Is transportation a problem with young children at FW?

[helenk]

My family is going to WDW next May, this will be the first trip for my brother and his wife and their 2 children. My nephew will be 4 and my niece will be 1. My brother loves the outdoors and I thought it would be fun to stay at the FW cabins, plus FW just seems to offer so much fun stuff for kids.
My concern is the transportation, the internal buses to the main bus stop and then another bus to the parks. Going to the parks would not be too bad, but what about at night when the kids and adults are dog tired.
I am sure that some of you have done this with young children, any thoughts?

 

[Mickster]

I have gone to Disney 3 times with my kids, twice to FW. My DD was 14 months old for her first trip, 20 months old her second and 2.5 for her third. My son was 4 for the first two trips and 5 for his third. That being said, we had no trouble with them on the buses. My only suggestion is to not bring a huge stroller. We used umbrella strollers for all 3 trips and they fold up so small that you can hold them out of the way of your kids and of other people getting on and off buses. I've seen families bring their huge stroller and then block the aisles so it is a lot harder to get on and off.

We didn't have quite as much room to store stuff during our visits, but that was ok. We didn't need much. I just used a ziplock for diapers and wipes, another for snacks and used the little pounch on the back of the stroller.

At night the kids actually liked the buses better. Yes, they were tired, but it is dark. I think DD usually feel asleep on someone's shoulder, but that made it easy for her to get back into the stroller. To be honest, you'd almost have to do that at a hotel too. Good luck!

 

[schmitty]

You could also rent a golf cart and use that to get places around FW.

 

[gullyf]

We were at the cabins this past March with our twins, who were 3 years old at the time (well, two weeks under three, but close enough). They absolutely enjoyed their "little house", and it was by far the most relaxing stay we have ever had at WDW.

That said, you will almost certainly want to rent a golf cart to get around with. It is not impossible to do without it, but it certainly helps to make the most of your time there, especially with youngsters. The walks to the internal bus stops can be longish, and it certainly takes a bit more time than zipping right to the main stops in the golf cart. Now, we aren't shy about physical effort. We have never used strollers in the parks, but rather carry them around in slings (rebozo) when they are tired of walking. But the golf cart definitely added to our enjoyment, especially at the end of a long day at the parks.

Edit:
By the way, the "little car" was almost considered one of the park rides by the kids, so it has entertainment value of its own ...

 

[Mickster]

Right the golf cart! The highlight of the trip! Both kids are still talking about #50 from the 2005! They loved it! It was a great way to avoid the buses at the end of the day all together (well, once you got to FW). The key is to remember where (which end of FW) you parked it.

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

The golf carts are almost always kids favorite ride, and if you want one reserve it asap(tie it to you site res), they run out during busy times. If you don't want or cant get a cart, the walk from the bus really isn't that bad and is usually shorter than the walk from some resort busses to your room.

 

[tci1212]

On our last trip we had a 5 month old and a 1.5 yr old we didn't have any problems. We did rent a golf cart and we rented a stroller instead of carrying strollers on the bus with us. It was much easier with the two babies on the bus not worrying about strollers. You can purchase a weekly rental for the strollers and pay in advance, this saves the trouble of having to get in line in all the parks and paying daily. You just show your receipt at the stroller pick up point.

 

[toytowner]

we had 6 kids 7 to 14 saw many parents with very young children and even at night no problems.didn't rent golf cart used bus and boat the bus drivers were great no long waits.just don't sing it's a small world because the bus just might stop and not move until you sing something else lol.don't worry just go with the flow and relax and enjoy.we were there the week of the 4th 2006.

 

[helenk]

Thank you for your replies. My brother really likes the idea of the cabins, and I think that a golf cart would be a good idea... I know my nephew would like riding in it.

 

[bexter12]

...who doesn't like the WDW transportation. We used it many trips before we had kids and tried it once when our son was an infant. I have the worst luck at seeing my bus drive off as I round the corner to the stop.

That being said, we started driving our own car to and from everywhere and have found it much more enjoyable. The kids are in their carseats/boosters, we can keep all our stuff in the van and not carry it along. What was especially nice about the cabins was the kids would fall asleep on the way back from the park (both afternoon and evening) and we could carry them a few steps from the driveway inside.

Getting to MK was the only problem, since we had to park at the TTC. But since the kids love the monorail, it never was an issue to them.

My advice is to rent a car and you'll save a ton of time getting to and from the parks and a lot less hassle by keeping your stuff in the trunk.

I also agree with the cheap umbrella stroller strategy. We got two and then if we needed to split up one person didn't have a double while the other went without. I also took a sharpie and wrote our last name on them. It made them easier to find and less likley to be stolen.

bex

 

[Gillian]

We like driving our own car too! When we're not in a hurry, it's nice to take the boats, but when getting to the parks in the AM or in the evening it's just easier to have our own car.