WL with small ones???

[Mom2Dash&JackJack]

For those of you with small children, I’m hoping you can help me out. We are going to WDW in May (6th – 12th) with our two young boys, ages 1 and 4. We have stayed at the Polynesian on our prior trips with our oldest DS, and had 2 magical trips. The monorail was priceless for naps and convenience, and some of our favorite times were watching the fireworks with DS in his PJs on the beach. We had originally booked the Poly for this trip, but in looking at the Wilderness Lodge price difference, we decided to switch to WL. This change saved us about $1000, which is quite significant. I have always wanted to stay at the WL, and the theming is exactly my style.

I have been second guessing our decision to switch resorts. DH says its completely up to me, so he’s no help. Will we be severely inconvenienced by not being on the monorail? We are the type of family to go out first thing in the morning at park opening, return for naps, and head to another park in the evening. Will getting back and forth to the WL be time consuming? Or is the boat ride just that nice and you don’t even contemplate the time? Also, can you see the fireworks from the WL, and where is the best place if you can?

Any input from those families that have stayed at WL with little ones would be fantastic!

Thanks!

 

[Mouse House Mama]

We are huge Poly and WL fans! We have 3 kids, currently 4,3,15months- with another on the way! They have been to WDW many times already and we love the WL! The boat is so easy. The resort is beautiful. Request a room overlooking the Otter Pond because at night if the kids are tired (or Mom and Dad are tired!) you can watch the fireworks from your room! There are some trees in the way but it is still beautiful. The only thing is that the WL rooms are quite a bit smaller than the Poly but the new rooms are really nice and we had no problem with the 5 of us this past December. You will love it!

 

[LISAVWL]

We've stayed at the WL 3 times & we're headed back in Oct and love it! We are DVC owners so we are over at the villas. Sorry I can't give you any insight into the rooms at the Lodge but as fas as transportaion goes, it's a breeze. We have small kids too -- DD4.5, DS3, DS 21 mo -- and taking the boat over to MK is quite simple. We also do a park at opening, nap in the afternoon and a park in the evening and getting around is easy! You can usually leave the kids in the strollers on the boats which is a big plus in my world! It does take a bit longer than hopping on the monorail from the POLY, just be sure to build it into your schedule. The boats can get pretty full, especially at opening/closing and they usually go over to FW before heading to MK. If the lines are unusually long we have taken the other boat to CR and then the monorail to MK but I'm not sure that saves any time, just seems like it b/c of the waiting.

Bus transportation is available to get around the rest of the world as well or you could take the boat to CR and then the monorail to Epcot. We usually rent a car b/c of the little ones so we haven't used the busses, yet.

You can watch the fireworks from the beach at the WL, they even have speakers up so you can hear the music as well! We did this a couple of times since DS is afraid of the noise of the fireworks but loves to watch them.

HTH! Have a great time!

 

[bnhasak]

We LOVE WL with kids! We have a 3 year old and an 18 month old and they love the place.

There is so much to do and see just at the hotel.

Heck, my 3 year old could play Lincoln Logs all day in the lobby and it woudl be a fun vacation. They also have a huge "sandbox" that DD loved.

Have a great trip!!!

 

[TravelingJen24]

We were just at the villas in Nov. and my son loved it. Whispering Canyon restaurant is great. The kids got a big kick out of it. Our little ones are 3 and 1. I like having the boat, but sometimes it can take awhile to get to the park. We are from Cal. so it reminded us a lot of the Grand Californian with a little more rustic feel. Never saw the geyser go off, but it is supposed to be pretty cool. Stay put and have a good time.

 

[minniebeth]

Definately go for it! We love the Poly too for all the conveniences you stated, but the WL is not that much more less accessible. The boats are great and easy to use. We had young childern staying there and it worked great for us...a lot of fun, defiantely a great environment for the family. We loved staying there and it will stay among some of our top fave WDW resorts.
You can even request to be a Flag Family!

 

[all4fun]

We stayed in the villas when ds was 2. He loved the WL - especially the lobby. Like one of the pp's kids, he could have spent our whole vacation in the lobby there, lol. The boat ride is nice. I won't lie, I thought it was a little bit time consuming however having never stayed at a monorail resort I really can't compare apples to apples. We usually stay at the Boardwalk so we're used to longer "commute" times anyway. The boat ride is very pleasant but there were a few times we just took the bus and it actually seemed faster, so that's another option. We really enjoyed it - and we're from the Northwest so I actually wasn't that excited about staying there (prefer my resort to be less like "home" lol). It is a very well themed resort. I think you'll love it!

 

[JessetheCowgirl]

We have stayed at the WL twice (well, once in the villas now that we are DVC members) with small children.

We love it! The boat ride is relaxing and all 3 of our kiddos LOVE it.

The pool is very kid (and MOM) friendly---I was able to keep track of all 3 at once.

I also like the way everything is in one big building so you can go to get breakfast or snacks at Roaring Forks without having to go outside (in the rain!)

Good luck with whatever you decide. For $1000, I would certianly choose WL.

 

[dsneygirl]

I don't think you'll be disapointed. The boat ride is so relzxing. They'll be asleep in no time. There's also a great playground right at the beach. And Ft Wilderness is right next door with lots of fun activities for little ones.