Pop or Contemporary... I know silly?

[jessiegirl1982]

...Oh, and the people who forget to either fold up their stroller/leave the stroller on the bus, they deserve to get yelled at by the driver. Be aware people! We get on and off the bus with a stroller and a toddler in tow without skipping a beat!

 

[Ambehnke]

...Oh, and the people who forget to either fold up their stroller/leave the stroller on the bus, they deserve to get yelled at by the driver. Be aware people! We get on and off the bus with a stroller and a toddler in tow without skipping a beat!

Two is a little harder than one. And make the stroller a double. But we always fold ahead but me carrying two sleeping toddlers (one who is actually going to be 5 but has CP so he tires easily and will pass out too) while my husband holds the double and trying to stand on a packed bus back to the resort = not my idea of vacation.

 

[jessiegirl1982]

Two is a little harder than one. And make the stroller a double. But we always fold ahead but me carrying two sleeping toddlers (one who is actually going to be 5 but has CP so he tires easily and will pass out too) while my husband holds the double and trying to stand on a packed bus back to the resort = not my idea of vacation.

Well, I guess you answered your own question, and should definitely go for CR. I dread the buses, but I won't pay $200 a night to avoid them.

 

[Ambehnke]

Well, I guess you answered your own question, and should definitely go for CR. I dread the buses, but I won't pay $200 a night to avoid them.

Actually I didn't. I wouldn't be taking the buses if I stayed at Pop. I would have a rental car. Only issue would be TTC to MK.

 

[jessiegirl1982]

Actually I didn't. I wouldn't be taking the buses if I stayed at Pop. I would have a rental car. Only issue would be TTC to MK.

No matter what hotel you stay at, transportation is going to an issue. WDW is the size of San Francisco, so it is going to take time to get from place to place. You mentioned going back to the hotel for naps. The buses mid-day will not be standing room only and we usually get a seat in the AM as well. We always have a car, but don't use it when we go to the parks because the parking lots at the parks are terrible (used to DL where there is a huge, covered structure and tram service/easily walkable if we don't want to bother with the stroller on the tram).

 

[AllieBoo]

Contemporary for sure! Just left there after an awesome stay! Cannot beat waking to MK.
Saves sooo much time! The hotel is really nice and you can watch fireworks and Electrical water pageant from the beach.

 

[leebee]

The $900 would be the decision-maker for me, so it might also color my advice, BUT I'd say stay at POP with a rental car. First, $900 is $900, and it'd buy a lot of character meals, etc, for your family. It's nice to have the car for grocery runs, off-site meals, and NOT HAVING TO RIDE THE BUS. If you are at POP, you can park fairly close to your room, depending on the building, and won't have to walk across the resort to get the bus. Regarding MK... I know that people think the monorail/TTC/parking tram is a hassle, but we consider it part of the fun! Where else do you get to ride a monorail? Also, I read that the monorail repairs are supposed to be finished this month, so I'd hope they would be running more regularly moving forward. Another way around the monorail/TTC issue is to use UBER to the Contemporary on your MK days and then walk between the CR and MK. You'd have to pay for the UBER, but it'd keep you from using the monorail/TTC multiple times a day. Maybe only do the UBER option for nap time? OR if you have park hopper tickets, you could rope drop MK and go back to the resort for nap time (having used the bus), and then drive to the evening park. That would also cut down on your transportation time, even if you drive yourself to MK instead of busing or using Uber, and hopefully your kids would be awake when leaving MK at lunch time- and the buses aren't anywhere near as bad as at park closing- so you wouldn't have to ride standing up, holding sleeping kids.

I'd somehow make POP work. $900 is a lot of money to save!

 

[Aurora0427]

What would you do? We definitely have the money to make either work but we do like to be budget conscious and stick with what we plan to spend. We tend to cut costs where we can in our every day life too even though we can afford not to. We need to have booked this trip about two months ago. Dining is set up so that's no big deal but 60 day fastpass is June 6 and air fare needs to be booked today. 6 nights/7 days probably 3 MK 2 AK and one each DHS/ Epcot. We love MK. 2 kids 3 and 5 who need naps EVERY day. Park open to close people but do take that break for several hours. We could stay at Pop, rent a car, have the option to eat out or get groceries for some meals, and have more money to spend on character/signature meals but have to take the dreaded bus or drive to TTC and wait forever for the boat to get us to MK in the morning and then again after midday. I'm thinking this would probably add several hours to our MK days without including the break (we stayed off site last time and I know it did then). Or we could stay at the Contemporary, but then renting a car would be out, and we would probably limit our signature/character meals to stay within our overall planned budget. I just hate the busses so this sounds better to me because of that. We have stayed at mods in the past or off site but never a value or a deluxe. For the reference we would save about $900 going the Pop/car route. Thanks for your advice!

With kids those ages, CR. You can walk to MK. So easy for naps. Bigger rooms. The rooms at Pop are tiny.

 

[goofyintoronto]

With kids those ages, CR. You can walk to MK. So easy for naps. Bigger rooms. The rooms at Pop are tiny.

I agree! CR would be sweet, walking to and from MK doesn't take long. Its nice to not have to deal with buses for MK.
OP, since you'll be at MK more than any other park, its a no brainer. I'd go for CR. There's nothing worse than waiting in a long line for the bus after wishes. its so exhausting.

 

[bumbershoot]

This has never been the case for us. Never heard anyone else complain about bad smells on it, either.

Really???

As the poster you responded to said, google it. Many people talk about it. Heck it's #3 of worst smells at wdw according to an article here. www.wdwinfo.com/walt-disney-world/5-best-and-worst-smells-in-walt-disney-world/amp/

Smells like bandaids to me, not pee, but neither is an overwhelmingly lovely smell.

Two is a little harder than one. And make the stroller a double. But we always fold ahead but me carrying two sleeping toddlers (one who is actually going to be 5 but has CP so he tires easily and will pass out too) while my husband holds the double and trying to stand on a packed bus back to the resort = not my idea of vacation.

Info about a child with CP is important imo.

I like the split stay idea personally. You bring your savings down but are close to where you need to be for MK (though if you weren't doing it back to back splitting won't help you), and can rent a car.

Or just go with contemporary and rent the car. The ability to walk to MK but to drive to the other parks and the store etc. Amp up the luxury.

 

[~AristoCat~]

I would say the CR is the better option with the kids that you have and their ages. The monorail loop access and the kids needs for naps will be a huge help especially if you will be spending a lot of time in the MK.

 

[glocon]

Definitely the CR.
It's beautiful and elegant and convenient.
The Wave is great for a breakfast buffet, you have Chef Mickey's and an easy walk. Ask for a room as close to the pool as possible in the GW and your walk won't be bad. When we were there in April, we had zero monorail issues.
And personally I think the monorail smells like the zoo... ugh

 

[glocon]

And ask for a ground floor room so you can park your stroller out on the patio to save room inside.