Walt Disney World
 

I am having a heck of a time trying to narrow down the luxury resort we are going to stay in. Any opinions? We will be getting the cheapest or second cheapest room, hopefully with a balcony. And there will be a 2yr old and a 3yr old on the trip. The resort choices are: Animal Kingdom Lodge, Beach Club resort, Boardwalk Inn, Grand Floridian, Polynesian Resort, Wilderness Lodge and Yacht Club resort. Thanks so much for your inside opinions. (I already compared all of them on the Disney website)

The Yacht and Beach has the best pool at Disney IMO if that makles any difference to you; those along with the Boardwalk are within walking distance of the back entrance to Epcot. You can get balconies at all three but not necessarily for the cheapest rooms (I know..I've been in them as well as the more expensive ones at all three).

The Grand Floridian is wonderful IMO and is closer to the Magic Kingdom..pool is great but not as much fun as the Y+B; Polyneesian is right next door I love the Animal Kingdom Lodge, too...

does location matter to you?

would the kids enjoy being closer to the animals

HI--our strategy has changed a lot over the course of *many* years of going...When our son was small, we always stayed on the monorail line--Polynesian or GF. As he got older, we switched to Beach Club, and then tried Boardwalk as well. Beach Club continues to be our favorite.

I think with younger children it's just easier to stay at a hotel that is on the monorail (and I like the Polynesian for that). Otherwise, I'd pick Beach Club or AKL.

I wouldn't think the Boardwalk or Grand Floridian would be super kid friendly, though I'm not sure. Plus, the Boardwalk might be noisy at night because of its location. The Yacht Club really does have the best pool for kids - there's even a pirate ship there too. I think you can also use that same pool when you stay at the Beach Club - they're right next door and share walkways. The Yacht & Beach Club are close to the Boardwalk which has surrey bike rentals and plenty of things to do. Plus you can take a water ferry right to Epcot also. And both offer great breakfast buffets too. So... the Yacht or Beach Club would be my recommendation.

But having said that, if your kids are really into animals, then go for the Animal Kingdom Lodge. And if you plan on spending the majority of your time at the Magic Kingdom, then go for a resort on the monorail line.

All the places you're looking at are wonderful so you'll have fun no matter what!

The Beachclub is wonderful - they have a zero entry pool area and a wet playground thing that your kids would really enjoy. We went with our kids last year and it was splended. We enjoyed just riding the boats across the lake (free)and we rented a surrey bike for 1/2 hour which was a real highlight for my youngest. Beaches & Cream was a fun little soda fountain type restaurant and the kids enjoyed our walking over and buying a treat at the Boardwalk candy store.

We found that renting DVC (Disney Vacation Club) points was the most economical route for the Beachclub/ Boardwalk. We rented through someone we found on the disboards.com DVC forum.

Otherwise, you can sometimes get a good deal on an interior room at the Animal Kingdom lodge and then ask about a free upgrade when you check in. The animals there really are neat and there is an evening talk / story by the firepit which was neat. It seems ideal for young kids.

The Grand Floridian just doesn't ring my bell - can't imagine that it would really light a fire in the soul of a little one but some folks absolutely love it.

The Wilderness Lodge is wonderfully themed, like a National Park lodge. We live in the west and have wonderful lodges here so we're generally looking for something different at WDW. But kids seem to love the Whispering Canyon restaurant. Wilderness Lodge's buses etc. are not considered the most efficient- that might be a factor if you won't have a car.

The Polynesian is very expensive but kind of wonderful in a "Brady Bunch goes to Hawaii" sort of way. They also have surrey bikes.

Have you checked mousesavers.com for deals or discount codes?

Be aware of one other "issue" and that is the use of the pool and the waterslide at the Yacht and Beach pool (it is shared by both resorts which are essentially mirror images of one another with different interior decor and theming).

If you are not a guest at the Yacht and Beach you will not be allowed to use the pool (lots of people staying on-site try to do so and come away disappointed)..I told you it was the best!!!!