Trying to decide best hotel room with two little kids

[FSU Girl]

I’m conflicted on where to stay for our upcoming trip in November. It’ll be our first trip with two, celebrating my baby’s first birthday. I currently have a two bedroom villa booked at animal kingdom lodge. I like the idea of the space we’ll have since both kids go to sleep at 7 and have somewhere for adults to hang out. Our 3 year old sleeps through the night but the baby still doesn’t and not sure how she’ll be at a year old so I’d like to keep the kids separate so some can get some sleep. The room is just really expensive and I’m not thrilled we aren’t in walking distance of any parks.

If I changed our reservation to two rooms connecting how would I do that? I’ve never booked two can I do that online or do I have to call? Also is it likely I’ll get them connecting? It doesn’t give us a separate space from the sleeping kids, but would be a lot cheaper.

 

[Marthasor]

There is no guarantee you will get connecting rooms. To save money, consider booking a 1-bedroom villa instead of a two bedroom. We love the ones that offer a Murphy bed as opposed to a sofa bed (though with a 3 year old it may not matter). You retain a separate bedroom, washer/dryer and kitchen at a lower price point

 

[Travel60]

One bedroom means everyone goes to bed when kids go to bed (unless kids get BR and parents take sofabed).

 

[Jackiethemermaid]

I've been working on same time of year with same age little turning 1 in November. Animal kingdom lodge has a great spray pad for the littles. Personally i think AKL is a wee bit too much out of the way,i think you will spend alot more time traveling when you stay here

I would pick Old key west or Saratoga over AKL, they both are close to Disney springs. Will you have a car? when i stayed at OKW it was extremely convenient to have the car right outside of the room plus the size of the room and the balcony, with littles it was great. Its very quite and when the baby was a cranky crying crazy boy i didnt feel like i was bothering neighboring rooms. i grew up in a monorail hotel family and i was blown away by how much i enjoyed OKW with my own family now.

 

[FSU Girl]

There is no guarantee you will get connecting rooms. To save money, consider booking a 1-bedroom villa instead of a two bedroom. We love the ones that offer a Murphy bed as opposed to a sofa bed (though with a 3 year old it may not matter). You retain a separate bedroom, washer/dryer and kitchen at a lower price point

Ya that wouldn’t be good if the rooms were apart. We’ve done one bedrooms before with our first. She probably won’t be sleeping in a bed anyway we are looking at getting her an inflatable toddler bed.

 

[FSU Girl]

One bedroom means everyone goes to bed when kids go to bed (unless kids get BR and parents take sofabed).

Ya that would be difficult since they go to sleep so early

 

[FSU Girl]

I've been working on same time of year with same age little turning 1 in November. Animal kingdom lodge has a great spray pad for the littles. Personally i think AKL is a wee bit too much out of the way,i think you will spend alot more time traveling when you stay here

I would pick Old key west or Saratoga over AKL, they both are close to Disney springs. Will you have a car? when i stayed at OKW it was extremely convenient to have the car right outside of the room plus the size of the room and the balcony, with littles it was great. Its very quite and when the baby was a cranky crying crazy boy i didnt feel like i was bothering neighboring rooms. i grew up in a monorail hotel family and i was blown away by how much i enjoyed OKW with my own family now.

We will have our car. I’ve never stayed at either of those, I think I read OKW doesn’t have elevators? That wouldn’t work with us needing a stroller. I do feel AKL is out of the way but we do like the savannah. There weren’t many options available when we booked

 

[DizneyFamof4]

Found out that we never needed a big room with our 2 DDs and never had to do the "everyone goes to bed when kids go to bed" routine and we have been going since our 1st DD was 6 months old. At home we always had a night light and music playing in their rooms when we put them down and I think that really ended up helping us at hotels. DH and I can sit and play cards or watch TV without waking our girls, plus we did not like going out on the balcony when it's hot, miserable. At WDW our DDs also had no issues falling asleep in the stroller, so we ended up staying at the parks longer. Good luck, it will be a great trip.

 

[Anthony1971]

A 1br is fine. The 1 YO will be in a crib or pack and play more likely in the master with you. If not you have an entire extra room. A washer dryer in the room is used more than you will ever plan….. A full size kitchen helps a lot as well even for just snacks or a light breakfast. The 3yo can sleep on own? AKL has a lot to at the resort Kidani has a great splash area and an amazing master bath as well as a second bath. Jambo has a traditional play ground. We stayed at AKL a lot with young… so my take walking to a park is nice especially at park closing… however at this stage pushing 1 double maybe 2? Strollers… the bus ride is very much appreciated and I don’t think you will be closing down any parks. But that was us…. At those ages I am not sure of the adult time you will have but I promise you will have plenty in the future that comes a lot faster then the number implies.

 

[dcassetta]

One bedroom means everyone goes to bed when kids go to bed (unless kids get BR and parents take sofabed).

Kidani might work with a one-bedroom for you. In the living room, there is the sofa bed, and then the single fold out chair bed. There are two bathrooms and the adult could use the bedroom after the kids go to sleep. There is a TV in the bedroom. And you can enjoy the balcony. Kidani is great for the pool area with littles and savannah with animals to view.

 

[bwr827]

We’d save our money and not subject ourselves to the experience of WDW with a baby and a toddler.

That said, are there any WDW resorts that have main floor rooms with balconies? (Is it still called a balcony on the main floor, or is it a patio?)

That was our favorite travel “hack” when our kids were very young. That way, we could put the kids to bed and then relax with a bottle of sangria just outside the room.

Why the main floor? Because I could pop out for takeout food and return directly to the “balcony” without disturbing the sleeping kiddos with the always-noisy hotel room door.

 

[Marthasor]

One bedroom means everyone goes to bed when kids go to bed (unless kids get BR and parents take sofabed).

Please explain . . . ? We have reserved one-bedrooms for our family of 3 for years and that's not the case.

 

[Genie+]

I’d think about if we could make Poly villa studio work. How long is the trip?

Can work around not needing a full kitchen? The kitchen has sink, microwave, toaster, coffeemaker, and bev cooler/refrigerator. The kitchen has been enough for us to make breakfasts, snacks and leftovers from nearby meals.

Are the babies going to sleep in pack and plays (resort will provide 2 upon request)? At night you could set them up:

Note: both bathroom doors are sliders and not as sound proof as regular doors.

The Pack ‘n Play is approximately 39″ long x 28″ wide x 29″ high. They fit in the bathrooms.

Not everybody loves this idea. It does save a ton of money while upgrading your location. There’s alot of advantages here if you can make it work. The villas are located right next to TTC, less than 5 minute walk to Ferry/MK or Monorail/EP. There’s a great variety of dining in the resort, and nearby around the monorail too. While it’s fun to see fireworks and Electric Parade every night (book lake view to watch from your balcony), the fireworks might be a deal breaker if babies are light sleepers.

Renting DVC points is likely the lowest pricing, or if you can get a good discount on lower rack rate period.

Just something to think about, especially if it’s $300+ less per night.

 

[Dave006]

That said, are there any WDW resorts that have main floor rooms with balconies? (Is it still called a balcony on the main floor, or is it a patio?)

Yes but we typically call the main floor or lobby level the ground or 1st floor here in the states and most guest rooms on the 1st floor have a patio. However several Disney resorts have their lobby level on the 2nd floor or even the third floor in the case of AKL (Jambo House).

Dave

 

[robinb]

I'm scratching my head over why you need two rooms with a toddler and a baby. One room will be plenty big. Put the money into one room at your favorite Deluxe and don't look back.

Why? Bedtime is so different at WDW, I don't think you need to be a slave to your kids early hours. First of all, kids tend to stay up later at WDW. Many kids who crash at 7:00 are wide awake at 9:00 or 10:00 at night at WDW. Secondly, if they *do* crash you'll have comfortable strollers for them to pass out in. I can't tell you how many times we walked through the parks with a sleeping child. Then, when you get them home you can put them to bed and then enjoy the balcony with a nice glass of wine and whatever fabulous view you booked.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

If you need the full kitchen, no such thing as connecting units with full kitchen. (Aside from a 2BR lockoff, which has to be booked that way anyhoo.)

Poly and VGF have connecting studios.

 

[FSU Girl]

I'm scratching my head over why you need two rooms with a toddler and a baby. One room will be plenty big. Put the money into one room at your favorite Deluxe and don't look back.

Why? Bedtime is so different at WDW, I don't think you need to be a slave to your kids early hours. First of all, kids tend to stay up later at WDW. Many kids who crash at 7:00 are wide awake at 9:00 or 10:00 at night at WDW. Secondly, if they *do* crash you'll have comfortable strollers for them to pass out in. I can't tell you how many times we walked through the parks with a sleeping child. Then, when you get them home you can put them to bed and then enjoy the balcony with a nice glass of wine and whatever fabulous view you booked.

The baby is a super light sleeper and still not sleeping through the night. I don’t want her to wake my toddler when she wakes up, so was hoping to keep them in separate spaces

 

[FSU Girl]

Please explain . . . ? We have reserved one-bedrooms for our family of 3 for years and that's not the case.

We did one bedrooms when we had just the one and it worked great. I’m trying to figure things out now that we have another baby

 

[FSU Girl]

I’d think about if we could make Poly villa studio work. How long is the trip?

Can work around not needing a full kitchen? The kitchen has sink, microwave, toaster, coffeemaker, and bev cooler/refrigerator. The kitchen has been enough for us to make breakfasts, snacks and leftovers from nearby meals.

Are the babies going to sleep in pack and plays (resort will provide 2 upon request)? At night you could set them up:
View attachment 876143
Note: both bathroom doors are sliders and not as sound proof as regular doors.

The Pack ‘n Play is approximately 39″ long x 28″ wide x 29″ high. They fit in the bathrooms.

Not everybody loves this idea. It does save a ton of money while upgrading your location. There’s alot of advantages here if you can make it work. The villas are located right next to TTC, less than 5 minute walk to Ferry/MK or Monorail/EP. There’s a great variety of dining in the resort, and nearby around the monorail too. While it’s fun to see fireworks and Electric Parade every night (book lake view to watch from your balcony), the fireworks might be a deal breaker if babies are light sleepers.

Renting DVC points is likely the lowest pricing, or if you can get a good discount on lower rack rate period.

Just something to think about, especially if it’s $300+ less per night.

Baby will be in a pack n play. I’m thinking of getting the toddler blow up mattress with bumpers for my toddler I don’t think she’s ready to sleep in a regular bed there yet.

 

[FSU Girl]

If you need the full kitchen, no such thing as connecting units with full kitchen. (Aside from a 2BR lockoff, which has to be booked that way anyhoo.)

Poly and VGF have connecting studios.

The kitchen would be helpful just because I exclusively pump so a real fridge to keep the milk and place to clean the pump parts. Not a deal breaker to not have it though, I’ve stayed without a kitchen when my first was a baby and we made do without it