Thinking Thru: MK Resort v. Value

[familyabgar]

Here's a little background:
Our party includes me, DH, DD (who will be almost 3 when traveling), and my parents. Sister and BIL, with their infant.
We have stayed in the past at the Dolphin, CR, and off-site. Before I was born my family has been to the Poly and WL.
Plan to stay 6 nights with probably a 5 or 6 day ticket. Don't want to split our time b/t resorts.

We love all the parks, but I expect to spend a ton of time at MK with DD. Staying on the monorail seems like it would be perfect. I don't think DD would truly appreciate the Royal rooms at POR or LM rooms at AoA just yet.

I expect to be park hopping often and ease of transportation with a toddler and infant is of major importance.

Our thought is to stay at the Poly for this trip (May 2014; construction issues notwithstanding), despite knowing how much we could save by going value. If construction leads us away from Poly we would maybe move to CR or an Epcot resort (BC). We aren't that concerned with budget this time around, but will be for future trips when DD isn't free, which is when we'll probably switch to Value.

Does this line of thinking make sense for the experts 'round here? TIA!

 

[Boo Bear]

If you can afford it, stay on the MK monorail. With the infant and toddler, you can't beat that! Also, you may want to consider staying at CR again. There is a walking path to MK from CR that only takes about 10 minutes and is a great alternative if the monorail is down.

 

[Marthasor]

Here's a little background:
Our party includes me, DH, DD (who will be almost 3 when traveling), and my parents. Sister and BIL, with their infant.
We have stayed in the past at the Dolphin, CR, and off-site. Before I was born my family has been to the Poly and WL.
Plan to stay 6 nights with probably a 5 or 6 day ticket. Don't want to split our time b/t resorts.

We love all the parks, but I expect to spend a ton of time at MK with DD. Staying on the monorail seems like it would be perfect. I don't think DD would truly appreciate the Royal rooms at POR or LM rooms at AoA just yet.

I expect to be park hopping often and ease of transportation with a toddler and infant is of major importance.

Our thought is to stay at the Poly for this trip (May 2014; construction issues notwithstanding), despite knowing how much we could save by going value. If construction leads us away from Poly we would maybe move to CR or an Epcot resort (BC). We aren't that concerned with budget this time around, but will be for future trips when DD isn't free, which is when we'll probably switch to Value.

Does this line of thinking make sense for the experts 'round here? TIA!

Yes! With young children, if you can swing a monorail resort, DO IT!!!

 

[familyabgar]

Ok, great! It feels good to have some more validation .

I misspoke when I said WL in my OP. I guess it was just the Poly my parents have been to...I'm older than the WL!

I didn't remember that about the walking trail at CR; very good to know and consider.

 

[christineangel]

If you can afford it, stay on the MK monorail. With the infant and toddler, you can't beat that! Also, you may want to consider staying at CR again. There is a walking path to MK from CR that only takes about 10 minutes and is a great alternative if the monorail is down.

^this^

We got a great deal by renting points at Blt for our next trip. We just took our three yr old and 17 month old and stayed at pop. We were totally over the buses, the ride with the exhausted kids, the strollers. Ever carried sleeping kids and folded strollers off the bus? it isn't fun. Sooo looking forward to that walkway!

 

[kmb584]

With no budget to be concerned with (or overly concerned with) I cast another vote for staying at a monorail resort! I did so when my DD was 2 and 2 1/2 and it made transport to both MK and Epcot a breeze! Much, much easier than her first trip when I lugged her, her stroller and all of her belongings onto and off of a bus. It was so nice to just lift the stroller into and down from the monorail car without having to take her out and fold it -- also a huge plus at the end of the night if she happened to fall asleep.

 

[BringingUpDisney]

I agree with PPs - easy transportation with a Toddler is a must! Next trip is a long one for us 11 nights, so we are splitting between Poly and BC so the only time we have to deal with busses is for AK. Make it easy on yourself and really increase the magic of your trip!

 

[emilyindisney]

I 100% agree with PPs. If budget isn't a concern, go for the ease and amenities of the deluxe resorts. The transportation benefits of Poly, CR, and GF are much better than those of the values and will be great for your young travelers.

 

[familyabgar]

Thanks, everyone!

 

[Ofinn]

Ok, great! It feels good to have some more validation .

I misspoke when I said WL in my OP. I guess it was just the Poly my parents have been to...I'm older than the WL!

I didn't remember that about the walking trail at CR; very good to know and consider.

The WL is only 19 years old. I was kind of wondering....

 

[spiceycat]

with blt you can a 2-bedroom - sleeps 9 -

king bed in the master - either 2 queens (if you get dedicated) or 1 queen double sleeper sofa in the second bedroom, queen sleeper sofa and chair bed in the living area

 

[robinb]

I think that if it's in everyone's budget, then go for it!

That being said, I have never bought the reasoning that people stay on the monorail because (1) it's easier to get to the MK and (2) they go to the MK more. I thought it was only a bit easier to get to the MK from a MK resort and most of that was not having to remove my DD from her stroller. Since I go to all parks equally it never made sense to me to pay A LOT extra to save maybe 20-30 minutes round trip to a park I was only going to visit a couple times. I think the transportation to the other parks is a wash. Going to Epcot requires a long walk or a ride around on the Resort monorail to the Epcot monorail so and you need to take a bus to DHS and AK just like at the values.

So, I guess my advise is to stay at the Polynesian because you want to, not because you think that it might be a tiny bit easier getting to 1 out of 4 parks.

 

[familyabgar]

with blt you can a 2-bedroom - sleeps 9 -

king bed in the master - either 2 queens (if you get dedicated) or 1 queen double sleeper sofa in the second bedroom, queen sleeper sofa and chair bed in the living area

We have tossed around the idea of a suite or something like that, too. I have other siblings (without children) that my join us as well, which would make that nice. I have only seen rack rates for suites at the BC, though, and a suite was double the cost of 2 separate standard room.

BLT is different than a suite though, right? We don't want to be paying for Club level services really, either.

 

[spiceycat]

BLT is a DVC resort - so if you rent from a member then it would definitely be cheaper.

no club level - it has a complete kitchen - so you only need to buy the groceries or snacks or nothing.

blt 2-bedrom only sleeps 9 - so anyone extra would need another villa or studio.

the 1 and 2-bedrooms are great. that say the studios are tiny. the smallest studio at WDW.

the 1-bedroom and up also have a washer/dryer. the even rooms have the stackable - the odd rooms have the full size.

 

[stargazertechie]

If you're going to have a party of 12 or less (of those who are ages 3+) I'd definitely look at going the DVC rental route for a Grand Villa.


Since you mentioned possibly being interested in the Epcot area resorts as well, have you considered the Boardwalk Villas? A week in May is 675 points for a Grand Villa (sleeps 12 people over the age of 3), and the rental agencies run at $14/point, bringing you to around $9500 for the room. You could probably do better going with a private party rental (saving $1500-$2000) which makes it quite reasonable, especially if you plan to do any meals in your room.

And the convenience of an in-unit washer/dryer. Yes please!

 

[robinb]

If you're going to have a party of 12 or less (of those who are ages 3+) I'd definitely look at going the DVC rental route for a Grand Villa.


Since you mentioned possibly being interested in the Epcot area resorts as well, have you considered the Boardwalk Villas? A week in May is 675 points for a Grand Villa (sleeps 12 people over the age of 3), and the rental agencies run at $14/point, bringing you to around $9500 for the room. You could probably do better going with a private party rental (saving $1500-$2000) which makes it quite reasonable, especially if you plan to do any meals in your room.

And the convenience of an in-unit washer/dryer. Yes please!

Or they can book a 2BR plus a studio for 438 points. The OP and her sister's family can share the 2BR and the parents can get the studio with a key to the 2BR so they can use the washer/dryer, cook and just hang out with the family. That will run them about $6100 for a preferred view for the week. That comes out to a pre-tax equivalent of about $260 per family per night.

 

[familyabgar]

Thanks for the DVC info. I think that's something I'd rather do another time. We won't be eating in our room, and will likely choose the deluxe dining plan so will need a room-based package.

 

[robinb]

Thanks for the DVC info. I think that's something I'd rather do another time. We won't be eating in our room, and will likely choose the deluxe dining plan so will need a room-based package.

You can add the DxDDP to any DVC reservation without needing to pay for tickets through Disney. You can save a little bit of money by buying tickets from someplace like Undercover Tourist.

 

[JennyDrake]

If you can afford it, stay on the MK monorail. With the infant and toddler, you can't beat that! Also, you may want to consider staying at CR again. There is a walking path to MK from CR that only takes about 10 minutes and is a great alternative if the monorail is down.

DITTO!!!

 

[familyabgar]

Bringing this thread back up to just say that after thinking about it for several days, and having my other two siblings say they want to come for "some of the trip" we gave some more thought to the villa idea--not to mention I didn't now the VGF were opening up this fall.

I'm really in the mindset of ease for planning and vacationing on this trip, and have a travel agent running quotes next week--I'm definitely not interested in private rentals of points at this time.

It likely won't be cost-effective for the villa because not everyone will be there for the entire week so each couple's "share" of cost will vary--leaving the highest costs on us and my parents. But, we'll see! There might also be issues with who sleeps where, since there are some strong opinions on that topic! Separate rooms just might be simpler.