[jjreish]

Hi! I am a new member here, and am hoping some one can help me out. I am planning a trip this summer (July 13-20) to WDW, it will be myself, wife and eight year old daughter. We had planned on staying at the CBR, but I have a couple of questions. I have read that the all star resorts are better for kids, would it be funnier for my daughter to stay there instead of the CBR? One other thing, for the same price we were going to pay at CBR, if we use our Passbook, we could stay at the Swan or Dolphin, would this be better than staying at All-Star or CBR? Any good advice would be apprciated.
Thanks

[buzzsmommy]

If you're traveling with kids under say 12ish, I'd avoid the Dolphin or Swan -- there very "businessy" and cater more to big business conventions, etc. ANY other Disney hotel will be a HUGE hit with kids!! They all have kid friendly features, cool pools, amusiing architecture, and Disney magic. You can't go wrong on property!!!
Have fun planning your trip!!!

[Nlk]

What's great about the Swan and Dolphin is the location. You can walk to Epoct and MGM or take the boat. You can walk to the Yacht and Beach club both beautiful resorts.They have a cute beach to enjoy. Some great places to eat also, like the CapeMay Cafe.
Then there is the Boardwalk, tons of fun both durning the day and at night. You have so much to do in this area even if you aren't going into the parks. AS is fun, but I just don't think it's as nice as your other choices. Either way you DD will have a great time. She's at Disney World!:)

[Willbegone]

I've never stayed on site, but will be staying at CBR in March for the our first on site stay! We are taking our 2 year old. The major factors for us in deciding on CBR were the pool, playground, and beaches. My DD loves to get in the water and the pool looks like a blast. There are several small playgrounds and one large playground on resort property which also look like a lot of fun for kids. The beaches would be great for playing in the sand!! Oh and the ducks around the property would also be a great thing for the kids.

These are just our reasons for chosing CBR over the others but you may be looking for something different from us, at any rate have a blast!!:)

[dab]

Hi and welcome to Disney Central. There are 3 "levels" of accomodations within the WDW resort. Value, Moderate & Deluxe. The All Stars (Movies, Music & Sports) are Value Resorts, Caribbean Beach is a Moderate Resort and Swan & Dolphin would fall into the Deluxe category though Swan & Dolphin aren't WDW Resorts. They are on property and very centrally located (much better location than All Stars or CBR) If you can stay at Swan & Dolphin for the same price as Caribbean Beach.... that is an amazing value! Go for it!! My husband has stayed there on business and yes it has a more business atomosphere but still is very nice with lots for the kids and your room will be more spacious. Here is a link that has good photos of the resorts you are thinking of.

http://www.wdwig.com/g_dol.htm

There are links to pages about Swan & Dolpin and even includes some Kids reviews. Good luck planning! :)

[Cinderellafifi]

Welcome to Disney Central! Be sure to look into the other resorts, especially Port Orleans Riverside. That is a constant favorite to many here on DC and is priced the same as CBR. I have stayed at both sections of POR/FQ and each room was beautiful and the grounds were, too. Plus, there was boat service to Downtown Disney which was nice. :)

[jjreish]

Thanks for all the useful information. We were also thinking that the swan was more of a "business" hotel. So with that in mind, out of all the moderate resorts, which do you think are the best? And one other thing, do you really spend so much time in the room, I guess what I am trying to figure out is it worth it to stay at a moderate rather than a value? It seems as though the moderate resorts have more things to do, when not in one of the parks.
Thanks Again

[disneycouple30]

We stay at the POR almost every time that we go down. It true you don't stay at the resort all day but when you need a rest from the parks, which you will need, POR is the best one. There are pools close to your room or you could walk over to Ol'Man River pool and enjoy a nice drink while the kids are in the pool or take a quick nap on th chasie chairs. The AS are cheap but out in the middle of nowhere. CBR is showing it age, so it the POR, ask for the Bayou Lodge 14, 15 or 18, if you are driving ask for 25 or 27. The walk around the resort at night is lovely. There are alway rabbits and ducks for the kids to feed (you aren't supposed to do it but we alway do) and the squirrils are alway around also. We have seen an owl, an eagle, otters and a bobcat around the resort. The bobcat was swimming across the river. He just wanted to get away from the area.

[ohiotoolman]

I have stayed at Swan, Dolphin, and CBR. My oldest kid was 2 when he went to Disney - I was there for business at Dolphin and Swan, and we moved to CBR when my wife and him flew down (it was significantly cheaper at the time since that was going on my budget).

This June we opted for the Dolphin. Moneywise, I could actually get a cheper room at the Dolphin (with wife's teacher discount) than moving to a moderate. However, I opted to upgrade to Concierge level for a bit more.

The CBR is nice, but it is moderate as far as dining choices (not many other than food court). The pools, playgrounds, amenities, etc. are all very nice and my son loved it. My wife and I did too - but it felt more like a "motel" than a "hotel" with outside entrances to rooms, etc. It feels much smaller than the Dolphin does.

However, he also loved the pool and plygrounds at Dolphin, the location is fabulous, walking the boardwalk, miniature golf, boat to Epcot, etc. He loves elevators (what kid doesn't think that is a ride on its own) and generally there is just more to do around the Dolphin than the CBR.

I would say the Swan and Dolphin are nicer hotels than CBR, but CBR is not bad at all. Your kid will love either - it's the mom's who you want to be happy and I think the Dolphin/Swan are nicer overall.

[mattomouseman]

on our first rip to WDW we stayed at the CBR and my kids loved it (They were 4 and 2 at the time). They loved the pirate theme of trhe main pool and the pirate themed stuff (tee shirt sand beach towels) in the shops. We have stayed at CBR, Wl, CSR and our next trip in August we will be staying athe Poly. My goal is to stay at as many of the resorts as we can! So far my personal favorite is the WL. However I will say this, if I knew then what I know now and I could afford it I would have stayed at either the WL, Contemporary or the Poly with they real young kids only because of the easy access to the MK. From WL it is a short boat ride and from the Poly or Contemporary it is a short jaunt on the monorail! In any event you'll have a blast! :)

[Minnie Mommie]

I would choose either the CBR or POFQ. The CBR is a bigger resortwith a lot of bus stops, the POFQ is smaller and the bus stopped there first before going to the POR.I think an 8 year old girl would like both!! I have 2 girls, and they enjoyed them as well!!I hope this helps. If you have any more questions,let me know!!

Minnie Mommie

[Amneris]

go with what the photographs tell you. if the photos of All Stars look good to you and your child, then stay there. if not, then don't. all of the hotels have pools and childrens activities and themeing. it's all a personal preference what you consider to be good or the right kind of theming and the atmosphere you want and the same goes for your daughter. Unless this is a surprise trip, I'd suggest looking at the pictures on the websites and reading the descriptions in Birnbaums and the unoffical guide with your daughter and make it a family decision. Brinbaum has a wonderful comparasion chart that lists children's activities, pools, themeing, and amenities between the different resorts. even if you just open to this page at the Disney store it is worth checking out. (the official Disney website has a chart like this too, but I always find that more difficult to navigate) (I know that the delux Disney resorts have "clubs" for children -- activty groups you can leave them in for babysitting for a few hours while the parents go to dinner etc. I'm pretty sure this isn't available at All Stars. I imagine it is at the Dolphin, but am not sure.)