Thanks to all who replied. I'm considering Desert Inn, glad to hear from some people who were ok with it, cause I've found some bad reviews. Two connecting rooms would suit us fine, but like someone said, they often won't guarantee that, and of course we can't leave the 3 year old in a room unless it connects or is part of a suite. I think my choices at this point (I want to be in the main grouping right there by the crosswalk, for going back and forth for naps and such) are the suites at the Dessert Inn, suites at the Carousel (it seems to have better ratings than the Dessert Inn) or, if I can get them to guarantee connecting rooms, the Best Western Park Place Inn seems to have over all good reviews. All we really want, aside from the layout and proximity to the parks, is cleanliness, working appliances (a/c or heat, fridge, tv, etc), good price, and a reputation for not screwing up reservations and room types, LOL.
So I'm trying to look at reviews and weed out bad reviews based on off the wall situations, what's at the breakfast bar, how big the towels are, how crowded the pool is, and things like that, LOL.
The reviews that worry me are the ones where you keep reading "and the clerk at the desk could care less". Although even on those, you have to wonder if the person approached the desk with the problem nicely or just started ranting at them.
If anyone has any info about any of the close by places, especially if they try hard to honor connecting room requests, I'd love to hear. Gotta book soon....
Thanks again for all the help.
Merriweather