First visit to Disney with kids; need help deciding on hotel

[Gers78]

Hi, planning to go to Disney in early April for 6 nights with 2 boys, age 2 1/2 and 5. I am debating between Beach Club resort and Port Orleans French Quarter...also maybe WIlderness lodge. I did not want to spend alot but the pool and location of Beach club is pointing me in that direction, is the BC worth the $800 difference from the Moderate resorts?

Other quick questions: is April warm enough for the kids to swim in the pool anytime?
Do the hotel rooms have fridges now? Id love to save on food, my kids dont each much and eat the same foods all the time so dining plan not worth it..

any other tips much appreciated! thanks! this is my first Disney trip with my kids... been there with my parents many times as a kid and my hubby once.

 

[dreamfinder]

The price different is totally up to you. Many people feel that the jump in cost from a value to a deluxe provides no where the same jump in services if you went from a Motel 6 to a Four Seasons.

The pools are kept at a constant water temperature, something in the 80s I think? so you can swim year round, but the problem is when you get out of the pool, and get hit by the external temps.

All the on property rooms do have fridges, however they may still be wrapping up a replacement program they were doing that took like 80% of the fridges offline due to a recall. No idea if your choices have been completed yet.

I'll chime in early, but you may be a good candidate for DVC point rental. Both Beach Club and Wilderness Lodge have DVC units. A 1br DVC unit for April 7-13 would run about 233 points, or at the current going rate of $14/point, $3,262 total. (Point costs will vary by resort and room type) You would get a full kitchen, in room laundry both of which may be appealing. Do a search and check out some of the recent threads about point rental.

Since you are only looking 4ish months out, the selection may be limited, so I would start that process ASAP if it sounds interesting.

 

[KarenKlo]

At the ages of your kids, the pool at BC will be fun. It is however big and you will be running all over with them. POFQ is great! Small size means not a long walk anywhere! It is a favorite of many people and the pool is great for those ages. WL is fun. My sons loved the boats over to the MK. They will all have a fridge and April is warm!

 

[Pocahontas]

Beach Club pool is AMAZING. I love the Yacht & Beach club, and the BC seems more kid friendly. Great theming, very relaxing. The Deluxe is worth it, in my opinion. In April they should be able to swim whenever. The pool is heated. I'm not sure about the refrigerators. There was a recall and they took them out, but I'm not sure if they were reinstalled.

 

[brokedad]

Like dreamfinder said, the water will be warm, but the air temp should be in the 70's, not bad if you are coming from the north.Imo the cost is not worth it from a mod to a deluxe.They are nicer and more bells and whistles, but the kids are way to young to know the difference, it would be based on your liking and budget.All the pools are great for kids, believe me, been to most of them, also think about transportation to get groceries. I always bring snacks and coldcuts too.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Hi, planning to go to Disney in early April for 6 nights with 2 boys, age 2 1/2 and 5. I am debating between Beach Club resort and Port Orleans French Quarter...also maybe WIlderness lodge. I did not want to spend alot but the pool and location of Beach club is pointing me in that direction, is the BC worth the $800 difference from the Moderate resorts?

I think of Port Orleans French Quarter (POFQ) as WDW's most adult Moderate Resort. It's theming is New Orleans French Quarter. It's rather romantic for couples.

POFQ is WDW's smallest Moderate Resort. It's pool and food court are both small. Considering the age of your children, its small pool might be an advantage.

In general, Port Orleans Riverside (POR) has a better pool and a better food court. You can walk or take a bus between POR and POFQ.

The Beach Club (BC) and Yacht Club (YC) share Stormalong Bay, generally considered to be WDW's best pool. As already mentioned, the pool is huge with lots of places for kids to disappear. You'll need to be on your feet there in order to keep track of your kids.

BC is located on Crescent Lake, across from the Boardwalk. Many consider Crescent Lake to be the most beautiful area of WDW. The hotels on Crescent Lake sometimes are referred to as "Epcot Resorts". From them, you can either walk or take a boat to Epcot or Disney Hollywood Studios (DHS).

The Wilderness Lodge (WL) is lovely. The pool is very nice but I recall it having very little shallow water. With children your age, you'll need to watch them closely there.

WL makes a great deal of sense for you. With children your age, you're likely to spend most of your time at the Magic Kingdom (MK). Of the resorts you are considering, WL is the one with the shortest travel times to MK.

 

[luv]

Hi, planning to go to Disney in early April for 6 nights with 2 boys, age 2 1/2 and 5. I am debating between Beach Club resort and Port Orleans French Quarter...also maybe WIlderness lodge. I did not want to spend alot but the pool and location of Beach club is pointing me in that direction, is the BC worth the $800 difference from the Moderate resorts?

Other quick questions: is April warm enough for the kids to swim in the pool anytime?
Do the hotel rooms have fridges now? Id love to save on food, my kids dont each much and eat the same foods all the time so dining plan not worth it..

any other tips much appreciated! thanks! this is my first Disney trip with my kids... been there with my parents many times as a kid and my hubby once.

I'd rather stay at the Beach Club or Wilderness Lodge than at French Quarter. But if I were looking at raising two little boys and putting them through college, I might just try to save some money by not staying in overpriced hotels. You know what is best for you!

April is usually warm enough for swimming, but there could be a cold snap or a tropical storm or who knows what. It's usually very warm in April.

Yes, all those rooms will have small, minibar-size fridges.

Kids are easily amused and pleased. If you and your husband can stand the smaller space of a cheaper room, the kids will be fine.

If you haven't done any planning yet, I'd advise visiting the touringplans.com site.

 

[zurgandfriend]

I have to recommend the Wilderness Lodge, it's close to the Magic Kingdom, has a good pool and Whispering canyon is a fun restaurant. Your 5 year old will always remember the lobby, my DS now a teen, saw it at that age and still talks about it. BC and FQ are nice but to the kids they will be a hotel, WL will be an experience, just my 2 cents, whatever you pick, enjoy.

 

[WDWoptmist]

Hi, planning to go to Disney in early April for 6 nights with 2 boys, age 2 1/2 and 5. I am debating between Beach Club resort and Port Orleans French Quarter...also maybe WIlderness lodge. I did not want to spend alot but the pool and location of Beach club is pointing me in that direction, is the BC worth the $800 difference from the Moderate resorts?

Other quick questions: is April warm enough for the kids to swim in the pool anytime?
Do the hotel rooms have fridges now? Id love to save on food, my kids dont each much and eat the same foods all the time so dining plan not worth it..

any other tips much appreciated! thanks! this is my first Disney trip with my kids... been there with my parents many times as a kid and my hubby once.

Yes BC is worth it...yes April can be very hot (I've lived in Jacksonville and Tampa my whole life lol) and yes the rooms have fridges. So you're good on all of those

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I think the convenience factors with BC and WL will help with younger kids. With BC, you have the boat to DHS and a very easy walk to Epcot. On the flipside, WL is so close to MK and the kids really loved the boat service to MK & the Contemporary (which means you could pick the monorail up to Epcot from there). As far as pools go...my kids are oddballs and preferred the looks of the WL pool. We stayed at YC (which shares Stormalong with BC) and my kids were just not interested. As for room size, BC would win for me if you're planning on a stroller since you'll have a larger room there vs the mod and WL. As for temps, I haven't been to WDW in April since I was a kid, but I know for certain that we swam. Sooooo, if it's in the budget I'd stay at BC.

 

[Gabe1]

Kids that age, Beach Club if you can come to terms with the price.

Average temp for April is 83 and low 59.

 

[ratherbeinwdw]

As to the weather, luv gave good advise. We went in April this year and froze our bottoms off. It also rained almost everyday. It probably wouldn't have felt so cold without the rain. It was, however, not the norm to be that cool in April. Just watch the weather a couple weeks before you leave to see what is predicted for your week. It could still change within that time, so I keep an eye on the weather right up until we leave. My daughter tried to swim, since the pool was heated, but she froze trying to get back to the room. Do consider that we live in Georgia, so cold to us may be shorts weather to others.

 

[Weather_Lady]

Given their young age, frankly, I'd go for Port Orleans (anything but a deluxe, really), unless you plan on spending tons of time at your hotel. Save the extra money for their college fund -- or to go deluxe next time, when they're old enough to appreciate the increased amenities and more detailed theming. I think Disney moderate resorts (particularly the Port Orleans Resorts) are gorgeous and highly underrated, especially given their much more reasonable price point.

If you really want to go deluxe, rent DVC points and stay in a DVC villa, and save 30-40% off of the rack rate.

 

[Gabe1]

Given their young age, frankly, I'd go for Port Orleans (anything but a deluxe, really), unless you plan on spending tons of time at your hotel. Save the extra money for their college fund -- or to go deluxe next time, when they're old enough to appreciate the increased amenities and more detailed theming. I think Disney moderate resorts (particularly the Port Orleans Resorts) are gorgeous and highly underrated, especially given their much more reasonable price point.

If you really want to go deluxe, rent DVC points and stay in a DVC villa, and save 30-40% off of the rack rate.

As a Mom that just had her last kid graduate from college last week, POR to BC is a drop in the bucket when it comes to college expenses of $35,000 a year & expenses.

We did Disney every year for 2 weeks at a time at least and started out at PO and then moved to Dixie (now POR). There is little to do at POFC for small kids. The playground it tiny, added much later as an after thought addition and the pool/side is difficult for small children who often need breaks from the parks. The river and pier is very close to the sidewalks for darting toddlers. BC has the sand and better area for smaller kids as well as younger kids. While POR is my favorite resort for many reasons FC to me is the most adult resort of all the Disney resorts as much as I do enjoy it today myself, just not with small kids.

 

[jlsHouston]

April is warm enough for pools as luv said unless a cold snap comes thru...my grandkids think November is warm enough but I don't care how heated they say the pools are, temps in the low 70's not really pool weather for me. April it will be 80's or at least high 70's during the day. April is perfect weather for everything.

You lined up some hard selections for resort choices. I love the BC and WL and have never stayed at POFQ or PORS. I think the play area at PORS is really nice for kids, my brother just stayed onsite there and loved it and has a 7 year old, 17 year old and 22 year old. They all loved PORS, for the marina, the pool, the food court, the playground, the boat ride to DTD. If you want to save some dollars on the resort part of your package stay at PORS.

I LOVED BC more than BWI but honestly Stormalong Bay for a pool is not my favorite...I liked the clown pool at BWI better. For kids the sandy beach area is fun. The slide is treacherous IMO...not my favorite slide either. BC rooms are big compared to WL, but the walls are paper thin and you will hear everything in the hallway and next door so don't stay there if that sort of thing bothers you. I love BC colors and theming and the quickest walk into Epcot. We stayed during the summer months at BC 2 years ago and I really do love that resort...

Stayed at WL for the first time over Thanksgiving for a few nights and I LOVE WL...I can't say it's my favorite resort but I will say if I am going as a party of 4 and not a party of 5 to WDW, I will now always book at WL.
The lobby is beautiful. I still need to explore the property and visit the Villa part. The food choices are good, although Roaring Forks is the most crowded and slowest QS place I have ever been on property at WDW. The pool is smaller. I did get into the Hot Tub and it was okay not as good as the one at BWI but better than the one at CSR. The boat ride to MK is awesome. Wait times kind of suck. But no worse than bus. My grandkids loved the WL lobby and the pin trading booth there and the boat rides.

Honestly I don't know what I would pick if I were you, I guess if pool time is going to be a big factor in the vacation I would pick POR or BC. If it were Thanksgiving or Christmas I would definitely pick WL.

 

[jlsHouston]

JLS did you wander over to the pool and hot tube by the villa's???? From WL beach you can walk over to the stables and the remains of river country.

I thing I really liked so did the kids was for Halloween we took the boat over to the camp grounds and they put on a big golf cart parade. LOL. The golf carts were decorated up and I mean some of them were over the top, they threw candy to the kids and after that trick or treating in the RV's. Those were decked out as well. Any one going to WDW around Halloween should really consider WL. That night MK closes early for Mickey's Halloween thing so a little free entertainment is nice.

No I didn't make it into the Villa area at all and was annoyed at myself over that. I want to stay at the WL next Thanksgiving again, I only booked 3 nites of our trip there this time not knowing for sure if I would like it and I was so sad to leave and head to BWV...I loved WL but my other daughter was arriving and WL only accomodates 4 unless you can get a deluxe room or a villa.

 

[righttrack]

I'll easily vote Wilderness Lodge. It has a smaller feel, despite being majestic. You won't lose your kids as easily at the pool and you'll have a nice theme to come home to after a day in the parks.

 

[mimitchi33]

Out of those choices, the Beach Club is the most appealing to children your age. To answer your other question, the pools are often kept at temperatures within the 80-90 degree range.

 

[JeffnPa]

I say location, location,location. BC allows you the opportunity to walk to epcot and even a longer 15 min walk to DHS. plus you have options on transportation. Bus from the resort, monorail from Epcot, boat to DHS. we loved BC and are staying again in May

 

[flynnibus]

Your kids are too small to make the pool at Beach Club worth the upgrade... make the choice based on other factors. The location and walking to EPCOT is wonderful.. but again with kids your age, EPCOT may not be your primary destination. Wilderness Lodge has easy access to MK and is one of the most affordable Deluxes.