[moneysaver3]

What is the best resort to stay at for easy transportation with young children? There will be 2 families traveling together staying at the same resort. We would like a resort that would allow us to go quickly from place to place without much waiting (if that is possible).

We'll be going in Sept. 2009.

Thanks,

Amy

[cinderbella]

If money is no object I would recommend a monorail resort such as Poly, GF or Contemporary.
However, most of us do WDW on a budget and can't swing that! Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wildrness Campground has boat access to the Magic Kingdom which is nice.
And then there are the resorts which are within walking distance to Epcot and a boat ride away from MGM..they are Beach Club, Yacht Club, Swan, Dolphin and Boardwalk.
Other than that the values and the moderates and the rest of the deluxe all have bus transportation to and from all the parks. Some of the resorts have better luck with the buses than others but they are all pretty much equal and are the best method of transportation to get around the resort.

[cinderbella]

And welcome to Mousebuzz!!! Ask as many questions as you want because we LOVE talking about Disney!

[mickeysgirlz]

Sept is a low crowd time of year so that's a plus!

I would rent a car . . . this way you can come and go on your own schedule!

'cept for the resorts Bella said, you'll have to wait to use Disney Transportation! And even at these resorts sometimes the monorail line is VERY LONG!

HS, Epcot and AK you can drive, park and walk to the front gate

MK you still have to park your car and then take a monorail to the park

Some may disagree . . . but I prefer having my own car over the Disney transportation (even though it is top notch!) cuz I can come and go on my own schedule!

[mickeysgirlz]

PS. Welcome to MB!!

[DayDreamer]

Without a doubt the monorail resorts make getting around very easy. As Bella mentioned the resorts around Epcot as well because you can walk right into Epcot. You can get around quickly from all of the resorts if you rent a car; that always saves a lot of time. Disney transportation is fine but the buses can easy take 20 minutes or more to arrive and may be some what full when they do which would not be the best when you have a large family.

[moneysaver3]

Thank you for the quick replies. I probably should have clarified a little. We ARE on a budget...at least enough of one that a monorail resort is out of the question. LOL We are looking at a moderate. Will consider Beach Club, Yacht Club, etc.

We also have access to DVC points through a family member should we choose to go that way...HOWEVER, that leaves us paying for the Disney Dining Plan. So even though she'd sell us the points for $5/each (the benefit of being family), I'm not sure how much we'd save overall after we paid for dining or food if we didn't go with the dining plan.

And we will have a car...two actually. Both families will be driving to Disney...one from Michigan (that would be me) and one from New York (my SIL's family).

We also will have the ability to take the "regulation" coolers into Disney as both families have kids with allergies. I don't know if that affects transportation any, but we will have that with us as well. We'll also have a stroller for a baby (with a baby LOL) which is where we hope to keep the coolers.

Amy

[BuzzLightyear]

Hi and welcome.

As far as the moderates I understand that Coronado Springs has very good bus transportation to the parks. They don't share busses with other resorts so it is quicker and easier to get back and forth.
I don't have actual expierence with this yet as we are staying at CSR for the first time this August.

[b1wife]

Originally Posted by moneysaver3

Thank you for the quick replies. I probably should have clarified a little. We ARE on a budget...at least enough of one that a monorail resort is out of the question. LOL We are looking at a moderate. Will consider Beach Club, Yacht Club, etc.

We also have access to DVC points through a family member should we choose to go that way...HOWEVER, that leaves us paying for the Disney Dining Plan. So even though she'd sell us the points for $5/each (the benefit of being family), I'm not sure how much we'd save overall after we paid for dining or food if we didn't go with the dining plan.

Amy

If you are going in September, you can also hope that the Disney Dining Plan (DDP) will be free at that time, like it has been the last two years. If you stay DVC, you can always plan to make some meals in the room, and with a car, you can do your own grocery shopping once you arrive rather than paying to have groceries delivered. And, don't worry, a monorail resort is WAY out of our budget, too! That's why we bought DVC!

[cinderbella]

Originally Posted by moneysaver3

Thank you for the quick replies. I probably should have clarified a little. We ARE on a budget...at least enough of one that a monorail resort is out of the question. LOL We are looking at a moderate. Will consider Beach Club, Yacht Club, etc.

We also have access to DVC points through a family member should we choose to go that way...HOWEVER, that leaves us paying for the Disney Dining Plan. So even though she'd sell us the points for $5/each (the benefit of being family), I'm not sure how much we'd save overall after we paid for dining or food if we didn't go with the dining plan.

And we will have a car...two actually. Both families will be driving to Disney...one from Michigan (that would be me) and one from New York (my SIL's family).

We also will have the ability to take the "regulation" coolers into Disney as both families have kids with allergies. I don't know if that affects transportation any, but we will have that with us as well. We'll also have a stroller for a baby (with a baby LOL) which is where we hope to keep the coolers.

Amy

I know BC and BWV will probably be pretty expensive and if you have the opportunity to rent points for five bucks a point and you stay for a week at Beach Club that would only be about $500 for a studio. In my opinion that would be a better option than the free dining. BC for a week in Sept. would be $2000 for a room only. You can add on the dining package to that, you would have to pay for it but I would not pass up $5 a point!

Strollers seem pretty easy to get on and off the buses as long as they are folded up and ready to go. I'd recommend buying a small cheap stroller before you come or renting one once you arrive. If you do that bus transport will be a breeze. If not, I'd consider driving to all the parks except MK. Driving to MK can be a nightmare.

[moneysaver3]

Originally Posted by cinderbella

I know BC and BWV will probably be pretty expensive and if you have the opportunity to rent points for five bucks a point and you stay for a week at Beach Club that would only be about $500 for a studio. In my opinion that would be a better option than the free dining. BC for a week in Sept. would be $2000 for a room only. You can add on the dining package to that, you would have to pay for it but I would not pass up $5 a point!

Driving to MK can be a nightmare.

Thanks for the driving advice. We'll make sure if we do drive at all to avoid MK. If we do rent DVC points from my aunt, it will be for a 2 bedroom villa. That's the only way we could stay at Beach Club. Otherwise, we'd be staying at a moderate based on prices.

However, if we stay at a villa, then some of the "cheaper" nicer resorts (you know what I mean) would be open to us as well...but only the villas not the resorts themselves. Does that make sense? I always try to be clear as mud.

Amy

[Elmo]

I guess it depends on where you all are looking to visit, but we've had good luck with the Beach Club (or anything in the Epcot resort area).

You can walk to two of the parks, get buses to the other two, or take boat to Disney Studios, or walk to Epcot and take monorail to MK.

[missymouse]

Welcome to Mousebuzz!!

I think transportation is a matter of opinion. We drive from North Carolina, and we rarely, if ever, move our car once we are at our resort. We have stayed at values the last few years and have not had any issues with the buses. I do have to say that the last trip we took in September was probably the best one ever because there were not big crowds. We also have young children and have taken our own stroller the last 5 trips. The first year we took a regular size single stroller, and that was kind of a pain on the buses because it doesn't fold down small enough. We bought a Combi stroller the next year because it was fairly cheap, but had a decent mesh basket on the bottom to hold some junk and it folds down nicely. It also has a carrying strap. That works very well for us, but I always tell anyone who asks me about how to do Disney that I think it's all a matter of what works for your family. Keep asking questions on MB and you'll have a plan that will work for you in no time!

[smee57]

Originally Posted by BuzzLightyear

Hi and welcome.

As far as the moderates I understand that Coronado Springs has very good bus transportation to the parks. They don't share busses with other resorts so it is quicker and easier to get back and forth.
I don't have actual expierence with this yet as we are staying at CSR for the first time this August.

The resort is big but there are four bus stops strategically placed around the resort so you're never far away from a bus stop. It was very convenient. And I don't recall any of our trips to/from theme parks being long at all.

BTW, welcome to Mousebuzz!

[tonyksl]

You may want to consider the Hilton at Downtown Disney. Their transportation is excellent to the parks. Plus it is moderately priced and you get the full use of Extra Magic Hours. It is all bus, but, the bus is dedicated to only three resorts which are right next to each other near Downtown Disney. It is the first resort the buses pick up and the first ones dropped off, so crowds for the bus are not a problem. They run every 30 minutes and have back up buses in case they can't make the time. They pick up and drop off at Epcot, MGM and Animal Kingdom. They do use the Ticket and Transportation Center for the Magic Kingdom, so the family will get to ride the monorail as well.