Monorail Resort Pools

[Disneyvirg]

I doubt we'll spend the extra money to stay at a monorail resort, but want to be prepared in case we can land a 40% PIN.

I've read that the monorail resorts are the easiest if you're dealing with a stroller. Our DDs will be 6 and 3 when we hope to make our first WDW trip in the fall of 2009. Do any of the monorail resorts have good little kiddie pools? Do they all have nice playgrounds for little tykes?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I don't think there were any kids pools at the Contemporary and Polynesian. I can't speak for the Grand Floridian since my family and I have not stayed there. What I do know about the pools at the Contemporary and Polynesian is that the Polynesian Volcano pool is zero entry and the one at the Contemporary is not. I remember the Contemporary pool area having a playground and the Polynesian has the beach you can walk on.

 

[Sammie]

None of them have playgrounds.

 

[bluwater]

What's interesting is that the write-ups talk about kiddie pools and playgrounds at these resorts.

 

[missycj96]

I have a DD2. First, I'll say that yes, the monorail hotels while expensive, are the best for little kids because of the ease of stroller access.

The Contemporary used to have a playground by the North Wing but since the construction its not there. The Contemporary has my least favorite pool area of the 3 and since I stayed there before DD was born, I didn't pay attention to the kids pool.

Poly has no playground. There is no kids pool but the main pool is zero entry so the kids can play there easily. Also, kids love to play in the sand.

GF has a kids pool by the pool in the courtyard. The beach pool has no kids pool but it is zero entry and there are loads of kids playing in the shallow end by the entrance. I was just there for a week and saw no playground. Info I found about the hotel said that there was a playground but I didn't see it.

I would pick either GF or Poly based on what you would prefer as the kids will like either. Though I do think that the Poly has some more kids activities and probably has an edge over GF for kids (such as the campfires on the beach).

 

[bluwater]

Wow- talk about false marketing - the Disney Resort website clearly states "Kiddie Pool" and "Playground" for each of these resorts.

 

[Kimberle]

The CR used to have a kiddie pool, but it was filled in years ago. It is not a good pool for little kids as there is no zero entry either. Our last stay at CR was when my dd was 4.5 yo. I had to "swim" her around the pool as it was to deep and she didn't swim then. CR does have a playground.

You should look at WL. It's not on the monorail, but it has a direct boat to MK. You don't have to fold your stroller. It has a nice kiddie pool and a nice playground right on the beach. It's also much cheaper than the monorail resorts.

(Personally, we've always thought staying on the monorail was overrated. We found getting to Epcot from the CR very long as you have to change trains. We always ended up pushing our stroller up & down those long ramps. It was much easier just to fold it and hop on a bus. Quicker too, from WL.)

 

[goofy4tink]

Isn't there a little splash and play type area right next to the Volcano Pool for the little ones? Of course, my memory could be playing tricks on me.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

The GF has a great kiddie pool - my ds loved it when he was small. The GF beach pool is zero entry.

The Polynesian is a zero entry pool and has an area with the "pop up jets" for the little kids.

 

[lborne]

I was at the Poly last week and the pop up jets near the volcano pool were only half working. There was a red button that can be pushed to turn them on, but it did not seem to have any effect. The jets are nothing exciting and I saw more adults using them to wash sand off their feet than kids playing.

I don't know if there is a height restriction for the volcano pool slide, but it is "pretty good", in the words of my 10 year old whose been to all the Orlando water parks.

Here are some photos of the kiddie pool and playground at the Contemporary taken about 35 years ago. Don't think they are still there

 

[BLAN99]

We just got back From the Poly last Thurs with a 1, 4 and 6 year old. We have gone 3 times since we had the kids and we always stay at the Poly because it is a monorail hotel. Its worth the extra you pay. You are back at your hotel in < 15 min. You don't have to fold up your stroller and all of the stuff you have accumulated in the parks. My kids had a blast at the volcano pool. The baby loved walking in the zero depth part of the pool. The play area by the pool with the squirting water was working when we were there and the baby enjoyed playing in it. I know its pricey but for us with little kids the monorail hotel is the best bet and worth the OT I work to cover the price difference between the POLY and a moderate hotel.

 

[TotalSnowWhite]

We just got back From the Poly last Thurs with a 1, 4 and 6 year old. We have gone 3 times since we had the kids and we always stay at the Poly because it is a monorail hotel. Its worth the extra you pay. You are back at your hotel in < 15 min. You don't have to fold up your stroller and all of the stuff you have accumulated in the parks. My kids had a blast at the volcano pool. The baby loved walking in the zero depth part of the pool. The play area by the pool with the squirting water was working when we were there and the baby enjoyed playing in it. I know its pricey but for us with little kids the monorail hotel is the best bet and worth the OT I work to cover the price difference between the POLY and a moderate hotel.

AGREED!! We were there last month with a 2 and 5 year old, and it was AMAZING!! We literally walked out of our room a few steps and were in the GCH, hopped in the elevator and strolled onto the monorail. We had one or two strollers depending on the amount of walking we were going to do on that particular excursion.

The kids loved the beach and the little pop-up jets area. They actually seemed to like the quiet pool more than the volcano pool. I thought the entire resort was ideal for little ones!

 

[nikjd68]

AGREED!! We were there last month with a 2 and 5 year old, and it was AMAZING!! We literally walked out of our room a few steps and were in the GCH, hopped in the elevator and strolled onto the monorail. We had one or two strollers depending on the amount of walking we were going to do on that particular excursion.

The kids loved the beach and the little pop-up jets area. They actually seemed to like the quiet pool more than the volcano pool. I thought the entire resort was ideal for little ones!

The Poly is the most convenient resort. Along with what was stated above, it is walking distance to the TTC where you can catch the monorail or ferry to MK or the monorail to Epcot. Hint: the ferry is the easiest way to get out of MK after Wishes.

I went to WDW last year with my DS4 and he loved the quiet pool. Bring a disposable underwater camera (I think the Fuji ones are the best).

Plus the theme at the Poly is great. My DS4 still talks about staying in "Hawaii" when we were at WDW.

 

[mmmears]

The monorail is more convenient if you are travelling with your own strollers. On the busses, you have to fold the strollers up and hold the kiddies. On the monorail, you can leave them sleeping in the stroller and just wheel it on. Ride the monorail, wheel them off -- all without waking the kids! That was a big plus for us when our DD was in a stroller!

Like someone else has said, the GF has both a dedicated, shallow kiddie pool plus a feature pool with a waterfall, waterslide, and a zero-depth entry (like a beach) so the little ones can play there in the shallows. The feature pool is right by the beach, where the kids can play in the sand. Also, the GF has a jacuzzi (I dont believe the Poly has one). Since so many families stay at the Poly, we've found that the pools at the GF are less crowded than the other monorail resorts!

The GF also has a character breakfast (Mary Poppins & friends) and a character dinner (with Cinderella & family). And it's just one stop from the MK. Also, the boat to the MK stops at the GF first on the way home & last on the way there -- very convenient!

All 3 are nice resorts -- we haven't stayed at the Poly or the CR yet since it's been hard not to go to the GF ever since our first stay there! And we've been there with a toddler twice and found everyone there to be very welcoming to children.

 

[Vjale]

As was mentioned here, staying on the monorail with little ones with strollers is the way to go. When my kids were small, it was so much easier. I remember once staying in a mod when the kids were small, it was not alot of fun taking sleeping children out of their strollers and holding them for the bus ride back to the resort. If you can afford to spend the extra money, defnitely stay on the monorail.