Balance of best commute to MK v. price - where to stay?

[sarahsar]

We just got back from a great stay at the Contemporary, and are now looking to go back to WDW soon. The location was fantastic - it was wonderful being able to walk to the Magic Kingdom, especially with two stroller age children! The price is a bit high, however. We are looking at September, which should be value pricing time and in theory would be $280/night, but instead seems to be $330/night. For our upcoming trip, it may be a matter of trading off a day of vacation to stay there.

I was wondering if anyone else has any recommendations of places within easy reach of the MK. Specifically, I was looking at the Wilderness Lodge, which seems to be close by boat. How long does the boat take? Do you spend a lot of time waiting for it? Any other suggestions?

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Are you adding free dining into the equation? Eating for free will certainly save you some money and might enable you to stay that extra night.

I agree about the Contemporary's location. It's amazing. It will always be one of my favorite resorts because of the view and the walk to Magic Kingdom.

As far as location, the Polynesian and the Grand Floridian are going to be close seconds.

The Wilderness Lodge is a great choice though. It's a beautiful hotel, great dining onsite, and a wonderful pool. I can't remember exact times, but we did wait about 20 minutes for the boat. It was a very fun and way to get to the Magic Kingdom though. Any resort that has multiple options of transportation gets points in my book.

 

[surfsupdon]

Wilderness Lodge should be much cheaper. The boat to MK is great. It is very consistent in the mornings and evenings (peak times). Maybe around a 20 minute wait during the afternoons.

I think it's a greater, cheaper alternative.

 

[sarahsar]

I appreciate all the responses. It's giving me something to think about. Do you all know if you can walk directly on the boat from WL to MK with a stroller without having to collapse the stroller?

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I appreciate all the responses. It's giving me something to think about. Do you all know if you can walk directly on the boat from WL to MK with a stroller without having to collapse the stroller?

I don't think so but when we took that boat on our last trip it was quite late and cold.

 

[coltow]

I appreciate all the responses. It's giving me something to think about. Do you all know if you can walk directly on the boat from WL to MK with a stroller without having to collapse the stroller?

YES!!!! But not the boats for the monorail resorts, those are smaller.

 

[swimmom]

I appreciate all the responses. It's giving me something to think about. Do you all know if you can walk directly on the boat from WL to MK with a stroller without having to collapse the stroller?

Yes, but sometimes because of change in water level of the lagoon the boat may be higher or lower than the dock. I have never seen it anymore than a step that you would be able to manage with a stroller.

 

[GrowingUpDisney]

The boats from WL to MK are sort of the same as the ones that go between DS and EPCOT in that you can drive the stroller right on. You can not drive the stroller onto the boat over to the contemporary.

This is why we choose WL when we can not do the Poly. We also have stroller age children

Niki

 

[AGentlRose]

One of the reasons why I love the Polynesian is because of the easy access to the MK, either by monorail or by launch.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

YES!!!! But not the boats for the monorail resorts, those are smaller.

Actually, WL has 2 boats. One of them is big and you can wheel your stroller on to it. The other is small (like GF/Poly's boat) and you can't wheel your stroller on to it. So if you absolutely want the stroller boat, you may need to wait extra.

 

[Moustronaut]

Boats from WL

My family was at Wilderness Lodge the last week of March this year. We made extensive use of the boats back and forth to MK. We chose WL specifically for the reasons you stated. We wanted quick access to MK but didn't want to spend the money for a monorail resort.

The wait for the boat was never more than 15 minutes. I want to say they had 3 boats going in a loop, one large boat, two smaller boats. The ride itself takes a little more than 10 minutes. During one evening, we started getting on the boat at WL just as Wishes began. We pulled up to the dock at MK just as the finale happened. So if you remember how long Wishes is, that's how long the boat ride is.

We always collapsed our umbrella stroller when we boarded as did most other people just to take up less space. Sometime the boats were crowded, especially just before park opening. I did see one family roll their large travel system stroller on but this was definatly the exception to what most people were doing.

Either way, would highly recommend WL.