What to do with the $$$

[kevjencal]

The wife and I are planning to take our 4 year old son to be in October 2007 to WDW. We are planning to go to the MNSSHP being the main reason for October. The big question is, I have the Disney VISA card and will have saved up about $2000 in Disney Reward $$. I am looking for advice on the best way to spend it. We plan to be there for about 1 week total. Would a Value Resort be the better option with a young child and use the rest for souvenirs and food? OR Go big and get a better Resort closer to the MK and live it up a bit? The main thing for us is showing our son a great time and having it all be about him. Your advice and knowlege would be greatly appreciated.


Kevin -

 

[MOREMICKEY4ME]

Hey there,
We went this past summer with our three year old son.
We could have stayed at a more expensive resort, but stayed at ASMu. He loved seeing all the giagantic items outside his window.
We have some great photos.
I would suggest doing some special things: We went to Chef Mickey's for dinner. It was fantastic. He really got a great deal of private time for autographs and photos. It was a week after his birthday, but we told them it was hs birthday anyway: he got a pin, special cupcake and a certificate stating he had his birthday with Mickey!!
I would also get a ton of souvenEARS!!! Pack an extra duffle bag!!

 

[4greatboys]

I love the deluxe resorts but really kids that young love seeing all the huge icons at the values. I bet your ds would love seeing all the cool things at Pop or at Movies.

There is a chance they are going to have free dining this year and if you check in during that time you could have your room and food all paid for (at a value). That would leave you lots of money for all the extra's.

 

[jtlover]

Sounds great, my advice would be to maybe look at a split stay and then you have the benefit of both.

Have fun planning your trip

 

[Wazzo]

If this is truly "extra money", what about looking into a VIP tour for a day? It isn't cheap... it will cost about half of the $2000 at its cheapest, but your day will be catered to you and whatever you'd like to do! (I've been reading Cass' TR, and it sounds amazing!)

But, something like that may be a better splurge when your son is a bit older...

Just an idea!

 

[jtlover]

Another idea, how about still the split stay, but stay at AKL as the other hotel. Wonderful resort for children if he is interested in animals and they have daily activities

 

[bdpa]

Please keep in mind that the Deluxe resorts do no have food courts. Might be kinda tough finding something the little one would eat! We stayed at Wilderness Lodge - it was great - bigger beds, boat ride to parks - but no food court. Kids got really tired of the limited choices in the "snack bar". This time they are both asking to stay at the value resorts! That's ok with me - will save alot of money!! Have a great time!

 

[blessedby3]

I dont see the difference in the fast food options whether you call it a food court or snack bar. We stayed POP last year and WL this year and both had the same old stuff. Burgers, pizza, sandwiches, chicken strips, fries,etc. WL does offer great tasting chili and soup that I didnt notice at POP. They both also have all the drink options you could want as well as fruit/yogurt stuff in the chilled section. I didnt notice a difference except for size. POP's was much bigger to accomadate all those people at the value.

 

[thatduffgirl]

Another thing to take into consideration is that your 4 year old WILL need a break in the middle of the day to stay fresh and keep everyone sane. Kids that age typically say that their favorite thing about the vacation is the pool at the hotel... I would suggest putting a high emphasis at staying somewhere where it is easy and fairly quick to get from the park you will spend the most time at (at that age, probably MK) to the hotel and back.


We always save our nickels and dimes for the Polynesian, the Contemporary, or the Grand Floridian for this very reason. Wilderness Lodge is another excellent choice, and less expensive than the other choices. We can take our kids out of the parks after lunch, get them in the pool and then take a little siesta in the room before heading out for dinner and our evening activities. Keeps the little guys fresh and mom and dad happy too! If it means that we can only go to WDW less often, that is okay with us.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

I would splurge a little and go for a wing room at the CR. Little boys seem to love the monorail and can't get enough of watching it go in and out of the hotel concourse. When we stayed at the CR last May even my DDs were so excited that the "train" went thru our hotel. The wing rooms are cheaper than the tower and closer/more convenient to the pool since you don't have to take a long elevator ride down and walk thru a lobby to get there My kids were also excited about the pool even though it is not themed like the other hotels and they had a blast playing in the sand on the "beach." As adults, DH and I loved the convenience of th CR's proximity to MK. It is an easy walk to MK or a nice monorail ride(which the kids think is actually a "ride"...not transportation). It was so nice to spend the morning in MK, eat lunch, go back to the CR to swim, relax, eat dinner, and then jump back over to MK for the fireworks and for easy access to rides in Fantasyland while everyone else is waiting down Main Street for the fireworks. There was usually NO WAITING that last hour and then after the fireworks, its an enjoyable stroll back to the CR with no waiting for buses or in line for the monorail. The food at the CR Food and Fun Center is OK...nothing special...but it works. We also got a grocery delivery from gardengrocer.com and kept milk, yogurt, ham, juice, etc in the fridge and got bread, pb, chips, cookies, pop-tarts, etc to make simple meals for the kids in the room(picked up jelly and butter for free as condiments(sp?) from the food and fun center)

Good Luck with your decision