Monorail a must with 4 small kids?

[The6Mousketeers]

Are we going to be miserible forgoing a monorail resort with 4 kids 8 and under?

Any advice?

 

[Disbound]

Absolutly not! My daughter loved the busses! She was actually dissapointed when we stayed off site the next year and rented a car. It's all a big adventure when you are there! You can always take a monorail ride just for fun. We did that one year and asked the attendent if we could ride in the front car. We had to wait a few times for a few to go by, but eventually we did get to ride with the driver. He gave my daughter a little drivers pass thingy that she thought was way cool!

 

[wrighter]

I completely agree! Being on the monorail would undoubtedly be a convenience, but my two children (3 and 1 then) absolutely loved the buses. It was a huge adventure for them - it's not like they get to ride buses that often!

That said, do make sure to plan ahead. If you're bringing your own stroller(s) make sure it (they) fold easily. Head out early to avoid big bus crowds. And one thing that was indispensible for us for those bus rides home after a long day at the parks: ringpops. They're a bit messy, but will provide you with an almost completely silent trip back to your hotel.

Don't worry - you'll have a blast no matter what.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Will you be miserable, no. Is it un-doable, no. Do I think its worth hurting yourself financially, no. Lots of people can and do take just as many kids to cheaper resorts I'm just not sure what they will allow you to do with such a large group. Even so, 2 rooms with a door between them at the Pop Century might still be cheaper than a deluxe.

That being said, will a monorail resort make your trip easier, IMO absolutely.

If you can afford to do a monorail resort I say definitely. I like them myself (check the siggie) not only because of the monorail to both the MK and EPCOT (via TTC) but also because the monorail resorts tend to be bigger. Most of these resorts will give you 2 double beds plus a daybed and an extra crib to sleep 6 comfortably.

You can look at trip advisor to see photos of what the rooms really look like to help you decide.

 

[TJA]

In my opinion, if you have 1 or 2 of those kids still needing a stroller then I'd seriously consider a monorail resort (or an Epcot resort). I'd stay at a resort which will make things as easy as possible with that many kids. Sure, the bus is fun for the kids, but if you will be juggling 1 or 2 strollers + 4 kids, I'm not sure how much fun that would be for the adults LOL! Cost-wise, I believe the CR south wing is the least expensive out of all the monorail choices. Another consideration is an Epcot resort where you can walk/boat to both MGM and Epcot, and what we do is plan our MK day when we start out in Epcot so that we can hop on the monorail over to MK. EDIT: Someone made a good point above about room size, and I'm not sure the Epcot resorts sleep 6 in a standard room. The monorail resorts definitely have larger rooms. If you are going to be spending a lot of time at MK, then the walking path at CR is wonderful! Personally, we tend to enjoy Poly the most out of the monorail resorts.

 

[SmallWorld71]

JMHO - If I waited until I could afford a monorail resort, we would only go to Disney once every 10years.

Seriously, we always stay at a value or moderate and have never had any problems. Request a room as close to the main area/bus stop as possible and you will be fine.

 

[Aliceacc]

We're staying at the cheapest room we can at the Contemporary. With our family of 5, it would have meant 2 rooms or a family suite in a value resort. When we looked at the numbers, that Garden Wing room wasn't all that much more, and we figure the convenience will be well worth the small difference.

 

[crazykids]

We just recently came back from our first family trip - we have 3 small kids ages 1, 3, & 4. We stayed 9 nights at Poly & 3 nights at Old Key West. It was definitely not as convenient when we moved off of the monorail, but it wasn't impossible. Riding the busses is easy, the hard part was waiting around at the bus stops w/ the kids, they became very impatient after a while. I think my kids got spoiled since they grew accustomed to the monorail & then moved to the buses.

Point is, don't worry if you can't stay at a monorail resort. You are in Disney World & your kids will be fine!

 

[mandymommy4]

We just recently came back from our first family trip - we have 3 small kids ages 1, 3, & 4. We stayed 9 nights at Poly & 3 nights at Old Key West. It was definitely not as convenient when we moved off of the monorail, but it wasn't impossible. Riding the busses is easy, the hard part was waiting around at the bus stops w/ the kids, they became very impatient after a while. I think my kids got spoiled since they grew accustomed to the monorail & then moved to the buses.

Point is, don't worry if you can't stay at a monorail resort. You are in Disney World & your kids will be fine!

We will be going in March with 4 kids~ 2, 3, 4, 5 ! The plus side is we are staying at the GF, and we can hop over to the MK anytime. How crazy was your week? We go all the time for day trips and leave whenever the kids are tired... Did you do alot of dinning at table service resturants? We have most meals planned at places like California Grill, Jiko, Narcoossee's, and I am worried about the kids at these places. Kids will be kids and I can deal with it but there seems to be alot of people who feel that kids don't belong at the nicer resturants.

 

[mandymommy4]

Are we going to be miserible forgoing a monorail resort with 4 kids 8 and under?

Any advice?

If any of your kids are in strollers I would suggest strollers that are as light as possible since you will be folding them up to get on an off the buses. Huge strollers are nice and have more room but you got to fold those suckers up a lot to get on and off the buses. If I may suggest my fav compact stroller is the Chicco Capri. We go to WDW all the time and trust me getting on and off the trams is a breeze with it!

 

[TJA]

But can the OP stay in a moderate with 6 people in the room? This is a good thread so we can put all the options on the table. I don't want to suggest or recommend a resort if you can't have 6 people in the room. I posted above and my recommendation is still with a monorail resort for the ease of transportation; however, I totally see other people's point in not spending the extra money. But it does seem that if OP has to book 2 rooms at a moderate, then the cost would almost even out to just staying in one room at CR south wing + the added convenience of the monorail and walking path to MK. Has anyone actually priced out the cost differences? I'd be curious to know.....maybe I'll do some digging.

 

[solgent]

We went 6 times within a year with 3 kids under 5 (FL Res Seasonal Pass). Stayed offsite and it worked out fine. We had a fantastic time always.

After a 7 year hiatus we've returned and prefer to stay onsite now. The budget is a lot bigger and we like the ease of Disney transport.

One thing that we like about staying onsite is that family members can split up, eg, my DH went back to our room after dinner while the kids & I stayed in the park. If you think your family might want to separate at times, onsite does make that lots easier.

Do whatever appeals to you and makes sense for your family at this time.

 

[goofygal531]

I say go monorail or don't go.

Not only is the monorail convenient with kids, but you don't have to fold the strollers up to board like on the buses. You can let sleeping babies sleep. Also, the rooms are very spacious. You do get a lot more room than at the other resorts, you need this room for all your extra stuff - strollers, pack n play, floor toys, etc... And truthfully, your going to be at MK more than any other park based on your kid's ages.

We just stayed 8 days at a moderate and we'll never do it again. My DH said if a deluxe is not available when we plan on visiting, then we'll change our dates. It's just not a vacation - for us. It's too much stuff to shelp around when you can be so close and hop back and forth.

What we found the most inconvenient is when the baby is sleeping and we needed to board the bus. Once we even took the boat from MGM to BW just to let the baby sleep and DH played games with the 4 year old.

On our last night, we walked around GF to see the Gingerbread House, then toured the grounds. My DH said this is where we should have stayed, now this is a vacation. We ate a lite dinner in the food court then watched the MK fireworks from the GF pool. Really cool. I guess DH was right!

It's a personal choice. My dearest friend loves the values, my DH would never stay in one.

 

[liznboys]

We have 4 kids, take a look at my signature to see their ages and also the resorts we've stayed in.... Only one of our trips was on the Monorail.

So, is the Monorail nice? OH YEAH!!!! It is AWESOME. There's nothing like putting the youngest in the umbrella stroller and all walking right onto our transportation! It is great!

The rest of our trips we've used the buses or a rental minivan to get around. And although it's not as nice, it's totally FINE too! Sure it takes a little more time and effort. But so what? It's totally doable and ok. It certainly does not make or break the trip. It just is what it is!

As far as where a family of 6 can stay. If one of the kids is under 3, then you can all stay in one room at some of the deluxes. Some of those rooms have the two beds, plus a daybed, and you can have a pack n play or crib. Our family of 6 stayed at the Poly in one room twice this year, it was fine!

 

[TJA]

For us, if we're going to spend the $$ at WDW, we want to stay at a place that makes our trip as relaxing as possible. The more relaxed we are, the more fun we have. We stayed at AKL when our twins were 7 months old and while we loved the resort itself, we did NOT like having to take a bus everywhere we went. It took us way too much time and effort to unload the stroller with all our baby supplies, fold it up, I would carry the 2 babies on the bus, DH would haul the stroller + all our baby supplies and bag. Besides, as someone above noted, we'd always have to wake up the sleeping kids so we could fold up the stroller. We totally didn't enjoy that aspect of our trip. So next trip, we stayed at a monorail resort and the rest is history. We've never looked back. We've stayed monorail and also love the Epcot resorts. We love the option of going to a park at night and not worrying about if the kids are tired because we know they can just fall asleep in the stroller and we can walk, boat, or monorail back to our resort. In fact, we kind of look forward to the kids falling asleep at night in the stroller so DH and I can grab a snack or a drink and enjoy some "alone" time!

 

[mericletwins]

Are we going to be miserible forgoing a monorail resort with 4 kids 8 and under?

Any advice?

We have stayed several times with three kids in strollers. None of them have been at a monorail resort. My kids LOVED the busses, boats,. etc. In fact, they called the busses the Mickey busses and kept asking when they could get on one again.

 

[rt2dz]

I haven't read all the replies, so this is my unbiased opinion.

We travel to WDW every year. My boys are currently 6, 3, and 2. I really don't see what the big deal with the monorail resort is. We've done it and we've not done it--we do stay deluxe, so it's not about the money. In some ways it's nicer and in others its not. But really, it's never been "easier" by being on the monorail.

Other resorts that take large families are the Fort Wilderness Cabins, The Wilderness Lodge, The Boardwalk, Old Key West, Port Orleans, Animal Kingdom (my kids' absolute favorite!), value family suites, connecting value rooms, and off site (which I don't recommend personally). You have lots of choices. Of course, in some cases, I'm assuming that you have one under three...

As far as strollers go. A big stroller can be hard to get on and off the bus if it is crowded and the driver doesn't want you to use the handicap entrance--most offer, others let you if you ask, some say NO WAY! But you have other options besides the bus--a boat ride depending on the resort, a Taxi in a pinch, rent a car/drive, renting in-park strollers (which I hate), etc.

It's all about temperment (yours and your kids) and the attitude you have going into it. But you absolutely won't be miserable; it is not going to make or break a trip. You're at DISNEY!!

 

[MSSANDRA]

The reality is that most families that go to WDW never stay in a monorail resort and most have wonderful trips. If you can afford it, go for it but otherwise, choose what you can afford and adjust your expectations and have a blast!!!!!!!!!!!