Where to stay?

[NJlauren]

Trip is in 2 weeks and I’m already thinking about the next trip!

We will be two families with two rooms (small chance of doing a two bedroom) but for this conversation let’s assume two rooms.

Room 1 2 adults 2 kids 5 and 13 months
Room 2 1 or 2 adults 2 kids 7 and 5

Will be August 2019, I am debating the following, Contemporary, Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club, or Boardwalk.

The idea of walking to MK and monarail to Epcot is a huge selling point for Contemporary and the boat from Wilderness is a huge selling point there.

The walking to two parks from Beach Club and Boardwalk is a selling point, and the pool at Beach club.

To be honest I’m leaning Wilderness Lodge any opinions?

 

[loves to dive]

Do you know which park you will be spending the most time in? I would assume with the mix of kids its MK? If so, one of the MK resorts. Personally, we love the Epcot resorts because you can walk to two parks. For us, MK is a half day park, has been even when my son was little. The Epcot resorts also tend to be a little less than the MK resorts. According to when in August, you might have problems with the Epcot resorts because I think F&W starts in August this year and those resorts tend to book up during that.

 

[OneinThree]

If I had to choose the least interesting resort for kids of that age, it would be the Contemporary (as much as I really like that resort). Of the ones you list, I would choose WL or BC if kids are in tow.

 

[Disneylovingmomof2]

With those ages I’d do Contemporary so I could walk to MK.
Or a split between Contemporary and Boardwalk so I could walk to HS (toy story land).

 

[HairyChest]

Wilderness Lodge 100%
It really transports you to another world, the grounds are gorgeous, the boatride to MK is wonderful.
The walking distance for the contemporary and beach club to the theme parks do not outweigh the magic you will feel staying at the wilderness lodge. You will also have easy access to explore the Polynesian and the grand.

 

[LVSWL]

Hi! I'm a big fan of both the Contemporary and the Beach Club and Wilderness Lodge. Own DVC points at all of them. The thing that first came to mind with the ages of the children is that even though the pool at the beach club is amazing, it is very spread out and can be tough with kids of varying ages. I think I would vote for the Wilderness Lodge or Villas. The pools, both quiet and regular are fun, but easy to manage with multiple children. The theming at Wilderness is amazing for all ages and like you said, the boat to MK is great! You can also take the boat to the Contemporary and then the monorail from there to Epcot. I hope you have a wonderful time!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Beach Club for the amazing pool! And the short walks to Epcot and DHS. You can't beat relying on your feet for two parks. Beats relying on the monorail or boats that can be iffy.

 

[riddlemethis]

I agree with the previous comment about where you think you'll spend the most time. We LOVED Beach Club for the pool - the kids liked the parks but much preferred to be in the pool. The kids could play in the sand, go down the awesome waterslide, and basically have free reign of the area while we sat under umbrellas and drank from Hurricane Hanna's. They have life jackets for the kids to wear that are very comfortable form what we were told. The kids liked watching the boats go by, and there were tons of food options being beside the boardwalk. You can walk to epcot and hollywood studios and walk 40 feet from the hotel to see the fireworks from both parks. At night, the boardwalk comes alive and there are performers and music and lots of things to sit and watch wihtout having to go very far.

Wilderness lodge is also really awesome! The only downside to the lodge is that it's boat and bus transportation to all parks. It can add time to your routine, but since you have the baby I'm sure you've planned for that! You have the two restaurants and quick service in the hotel, but that's it. The bus routes from the beach club to/from MK & AK were fine for us - we never had to wait very long either trip.

 

[Disneylovingmomof2]

So this is probably unpopular opinion but I personally do not put life jackets on my kids and just let them swim. We live in a lake town so that may make my outlook on this different but I have been given feedback from swim instructors that using puddle jumpers, swim vests, etc actually makes it harder for kids to learn to swim on their own. Not to mention that if a kid who wasn’t a strong swimmer and tipped forward in a life vest they could face plant into the water and potentially not be able to get themselves back upright. Swim vests scare me more than make me feel safer. Pretty much every kid from age 2-9 had them on at Poly and I was really suprised. If your kid needs a life vest you should be in the water next to them. My six year old is a good swimmer and would probably refuse to put on a life jacket but there’s no way I’d try to put one on her and go sit in a lounge chair. My body (or DH’s) is either right at the edge of the water or actively swimming in the pool while she’s in there.
So yeah, while I saw it during our stay and know it will always happen, I’d never plan on lounging pool side while my kids swam (unless they were at least 11/12).

 

[NJlauren]

So this is probably unpopular opinion but I personally do not put life jackets on my kids and just let them swim. We live in a lake town so that may make my outlook on this different but I have been given feedback from swim instructors that using puddle jumpers, swim vests, etc actually makes it harder for kids to learn to swim on their own. Not to mention that if a kid who wasn’t a strong swimmer and tipped forward in a life vest they could face plant into the water and potentially not be able to get themselves back upright. Swim vests scare me more than make me feel safer. Pretty much every kid from age 2-9 had them on at Poly and I was really suprised. If your kid needs a life vest you should be in the water next to them. My six year old is a good swimmer and would probably refuse to put on a life jacket but there’s no way I’d try to put one on her and go sit in a lounge chair. My body (or DH’s) is either right at the edge of the water or actively swimming in the pool while she’s in there.
So yeah, while I saw it during our stay and know it will always happen, I’d never plan on lounging pool side while my kids swam (unless they were at least 11/12).

So I’m actually with you on this. I am not big on life jackets or puddle jumpers. We only put them on for rides that require them, or if we are on a boat (sometimes this is required too). Occasionally if all her friends have them on she is insisting on it we have let her wear one if there is an extra (we don’t own either) but then we are right in the water with her. She has been in swim lessons since 6 months and the next baby will be too.

 

[NJlauren]

I agree with the previous comment about where you think you'll spend the most time. We LOVED Beach Club for the pool - the kids liked the parks but much preferred to be in the pool. The kids could play in the sand, go down the awesome waterslide, and basically have free reign of the area while we sat under umbrellas and drank from Hurricane Hanna's. They have life jackets for the kids to wear that are very comfortable form what we were told. The kids liked watching the boats go by, and there were tons of food options being beside the boardwalk. You can walk to epcot and hollywood studios and walk 40 feet from the hotel to see the fireworks from both parks. At night, the boardwalk comes alive and there are performers and music and lots of things to sit and watch wihtout having to go very far.

Wilderness lodge is also really awesome! The only downside to the lodge is that it's boat and bus transportation to all parks. It can add time to your routine, but since you have the baby I'm sure you've planned for that! You have the two restaurants and quick service in the hotel, but that's it. The bus routes from the beach club to/from MK & AK were fine for us - we never had to wait very long either trip.

This is my biggest issue with Wilderness lodge! I’m affraid the transportation will drive me crazy!

 

[NJlauren]

Do you know which park you will be spending the most time in? I would assume with the mix of kids its MK? If so, one of the MK resorts. Personally, we love the Epcot resorts because you can walk to two parks. For us, MK is a half day park, has been even when my son was little. The Epcot resorts also tend to be a little less than the MK resorts. According to when in August, you might have problems with the Epcot resorts because I think F&W starts in August this year and those resorts tend to book up during that.

I would probably say MK 2 days and then 1 day other parks but it’s possible this gets changed up, depends a bit on where we stay.

This current trip we are at the beach club and have 2 nights at Epcot that aren’t Epcot days since it’s so close.

 

[NJlauren]

If I had to choose the least interesting resort for kids of that age, it would be the Contemporary (as much as I really like that resort). Of the ones you list, I would choose WL or BC if kids are in tow.

Do you have another resort you think would fit the ages better? I know my daughter loves the pop last time we stayed there but I just feel like 7 days with 4 people in the small room one of us may lose it!

 

[NJlauren]

With those ages I’d do Contemporary so I could walk to MK.
Or a split between Contemporary and Boardwalk so I could walk to HS (toy story land).

I love the idea of a split stay but I’m not sure with a 5 year old and 13 month old I want to deal with that!

 

[Disneylovingmomof2]

So I’m actually with you on this. I am not big on life jackets or puddle jumpers. We only put them on for rides that require them, or if we are on a boat (sometimes this is required too). Occasionally if all her friends have them on she is insisting on it we have let her wear one if there is an extra (we don’t own either) but then we are right in the water with her. She has been in swim lessons since 6 months and the next baby will be too.

Agree...if we are on the canoe or kayak she wears one. Other than that we don’t use them. She did private swim lessons and does them still at summer camp and our one year old also takes “baby” swim lessons. Between the lakes where we live and the Jersey shore I don’t mess around when it comes to water

 

[dansdad]

This is my biggest issue with Wilderness lodge! I’m affraid the transportation will drive me crazy!

Other than being able to walk to MK from The Contemporary, we have found WL to have the best transportation to MK and the other parks as well. Everyone's experience is different but that has been ours.

 

[NJlauren]

Other than being able to walk to MK from The Contemporary, we have found WL to have the best transportation to MK and the other parks as well. Everyone's experience is different but that has been ours.

That’s great to hear! All buses right? (Or monorail from a boat stop)

 

[NJlauren]

Agree...if we are on the canoe or kayak she wears one. Other than that we don’t use them. She did private swim lessons and does them still at summer camp and our one year old also takes “baby” swim lessons. Between the lakes where we live and the Jersey shore I don’t mess around when it comes to water

That’s just it, inlaws live at the shore with a pool that isn’t fenced in (don’t get me started). So learning to swim
was/is a very high priority for us.

 

[OneinThree]

Do you have another resort you think would fit the ages better? I know my daughter loves the pop last time we stayed there but I just feel like 7 days with 4 people in the small room one of us may lose it!

We've got 5 kids ourselves, so I completely understand about what you're looking at for a week. At that age, I agree -they probably would prefer AoA or Pop to anything else. As far as WL, being able to take the boats to MK has always been a draw for me, personally, it's quick, easy, and scenic. One option that a lot of people overlook are the cabins at Fort Wilderness. No other resort can come close to what's available there for kids (spent many vacations there myself growing up), and you're still a boat ride away from MK. I've never stayed at BC, but I have stayed at YC and am familiar with the entire resort area. Of the options there, BC by far would be the most appealing to kids I would think. Location is all relative. Stay at an MK resort and you have to bus to Epcot (unless you're on the monorail loop), or stay at the Epcot area and have to bus it to MK.

 

[dansdad]

That’s great to hear! All buses right? (Or monorail from a boat stop)

Buses. But the boat to MK is great.