Need your advice on my latest dillema

[Masonmj84]

So I've been thinking about a Poly/BC split stay for our upcoming trip in December with my parents.

Part of the appeal of the split is that we have tickets to MVMCP, want to see Illuminations on a different night, and would like to be able to get back to our room quickly and with minimal hassle on both nights. In particular, we have young kids who don't handle staying up late very well. Under those circumstances, we'd like to avoid long bus lines, jam packed buses, and/or hanging out in a park until the wee hours waiting for the buses to clear out.

Even taking a cab back to a resort seems less than optimal because there's a good chance our kids will fall asleep in the double stroller we'll be renting. So being able to go back to our resort without having to fold up the stroller and wake them up is a big deal.

On the other end, while our kids are early risers (regardless of when they go to bed), my mom is not and we have several early morning character breakfasts planned. So doing the split seems like a good way to give everyone their requisite sleep on both ends (because we won't have to build in time to wait for busses most mornings). Especially since our kids don't nap well in the middle of the day.

What's complicated matters is that my sister's family recently decided to go over the same time period and are planning to stay at POR (they aren't planning on early morning character breakfasts or MVMCP). My parents would really like all of us to stay in the same resort. I wouldn't have a problem staying at POR but for my concerns about transportation issues and sleep deprivation.

One thought I had was for my parents to stay at POR and to just give them cab money for the early morning breakfasts. But I don't know that they'll accept this (plus, I don't want them or my sister to feel like we're dissing them by staying in a higher resort class). And no one in our family wants to rent a car because we all love being wisked away by Magical Express without having to deal with baggage claim, car seats, etc.

Another thought was to do a 3 way split between the Poly, POR, and BC. But I don't really want to have to change resorts twice.

I just can't seem to figure out a way out of this so as to keep everyone happy.

 

[Sue M]

A 3 way split is way too much work, packing up, unpacking, etc.
I don't even know if I'd do a 2 way split with young ones.
The Poly has excellent transportation with monorail to MK, and a short walking path to TTC to Epcot monorail. You wouldn't have to pack up the stroller for MK or Epcot. Only have to bus to DHS and AK.

It's your vacay, and you should be able to stay where it will make your life easier. It's your parents decision where they want to stay, as it is your sisters.

It's very easy to meet up either in front or in a park, with cell phones, and some pre planning.

To make your life easier, maybe swap out an early morning breakfast for a character dinner. 1900 has a great dinner with Cinderella, and the step sisters, who are hilarious, by the way! Ohana has a nice breakfast, and there are the ones in MK, and Epcot? Chef Mickeys at CR. If you stay at Poly for entire trip, Cape May would be the only hard breakfast to get too. But I think there are plenty of choices that are doable from Poly.

 

[cmdg]

I would not choose based on where your family is staying unless you want to be at the same resort. If you're okay with just meeting up later, then why switch? We will be staying at a different resort from my family next summer as I just don't think I want to stay at the Ft Wilderness cabins.

The split sounds doable depending on how many days you'll be going. Otherwise, I might just choose the Poly since the monorail will be convenient to get to Epcot.

 

[sharadoc]

I would suggest that some "apart" time REALLY keeps everyone happy. With cell phones, it's easy to find each other. Staying at the same resort means waiting for everyone to get ready, go to the bus stop, etc. together is what it sounds like your mother wants. That can get really frustrating for the early risers/go getters LOL.

A group of my family always goes on vacation together. Their number one rule is that NO ONE is obligated to anyone else. You want to do something on your own, or different from the group, feel free. No one's feelings are hurt, no expectations are ruined, etc. If you are going with the whole family for the first time, it may not hurt to spell out some ground rules like that. Just an idea!

They key here is that your sister "recently" decided to join you and your parents. So the trip wasn't planned from the beginning to include your sister's family, therefore the plans should have to cater to her.

Anyway, I would not give up Poly and BC for POR. It's your vacation, enjoy it the way you want to enjoy it!

 

[Marthasor]

So I've been thinking about a Poly/BC split stay for our upcoming trip in December with my parents.

Part of the appeal of the split is that we have tickets to MVMCP, want to see Illuminations on a different night, and would like to be able to get back to our room quickly and with minimal hassle on both nights. In particular, we have young kids who don't handle staying up late very well. Under those circumstances, we'd like to avoid long bus lines, jam packed buses, and/or hanging out in a park until the wee hours waiting for the buses to clear out.

Even taking a cab back to a resort seems less than optimal because there's a good chance our kids will fall asleep in the double stroller we'll be renting. So being able to go back to our resort without having to fold up the stroller and wake them up is a big deal.

On the other end, while our kids are early risers (regardless of when they go to bed), my mom is not and we have several early morning character breakfasts planned. So doing the split seems like a good way to give everyone their requisite sleep on both ends (because we won't have to build in time to wait for busses most mornings). Especially since our kids don't nap well in the middle of the day.

What's complicated matters is that my sister's family recently decided to go over the same time period and are planning to stay at POR (they aren't planning on early morning character breakfasts or MVMCP). My parents would really like all of us to stay in the same resort. I wouldn't have a problem staying at POR but for my concerns about transportation issues and sleep deprivation.

One thought I had was for my parents to stay at POR and to just give them cab money for the early morning breakfasts. But I don't know that they'll accept this (plus, I don't want them or my sister to feel like we're dissing them by staying in a higher resort class). And no one in our family wants to rent a car because we all love being wisked away by Magical Express without having to deal with baggage claim, car seats, etc.

Another thought was to do a 3 way split between the Poly, POR, and BC. But I don't really want to have to change resorts twice.

I just can't seem to figure out a way out of this so as to keep everyone happy.

I think you came up with the perfect plan to accommodate everyone's sleep habits and make your life easier while on vacation! Your Poly/BC split stay sounds fantastic and really well planned out. I wouldn't change a thing. As another PP pointed out, it sounds like you had this all planned out before your sister decided to go. I would not let that influence your decision. I personally would not switch from Poly/BC to POR, especially when you have planned everything out already.