Best Resort for 18 month old?

[BanditsMommy]

Hubby gave me the go-ahead for a Nov 2019 visit to WDW! It will be our first time going with DS and I can't wait to see his reaction to it all.

Since our past trips have focused on more grown up level fun (thrill rides, drinks, nice dinners, etc.) I'm not sure what kind of hotel to stay at with a baby and what I should even be taking into consideration. We typically have stayed at AKL, but we also REALLY loved the Dolphin when we stayed there. We're not really "kid" people so I don't know if we could handle the super kid themed resorts, so we'd probably try to avoid those. Trying not to blow the budget so monorail resorts are probably out.

Any thoughts appreciated and if you've done this with a kid around that age (18 mos~ish) let me know what worked and what didn't! TIA!

 

[nursemelis374]

I took an 18 month old last December. It was awesome! I wouldn't worry too much about the theme as they are pretty young to appreciate it. I would suggest at least a studio and even better a 1 bedroom. That way you can put little one down and still have a place to hang out. Plus, the ability to have a full kitchen is so helpful with infants. The extra space is also nice for stroller, pack and play, etc. AKL has pretty decent prices for renting a studio or 1 BR.

I know you said no monorail but using a boat or monorail is so nice with the stroller!

Have a blast!

 

[TJA]

When our kids were that age, we probably liked the Beach Club the best. The sandy-bottom shallow pool was a huge hit! Plus, at that age, they didn't know/care which parks we went to, so we loved walking into Epcot each night. Babies would most likely fall asleep in stroller, so we enjoyed walking around the World Showcase and stopping at stands for drinks/snacks.

As a general rule, buses were not great for us when our kids were stroller age. We do have twins, so we had a double stroller or double jogger to fold up and carry, plus carrying the 2 babies and diaper bag. So....I say with conviction what worked best for us was an Epcot resort (or a monorail resort). It was just so much easier and more convenient to leave the babies in the stroller and walk (or monorail) to a park. We'd also walk through Epcot to take the monorail to MK, again able to leave the babies in the stroller while on monorail. It was not a quick route to MK, but it sure was easier for us.

 

[joan4mickey]

We took our 18 month old granddaughter and she loved the AK lodge. We had a savanna room and she just loved watching the animals and when we saw her a month later she remembered them. She also loved the pool at Kidani lodge. In fact she would have been happy with the pool and being on the balcony the whole time. She didn't get anything from the parks and hated the characters.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I acknowledge this isn't a particularly helpful comment... but from my perspective the best resort for an 18 month old is the resort the adults prefer the most. My oldest is 8 now and we'll ask for his input / get him involved with planning.... but at 18 months - he was just along for the ride.

But to answer your question...when ours were younger we preferred places with an edge on transportation convenience... be it walk-ability to a park or boat/monorail transportation. Places like CR and WL were/are favorites. We also fell in love with Poly because it provided a really good balance of many things - monorail access (so easy with a stroller), zero entry pools, we (the adults) could still get a Disney fix in with things like fireworks viewing from the resort and be close to bed vs being in the park, walk-ability to TTC for the Epcot monorail, etc.

Our first trip with our little guy was at WL and that's sort of what started the ball rolling on our adulthood/parenthood phase of Disney travels.

Whatever you decide, have fun!

 

[dansdad]

I acknowledge this isn't a particularly helpful comment... but from my perspective the best resort for an 18 month old is the resort the adults prefer the most. My oldest is 8 now and we'll ask for his input / get him involved with planning.... but at 18 months - he was just along for the ride.

When ours were younger we preferred places with an edge on transportation convenience... be it walk-ability to a park or boat/monorail transportation. Places like CR and WL were/are favorites. We also fell in love with Poly because it provided a really good balance of many things - monorail access (so easy with a stroller), zero entry pools, we (the adults) could still get a Disney fix in with things like fireworks viewing from the resort and be close to bed vs being in the park, etc.

Our first trip with out little guy was at WL and that's sort of what started the ball rolling on our adulthood/parenthood phase of Disney travelers.

Whatever you decide, have fun!

Completely agree with all of this, especially the bolded.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I acknowledge this isn't a particularly helpful comment... but from my perspective the best resort for an 18 month old is the resort the adults prefer the most. My oldest is 8 now and we'll ask for his input / get him involved with planning.... but at 18 months - he was just along for the ride.

But to answer your question...when ours were younger we preferred places with an edge on transportation convenience... be it walk-ability to a park or boat/monorail transportation. Places like CR and WL were/are favorites. We also fell in love with Poly because it provided a really good balance of many things - monorail access (so easy with a stroller), zero entry pools, we (the adults) could still get a Disney fix in with things like fireworks viewing from the resort and be close to bed vs being in the park, walk-ability to TTC for the Epcot monorail, etc.

Our first trip with our little guy was at WL and that's sort of what started the ball rolling on our adulthood/parenthood phase of Disney travels.

Whatever you decide, have fun!

Yes, yes and yes! Pick the resort that will make the trip most convenient for the adults. When my DS was that age, transportation convenience to the parks was first and foremost. Having a separate space for his crib or pack and play was a bonus.

 

[KrazeeK120]

When my son was 18 months, we stayed CL at WL. It was great for our family as we didn’t do late nights. We ate breakfast and dinner in the lounge most days. It’s a lovely resort, and my son really enjoyed it. DH and I either sat on the balcony (we could see MK fireworks) it took turns going to the lounge after we put our son to bed. We liked the boat ride to the MK. We make the 16 hour drive from Illinois, so we had our car to drive to the other parks.

 

[LMO429]

For an 18 month old I feel one of the resorts where the pool is not so overwhelming was helpful. We always prefer the grand plenty of space for a toddler to walk around, less stimulation and the pools are not so overwhelming. You can also walk over to the poly easily, get to Mk easily and many dining options on the monorail line. Of all the ages I brought my son he has been going since he was an infant the 18 month area i found to be the most challenging simply because he had the ability to walk all over and not listen. If you can a villa 1 bedroom good at that age. I also like the grand just because the room square footage is bigger than most other room property which is helpful if you have a stroller and a crib in the room

 

[_Kristi_]

One of the monorail resorts would be ideal. You don't have to remove a sleeping child from the stroller to board a monorail. You have to fold up the stroller on the buses and most boats. A complete nap is a sanity saver. We have stayed at Wilderness Lodge and Polynesian with a kiddo that age and Grand Floridian a year later. The Polynesian has a nice little lawn with turf for kids to play on. My nephew loved to toddle around on it while we took a little break. He was just happy to be able to move freely with a lot of space since little ones tend to be confined a lot on the plane, in the stroller, and in highchairs at meals. Bring some duck tape to baby proof the room so your kiddo can play while you get dressed. You can tape drawers shut or anything else you want to keep out of reach. The phone has always been my kids' personal favorite so we just unplug it and let them play with it...after I lysol wipe it down

 

[tinkerbella16]

When we went in Sept 2016, my niece was 18 months old. We stayed at the Beach Club and it was our best trip that we have ever taken! We got a really great price for Labor Day week, that we couldn't pass up.. so that is why we chose that resort.. the baby wasn't the reason for the choice. My niece still remembers things from that trip and we are about to leave for her 3rd trip soon! Being so close to Epcot and DHS was amazing! We used the pool every single afternoon during our midday breaks. It was just wonderful.

 

[Ladyandthepuppies]

When my son was 15 mos we splurged for a castle-view at the Contemporary. Our reasoning was that we wouldn't be able to watch any fireworks or the Electrical Water Pagent otherwise (our son was 15 mos and our daughter was 3 so they needed to be in bed by 8pm.) It was also really nice to be able to walk to MK and to take the monorail to Epcot.

If you can rent DVC at Bay Lake Tower or get a discount on a garden view room at the Contemporary, you might not break the budget!

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

This will be an unpopular opinion, but when my kids were babies/toddlers we preferred to stay offsite. My kids were not good sleepers, so it was really hard to be in a hotel room. We needed a place with a separate sleeping area for the baby. We also enjoyed having our own personal pool (and hot tub for DH and myself!). Transportation can be an issue if you don't have a car, but if you do have a car it's really easy to drive to the parks (with the possible exception on MK which is a bit more difficult). Also when the kids were very little we did not do park open to close. We typically did RD (since kids were up early anyways) and stayed in the park until late afternoon, then headed back to the house for the evening (kids went to bed early anyways). We found that keeping them on somewhat of a schedule helped reduce stress and meltdowns throughout the day. Anyways, just my 2 cents. Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[Mobbane]

Anything with a balcony worked best when I had 18 month olds. Kids can sleep in relative peace inside, while mom and dad can relax (enjoy a beverage?) without disturbing them.

 

[disneygolfer1985]

We will be going over Thanksgiving in 2019 to treat our 18 month old DD with her first trip. We will be staying at the GFV since we are DVC members at both GF and BW. We figure we will be spending most of the time at the MK, so we will stay at the GF for that reason. I hope you have a great time and enjoy the planning. We are also looking forward to her reaction when she sees everything.

 

[SteveH]

Back when our kids were young the Monorail resorts were out of the question. First trip was to the Cabins, and that was great fun. Between the golf cart and bunk beds they loved it. Plus we spent most of our time at Magic Kingdom. Since our oldest was wild about trains the boat to Contemporary then ride to TTC and monorail to Epcot was a blast, sure it was a long haul, but if the oldest was happy everyone was happy.

 

[SharonZ]

My vote would be the Contemporary, since you could walk to MK.