When my oldest daughter was 2, we stayed at the ASMo. We were in the 101 Dalmatians bldg. She loved it. I have pics of hugging the little puppies. The buses were fine. We went in Sept and the waits were not long at all. It took about 20 mins to get to the parks (except AK which is closest). She liked riding the buses. I don't think your children will be disappointed with a Disney vacation!! :)
 
I'd vote for POP as well. My daughter has stayed there (with me of course) several times between the ages of 18 mos and 3, and she loved it -- she especially loved the giant pop art, like the big Mickey phone.
 
Our vote is for ASmo! We stayed there this past May. My girls 4& 5 absolutely loved the theming there. We stayed in the Dalmations section. The food in the food court was really good too! I must say that we did not ride the buses though. We rented a car at a very cheap rate. The girls and I rode the Magical Express while my husband got the car. He was at ASMo a full hour before us! We used the ME for the luggage purposes. We also did want to leave a full 3 hours early for the airport that ME makes you do. Anyway I think your kids would love ASMo. Have a great trip wherever you decide!
 


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