Not sharing a "room" with kids

[Waddler]

My DD would go and go and go and go and go until she would collapse. Like you, there was no way I would return to my room by 7-8 and sit in the dark! My solution was different, though. We would let her fall asleep in her stroller and we would keep on going .

I would do this if I could! My toddler would go and go and go and then cry for an hour before finally falling asleep in the stroller, then probably wake up crying 20 minutes later because he was so overtired. Unfortunately, we really have to put him to bed in a quiet room by 8 pm or pay the price.

We rent DVC when we can. One downside is that you often have to book and pay really far in advance (7-11 months) to secure the resort that you want. For us, that's BLT or WL. We've paid cash through WDW reservations, albeit at a discounted rate, because we needed a little more flexibility.

Requesting two adjoining rooms is also an option, but it's my understanding that they won't guarantee this request. (If I'm wrong, someone please correct me!) That's a non-starter for us.

 

[nugov2]

Why not leave mr grouchy pants at home and make it a girls trip? Or if he wants to be so selfish and you want to accommodate, leave the kids and take a grown up trip.

Wow, her dh is selfish b/c he wants space to spread out and relax after a busy day at the parks and he doesn't like the long waits/ride for public transportation. I think that's a stretch.

OP, stay at WBC or WH(or at least look into them). Your drive is less than the value you stayed at last time. You could get a house at WH with your own pool plus resort pool with waterslide. You can relax with dh in the pool/hot tub while the kids sleep after a fun day in the park. It is a little further than WBC, but closer than the values. We found no issues with traffic and we were there in June. If that is too far go to WBC, still more room and a great pool much better than what WDW offers unless you cough up $700+ a night. I am like your dh(selfish I guess) and like my own space at night to relax and dislike public transportation so even if I did stay onsite I'd drive. It might not work for your family offsite, but it might also be the perfect solution. There are tons of WDW themed homes that are IMO more immersive than the values. I have been on and offsite and for us being a family with small kids the only option is offsite. It truly is magical!

 

[twinmum]

I'm guessing that these are little ones who need to get to sleep early. I remember those days! Now, we have the opposite problem when we travel with your 16 year old twin boys...we want to sleep and they are wide awake! (But don't talk to me about getting them up and going in the morning...!)

 

[AZMermaid]

I would do this if I could! My toddler would go and go and go and then cry for an hour before finally falling asleep in the stroller, then probably wake up crying 20 minutes later because he was so overtired. Unfortunately, we really have to put him to bed in a quiet room by 8 pm or pay the price.

This is my kids too. They are really bad stroller nappers. It's a ton of work and they sleep for 30 minutes max. We go to Disneyland in 2 weeks and are going to try for one later night, but even that means leave the parks by 8:30 instead of 6:30/7:00.

 

[buzznina]

I am glad that our DDs, had no problems sleeping in their strollers, learned that after a few days of going back to the resort for naps and it ended up wasting time and making everybody grumpy. They also do not need the room dark and quiet to sleep. Since they were infants we always had a small light and some type of sound, music etc. playing while they slept. So now once they fall asleep, DW and I can watch TV, talk etc. without them even stirring and sometimes we will sit outside of our room. You do what works for your family and learn from previous trips

 

[tiggernpooh]

I recommend two connecting rooms at a value or moderate resort. Disney guarantees connecting rooms for parent/children families. We have done this for many years at the Caribbean Beach Resort. Two rooms are so nice because you get two baths, two fridges, two TVs, and two beds for the kids if they don't want to share a bed. With a discount, the two rooms are less cost than getting a suite at All Stars or AoA. This arrangement really gives you the space and privacy to unwind!

 

[Schmeck]

I recommend two connecting rooms at a value or moderate resort. Disney guarantees connecting rooms for parent/children families. We have done this for many years at the Caribbean Beach Resort. Two rooms are so nice because you get two baths, two fridges, two TVs, and two beds for the kids if they don't want to share a bed. With a discount, the two rooms are less cost than getting a suite at All Stars or AoA. This arrangement really gives you the space and privacy to unwind!

I've never seen it in writing that they guarantee connecting rooms, especially when there are two adults for two rooms. They will try their best to accomodate, but I've never seen it guaranteed.

 

[kimj88]

We have the same issue and ended up renting DVC points and staying in a 1 BR at the Beach Club Villas. It would work with the kids sharing the sofabed because there is a TV in the bedroom and the bathroom connects to the bedroom and if you have to sneak out to the kitchen it is doable without waking the kids. Or you could be like us and put DH on the sofa bed and me and the 2 kids all shared the king sized bed Either way though, it is a major major uptick in price from a Value resort. For us, though way worth it, and we LOVED LOVED the resort and the location, plus there is SAB as well!

 

[maxiesmom]

I recommend two connecting rooms at a value or moderate resort. Disney guarantees connecting rooms for parent/children families. We have done this for many years at the Caribbean Beach Resort. Two rooms are so nice because you get two baths, two fridges, two TVs, and two beds for the kids if they don't want to share a bed. With a discount, the two rooms are less cost than getting a suite at All Stars or AoA. This arrangement really gives you the space and privacy to unwind!

Even if Disney puts guaranteed connecting on your reservation, it really isn't. Connecting rooms are not blocked off as people book, so they have no way of knowing how many will be available when people check in on any given day. Disney's own web site states they are a request only, and not guaranteed.

Nothing about your reservation is truly guaranteed. Not getting the view you paid for, the building you have requested, or even that you will stay at that resort! Disney does move people on occasion.

They do what they can, but you are always taking a chance when you request connecting rooms. If they don't have them available when you check in, they don't have them.

 

[Lincolnshire]

I don't know that this solves OP's issue but I thought connecting studios is going to be a separate booking category at the poly villas and therefore would be guaranteed. I imagine they will be awfully hard to book unless you own Poly or are willing to pay cash.

 

[jhoannam]

Why not leave mr grouchy pants at home and make it a girls trip? Or if he wants to be so selfish and you want to accommodate, leave the kids and take a grown up trip.

I keep suggesting that, but he doesn't want to stay home while we vacation. Or he doesn't want to admit how much he really loves Disney.

 

[gigi1313]

I recommend two connecting rooms at a value or moderate resort. Disney guarantees connecting rooms for parent/children families. We have done this for many years at the Caribbean Beach Resort. Two rooms are so nice because you get two baths, two fridges, two TVs, and two beds for the kids if they don't want to share a bed. With a discount, the two rooms are less cost than getting a suite at All Stars or AoA. This arrangement really gives you the space and privacy to unwind!

No, Disney does *not* guarantee two connecting rooms for parents/children (yes, maybe parent, but not parents!), as we had dh/I and our kids/nieces and we had two rooms booked, requested connecting and received adjoining... and there were no connecting rooms available to switch to when we checked in... and yes, this was at Caribbean Beach Resort. We have had better luck at POR and Pop Century... but if you need two rooms and have more than one adult, it's not worth chancing it, imo.

 

[Okimom]

We stayed at AoA and enjoyed ourselves.. The kids bunked out in the living room area (one murphy bed and one sofa bed) and we got the bedroom. It was nice to have everyone there but have our own space at the same time. Especially when I wanted to stay up and unwind from a long day. Quite a few night my husband went out and I stayed with the kiddos since hes more of a night owl than I am (and I was 12 weeks pregnant so so tired)

Now the only problem is I have to explain repeatedly to my older ones why we can't have a murphy bed at home "but mom its space saving"

 

[samandgraciesmama]

I would suggest the cabins at fort wilderness. The are not huge but at least give you two separate rooms, plus there is a kitchen and a deck.

 

[MrToadfan]

We have a little one who is typically in bed by 7pm and we wanted a little bit of space of our own after putting her to bed too. It seems the deluxe rooms at WL fit the bill. It has a separate sitting area that can be closed off from the bedroom space. This is what we ended up booking for our next trip. The AoA suites also looked promising.

 

[djp0630]

Personally we love staying at a resort where we can walk to one park. Being able to walk and not depend on Disney transportation is so relaxing. Our favorite is Beach Club villas! You can walk to Epcot and take a boat to Hollywood studios. We also like Bay Lake tower where you can walk to Magic Kingdom and take the Monorail to Epcot.

Both of those are DVC villas which has lots of rooms. The 1 bedroom sounds like a good option for you, it has a living room with pullout couch along with a bedroom. We stayed at a studio at BCV and while it didn't have a separate room, we had a huge balcony and we were able to hang out before bed.

Another option is Art of Animation or All star music which has family suites which aren't as expensive as the villas. But they have the long bus ride.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

What about staying at Fort Wilderness? You can rent a trailer from an outside company and they will deliver it to your campsite and hook it up for you. Staying at FW means that you can catch a boat to MK, so that eliminates the bus ride to one of the parks, plus, in a trailer you can have a bedroom that is separate from the rest of the trailer so dad can unwind while the kids play in the living area or outside. When I priced this for our upcoming trip, it was about the same cost as staying in two value rooms.

 

[Lupeix]

I have a DH that has also strict requirements for going to Disney, so I feel for you. For my DH a separate room (and ideally a separate bedroom for everyone), less than 20 minutes ride and a gym (this means only deluxe will do onsite) are all necessary.

To stay basically we have only two options: rent a DVC villa or stay off-site but reaaaly close. The short ride requires a car, and valet parking when going to MK (unless your rent DVC on the monorail). We considered the cabins, but I heard transportation is sort of a nightmare over there (so you really need a car) and they are tiny. The AoA suites looked good, but there's no gym, and the bus to MK takes more than 20 min.

Wyndham Bonnet creek is what we chose for our next trip in April, we did not have the budget this time for a DVC rental. It is right next to the Caribbean beach resort inside Disney property. We have a 2 bedroom (for 3 people) for about the same as a value room. Not sure how you feel about staying on-property but offsite, but if you are going to rent a car, you should take a look. The resort is beautiful, and you are inside Epcot in 15 minutes. I like that it has a shuttle, I won't use it as the only source of transportation, but it is good enough to leave grouchy pants in the gym and have him join us later.