Where to stay - Me, wife, kids x 3 (1,3,5 yrs. old)

[nderh2o]

I am planning our families 1st trip to Disney World and am getting lots of advice from folks - some helpful/some useless.
Where do you recommend staying for 7 nights with 3 kids 5 years old and younger?
Are the standard rooms at the moderate and value resorts big enough for 2 adults, 2 kids, and an infant?
What do you think about renting a cabin at Fort Wilderness?

We are hoping to go in May 2005.

Thanks

 

[lemondog]

We have a similar situation -- 2 adults plus 3 kids under the age of 4. We have opted for a Ft. Wilderness Cabin. Three main reasons:

1. Will have 2 in a crib still, and have a feeling 2 pack n plays would not fit well in a small hotel room.
2. Younger 2 will be napping, plus they go to bed early. With a cabin we can put them to bed in the bedroom and still hang out/watch TV in the living room.
3. Full fridge w/ kitchen. We will do breakfast and lunch most every day at the cabin, saving money.

We looked at 3 options, all very similarly priced. 1 garden room at Contemporary, 1 Ft. Wilderness Cabin, or connecting rooms at POR. We liked the proximity of the cabin to the MK, it was the only option with a kitchen, plus we'll have our car so driving to the other parks will be snap since we can pull up right to our front door.

 

[campingcorgi]

Welcome to the Dis! You'll have a lot of fun here planning your trip!

I only stay at Fort Wilderness so I can only address the cabins. They are great! Lots of room, no neighbors above, below, or to the side if the kids are loud, tons to do at Fort Wilderness, a kitchen to have some meals and snacks, maid service, you can park right at your door, peace and quiet!

Come on over to the Dis Camping board if you want to get some more information! I'm sure others on this board will help with the other resorts.

 

[CAL2002]

We also have three children and on our last visit we stayed at Port Orleans Riverside. It was wonderful. They have a trundle bed in the room which gives you an extra place for one of your children to sleep.

Our children are older now so this trip we are staying at Pop Century with two connecting rooms.

 

[lmhall2000]

If you can swing it I would go for the Poly...three reasons...BIG BIG rooms....MONORAIL...zero entry pool. We went when our children were 4, 5 & 8 and also when they were 2,3 & 6...for the earlier trip we did Animal Kingdom with the portacrib for the 2 year old...but it was a tight squeeze. And it was a hassle getting on/off buses with those strollers. It was SOOO worth the added expense to have the convenience to go back to your room for mid-day naps and be there lickety split...we could be back at our hotel room in 10 minutes from any part of Magic Kingdom. The zero entry was much nicer for our little ones...AK had this as well....but I have to say that the larger rooms and monorail were well worth the expense...if it's too much I would rather spend 5 nights at Poly than 7 at a non-monorail resort. Once you're past the stroller phase....I think any resort would be find....we're doing YC this May just for the pool fun, and my children are old enough to walk longer distances without getting tired.

Have a great trip!!! We really enjoyed taking them when they were little...pace yourself and enjoy taking it slow to soak in all the oohs and aahs!
Tara

 

[crisi]

What is your budget like?

All Disney rooms sleep 4 plus a child under the age of three - although I think you'd be cramped all in one room at the Values. The rooms at CBR are a little bigger than the other moderates (and its a great resort with kids) so that may be worth exploring.

You can probably (if you watch codes) get a wing room at the Contemporary for about rack rate at a moderate. This will give you a lot of room for a hotel room - plus put you right on the monorail. Monorail access is cool - extra cool with little kids. Avoids having to move strollers on and off buses (well, you'll still need to do it for MGM and AK - but you can take your own strollers to MK and Epcot without ever folding them). The Contemporary isn't many people's favorite resort, which is why you can often get cheaper rooms.

I've never stayed at the cabins - my cousin has and thought they were very acceptable for her family of five. Its nice to have a bedroom away from the kids as well as the kitchen.

 

[ErinInCT]

If you can afford it, I recommend renting points from a DVC member (on the DVC thread) & staying at one of the DVC resorts (OKW is the most reasonable). It is usually $10/point total (nothing to worry about like all those taxes they add on to a room price at the hotels). We got a 2 bedroom at WLV & it was great. We went Sun - Fri b/c the prices for a Fri & Sat night were outrageous but we were able to do & see everything in 5 days. If you wanted to stay the full 7 days you could always move for the Fri & Sat night to a value or off site. We saved money having a kitchen & w/d. We ate almost every breakfast & lunch in our room (big savings) & we brought our own water/drinks. It was so nice putting the kids in another room & being able to go into the living room/kitchen area & not worry about being quiet! Plus it was only a boat ride away from MK! I felt it was a really affordable way to stay in luxury! One of the worst things to me is having everyone on top of each other! Good luck with your decision!
Oh - I checked the points for you:
1 bedroom OKW $200/night, 2 bed $270/night - I doubt you could find 2 values for the same price with all the amenities (pack & plays, high chairs, kitchens w/full size appliances, w/d, etc)
1 bed WLV $280, 2 bed $340/night. I know it sounds high but if you got 2 $150 rooms you are looking $300 night & the WL is a deluxe hotel with all the amenities of the DVC. I think it is a steal!

 

[imlazar]

We have a similar situation -- 2 adults plus 3 kids under the age of 4. We have opted for a Ft. Wilderness Cabin. Three main reasons:

1. Will have 2 in a crib still, and have a feeling 2 pack n plays would not fit well in a small hotel room.
2. Younger 2 will be napping, plus they go to bed early. With a cabin we can put them to bed in the bedroom and still hang out/watch TV in the living room.
3. Full fridge w/ kitchen. We will do breakfast and lunch most every day at the cabin, saving money.
.

We have kids ages 4 & 2, we look for a place with a kitchen and a separate bedroom. Saratoga Springs Resort is very nice and I'd highly recommend it.

We also stayed at the doubletree, which was OK, but had almost nothing to do at the hotel. At the SSR we were able to make frequent use of the tot lot and the pool.

 

[nderh2o]

Today, I called reser. and was told that I had a PIN code and didn't even know it. Soooooo... now I am looking at very reasonable rates for Vac club resorts. Now the question...
Where should I stay with the 1, 3, 5 yr olds and my wife?
1. Old key west 1 BR villa
2. Saratoga Springs 1 BR villa (same price as Old key west)

Looks as if OKW has larger rooms and is more kid friendly (not too fancy) than SS.

Any thoughts?

 

[Bugsmom73]

I would try for Beach Club Villas or Wilderness lodge Villas, or even the cabins or the Poly or Cont. All the deluxes have fridges. You are going to want convenience. Your kids are probably going to like MK the most and SSR and OKW are bus everywhere resorts.

 

[nderh2o]

I agree with the kids probably liking MK the best but I have a hard time imagining the thought of 3 kids and 2 adults in the same room for 7 days without someones nerves being frazzled somewhere along the way.
In addition, with the money I am saving with the PIN, I am considering renting a van for transport w/in and outside of disney.

 

[all4fun]

Today, I called reser. and was told that I had a PIN code and didn't even know it. Soooooo... now I am looking at very reasonable rates for Vac club resorts. Now the question...
Where should I stay with the 1, 3, 5 yr olds and my wife?
1. Old key west 1 BR villa
2. Saratoga Springs 1 BR villa (same price as Old key west)

Looks as if OKW has larger rooms and is more kid friendly (not too fancy) than SS.

Any thoughts?

I have never stayed at either of these resorts (even though I own @ OKW!) but my understanding is that OKW has bigger rooms than all the other "newer" DVC resorts. You might want to post this question on the DVC board and I'm sure you'll get more specific responses. OKW also has more of a condominium layout, where you can park your vehicle near your room so very little walking. Saratogo seems to have a similar type of layout as the buildings are all spread out. Not like BWV (my personal resort of choice ) where you have to park in a lot a distance from the front door and then walk down a long hallway to get to your room. But hey, that's what valet service is for.

As far as the "feel" of these resorts, I think they are all kid-friendly. OKW has a really neat pool with a castle/slide. I just saw a picture of it in my latest member newsletter. We walked around Saratoga (just the main area) a bit and I loved the pool. It is zero entry and there is a really cute little kids slide. There is also a play fountain and I thought the whole atmosphere around the pool area was really neat. Disney does a great job with the themeing. The kids will have fun in either pool, I'm sure.

hth!
Cheryl

 

[HappyLawyer]

of you elect to stay off property, i suggest you visit skyauction and look for a two or three bedroom villa,
good luck