Nov 2017 Deluxe Resort Help

[Minnie Love 2017]

Hello!
We will be taking our 2 young daughters to WDW for their first trip the week after Thanksgiving 2017. They will be 2 yrs and 4 and a half yrs. We are having a hard time deciding on which Resort to stay at. We want convenience, ambience and a view of MK/fireworks would be nice. We are looking at WL (love the cams decor but don't want issues with the boat taking a lot of extra time), Polynesian, and Contemporary (love that you can walk to MK but not sure it offers much in terms of ambience). Thank you!!! Feel free to suggest another that might be better too.

 

[RMichael21]

Hello!
We will be taking our 2 young daughters to WDW for their first trip the week after Thanksgiving 2017. They will be 2 yrs and 4 and a half yrs. We are having a hard time deciding on which Resort to stay at. We want convenience, ambience and a view of MK/fireworks would be nice. We are looking at WL (love the cams decor but don't want issues with the boat taking a lot of extra time), Polynesian, and Contemporary (love that you can walk to MK but not sure it offers much in terms of ambience). Thank you!!! Feel free to suggest another that might be better too.

Welcome to the forums Minnie Love 2017!

This section is for forum help only, there's a Trip Planning subforum where there's tons of people able to answer your question.

 

[ParentsOf4]

At ages 2 and 4, my guess is that you'll spend most of your time at the Magic Kingdom. If it's within your budget, one of the 3 Monorail Resorts (Contemporary, Polynesian, or Grand Floridian) will be your best fit.

Each of the 3 have their plusses and minuses. For example, the Contemporary is the only hotel within walking distance of the Magic Kingdom, an important consideration after the Magic Kingdom's fireworks when lines for the Monorail can be long. (The Monorail even breaks down on rare occasion, causing transportation headaches.) The Polynesian and Grand Floridian both have recently renovated pools whereas the Contemporary's pool is a bit of a throwback to the 1970s.

I suggest you look online at photos and go with the one whose theming is most appealing to you.

Regarding transportation from the Wilderness Lodge, the boat is rather slow. Last time I stayed there, they also were running a bus to the Magic Kingdom, which was faster.

Staying at a Monorail Resort will allow you easy access to your hotel for nap time, something that's important for younger children since WDW can be exhausting!

 

[jbird327]

My preference is for the Polynesian. Plenty of travel options to MK (I have a daughter that won't ride the monorail), easy to get to the TTC by walking. When my kids were younger, I would request ground floor where you can just walk out of the room onto the grounds - although with some rooms this won't work due to landscaping. The buildings are not that big so even from a 3rd floor room, it's a quick walk by steps or elevator to the outside. There are a lot of nice walkways around the resort as well as a path over to the Grand Floridian. Overall, I have found it to be a nice quiet resort to stay at. I am currently planning an October 2017 trip. Back in the 80s I stayed at the Contemporary a few times but overall did not enjoy it that much. In 2015 I spent a few days at WL. I'll be booking the Polynesian for the next trip - although our favorite spot on the beach is now a view of the DVC.

 

[EvilQueen-T]

Hello!
We will be taking our 2 young daughters to WDW for their first trip the week after Thanksgiving 2017. They will be 2 yrs and 4 and a half yrs. We are having a hard time deciding on which Resort to stay at. We want convenience, ambience and a view of MK/fireworks would be nice. We are looking at WL (love the cams decor but don't want issues with the boat taking a lot of extra time), Polynesian, and Contemporary (love that you can walk to MK but not sure it offers much in terms of ambience). Thank you!!! Feel free to suggest another that might be better too.

We've stayed at all the monorail loop resorts as well as wilderness lodge and honestly with all factors together like lines, travel time, stops on the way etc...taking the boat to/from wilderness lodge really doesn't seem much different than using the resort monorail or boat to/from the poly and grand floridian. Wilderness lodge also has a bus option to/from the magic kingdom. The only place, in my opinion anyway, that you save any real time is walking to/from the contemporary with the others being about equal. Travel times do depend on things too like the time of day.