OMG, please plan my Disney trip

Anonymous
There is SO much information out there. I'm going crazy. DH and I tend to be indecisive anyway. This is harder than choosing a house was. Please, just tell me where to stay. One 3-year-old. Price doesn't matter (too much). I was leaning towards wilderness lodge, but it's being refurbished. Will that be a problem? Then I thought animal kingdom lodge, but a few things said all the on-site food is more adventurous and maybe not great for a 3- year-old. Grand Floridian seems too fancy. Polynesian seems to 've unavailable. Anywhere with shared buses to the parks seems annoying. Gah. I have overthought and am about to call this Danny trip off
Anonymous
First off, when are you going? Pick a place on the monorail. Pick a dining plan (since you are indecisive this may help with the food choices).
Anonymous
I believe Disney did away with shared buses, so don't worry about that element. We stay at the value hotels. We could afford better but are perfectly happy with the value ones. You really can't go wrong so don't stress yourself out.
Anonymous
Stay at Beach Club and get park hopper tickets so you can walk to all the restaurants at Epcot for dinner. You can also take the monorail from Epcot to Magic Kingdom.

Another option if you want to be walking distance to MK is the Contemporary/Bay Lake Villas.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:There is SO much information out there. I'm going crazy. DH and I tend to be indecisive anyway. This is harder than choosing a house was. Please, just tell me where to stay. One 3-year-old. Price doesn't matter (too much). I was leaning towards wilderness lodge, but it's being refurbished. Will that be a problem? Then I thought animal kingdom lodge, but a few things said all the on-site food is more adventurous and maybe not great for a 3- year-old. Grand Floridian seems too fancy. Polynesian seems to 've unavailable. Anywhere with shared buses to the parks seems annoying. Gah. I have overthought and am about to call this Danny trip off


Go to one of the Disney boards (DISboards.com, Mousesavers.com) and ask there about Wilderness Lodge. I'm sure people can comment who have been there recently. They probably even have some blog entries about the renovation.

We stayed at WL 5 years ago and it was a good fit for us. Pool, quick boat ride to MK, nice rooms and good price for the "deluxe" property.

Anonymous
I think the animal kingdom lodge is a great choice. It's such a cool place. You won't be eating every meal there anyway. The biggest downside is that it's far from everything else, but so what... you can have giraffes right outside your balcony!
Anonymous
flip through the Unofficial Guide to Disney or at least go to Touringplans.com, allears.net and mousesavers.com. the busses are really that bad, and was our preference over driving if we were going to Magic Kingdom (we won't pay for a monorail hotel). If you have one three year old, figure out which parks you need to go to satisfy the child. Magic Kingdom is a must. there is some Disney junior stuff at Hollywood Studios, but not much. Most Animal Kingdom rides have height and fear requirements that make them not good for a three year old. Epcot can be very boring for a kid, except for maybe lunch at Akershus for a girl. Also, check if the new Frozen ride is open yet.

Also, ask yourself if you child will need a nap. That might have some bearing on whether you'll even use park hopper. We took our three year old this past summer (and 10 year old), and we'd go back to the hotel for naps and older one would go to the pool or nap. Do not underestimate how tired Disney can make you.
Anonymous
Animal kingdom
Anonymous
PP here again. We did park hopper and meal plan when we first went with our older child when she was 4. It was a total waste of money. we felt we had to park hop since we paid for it, but it was ridiculously expensive because you had to pay for all the days you bought tickets for. Same for the meal plan. We ended up being able to feed my brother and his 9 year old in addition to two adults and a four year old at a counter service for dinner based on what we had leftover from a day in the parks. It's just too much food, unless they have drastically changed the plan. It also ended up being a non-issue for us with our three year old, since she is so picky, about all she'd eat in a park was popcorn or French fries.
Anonymous
Animal Kingdom Lodge and Art of Animation both did very well by us!!
Anonymous
We liked Wilderness Lodge because it was so easy to get to MK --we were able to go in the morning and come back to the pool to swim. I agree checking the fan sites to see how bad the construction is. Because it's a great place to stay.
Anonymous
Animal Kingdom and Art of Animation are both LOOONG bus rides to the Magic Kingdom. If you can't get Poly I'd stay at the Contemporary. Its been fully renovated and its walking distance to the Magic Kingdom.
Anonymous
Oh, and don't get park hoppers or a dining plan with a 3 yo unless you gets eat a TON and your 3 yo has super human nighttime stamina.
Anonymous
If price truly doesn't matter, I'd do the Contemporary. With a 3 year old - you're going to want to be close. This way, it's a quick trip back for nap, and if you feel like it, you can go back to Magic Kingdom after nap.
Anonymous
I vote for either the Contemporary or the Wilderness Lodge.
post reply Forum Index » Travel Discussion
Message Quick Reply
Go to: