WL or Contemp w/16 month old

[mickey-nut]

We are trying to decide where to stay when we go back in May. We LOVE the WL and would love to stay there again, but I am wondering if we should stay on the monorail since my daughter will only be 16 months old. Opinions anyone? I love the theme at the WL and so do my boys who will be 8 and 5. Thanks for you help.

Mickey nut

 

[Thebrerrabbit]

If it was up to me, it would be a no brainer, WL, however, the fact that you daughter is only 16 months, The contemopry is perfect if you wanna take like a 2-3 hour break in the middle of the day........Have fun

 

[mickey-nut]

If we didn't have a 16 month old it would be a no brainer for us as well-the wilderness lodge is incredible. We are probably going to have to take breaks for naps and I wasn't sure if the monorail would be easier than the boat. Thanks for you reply, I cannot wait until we go!:sohappy:

 

[Disneyanna0521]

WL is SOO pretty however,i will go for the Contemp. b/c of the convience..

 

[kosherkid411]

It's a tough call. The contempoary is better if you are going back to your hotel during that day. But if you and your kids love the WL, I would stay there.

The Con. (in my opinion) is only better if you are going to places on the monorail. Everywhere else is going to be by bus/boat. The WL is on'y a boat away from MK and the rest is reachable by boat/bus.

 

[Yellow Shoes]

WL has DUCKS!!
and bunnies
and otters
and animal tracks in the concrete.

If you have a ground floor room, you might be able to see the critters up close.

And........does the Contemporary have ducks in the hot tub?


I thought not.......

 

[FatBoy976]

Let's not forget the awesome arcade the Contemporary has. When I was a young boy of 8 or 5, I loved playing in there. It was a great rainy day activity. If only they still had the air rifles there...

 

[Thebrerrabbit]

Originally posted by Yellow Shoes
WL has DUCKS!!
and bunnies
and otters
and animal tracks in the concrete.

He makes a good point Contemp has NO DUCKS!!!!

 

[BRER STITCH]

Hi MICKEY-NUT! :wave:

No offense, but.....

Why would you let a 16 month old determine your vacation destination? It really won't make a difference to the baby!

As others have pointed out, no matter where you stay, you are going to have to take some form of transportation to get there. What good is a monorail Hotel to you on the day your family is at MGM or Animal Kingdom?

Stay with your first choice. Wilderness Lodge has a much more pleasant atmoshpere for ALL the kids once you get back there! I wouldn't stay in that concrete a-frame when that inviting Lodge is right across the lake!

HAVE FUN! :sohappy:

 

[Disneyanna0521]

but the boys would love to ride up front on the monorail (yes u can do this any other time, but your chances are better)

have u considered the polynesian? the atmopshere is AWSOME!!!!!!!! and you have the monorail

 

[DisneyPhD]

The monorail is very nice with young children, especially because you can often just put your child on the monorail with out taking them out of the stroller (if the stroller is small enough and it is isn't very crowded.)

Might I sugest Poly? We stayed there when DD was 9 months old and it was great. zero entry pool, (with ducks in the small pool) good fast food place, nice beach, beatiful and relaxing resort and very romantic for mom and day too. A nice water play place. (No playground, and no hot tub Polys only drawback in my opinion.)


If you are interested in the WDW resort that has the best pool for todlers, it is Y&B club. The pool there (SAB or Storm Along Bay) has a number of pools in it, one is sand bottom and only gets 1 foot and half at the deepest, my DD has a wonderful time there when she was 2. It is the ultimate kiddy pool. With a hot tub right close by. It also has a playground a small kiddy pool too. It is a nice short walk to Epcot, boat ride to MGM and the busses aren't bad elsewhere. It is great to end the night at Epcot and only stroll back to your room.

Good luck, any resort you chose will be great. Personally I really like the DVC resorts now that we joined, and wouldn't want to stay anywhere else, the kicten is just so nice. We save so much money with a kid for breakfest, lunch and snacks. (washer dryers too.)

 

[RJlvsTigger]

I can understand your dilemma. My son was 14 months old when we stayed at the WL in December. I absolutly love the WL and have stayed there a few times but this was the first time with a toddler. The atmosphere of the hotel is great for kids and my son loved it there, but transportation is definately a drawback. Maybe it was because it was a little crowded at the time we went (the week after Thanksgiving) but the whole vacation seemed like it was spent either on a boat, bus or waiting on line for the same. Traveling with a stroller made all of these inconvenient because the stoller had to be folded up on the buses and on the boat if it was crowded. It was not relaxing at all. We are going again this October and have decided to stay at the Poly. We stayed there a while back and I remember it being much more convenient having direct access to the monorail. Also, the TTC is a 5 minute walk from the Poly which also makes getting the monorail to Epcot or buses to other places a bit easier. You have to do what you think is best for your family, as your vacation should be an enjoyable experience for all involved.

 

[mickey-nut]

Thank you everyone!

My concern was the traveling issue with the stroller. All of our previous trips have either been before we had children or when our sons were 3 years old. We have stayed at the PO, GF, Poly, & WL. I did price out the poly and it was $1000 more (we need 2 rooms because we are taking our mom's with us), but after reading all of the post I think we are going to bite the bullet, pay the extra $1000 and stay at the poly. I need the convenience of being on the monorail. We have never traveled to Disney with a toddler and I need for it to be as easy as possible. Again, thank you all for your responses. I cannot wait until May of 2004!
WDW here we come!:sohappy:

 

[DisneyPhD]

Good luck and have a great trip. Keep your eyes open for discount codes (check out wwwmousesavers.com) every so often to see if you can get any deals to bring down the price. Also if one person gets an annual pass you can get a vareity of discounts also, closer to the time you go.


While being on the monorail is wonderful, we have stayed at other resorts with bus acces and it isn't too bad. (just make sure you have a nice fold up stoller. We really like our combi travel savey dx. Also when DD was under 2 we had a stoller by instep that also was a back pack. That was wonderful and worked really well.