Better resort for family with toddlers: Polynesian , Wilderness Lodge or Y&B

[jsf1981]

My wife and I are planning on taking our family to Disney, later this year. We have a 3 year old and an infant, and will be meeting her bother who has 5 year old triplets. We are looking at either at either the Wilderness Lodge, Y&B Club. Which of these would be the best for a family with young kids. ...I think I would like the Yacht and Beach Club the best, but the I don't know if the convenience of the Polynesian makes it a better choice...any advice would be appreciated.

 

[ciera321]

I think I'd rule out WL, thought I LOVE it, your other 2 choices would be better for such young kiddos. Poly is great for the monorail and close proximity to MK. Y & B has a fabulous pool with sandy areas for the little ones to play. You can't go wrong with either, but I'd probably go with Poly since, I imagine, you'd be at MK a lot. Have a great trip!!!

 

[All American]

We stayed at The Polynesian this past June with our 7 and 2 year-old daughters. I loved it! Monorail access was the big draw, but as the days went by I found a few more things about the hotel that was very toddler-friendly.

The room was a nice size, even with the pack n play. We had plenty of room to move around with that, all of our stuff, and her stroller.

The pool was zero entry. (I don't know about the pools at the other hotels, but if they have that feature, it is a bonus.) I loved being able to sit in the shallow water with her while she splashed around. (In all fairness, I will say the downside of the volcano pool is that if some kid poops in it, you are stuck with the quiet pool. Not so fun with a toddler because you either have to hold them or have some sort of flotation device. And it can get pretty crowded with lots of kids being kids.)

Fireworks from the beach. Movies on the beach. Sunsets on the beach. We stayed for 10 days and most nights we ended up on the beach. Oddly enough, these nights were my most favorite part of the trip. Our daughters would be so tired at the end of the day that we'd head back early and play in the pool, cool off with a Dole Whip, and watched a movie on the beach while the girls played in the sand. Once the sun went down, we watched the Electric water pageant then the fireworks. We'd pack up and walk to our rooms for the night. It made for a very relaxing vacation.

So, the monorail, pool, large rooms, and beach activities are what made our stay at The Polynesian memorable. Not to mention that Aloha! spirit. So much fun!

(I've never stayed at the other hotels you mentioned, so I can't speak to their qualities that make them just as awesome as The Polynesian for a toddler-toting family.)

 

[gabzee]

I would go with the Poly. Since you have young ones, you will probably going to MK a lot. The monerail will help a lot. They also have a nice pool for kids! My second choice would be the BC. They have a great pool area for the kids and you can walk/boat to Epcot and HS.

 

[jandkmom]

I would also say Poly. The monorail access alone is the best, especially since it goes right to MK, the favorite park for most tots. Plus it's an easy walk to TTC for all other parks. Have fun!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

With all those young kids I would go with the Polynesian because of the Resort Monorail access, their rooms are the biggest among the resorts you are thinking of staying at and I assume you would want to spend a lot of time at the Magic Kingdom.

 

[Scarlett81]

I would do Y&B. The Poly and monorail is nice, but I found that the pool at Y&B is just incredible for that age. 3 is between baby and kid and the sand bottom zero entry of that pool is just awesome. You never have to worry about them falling of an edge. We took our daughter there when she was 3 and she sat in the sandy pool for hours just plopping the sand around having a blast.
And beaches n cream...omg...its awesome. It was also really nice being there bc at 3, she was still on a pretty solid nap schedule. We'd pop into Epcot in the morning, pop back to the hotel for the afternoon nap very easily (5 min walk) and then go out again in the early evening to Epcot or boat to HS.
She also loved the bike cart rentals on the boardwalk...I still remember her ringing that bell endlessly. Lots of fun.
Honestly you can't go wrong with either. Although, I agree with a PP, wilderness lodge is out IMO. Wait till their older for that. Stick to the more convenient themed places for now. They're only this little once.
Enjoy!

 

[stephmarty]

Poly, hands down. One word: MONORAIL.

 

[jsf1981]

Well, sounds like Poly it is...thanks for the help everyone. This will be our first Disney trip, since we had our kids.

 

[mickeynut1]

Well, sounds like Poly it is...thanks for the help everyone. This will be our first Disney trip, since we had our kids.

I think you made a great choice . We've stayed at all 3 and although you couldn't go wrong with any of them, the Poly would be my first choice with little ones. Have a great trip .

 

[tley]

Well, sounds like Poly it is...thanks for the help everyone. This will be our first Disney trip, since we had our kids.

We're doing the same thing, 2yr old and infant in late Sep/Oct! Right now we're pencilled in at AKL, but considering a switch to Poly or perhaps a mod or value so that the youngin's can get something out of the hotel Hope it goes well!

 

[pixarmom]

Well, sounds like Poly it is...thanks for the help everyone. This will be our first Disney trip, since we had our kids.

Great choice! We have three boys, ages 5, 11 and 12 and we've been taking them to Disney frequently since our oldest was a baby. We've stayed at all three of the resorts you mentioned multiple times, and we really enjoy each of them for different reasons. While BC is our favorite of the three (followed by Poly and then WL), we often recommend Poly to friends who are traveling for the first time with young children and need easy access to MK. Last year, we stayed at Poly again for our youngest son's birthday because for that trip, we spent more time than usual at MK and we scheduled more character meals than we would on an average trip. One of the things we love about Poly (besides the fun theme, huge rooms and great dining options) is the fact that we can take the monorail direct to MK and direct to Epcot from TTC. Have a wonderful trip!!!

 

[pixarmom]

We're doing the same thing, 2yr old and infant in late Sep/Oct! Right now we're pencilled in at AKL, but considering a switch to Poly or perhaps a mod or value so that the youngin's can get something out of the hotel Hope it goes well!

tley, we've also stayed at AKL and really enjoyed it! The pools there (at Kidani and AKL) are among the best on property for little ones. We love Jiko and Sanaa and the AKL lobby is just beautiful. We'll probably return to AKL again at some point, but only for a non-parks stay.

If you are planning on spending a fair amount of time in the park with young kids, I'd switch to Poly. I've done lots of time on the buses with strollers, and as a result, really prefer a monorail resort or an Epcot area resort so that we can decrease the amount of times we have to pack and unpack the stroller to get from one place to another. Poly is such a great location with little ones for the reasons I mentioned in my post, above. Good luck with your decision!

 

[tley]

tley, we've also stayed at AKL and really enjoyed it! The pools there (at Kidani and AKL) are among the best on property for little ones. We love Jiko and Sanaa and the AKL lobby is just beautiful. We'll probably return to AKL again at some point, but only for a non-parks stay.

If you are planning on spending a fair amount of time in the park with young kids, I'd switch to Poly. I've done lots of time on the buses with strollers, and as a result, really prefer a monorail resort or an Epcot area resort so that we can decrease the amount of times we have to pack and unpack the stroller to get from one place to another. Poly is such a great location with little ones for the reasons I mentioned in my post, above. Good luck with your decision!

Thanks pixarmom! I'm thinking more and more that getting closer may be the right answer while the kiddies lean on the strollers more than their legs Now I just need to check on the costs (have FD with AKL booked, hoping for a 30% discount to make Poly work within our budget!)

I appreciate the advice and glad I found this thread!