What is the best resort for young children?

[chrisjean1]

i posted this in another section, but i guess i wasn't specific enough. my family is going on our first big blowout wdw and disney cruise trip in may 08. we have very young children (three boys 7, 6, 4 and one girl 1 yo). we are also traveling with my parents so there will be a total of 8 of us. we are either looking for a 2 bedroom villa or getting 2 adjoining rooms.

what is the best resort to stay for my young boys? i heard that the beach club is good and everyone says to stay somewhere convenient to the parks.

that said, we are NOT planning to go to the magic kingdom because we are from orange county california and have been to disneyland 25 times already.

please help and thank you in advance,
chris & jean

 

[chrisjean1]

we are planning to go to epcot, mgm, and animal kingdom. does anyone know if the water parks and disney quest are age appropriate?

thanks again.

 

[MomNeedsVacay]

I guess it all depends on your budget. There are great age-appropriate accomodations at every price point, from budget to luxury....

THat being said, I wish you would reconsider NOT going to the Magic Kingdom.... I understand you've been to DisneyLand, but I've heard that while there are some similarities, they are quite different. Have fun!

 

[Us3]

IMHO any Disney resort will be kid friendly! If you don't plan on going to MK, then perhaps a resort where you can take a boat to MGM and the "back door" at Epcot would be good? Beach Club, BoardWalk, or Yacht Club all have boats that take you to both of those parks. If you would like to be close to Animal Kingdom, you could stay at AK Lodge. I believe each of these resorts have villa's for your group.

Have fun choosing your resort!

Sonya

 

[Kaler131]

Pop Century is a GREAT resort for kids! We have stayed there three times already. You would need to get at least 2 rooms though because they only sleep 4 people per room.
Also, I agree with the other poster who sugguested that you DO go to MK. With kids that age, it's definately a must do!

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I would recommend the Beach Club/Yacht Club, if money isn't a concern. My kids are 9 and 4 and it is their favorite resort , hands down.

The Boardwalk is great too. My kids love strolling the BW at night, renting a surrey bike and watching the performers.

I also wish you would reconsider and spend at least a half a day at the MK. My DH and I were just at Disneyland last November, and though DLR and WDW, MK are similar , there are alot of very noticable differences.

 

[chrisjean1]

you guys are the best. we have now reconsidered and are changing our plans to visit the magic kingdom. i just hope it's worth it. it helps so much to get real disney world experience. there just is no substitute no matter how much you get from books or the disney website.

thanks again,
chris & jean

 

[northriver]

We stayed at Poly, it is expensive but we have 5 in one room, me and my 2 kids and my parents. You would need two rooms. You can walk to the TTC to get a direct monorail to Epcot. You also have the regular Poly monorail to MK. That pretty much sealed out decision to stay there, with a 1 yr old and a grandparent that doesn't get around easily, the convenient location was worth the extra price.

This year we are staying at the Contemporary for the first time. Again, the location is so convenient!

 

[crisi]

With kids your age - IF you are going to spend a lot of time in the MK and aren't budget constrained, a monorail resort is great. But it sounds like you won't spend a lot of time in the MK.

Epcot area resorts are convienent to Epcot and MGM - and the Y&BC has a great pool with zero entry. I'm one of the few, however, who dislike the pool - its very difficult to watch kids there - the pool is large, twisty and very deep in places. We stay at Boardwalk Villas and Epcot is our favorite park, but I'm not fond of MGM at all as a park and a lot of kids don't enjoy Epcot (mine do).

AKL would be the other Deluxe option I'd consider (I like Wilderness Lodge myself, but I don't think its best for you). AKL has a zero entry pool. But it isn't close to anything and you take the bus everywhere (same problem with Wilderness Lodge with the addition of a boat to MK - but Wilderness Lodge doesn't have a zero entry pool - so there is no additional benefit to someone with small kids to compensate for the inconvience).

On the moderate side, I'm fondest of Port Orleans Riverside.

I'm not a value stayer (and it doesn't sound like you are either).

Note that if you are talking about renting points for a two bedroom villa for May, the seven month window is opening now and the Epcot resorts will probably book very quickly. - There will likely be availability out at SSR - which isn't convienent to the parks (I'd recommend renting a car - or two for your crew), but has a wonderful zero entry pool with a toddler slide as well as a larger slide.

Waterparks - they have the same problem as the Y&BC pool. There are kids areas at both waterparks - but it can be difficult to watch your kids. DisneyQuest really doesn't have much for anyone under about nine.

 

[my2redheads]

We just got back from the SSR and loved it!!! They offer 2 bedroom villas that sleep 8 (I believe). The pool has a zero depth entry so it was great for the younger kids, but it also has a slide for the older ones to. I was worried about using the bus system but we never had a problem getting anywhere or having to wait too long. You can also take the ferry to DTD which was very convenient. Hope you have a great time.

 

[ajcolorado]

This link might help because 1) it shows the locations of the resorts in relation to the theme parks and 2) you can click on the resort names to see photos. See: http://disneyworldlinks.com/Resort-Park-Presentations/

I love the Beach Club - it is very near Epcot and you can get to MGM very conveniently by boat. You can also enjoy all the features of the Boardwalk - see: http://www.buildabettermousetrip.com/activity-boardwalk.html

Coronado Springs and Caribbean Beach are both good choices for moderate resorts because they're fairly centrally located. Just keep in mind that they are very big resorts and may even have internal bus systems. You may want to make a building request.

Pop Century & All-Star Movies have some of the best Disney theming around.

Animal Kingdom Lodge isn't conveniently located to anything other than Animal Kingdom but is an amazing resort.

Keep in mind that the moderates & value resorts have double beds. The deluxe resorts will offer queen beds.

You can see maps of the resorts at www.willcad.org to help with building requests.

 

[Aneille]

My 2 favorite resorts are Boardwalk and the Beachclub. And my kids love each of them. My kids also like Epcot and MGM.

I do think the pool at the Beachclub pool is difficult with young kids. My kids ended up at the slide the whole time. But as a family we loved the pool.

We have stayed at the Animal Kingdom, Old Key West, and the Wilderness Lodge as well.

 

[sahm1000]

If you think you will be going to the Magic Kingdom now I would possibly consider staying at a two bedroom suite at the Contemporary Resort if you can still get one. We stayed in a two bedroom villa in April at the Beach Club Resort and loved it! We did not book it using points, we booked it like a hotel room. The Beach Club shares a fantastic pool with the Yacht Club that has a sand bottom but like other people have said it would be difficult if your children are independent in the pools (our DD's are 2 and 4 so they are always with us in the water). The advantage in my opinion to a villa over a suite at the Contemporary is that you have a washer and dryer in your room. My parents, sister and husband were also with our family during this trip but had different rooms w/o a washer and dryer. Everyone used ours and it was so nice to do one load of wash a day and not come home to dirty laundry. The Beach Club is also the closest resort to Epcot and you can walk to the entrance in the World Showcase in about 5 minutes. If you are going to visit the Magic Kingdom I would love the Contemporary Resort b/c of the monorail. We spent most of our time at the Magic Kingdom and it would have been so much better if we had been closer.

 

[cjsmom5]

We were at DL the middle of August and at WDW the end of Sept. MK at WDW is different than at DL. The first thing you will notice is the castle. The other thing you will notice is that it is laid out a bit differently and while some rides are the same, others are different. At MK they also have different rides not at DL - Monsters Laugh Floor- People Mover - Buzz is different at MK - Haunted Mansion is different - Pooh is different - Space Mt. at MK has more drops and dips - Carousel of Progress - Stitch's Great Escape (not my fav) - Tree House - Alladin Carpets - Tiki Room (is much better - my DS9 thinks) - Splash Mountain sits two across instead of one - etc. Plus, there is so much more room at MK than at DL (you can fit DL in the parking lot of MK).

Not so sure I would do a water park with kids your age as it is hard to keep track of them ... but if you parents are going that might work. There are some funs things for little ones to do at the water parks and we always see many.

I agree that Disney Quest is probably not the best thing for kids your age.

As far as the resorts - we really like YC - and it is right by MGM/Epcot. SAB is great for young kids with the sandy area but it is spread out. The down side of this resort is there is not a really good counter service option. But, it has a character breakfast we liked the food here. The Cape May Cafe dinner buffet is also very popular. You can get 2-bedrooms at BC Villas.

AKL is also a beautiful resort but many think it is way out there. We didn't find it that bad and stayed there when DS was 6 and 7 yrs old. He loved it. Plus, there are tons of fun activities at AKL for kids your age. The pool is great also with zero entry and the slide might not be that intimidating. You can now get 2-bedrooms - I think - at AKL.

If moderate is what you are looking for - with kids your age we stayed at POFQ. Pool area and theme are really good for kids that age. Plus, it is a smaller resort and easy to navigate. Here you would just be renting rooms and you would need several.