Hi! Introducing myself

[Princess_Christina26]

Hi I have been lurking on these boards for a while and finally decided I should say hi. I am a 26 year old female in Clearwater Florida. I am obsessed with all things Disney lol I am looking to take my son for his first trip in December for his 6th birthday. I hope everyone is having a great weekend!!!

 

[TuckandStuiesMom]

Hi Princess Christina!

 

[Timon-n-Pumbaa Fan]

It's always nice to see new folks on the board.

When are you thinking of going in December? We have plans to be there from the 10th to the 19th.

 

[Princess_Christina26]

I am planning on going from December 12th to the 15th.

I do not know where we will be staying. The only disney hotel that I have stayed at was POFQ and I have stayed at The Shades of Greens resort a few times. I am debating between the SOG or another one that my son would like better. What is the best resort for a 6 year old boy?? I was thinkings of CSR or one of the Value resorts. Any ideas???? I would like to stay either Value or Moderate

 

[Mackey Mouse]

Hmmmm....if you really want some good answers on where to stay and when, check the resort board too. Those people have it down to price, location etc. I have had friends stay at Pop, it is a room.. no frills, but a room and on property..

If you get a deal at SOG, then why not, I do like PORiverside too, I just like the grounds and the rooms are cute.. Good luck and welcome to this board..

 

[Timon-n-Pumbaa Fan]

I am planning on going from December 12th to the 15th.

I do not know where we will be staying. The only disney hotel that I have stayed at was POFQ and I have stayed at The Shades of Greens resort a few times. I am debating between the SOG or another one that my son would like better. What is the best resort for a 6 year old boy?? I was thinkings of CSR or one of the Value resorts. Any ideas???? I would like to stay either Value or Moderate

I have stayed at ASMu, POP, CSR, CBR, Poly, and POR, so far. We don't have kids, but you know, I think just being a kid that is blessed enough to be able to visit WDW is good enough. He's too little to really know the difference. However, I do think that the Value Resorts as a whole are more visually appealing to kids because of the exterior decorations. I think that POP had the best busses. Out of all of them POP has the best Christmas tree in the lobby, IMHO!

As far as Moderates go, I liked CSR, but it's kind of "stuffy" since it's a convention resort, but because it is a convention resort, there are perks, like an extended room service menu and lots of restaurant options onsite. I also like that the busses are rarely packed because of the number of people there to attend the convention, rather than to tour the parks.

I did not like CBR at all. It's too darn big and the theming did nothing for me. The TS restaurant there is nasty too, it's called Shutters. Run, don't walk! The CS options are fine though. The busses were hit or miss for us.

POR, OMG, I love this place, but the theming has always appealed to me. Yes, it's big, but it is so perfectly themed that it was a pleasure to just take in the beauty of the entire resort. The busses were great too.

I think that you are going to be fine, no matter what you pick. If you want a great resource on Disney resorts, check out......
http://www.allears.net/acc/faq_hot.htm or http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/Resorts/resortmain1.htm

Have you ever been during the holiday season before?

 

[rosiep]

Welcome Christina!

No matter where you stay you'll have a wonderful time. I agree that the values have great themeing for little kids, but adults may see it as more of a motel than a resort. If I had little kids I'd go for it.
Going solo as an adult I'll always pick a moderate.

 

[turkygurl]

Our kids (Emma-5 and Aidan-3) love PO-Riverside (we see rabbits every time we stay there-which they love). We've also stayed at POFQ- which is pretty fun for kids. I didn't like CSR and we haven't stayed at CBR yet. I didn't care much for POP (You can generally stay in a nicer room off-site for less money). I'll be there for my birthday Dec 13-14 (since my birthday's on a Monday this year) and we'll probably stay at POR or POFQ. I'd pick one of those over the value.

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Welcome! It's great to have you here with us!

The value resorts are bigger than life Disney. I think a six year old would love any of them. I prefer the food court at the All Stars over the Pop Century's, but that is such a personal issue, it's hard to base a decision on that alone.

When we took a six year old with us we stayed at OKW and he loved the pool there. We are DVC members though, and that is why we stayed there.

The Christmas season is really busy so try to have a pretty good idea of what you want to do in each park. Make good use of fast pass and know that you will not see "everything." It's a good reason to come back!

 

[Princess_Christina26]

Thanks for all your help I am a little nervous taking him there. I want him to love it as much as I do haha He loves going to Downtown Disney and he loves Mickey.

he is autistic so I am a little worried that the parks will overwhelm him so we will go slow and just do what we can and if its just one thing then thats ok with me.

 

[MonorailMan]

Thanks for all your help I am a little nervous taking him there. I want him to love it as much as I do haha He loves going to Downtown Disney and he loves Mickey.

he is autistic so I am a little worried that the parks will overwhelm him so we will go slow and just do what we can and if its just one thing then thats ok with me.

I have a mild form of autism. (As strange as it may sound, I was only recently diagnosed.) Some advice I can give to you is this:

On this vacation let him explore (with you) where he wants to go. If you find he starts leading you towards an area in the park, it's more than likely a way for him to let you know he's comfortable with it. My parents never really paid much attention to my demeanor, but I can confidently say that it's usually a good thing to check out what his body language is. Sometimes it's a lot clearer than any verbal communication can ever be.

Maybe a resort breakfast, where you guys can meet several characters without having to be in a crowded theme park environment, would be a little less intimidating for him. I'm not sure about your son, but I know I was really uncomfortable (uncomfortable, not afraid) around the characters until I was about 17 or 18. Whenever one would come to greet me, it felt like all attention was being focussed on me.....which I hated, and still do, but I've learned to cope.

I'm really glad you posted this. You guys are going to have a great time.

 

[Timon-n-Pumbaa Fan]

Thanks for all your help I am a little nervous taking him there. I want him to love it as much as I do haha He loves going to Downtown Disney and he loves Mickey.

he is autistic so I am a little worried that the parks will overwhelm him so we will go slow and just do what we can and if its just one thing then thats ok with me.

It sounds like your little man is going to need some extra planning. I do hear though that Disney does a pretty darn nifty job of taking care of special needs kids. If you have lurked the boards for very long, I would hope that you have had a chance to take a look at the disABILITIES board - http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=20 - because between the info in the regular forum and their own special Community sub-board, there are a lot of great folks that will most likely have a lot to offer you in the way of advice to help make this a really great trip!

Also, have you had any time to look over the info on Allears.Net?
http://allears.net/pl/dis_aut.htm I think that you would find it to be an excellent base resource for your trip!
http://allears.net/pl/dis_aut2.htm Tips for Autistic Kids at WDW

Also, since you are going at the holidays, I have to share some other info with you that you might find useful.
http://pages.prodigy.net/stevesoares/christmas.htm - The Santas & Storytellers around the World Showcase at Epcot might be fun to work in.
http://www.allears.net/tp/h_osb.htm - I would think the Osborne Lights could be magical.

I honestly don't think your son is going to appreciate all that MVMCP has to offer due to his age more than anything else. He's still so little that I doubt that he would get very far into the evening without falling alseep, so save your money. Maybe in a few years.

Also, knowing that your son is Autistic, I would never advise a Value resort. The reason being, you want a more "boring" hotel setting. The stimulation factor at Disney is through the roof and I am quite sure that he would do better in a resort that would let him wind down from all of that. There is no reason to force him into 24/7 in your face entertainment. I would think that CSR would be a great choice for you! It's beautiful, but not wildly themed. The busses are usually pretty great as far as availablity and they are usually pretty empty due to the conventioning guests at the resort. There are lots of food options. It's a great Moderate.