Need some help from Mom's with Toddlers

[MrsJ Henry]

Ok
we are planning our next trip to Disney the last week of April. We ahve been to disney several times but this will be our first trip with our daugher. With this brings a whole new group of things to think about.

We put a lot of thought into what resort we are staying in because that is part of the vacation for us. We have stayed at AKL and YC and love them both. This time I'm having a VERY difficult time picking a resort.
So I thought i would come here for some help.
I would love to stay on the monorail but we really can't afford that.
My DH would LOVE to stay at AKL again or at the BC since it has the new rooms.
I was also looking at CS but feel like we would need a car if we stayed there since it is so spread out.
I have also thought about WL since it is closer to MK and i know we will be there A LOT. Neither one of us are overjoined with the theme there but thought it might be worth it for the location.

So these are some of my random thoughts.........................
Considering transportation, confort, what the resort has to offer us and a 2 year old etc...... what do you think? What resorts have you liked with your little one?
Thanks a bunch folks!!!!

 

[crl]

When we travel with our little ones, we enjoy having another room to go to when the little one is napping or in bed early. So we always try for at least a one bedroom place. We've been to Old Key West twice and it's nice. But really you get a better value at the Marriott in the World Center which is just about as close as Old Key West. And we always rent a car now. We tried one trip without and won't do it again. Waiting for buses with tired little ones is not fun. Plus you can make a run or 2 to the local grocery store for all those things kids need.

 

[Ariel8676]

Before we were DVC members we LOVED to stay at Port Orleans French Quarter. It is a smaller resort, good food court..and although you do have to share the bus with Riverside (you used to, not sure if they still do) FQ gets picked up first and dropped first.
FQ has a great pool and nice little playground..or you could could always look into renting DVC points from a member and staying at a DVC resort...

 

[puffkin]

We are DVC....but,

AKL is great because while she is napping you can sit on the balcony and watch the animals. I also like the zero entry pool and the food court there. Also in April there should still only be one bus stop (since the new DVC building won't open til May) which is invaluable with a toddler.

The monorail resorts are great to travel to MK/Epcot. But the tranportation options are a pain getting to the other parks! Also, not great quick service options.

If cost is an issue, we absolutely loved POFQ. Pool area was great and transportation was good.

 

[mrsturtle]

heard that the AKL is very nice but feels far away from the parks. we are trying the BC with our kids in the fall. heard nice things about it. POFQ is a nice small place to stay. the one bus stop is another good thing. good luck making your decision. it is so hard to choose!!!

 

[ktlm]

We just had our first trip with our 2 year old daughter a couple of weeks ago. I love AKL and after staying there said I did not want to stay anywhere else, but we decided not to stay here this time because of our daughter as it is so far from MK and because it takes so long to get anywhere from there. We chose WL because it was close to MK; we didn't want to pay for a monorail resort; and because I heard it was great at Christmas. It was definitely the right choice. Being able to just hop the boat to MK was great and fun for DD. DD absolutely loved it there. She was a big fan of throwing pennies in the "bubbling spring" by the elevator. Surprisingly (since she loves the zoo), DD did not really care for AK and did not want to stay there very long (we had been to MK and Epcot first and she just wanted to go back to either of those), so I'm really glad I did not chose AKL.

 

[MrsJ Henry]

I think we are going to stick with one of our favorites. BC or AKL.
Which one would people chose with a two year old?

 

[IllumFan]

I would stay at BC. You have the advantage of a great pool, the boardwalk with entertainment, boat transportation and food. Also, you can walk to Epcot or Hollywood Studios if you want.

At AKL, you have to take bus transporation everywhere and I like the convenience of being able to walk to two of the four parks with our stroller.

 

[ktlm]

When making your decision, another thing you should be aware of with a 2 year old is that unless things have changed, it is my understanding that AKL does not have or allow straws (or cup lids) on the premises and does not allow balloons in the guestrooms. These are both for animal safety issues. At 2, my daughter needs cups with straws to avoid spillage. I didn't really plan on buying her a balloon because we couldn't get it home on the plane, but she loves them and really wanted one and grandma got one for her the first day so she could have it in her room all week. (Also, MK is a 20 minute bus ride from AKL) I think for those reasons, and the fact that she really liked Epcot because of all the characters running around World Showcase, I would probably pick BC of those two.

 

[MrsJ Henry]

When making your decision, another thing you should be aware of with a 2 year old is that unless things have changed, it is my understanding that AKL does not have or allow straws (or cup lids) on the premises and does not allow balloons in the guestrooms. These are both for animal safety issues. At 2, my daughter needs cups with straws to avoid spillage. I didn't really plan on buying her a balloon because we couldn't get it home on the plane, but she loves them and really wanted one and grandma got one for her the first day so she could have it in her room all week. (Also, MK is a 20 minute bus ride from AKL) I think for those reasons, and the fact that she really liked Epcot because of all the characters running around World Showcase, I would probably pick BC of those two.

I had forgotten about the no staws and no balloons. My daughter LOVES both. Good point !!!

 

[MKB419]

Hi
We were in WDW in 10/08 with ourDD4 &DS3 and stayed at the WL and we loved it. The boat ride to the MK was easy and fast. Most times we could just roll the stroller onto the boat. It has a small beach for sand play and the pool was alot of fun. The biggest issue is lack of food choices,but otherwise no complaints.I am sure where ever you choose it will be great.
Mary Kay