We are considering a vacation to Disneyworld with our 2 and 4-year olds the first week of December. It will be their first trip. We plan to stay in the park and are deciding where to stay. Is it worth the extra cost to stay somewhere that the monorail stops? How far are other onsite resorts to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, etc. and what are their transport options?

Hi Tracy-
We just got back from a trip to Orlando. We stayed off-site at the Holiday Inn Resorts Family Suites. Highly recommend it. They have shuttle service to the theme parks, although we rented our own car. All the suites have 2 bedrooms and a separate living room. We have a 1 and a 3 year old. It worked out perfectly! Free breakfast buffet every morning with mediocre food. Great pool, miniature golf course, laundry facilities. Close to all the parks. Only cost us $111 per night. Remember, with young kids, "Less is More!" We had a great time the first 2 days. The third day, we only stayed at Magic Kingdom for 1 hours and the kids had had it, even though we always went back to the hotel for naps in the afternoon. Have fun. My 3 year old loved Dr. Suess' Landing at Islands of the Adventure as well as the Playhouse Disney show at MGM Studios. Good luck!

The monorail stops at the Polynesian, Grand Floridian & Contemporary (Chef Mickeys is a must). Note that the monorail only stops at these hotels, Magic Kingdom & Epcot. All on site hotels offer bus shuttle service or boat service to all parks.

I feel it's a must to stay at a monorail-stop hotel with young children. It is so convenient when they tire to be able to get back to the hotel quickly for a nap or a swim in the pool and then go back to the park when everyone is happy again.

The monorail is great, you don't even have to fold up your stroller if the baby is asleep, you just wheel it right on! You do pay a premium for those resorts. Another option may be the Wilderness Lodge which is a bit less expensive and has a boat launch, instead of a bus, directly to MK.

For a lot of pictures & rack rates of the resorts go to www.ourlaughingplace.com
For discounts (there are current discount codes for Dec) go to www.mousesavers.com
For info of all kinds go to www.wdwig.com
And for a message board all about WDW go to www.disboards.com

Have a wonderful vacation!

I forgot, the current codes expire on Oct 31 for the WDW resorts. Samples are; All-Star (value) resorts $55/nt, Moderates $85 and Animal Kingdom $124 (Wilderness Lodge is probably similar).

With young kids, stay on the monorail, and I'd recommend the Poly.

Definitely stay on the monorail and avoid the All Stars if you can.

The hotels on the monorail are considered deluxe resorts and thus can be very expensive, but worth it.

With our elementary school-age kids we spent a bit more and stayed at the Contemporary. The room faced the lagoon and had a view of the evening lake parade(that the kids thought was just for them!).The room also had 2 qn or dbl beds and a day bed in it that gave us extra sleeping area, and a bathroom and a half - which was excellent for expediting in the mornings! When tired and in the park-we would decide to go back to rest, and 10 minutes later we would be IN our room! That monorail was handy. We also were there the first week of December , and the Christmas decorations are very impressive. Have loads of fun!

I've been checking on reservations at Disneyworld for December and lots of things, I believe, are already booked. Several resorts are being renovated, which leaves less space. There was some availability definitely but not at all resorts.

Go to Disney web site and view moderate hotels. The economy hotels are too basic. The high end may to too expensive. You get a flavor of Disney at the moderate line w/o spending too much. All hotels have buses. You can ride the monorail when you go to various parks. There is no reason to pick a hotel based on the monorail.

Why is it when someone posts they want to stay on property, some yahoo insists upon spewing the virtues of staying off property?

Stay on property, it is so worth the money. Especially when the kids want to take a nap. You don't have to dick around with a car, traffic, and a 40 minute drive. Good luck!

Staying off Disneyworld property is a whole other animal than staying on property. Makes the Disney experience different.

Definetly stay in the park with young children. It all depends on your budget. The monorail resorts are expensive but very very convenient. The next choice would be the Swan and Dolphin. They are less expensive than the monorail resorts but kind of far from the Magic Kingdom. The plus is you can walk to Epcot and MGM. If you are a government employee, a teacher or have an entertainment card you receive Half off all rooms. Check it out.

I would second the Dolphin. It is actually a starwood property (Sheraton/Westin) so you can earn points for more free stays. If you are lucky to get a room facing Epcot, watch the lasor fireworks from your room each night at 9:00 PM.

We didn't find the monorail all that much more convenient, especially if you are doing more than just the magic kingdom. By the time you wait for the monorail, go to the transfer center, wait for the other one, make the loop around stopping at the other hotels, it was faster to take the car. There is onsite bus or boat service connecting everything, tho the monorail is fun for the kids (try to get the front car with the driver).

Tracy, I'm sure this will start a big argument, and I'm not trying to be mean, but your children are really too young to enjoy Disney. Perhaps you might want to take a different type of vacation now and save Disney for a few years down the road? Children that young will not remember the family trip (sorry, but it's true) and a lot of the "magic" is lost on them. I'm not insulting your children, it is just a 2 and 4 they are more interested in "Where's Mickey?" than the truly "magical" things that are going on around them. They will also tire easily and the whole expereince (inc. the crowds) and be a bit overwhelming. This is a special (and expensive!) trip - save it for when they are a little bit older and can really "get into it".

I disagree with about not going with your kids.

We went to WDW this June with our 2 1/2 yr old and we had a great time! He really enjoyed all of it, the character breakfast with Mickey & Cinderella, the parades, the rides, swimming at the hotel and the fireworks. We all had a great time together.

As for if they don't remember, then it isn't worth it idea, I've been on vacations when I was 15 that I barely remember. We enjoyed it while we were there and have great pictures. And by the way, he does still remember the Pooh ride and the Electric Water Pagent.

So, go on your vacation & have an amazing time!

Tracy, I took a 2 year old to Disney before, and maybe this makes me a terrible parent, but I wish we hadn't done it! Yes, we had a good time, BUT, crusing with the stroller, a tired child, trying to manuver restaurants, shops and rides, carting bottles, dipers, etc. was not the best thing in the world. It was also very busy - people forget the children are very low to the ground (even in a stroller) and only see a sea of legs - it has to be a little scary, picture yourself walking in Times Square when it is most crowed and everyone is 3 feet taller than you! We since decided to go to a place where we can "park ourselves" for a week (beach house, cottage etc.) and let the kids enjoy the beach, playgrounds, picnics and such and not force them into the Disney Expereice at such a young age. When they are older we will go and I know we will ALL have a great time together. I'm not saying this about you because I don't know you, but I have seen WAY to many parents drag very small children through the park, and it is clear that the parents are the ones who wanted to come and the kiddies really don't know if they are at Disney or the local amusement park.