Newbie first time travel accommodation questions

[Kiddo1]

Hello,

I have done a lot of reading on different forums. I am looking for some suggestions.

We are planning on taking our 4 yr old (at the time) to Disney around the 2nd week of January 2018.

Here's some info about family:

Kiddo doesn't nap so bedtime would be 7pm.
We have tried to pick the least busiest time taking kid out of school.
We have food restrictions and allergies so kitchen really helpful for breakfast and making sandwiches for carrying with us for lunch. Though we have done vacations without a kitchen.
We are only interested in kiddie rides at the 3 parks.
We plan to rent a car.
We will be at park by rope drop and plan to leave by 3pm latest for downtime and dinner out.

So question is how 'badly' will we do by not being on property I.e. near a monorail or boat mid range to high end resort and not getting fast passes 60 days in advance. We were looking at suite hotels outside the resort area.

Pretty much every post I have read on the dis forums was about how staying off property was the biggest mistake anyone can make. Cost is not a big issue but hate spending upwards of $ 400-500 a night for our needs. Or being in a value 'motel' like resort at $$150-175 with taxes and do poorly with travel back and forth arrangements as posters seemed to suggest.

Thanks for all comments.

 

[MickeyMomV]

Have you looked into a cabin at Ft Wilderness? It still allows you to be in the "bubble" and have a lot of amenities that you may be looking for. It has a kitchen for any of the food items you want to prepare. It has a separate bedroom so the 4 yo can stick to the 7 pm bedtime and you guys don't have to be completely quiet.

Otherwise some of the DVC's have kitchen options but I do not have any experience with them so maybe somebody else can elaborate a little more or you can check out the DVC section.

 

[Disneyfan_76]

We just got back from a February vacation with a 4 and 1 year old. It was our first time staying off property. Personally I found it much easier than when we stayed on property. The advantage of having a kitchen for the morning is great, and the cost of the disney properties is better spent elsewhere. Unless you are on the monorail loop there isn't a great advantage, in my opinion, of staying on property. Bus travel is not the best way to travel with little ones especially when they are packed to the rafters with people. The monorail will only help for MK/EPCOT anyway. We rented car seats and a double stroller from a service and had them delivered to our hotel. Was quite easy to park and just walk in. Makes it easier to park hop as well.

Both my kids usually don't nap. But I am glad that we got the double stroller. With all of the walking, standing, excitement, both of my kids ended up taking a short nap during the day and it was good to have a space for either of them to lie down. If you have allergies I would recommend eating at a sit down in the park rather than eating out. I have allergy issues and the parks were great about it.

The only issue with not staying in the park is that you won't get the 60 day advance for mm+. The only real issue for this is some of the m&g and the new frozen ride. Most of what you will ride will have low enough wait times that it won't be an issue. Personally, I don't like the new mm+ system (was my first time using it), as it doesn't allow you enough flexibility. It is hard with kids, to say that we will be at X place at X time. Getting to the parks at opening will get you onto most rides. If I had to do it over, I would have made all of my fast passes in the evening, one after the other, as 'reserve', and then just gone about our day.

I think you will want to stay later than 3pm. But, you know your child best. At MK, hit peter pan and small world first, since the lines tend to get longer later in the day. I would skip studios completely or just park hop for the few kid ride/shows that they have.

 

[BigRedDad]

If you are only have breakfast items and making lunch sandwiches, this can be done anywhere that has a fridge. You do not need a kitchen unless you are actually cooking food.

You may think your 4yo won't take a nap, but Disney is a completely different beast. It is sensory overload. You would be surprised at how many "my kids never nap" people find out how easily it happens at WDW.

As for "worst mistake staying offsite", I don't get it. I can get BETTER than Disney Deluxe for less than the price of a value resort, 3x the space, multiple rooms, full kitchens, 2-3 bathrooms. However, for a first time visit, I would say to stay onsite. Personally, I love Pop Century. The buses are great. I am sure the same can be said for AoA. I would stay at the All Stars if I had to, but it would not be a preference. It really comes down to what you require for accommodations. I would not put the kitchen as a priority unless you have to actually cook.

 

[yensid67]

I stay off property every time I go! If you are COOKING for breakfast, then you will need a kitchen. I would suggest looking at Extended Stay hotels that would have a full kitchen. You can also find some homes for about the same price. The advantage of that would be more privacy, it would feel more like home and in some cases you would have your own screened in pool! You will have a car and that is a life saver when you have kids in tow! I am pretty sure your kiddo IS going to nap! I am over 40...and I remember I SHOULD have napped a little during the day even just for a few minutes....to recharge! I am assuming 3 parks are MK, EP, AK! I would stay away from Studios since its a construction zone! MK I would stay until AFTER 3pm parade! I think kiddo would enjoy seeing the larger than life characters! There are other things to do that don't require park admissions! Kiddo might enjoy going and seeing Alligators at Gatorland...International Drive area is a playground to spend your time! Sea Life Aquarium is a lot cheaper than Sea World! Check it out on visitorlando.com or undercovertourist.com...they seem to have the best prices for everything!

 

[carriebeth]

THe first couple times we went to DIsney we stayed off property. Because my husband accumulates tons of hotel points during a year due to a lot of work travel, we could stay off site at a holiday inn owned resort for like two weeks for totally free. It certainly wasn't a horrible experience! I will go over some good things about it.

Disney rooms are small. The resort you got several rooms, a few bathrooms a full kitchen etc. We are a family of 10 (8 children) so it was nice to have so much space...and bathrooms!! When we stay at Disney we have to get 2 rooms. We have been able to get adjoining connected rooms each time but they don't guarantee that. Some day we may check in and not be connected...it would make things much more difficult for me running from room to room getting children ready etc.

THe full kitchen made it possible to make breakfast and pack lunch and snack items pretty easily. Saved a lot over buying food at parks. Since you will be leaving really early from parks you could really pick up something to eat on your way pack to hotel as well instead of eating at parks.

For us it was free...cant get cheaper than that. BUt even if you had to pay, they are usually cheaper than on property prices.

We were only a few minutes down the road from DIsney. I don't think it took more than 10 minutes to get on property. Really it was no longer than riding a bus from a disney resort to the parks.

All that said, we stay on property now. We did it once, liked it more, never went back to off property. Now if the choice was stay off property or not go at all.I would be off property and at DIsney! SO I would in no way say staying off property was bad. Just different. Another thing is if our family were different staying off property would be more appealing....LIke if we had one kid like you. when you have 8 kids being able to arrive at the airport and check in your luggage (massive amounts of luggage) and not worry about it again as it magically shows up at your room..pretty priceless...not as big of a deal if there is 3 of you and only a couple suitcases! We had to rent the big huge vans to fit everyone and they are pretty expensive...much more so than a simple car for 3 people. We had to take a whole bunch of carseats for the little ones...another thing to travel with...magic express means not having to worrry about that. My huband and a couple of the kids don't want to be at rope drop everyday and stay to park closing hopping to the park open the longest everyday. He wants to go to bed early and sleep in. A few of the kids and I are the go go go type. Staying on property lets them leave on a bus whenever they want. Having to rely on our own vehicle for transportation meant everyone had to arrive together and leave together. Staying on property means we can get the dining plan. Some people don't like the dining plan...we love it. When making reservations for dining and fast passes, being on property and getting to do 180 +10 and 60 days vs 30 does wonders for our large party. For 3 people its not as big a deal..its easier to book 3 at a later date then 9.

 

[Figgy1]

Welcome and check out some of the house and condo rentals in the area. All Star Vacation homes has an excellent reputation. Don't worry about bringing lunch unless you're looking to save money! Disney does an excellent job with allergies. All quick service places have an ingredient book and most have allergy safe menus for the top allergens and the same goes for sit down dining.

 

[Kiddo1]

Thank you for all the comments. So glad I posted here as the other forums had all but convinced me that staying off site would be the worst decision ever. We did look at the Fort Wilderness cabins but several posters didn't think that was truly the best choice for MK and Epcot. So $500 a night was not worth it for me just for the FP earlier.

My husband has a ton of hilton points so the week long stay offsite would be free (except the darned 'resort' fees which are ridiculous for these hotels and the parking and the Disney parking fees).

Kid has some sensory issues so I know no nap will occur in the stroller or even if we were to trek back to the hotel. We've tried that during other vacations and what works best is early put down.

As far as food is concerned, it's true we don't need a kitchen. Making oatmeal/cereal for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch is very possible with a small fridge (and a requested microwave if possible). Just helpful to have a suite in the evening (since we have a light sleeper).

Also what I have read so far, only the sit down restaurants really cater well to those with food restrictions and sensitivities and since we are not there for a whole day and with a young child, didn't want to be tied down to specific reservation times. But I am absolutely going to look at the different menus and see what we can do.

The purpose of this post hence was just to see everyone's comments on - Are fast passes 30 days (instead of 60) before (we will get it for the afternoon) when we are only looking at kiddie stuff during off-peak times such a bad idea?

The PP who stayed offsite with 4 and 1 yr old, could you share where you stayed and where you rented the car seat/stroller? (good idea not to lug these even if it's one child). Though the ride home from the airport in rental will have to be figured out.


Couple of other questions:

Are 5 days enough for just the Disney stuff? We can go back again for the Disney stuff (thanks for the suggestions - have all those on my future list).

Which character breakfast would you all recommend?

 

[Figgy1]

For a child with sensory issues I'd got to Crystal Palace for the earliest reservation you can make. 180 days before for off site. Quick service does as good a job as table service for allergies. What food must be avoided. Maybe i can help having several allergies in my family. As far as 5 days goes you'll be able to hit a nice list of must dos but not everything in every park.

 

[Kiddo1]

The sensory issues are very mild. Thanks for the recommendation. One of us has lactose intolerance, one is a vegetarian and kid has egg allergy and mild gluten issues.

 

[Figgy1]

The sensory issues are very mild. Thanks for the recommendation. One of us has lactose intolerance, one is a vegetarian and kid has egg allergy and mild gluten issues.

Those all all easily handled at almost every place at Disney with the exception of a few kiosks. Animal Kingdom even has a kiosk free of the top 8 allergens. I'm a gf/vegan and never went hungry Tusker House is another place you may like for lunch or dinner. Almost everything except some bread and deserts are gf, most items are df and quite a few are vegan. Mickey and friends make the rounds there and it's not as hectic as some of the other buffets due to it's size and amount of food choices.

 

[BigRedDad]

Character breakfasts are good, but can cut into other things. The breakfast recommendations would truly depend on the characters you want to meet. Crystal Palace has Pooh characters. Chef Mickey's has the Fab 5. Tusker House has the Fab 5 in safari garb. CRT, 1900 Park Fare, and Akershus has princess type themes. The list can go on.

Character breakfasts have advantages. If you get an 8AM ressie or earlier in a park, you are already inside when the gates open. However, if it is at 8:30AM, you are not done and the rope drop crowds are pouring in and making the kiddo lines longer. Personally, we only do character breakfasts if we get in at 8AM or earlier, we pay when we sit, and exit when we are done. Otherwise, you can get stuck waiting 10-15 minutes just for the bill.

 

[Kiddo1]

Cool. Our little one doesn't know any characters except maybe elmo and pooh. I had read one has to make reservations 180+ days in advance so was looking for a recommendation for one to easily get in with food choices for us and something a 4 yr old may like.

 

[Disney Dad 3000]

In all of our recent trips to DW we've done about half/half onsite and offsite. If I had the money, we would stay onsite 100%. The reality is though staying offsite on several trips or at least portions of trips allows us to go more often since we are not spending as much each time. There are several good places nearby with quick access to the parks (vacation village at parkway is one of many). I would look at several and see what normal traffic times are like when you think you'd be driving to the parks. I know moving mid-trip is not ideal, but I've not found it to be all that much of an ordeal. We did that on one of our trips last year to stay offsite cheaper and then have a couple of nice days on property. If you want to be on grounds with a good location and not the crazy pricing of the monorail/epcot resorts, Swan or Dolphin is a nice alternative (and walking distance to Epcot/HS)

As far as FP, I don't think having 30 day vs 60 will be a huge deal, especially if you are going in January and sticking to mostly kiddie rides (frozen maybe the only harder one). While it won't be dead, you also won't have the immense crowds of Spring Break, Summer, Christmas, etc. Not sure what your dates are but there is usually the marathon around that time in Jan so check that out. We did offsite first few days of our trip Jan '16 over MLK weekend and didn't have any trouble with those FP.

We've done a couple of character meals and have preferred the breakfast option over any others. Ohana at Polynesian has probably been our favorite so far. Tusker house is probably next on our to do list. Depending on what your schedule is, we've found that reserving towards the latter part of the breakfast hours it's been less crowded and we've gotten to cycle through the characters many more times than if we'd gone at peak time. It does impact scheduling park time obviously, but has made for our meal to be relaxing and felt like we got more character time otherwise. I know that can always be hit/miss. If you wanted to truly rope drop the park and not eat too super early, you could always do Peter Pan first and maybe Winnie the Pooh, take care of breakfast and then use your FP later for things like Buzz, Jungle Cruise, Speedway, etc.

BTW, 4 was a super fun age to be at the parks. Ours just turned 5 a few weeks ago.