Which resort for first grandparents trip

[Rory607]

We’ve done a few trips with grandparents (never all of them together…you are brave!) I personally like three regular rooms so everyone has their own space. Poly is my favorite deluxe and the monorail is so convenient if people want to go back to their rooms at different times. There is also an splash pad at the pool that would be great for a toddler.

 

[FSU Girl]

This is all totally dependent on your family structure and how your in-laws would all feel being in one villa together and with you all and a baby. IMO a two bed DVC villa isn't big enough for 6 adults and a baby. Also, would the grandparents be ok in one villa together? Just my own experience through travels with our own kids and one set of grandparents, but adults who are not used to being with a small child all the time and other adults that they're not really related to, or currently live with, may just need a break from one another and a DVC 2 bedroom isn't that much space for 6 adults.

If it's my family and 2 sets of grandparents, nobody is staying together like that in one 2 bedroom villa. There may be ample sleeping arrangements but not enough personal space. For us, it would be same resort and that's where the togetherness would end, everyone would have their own space. Now if it was only one set of grandparents, I would consider a villa and would likely prefer staying at the same resort if we did separate rooms.

If you want to go down the villa road, Beach/Yacht club is nice for the awesome pool area and walking proximity to Epcot/DHS. But if you'll be at MK more and strollering alot, maybe consider GF or BLT villa.

If you decide to go offsite, you'll definitely get more bang for your buck. There are some nice nearby properties with great pools and amenities. And of course, you could go full throttle and rent a condo or house and have a ton more space but I am not a fan of cooking while at WDW so I don't ever bother with that at Disney.

As far as the trip length/tips- totally depends on what you want to accomplish, time away from home, budget, health of grandparents, etc. Not sure of their health but walking around at WDW is a lot even for the fittest of people so I'd say a trip no longer than a 4/5 days to a week max. Over the years, we traveled a lot with my husband's mom/dad, shared hotel rooms, had the benefit of them watching our kids while we'd go out but the key takeaways are that spending time with a small child more often than normal for them can be taxing so they may need breaks from ya'll, they may need to not go to the parks at all and do their own thing, they may be slower paced than you and you may be bothered by that. Or they also may want to do the polar opposite of all that and be with ya'll 24/7 and that may drive you nuts. LOL!

I don't know your relationships and how often they're all together, but just know that there are a ton of variables here that make planning trips like this a little more complicated. When our kids were little, we basically told the grands, join us if you want, don't feel obligated to do anything you don't want to but here's our plans. We were flexible, they were flexible and it all just worked.

The two sets of grandparents do get along but haven’t done a trip together or anything so this would be a first for everyone. I was originally thinking there wouldn’t be a ton of time spent in the room, but it probably would be a lot of the grandparents sharing a room if they want to also nap or go to sleep at different times. I’m not sure if it would be weird to have a two bedroom with my parents and my in laws in a separate room. I wanted to be near the parks so it wouldn’t be a hassle going back for baby naps. I don’t think we’d be using the grandparents for a date night it would be more them hanging out with the baby with us so if they’ve had enough baby time they don’t have to do anything.

 

[FSU Girl]

Are 4 grandparents who are there for the baby going to feel like they spent time with the baby if there are 6 adults around? I would try separate trips.

The two sets get along so I don’t think they’d mind going on a trip all together. At least they said they don’t mind being all together lol. After we figure out the particulars or where to stay and how long we can then dive in deeper into what we’ll all actually be doing day to day.

 

[FSU Girl]

Honestly, like I mentioned in my post, I think an MK resort is the way to go. Just from my experience now with kids (8 and 4), we have been there at various ages and the almost 2 year old will LOVE the boat rides to the park (if you choose that transportation). I still remember both of my kids riding for the first time from WL and seeing the castle - we took pics of their faces. So cute.

On the plus side, you could also use the monorail to Epcot. I do love Epcot and my kids loved it then and still do. They have Nemo, the aquarium, Living with the Land, and then just walking around through the countries. Perhaps the Moana water play area will be open?

With a stroller and needing to go back for nap, you want to be close to either of those parks. Since you don't think everyone will be on board for HS, I think Epcot and MK will be a big hit. AK is a bus no matter what.

The bus has always been the most annoying to us when we had all the toddler gear. On the boat you don't need to fold up the stroller and it just seemed easier. Everyone has a different opinion.

You make great points. So there’s more rides than I thought for the baby at Epcot that’s great! I do think the magic kingdom resorts would probably be the easiest to stay at since we can do the monorail to two parks. So normally we’d just drive ourselves to parks since we live a few hours away but we won’t be able to fit everyone in one car so a bus is probably easiest to get to animal kingdom

 

[FSU Girl]

We’ve done a few trips with grandparents (never all of them together…you are brave!) I personally like three regular rooms so everyone has their own space. Poly is my favorite deluxe and the monorail is so convenient if people want to go back to their rooms at different times. There is also an splash pad at the pool that would be great for a toddler.

I haven’t done a grandparent trip yet so after this one we’ll see how future ones go lol. Everyone gets along so I think it should be ok having everyone together, but separate rooms is probably better after all the comments here. A nice splash pad would be great for the baby!

 

[Doingitagain]

Consider the character breakfast at Topolino’s at Riviera resort. We took our two year old granddaughter and she loved it. She watched You Tube videos before we went, so she was familiar with the music and was dancing and clapping. As grandparents, we loved it!

 

[Kerr84]

My daughter at 15 months and 22 months loved Epcot. Nemo, aquarium, Donald’s boat ride, figment, the room after figment to play in, and frozen. We didn’t ride Living with the Land or Spaceship Earth, but she could. Remy wasn’t open when we went but it doesn’t have a height requirement. My daughter loved Biergarten and watching the Polka Band and the skyliner was one of her favorite things so you could do that too.

 

[FSU Girl]

Consider the character breakfast at Topolino’s at Riviera resort. We took our two year old granddaughter and she loved it. She watched You Tube videos before we went, so she was familiar with the music and was dancing and clapping. As grandparents, we loved it!

We took her to it when she was 10 months and she loved it. It was her first character experience and clapped and waved at them all it was very cute. Food was good too. Definitely will be going back

 

[FSU Girl]

My daughter at 15 months and 22 months loved Epcot. Nemo, aquarium, Donald’s boat ride, figment, the room after figment to play in, and frozen. We didn’t ride Living with the Land or Spaceship Earth, but she could. Remy wasn’t open when we went but it doesn’t have a height requirement. My daughter loved Biergarten and watching the Polka Band and the skyliner was one of her favorite things so you could do that too.

These are great suggestions I think she’ll like a lot of this. Not sure about spaceship earth though since it’s longer and fully in the dark

 

[Kerr84]

These are great suggestions I think she’ll like a lot of this. Not sure about spaceship earth though since it’s longer and fully in the dark

We skipped it too, but maybe if she needs a nap.

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

The other nice thing about French Quarter besides it’s affordability is it has a nice pool area for little kids and it’s near Disney Springs - so you can go shopping and have more dining options.

We are staying at Port Orleans and my parents are staying at the Disney Springs Wyndham during our 3-generation trip. That way we can meet at Disney Springs and my mom will love the boat ride to Port Orleans. They don't care whether they stay on property and they don't go swimming, so it was a good solution for our family. If we were staying deluxe, I might do SSR for us and a Disney Springs hotel for them, if we weren't all sharing a room.

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

We’ve taken her a few times for resort only trips so it’ll be her first time going into the parks. She loves Minnie Mouse and seeing characters. She’d probably like walking around Epcot, but most rides there have a height requirement don’t they?

When my son was littler, his favorite parts of Epcot were the aquariums at the Seas (which the Nemo ride has no height restrictions), watching the model train in Germany, and watching the fountains in France. The boat rides in the Land, Mexico, and Norway don't have height restrictions. My 3 year old loves the one in Mexico.

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

These are great suggestions I think she’ll like a lot of this. Not sure about spaceship earth though since it’s longer and fully in the dark

At 1.5 - 2 was when my kids were so afraid of the dark of Spaceship Earth (even though my son had successfully ridden it at a younger age). At 1.5, he cried almost all the way through, and when my daughter was 2, I had to hang on tight to keep my daughter from trying to climb out.

Since your child will be almost 2, she might enjoy the live music at Epcot. My daughter loves dancing to the music there.

 

[NOLA_Tink]

Sleeping arrangements could also have a lot to do with everyone's sleep schedules. For my son's first trip with a grandparent, we stayed in a cabin because I wanted him to have his own quiet place to sleep at night. I wanted him to be well rested, but also didn't want everyone to have to tiptoe in the evening or morning to avoid waking him.

 

[TCRAIG]

We did a similar trip when my first grand was 16mo this old - both sets of grands were in a 2 bedroom while mom and dad and toddler had a 1 bedroom - it worked out perfectly (using our DVC points). I would recommend a Monorail resort 100% - even if the grands are not ‘park’ people, watching their grand ride Winnie the Pooh (or some other MK kids ride) is why you’re making the trip..

 

[Eastern]

I didnt' read the whole thread. For a first trip with baby and grandparents, I'd make it a shorter trip. I would choose CR for easy access to MK. The cafe within the resort is decent for breakfast, coffee and snacks.

To keep everyone together with minimal walking at a decent price, POFQ. The food court, although small is convenient.

I would prefer keeping everyone onsite as it would be a shorter trip with age extremes.

I would also avoid weekends and holidays so it is less packed in the parks. Many of our past trips have been Sun or M-F in various configurations in order to avoid higher prices/crowds at the weekend.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I would consider booking three separate rooms at the Dolphin using the Senior Discount. That way everyone has their own space yet can be together easily. There’s a ton to do there and the main pool is fantastic. The baby would probably even enjoy the little swan boats or a surrey bike ride. Parents who don’t like to spend a lot would appreciate the pricing (for Disney). Some of the restaurants even offer a AAA discount and there are lots of places to choose from.

We stayed there with my in-laws on a trip when our kids were little and it was perfect for them. They were up early every day and went off by themselves walking around the Boardwalk area and going to the bakery, taking the boats, exploring, etc. One day my DH got up early to go get us coffee downstairs and heard his father deep in conversation with the kitchen help, which is a great memory for him! The boats or Skyway rides alone are a fun thing to do! Lots of places for quick bites and ice cream around the area, too.

I think it might be awkward to put two sets of grandparents in a space they have to share. I, personally, wouldn’t like it. I like the idea of splitting the week (with grandparents coming on separate days) if you do go the route of a shared space. I think it’s also good for people to go off on their own to do what they like to do with meeting up later for a swim or meal. Some might like to go to parks together, but some might not. It’s hard to say. But nothing worse than being on a trip when people are getting aggravated. I would set yourself up for success if you can on a trip like this. Good luck!

 

[Wayland10]

If you do a 2 bedroom villa and an off-site hotel, you could keep your parents’ names on your reservation. That way they could access the resort amenities, including the pool, and still save money. 2 bedroom villas have occupation limits of 8 or 9, so afaik you wouldn’t be violating Disney’s rules. It would give you all a base near the parks for breaks and pool time, and respect your parents’ preferences.

 

[unrequited23]

I've done the both sets of grandparents trip with two kids (almost 3 and 5.5) and I vowed never again. (Though this could just be our two sets of grandparents.) My advice is that everyone needs their own room--just to have space to decompress. Also, try to get on the same page for expectations of the trip--budget, togetherness time, who is riding with the baby on what ride, etc. If you can get each set of grandparents to come for their own part of a week I feel like you will have a much more enjoyable time.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

One other thing I wanted to mention was to consider a Disney Cruise!