Which resort for a baby and a toddler if you want a slower paced trip?

[maxiesmom]

Interesting, I definitely didn't realize that the Beach Club would be more hectic than a lot of the others. I know you cannot avoid major crowds but was hoping that pool and resort time would be a nice break from the craziness of the parks.

The pool at the Beach Club is more like a water park. It is pretty hectic. Plus it bumps up to the public sidewalk that leads around the boardwalk area. I wouldn't recommend that pool to anyone with very young kids.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Poly would be my first choice in your situation (though I'd request a room in Rarotonga to be close to GCH, away from the main pool and as far away from the Electric Water Pageant as possible - it's loud and super annoying, IMHO!). The rooms are spacious, it's well-themed, it has a zero-entry pool and a kids' splash pad. It's really perfect for young families who want some down time, but also want the ability to easily get to other resorts for a variety of dinner options. I would keep checking prices and even consider renting DVC points and staying at a studio there.

GF is lovely and has some of the same amenities as Poly, I'm just concerned it will price out even more than Poly. CR is fine, but the pool is not conducive to young children at all.

I'm kind of surprised PP's put down BC. I've never felt it was that hectic or chaotic. If you want to stay in the EP area, which would be super convenient to get two parks and to have a ton of dining options in the evening, perhaps consider BWI (the studios at BWV are really nice, too). The pool isn't great for little ones, but they do have a kiddie pool.

AKL and WL are gorgeous and are wonderful, laid back resorts with great amenities for kids, including splash pads (AKL also has a zero-entry pool), but you will not have a ton of dining options there and, to get to other options, you would have to get back on a Disney bus or use a Minnie Van with car seats.

 

[a742246]

I would rent DVC points and stay at a 1 bedroom at OKW by the Hospitality section. (Rent from someone like David's). To save some money maybe do one theme park day then a non theme park day and rotate that thru your stay.

 

[MimiOfTwo]

I’d book a Poly standard room in Raratonga. That’s what we do. You can’t beat the convenience of rolling the stroller right up on the monorail. I’ve stayed multiple times with a double stroller and never had elevator issues.

 

[AEA1127]

We just stayed at The Contemporary with our toddler and loved it. We spent the most time at MK and being able to walk back and forth without folding up the stroller was SO nice. The security line was always short and pleasant. We didn't have any issues with the tower elevators being full, it was the elevator going from the monorail security line to the monorail that took the longest but that's because of how small it is.

We did a break every day after lunch around 1pm for nap/quiet time. We did our dinners earlier than you're planning on and always felt we had enough time to relax and the hotel never seemed crazy to us. We even stopped at Contempo to grab a drink, etc and it was never full or loud.

Honestly, I was expecting to not love it there but we really had a fabulous stay!

 

[vallygirl0221]

CR was everything with my 2 year old nephew the ability to walk back from MK any time of the day when he need a nap or for anything else The pool os nice and basically deserted during the day or was when we were there. Also both the 2 year old and the 5 year old loved just going and watching the monorail when we had some downtime.

It is not the most heavily themed especially in the pool area but the location more than makes up for it. The only place I have enjoyed staying more is the Poly.

 

[JennyDrake]

Contemporary, for sure

 

[ADS2508]

We have traveled with a one and three year old (soon 2 and 4). We keep a schedule pretty close to what you are planning. I don’t think you are wasting a ticket at all. I know my kids would not survive being big in the parks much more than that. I think it really depends on your plans and where you want to be.

The poly is super convenient to MK and Epcot and has a great pool. Sometimes the ease is worth the cost. However, you still are taking a bus to AK and HS and have to travel for a lot of dining.

We have done the Epcot hotels and we really enjoyed them with this age. Walking or taking the friendship boats into World Showcase offered so many dining choices.

No matter where we stay we typically schedule our day where we take a bus once a day and alternate transportation (monorail/boat) for the other half. So from the Boardwalk we go to MK/Ak in the morning then hit Epcot in the evening.

With that said we are trying AKL in August because my little one is crazy about animals and we could stay CL for the price of a standard room at the Poly. I am a bit nervous about taking a bus everywhere, but I like the zero entry pool, Savanas, and feel of the resort.

There really are pros and cons to each, and at the end of the day it is just which trade off you want to make.

 

[Little E]

I would add a vote for CR. We have stayed at all of the monorail resorts, and while we loved them all, the CR was awesome for the following reasons:

-walkability to MK. We felt so smug walking home from MK at the end of the night, knowing we'd be in bed while folks were still waiting for busses to take them back to other resorts from MK.
-monorailability (I know, not a word, but still, you get what I mean ) to all monorail resorts, MK, and Epcot.
-the CR's Contempo Cafe. It is one of the best quick service places on property. Plus, it's super fun to watch the monorail whip through the CR from the Contempo Cafe.
-the pool. While it's not as amazing as other deluxe resort, it is absolutely fine, plus there is a splash pad for little ones.
-the garden wing. The CR's garden wing gives you a super huge room, three sleeping surfaces, their bathrooms are set up really well with a separate potty area, and the prices for this section are really reasonable. Plus this area of the CR is quiet, away from the hustle and bustle of the main tower, and close to the pool and water parade at night. We found it easy peasy to walk to the main tower for coffee or anything we wanted from the garden wing...it's totally covered and about a two minute walk from everything at CR.

Whatever resort you choose, I hope you have a magical time with your family!

 

[OneinThree]

Definitely CR as far as a deluxe, but I would also strongly consider POFQ.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I think with that much resort time I would take a look at the Four Seasons too.

 

[MeridaMerida]

I think with that much resort time I would take a look at the Four Seasons too.

I'm looking at a split stay starting with 4 nights with a 4 day park hopper at one of the monorail hotels followed by 4 nights of just pool/lounge time at the Four Seasons. I got some better prices than I expected for the dates I looked.

 

[Stbissell]

What deluxe resort would you do for a week long trip with a baby and toddler (both boys) if you wanted to do theme park in the mornings then pool and resort after nap everyday and then head out to table service dinners? Want to look into going next spring, at a quieter week since we don't have to worry about school schedules.

Breakfast at resort
7-12:30 Get up and head to parks
12:30-3 Nap at hotel
3-6 Pool and resort time
6-8 Table service dinner

I know the Poly would probably be fabulous but the prices are almost twice the other deluxes no matter what dates I put. Is this just me having trouble searching or is it significantly more expensive than the others? I'm getting around $400 for most deluxes and $700+ for Poly. Also, be honest, would you feel like it's a waste of tickets to only do half days at the parks? I just want to plan so we wouldn't get burned out.

We have stayed at BC, BWI, GF and Poly our last four trips. The last two trips we had two kids under three. I recommend GF def and it’s not close. Much more relaxing, convenient and good dining options. It’s close with Poly but it is quieter. Def stay on the monorail. It makes a huge huge difference with the double stroller. It makes life that much easier.

 

[piccolopat]

We love the Swan and especially their family alcove rooms. It is convenient to Epcot and the Studios, has access to great restaurants and has a really nice pool. We find it to be much quieter than the Beach Club or Yacht Club. We found the bus transport was OK but we would just taxi over to MK or AK since it is just DH and me and the cost wasn't an issue for us.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I'm looking at a split stay starting with 4 nights with a 4 day park hopper at one of the monorail hotels followed by 4 nights of just pool/lounge time at the Four Seasons. I got some better prices than I expected for the dates I looked.

That sounds really nice. The weather is so nice in the spring too

 

[RainSW6]

I stayed at Wilderness Lodge with my then 5 year old and 18 month old and it was great. Easy and relaxing trip to MK on the boat, and easy to get back for naptimes. Our room had a view of both the higher fireworks and the electric water parade, which was extra cool since we often left the park early so the younger one could go to bed and were glad we didn't miss out on all the nighttime stuff. The splash pad there was fun for both kids, too, and we thought the food options looked good but we never ate at the two restaurants since we prefer to eat quickly and spend more time on rides. We did order room service a couple times and that was great. The only regret I have is that we didn't make time for the pony rides or movie/smores activity, but hopefully next time!

 

[ChristineOH]

Definitely would do a monorail resort or WL with little ones like that. I'd probably go with best price, but that's hard to say not knowing the discounts. The Poly is probably the best, though, because you can walk to TTC to monorail to Epcot, but if it's a big price difference, it's not a huge deal to transfer monorails.

 

[tlmadden73]

Anything on the monorail loop I would gather.

Though babies/toddler trip aren't that bad. I did one in March 2017 with a 5mo and 4 1/2 year old and we stayed offsite. It really wasn't an issue getting them in a car drive to a park for rope drop.
We got a double stroller and they just napped in the park. We just left shortly after dinner to not make it a late night.