First time visit planning

[Nyboel]

Hello everyone,
We are planning out first trip to Disney. We are looking to stay February 27 thru March 3rd. Not a full week but a sufficient first trip. We have three kids, ages 1,2 and 4 at the time of the trip. We are really torn on where to stay. Given our kids ages and this being our first time, any advice on resort suggestions would be wonderful. We hope to visit each park but are going to do Magic Kingdom more if the kids really like it.

 

[NonnaT]

Best bet would be one of the monorail resorts.
Poly for convenience and themeing...
Contemporary you can walk to MK within 7 minutes, and the monorail runs through it.
GF for luxury and convenience.
I listed Poly first because it IMHO, the most kid centric.
All those resorts offer kid activities for free, and have evening movies under the stars. Any one of them would make you happy!
Have fun!

 

[Nyboel]

Thank you! That is some good information that I did not know. Our boys are very much into trains so riding the monorail would be a vacation in itself.

 

[Disney4family]

Check out all the great info here as well as Deb Wills' site www.allearsnet.com.

 

[YozhikRoth]

It's an awfully open ended question that really depends on what you want to see and do and what your budget is. I've primarily stayed in the All-Star resorts with two connecting rooms, but I have friends who will never stay anywhere but the Poly or the GF.

 

[NonnaT]

Just to add to what I previously wrote, any of the monorail resorts are going to be really quick and easy to get to for afternoon breaks!
I imagine your younger children still nap, and trust me, an afternoon siesta at WDW is HIGHLY recommended. So early to the parks in the morning, lunch and then a nice nap prevents meltdowns for parents and kids!
DH and I are seniors and we still like our afternoon breaks, and not waiting for a bus to get us back to the room saves us loads of time!
Hope this info helps!

 

[ShareBDwithMickey]

What ever you do remember Disney is like giving a hyperactive child food colourings, even the most balanced child is going to find it a very intense experience, plan in quiet & down time every day, you haven't a hope of doing everything with kids that young so don't try.

I'd even go as far as to say seriously consider missing the night fireworks in the parks. If you are on the monorail hotels, get a room with park views where you as parents can watch the fireworks whilst the kids are sleeping, there will hopefully be other trips in the future when they are older & can enjoy them properly.

Use this trip as a taster for future planning & enjoy it as a time to slowdown & watch. One of the saddest things at Disney are exhausted ratty kids & they're equally exhausted parents, not families where someone is having a meltdown those happen, but family groups where frankly no one is having fun.

Plus use memory maker so the whole family gets in the photos of what I suspect is likely as not the kids 1st visit. Have a magical holiday.

 

[TheDisneyTeen]

Would say it really depends on your budget and your childrens' interests. Maybe you could share your budget range because that would largely affect your accommodation choice

 

[Schneewittchen]

You could also consider getting a cabin at Fort Wilderness. We camp there in our RV.

My kids are very young and there are a lot of other families there usually. There are a lot of opportunities for non-park play there and I understand a lot of families like having a kitchenette in the cabins. My kids love riding bikes, going to the playgrounds and pools. There are pony rides, campfire movies, boat rides to MK, and the boat ride to Contemporary and then monorail to Epcot - so it's easy to get to our favorite parks. There's a beach where you can watch the Electrical Water Pageant. And Mickey's Backyard BBQ and the Hoop Dee Doo Revue are at that resort - the kids love both.

 

[YozhikRoth]

Just my view, but when my kids first went to WDW (6 and 4) we built in a plan to leave the park at lunch, nap (too cold to swim) and come back in the evening. Also we limited them to one late night at the MK for fireworks. Even so, my oldest broke down on the last day and spend the day in the hotel.