Disney World resorts (Florida) - a few questions

[Novembergirl]

We are thinking of taking DS, who is three in January, to Disney World, Florida next Spring and would be interested to know if anyone has experience of taking a similar aged child. Whilst he will be too young for most rides, will he be old enough to appreciate the Magic Kingdom etc or should we wait a little longer?

We have been advised to go in Apri/May as the humidity is lower: would others agree?

Finally, we have decided to stay at a Disney World resort and have short listed Port Orleans, the World Swan and Dolphin (where I stayed before DS) and Disney's Yacht and Beach Club resorts. Fort Wilderness and the Wilderness Lodge also look good though

Does anyone have experience of staying at these resorts, ideally with a young child and, if so, what are the pros and cons: which ones do MNers prefer?

Apologies for all the questions, espcially as there are a number of Disney-related threads, but it would be really helpful to hear from other MNers who have feedback on the reseorts /taking a three year old.

alipiggie, do you have details of the 4 bed villa?

ta!

We went to Disney World in April this year with DD who was 3.11 and DS 11 months. DD loved it and asks every day to go back (literally!)

The height restrictions for alot of the rides was 40 inches (about 104cms) and DD was just tall enough. She was very brave and went on everything she was allowed to. However, we have annual passes at Chessington and she was used to the concept of rollercoasters etc. Some children actually found the "children's" rides more scary as most of them were in the dark with scenes to look at. My two loved them.

She absolutely loved all the parades and the childrens rides.

We went the last 2 weeks in April and the weather was really lovely. The queues were not bad at all and the FastPass worked really well for us. We only waited 15mins to see Mickey Mouse for example. There were a few American school groups in matching T-shirts for the first week we were there but to be honest they were all going the scary rides that DD and DS couldn't go on anyway so it didn't impact on us too much.

I think it depends on your DS. If he likes rides etc then I think he'll love it. If he is a bit more timid you may be better leaving it for a couple of years. I would suggest taking him to somewhere like Chessington to see how he copes with rides and get him used to the idea of queuing etc.

HTH!

Would 2nd brits guide to Orlando it was my bible when planning our holiday. They recommended a company called "Something Special" for villas and they were fantastic.

I preferred having our own house and pool because you really felt like you could relax after a long day at the parks.

We went to Disneyworld when DD was 2y4m and 4y2m, and to DLP a couple of times in between too. DD adores rides and she adored Disney. Couldn't get enough of it both times. We ended up in parks every single day, lol!

We stayed in a villa and drove in each time, and visited the Universal Parks, Seaworld and the space centre.

Was magical and looking forward to going again sometime soon.

There is loads for a three year old to do, esp in the Disney parks.

Marking my space for info

I've looked at YouTube vids for Disney hotels and one states that your hotel room number and check in details are sent to your phone in advance thus enabling you to gain access using a phone? I quite like the autonomy and lack of fuss of doing that. Has anyone experience of this?

My invoice from the travel agent states that my park tickets will be waiting for me at check in though - I was hoping to book fast pass rides on the app before then. How will this work if I can't get my tickets until I get to the hotel?

We’ve been a few times in may half term and I would advise against late May it’s always been so hot and humid. It means that you don’t get round to doing half the stuff you want to as the heat is draining. I’d go before the Easter holidays.
My kids absolutely loved the magic kingdom from toddler age, however we preferred Disneyland Paris at that time due to it being much more compact and walkable. In Disney world a lot of time is wasted on buses or waiting for buses. Plus if you get the Eurostar the journey is so quick and the station is at the entrance to the parks.

I took D's at 5, so a little older. If you are staying onsite next spring you should book now, while the free dining offer is still available. This makes staying onsite much more affordable, you essentially get a plan covering all food/drinks for the time you stay. Saved us 2k - we are going next February! Without that it's obviously a lot cheaper to stay off-site.

Onsite is great with small kids for the following reasons: if you have one child the resort pool provides loads of kids for them to play with. We typically did a park in the morning, lunch, then back to our resort pool for the afternoon. Out in evening with buggy for dinner and fireworks/show in another park. Another nice thing is the resorts do movies by the pool every evening, you can sit and chill out with a drink while your kid watches the movie or plays in the pool, they also do marshmallow roasts onsite mist evenings. There are lots of kids activities in most resorts, I don't think we ever did a full day in the parks!

I would pick wilderness lodge in a heartbeat, it's gorgeous. Port Orleans is great, have stayed there and the food court and pools are lovely, and you can get the boat to Disney springs for dinner in the evening. Swan and dolphin don't offer the free dining so wouldn't choose them, personally!

We have been many times and always stayed onsite, so if you have more questions, ask away!

We spent 2 weeks at Port Orleans French Quarter when youngest DD was 4.

She completely loved it there - it having a great pool with shade, being a smaller resort than most & having a good amount of choice in the food court made it an ideal choice for a younger child.

We have stayed at a number of Disney resorts since but it’s still our favourite (stayed there twice now)

Can you go feb/March? Parks will be quiet (but do check a calendar before you go to avoid events like Run Disney), weather will be nice but not boiling

If you can afford to stay onsite and get free dining plan then that’s probably a good idea with a little one