Resort for family with small children

[DisneyMom2000000]

What resort would you stay at with small kids?
No budget, but we won't splurge on club level or a villa. A standard room with a view is great for us. We enjoy convenient transportation, playgrounds, and a fun pool!

 

[Betty Rohrer]

What resort would you stay at with small kids?
No budget, but we won't splurge on club level or a villa. A standard room with a view is great for us. We enjoy convenient transportation, playgrounds, and a fun pool!

we enjoy the cabins at Fort Wilderness because of no one on the sides plus being able to put kids to bed and have a space for the adults. another plus full size refrig with freezer and the one draw back the small bathroom and water heater but we make it work. campground has a number of park type playgrounds but you will need a golf cart or bus to main pool with the slide

 

[MomOTwins]

Animal kingdom is fun for little kids--they get to see all the nice animals, and have a nice pool and playground. Transportation isn't ideal though; you have to take a bus everywhere.

For most convenient transportation and an awesome pool and splash area, you can't go wrong with the Polynesian. Weirdly, I can't remember a playground there but it would surprise me if they didn't have something.

 

[ucf_knight]

we enjoy the cabins at Fort Wilderness because of no one on the sides plus being able to put kids to bed and have a space for the adults. another plus full size refrig with freezer and the one draw back the small bathroom and water heater but we make it work. campground has a number of park type playgrounds but you will need a golf cart or bus to main pool with the slide

I always like the cabins with our kids but if the fort wasn’t your style I would look at beach club or boardwalk. Walking distance to two parks and skyliner access for the kids to just take a ride on. Great pool at the beach club.

 

[Rory607]

We have stayed at POR and Poly with small kids. Pros of POR: beautiful grounds, fun pool with slide for the kids, playground, good food court. We really loved the vibe of the resort and the kids enjoyed it. Basically, everything except the transportation. Buses are your only option and they can be very crowded. My H was so sick of folding/unfolding the stroller for the buses!

We stayed at the Poly for the first time recently and being on the monorail was so nice. You can also take the boat the MK, which our kids loved. I didn’t see a playground, but the pool was great. We did club level, so I’m not sure about the food court. We could also see the MK fireworks from our patio, which was quite nice. If budget is not a consideration I would do Poly solely for transportation options.

 

[5kidsmommy]

The Contemporary would be fun and convenient with littles. The pools aren't super fancy but they'd be fun for kids plus you could get a theme park view and how fun is that? And the monorail goes through the hotel. My kids always loved that when they were little.

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

we enjoy the cabins at Fort Wilderness because of no one on the sides plus being able to put kids to bed and have a space for the adults. another plus full size refrig with freezer and the one draw back the small bathroom and water heater but we make it work. campground has a number of park type playgrounds but you will need a golf cart or bus to main pool with the slide

We recently stayed in a cabin and LOVED it, actually!! Thinking of more of a "resort" experience this time, but we do love the fort so so so much!!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Unfortunately, you won't find everything you are looking for at one WDW resort.

As a resort, AKL fits the bill - zero entry pool, splash pad and playground, but transportation is not very convenient

BWI - beautiful resort, walk/boat/skyliner to two parks and a playground, but the pool is not conducive to small children, IMHO (no zero entry).

WL - smaller pool which is good for little ones, splash pad, but no playground (you can boat to Ft. W to play on the one there, though) and transportation isn't great

Poly or GF - great location and theme, zero entry pool, splash pads, convenient transportation (particularly Poly as you can walk to the TTC to catch the EP monorail), but no playground.

I would not recommend BC/YC (pool is sprawling and it has no splash pad nor playground) or CR (no playground, no splash pad and the pool is not good for littles)

I would consider your criteria in order of importance and go from there!

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

Unfortunately, you won't find everything you are looking for at one WDW resort.

As a resort, AKL fits the bill - zero entry pool, splash pad and playground, but transportation is not very convenient

BWI - beautiful resort, walk/boat/skyliner to two parks and a playground, but the pool is not conducive to small children, IMHO (no zero entry).

WL - smaller pool which is good for little ones, splash pad, but no playground (you can boat to Ft. W to play on the one there, though) and transportation isn't great

Poly or GF - great location and theme, zero entry pool, splash pads, convenient transportation (particularly Poly as you can walk to the TTC to catch the EP monorail), but no playground.

I would not recommend BC/YC (pool is sprawling and it has no splash pad nor playground) or CR (no playground, no splash pad and the pool is not good for littles)

I would consider your criteria in order of importance and go from there!

Thanks so much! That really helps. I think BWI, Poly, or GF sound like they would work best for us!

 

[Cajun23]

Since having our twins we have been every year since they were 3. When they are young we liked to stay at the MK resorts because we found that we spent most of our time in MK because their was more things to do with little kids. Plus the monorail was nice if you are planning to bring them back for a mid day nap.

Also the rooms were bigger at Poly than most resorts we stayed at so the extra room was nice. If discounts come out at the time of your trip check the Studios at Poly. It has 2 bathrooms (1 shower/tub other rain shower) which helped speed up bath time.

 

[Jdismom]

Even with unlimited budget, I would chose the AoA family suites with young children.
The pool is huge and has a zero entry. There is a splash pad and a playground.
The theming is great for little ones, especially if they like Nemo, Cars or Lion King.
It is really nice to have 2 bathrooms and a little kitchen.
The food court is one of the best at WDW and the Skyliner is a fun transportation option.
We've stayed there a few times and can't wait to take our grandson to AoA when he turns 2.

 

[LSUmiss]

we enjoy the cabins at Fort Wilderness because of no one on the sides plus being able to put kids to bed and have a space for the adults. another plus full size refrig with freezer and the one draw back the small bathroom and water heater but we make it work. campground has a number of park type playgrounds but you will need a golf cart or bus to main pool with the slide

Are the cabins actually individual as in you don’t share a wall with anyone? What about the grounds immediately surround the cabins? I have a toddler & am concerned about snakes.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Are the cabins actually individual as in you don’t share a wall with anyone? What about the grounds immediately surround the cabins? I have a toddler & am concerned about snakes.

yes no shared walls. think single wide trailer. each cabin has its own deck attached. have never seen a snake at the Fort in our trips both cabins and RV sites but I am sure they are there. as with other resorts stay on marked trails and walkways. the campground is huge you will need either golf cart or internal buses to get around. I have told the story on here many times granddaughter who was 4 at the time cried when she found out she couldnt take a bus home. buses were one of her favorite rides of the trip

 

[MrsDuck]

AoA!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Are the cabins actually individual as in you don’t share a wall with anyone? What about the grounds immediately surround the cabins? I have a toddler & am concerned about snakes.

There are snakes everywhere in WDW. We've encountered snakes at the WL pool and BWI walking path near the quiet pool there.

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

We are now deciding between GF and Yacht Club! The pool at YC looks amazing!!

 

[HMANSION LOVER]

Hands Down AOA Cars suite. We just got back and the room was amazing. The theming was amazing, both in the room and outside. There are three themes at AOA. All will blow the little ones away. Cars, Little Mermaid, and Nemo. I do believe the cost compares or comes close to low Deluxe pricing or high moderate pricing. Little ones will love it. It also has the skyliner which is awesome for getting to and from Epcot and HS. We were supposed to be in a Little Mermaid room but got upgraded to a Cars suite, probably because of all the cheerleaders. 5 stars and 2 thumbs up.

 

[lovethesun12]

What resort would you stay at with small kids?
No budget, but we won't splurge on club level or a villa. A standard room with a view is great for us. We enjoy convenient transportation, playgrounds, and a fun pool!

We have stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge (Kidani), Beach Club Villas, POP, POFQ, All Stars and honestly not sure you could have a bad time anywhere. My kids enjoyed them all. My personal favourite was Beach Club because it made going back in the evenings so easy (we didn't see a single night show during our AKL/POFQ stay).

Honestly though my kids would probably pick Kidani because they loved the playground/pool combo

 

[disny_luvr]

I’d opt for the Poly. The rooms are quite large and even standard view rooms have nice views. While the pool might not be as great as the YC/BC pool, it is still really nice and my boys always enjoyed the splash pad. The quiet pool is lovely, too. We think Capt. Cook’s is the best resort QS on property. The monorail access to MK is awesome and it’s a short walk to TTC to get the monorail to Epcot. There is something really special about staying so close to the MK.

 

[disny_luvr]

We are now deciding between GF and Yacht Club! The pool at YC looks amazing!!

I just posted above about the Poly, but the YC is our second favorite resort. The pool is awesome, but it’s big and very spread out. Just something to keep in mind with young kids. The one thing I really do not like about the YC (and BC) is the lack of quick service options. Also, standard views at the YC are really bad, so I’d pay for at least a garden/woods view room.