[Cathyde]

We are planning our trip to Disney for late Sept. 2003 (it's my first time back since 1975!!) for my family (me, DH, our two daughters 9 and 7, and our son, age 4.)

Our son is autistic, so we have some unique considerations. I do know of a great program run by Disney for autistic kids, and I'm eternally grateful for that and will take advantage!!

We are currently trying to decide which hotel to stay at. At first we were pretty set on POR, simply because a room can sleep five, so getting a second room isn't necessary. But then we started to consider the Contemporary (where I stayed when I went to WDW in 1971!!) because of greater ease in and out of the park. I just don't know exactly how much he'll be able to input before he needs a break away from the magic, so time is a pretty major factor in our decision.

It looks like there would be a price difference of almost $100 a night between the two. Is the convenience of the monorail really worth the extra $$? Are the buses from POR timely enough to get us back and forth easily if my son has a meltdown??

I need opinions/advice to help us decide. Thanks so much for your help!!


Cathy
Disney bound in 2003!!

[trishb]

Hi and Welcome!

Sounds like you are excited about your upcoming trip. You will find travel time between the parks and resorts is a great concern to many people in this forum. I'm sure you will get some terrific answers.

Will you be driving to WDW?

[mickey]

Cathy

Welcome to DisneyCentral. I think as an alternative, you might want to consider the Polynesian. The cheaper rooms at the Contemporary are not as nice as they should be, and almost everyone who stays there will never do so again. All of the rooms at the Polynesian are very nice, and the resort cannot be beat.

Of course at the monorail resorts you will only have great access when you are at the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT, and the other two parks you will have to rely on bus just like at the moderates. Typically, it takes about 30 minutes to get from park to resort via bus, though that time can be less depending upon when the bus comes and how many resorts you stop at before your resort.

Also, there should be some discounts for September released here in the next couple of months. That can easily make up the difference right there.

[Michael Darling]

Hey, Kathy! Welcome to Disneycentral!

Just for housekeeping purposes (and catergorical reasons) I'm going to zip this thread on over to the "Resorts" forum since it's pertaining directly to advice on which resort to stay at.

[Cathyde]

Originally posted by trishb
Hi and Welcome!

Sounds like you are excited about your upcoming trip. You will find travel time between the parks and resorts is a great concern to many people in this forum. I'm sure you will get some terrific answers.

Will you be driving to WDW?

No we'll be flying down from Pennsylvania. I don't think we would survive that long a trip in the car!!

Cathy

[Cinderellafifi]

Cathy, welcome! I am going to second Mickey's advice to you and recommend the Polynesian. It certainly sounds like being on the monorail line will be the best bet for you and you could save quite a bit of money. As you know, you can always pop over to the Contemporary for a visit any time you want!

Remember that MGM Studios and Animal Kingdom are not accessible by monorail and the buses to Animal Kingdom are usually very packed.

What other plans do you have?

:)

[graybill]

Cathy,

In Oct 2001 we went to WDW with our nephew who is autistic and his mom and dad. He was 5 at the time and had a wonderful time. He went back again last fall and remembered so much from the previous year you would have thought he had been raised there. I can offer a few observations from our trip.

We stayed at Old Key West and had a 2 bedroom villa. The big plus was the fact that it is very quiet and relaxing after all the excitement and, at times, overstimulation of the parks. We requested and were given a villa very close to the main pool and hospitality center with easy access to the all the facilities because of the situation. Also, we were able to eat a lot of meals at the villa because of the full kitchen. This helped a great deal because he has a very limited diet.

Transportation to all the parks is by bus from OKW and we never had much of a wait. He had no problems with the bus trips but they are not as convenient as the monorail.

We received special passes from guest servces for access to all the attractions, which was extremely helpful. He liked the parades very much but some of the live shows were very loud and we did leave early once or twice. We had a character dinner at the Crystal Palace with the Winnie the Pooh characters and he loved them. He only ate a bagel that we brought in for him, but the chef did come to our table and offer to prepare something special for him if needed.

Overall, it was a very positive experience for all of us. There were a few difficult moments but we learned from them for the next trip and they were nothing major. He loves to go through his pictures and gets very excited whenever we talk about anything to do with WDW. He will be going back often.

This is just a quick overview of the trip, but if you have any more specific questions, I'll do my best to answer them.

graybill

[Cathyde]

We hadn't thought of looking at a villa...and it sounds like the staff were very helpful in meeting your nephew's needs.

I'll be looking into that resort. Oh, no!! Another one to consider!! LOL!! Just joking!!

It's also good to know that he handled the park and all its excitement well.

Thanks for your input...and your offer of additional advice. I just might take you up on that!!

Cathy

Originally posted by graybill
Cathy,

In Oct 2001 we went to WDW with our nephew who is autistic and his mom and dad. He was 5 at the time and had a wonderful time. He went back again last fall and remembered so much from the previous year you would have thought he had been raised there. I can offer a few observations from our trip.

We stayed at Old Key West and had a 2 bedroom villa. The big plus was the fact that it is very quiet and relaxing after all the excitement and, at times, overstimulation of the parks. We requested and were given a villa very close to the main pool and hospitality center with easy access to the all the facilities because of the situation. Also, we were able to eat a lot of meals at the villa because of the full kitchen. This helped a great deal because he has a very limited diet.

Transportation to all the parks is by bus from OKW and we never had much of a wait. He had no problems with the bus trips but they are not as convenient as the monorail.

We received special passes from guest servces for access to all the attractions, which was extremely helpful. He liked the parades very much but some of the live shows were very loud and we did leave early once or twice. We had a character dinner at the Crystal Palace with the Winnie the Pooh characters and he loved them. He only ate a bagel that we brought in for him, but the chef did come to our table and offer to prepare something special for him if needed.

Overall, it was a very positive experience for all of us. There were a few difficult moments but we learned from them for the next trip and they were nothing major. He loves to go through his pictures and gets very excited whenever we talk about anything to do with WDW. He will be going back often.

This is just a quick overview of the trip, but if you have any more specific questions, I'll do my best to answer them.

graybill

:

[graybill]

Cathy

I didn't mean to add to the questions and choices that you already have, but I guess its always best to explore all of your options and you do have some time before the trip.
There are 1 & 2 bedroom villas at the Boardwalk and Beach Club but they are set up more like hotels and also located in very busy areas(great locations but not as relaxing and quiet as OKW). There are also villas at Wilderness Lodge which is a more quiet location, but still set up like a hotel. There are cabins at Fort Wilderness, but I don't have any experience there.

At OKW everything just seemed much more private because of the way the property is designed: smaller buildings which are spread out over a much larger area. The room sizes are the largest of the villas, which can be important when there are 5 people.

We chose a villa because of the full kitchen as I mentioned earlier but there was another factor as well. My nephew has a bedtime routine that is very important to him and having a separate bedroom makes it easier to adhere to the routine and also allows everyone else to continue the rest of the evening activities without disturbing him. He also loves videos, especially Disney ones, and the villas all had VCR's. Watching videos always has a calming effect on him after a busy and exciting day.

The villa worked out extremely well for us and I just wanted to let you the know the advantages that we found.

graybill

[Jessibelle]

OKW has become our new favorite place to stay, because it feels more like you are at home instead of in a hotel. It is very peaceful, each room has a porch overlooking the water, and it has all of the ammenities, as Graybill mentioned, that you could or would desire. Having the extra rooms is a blessing with little kids because you don't have to tip toe around after they go to bed, you can sit in the living room and unwind as if you were at home. Plus there is a huge jacuzzi tub that could fit a family of 4! ;) A lot of fun after a day of running. We put on our suits and "swam" in the tub and had a great time.

Have fun planning and have a great trip! :)