best resort for toddlers?

[fsm8]

I will have 3 kids, ages 3.5, almost 2, and 3 months. I will be running a half marathon, so monorail access would be nice to make getting to and from the race as efficient as possible. Plus, my husband might have a chance to come out and see me if the race goes by the hotel. However, with that many young kids, I was thinking that maybe AKV might be better. It would stink during the race, but we will probably be hanging out at the hotel A LOT, so the kids might like that a lot. Or is there another resort that is really good for toddlers? Sorry for the long post. I am just kind of thinking out loud. Any input or opinions would be very helpful.

 

[timandjanl]

What about BLT? Walking distance to MK and on monorail.

 

[fsm8]

Does BLT have a lot to do for toddlers? Or would we walk over to MK a lot?

 

[Kidanifan08]

BLT would be a good choice, particularly if you plan any park time at MK, since you can walk to the park. The pool area has a basic splash pad and the pool is a zero entry, so it probably would work for your kids ages. Kids love watching Disney transportation driving by, and there is no better place to see that than BLT.

AKV-Kidani has a great pool area with a zero entry pool. The splash play area may be fun for you oldest, but may be a little to advanced for the other two. But the pool is really nice, and then there are the animals outside the balcony.

I have read that the pools at SSR are good for little ones, with a nice splash area. I have not been to that resort in a few years, so I don't know what it is like now. Perhaps others can comment.

VGF appears to have a nice splash play area, as well, but it may be tough to get.

 

[fsm8]

Thank you. All that information is very helpful. I actually don't even know if I'll be able to get anything, let alone the multitude of choices I'm implying by making this post. This is for the princess half marathon weekend (Feb 22-24, 2014). I won't receive my member number to book for another 2 weeks or so. Still new and good information for me no matter what though, so I appreciate it.

 

[Kidanifan08]

That's a tough weekend. As long as you are not thinking a studio, you should be able to put something together. And, even if you want a studio, you may get lucky with one of the non-park resorts. The board does not allow availability threads or posts, so I will leave it at that.

Late Feb is a great time to be at WDW. We love the low crowds, although it can be a little cool. Pool time is hit or miss.

 

[NicoleLarson]

I'm staying that weekend as well and have been looking for a separate studio my parents because they have decided to join us. I will say I can get them a room somewhere but they don't want to stay at that particular resort because of its size. Hopefully you will get your number soon!

 

[fsm8]

Sorry, I didn't intend this as an availability thread. I think the resort information will be helpful, even if I don't get to use it this time. And I am definitely not looking for a studio. I need to be as far away from my children as possible at night if I want to get any sleep.

 

[Kidanifan08]

Sorry, I didn't intend this as an availability thread. I think the resort information will be helpful, even if I don't get to use it this time. And I am definitely not looking for a studio. I need to be as far away from my children as possible at night if I want to get any sleep.

Ahhh..... so you are saying that you are looking for two studios!

 

[dsneygirl]

Is BLT a participating hotel for the marathon? Last year my DH ran the ToT and we stayed at BC as they provided bussing. I don't think the monorail will help you get to the race at all.

We just stayed at BLT and it is my least favourite pool by far but Jan may not be swimming weather anyway. AKV has that amazing lobby for kids to play in (and watch cartoons) plus the animals are entertainment in themselves.

 

[jlsmith376]

We've stayed at SSR, BLT and AKV with toddlers/small children and out of the three AKV had the best water features/ splash area. However it is pretty big and isn't gated and that is the advantage that one of the SSR pools has. The kids splash area at SSR's Paddock pool is enclosed by a gate. The area has tables and lounge chairs. It makes it pretty easy to sut back, relax and watch the kids play. SSR also has several dry playground areas. i'm not sure if AKV has playgrounds but when it was too cold to swim my kids played in the dry part of yhe splash area at the pool. BLT does not have a playground. SSR is just a boat ride away from Downtown Disney which is fun for the kids too. You can't beat the location at BLT though. We always rent a car. We used it all the time at SSR and AKV, but hardly used it at BLT. Hope this helps.

 

[fsm8]

Jlsmith - extremely helpful. That's the exact kind of information I am looking for that is so difficult to find through internet searches.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Jlsmith - extremely helpful. That's the exact kind of information I am looking for that is so difficult to find through internet searches.

Make sure you are staying at a host hotel for the half marathon or you'll be driving yourself to the race. You only get bus transportation with host hotels.

 

[fsm8]

It looks like all Disney resorts are host resorts for princess half marathon weekend. But i never knew that host resorts existed. I plan to do the wine and dine half in the future, so I'm glad you pointed that out.

 

[zy144622]

We prefer POFQ when traveling with toddlers. Everything is so close together getting from a to b isn't a chose in itself.

And now I notice DVC...oops

 

[Minniesgal]

Make sure you are staying at a host hotel for the half marathon or you'll be driving yourself to the race. You only get bus transportation with host hotels.

And you don't want to be driving because the traffic is crazy bad in WDW. We were staying at BLT lats fe band wanted to go to Universal on marathon day. Took us an hour to leave WDW.

 

[katiekomo]

As far as racing goes: I agree with others-- stay where you can take Disney transportation to the race (and get there early).

For the kiddos, I'd think about three things:
Transportation, Room, Amenities (pools & playgrounds).

I feel like the rooms are similar (enough) to make that one a wash (same size among resorts... obviously there's a big difference between the different sizes!).

Transportation: where you are staying vs. where you want to go. We just got back from staying at Kidani with a one-year-old and busing to and from MK (the only park we visited) was a bit of a pain. I would have loved to stroll right onto the monorail.

Amenities: my one-year-old LOVED the pools/playgrounds at Kidani/Jambo House. Every morning we walked to Jambo house (we live in a walking neighborhood, so we're used to the hike) for breakfast and my son LOVED the many slides at their playground. He also loved the splash pad at Kidani and we spent one early-morning dip in the pool before the crowds came-- (I guess that'll be a locked pool soon, though).

In February, it might be a bit chilly for pools/splash pads? If you think that might be the case, hunt for a resort with a great playground.

That's my 2 cents!

 

[mikek]

i'll be the contrarian.

ignoring the race bit- can't really speak to that.

But when our kids were really young old key west seemed best for us (to each his own). The rooms are significantly bigger than the others- it's nice to toss the kids in a bedroom to sleep and be able to move to the other end of the place to relax yourself. It's quite. when my kids where that young they were happy with empty boxes to play with, any pool was the best pool ever- laughing, even a quiet pool. I remember the first time we went and my oldest was maybe a year, we happened to book late and so "got stuck" at OKW. We wound up in a room by the quiet pool. We spent more time there with my folks than anywhere, we had a great time. Being super crazy close to the MK (like BLT and being able to walk) certainly is a plus, but that young you can really bring them over for 2 rides and then go home and they're happy- and as above the bus ride counts as a ride to them too!

With DVC you have 50 more years to enjoy it all- when you own DVC, Disney is no longer a sprint but a marathon. You'll have another 15ish years with them as kids to get back to the MK to ride everything 100 more times. Trust me, you will.

But getting to and from the race certainly sounds really key- so that might need to be a priority.