Hotel advice....

[Picabo]

There will be 4 of us - DH and myself and our DD's age 2 1/2 and 3 1/2. I'm GUESSING that it would be best to take them back to the hotel mid-day for a rest and/or pool break, etc. (We're planning to go in Mid-Nov or Early Dec 2009) I've read some day it's not worth it to go back to the room for naps/rest. But I tend to like to be there in the evenings, when possible, so I'm thinking that getting a mid-day rest would be pretty necessary with kids that age. (Never been to Disney with kids before )

At first I was thinking of All Star Music Suites (I think that's the one with the suites, right?) or even 2 rooms at Pop. However, DH isn't thrilled with the values. SO then I thought maybe 2 rooms at Caribbean Beach. (We like the theme there....)

THEN one of DH's coworkers freaked him out about transportation wtih kids that age. I guess on the busses you have to fold the strollers (thus waking up the kids if they are asleep) and it can be a hike to get from the bus stop to your room as well. Not sure how the busses run b/c I've never been onsite before but she led him to beleive that we'd have a good 10-15min walk TO the bus...then possibly wait another 10-15 for the bus and then another 15-20min drive to the park. So after hearing that, he now wants a monorail hotel (we'll mostly be going to MK and EPCOT with maybe one day for MGM and 1/2 day for AK)

I LOVE the convenience of Poly (and Contempory) however I just can't get past wondering if the price is worth it. Is it really that much more SIMPLE to get on the monorail and to the park then take the bus? Much less hassel? I DO want this to be as stress free as possible on DH b/c A) he has a very stressful job so I'm hoping vacation won't be added stress and B) it's his first trip to Disney and not too excited about going so I know if he doesn't love it he will NEVER go back. We'd have more ROOM if we did 2 rooms at Carribbean Beach and save a bit of money....but I'm wondering if the convenience of being on the monorail is worth it more than the extra space? I figure we won't be in the room THAT much and when the girls rest/nap we can just rest too.

What's everyone's experience/advice???

THANKS!!!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

So confused as to why you are getting two rooms...you only need 1 with two young children. So that will decrease your cost by a LOT. We find that a mid-day break to be ABSOLUTELY necessary but a lot of that is due to the heat in Sept. In the winter it will be a lot cooler so naps may not be completely necessary. As someone who always uses the bus system and a stroller...it's really not that big of a pain. We use a Maclaren which folds up like an umbrella and has a carry strap. The monorail is fantastic since you can roll your stroller on but you'll have to wait for the monorail and get to your room so some of the time issues you mentioned will still exist. Yes, if you stay at a resort that is not a monorail resort you will have to walk from your room to the bus stop, wait for a bus, and drive there. From the All Starts to say MK is a good 25 minute drive. But to get to either AK or DHS or Epcot really (since you have to switch monorails) from a monorail hotel could take a 1/2 hour too.

 

[DisneyTiger]

I can't really comment based on experience. My DH and I have been to WDW many times but we're taking the kids (DD3 and DS1.5) for the first time in Sept. We're staying at BCV in a one bedroom. This will work for us because we'll be able to put the kids down for a nap in a seperate room so that we can still hang out in the living room area. I have a double Jeep stroller that folds up easily so I'm not too worried about that. What I can comment on based on experience is CBR. We stayed there on our last trip and it was HUGE! There were at least 7 bus stops within the resort itself. It took forever to get out of the resort and forever to get back to our room. I also only saw the lobby/food court twice - when we checked in and when we checked out. It was too far away from our room to use. Anyway, not sure if this helped or not. Good luck!

 

[mom~of~2]

We stayed at the Contemporary as a family of 4 (2 DDs also under the age of 4). I will say we normally prefer "suite-type" accommodations on vacation so DH & I have our own space while the little ones sleep. However, we made an exception for WDW so that we could stay on the monorail. The convenience of the monorail was really great (it never failed ... at least one of the girls would fall asleep on our way out of MK and it was nice to roll right onto the monorail). The Contemporary also has the walkway to MK which we used a lot (very easy & pleasant walk~I think it was around 10 minutes). The room was large enough that we were comfortable. We also had a balcony (had planned to use it after the girls fell asleep but frankly, we were always so tired we fell asleep shortly after they did). For us, the proximity to MK was worth the extra expense (& giving up the space you can get in a suite).

We're staying at the Polynesian next trip ... we can't wait!

 

[Picabo]

Thanks to all of you who've helped out so far! As to why we would get 2 rooms..it would only be if we were at a cheaper hotel, for the sole benefit of having the extra space while the girls slept. However, as PP said as well as what I assumed, we'd probably just be sleeping (or resting) when the girls do anyhow so the extra space probaby isn't a problem with them being so young and us not in the room much.

Mom-of-2 - how did you like the contemporary? I'm really tempted to stay there since it's a bit cheaper than the Poly however DH really loves the theme at the Poly and we weren't too impresses with the looks of the pool at the Contemporary.

THANKS again!

 

[mom~of~2]

Mom-of-2 - how did you like the contemporary? I'm really tempted to stay there since it's a bit cheaper than the Poly however DH really loves the theme at the Poly and we weren't too impresses with the looks of the pool at the Contemporary.

THANKS again!

We really liked the Contemporary (this was our 1st trip to WDW so I can't compare it to other WDW resorts). The rooms were big and updated. There was a computer in our room with complimentary internet access. We loved the walkway to MK. We had an MK view which was amazing though our DDs were probably too young to appreciate it. It was also easy to get back to our room after getting stuck in a huge rainstorm.

The only issue I had was the sinks. They were very "contemporary" and looked great but they didn't drain properly and my girls thought they were water tables. The bathroom also lacked counter space.

We went in Feb & it was too cold to use the pool. I did walk around it and it was pretty plain... no zero depth entry.

Good luck finding the perfect resort!

 

[Merriwind]

Gosh, DD is 10 (and I 'm a lot older ) and we still break, especially on hot days. We would both be too cranky in the evening.

I wouldn't worry too much about the two rooms. When DD was younger, DH would just lie down (and usually sleep) with her. I would read at the desk or on the couch. Usually, she was so tired, that once we got her in a dark, cool room, she would go out quickly.

Haven't stayed on the monorail, so can't comment on that. Enjoy!