Best Resort- Preschooler

[PHilton]

Any recommendations of the best resort for us? My husband and I along with my parents will be taking our 3 year old and 7 week old down in May 2006 and are not sure which resort would be the best as far as accomodating our group. We will mainly be spending our time at MK.

 

[metivier]

My recommendation would be a monorail resort if you can afford the $. We stayed at the Contemporary when we traveled in December with our two children (then 3 years and 1 year), and we loved the location! It was easy to come back to the room for naps, and when our littlest needed to nap longer, DH stayed in the room and I went back to MK with the oldest to see a parade, go on some rides, etc.

We have already booked for May 2006 and we'll be staying at the GF this time -- I could not get a guaranteed Tower-Magic Kingdom view at the Contemporary, and DH and I are not really fans of the Poly's theming, so we are "springing" for the GF (which is only $25 more a night than what we would have paid at the Poly).

Happy planning!

 

[MissionMouse]

Our two girls were slightly younger during their first visit and we stayed at the Grand Floridian. We have stayed in all three monorail resorts which are all very nice.

I would recommend one of the monorail resorts since at one and three years old they will need to take a midday break (nap) and there is nothing easier than getting on the monorail and your back to your room with the kids in bed. I would especially recommend one of these three resort if you are going to spend all your time at the MK.

All three of these resorts also offer adjoining rooms if you request them when you book your trip if this is something you want. I would recommend the CR Tower since you can take the monorail but also take an easy 5-7 walk to the MK from the CR. The garden rooms are nice but the Tower is even nicer. Just realize the CR and PR are performing rehab operations within specified sections of the resort, but Diisney manages these activities very professionally.

 

[mexican-mouseketeers]

We have an almost 3 yo dd and will be going to the WL for all the activities that they have for kids.
I have read about the duck races, arts and crafts at the Cub´s den, kids pool, etc.

Julie

 

[minnie61650]

Preschoolers love staying at the ALL Stars.
It is like a giant playground.
I would recommend All Star movies.

It has pop up fountians and a really nice kiddie pool and of course Mickey is waiting at the Fantasia pool.
Here is the map of All Movies.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/allstarmovie.JPG
The Fantasia Buildings are the preferred buildings.They are closer to the food court and bis stop and cost about $12 more a night.

I am 55 year 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 MAGIC and that is where I want to be.

Bus times from the All Star resorts to the are among the shortest.
Bus times according to PassPorter.com

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

It is usually just our stop and maybe one more on the way to the parks. On the way back sometimes its 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!)

I am 55 year 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 Disney's Magic and that is where I want to be.

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 theaming is pure Disney.
My last 4 visits have been at The All Stars and this fall when we take dd,dsil, and our grandson age 3 we are staying at the All Stars Music. (I love an afternoon swim so we know catching a bus back for a midday break is very quick and easy) I thought about AKL and even though we can well afford AKL I just wanted Alex to experience the Disney Magic at the All Stars on his first visit.
Where else can one find Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse at the pool?
Have fun at Disney!
Linda

 

[unixadm]

I agree with looking at either the "Monorail 3" or Wilderness Lodge if you can afford it.

The Monorail 3 are Polynesian, Grand Floridian and Contemporary. We stayed at the Poly in Jan 2004 and loved it. Just went up to the monorail with our dual Stroller and rolled it right onto the monorail with all of our stuff and the kids loaded up.

From Contemporary, you can walk to the Magic Kingdom. We stayed there for 1 night in May, but ended up in a wing room that was furthest from the walkway and the room wasn't renovated, so we weren't too happy with it. I personally think that the Poly is MUCH nicer for the price.

The Wilderness Lodge has a boat that goes over to MK, but you can't always get an open stroller to roll onto it, meaning you would have to take the kids out, and fold it up.

When you look at our stroller here, you can see where it was very important to be able to just roll it onto the monorail. We pack it with drinks, snacks, diapers, etc and it is a pain to fold it up.

If you are looking to save $$, and the deluxe resorts aren't in your budget, then I agree that the Value resorts are a hit with the kids, although using the buses with stroller is a bit of a pain since it has to be folded. When we stayed at a value, we drive into the parks so we could just take the stoller out of our car, load it up with kids and stuff and roll into the park.

 

[*Fantasia*]

No doubt... definitely the monorail resort is the best, especially if you are going to concentrate on doing MK. I prefer the Poly... just because of the themeing... and Kona Cafe and Ohana are there... oh.. and I just love sliding down the volcano pool! It is awesome!!

 

[stacy6552]

With a baby, a home away from home is best. We stayed in a 1bedroom at OKW when our son was 11 mos old. Having the full kitchen was great for dinning in and taking care of baby's needs. The bedroom door was priceless. We could put the baby down for a nap or to bed early and close the door. Then our older son didnt have to tip toe around so much and neigher did we.

 

[Brina]

When my boys were 3 we stayed and the contemporary and it was perfect. We could ride the monorail to MK, or we could walk. Walking was especially great when the boys dropped off for a nap in the afternoon - it was so much easier to walk back to the resort than to try to get the monorail and risk waking them. In addition, Chef Mickey's is there, which we enjoyed twice during our trip.

 

[henrylovespooh]

I'll second All Star Movies, especially if you'll need two rooms. My three year old son and 2 year old daughter loved it. We stayed in the Toy Story section. Bus service was awesome and never a wait and buses were not that crowded at all. It definitely has the Disney feel. In the food court, they have a tv with Disney shows on it - it helped keep the kids still while eating.

I will never forget the look on my son's face when he first saw a three story tall Woody. It was awesome.

We have also stayed at WL and DH and I liked it - the kids were smaller and didn't really care. The pool is nice but the pool at ASMo is better, I think. The kiddie pool at WL is just a rectangle.

We have also stayed at Coronado Springs Resort, and they have a nice pool and playground area.

The monorail resorts are nice, but a little out of our budget. For the amount of time we spend in the room, I can't justify the added cost. The monorail is great to get to MK and EPCOT, but again, the higher cost leads me to ASMo.