Hello everyone,
I'll be in Orlando August 15-23 with my family and I'm still so confused about where to stay!!! We are coming from Switzerland, husband (he is American)on business trip, and it is not our first trip to WDW. Should we stay on site or in a Courtyard??? We have a 3 year old and a 9 year old. Last time we went to DW our daugther was 6 and the little one was not born yet so I guess we won't be able to go at the same pace with the little one this time. We'll have a car, we are driving from Miami. I've been glued to my PC for the last 3 weeks and still don't know what to do. Is the extra money for a moderate resort honestly worth it?? Need your feedback soon since the fairytale package offer(play 7 nights, pay for 4) ends this friday.
Thank you in advance

we've been to WDW 2x and did not stay onsite either time. In fact, we were about 1/2 hour drive away. We just made sure to get an early start and be there when the park opened since we went there during peak season. I know there are some advantages to being on site, if you can live without them, you should be fine off site.
On our second trip, we stayed in a vacation rental and had the use of a home (and private pool, BBQ, a/c,4bedrooms, washer/dryer)for less than a hotel. in August you can probably get a very good price for this type of accomodation.

Good luck and enjoy

We stayed on-site as well as in an apartment outside WDW last year. It is definitely easier with small children to stay on-site, since you have earlier access to the parks (we did a lot of rides before 10 am, when it wasn't too busy; this was Easter last year). You can go back to the hotel for a rest if you need to. We traveled with a 3 and a 9 year old.

All else being equal, you should most definitely stay on-site. Although, it would usually cost more, the free nights will make the cost comparable to off-site. So why not? Especially during the afternoon heat of August when you may want to take a break and go back to your room or pool. And as stated above, you can sometimes get an earlier start at the "park of the day," when it is less crowded and hot. There really is no down-side to staying on-site, imho.

Iv'e stayed on the Dolphin ans Swan resorts a few times and off site plenty. If you can swing stay onsite with little kids it will just be less stressful.

Definitely stay on site if the price is comparable. WDW guests are alloweed early entry to the parks, and for that reason alone it is worth it. You also can have items you purchase in the parks sent directly to your room- no schlepping them around on the rides, etc. A good game plan is to take advantage of the early admission, hit the busiest attractions first, then take a break around 1:00 to go back to the hotel, nap, swim, etc. Hit the park again around 5:00 pm when most of the early crowd is calling it quits- stay for the parades, fireworks, etc. You'll have a great time!!! I'm jealous!

I would stay on-site. Disney's properties have the best pools! And the added convenience of early entrance if you go to the parks helps. You will want to cool down mid-day and perhaps nap the little one. There are 2 water parks- Typhoon Lagoon and BLizzard Beach that are a lot of fun and you may want to spend a day there. There are several Disney resorts that border a lake (we stayed at the Boardwalk) and we pool hopped from one hotel to the other. Each hotel pool has a cool slide and each one is beautiful. I think the Swan and Dolphin are also in this little grouping of hotels. Enjoy!

Thank you all so much for your help, still a bit confused but I'll try to make up my mind by tomorrow.

We went to WDW with 10 mo. & 5 yr old and would definitely recommend staying on-site. You can not beat the convenience of returning to your room if the little ones need a rest. We reserved a suite at the Wilderness Lodge and it was great. Great, helpful staff. Staying on site you have full use of the park transporation and early admission. We stayed off-site ONCE - too much hassle, will not do that again. Have fun!

You may not need one more person to weigh in on this issue, but I agree that you should stay on-site. We've gone a number of times with our kids, who are now teens, and it really works best for us.

With your kids at 3 and 9, they'll enjoy not just the parks but all the Disney experiences everywhere: restaurants, hotels, etc. Perhaps not your 9-year-old, but the 3-year-old will probably enjoy seeing the characters, and that just happens more when you stay on-site.

If you can afford to stay in a Disney hotel with monorail access, that will make it all the easier for you--but those are the more expensive ones. The Polynesian is great for younger kids, and I think they still have a luau that your daughter might like--they give the kids hula skirts and leis, and they can all go up on stage and hula with Minnie.

If not a monorail resort, then try to get one that's centrally located. I think the Caribbean and the Coronado Springs are moderate.

Where you really want to go to get more information is www.mousesavers.com (where you'll get information about getting discounts), www.wdwinfo.com (which has an extensive forum like this one), and www.wdwig.com (which has photos of the resorts as well as complete menus from all the restaurants).

I think there are good sales to be had right now. I too am jealous! Have a good time!

IMO, if you're gonna 'do' disney, then DO disney. Stay on site!!!

And don't just stay on site, stay where you KNOW its "Disney". Again, in my opinion, while many disney resorts are beautiful etc, they could literally be located virtually ANYWHERE on the face of the earth! Which is fine if thats what you want. But when we're at WDW, we're AT WDW and we milk it for all its worth.

In other words, i like to stay where its "Disney-ish" -- the All Star Movies is perfect for what we CHOOSE as our budget (check their web-site for pics to see what i mean) If you can afford it, then sure, stay in one of the nicer Monorail resorts where you can SEE Disney and know you're AT WDW and not just some "NICE" resort ANYWHERE.

The Dolphin and Swan are convention hotels and you will see tons of business people. Again, IMO, when i'm on vacation, the LAST thing i want to be reminded of is WORK!

Regardless where you stay, you WILL have a great time!

Actually you have until tomorrow (Sunday June 29) to reserve Fairytale. I would also vote for onsite. For more information on wDW check out wdwinfo.com wdwig.com and magictrips.com wdwinfo.com has great message boards with tons of information on Disney. wdwig.com does not have message boards but you can find answers to lots of questions there! With August heat I would definitely plan to do early entry for Magic Kingdom (available on Sunday and Thursday) to resort guests, and maybe for other parks although some people have said it is better not to do early entry at Animal Kingdom. Plan to get to parks 1/2 hour or 45 minutes before scheduled opening, stay until lunch time and then leave for break. You can eat in park or at a resort or your own but it gets you out of park at hottest and busiest time of day. Relax at your hotel pool, nap and head back late afternoon or evening. You will definitely need a stroller for your 3 yo - are you bringing your own? Good luck and have fun!

Rotane; Stay on site at WDW. The Caribbean Beach Resort or Port Orleans would be perfect. Moderately priced and right on the bus directly to Magic K. or Epcot, Blizzard BEach and the golf courses. Your kids would love the dragon water slide at Port Orleans. All Stars in affordable but rooms are very small for the 4 of you. Good luck and happy vacation.

The Port Orleans slide IS very cool.....however your 3 y/o won't be allowed on it unless s/he is VERY tall....

(At least that was the rule when we were ther a few years ago...before we discovered the all-stars.)

Thank you, thank you to all again. We'll be staying on site at the Port Orleans Riverside...I just can't wait. All the info I got here will be of great help. THANKS AGAIN.

Rotane
hi, I am writing to you from Uruguay.
August is going to be warm, My first time was with 3 and 1 year old boys, we stay on site ,at wilderness lodge and was great.Wilderness lodge has the advantage you ride a boat to M.K. and is not crowded,My boys loved to ride the boat and the atmosphere of the W.L. hotel made out all of wood.
Tomorrow I am departing again to wdw, with two kids now 6 and 4, and we are staying part at animal king lodge and then wilderness lodge
have fun
and this is a good place to get information
antonio

For information about EVERYTHING you need to know about WDW go to www.disboards.com and www.wdwig.com
They cover all aspects of WDW.

You know we've never stayed on site during our trips to Orlando. The last time we visited in December 2002, we stayed in a WONDERFUL vacation home about 12 min. max from WDW. The home was offered by Above and Beyond Vacation Homes. Ours was a three bedroom home with a pool literally on the back porch. The decor was tasteful and there was a washer and dryer and all the amenities of home. The rate was phenomenal, we paid only $75 per night and even had park tickets delivered to the house to save us time; and they were even discounted!

Our contacts were Greg and Camille, feel free to visit http://www.abvh.net/
and you can find more information. They even have homes with pools in the shape of mickey's head! We were so impressed and would use them again in a heart beat.

Good Luck!
Teresa