Resorts w/ seperate sleep space for a small child

[Firemoth]

My wife and I are taking our to-be 5-year-old to Walt Disney World next year. In the past, she has done badly sleeping in the same hotel room with us if the hotel has side-by-side beds. Partly this is from the light from the shared area, but mostly it is seeing us that close to her makes her much more interested in whatever we are doing or talking about than going to sleep herself.

Conversely, the cabins on DCL (while actually smaller than a standard hotel room) were terrific for us -- she had her own area with a curtain we could pull shut to separate her off. We also have success with rooms with a single bed and sofa, where we can arrange her on the sofa facing away from us. We don't actually need to have separate sleeping area for the whole night, even -- it would do to have a living area or a balcony where the parents could be while the child falls asleep.

We've already gotten a recommendation to get an AoA family suite and give her a separate room. This seems like overkill for the three of us -- we don't actually need that much space, just some separation. Are there less expensive options?

(Transportation and theming are a bonus in our minds, but the sleep situation and cost are our primary factors.)

Thanks.

 

[WishICouldSpeakWhale]

There is a curtain in one type of room at Yacht club. We had a room with one queen bed, a day bed, and a pull out chair. There was a curtain between the queen bed and the two other beds. Also, since there was only one queen bed (and you wouldn't need to pull out the chair bed), there was a lot of floor space. We were on the 4th floor, in a standard view room. I called to add this room configuration request and made no other room requests.

 

[BebopBaloo]

The suites at All Star Music are less expensive than the ones at AoA. I think there are rooms at some of the deluxe resorts that have sleeper sofas, but I'm not sure that you can actually move the sofa so that she would be facing away from you.

 

[Marionnette]

My wife and I are taking our to-be 5-year-old to Walt Disney World next year. In the past, she has done badly sleeping in the same hotel room with us if the hotel has side-by-side beds. Partly this is from the light from the shared area, but mostly it is seeing us that close to her makes her much more interested in whatever we are doing or talking about than going to sleep herself.

Conversely, the cabins on DCL (while actually smaller than a standard hotel room) were terrific for us -- she had her own area with a curtain we could pull shut to separate her off. We also have success with rooms with a single bed and sofa, where we can arrange her on the sofa facing away from us. We don't actually need to have separate sleeping area for the whole night, even -- it would do to have a living area or a balcony where the parents could be while the child falls asleep.

We've already gotten a recommendation to get an AoA family suite and give her a separate room. This seems like overkill for the three of us -- we don't actually need that much space, just some separation. Are there less expensive options?

(Transportation and theming are a bonus in our minds, but the sleep situation and cost are our primary factors.)

Thanks.

The only resorts with balconies would be the Deluxe Resorts and the DVC Resorts. Moderates and Value do not have balconies, nor do they have sofas.

POR has some rooms with a small Murphy bed that sleeps a 5th person, however it is situated perpendicular to the foot of each of the two beds. That may not work well for you given that she will still be able to roll over and see you from that bed.

The cabins at Fort Wilderness are considered to be "Moderates" but will cost slightly more than a room at a Moderate Resort. The cabins have a bedroom which is separated from the living area. That would give a separate room where she can fall asleep while you stay awake in the living area without disturbing her. It will be more expensive than a Family Suite at ASMu but it does include a full kitchen.

Some people have constructed makeshift room dividers to give themselves a bit of separation from the occupants of the next bed, but if you're concerned about stray light keeping her awake, it's not going to be effective.

You may have to look at a small 2-room suite in one of the offsite resorts if you want both separation and affordability.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We are a family of 3 and we really like the 1-bedroom villas at the DVC resorts. The rooms have a bedroom with a king bed and a separate living room with a pull-out sofa. The DVC villas are far more comfortable than the AoA suites. Another thought would be a standard room at a deluxe that has a day bed (Poly for instance). You would get either 2 queens and a daybed (which is very comfortable) or a king bed and a daybed. The bed is against a wall and not directly next to the queens or king bed - maybe that would work?

 

[alex9179]

All of them will be more expensive than a standard room. ASMu/AOA family suite, FW cabin, Jr suite at CSR or WL, 1 BR DVC, etc. WL has standard rooms with a queen bed and bunk beds (hang a blanket from the top bunk to shield her), which would be great if they accepted and guaranteed requests for it. That's not how they work, though.

You can try to rent points for a DVC studio, which is usually a queen and sofa bed.

 

[rcraw45425]

All of them will be more expensive than a standard room. ASMu/AOA family suite, FW cabin, Jr suite at CSR or WL, 1 BR DVC, etc. WL has standard rooms with a queen bed and bunk beds (hang a blanket from the top bunk to shield her), which would be great if they accepted and guaranteed requests for it. That's not how they work, though.

You can try to rent points for a DVC studio, which is usually a queen and sofa bed.

Bunk beds is a bookable category at WL and AKL and have been for several years

 

[Firemoth]

Thanks for all the input. You guys are great.

It does sound like it will be difficult to get affordability and separation on-site, at least for the level of affordability we are looking for. At the moment, there is about a $200/night difference between the value single rooms and the cheapest available suites or deluxe rooms or DVC. That's hard for us to justify over the course of a 5-6 night stay.

I can justify doing a single night though... so at the moment I am planning to do a split stay with a single night at AKL w/ bunk beds. The rest will probably be at AoA, and we will hope that she is just so worn out from days in the park that she gets her sleep and we get our peace and quiet. We will look at makeshift dividers -- although less makeshift than a wall of pillows, which proved to be me more of a distraction than a help previously.

To weigh in on my own thread, we previously did the Fort Wilderness Cabins over a free dining promotion, which worked great. It had both bunk beds and a Murphy bed in the living area. Since it was technically a moderate, it got the fuller meal plan than the ASMu or AoA suites which helped a little bit, and using the kitchen to make our own breakfasts helped us save a bit more. At the dates we are looking for, it is $9/night less than the AoA suites.

 

[Lvsdisney]

I agree with renting points for a DVC studio. DH and I would put the kids to bed and then hang on the balcony until they were asleep (which was fast because they were worn out!)
We did the ASMu suite last year, having the kitchenette was a bonus. they only thing is we'd put DS to bed in our bed and then move him each night to the pullout. not a big deal because he slept through that, not sure if your DD would!

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

Oh my goodness I feel like I could have written your post! Our daughter is six and, unless she is just completely exhausted, she has a hard time going to sleep with us in the bed right next to her. We have found the most success staying at deluxe resorts, as others have mentioned, just because of the balcony. Wilderness Lodge was especially nice for us because we requested a bunk bed and our daughter was able to go to sleep on the top bunk with absolutely no problem.

Alligator Bayou at Port Orleans Riverside has a pull down murphy bed that comes out of the tv stand. That could work for you if you aren't going to be watching television. We also did Caribbean Beach this past July ad were happy to see how many benches they had around the resort. We were able to sit at one just outside of our room and talk for about 30 minutes after we put our daughter down. That gave her time to really wind down without us in the room and sleeping was no problem. We were in a pirate room, but I think that their regular rooms also have a pull down murphy bed like Port Orleans Riverside Alligator Bayou rooms do.

You might also consider renting points (or just paying cash) for a one bedroom at a DVC resort. in 2014, we ended up getting a great deal for a one bedroom at Saratoga Springs Resort. It turned out to be just slightly more expensive than a room at Port Orleans was going to be. Then, they ended up upgrading us to a 2 bedroom when we got there because they are really lacking in how many one bedrooms they have. Anyway, we could tell that a one bedroom would be the perfect size for us because our daughter could have her own space for sleep and we could still be up and about.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Renting DVC points for a studio at AKL would get you a balcony for about the same price as a moderate. We have done this 3 times now through a rental service.

 

[alex9179]

Whoops! I recently read an entry on All-Ears that stated the opposite. Since we don't fit, anyway, I never looked to discount that info.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Then, they ended up upgrading us to a 2 bedroom when we got there because they are really lacking in how many one bedrooms they have.

That is not why they upgraded you. Every 2br at Saratoga is made up of a 1BR and studio with a door between them that locks them off. There are no dedicated 1or 2BR units. They upgraded you to be nice because the connecting studio was not booked. By definition, if they have a 2BR, they have a 1BR.

 

[HopperFan]

To weigh in on my own thread, we previously did the Fort Wilderness Cabins over a free dining promotion, which worked great. It had both bunk beds and a Murphy bed in the living area. Since it was technically a moderate, it got the fuller meal plan than the ASMu or AoA suites which helped a little bit, and using the kitchen to make our own breakfasts helped us save a bit more. At the dates we are looking for, it is $9/night less than the AoA suites.

Just an FYI, they have been completely renovated. The bedroom has the bed (I think queen now) and the bunkbeds and would look similar just even tighter. The murphy beds are gone and replaced with a sofabed.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

The deluxe resorts have a balcony and some mods have a sleeper sofa but at the same time it would still be difficult with the space given for the sleeper sofa to be moved around as to avoid light and voices and such. The balcony is probably your best bet and you can enjoy a nice hour or so out there with whatever drink of choice while she falls asleep.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

That is not why they upgraded you. Every 2br at Saratoga is made up of a 1BR and studio with a door between them that locks them off. There are no dedicated 1or 2BR units. They upgraded you to be nice because the connecting studio was not booked. By definition, if they have a 2BR, they have a 1BR.

I thought so too (that there was no such thing as "just a 2 bedroom" and that they were just a 1 bedroom and a studio), but that was not the case with our unit. It was a 2 bedroom unit. There was only 1 door into the unit and it lead to a hallway. If you went to the right, you entered the "studio" and to the left was the "1 bedroom", but it was all just one unit and not a lock off. The "studio" has no kitchenette. There was only 1 balcony and it was off of the living room. There was no "lock off" area between the "studio" and the "1 bedroom" area. It was all just one unit.

ETA: If you go to the DVC rental store page, you can see that there are 2 different one bedroom units at Saratoga Springs. One is the 2 bedroom lock-off, as you described. The other is a two bedroom villa. I can't get the pictures to load, but they definitely have 2 different ones listed and our unit was definitely not a 1 bedroom combined with a studio.


I was able to find this floor plan that was like ours (mirror image from our unit, though), that shows it was a dedicated 2 bedroom unity and not a 2 bedroom lock-off.

 

[scrapquitler]

When we had a 5 year old daughter who didn't want to fall asleep in the hotel room because she was more interested in everything else going on than going to sleep, we stayed in the parks long enough that she was exhausted when we got back to the room and couldn't keep her eyes open despite her best efforts (or sometime she fell asleep on the bus back to the room). That might be a more simple solution than booking a room that costs twice as much.

 

[rwdavis2]

Wilderness Lodge has rooms where the sleep sofa is in a separate area behind door that close. The bathroom has opposite entry doors for the bedroom and the room with the sofa. But, still outside of your target price.

 

[kboo]

A lot can change in a year; you can also try talking to her about it and "practicing" at home; she may be more mature by the time the vacation rolls around.

Also - the Swan and Dolphin often have good rates and a balcony we used to sit on while waiting for DD to fall asleep. Once asleep, we were fine to move around.

Another idea - Would she sleep in an inflatable bed (the Shrunks makes a kid sized inflatable bed). It's sort of a pain to bring along, but then you could move it elsewhere in the room so she wouldn't see everything you are doing.

 

[sharadoc]

How small is she? They make smaller inflatable kid beds. I know that All Star Music and the Port Orleans have a curtain between the dressing area and the room. You could set up that bed on the floor in the "closet" area and pull the curtain closed. She'd be up against a wall and the sink, it would have the light from the hair dryer for a nightlight in there too. But if you need to go to the bathroom, you'll have to walk past her.