Resort with toddler age kids

[SamFaniam]

Friends are planning a trip for summer of 2021 when their twin grandbabies will be two. I’ve never planned a trip to Disney World with kids that young. They asked for advice about resorts that would be great for very little kids. I suggested Yacht and Beach club because of the great pool, but they said that the deluxe resorts are out of their budget. So I’m looking for advice on the moderates or the values. Which of them have pools that would be really nice for toddler age kids, and/or playground areas. TIA!

 

[mu51c10rd]

Friends are planning a trip for summer of 2021 when their twin grandbabies will be two. I’ve never planned a trip to Disney World with kids that young. They asked for advice about resorts that would be great for very little kids. I suggested Yacht and Beach club because of the great pool, but they said that the deluxe resorts are out of their budget. So I’m looking for advice on the moderates or the values. Which of them have pools that would be really nice for toddler age kids, and/or playground areas. TIA!

Probably won't be a popular opinion, but I brought our then-2 year old with us to Port Orleans - Riverside in the Alligator Bayou area. She loved the smaller, shallow pool out there, and the playground at POR was a blast for her. Being such a large resort, she had plenty of space to just run around as well.

 

[sponica]

Honestly SAB scares me with kids that little.

My 20 month old LOVED the splash pad at POFQ and it's super small so it's very walkable for little legs. She would routinely get out of the stroller and walk back to our room when we got back to the resort.

The Port Orleans resorts are sister resorts, so you can use the pools at either hotel.

 

[glocon]

Totally agree- wouldn’t do SAB with toddlers or preschoolers. Too big.

 

[KittieKat]

I'm taking my twin close to 2 year olds in September and we are staying at art of animation in a suite. I think it should be a good amount of space. We'll have 3 kids and 3 adults. The twins will go in pack n plays in the closed off bedroom and my husband and I will sneak in bed once they are asleep. There are 3 pools there including a splash area. I bought the girls puddle jumpers to wear in the pool.

 

[TOBS2010]

I actually have to agree with the PP's about Port Orleans. We have stayed at Riverside with my kids when they were toddlers and preschoolers and loved it. There is space for them to run and play, a outdoor playground and we love the main pool--my kids loved the water slide as young as 3 years old when we were at the bottom to catch them. The smaller quiet pools are also really nice and often less populated. The food court has lots of options for adults and kids at all times of the day. And it's a nice bonus to have a break from the bus transportation and take the boat over to Disney Springs--most times we didn't even have to collapse our double stroller--kids just rode in the stroller on the boat. The rooms at POR are larger in size. You can get a room with two queen beds, a pull down murphy bed----and you get a table with two chairs which is great for snacks/meals with kids who need a table and chair to sit at. Plus even with all that, we could bring the double stroller into the room and still have more than enough room to move around comfortably. Do keep in mind that while there are four bus stops (so you can likely have a short walk to a bus) POR is spread out, so getting to the main building with the food court/main pool could be a bit of a hike depending on where your room is. POFQ is much smaller and closer together than POR.

 

[DduzDis]

Bay Lake Tower is my favorite for that age but if deluxe is out, we took both of our daughters to Art of Animation at that age and had a blast. We did a Lion King Family suite. Having the bedroom separate is fantastic.

 

[gatour]

I would say Port Orleans French Quarter. It has only one bus stop and is relatively compact compared to the other moderates. Plus there is the advantage of the boats to Disney Springs

 

[sponica]

Just keep in mind the port orleans resorts are not bookable for 2021 right now....if they want to book something for peace of mind, I would also look at Carribean Beach resort. I believe their feature pool is zero entry.

EDIT: I'm also a firm believer in booking where adults want to stay when they're traveling with kids that young. Kids that young won't care about how cool the pool is, just that there is one.

 

[AliceIn]

The Art of Animation is great - lots of fun things for toddlers to see and do. If you get a family suite, naps are super easy because you can put them down in a separate room while the adults relax in the other. I'd wait to do a deluxe when you can enjoy a bit more of it, wrangling toddlers makes it a little bit harder to enjoy the nicer amenities like the sit down restaurants. When mine were little we couldn't linger over dinners enjoying coffee or wine after a meal. Kids wouldn't stand for it.

 

[gharter]

We enjoyed PoR when our kids were young.
Just be prepared to schedule time to come back to the resorts for naps if the kids need them. As well as downtime.

 

[A2DisneyMom]

AOA is my vote too and, in fact, where we often stayed when our kids were that little. Great interactive theming, zero entry pool and awesome splash pad.

At the deluxe level, we actually really enjoyed Kidani with little ones. Zero entry pool (with tiny slide), awesome splash zone and ability to stroll around and see animals (with a beverage in hand) with a stroller napper.

 

[Realfoodfans]

Just keep in mind the port orleans resorts are not bookable for 2021 right now....if they want to book something for peace of mind, I would also look at Carribean Beach resort. I believe their feature pool is zero entry.

EDIT: I'm also a firm believer in booking where adults want to stay when they're traveling with kids that young. Kids that young won't care about how cool the pool is, just that there is one.

That explains why PO isn’t coming up in my searches! Do you know the reason for this please?

 

[sponica]

That explains why PO isn’t coming up in my searches! Do you know the reason for this please?

The simplest answer is that because it doesn't have an opening date in 2020, it's not bookable for 2021. DO I think it will be closed for all of 2021? No

 

[Realfoodfans]

The simplest answer is that because it doesn't have an opening date in 2020, it's not bookable for 2021. DO I think it will be closed for all of 2021? No

Thank you

 

[Marthasor]

I would look at CBR, AoA and Pop. Cute themes, all have Skyliner access and, bonus, you can book all of them now.

 

[Ds4angels]

AoA is cute, but the suites are on the spendy side. ASMo would be my bet, kids are going to be all about the characters (which ASMo has plenty of). There all small little playgrounds through out the resort. Mickey is at the main pool in his sorcerer outfit. Plus I believe they just redid all the rooms there?

 

[kaytieeldr]

Or ASMusic, for its Family Suites.

 

[tuckymom]

Did Caribbean Beach when my daughter had just turned 2. Was scheduled to do it again in April (she'd be 2 1/2 by then).

The splash pad was amazing for her as was the bigger pool with the slides. The resort is BIG but we used our stroller and found the Skyliner incredibly easy & quick to use. We didn't have to worry about major transportation (no buses, no carseats in rental car) and could just pop on the Skyliner for Epcot and HS. She loved that "ride" too. We stayed near Spyglass (or whatever that bar is called). We were able to get tons of refills with our refillable mugs (thank you DDP) & also get a quick snack when we needed it without walking a million miles.

 

[CastAStone]

I'm also a firm believer in booking where adults want to stay when they're traveling with kids that young. Kids that young won't care about how cool the pool is, just that there is one.

This. If money is very tight I would suggest a preferred room at all star movies, which has a play area, the same rooms as Pop, and sufficient pools.

Better than that, I would suggest a preferred room at Pop, which you can skyliner from to 2 resorts and is slightly closer to MK.

Why spend the extra? Time is money at Disney, and Naptime/midday break is SO important with kids that little. It’s so easy for a 90 minute nap to turn into a 15 minute walk to the bus stop then a 12 minute wait for the bus then a 15 minute ride to your resort then a 10 minute walk to your room then 20 minutes to get the kid sleepy then a 90 minute nap then 15 minutes to get back out the door then a 10 minute walk to the bus stop then a 13 minute wait then a 15 minute ride then 15 minutes walking, getting through security, and walking again to the first ride, and suddenly you’ve lost almost 4 hours for a 90 minute nap. With nap age kids, The closer you are, and the less you have to rely on the bus, the better.