Well, I personally think selecting the right resort to stay at is hard. I went back and forth and compared and exhausted my options before I finally decided this last time. There are honestly so many decisions to make that it gets a little overwhelming. There is always the option to stay off site, which will save you money... but as I said in the first post, you have to have your own car or rent a car, you can't use Magic Express, you can't use the Disney Dining Plan and you can't use the extra magic hours. With toddlers and preschoolers in tow, staying on property is a must for our family!
There are also on property, non-Disney hotels that will save you money. But yet again, some of the perks of staying at a Disney hotel are not available, and some are!! But I'm going to give my picks after my research for each of the Deluxe, Moderate and Value resorts. I've only stayed at a few, but I know what I want :)
Deluxe Resorts... Staying at any of the Monorail hotels would be amazing!! With easy access to Magic Kingdom, coming back for a nap or swim would be a piece of cake! I think I would possibly think about a park hopper pass then because it would be easy to get to MK or Epcot. The Grand Floridian is beautiful, but almost too nice and quiet out for Toddlers. It also has many awesome restaurants and food venues and a beach, but I don't feel like I could let them run around inside the resort! The Polynesian would probably be my first choice, with all the color and decoration and themed like Hawaii, Kids seem to love it!! My family stayed there when I was in 6th grade, and I can still remember all the sites and smells and decor of that resort! One of the down sides is that it is also spread out and you may have to do some walking. The Contemporary seems a little cold and not so Disney to me... but little ones seem to love that the monorail goes through the building. And if you stay at the main building, you don't have very far to walk... you are just up and down! Deluxe resorts would be a true luxury for us and is way above our price range... but if you can afford it, you need to stay on the monorail!!
Moderate Resorts... Last year we stayed at a moderate resort, Port Orleans Riverside. It was wonderful, and besides not being on a monorail, it was perfect for our family!! The down side of moderates are that they are VERY spread out. There seems to be about 15 buildings to each resort and the walking distance from your building to the main building or pool can be far, and that is not good when you have 3 sleeping kids! The reason why we pick the moderate resort vs. the value resort? The space! The rooms are not as big as the deluxe resorts, but they are considerably bigger than the value resort. And with 5 people in one room, it gets tight! And once you get the discounts applied, the price of the moderates are also not that far off from the value resorts. This year we are staying at Coronado Springs because it sleeps 4 people and a crib... so this may be our last year to try this resort. And I have never stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort, so I have no opinions on that one.
Port Orleans Riverside was very family friendly with a neat pool (with a slide), playground, cafeteria and a boat to take you to Downtown Disney! It was a far distance from Animal Kingdom, but fairly close to the other 3 parks. It has three sections to the resort (and I don't know the names of them and I'm too lazy to look them up). There is the princess section which costs a considerable amount more and is a far walk from anything and only sleeps 4 people; the way out there section that again only sleeps 4 and is a far, far walk from anything; and finally, the Alligator Bayou where we stayed (it sleeps up to 5 people). We also optioned for the preferred room so we would be closer to the main building. If you choose a moderate hotel, don't worry about having to walk a far distance if after a full day at the park... there are multiple bus stops for each resort, so you can find a stop that is somewhat close to your room.
Value Resorts... I have read a lot of great things about the value resorts, and as the kids get older, we may eventually end up in one of these. The only one I have really looked into is the Art of Animation, which looks amazing!! Let's start with the downsides to this resort first (because they are few). Really, there are only 2 reasons that I can think of... First is the price. Because it is fairly new, it is the most expensive of all the value resorts and there are no discounts for the Little Mermaid rooms and only a 15% discount for the family suites and the suites are more expensive then the moderate resort rooms. Which brings us to the second one... there are only Little Mermaid themed rooms for normal rooms and then there are a Cars, Lion King, and Finding Nemo themed Family suites.
But really, the good out way the bad with this resort. The Family suites look amazing and spacious. They are two rooms with two bathrooms, a microwave, Fridge, two TVs, and sleeps up to 6 people. The decor of the entire resort (including the pools) is amazing and toddlers would love it!! And I have heard really good revues about the cafeteria at that resort!! And even if you have older kids, I think they would really enjoy this resort too... and the two bedrooms would give a couple the space they need!!
Have a Magical Day!!
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