First trip to Disney for kids! Is DLR the better fit?

Oh, and I forgot to mention that EVERYONE will need a nap, not just the 2yo. If a Disney hotel is not in your budget, there are plenty of nearby hotels all within 5-10 min walking distance. If it is in your budget, then I recommend staying on property as it feels more in the "bubble" if that's what you want.
 
I would do DLR because if the kids melt down, you don't have to worry about it blowing your whole schedule off the rails. The very nature of planning a WDW trip with everything booked so far out makes it hard to make game-time decisions based on how people are feeling. My kids are 8 and 10, and we prefer DLR just because for now we like the flexibility it gives us to go with the flow of how we're feeling on a given day.
 
Oh, and I forgot to mention that EVERYONE will need a nap, not just the 2yo. If a Disney hotel is not in your budget, there are plenty of nearby hotels all within 5-10 min walking distance. If it is in your budget, then I recommend staying on property as it feels more in the "bubble" if that's what you want.
So true! On day 1, we went back to the house to eat a late lunch and rest. We all hung out in the living room and watched a movie, and I have a great photo of my FIL asleep in the recliner!

Day 3, H and I headed back to take a nap. About the time we were leaving the house, another part of the family was coming back to rest.

Honestly, part of it is just needing a break from all the people, sights, sounds, etc. It can bring on sensory overload, for sure.
 
Having taken our kids to WDW when they were 5 & 6 (see profile pic for my favorite pic from the trip), again when they were 9 & 10 for 7 days each time. The biggest take I can say this for them; the magic regarding their interactions with the characters had significantly diminished. We did a lot of character meet ups/dining and the kids didn't look at the characters as "real" when they were older. It didn't ruin the trip at all, just changed during our second trip how we had to approach things. The funniest interaction we had was at Turtle Talk with Crush on our first trip. My daughter got to ask a question and asked Crush what he eats. He explained to her what his diet was and Crush asked her what she liked to eat. You hear me on my camera say "fish" and then a few seconds later my daughter says "fish" which led to the whole crowd cracking up and Crush going bug eyed. Crush then swam to the back of the aquarium and said to the other fish swimming by "You dudes better watch out", swam back and said "And don't think I didn't hear you say fish, Dad!" and everyone lost it. Best part is that she was in the front of the room and I was in the very back so there was no possible way she could have heard me!! Transportation can be a challenge, especially with the little ones. We stayed at an All Star resort the first time and at the end of the night it took forever to get a bus with all the scooters getting priority over the little kids who just wanted to go to bed (which I do have a bit of an issue with). Depending where you would stay the monorail or skyliner may be options or the Minnie vans/Lyft if you want to pay. For the vast majority of the resorts you cannot simply walk back to where you're staying.

I LOVE DLR. We were there as a early graduation gift to our kids from HS a few years ago for four days and had a wonderful time. And during that trip I found I enjoyed our time more in DLR than WDW. When I go to places with an implied history (Graceland for example) I approach it with trying to envision what the place was like back then. At Graceland when we were in the Jungle Room I saw Elvis jamming with his band and recording some of his iconic songs, same for me and Walt in DL. My "Dad" moment was when my daughter and I met Captain America. She's in love with Chris Evans and Captain America. During our meeting he asked where we were from and we said Chicago. Cap said "Ah, the Windy City. It gets pretty cold there." and I replied "Not as cold as it was for you". My daughter and Cap BOTH shot me a look, it was hilarious. I got ambushed by Boba Fett while walking around Launch Bay and took some pics with him. And then the ultimate for me, meeting the Dark Lord while wearing my Sith baseball jersey with Vader on the nameplate and him telling me he appreciated my loyalty. Being a locals park it can be much less congested, especially early in the day. If you don't stay at a resort hotel most of the good neighbor hotels are very close. We are going back in September and staying at Candy Cane which is a 10 minute walk to the park entrance. The dining options aren't as varied and character dining is significantly diminished.

A quick comparison between WDW and DLR:
WDW positives: More character interactions, four unique parks to choose from (Epcot is awesome), two water parks, more dining options, Magic Express, themed resorts
WDW not so greats: Distance between parks and Disney Springs, distance to your resort, very crowded most of the year, costs more, waiting for buses can take a looooong time
WDW toss up: The dining plan. Takes the issue of price for eating at most restaurants out of your hands for the entire trip (plus a lot of snacks), but can be cost ineffective if you pick the wrong package or won't utilize what you eat.

DLR positives: Walt's park, easier and faster to get to the parks from your hotel/resort, the parks are literally a two minute walk from each other and five to Downtown Disney, unique attractions you won't find at WDW (Mr. Toad, Moments with Lincoln, Storybook canal), better versions of same ride (Small World, Pirates, Tiki Room, Soarin over California), much lower crowds most of the time, much higher chance of seeing characters just walking down the street with nobody trying to meet them (locals seem to be numb to it, lol), Mint Juleps and beignets!, World of Color
DLR not so greats: Not as many dining options/character dining, everything has a price for transportation, you have to pay for Fast Pass+, only two parks, outside of the Grand Floridian every hotel is a basic hotel set up
DLR toss up: Fast Pass+. If you can master the process you can maximize the opportunities you can get to ride the rides you want. But it's all contingent on when you get there. Want to ride Radiator Springs/ Rise of the Resistance? Be there at rope drop or your probably out of luck. I know Rise isn't Fast Pass but it does associate with it.

For me it would be a hard choice. But with the really little one and the mid-afternoon nap, DLR would be your best option. To get back to the hotel can take you 10-15 minutes instead of potentially a hour or more at WDW which would nearly cut your trip in half. Eat at Plaza Inn for breakfast with Minnie for sure. The biggest magic your kids will get is the meet and greets. Seeing the characters they know from movies, TV, books, etc. larger than life is just awesome to watch them light up when they come around. Have a Magical trip!

Thank you so much for this! It was really helpful. It's making me so excited for our trip :) I really hope by March there is some kind of a vaccine or treatment so we can really enjoy it without too much worry.
 



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