Which resort with a toddler - BC, AK, BLT, WL?

[Andie16]

Hello all, my DH and I are planning a trip the week after Thanksgiving with our 21 month old son. I'd appreciate any advice on choosing a resort! In the past we have stayed at BCV (last year with our son and my in-laws) and Poly & Dolphin (just DH and I). Our favourite park is Epcot, but since we have a little guy we will probably spend a lot of time at MK as well.

We are currently considering:

BC - Pros: the SAB shallow area and sand beach are perfect for our little guy (but how much weight to give this in late November)?
- close to Epcot and DHS - easier to head back to resort for nap time or for one of us to head out solo while the other one watches DS
Con - no guaranteed balcony; may be nowhere for us to hang out in the room while DS sleeps
Con - we've already stayed at BCV; might be nice to try something new

AK - love the atmosphere; Savannah view could be a nice way to relax while DS sleeps
Con - distance from parks

BLT - easy access to MK and to monorail restaurants

WL - boat access to MK, relaxing atmosphere, Christmas decorations

Any suggestions would be appreciated

 

[wdwrich]

I would choose based upon in which park you plan to spend the most time. With a toddler, that would probably be MK, so I'd go with BLT.

 

[1Jackpot]

Another vote for BLT. Easy monorail access with a toddler. WL also has easy boat access and it is beautiful during Christmas time.

 

[ejrj]

We have will have twin 26 month olds & one 4 yo. I chose WL - mostly because it's the theme that I like best thumbsup2), I think it will be beautiful in December, I like the boat to MK & I found the price to be much more to my liking than BLT. BLT certainly has a great location and space though.

 

[hoosll]

I took my DGSs 5 and 3 to WDW in Apr and stayed at WL. It was great for them as the resort is so compact. It is easy to get on and off the boat with a stroller, the quick service retaurant had all the foods they wanted. There is a small playground on the beach and you can also ride the boat to Fort Wilderness and visit the stables and an excellent playground near the dock.

We asked for a pack n play for the 3 yr old and got bed rails for the 5 yr old. The beds are quite high. We also got a step stool to make it easy to reach the sink or climb on and off the bed. Just call housekeeping. We used the pack n play during the day to store toys, loveys, etc.

We have been at Xmas a couple of times and I love the decorations!

 

[ejrj]

I took my DGSs 5 and 3 to WDW in Apr and stayed at WL. It was great for them as the resort is so compact. It is easy to get on and off the boat with a stroller, the quick service retaurant had all the foods they wanted. There is a small playground on the beach and you can also ride the boat to Fort Wilderness and visit the stables and an excellent playground near the dock.

We asked for a pack n play for the 3 yr old and got bed rails for the 5 yr old. The beds are quite high. We also got a step stool to make it easy to reach the sink or climb on and off the bed. Just call housekeeping. We used the pack n play during the day to store toys, loveys, etc.

We have been at Xmas a couple of times and I love the decorations!

So glad you posted about the step stool! Please share any other WL/small child tips with me!!

 

[TheLadyTremain]

We have stayed at the Poly, BLT and BWV. For us, the BLT was hands down the easiest resort with a toddler. The monorail being right there was fantastic. The ability to walk right to the MK as well as to the bus depot at MK (for getting to other resorts for dining) was awesome. EPCOT and MK were our two most visited parks so it was nice to not have to fold up a stroller and deal with small kids on a buss. Plus, there was so much happening at the Contemporary with kids, dining, monorail, etc., our girls were mesmorized.

We stayed in a 1bdrm at the boardwalk last Sept. It was such a big resort. It felt like our room was almost in DHS. Just a ton of walking. And we hated feeling like we had to rely on bus transport so much. We had three small kids at the time so it was just more work.

 

[MMS1125]

I'd do WL for the decorations alone. Much cheaper than BLT and you still have the ease of the boat to MK

Since you like BC have you considered YC so you'd have a balcony?

 

[jcjen519]

we have a 3 year old and the monorail has been so important to us. We stayed at akl for his first trip and feel that being on the monorail until he is out of the stroller and/or does not nap in the stroller is a priority. so I'd say bay lake tower

 

[DOREEN1779]

We stayed at AKL last year, It wasn't that far away and the bus wait times never exceeded 10 minutes. We are staying at BLT in 3 days but would do AKL again.

 

[jalrad]

Hello all, my DH and I are planning a trip the week after Thanksgiving with our 21 month old son. I'd appreciate any advice on choosing a resort! In the past we have stayed at BCV (last year with our son and my in-laws) and Poly & Dolphin (just DH and I). Our favourite park is Epcot, but since we have a little guy we will probably spend a lot of time at MK as well.

We are currently considering:

BC - Pros: the SAB shallow area and sand beach are perfect for our little guy (but how much weight to give this in late November)?
- close to Epcot and DHS - easier to head back to resort for nap time or for one of us to head out solo while the other one watches DS
Con - no guaranteed balcony; may be nowhere for us to hang out in the room while DS sleeps
Con - we've already stayed at BCV; might be nice to try something new

AK - love the atmosphere; Savannah view could be a nice way to relax while DS sleeps
Con - distance from parks

BLT - easy access to MK and to monorail restaurants

WL - boat access to MK, relaxing atmosphere, Christmas decorations

Any suggestions would be appreciated

Vote for BLT or BC. Have stayed at both with our kids. BC for daughters 1st bday easy access to Epcot and DHS we had a stroller and it was early Dec so we walked to both. Stayed at BLT a year later and had added a son. He was 2 months old for that trip. Walk to MK was perfect or monorail. Last year daughter was 3 son had just turned 1 and we were at AKL. Enjoyed it especially with the savanna view. As other posters mentioned I would base it on park preference - really can't go wrong with any of your choices.

 

[akclayton]

I vote WL. We went in June with my 16 month old. The resort is compact and not alot of walking is required to get to the transportation or eating areas. It was easier for her to stroll around the resort if we didn't want to tote the stroller down the Roaring Forks (QS) to grab a bite to eat.
She enjoyed the playground at FW and we love the Trails End Buffet there. It's just a quit boat road or you can take a bus. The boat that goes to FW also goes to CR so you can easily get on the monorail there and switch over at TTC to catch the EPCOT monorail also. We LOVE the boat ride to MK.
I've never stayed at WL during Christmas time but my parents have and they love it.

 

[carolinamama]

BLT! I have found that just simply being able to walk back and forth to the MK with a toddler and not having to wait on transportation is a lifesaver!

 

[summerw]

Are you bringing your own stroller? I'd add that into your pros and cons. Not having to fold it up on the bus would be much easier, so Blt and bc would make more sense to me for those. Maybe add up how many times you will be spared doing that based on number of days at each park etc?

Also it might be November, but my toddler in a zero entry means I get to sit down for at least five min. In a regular pool, he won't stay on the steps more than a minute so I'm just chasing him all over the whole pool area. So it would matter to me even if we only had one pool day.

 

[Missyrose]

Are you looking at a 1-bedroom at BLT? If you are, then BLT wins (hands down). Having a separate bedroom where you can put the little one down for a nap while the adults are in the living room is priceless.

If you're planning on a studio in BLT, then you might want to check into just getting a standard room in the Contemporary main tower, the standard rooms in the tower are bigger than the BLT studios.

Location-wise you can't beat BC/Yacht Club or Contemporary/BLT. Both give you easy access to two parks (Epcot and DHS for YC/BC, MK and Epcot for CR/BLT).