recommend a hotel for quick park access?

[holden]

My husband and I are planning a short stay at WDW in September 2005 (5 days/4nights). We are bringing our 2 year old daughter. My concern is the time that it will take to get to the parks. I don't want to have to deal with temper tantrums while waiting 1/2 hour for a bus! I know that the Polynesian, Contemporary and Grand Floridian are on the monorail, but I really don't want to stay at those. Can anyone recommend a hotel that has quick access to the parks? Should we expect long lines for transportation in Sept (10th-14th)? Also, we will be spending a lot of time in the room (nap, early bedtime, etc.), so we'd like something nice. We'd like to get the most for our buck. Thanks!

 

[john2u]

holden

You might want to give the Wilderness Lodge a try. We stayed there this past Dec for the MVMCP and it was wonderful. There is access to the MK by boat only. The wait is not long at all. Also when you visit the other parks and are ready to go back to the room, the lines for the bus to the Lodge is not long at all. As a matter of fact, the longest wait we had was about 10 min. The Wilderness Lodge is worth the money spent

We are going back to DW this Oct. for the MNSSHP and I wanted to stay at the WL again, but I was booted by my DW. She wants to try something new this time and we are staying at the Poly.

Good luck and have fun!!

John

 

[webray]

Depends on what park you want quick acess to. Is this trip for you and hubby or the two year old. If it is for the two year old and you are planning lots of time at MK, then definately the Contemp..reason being..you don't take the monorail..lol, takes to long. You take the nice short walk from the contemp to MK via the sidewalk between the two. Definately your best bet for that.

If the trip is for you and hubby and baby is tagging a long because you have no place to leave her when you are gone..then an epcot resort..because you can walk to MGM and EPCOT with no problems at all, and yes, walking is much faster than the boat in either direction.

AK..well, car or bus..best way to get there no matter where you stay.

 

[disney junky]

You could stay at the Boardwalk Inn and be able to walk to Epcot and MGM. You also have boat transportation to MGM if you don't feel like walking. If you want more of a condo type arrangement, you could rent Beach Club or Board Walk Villas; a studio might meet your needs. These can be pricey but certainly seem to meet your needs. You will still need to take a bus to Animal Kingdom, and either bus to Magic Kingdom or walk through Epcot and jump on the monorail, which I always enjoy doing.

 

[holden]

Thanks for those suggestions so far. The trip is for our 2 year old. We are adopting her in the fall! She is in foster care with us now. You've been a big help and have given us things to think about! Anyone else have some suggestions?

 

[SnackyStacky]

The deluxes are the ones that are going to have quick park access.

The Magic Kingdom cluster:

Grand Floridian
Polynesian
Contemporary
Wilderness Lodge

The Epcot cluster:

Boardwalk
Yacht Club
Beach Club
Swan
Dolphin

The Animal Kingdom "cluster":

There's only one deluxe in this area, and it's the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Please take this as advice from somebody who does NOT have a 2 year old!

If you don't want to stay at any of the Magic Kingdom properties, I would consider either the Yacht/Beach Club, or the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

The Yacht and Beach Clubs have AMAZING access to Epcot. It's no more than a 5 minute walk, and at night it's gorgeous. And for your little one, Stormalong Bay will be a real treat. They have a very cute little kid area and slide, and there's a shallow sand-bottom area that your tot would probably LOVE!

The Animal Kingdom Lodge would be my next choice. Yes, there is no specialized transportation, HOWEVER - with a 2 year old, I would think a mid-afternoon nap will be a must. The afternoon sun is still TREMENDOUSLY hot at the time you'll be going in September, and I think your little one would get a kick out of the animals that can be seen from the balconies.

In the end, I think no matter where you stay you'll have a phenomenal time!!

 

[DoomBuggyBabe]

At two, I'd imagine your child would get the most out of the MK, though AK should hold a good bit of interest with the lovely animals on display, Camp Minnie-Mickey for character interactions and the Boneyard as a great big playground. Now, the only resort convenient to AK is the AKL. Everything else is a bit of a hike.
For MK convenience, well, we here at Chez Q are biased in favor of the WL. We love it there. The theming is magnificent. And the boat access to the MK is a nice thing. The ride over is 10-15 minutes long (just make sure you get on the correct boat -- they're color-coded, and I have a habit of asking the CM if I'm getting on the right one anyway) and quite relaxing.
I can't really offer an opinion on bus transport between the various points of interest, though, as we do the rental car thing. DH and I find that to be more convenient to our needs -- we can just pick up and go wherever whenever we feel like it.
Good luck in making your decision!
Q

 

[holden]

Thanks again. You are all very helpful. The more I think about it, it might be a good idea to rent a car and stay either at the Animal Kingdom or the Wilderness Lodge. Then we could just drive wherever we wanted. We will need a rental anyway because we are driving down to Vero Beach after our short stay at Disney. Would we need to pay to park each time we move our car to a new attraction? Or would our park hopper ticket cover parking? Thanks again guys - you're great! I am so glad I found this site!

 

[ncbyrne]

If you stay at ANY of the WDW resorts you will get a free parking pass.