Thinking about staying at CR...

[justdoip]

We are planning a trip for Oct. 08 and trying to decide where to stay. It will be me, DW, DD12,4,2 and D? <1. With 4 kids, 3 of them so young, it complicates the decision of where to stay. I'm thinking about staying at CR. I understand that CR rooms will sleep 5 + crib. We will be spending a bit more time at the resort than usual, so I thought a deluxe might make that more enjoyable, esp. for DW. I also thought it might be more convienient getting to MK and Epcot with 3 small kids. Finally, we won't have many more opportunities to stay in a deluxe, since we will have 6 people. Once the new baby is out of a crib, it will probably be FW or one of the ASMu Suites.

OTOH, I could go with an ASMu suite now. It would be more room and something like $750 cheaper, I think.

Thoughts?

 

[jeanninepl]

I vote CR. We stayed at CR last year and LOVED it. Having the monorail to get to MK and Epcot is so convenient with small children. Its a great resort - my kids loved it so much they always asked to go back to the hotel and we hung by the pool most of the time!

If this may be your one chance to do it, I say GO FOR IT!

 

[swilphil]

We stayed at MK when our kids were smaller. It was very convenient, and they liked taking and seeing the monorail. We did stay in the Garden Wing and saved a bit of money that way. We had a ground floor with a nice patio and close to the beach area where the kids could play in the sand.

 

[justdoip]

Any other opinions?

For those who have stayed at one of the monorail resorts, is it really going to be significantly easier getting to MK or Epcot, especially considering we will probably have a stroller? Or am I just imagining that would be the case?

Thanks for the insights!

 

[Aliceacc]

I spoke to our travel agent about 2 hours ago about booking our vacation for August '08. (Our 3 kids will be 10, 8 and 5 years old.)

I told her I wanted the cheapest room she could find us at the Contemporary.

I figure it this way: Being THAT close to the Magic Kingdom, we can take the monorail or walk back to the hotel pool every afternoon. The kids will love the pool slide, and we can skip the water parks-- that will save money right there. And the idea of being 10 minutes away from "home" while at the Magic Kingdom is just too good to pass up. Even if it means shaving one night off your stay, I think it would probably be worth it.

I was completely sold on the idea of the Family Suites, but I kept coming back to the idea of a hot cranky 5 year old, waiting 20 minutes for a bus, then taking a 20 minute bus ride back to the hotel. You've been there, right?
Plus, I'm pretty sure that the family suites won't honor the 15% AAA discount you can get at the Contemporary.

 

[justdoip]

Aliceacc,
that's pretty much what I'm thinking. Plus, the kids love riding the monorail almost as much as any ride in MK.

 

[Buzz2001]

We stayed at CR in October of 2000 and spent a lot of time at MK for all the Halloween events and Happy Haunt pin events. It was very convenient. We walk to and from mostly because we were in the North wing (which is gone now). It will be good for you for naps and things to be close to the room.

 

[DizzyFORDisney]

I have also come to the same conclusion about this being the last time to stay at a deluxe in only one room. I just booked the Poly (standard room) for December 2008. By then, my kids will be 11,9,7,and just under 2.

I will say that when we stayed at the Contemporary (upgraded from Shades of Green when they were doing renovations) I actually found it to be a pain with the stroller (double) and all. But we were on the second flor of one of the garden wings. We would have to go all the way down the hall to the elevator, then down a floor, then walk outside to the tower building, take an elevator part way up, exit the elevator and get on another elevator to take you to the monorail station area. For the Magic Kingdom, I would definitely recommend walking. So I guess you only will use the monorail for Epcot (and you need to change monorails at the TTC). All other places require a bus.

The reason I chose the Poly is the monorail service and also that you can walk right to the TTC and get the monorail to EPCOT. Plus I have ALWAYS wanted to stay there!! Don't you sometimes feel like you are penalized for having a large family?
Are you planning on doing the dining plan? I have yet to determine if it will be worthwhile for my family.

Anyway, good luck!

 

[justdoip]

I would love to do Poly - but it's almost $100/night more. That's a little too much for me right now.

I'm leaning toward doing sit down meals for lunch and quick dinners, so I don't know if DDP will be for us.

It is harder with a big family, but worth it.

 

[Aliceacc]

I go back and forth on the DDP. I think it will make me more likely to set up the character meals and dinner shows, even though they'll cost 2 dinners each. But the kids would love them.

But if I book 4ADRs, that still gives us lots of flexiblity with what we're in the mood to do. And the idea of a real sit down meal each day has an appeal too.

So today I'm thinking yes... we'll see what my opinion is