Opinion request re deluxe

[TJA]

Our family consists of me, my husband, and 2 twin babies who will be one year old when we go to WDW. We just went last month and stayed at AKL. While we loved the resort, it simply was not convenient for us as we frequented MK the most often. Also, we have a Graco duo glider stroller that we bring, so buses are kind of a pain. So our conclusion is to stay at an MK resort and utilize the water transportation and monorail. So which resort suits our family and situation the best? We'd prefer to not have to walk miles at our resort to get to transportation services and restaurants at the resort. In other words, the "spread out" resorts don't suit us very well since we now have 2 babies to cart around!

I'll gladly listen to any opinions and advice. Thanks!
Debbie

 

[momofmikey]

We just stayed at the Poly with our two little guys (3 and 8 months), and loved it. The resort is very kid friendly and beautiful, and although it appears large, we never found the walk to the Great Ceremonial House bad. We stayed in Tokelau this past trip and it was less than a 5 minute walk to the GCH. We often ate at Captain Cooks (decent) and once at Kona Cafe. We also would walk to the GF and eat at Gasparilla Grill, which we preferred over the Captain Cooks. The GF is beautiful too, but a bit more expensive. Never stayed at the Contemporary.

 

[chrisp]

We've stayed 12 times at the Contemporary - from when our kids were tots to teenagers. Stay in a tower room and you'll have Chef Mickey's and the Concourse Steakhouse on the 4th floor along with access to the monorail - just take the elevator from your room to the 4th floor and it's all right there. If you choose, you can also walk to MK from the CR. We love the CR.

 

[Ratpack]

I would suggest the three resorts on the monorail. That will be the easiest for your stroller. WL is great too but only has the boats to MK (except bus to TTC, then monorail). And since you mentioned the water transportation, I'll tell you that it may be as much hassle as the buses are to you. I am going to assume that the collapsing of the stroller for the buses is what you disliked most. If so, then the water transportation will be the same except for the larger boat that goes from WL to FW to MK. The rest of the resort's boats are the small ones and they also require you to fold the strollers. Hope this helps you some.

 

[rbaity]

I agree that Poly is great for kids. Ask for a building close to the great ceremonial house and you will be on steps to the monorail. The roooms are spacious, you have a patio, and if you're ambitious, when you want to go to Epcot. You can walk down a paved path to the TC and get on the Epcot monorail........with changing.

The extra money is worth it to be on a monorail resort. We have stayed three times at the Poly and twice at the Contemporary. If one gets tired, we just got on the monorail, rode back to the room for a nap. Easy!

 

[Dennan]

Hi debbie,

I have the same question, we have 2 twin girls they will be almost 3 we we are going to Disney.

At the moment we are thinking Contemporary because you can have a walk to the park.
But I really like the Polynesian theming, and/or the Wilderness Lodge theming.
The con. about the Wilderness is that it's not located at the Monorail, so you have to take the boat or bus.

Which is best for childeren of this age?


Since we are going during the high season (Christmas) I really want to make a booking by now.
We haven't been to any Disneyworld resort yet, and because of the high prices we probably are not going to the Grand Floridian.


Dennan

 

[cinmell]

I think the Contemporary would be pretty convenient. The monorail zips right thru the resort, there are restaurants and shopping in the concourse, boats and a walking path to MK which only takes approx. 10 minutes to walk. We enjoyed walking to the MK b/c it was so quick and quiet and we didn't have to fold up the stroller to get on some type of transportation. We took the monorail back to the Contemporary from the MK at quiet times and walked back after parades/fireworks to avoid the crowds. My 2 year old loved the pool and she also loved feeding the ducks on the dock. Have a great time wherever you decide to stay!

 

[kalamazoo]

The Contemporary was my first thought when I read your description. It is so nice not to have to wait for transportation to and from MK, especially if you are leaving after the fireworks when a million others are leaving too. It's also nice that it is the least expensive of the monorail resorts. The Contemporary has lots of shops and restaurants all under the same roof and (very cool) the monorail going right through the hotel. The only possible drawback, depending how particular you are about these kind of things, is the decor in the rooms may not be to your taste (or you may like it just fine).

My next choice would be the Polynesian because you have easy access to both the MK and EPCOT monorails. Then Grand Floridian.

 

[Kimberle]

Stroller Mom, here!!

I've stayed at CR & WL with my little one.

Truthfully, I much prefered WL for small children. Sure, CR has a monorail, but it's kind of a pain to get to. You have to change elevators to get to it. The elevators are kind of small, too, and you're "fighting" others to get into the elevator. It's not "that" bad, but it is kind of a "pain". Plus, when you go to Epcot, you have to change monorails. That ment pushing the stroller down those long ramps and back up the next one. CR also does not have a kiddie pool. If your kids want to swim, you will have to hold them in the large pool (no zero entry either).

During our WL stay, we were at MK many times. I never folded the stroller on the boat. (I took dd out for saftey reasons, but I left everything loaded on the stroller.) There were tons of strollers and everyone always made room for them. It was no problem. As ratpack said, when you take the small boat to CR or FW, you will have to fold your stroller.

WL has a wonderful kiddie pool. It's only 1 foot, so even a 1 yo (walking) would have no problem splashing around. My dd LOVED it. WL also has a nice beach your kids can play on with a playground. It's shaded an not nearly as hot as the one at CR.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Remember... the boat that goes to GF and Poly is the type where you have to take the kids out of the stroller and fold it up. The boat to WL you can leave them in.

The monorail is nice for going to MK from Poly and GF... but the boat is faster to go back because the monorail has to stop at the CR and TTC.

You really can't go wrong with any of them. They are all close to MK. One thing to think about is the weather... at the GF and Poly you'll be walking outside to get to your building... at the CR and WL it's all indoors.

Are you setting up two cribs?

 

[skiwee1]

I would recommend the Poly as they also have a zero clearance swimming pool which makes it so easy for the little ones to splash in. The GF does too but we love the Poly. Request a building close to the GCH like we do and you will be literally steps away from the GCH and the monorail.

 

[TJA]

I'm so pleased to get so many opinions and advice! Thanks to all of you. Truthfully, before I even started the thread, I was leaning towards Poly but I have CR in the back of my mind too. I know WL is fantastic too (I stayed there 2 years ago....BEFORE the babies!). Thanks for the clarification on which boats we would have to fold up the stroller. It may not be so bad this next trip because the girls will be one year old. Last trip they were 7 months old and wanted to sleep a lot and it was not good when we had to take them out of the stroller to fold it up, etc. TigrLvsPooh: yes, we're setting up 2 cribs/pack and plays! That's another thing -- we need a big enough room. AKL's rooms were not quite big enough once we got the 2 pack and plays set up. There was no extra room to walk....or crawl!

 

[PamNC]

any of the monorail resorts will work great for you and your family. You should pick the one that appeals to you the most and I think transportation and getting around will be about the same at all 3. We've stayed at the Contemporary and GF so far and liked them both a lot.

We're staying at the Poly for the first time on 2/9 - 2/15.

PamNC