Resort for family with small children

[DisneyMom2000000]

I just posted above about the Poly, but the YC is our second favorite resort. The pool is awesome, but it’s big and very spread out. Just something to keep in mind with young kids. The one thing I really do not like about the YC (and BC) is the lack of quick service options. Also, standard views at the YC are really bad, so I’d pay for at least a garden/woods view room.

I wonder if the standard club level are bad?

 

[disny_luvr]

I wonder if the standard club level are bad?

I’m not sure. You can maybe ask over on the YC/BC forum. We are booked into a water view room at the YC this summer. The price difference between water view and standard isn’t that much. I’d check the prices of all views.

 

[brockash]

I just posted above about the Poly, but the YC is our second favorite resort. The pool is awesome, but it’s big and very spread out. Just something to keep in mind with young kids. The one thing I really do not like about the YC (and BC) is the lack of quick service options. Also, standard views at the YC are really bad, so I’d pay for at least a garden/woods view room.

Was just going to say thay whileit was beautiful, pool was amazing and we loved this past trip at YC; we would be pretty hesitant to stay there again due to the lack of real qs food/meal. Hurricane Hannahs is ok for a meal or 2, but there's really not much else; especially with little kids.

 

[corgi_monster]

We went last year with a 7mo and a 2yo so convenience was the top priority. If your family will have a stroller or would like to take breaks, you really can’t beat CR or BLT. As a pp mentioned, MK is the most appealing resort for kids and they’ll probably want to spend the most time there.

You can walk to MK and take the monorail to Epcot and neither require you to fold up your stroller. The lines to get through the security areas were minimal or non-existant.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

We have a 3 & 5 year old. We are DVC so always stay in villas but I can speak to location and resort amenities! Since my oldest turned 1 in 2016, we have stayed at AKL-Kidani, VGF, Poly, Boardwalk and BLT at Contemporary.

While we love the theming at AKL, it’s too far for us from everything except AK. Because we spend a lot of time at the other parks, we probably will not stay here again until the kids are older. We prefer to be closer to the other parks.

VGF and Poly are great. Love both, love being on the monorail line.

With little kids, my #1 favorite convenience is to be able to walk to a park. For that reason, BLT (Contemporary) and Boardwalk are my favorites. There is really nothing like being able to walk back to the resort rather than wait for transportation, ESPECIALLY with tired kids after night shows.

Next time, we are considering a split stay between BLT and Boardwalk for the walkability to then 3 parks. My kids love the Boardwalk (and we do too.)

Also, I have stayed at the Beach Club a few times (as a kid, and an adult before kids.) If swimming is important to your family, you can’t beat Stormalong Bay. We only haven’t stayed there because they don’t have the villa size we usually need for our group.

 

[DianeW]

I wrote an article on this very topic for The DIS. Hope it helps you. https://www.wdwinfo.com/walt-disney...est-resorts-for-families-with-young-children/

 

[NickC]

YC/BC has the nicest pool. The waterslide is nice, but they do have to leave the main pool area to get to the top. So, if they like slides, you're going to be going on it often too!
There is an area closer to the YC side where a lot of the younger kids played. It is easier to keep an eye on them when they are there. The pool is sand bottom, and once they discover the sand piles, they will sit there for hours playing with the sand.

The other huge benefit of YC/BC is that you can walk to Epcot and HS. HS is a bit further, but do-able. Epcot is a quick stroll. We liked that we could walk over to WS and have dinner.

 

[NickC]

I wrote an article on this very topic for The DIS. Hope it helps you. https://www.wdwinfo.com/walt-disney...est-resorts-for-families-with-young-children/

You make a lot of good points about The Contemporary. It's one of our favorites. Mid day breaks and naps are very important with small kids. One other advantage I will add, is that there is a boat that goes directly to Hoop Dee Doo Revue (a must doo for us.) The theming is a lot more muted, but the room size and convenience make up for it. The pool is smaller too, but that might make it easier to keep track of young kids.

 

[glocon]

There really are great things about every resort. Love the CR for theming and nearness to MK. The beautiful artwork there and Chef Mickey’s and the monorail going they the building- very magical. But the pool is a bit of a let down.
BC/YC is great to be near EP and HS, but the pool is ginormous and difficult to keep your eyes on your kids unless you are with them every single second.
AKL is beautiful with African art and animal viewing and a great pool. Yes you only have buses but that’s such a small amount of time in your day. And if you have a savanna view room, it’s amazing for kids.
Haven’t tried Poly or GF so can’t speak to those.
It’s fun looking at all the options... I hope you have a great time wherever you choose!

 

[Mskay1216]

We've stayed at both aoa cars suite and the poly and loved both
We have s 8yo and 6yo
We stayed at aoa for 2 nights before our week long stay at our timeshare when they were 5 and 3 and we did not do the parks but really loved the resort
Last year (7 and 5 years old)
We stayed at the poly for 3 nights and loved how close we are to MK loved being able to see the castle and fireworks from the resort love the pools and all the activities
We are staying at the poly again in July
Your little ones will be happy and have fun no matter where you stay- that's what I learned
Enjoy your trip!

 

[Dreams&wishes]

How old are the children. We recently stayed at the Poly with our four children aged 1, 2,7 and 8 and loved it. The monorail was super convenient, the splash area was Perfect for the younger ones. Compared to the GF 's it didn't have a big bucket of water that would splash down, as this would have frighten my kids, but just gentle spraying and 3 slides just on the kiddy area. The beach sand area was also fantastic.

 

[TeacupsForever]

We loved CBR with our 2- and 4-year-olds last year. Convenient transportation to HS and Epcot via the Skyliner, and we personally didn't think the internal bus stops were a problem. They have an incredible pool, plus a splash pad with a smaller slide for little ones. There's a great shaded playground and, of course, lots of sandy beach spots with hammocks for parents to relax in while kids play in the sand. I know the Pirate rooms get a bad rap, but we had no problems with them and our kids thought they were great.

 

[Babsy]

We are now deciding between GF and Yacht Club! The pool at YC looks amazing!!

If deciding between the GF and YCV, I would definitely go for the GF with little ones. Being in the MK area is very convenient when you spend so much of your time there.

FYI: Walking to/from the MK is so convenient that we ALWAYS stay at CR or BLT when travelling with small children and strollers. If it is within the budget, it is my first thought for anyone going to WDW with stroller aged children. If the theming doesn't work or the pool is really important, then the next two close contenders are the Poly and GF.

I wonder if the standard club level are bad?

We have stayed CL at the YC several times. The last time we stayed in a standard view CL room for the first time. We were surprised that we enjoyed the standard view more than some water view (pool view) rooms that we have had there. I am sure some standard view rooms are less exciting than some water view rooms, but when you are paying for the most expensive view and it is awful (and some of the LV rooms' views are awful, IMO) it is more upsetting than if you are not paying extra for the view. I am thinking that I will book standard view from now on, as I really dislike the pool view that we have had on occasion.

We went last year with a 7mo and a 2yo so convenience was the top priority. If your family will have a stroller or would like to take breaks, you really can’t beat CR or BLT. As a pp mentioned, MK is the most appealing resort for kids and they’ll probably want to spend the most time there.

You can walk to MK and take the monorail to Epcot and neither require you to fold up your stroller. The lines to get through the security areas were minimal or non-existant.

This!
Agree totally! The CR really does give great convenience to the MK.


However, all WDW resorts have something unique to offer. Wherever you choose to stay, Enjoy!