Planning babys 1st visit - Please help pick where to stay and why.

[disneygirl76]

We are planning our son's 1st visit in June 2015 and super excited! He will be 1 years old. We have never traveled with children before and know this will be a different experience. Strollers/naps/etc. We do like Deluxe Resorts and tend to stay there but we also really like Port Orleans. Also, we know as we continue to go to WDW with child(ren), we will stay at Values and Moderates more for cost as well as theme experiences that will be enjoyed by our little one. For example, a Cars suite at Animation or a Pirate room at Caribbean. So I kept those off the list. We do love the Beach/Yacht Club but we stayed there the last two times and want to enjoy the pool and slide when Colin is a bit older. So I think we narrowed it down to 4 different resorts. Please tell us your choice and why. Any advice on choosing a resort with a little one would be very helpful!

Thank you!

 

[disneygirl76]

I definitely agree with staying at a monorail resort. Especially with a little one, it's a lot easier to get around getting on and off a monorail. Like others, I prefer the contemporary! It also may be cute since Chef Mickey's is there which is always a fun Character dining experience but I do understand the significance the GF has for you all. If you want to save some money, the Wilderness Lodge is great too! You can also get around to MK and such through boats which I also believe is easier than getting on and off busses and waiting for them and so on. It's also really nicely themed and they have cute activities for kids from what I can remember. As your child gets older, it gets easier to experience and try different resorts with different themes and he'll appreciate it a lot more. I cannot wait to hear about how your trip goes and what decision you all make!

Thank you! Do you know if WL ferry makes u take down ur stroller?

 

[disneygirl76]

Okay! Cuteness overload!
Thanks for adding to my baby fever! LOL
I choose the grand Floridian, I don't have children but I bet the convenience and location will be top priority for you and your little one!

Thank you!

 

[disneygirl76]

Tower rooms are of course more expensive......MK view more expensive than pool view. When you book your room, you just request which you want. The WL is lovely and transportation to the MK is a boat ride or bus. When you walk down to the boat dock, the boat to your right will take you to the CR and Fort Wilderness and the boat on the left will take you to the MK. Sometimes it's one of those big white boats and sometimes it's the small boat. I know that you are required to fold you stroller on the small boat....not sure about the big boat. If you do decide to stay at the WL, be sure to request a king or 2 queen room. If you get a room with bunks, you will find it quite crowded and there will be no room for a crib. When we went in September, I requested 1. a room overlooking the lobby, 2. a pool view and 3. a king. I think they try to fill requests according to how they are listed because I got a room overlooking the lobby, pool view but it was a bunk bed room.... bunks and 1 queen bed....not the perfect thing for 2 adults with no children. They will try to honor requests but the are never guaranteed.

Thank you so much for all the info!!! So helpful!!!!!

 

[JillC LI]

We didn't take our kids to WDW until they were out of strollers (ages 5 and 7) but I certainly understand the reasons why others do. If you are going with a stroller, my vote would be for a monorail resort.

Love the new pics!

 

[ToTBellHop]

Thank you! Do you know if WL ferry makes u take down ur stroller?

It usually does not. Sometimes a smaller ferry comes out that requires the stroller to be folded, but I'd say 90% of the time, they use the larger ferries that the baby can stay in. I actually just cast my vote for WL. The boat ride to MK is tremendously convenient and I actually don't find the monorail from GF to be convenient to anything other than MK. It takes forever to take the monorail to the TTC and then Epcot. I find the boat from WL honestly about as convenient as the monorail and you always get a seat, so I'd save the money and get the (in my mind) prettier resort and go to WL. We loved WL when our boys were 12 months old. It's a very relaxing resort and I love that it feels very far removed from the craziness of the parks but is still very convenient to the parks.

FWIW, some of the buses to parks go from WL to GF, so at least at WL, you will get a seat.

 

[Abby's Daddy]

We used to stay at French Quarter. Then four years ago when we had our first child we brought her at eleven months. We had the same inclination as you to stay at a monorail resort. We choose Contemporary. The rooms were just ok and the housekeeping did leave a little to be desired. Unfortunately, the monorail turned out to be our biggest disappointment. About two weeks before we left Disney announced scaling back monorail hours and as a result one night when we left Epcot we were forced to take a bus. We waited an hour and half for a bus before having to take a cab. It happened again two nights later. Disney wound up giving us a free night stay on our next trip. The last two years we have stayed with our daughter at YC and are going again in August. We are in love with YC and have come to realize with our little one the monorail can be slightly over rated. The monorail is helpful if the overwhelming majority of your reservations are either in monorail hotels or in MK. We tend to make a lot of our reservations in and around Epcot, so an Epcot hotel works perfect for us. YC is nice cause we can walk to Epcot and take the boat to DHS. So for two parks we don't take a bus. If we go to AK or MK we of course need to use the bus system. But even the monorail hotels must use the bus for two parks, AK and DHS.

Thus, I think you should choose based on where you plan to spend a vast majority of your time. If all your reservations are in MK and on the monorail the GF will be fine. I think what you'll find with a baby in tow is that the baby doesn't really care what park or restaurant you go to, so you won't necessarily be going to MK every day because your child wants those rides.

 

[disneygirl76]

We didn't take our kids to WDW until they were out of strollers (ages 5 and 7) but I certainly understand the reasons why others do. If you are going with a stroller, my vote would be for a monorail resort.

Love the new pics!

Thank you!

 

[disneygirl76]

We used to stay at French Quarter. Then four years ago when we had our first child we brought her at eleven months. We had the same inclination as you to stay at a monorail resort. We choose Contemporary. The rooms were just ok and the housekeeping did leave a little to be desired. Unfortunately, the monorail turned out to be our biggest disappointment. About two weeks before we left Disney announced scaling back monorail hours and as a result one night when we left Epcot we were forced to take a bus. We waited an hour and half for a bus before having to take a cab. It happened again two nights later. Disney wound up giving us a free night stay on our next trip. The last two years we have stayed with our daughter at YC and are going again in August. We are in love with YC and have come to realize with our little one the monorail can be slightly over rated. The monorail is helpful if the overwhelming majority of your reservations are either in monorail hotels or in MK. We tend to make a lot of our reservations in and around Epcot, so an Epcot hotel works perfect for us. YC is nice cause we can walk to Epcot and take the boat to DHS. So for two parks we don't take a bus. If we go to AK or MK we of course need to use the bus system. But even the monorail hotels must use the bus for two parks, AK and DHS.

Thus, I think you should choose based on where you plan to spend a vast majority of your time. If all your reservations are in MK and on the monorail the GF will be fine. I think what you'll find with a baby in tow is that the baby doesn't really care what park or restaurant you go to, so you won't necessarily be going to MK every day because your child wants those rides.

Thanks! Since we stayed at the YC/BC the past two trips we wanted something different. We plan on MK 2 days, and the other parks 1 day each. So ratio will be 3 days monorail to 2 days bus.

 

[disneygirl76]

It usually does not. Sometimes a smaller ferry comes out that requires the stroller to be folded, but I'd say 90% of the time, they use the larger ferries that the baby can stay in. I actually just cast my vote for WL. The boat ride to MK is tremendously convenient and I actually don't find the monorail from GF to be convenient to anything other than MK. It takes forever to take the monorail to the TTC and then Epcot. I find the boat from WL honestly about as convenient as the monorail and you always get a seat, so I'd save the money and get the (in my mind) prettier resort and go to WL. We loved WL when our boys were 12 months old. It's a very relaxing resort and I love that it feels very far removed from the craziness of the parks but is still very convenient to the parks.

FWIW, some of the buses to parks go from WL to GF, so at least at WL, you will get a seat.

Thanks! That is actually my DH's choice and good to know about the stroller on the ferry. He's so little that carrying him won't be a big issue but I've seen parents catching the bus, trying to get on and having to fuss with the stroller so I'm trying to avoid that as much as possible. I know realistically, it is completely and totally unavoidable. Just trying to reduce it. I do love WL too.

 

[totaldisneygirl]

Thank you! Do you know if WL ferry makes u take down ur stroller?

To be honest, I do not remember off the top of my head, but I looked around some forums and it seems like WL has large ferries and smaller ones. If you're lucky to get on a large ferry, then you will not have to dismantle your stroller and you can walk right on in but you most definitely have to dismantle it on the smaller one. I hope this helped!

 

[dadddio]

I would choose any resort with a suite. The ability to close the door and let the baby sleep while Mommy and I have some time together is invaluable, in my opinion.

Monorail resort or not isn't really a big factor for me as we prefer to drive then take internal transportation whenever possible. It would obviously be handy when going to and from MK, but otherwise, not so much, in my opinion.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I would choose any resort with a suite. The ability to close the door and let the baby sleep while Mommy and I have some time together is invaluable, in my opinion.

Monorail resort or not isn't really a big factor for me as we prefer to drive then take internal transportation whenever possible. It would obviously be handy when going to and from MK, but otherwise, not so much, in my opinion.

Good point. Or if a suite is not viable, a room with a balcony can provide those stolen moments, too.

 

[Disneydreamer23]

my daughter's first trip is Sept Shell be 15 months and we're staying at Caribbean beach I would have opted for a deluxe with the monorail but only be able to stay for a week this way to we can stay for two weeks

 

[disneygirl76]

To be honest, I do not remember off the top of my head, but I looked around some forums and it seems like WL has large ferries and smaller ones. If you're lucky to get on a large ferry, then you will not have to dismantle your stroller and you can walk right on in but you most definitely have to dismantle it on the smaller one. I hope this helped!

Thanks so much! We would be going last week of May/first week of June so hopefully it would be the big ones.

 

[disneygirl76]

I would choose any resort with a suite. The ability to close the door and let the baby sleep while Mommy and I have some time together is invaluable, in my opinion.

Monorail resort or not isn't really a big factor for me as we prefer to drive then take internal transportation whenever possible. It would obviously be handy when going to and from MK, but otherwise, not so much, in my opinion.

Thats a good point. We had not thought of that. I will have to check with DH on his thoughts but that totally makes sense!

 

[JillC LI]

I would choose any resort with a suite. The ability to close the door and let the baby sleep while Mommy and I have some time together is invaluable, in my opinion.

That's an excellent point. I forgot how difficult it can be to get a baby to sleep in a porto-crib when mom and dad are walking around the same room or watching tv or whatever. It was much easier to have a separate space for the crib when our kids were babies.

 

[ToTBellHop]

That's an excellent point. I forgot how difficult it can be to get a baby to sleep in a porto-crib when mom and dad are walking around the same room or watching tv or whatever. It was much easier to have a separate space for the crib when our kids were babies.

In our case this year, mom and dad watched tv on the iPad in the bath tub while the babies slept.

 

[disneygirl76]

That's an excellent point. I forgot how difficult it can be to get a baby to sleep in a porto-crib when mom and dad are walking around the same room or watching tv or whatever. It was much easier to have a separate space for the crib when our kids were babies.

I agree - hadn't even crossed my mind!

 

[MickeyisMyBestFriend]

First trip was at Poly but we didn't have a very good experience with it, I would say Contemporary I in the price range otherwise I would say Grand Floridian.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

OK- I haven't read every single post, but I'm going to put in my 2 cents. Out of you noted choices, I'd go with the GF, but I'd highly recommend the Contemporary over the GF for any trips involving an infant or young child. Also, I have not stayed at any of the Port Orleans resorts, but I have stayed at WL and AKL, so I can give perspective on that as well.

WL- we stayed there for our girls' very first trip. DD5 has just turned 2 and I was hoping this would be a good fit since the boat ride to/from MK should have been a major convenience factor. All in all, for the $, it just wasn't convenient enough. We had awful bus service during our stay and the boats were only helpful a fraction of the time. We also had a TON of stuff- i.e. big stroller- diapers- many changes of clothes...STUFF. The rooms at WL are small - noticeably small - compared to other deluxe hotels. I felt horribly claustrophobic the entire trip.

AKL- while we had great bus service there- the bus rides just take much longer. I don't know if I'd want the extra travel time involved on a trip with a baby. On top of that, the rooms are the same size as WL. We were stroller and diaper free when we stayed there, so it didn't feel super cramped, but it would have had we been there with a much younger child and all of their stuff.

Contemporary- The rooms are very spacious and I think it's some of the best convenience any of the WDW resorts can offer. You don't realize how wonderful it is to be able to walk to and from MK until you have a cranky kiddo who needs to get away from the park for a while. Or not having to wait on a bus, boat or monorail when you're running a smidge late because one child had something crazy happen right before you're trying to make an ADR in MK. The monorail is not only convenient for things on the loop and trips to EPCOT, but it's instant entertainment for the kiddo (obviously a perk of the GF too). You also have boat service to WL from there- so a smidge more convenience if you want to travel in that direction as well.