Just Back With a Couple Comments

[SKJandBG]

Good evening, All:

We just returned from a seven-day stay @ the World. After not having visited for some nine years, it was wonderful to see what was new and still wonderful to revisit what my wife & I had seen before.

We have two boys, aged 4.5 and 7, and I just wanted to post a few very quick comments.

1. Pay the $15.00 and get a stroller. We made our boys walk the first day -- big mistake. Everyone concerned was much happier with a stroller. Not as much wear & tear on the kids and it gave Mom & Dad a place to put stuff.

2. If you can and it's convenient to your plans, stay at one of the monorail resorts. We stayed at the Polynesian; and I cannot overstate the value of a bed and a pool being no more than 15-20 minutes away from either the Kingdom or Epcot.

3. The kids loved the Polynesian in general and the Volcano pool in particular. Mom & Dad loved it all and will most likely stay there if and when we go again with younger kids.

4. IMHO, the Contemporary looks like it's been rode hard and hung up wet (just how would one renovate a concrete box anyway?). The Polynesian looks good; Grand Floridian looked *very* good.

5. The Resort Launch often seemed to be as quick or quicker than the monorail in travelling back & forth to the Kingdom.

6. 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian offers character meals all the time... and it's not crowded.

7. If you're going to multiple parks, do not lead off with the Kingdom.

8. Remember that you're there (somewhat, anyway) for the kids... and if they're tired and unhappy, ain't no one happy. Remind yourself that it is not a competition and go back to the hotel, let 'em swim, watch Toon Disney, whatever....

SKJ & B

 

[p-nut]

Thanks for the tips.

 

[SandraC]

Great tips! It's been my dream to stay at CR, but now, I'm thinking Poly. We'd also love BC and YC! THX

 

[ABCMom]

Thanks for the tips

 

[vicb]

I agree that the Poly is great for families with young kids, it was a life saver to us on the trip when our kids were 3 and 6. The three year old would poop out every evening around 7:00! But we could still see fireworks from our balcony.

 

[Chance's Mom]

LOL on your view of the Contemporary! I agree totally, but for some strange reason, I still want to stay there some day. Go figure? It's gotta be that monorail thing!

 

[faith]

You definitely had the right ideas for a relaxing and enjoyable trip. I have seen in the past so many parents "dragging" their tired and unhappy children on longer than they wanted to be there. Seems some forget it's a vacation.

 

[kristikae]

Why do you say don't start with MK?

 

[beattyfamily]

Liked your tips but we love the CR and are staying there again AFTER staying at the GF last year!

My favorite monorail resorts are in this order:

1. GF (but it's expensive)
2. CR (wing last time, tower this time, can't wait)
3. Poly (seemed old and very spread out...we'll see)

BUT, I haven't stayed at the poly yet even though I could have...but I think we will try it next because my DD's are obssessed with Lilo and Stitch and want to go to Hawaii and the Poly will have to do!

 

[Kimkimba]

Great tips! If you have little ones, don't start with the MK because nothing else will seem half as magical and you'll be dragging your kids to Epcot. If you start with Epcot, they won't think WDW is one big Dumbo ride.......just mho. With our upcoming trip with DS (4), MK will probably come after AK and Epcot. But then we'll do it again.

 

[SKJandBG]

Exactly... We spent our first full day in Epcot, and with the exception of half a day at Disney/MGM, the rest of our time was in the Kingdom. They enjoyed the studios -- there was enough little kid stuff to see & do. And there was enough cool stuff to see at Epcot. But if we had gone to the Kingdom first thing, I think they would have been sorely disappointed by those two parks.

 

[SKJandBG]

We love the Polynesian; you love the Contemporary... <sigh>

Just goes to show you that everyone has a different opinion. I thought the CR seemed old and spread out, but to each their Disney own. I do have to agree with you that the Poly is a bit spread out. I think that makes for a quieter resort, but even so, I would not care to stay in one of the outlying longhouses myself.

We stayed in Rarotonga and thought it an ideal location -- close to the GCH, both pools, marina, and resort monorail station. Plus, the TTC was only a few minutes walking distance. I think Niue, Samoa, and Hawaii would be equally convenient to the necessities.

Enjoy your next stay in the Tower, and yeppers -- Lilo & Stitch are at the Poly in a big way (my boys saw the movie too).

 

[SandraC]

In 1998 dd didn't care too much about Epcot, April 2001, cared even less. But in April 2002, both my kids dd(8) and ds (2) thought Epcot was better than any other park! They both LOVED ToD and Illuminations! Add colouring masks and Ice Cream Social and WOW, great time! We went to Epcot three different nights to see ToD and Illuminations! My kids can't get enough of the home video. They love MK, but I think they've done it to death. S

 

[Pumbaa_]

I always say, if the kids are crying at breakfast, it's not their first day! (And I have seen many kids crying at breakfast in the food courts!) I actually heard someone say, we paid a lot of money and we are going to the parks. You can go in a pool at home!

EEK!

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

We're leading off with MK because it happens to be DD's 8th birthday and I got PS's at CRT. However, we've gone over all the books, especially Birnbaum's OG and the one for kids, and my children know that each park has its own "personality: - MK is for rides, MGM is for shows, Epcot is for learning about things, and Ak is self-explanatory . Since DS is only 4 and will not be able to go on some of the bigger rides, this approach works for us, at least this year. We already know we'll be coming back to hit the things we didn't experience this time, too. Both kids are excited for Epcot, and each has chosen a different "must-see" pavilion. Maybe it's because I teach Social Studies - poor kids are immersed in that stuff daily!

Lori

 

[vicb]

Our first trip to WDW I too cringed when all my kids wanted to do was swim in the resort pool and go to MK. On our second trip I just relaxed my expectations of what we "should" be doing and we had a blast. Yes, my kids swam every day, even when it was only in the 60's. And yes, we hit MK on 4 of the 7 days we toured parks. But we only did a full day of touring at MGM, every other day we did half days, swim breaks and evenings back in parks. May not have been the most efficient but it worked well for us. We found that our kids enjoyed Epcot much more in those smaller doses. It was easy as we stayed at an Epcot resort.

 

[SKJandBG]

Your comment about the pool versus the parks is funny, sad, and unfortunately too true. My wife and I set out with the attitude that this might have ended up being the most expensive visit to a swimming pool ever... lol

I think we figured that we're not paying to see the parks -- we're paying to get out of our world for a week and enter Walt's. And if that's done at the resort pool, so be it.