Favorite Property for young kids...

[Picabo]

We have a 19mos old and 2 mos old. What is your favorite property for young kids to enjoy....pools/playgrounds, etc to be considered. Also...having something onsite for kids to eat and not all sit-down fancy restaurants.


THANKS!

Melanie

 

[ebenmax]

SSR has a no-entry pool which is wonderful for non-swimmers or toddlers. It also has a Donald Duck water play area at the main pool. Grandstand's pool has a water play area, too. It also has playgrounds sprinkled throughout the resort and the community hall where they can be involved in activities/crafts (they need to be a little older for this). Also, Downtown Disney is a short walk (10 mins. as long as you use strollers) or boat ride and provides fun alternatives to the parks and dining.

Speaking of dining, there are two restaurants - Artist's Palette (a counter service) and Turf Club (sit down - have not eaten here yet). I know Artist Palette has a children's menu, but it seems like many at Disney are similar.
But the option of DTD is a plus for dining.

We are new to DVC and these are some of the points of SSR (limited experiences with other resorts) I am certain that each resort has its "perks" for little ones, too. You will get lots of good feedback on the boards.

HTH

 

[TEK224]

I don't have kids of my own, but from reading here daily, my guess would be Beach Club Villas, especially as your kids get older. Stormalong bay seems very popular with the young ones, Beaches and Cream will get you sandwiches and ice cream, plus you're close to Epcot and MGM.

I'm sure others will give more detailed info.

 

[veenstra56]

I think that SSR is a great option for parents of little ones because of the playgrounds, zero entry mail pool, and water-play area at the Grandstand pool. However, depending on where your room is you may have to do a bit of walking. Walking around SSR doesn't bother my family at all, but my kids are 13 and 9. Tottlers are a different story.

I think that BCV is also a nice option because of SAB and Hurricane Hanna's.

Good luck.

 

[Juliet25]

BCV is great for small kids. The beach pool is awesome for little ones, plus there's character dining in the morning. I haven't been to SSR, but we are booked there for December and I'm looking forward to checking it out.

 

[OKW Lover]

I would think that BCV would be #1 (just because of SAB), followed closely by AKV because of the animals.

 

[gracelrm]

I would vote for VWL for several reasons. When my kids were younger, we usually spent more time at MK. At VWL, you can take a boat to the MK and never have to fold up the stroller. After multiple trips to WDW with one or two in strollers - folding them up on the busses became my least favorite thing to do. The same holds true for BCV and BWV as far as taking the boat to Epcot or MGM, but based on the fact that we always spent more time at MK when the kids were little - being at VWL was a plus. You are close to FW at VWL and if your kids like animals, then they would probably enjoy some time at FW. There used to be a petting zoo (don't know if it's still there), pony rides, campfire movie, etc....

There is a small kiddie pool - nothing exciting, but my youngest son, when he was little, loved the quiet pool at VWL. It has bubbles in a few places which he loved. There is Roaring Forks, which is a CS type place and Whispering Canyon which is TS, but not fancy.

VWL are quiet and relaxing. I think it's a nice retreat from the hyperstimulation that surround the children at WDW.

I should add that we've never stayed at SSR or OKW, but have stayed at BWV, BCV and VWL with young children. BCV definitely gets my vote for older children and we'll likely try to spend our next few trips there with older kids, but VWL is still my fave for young ones.

 

[n2mm]

We just returned from our visit last week to OKW and BCV. My grandson (13 years old) was with us. He stayed at BWV and WLV last year. I asked him which was his favorite place to stay and why. To my surprise he loved OKW! Why, the community center, basket ball court, arcade, pool & sauna. I had expected him to say BCV. However, my 2 year old grand daughter was very happy in the sandy area at SAB everyday. Grandson likes SAB (had been there before), but thought as a package OKW is where he liked the best. BTW, my SIL loved BCV, my DD loves BWV, DH loves WLV and my favorite is BWV, so you can imagine how hard the choice can be for our family when choosing.

 

[Desnik]

I have been traveling with my kids to WDW since they were 8 months old and IMHO I think SSR is the best for really young children.

IMO, BCV isn't ideal because of the ages of the OP's kids. I have not stayed at BCV, but have eaten there and visited numerous times. SAB scares me, LOL!! It just always seems really crowded, packed with a ton of kids and if I had 2 babies, I wouldn't want to have them in the middle of it all. Also, the proximity of where the food is to the pool area. It is great for access to Epcot, but is that really where you will be spending most of your time? I will say that it looks like a great place to stay and I love the marketplace inside and plan to stay there someday!

I think SSR is perfect for all the reasons mentioned by others. We loved being able to put our DS in the stroller and walk over to DtD in the evenings and not having to pay to get into a park just for something to do. He loved the train ride and carousel. There are so many dining options close by too. Also the AP(counter service at SSR) has great food, and my kids loved it. It is also right next to the pool. I absolutely love the zero entry pool, mini kiddie slide, and Donald water play area. I couldn't get DS out of it! He had a ball! My kids also loved the playgrounds. The rooms are in great condition and just beautiful.

We love WL too, but I thought it was a pain when we spent the day at the pool and wanted lunch. It was far from the pool. Also only 1 kiddie pool and when a kid threw up in it, my kids had to wait over an hour to get back in and they didn't want to go in the big pool because they were having too much fun in the kiddie pool. So maybe my experience has tainted my view!LOL

BWV has been great for us and we have had many good times there. But, for small kids I would still say SSR beats it. Especially with litterally no CS options there. Last trip we had such a horrible time trying to get a quick lunch for the kids as we spent the day at the pool. Also our room was in desperate need of a rehab.

As for OKW, I have no opinion. Never been there!

Godd luck!

 

[Desnik]

Oh I forgot to mention the community center at SSR. It is great! You could bring your 19mo there to take a break and play with some toys, or color. It is a great space and nice and big with really great CM's.