Disney Resort with Baby and Toddler

[Quokka]

Sorry if this has been asked.

Where is the best place to stay with a toddler and baby? We are going in January and are booked at AOA family suite, but I just received a free dining pin however it's not valid there! Boo. We would save lots of money switching, but I don't know where else would be best to accommodate us.

Thanks!

 

[whositsandwhatsits]

Sorry if this has been asked.

Where is the best place to stay with a toddler and baby? We are going in January and are booked at AOA family suite, but I just received a free dining pin however it's not valid there! Boo. We would save lots of money switching, but I don't know where else would be best to accommodate us.

Thanks!

Almost all of the resorts are perfect for families! Honestly it depends on where you are headed (parks) and if you have transportation. If you don't have transportation, you may want to consider a monorail/water ferry resort or a Boardwalk resort. This way you can easily get back to your room when it's time for the kiddos to nap.

If you have transportation, than navigating nap time becomes less of an issue.

First off, which are your options with the pin?

 

[RatherBeInAK]

We went a month ago and stayed at ASMo with our 5mo old DD and 2.5yr old DS. It worked out really well. We planned to put DS in a bed with rails but he has a hard time going to sleep in the same room with us. So we put him a a pack n' play and put it in the vanity area. Then we just pulled the curtain and even though he could still hear us he went right to sleep. DD slept in another pack 'n play in between the two beds. I had been really concerned about all of us in the same room but thanks to the vanity area with the curtain it wasn't a problem. If you think you'll need that extra room, I think that ASMu has family suites similar to AoA.
As a side note, DS absolutely LOVED exploring the resort and all the large icons. We were in a preferred room in the Toy Story section and it the theming was great.
Hope that helps!

 

[twinboysmom]

We have stayed in all levels with our boys since they were younger and I think any resort you pick will be just fine. However, I will give an edge to the CR. Our stays there have been the easiest. We have usually spent most of our time in the MK and the CR is the only resort that you can walk to the MK from. No busses, no crowded unreliable monorail.

 

[cruisingtwins]

Not cbr.

 

[Quokka]

Thanks for the replies!

 

[Runnergal]

We have stayed in all levels with our boys since they were younger and I think any resort you pick will be just fine. However, I will give an edge to the CR. Our stays there have been the easiest. We have usually spent most of our time in the MK and the CR is the only resort that you can walk to the MK from. No busses, no crowded unreliable monorail.

This is great to hear! We will be at CR in a month with our 4 boys. We switched from the Poly because I was nervous about construction and I was a little disappointed at first, but now I am getting so excited for the CR! I think being walking distance to MK will make it so much easier with our toddler and infant.

 

[mousehunter3]

The same thing happened to me. We had a family suite booked at the AOA and no free dining there. We switched our reservations to a family suite at the AS Music. Last time we went, our kids were 1, 4, and 6 and we stayed at CBR. It was nice, but the room was way too small for us. I felt like I was stepping over stuff and kids the entire week. I am SO excited to have more space this time--- and TWO bathrooms! YAY!

 

[twinsouvenirs]

STRONGLY consider renting DVC points or renting a villa. The DVC 1BRs are perfect for having a safe place to heat water, mash/prep/cook food, store bottles, put the kids to sleep in a separate room, etc. I hear Beach Club is fantastic. We spent a lot of time in the kiddie pool areas both at Saratoga Springs and Boardwalk--Saratoga was a bit better for the ages we had them, the boardwalk luna pool was just a tad too deep for our 1 yr olds to enjoy. That said the Boardwalk unit was bigger. I haven't seen the AoA suites but if they are the same type of split unit with a full kitchen, that would work as well. I just really liked having a full fridge, a full kitchen, and space (a couch, pack n plays, etc.). I assume all disney resorts provide cribs/pack & plays, but that definitely is the case at DVC and it was very helpful. The separate living space is also good for letting adults unwind and walk around during naptime.

Also, I would do your best to avoid busses. They are such a hassle with strollers & wiggly little ones.

 

[HouseMother]

Not cbr.

Agree, the rooms and beds are small. We had a pack and play brought in last time for my then-8 month old son, and there was hardly any room to walk when it was set up. My husband and I are both 6 feet tall, so both of us sleeping in a double bed is a no-go. We ended up sleeping in separate beds and our 2-year old alternated between beds. We are booked at WL right now but I may switch to POR, which has a cool pull-down toddler bed that would be helpful for us.

 

[rachael95]

We are booked at WL right now but I may switch to POR, which has a cool pull-down toddler bed that would be helpful for us.

Thank you so much for posting that. I had no idea POR had these murphy type beds for younger kids. This totally makes me want to stay on property again. We were originally thinking a suite at Allstars, but had pretty much decided to stay off property. Now, I'm back to debating after seeing this.

 

[DopeyDame]

Not cbr.

I was actually going to say exactly the opposite. We loved Carribean Beach with our toddler. The pool is a zero entry pool, which makes swimming with a baby and a toddler so much more fun and less stressful. They also have a great splash area with tiny slides and very very shallow water for toddlers, where the lifeguards were really good with keeping the bigger kids out.

If you can afford it any of the deluxes are wonderful options, of course.

 

[Marsheliz]

We are on our way back now from CBR... I thought it was a good resort for toddlers.. I have 5 and 2 year old boys.... The pool was super nice for kids... The only downside to this resort was just how spread out it is... Walking in the heat & late at night with tired boys is definitely not fun but if you can pay for preferred, you might enjoy if more! We also saw two snakes within 5 minutes of being there- yikes! As for beds, we were so tired, we didnt even notice the beds. But all in all, it was a great resort!

 

[disneypolybride2008]

when i got my free dining pin it said that only the Little Mermaid rooms were excluded. i guess they changed things, but i was thinking of switching to a Lion King family suite but DD2 loves Ariel.. go figure now that we are 2 weeks away she is loving Lion King! too late now!

any resort will be wonderful. just think.. when on a cruise the rooms are super compact compared to disney world's resort rooms and people have a great time cruising. our last room with our 21 month old was super tiny on the new Breeze, but it was just fine.

 

[cruisingtwins]

Things that I did not like about CBR for our stay with toddlers.

Rooms are way too small
Carpet was old and the whole thing was kind of dingy
Hotel is too big and spread out.
The bus loop is insane it can take up to 15 minutes just to get out of the hotel same when coming back form the parks.

 

[binkblum]

I agree - rent points from a DVC member. We are DVC members and are used to staying in DVC resorts. My in-laws are treating us to a disney vacation staying at the Swan & Dolphin over New Year's and we will have a 2 year old and 6 month old. I am interested to know how this is going to work as we are used to having full kitchens and laundry machines.

 

[dprincessmom]

POFQ would be my first choice based strictly on resort size. Second would be POR. While resort is big there are 4 bus stops and we have never had a problem - we had 2 adults, 2 18 year olds and a 5 year old in one of the rooms. It was manageable.

 

[lam21575]

We just back from CBR w our 4 and 6 yr old and they loved it! We were originally booked at POR but when free dining came out we switched resorts and I was a little bummed due to all the negative reviews, but we ended up LOVING CBR. I have nothing else to compare it to though as it was our first onsite stay!

Yes the rooms could use updating but they are in process of doing that. We were never in our room except to sleep so didn't bother us at all. The resort is large but everything is no more than a 10 min walk from the farthest point and the walk is great...very lush and tropical feeling! It felt like we were on a separate vacation at the beach and very relaxing after a day of madness at the parks.

I was pleasantly surprised by the size of the room. Yes only 2 double beds, but DH slept w my DS and i slept w DD...totally comfortable. I think there is plenty if room fir a pack and play in several spots in the room, at least the room we were in (Jamaica building 43 about a 5 min walk to main pool and food court). My sis and her family were next door had rented a rollaway and they had plenty of room for that!

The zero entry pool would be great for your baby. My dd4 was able to splash around herself since so shallow and I could relax in pool and watch her without having to hold her in water that was too deep . And the pirate ship pool w slides for little ones was so great! My kids did not want to leave! Hope that helps!!

 

[dsneprincess]

I may be the exception, but here goes: I do NOT like to stay in the resorts (usually deluxe) with kids due to the lack of a food court. I prefer the AllStars and Pop Century ( haven't stayed at the suites or AOA). I am not in my room all that much and size is not an issue with my eyes closed! However, I will need to run to get someone milk or a quick snack because said child didn't eat at meal time due to excitement, sleeping, just general off schedule. I find I need a food court at my hotel MUCH more than I need floor space. I really don't let my kids "play" in the room and never (horror!) on the floors. I did enjoy the zero entry pool at CBR. I also recommend a standard over a pirate room, unless maybe the beds have changed in the pirate room since we were there!

 

[cruisingtwins]

Well the thing is with a baby ad a toddler you are going to spend time in the room whether you like it or not. We did stay one night in AoA in that same stay and liked it much better than CBR. CBR doesn't even have elevators. We got lucky and got a room on the first floor but I saw people bringing huge strollers upstairs and felt really bad for them.