Toddler parents: What influences your resort choice the most?

[Freiden8]

fast access to resort for afternoon nap?
proximity to a particular park?
nice balcony/room view for relaxing while DC naps?
anything else??

What resort would you recommend for a 21 month old?

 

[akrake]

I have four children & I prefer to be onsite...on the monorail line if possible...that being said...we almost always drive to AK unless we are staying at AKL. My favorite hotel for toddler was contemp because the rooms were bigger. You can get a crib or use the packnplay for the toddler to sleep in.

Now, when you have older kids, the bunkbeds at AKL are awesome!!

 

[3littleHalls]

Yes! AKL bunkbeds are awesome! I would say that staying on the monorail makes your stay easier. Especially at naptime! We liked the Poly, we had lagoon view so our older ones could watch the fireworks while the baby had already gone to sleep. Our youngest prefered AKL, she loved watching the animals from our room. But getting to our room was a long walk.

 

[Katienphil]

We're staying at the Contemporary with our 20 month old in October....being on the monorail was a must for us...and being close to the MK. Also, we have a tower room with MK view...so we can watch Wishes everynight

 

[tbstein]

I have to say that the Yacht and Beach Club are good as well. You can stoller back from at least 2 parks. The pools are great with the sandy pool for kids, and a quieter character breakfast on site. The sandy beaches are pretty to walk and just watch your toddler enjoy it all. The boats that go to MGM and Epcot are easier to access than the buses. Good luck in choosing!

 

[mytwotinks]

We stayed at the POFQ on our first stay. My youngest was 2 1/2. I chose it because it was such a small resort and we never had much of a walk to the buses or back to our room at the end of a long day. It worked out great! Because of the way the buses pick up I always had a seat to sit and hold her. I don't think that I ever had to stand. We are trying the contemporary in Sept. It will be nice to be on the monorail but I would stay at POFQ again in a heartbeat. We had an awesome experience there and because it was so affordable we got to stay 11 nights! We can't take my older DD out of school for that long again so we are splurging on our resort this time. We'll see if it is worth it. We might be back to POFQ for our next trip.

 

[brat5063]

We are trying to go cheap this time, so we are staying at All Star Movies and got a perferred one so we don't have a long walk to the bus stop. One day I'd love to stay at hotel on the monorail.

 

[Leah and Emily's mom]

we stay at the value resorts because of the decor and the money. We are taking our 4th trip in 4 years, plus we also take other small vacations during the year so money is a huge issue. Our oldest daughter gets to be a part of the research process and she gets to pick. We don't stay in the hotel long and we have never left the park to nap. The bus rides are quick and the girls enjoy the ride.

 

[tinasquirrel]

We have a 4yo and a 2yo. When they were 2.5yo and 11mo, we stayed in a one-bedroom villa at Beach Club. It was awesome. The separate bedroom was great for putting the kids to bed, but still being able to stay up longer to sit on the balcony or watch TV or whatever. It also had a kitchen which was nice for breakfast, as well as a few dinners (where we did take out/counter service and brought it back to our room). By the end of a long day, you sometimes just don't want to sit in a restaurant with your kids for dinner - they are not always in the best of moods.

We also loved the sandy bottom pool. Even the baby had fun sitting in the sand and playing in the water. And the location was great. We took the boat to MGM which the boys loved. Then we could walk to the Boardwalk and Epcot. To get to MK, we would walk through Epcot and get the monorail. We only had to take a bus for AK.

One morning the boys woke up really early. So we took them outside and just took a leisurely stroll around the boardwalk. Stopped and got croissants for breakfast at the little bakery there. Yum! It was so peaceful at 7am. It was great to be in such close proximity to fun stuff but not too close where it was right outside your window.

This fall, I think we have decided to stay at the Fort Wilderness cabins. We think the boys will love the great outdoors, and the biggest plus for me was the separate bedroom. I really like to put them down around 7:30p, and then stay up later just relaxing with my husband before going to bed. And I was worried that in only a standard hotel room, I'd be worried about waking the boys up. The new family suites at All Star Music would be worth trying out in my opinion. However, those weren't an option for us in September in order to get the free dining plan.

Also, when we went last year, the baby slept in a crib, not a pack and play. I'm not sure if that option is available in all the resorts (we were in BCV). I reserved a crib and they brought it to our room. It's a bit bigger and nicer IMO than the pack-n-play that was in the closet.

 

[mrsltg]

Hmmmm... Renting a villa at the Boardwalk strikes me as a good idea. You'll have at least a kitchenette and be in a great location. We did this in January and it was so worth it. This August we're staying at the Poly. We haven't stayed at a monorail hotel yet but figure with the excessive heat it will be helpful to be so close to the MK. We also have a MK view room so we can watch the fireworks after dd is asleep. The AKL is a great hotel! DD was 3 when we stayed there and she loved looking at the animals. The drawback is obviously it's out-of-the-way location. Decide what is most important to you as far as decor, location, transportation, etc. Then you will have a clearer picture of where to stay.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

We have 3 kids (4,2,7months) and for us it's all about the transportation. We like either the monrail or boat. That's why we like the Poly or WL. We love that the Poly has big rooms but also love the theming as well at the WL. DH and I hate when we have to do the bus to any of the parks (a double stroller and now a single also ) so we like to have the quickest and easiest way to get to MK as that's where we spend most of our time.