Best Resort with 2 yr old

[Aj1129]

Hi Everyone,

My husband and I have visited Disney many times, but have never traveled there with our son. We have decided to take him this year yaaay!!! He will be 23 months old when we go and we are torn between two resorts. The Wilderness Lodge and the Polynesian. We have never stayed at either and would love advice on which would be better for us and our son. He loves the pool and splash areas and will most likely be taking an afternoon nap each day.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Personally I love the Wilderness Lodge. It has these wonderful outdoors feeling to it. However if you are taking naps the Poly is on the monorail althought the WL still has the boat and a real quick bus. The WL does have some construction going on so you might want to check out the end date on that.

I am not a fan of the salt water pool of the Poly.

 

[buzznina]

If you have no problems paying more for POLY then that would be the quickest to get back and forth for MK and Epcot. When we had our 1st DD everyone said you have to be on the monorail, but after a couple of trips (for us) we found that not to be true, never had any big issues at any resorts getting to and from the parks. Our first trip we tried going back to the room and the first couple of days we tried it made everyone miserable, DD would either not sleep or fall asleep on the way there and wake up etc. We decided to stay at the park one day and she ended up sleeping in her stroller and we have never changed a thing even with our 2nd DD So keep an open mind on mid-day breaks, some families have too, while others like us found it better not too. WL is also a very nice resort and does offer the a boat to MK.

 

[Aj1129]

If you have no problems paying more for POLY then that would be the quickest to get back and forth for MK and Epcot. When we had our 1st DD everyone said you have to be on the monorail, but after a couple of trips (for us) we found that not to be true, never had any big issues at any resorts getting to and from the parks. Our first trip we tried going back to the room and the first couple of days we tried it made everyone miserable, DD would either not sleep or fall asleep on the way there and wake up etc. We decided to stay at the park one day and she ended up sleeping in her stroller and we have never changed a thing even with our 2nd DD So keep an open mind on mid-day breaks, some families have too, while others like us found it better not too. WL is also a very nice resort and does offer the a boat to MK.

Thank you for the advice! We love the Wilderness Lodge and have visited the resort each time we go. I have also heard with young kids it's easier to stay on a monorail resort, but I don't think I want to spend the extra if I don't have too. DS will sleep in the stroller so I am very open to not having to go back to the resort, but it would be nice to have a close by option if we have too

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I have stayed at both with young kids. I love both for different reasons and don't think you can make a wrong choice here.

But I do give Poly the edge primarily due to overall transportation convenience. Obviously you have the monorail to MK plus you can walk to the TTC to take the monorail to Epcot. With a stroller, easy monorail access to two parks is a HUGE plus to me. At WL you're getting him out and folding up that stroller every time you go anywhere.

Another factor is the rooms themselves. Poly rooms are among the biggest on property. WL rooms are among the smallest.

I will also give the Poly pools/splashpad a slight edge over WL. Both Poly pools have a zero entry area which is nice with a little one. The Poly splashpad is larger and more substantial than the one at WL, although you could argue WL's is smaller/more manageable with a little one, perhaps.

As to one of the posts above, only one pool at Poly is salt water, the main pool is not. I actually love the salt water - great on the skin!

As previously mentioned there is construction at WL, so keep that in mind (although I was just there in November and the construction had no negative impact on our stay). Not sure when you're going?

Happy to answer any questions. Let us know what you decide!

 

[Marthasor]

Poly. You will have convenient monorail access to both MK and EP and, with a stroller, it makes your life a LOT easier. You will also have easy access to all of the monorail resort restaurants as well. We stayed at WL when DS was 3 and I felt trapped there after going back for afternoon naps. After a day of touring with a young child, I just didn't want to get on another bus to go to a park or other restaurant. Poly will give you more convenience, a bigger room and better transportation. If you want to save some money, consider a garden wing room at CR. You'll get transportation convenience at less cost.

 

[mickeynut1]

We love the Wilderness Lodge and have visited the resort each time we go. I have also heard with young kids it's easier to stay on a monorail resort, but I don't think I want to spend the extra if I don't have too. DS will sleep in the stroller so I am very open to not having to go back to the resort, but it would be nice to have a close by option if we have too

If you don't want to spend the extra for Poly, I think the WL is a great alternative! We've stayed at both and while the Poly is our favorite, we also love the WL. The Poly is a little more convenient when going to MK as it's just 2 monorail stops away, but we have always found it easy from the WL as well (by both the boat and bus). As has been posted, the rooms at the Poly are quite a bit larger than the WL, but as a family of 4, we have never had a problem with the room size at WL. Good luck deciding, although I'm sure you'll have a great time no matter which resort you choose .

 

[TellTheHubbyLater]

Agree with Poly! It is so nice not to have to fold up the stroller for the monorail. That alone is a deciding factor for me

 

[Aj1129]

Thank you everyone for all your advice! We just booked our trip and we decided on the Poly!!! We are so excited!

 

[Realfoodfans]

Thank you everyone for all your advice! We just booked our trip and we decided on the Poly!!! We are so excited!

Hope you have a wonderful trip! You know your son and I'm sure you'll plan your day round his needs. We are returning in October which will be first trip for 3yo DGD, we won't over plan and can return to resort (POFQ) when she needs a break - can't wait!