Grandson to Disney with Parents First Time
 

Wife and daughter have done research and think Port Orleans Riverside is a good place to stay with a 5 year old for five days then take the three day Disney Cruise. Currently planning trip from this location for the late Feb 2011-early March 2011 time frame.

Would appreciate any suggestions, comments or thoughts regarding this particular place.

Personally I would wait a couple of years for the enjoyment of all the involved people.

We stayed at the Port Orleans French Quarter. It is smaller and therefore less walking to the shuttle busses. Both are similar with their amenities. The French Quarter's restaurant was very good for dinner. Breakfasts were hectic in their food courts. I don't think 5 yrs. old is too young to enjoy Disney since you won't be there in the summer heat.

Port Orleans Riverside is wonderful. Take the boat ride to Downtown Disney. A five year old may not get the "theming", but it's a pretty resort with a quiet, serene feel. The main pool is really nice, and there are "quiet pools" scattered around the property. My only complaint is that the sit-down restaurant no longer serves breakfast. Breakfast in the food court is decent, though. I also recommend looking into the dining plan. It is too much food for some people, but we've never had that problem, and we swear by it.

Go to disneyworld.com and click on "Special Offers" at the bottom. Disney is offering some deals during your time frame, including Free Dining (February 25th - March 3, 2011).

I also recommend disboards.com This is a forum for Disney lovers who can answer any question you could ever have while planning a trip to Walt Disney World.

Your five year old grandson will have the time of his life, both at Disney World and on the cruise. It will be big fun!

Gretchen,

We all were thinking along those lines and gave that factor great consideration. When told about Disney World he thought for a moment and said " Okay but I also really want to go to Universal because Sponge Bob is there". Decision to go was made!

We took our daughter a couple of times to DW and my parents took her a couple of times. We also went all together one time. She did the cruise twice. She went her first time while still in diapers. This was all before the age of 10. I think anytime between age 2 and 100 is a great time to go. Disney did have a 4 day land/3 day cruise package, so you might cut one day off your land. We went to Universal once, and I think it is better when they are old enough to ride all of the roller coasters. We enjoyed it as well. We really enjoy the Disney waterparks. We have stayed at several of the resorts. Disney does a good job with all of them. My sister n law stayed at Port Orleans and she said it was great. She said she would not do the meal plan again. You gonna eat for three days straight on the ship anyway. I think three days is enough ship vs. the four day. Have a great trip!!

My son is 5 also. We've taken him to WDW and done the 3 night cruise as well! Port Orleans is pretty, good restaurants and has a terrific pool. You will be riding the WDW busses to get to all parks. If you are going during a busy time of year, busses can be more crowded and waits for busses longer. A packed bus after a long day can feel like too much - are you planning on renting a car? Maybe consider it. We got up really early for park open (much less crowded), left for the hotel/pool and a nice long break when it is getting busy and then head back at dinner. Be sure to get Fast Passes when you can for popular rides to save wait time. Also make meal reservations for any sit-down restaurants - you can do it online. Our very favorite thing was the Hoop De Doo Revue! All you can eat ranch vittles and a corny, audience participation singalong show. The cruise was so fun too. Our son loved Castaway Cay - he loved seeing all the characters in beach attire. We did the glass bottom boat tour in Nassau - which was fun and easy. We went to all the shows - perfect for that age. Our son also loved the Kids Camp on the boat - he met lots of friends, it is super secure - he had a blast. Have fun!

All these replies have really been helpful. We have made all the character dining reservations at the time we requested, know the logistics will be a challenging but will do the early with rest time before going out again. The biggest chore now is landing adjacent rooms at the ideal spot in the hotel complex.

pixie, you might want to look at the dates. lol this trip was last year. READ before you start all your advertising.