Talk me out of resort hopping

[stefanospops]

My family is identical to yours. DS4, DS2 and DD5mos. I think I am a pretty organized guy - on our first trip to WDW ever last year, not knowing what I was doing, I managed to make reservations at character meals for every meal since we were on the DDP. What you are proposing scares me to death. ANd knowing my 4 year old, he will nap while on vacation even though he doesn't at home because everything is so overwhelming. They really need that downtime and I think that even if they are used to upheaval, the daily change will likely mean a lot of cranky children.

This said, you know your children better than I do. Just my opinion, but I would pick a resort near Downtown Disney instead and consider day trips to the other places that Orlando has to offer.

Like you I will also be doing three trips in one year, so that annual pass will be awesome! March 2010, Oct 2010 and Feb 2011.

 

[stefanospops]

I guess I missed page 2! You can ignore my previous post. Enjoy your trip!

 

[LIFERBABE]

Well, we came to our senses! We booked VWL for all three nights. We will do a lot at Fort Wilderness and probably pool hop at Poly. I'm getting really excited about it!

Wonderful!! You were stressing me out!!!

Sometimes it's the Adults that have meltdowns Our girls trip, we spent 1 night at BWV before moving to SSR. 4 Adults. 1 of them got really stressed because we had to wait until 3pm for our room although I explained check in time.

Everyday you wake up at VWL, ask yourself "do I want to move today" then roll over and go back to sleep!

 

[Dean]

Well, we came to our senses! We booked VWL for all three nights. We will do a lot at Fort Wilderness and probably pool hop at Poly. I'm getting really excited about it!

You'll likely never know how good a decision you made since you won't be living through the issues that your original plan might have created. Have a great trip.

 

[Micca]

I'm all for maxing out WDW experiences, but I think you've come to a good conclusion. Enjoy!

 

[dr&momto2boys]

It cracks me up that I stressed you out!

Now you guys make me want to do a crazy 3 day 3 resort split stay, just to show you it would have been fun!

We're definately not your typical family! My kids earn free flights with their frequent flyer miles! I really think it would have worked out fine. I guess we'll never see though because I don't really anticipate any other non-park Disney visits. And my kids will never be this young again!

Wait until you see all the stuff we pack into our VWL stay!

 

[Tara]

It cracks me up that I stressed you out!

Now you guys make me want to do a crazy 3 day 3 resort split stay, just to show you it would have been fun!

We're definately not your typical family! My kids earn free flights with their frequent flyer miles! I really think it would have worked out fine. I guess we'll never see though because I don't really anticipate any other non-park Disney visits. And my kids will never be this young again!

Wait until you see all the stuff we pack into our VWL stay!

Yeah, mine has gone through wads of FF miles, too, but moving from resort to resort like that doesn't sound in the least bit fun to me. But I don't get it - you seem to be convinced this would work well for your family and it would be fun, so why aren't you just doing it? (seriously, I'm not being a wise*** here, I'm genuinely curious)

 

[dr&momto2boys]

Yeah, mine has gone through wads of FF miles, too, but moving from resort to resort like that doesn't sound in the least bit fun to me. But I don't get it - you seem to be convinced this would work well for your family and it would be fun, so why aren't you just doing it? (seriously, I'm not being a wise*** here, I'm genuinely curious)

As I'm about to type this, it doesn't make much sense even to me...
I don't want the hassle and expense of renting a car and three car seats. Cars are relatively cheap to rent, but carseats are something like $15 or $20 times three PER DAY! Feel like such a ripoff. One of the reasons we changed our mind back to staying on Disney property instead of spending three days at Universal was the savings of Magical Express.

I don't think it would be a big deal to not unpack and tote a couple bags around and use the pools while we don't have a room. But from responses on this thread, I did realize that we shouldn't do it without a rental car.

After checking to see what was available, we decided on Wilderness Lodge because it's one of the places we've wanted to stay and because of it's proximity to Fort Wilderness where we want to do the campfire sing-along and movie. VWL is also convenient enough to pool hop to the Poly and eat breakfast at Kona Cafe. There are really a lot of options including character meals at Chef Mickey's or 'Ohana and HoopDeDoo that are close by. A ton of stuff to reach by monorail or boat. So essentially we decided to resort hop with home base at VWL. We do appreciate that it will be more convenient.

 

[Dean]

As I'm about to type this, it doesn't make much sense even to me...
I don't want the hassle and expense of renting a car and three car seats. Cars are relatively cheap to rent, but carseats are something like $15 or $20 times three PER DAY! Feel like such a ripoff. One of the reasons we changed our mind back to staying on Disney property instead of spending three days at Universal was the savings of Magical Express.

I don't think it would be a big deal to not unpack and tote a couple bags around and use the pools while we don't have a room. But from responses on this thread, I did realize that we shouldn't do it without a rental car.

After checking to see what was available, we decided on Wilderness Lodge because it's one of the places we've wanted to stay and because of it's proximity to Fort Wilderness where we want to do the campfire sing-along and movie. VWL is also convenient enough to pool hop to the Poly and eat breakfast at Kona Cafe. There are really a lot of options including character meals at Chef Mickey's or 'Ohana and HoopDeDoo that are close by. A ton of stuff to reach by monorail or boat. So essentially we decided to resort hop with home base at VWL. We do appreciate that it will be more convenient.

I think you can get car seats for $10 a day though I'm sure they throw in extra fees. The problem is that getting a car that will accept 3 car seats is not the easiest in the world. Most, if not all, air lines will ship car seats for free but it's a hassle to keep up with them.

 

[Rob S.]

We're resort hopped our last 3 trips. We love it. It is a great way to experience more. Our bags have usually arrive around 3pm, but it depends on the amount they need to transfer (it could be earlier if they have enough).

 

[dr&momto2boys]

I think you can get car seats for $10 a day though I'm sure they throw in extra fees. The problem is that getting a car that will accept 3 car seats is not the easiest in the world. Most, if not all, air lines will ship car seats for free but it's a hassle to keep up with them.

Exactly. With all the other luggage for the cruise (and of course 3 little kids in tow) traveling with car seats is a huge if not impossible! But renting them even at $10/day, is $30/day for three times 4 days is $120 just for car seats and renting a car big enough for three car seats is more expensive too. So the car rental/car seat rental thing is what actually made me reconsider the resort hopping idea.

 

[kdzgon]

As I'm about to type this, it doesn't make much sense even to me...
I don't want the hassle and expense of renting a car and three car seats. Cars are relatively cheap to rent, but carseats are something like $15 or $20 times three PER DAY! Feel like such a ripoff. One of the reasons we changed our mind back to staying on Disney property instead of spending three days at Universal was the savings of Magical Express.

I don't think it would be a big deal to not unpack and tote a couple bags around and use the pools while we don't have a room. But from responses on this thread, I did realize that we shouldn't do it without a rental car.

After checking to see what was available, we decided on Wilderness Lodge because it's one of the places we've wanted to stay and because of it's proximity to Fort Wilderness where we want to do the campfire sing-along and movie. VWL is also convenient enough to pool hop to the Poly and eat breakfast at Kona Cafe. There are really a lot of options including character meals at Chef Mickey's or 'Ohana and HoopDeDoo that are close by. A ton of stuff to reach by monorail or boat. So essentially we decided to resort hop with home base at VWL. We do appreciate that it will be more convenient.

I too have seen the car seat charge at $10 per day, but that is still too much. First, in Fl kids 4 and older are only required to use a lap belt. (being willing to do this would depend upon your child's size/personality etc and just how much driving you will be doing, etc - I did bring set belt adjusters to use as well). Second, we have purchased booster seats @ $20-$30 and passed them on when done rather than have the hassle of shipping on the airline or paying the outrageous rental fees (or use just a lap belt on the smaller yet old enough grands). We did transport full car seats when that was what was required for DGKs' safety.

I understand there are more reasons for you to make your choices, but I just thought this info might help you (or someone else) in the future.