To those who have stayed with two young children

[Donz23]

Hi all thanks for the replies so far. I hadn't considered a split stay - it could be an option but I'm not sure about the idea of repacking and moving. When I arrive I like to properly unpack and 'settle' in. But will consider it.

Originally Posted by tigger48

OP have you considered a condo eg the 2 bed units at Grande Villas are huge (lake buena vista) or the Lake Buena Vista Resort & Spa?

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Yes I've done some quotes for places like that but I found that they were equivalent price to a villa so would rather do that as more space and private pool.

[amy56]

We first took our boys when they were 4 and 9 months, staying both in hotels onsite at Disney and universal, a Disney cruise and a villa.

That trip confirmed for us how much we preferred staying onsite and by our next trip we had bought into DVC.

My boys are now 15 and 12, and we’ve still remained happy all sharing a hotel room - I think we all secretly enjoy just being close and having that family time. Sleep was never a problem and still isn’t - we are all so tired after a day in the parks that regularly I am the first one to sleep out of all of us!

I totally get that room sharing is not for everyone, but I’ve always enjoyed it as family bonding time! It’s the closest I get to camping as I’m not the outdoorsy type! Lol!

[Guest]

have you costed a suite at the all star music resort? these are the cheapest & if you are booking when DDP is on, do cost this up then compare it to the cabins at fort wilderness, if there is a provider that is offering a good $$$ gift card booking incentive. if no DDP or too much for your budget then def a villa or a condo, do look for condos via eg. homeaway as you may find something that suits you well relatively close to the parks. particularly with an 11 month old you do need somewhere for at least 1 sleep deprived parent to go for some peace and quiet! I wouldn't rule out a split stay as its nice to have somewhere to just flop into where food is included when you first get there!

[Amybelle88]

I’m here now and I’m staying on a resort in a 2 bedroom condo, I viewed this as a happy medium between a villa and a hotel. My kids are 3 and 3 (11 months between them my daughter turned three on Thursday).

It is absolutely beautiful, has a water park, 3 pools, all the amenities of a hotel but our room has 2 bedrooms, the main being a massive suite with roll top bath, another family bathroom, full kitchen with all appliances and everything you could need, as well as TVs in all rooms, washer/dryer- I’m going home with no washing! If you want to look for reference it’s called Liki Tiki Village, just off the 192 - really close to Disney, with Animal Kingdom being the closest park. Close vicinity to everything you need. I liked the idea of still being on a staffed resort, and having lifeguards etc with the kids. I know there are a few similar properties as I’m just pricing up for a return trip in May, so maybe have a look at a hotel similar to this?

Kids have their own room and go to bed, leaving us with the living space, patio, our room with TV - it’s ideal.

Good luck!

[ely3857]

When our kids were very young we each shared a bed with one. The dark/quiet didn’t bother us as tbh, we were knackered anyway and as the kids would wake up early I didn’t mind going to sleep with them. The longer the holiday went on the later the nights became.

[ukitr]

Our DDs are 5 and 1 and last year did 1 stay at villa followed by 4 months later staying at all star sports. OH and I were surprised that we found it easier to stay onsite.

[BevS97]

We have shared a room with our girls since they were 1 and 7. We’ve never ever sat in the dark. I just wouldn’t do it. Generally we would all pile on the bed, lights low but not off and the tv on and they would just fall asleep as they were tired after a busy day.
We would love the baby to her cot once asleep.

[alkel2730]

Originally Posted by Hollie04

We have done 5 trips now with two young kids who are almost 3 and 5. I preferred a hotel room/studio when the younger one was a baby because it made it easier to keep an eye on her. We did a villa when she was 14 months and it was seriously stressful with her running around relocating stuff (coasters, dvds, a pool noodle twice the size of her!)

I have never felt crowded in a hotel room. We tend to go to sleep shortly after the kids because the days are exhausting.

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This is same as us op. I guess it depends on your preferences but we’ve been three times with our kids (now 3&5) and always stayed in one room as easy to watch the kids and ours have just flaked. We stayed in a 2 bed once as felt it was too big, we wanted to keep them closer to us.

ETA. Onsite that is too, I wouldn’t stay offsite with young kids. Again my preference but I like the disney cloud around us.

[arielrocks]

Originally Posted by Donz23

We are looking to travel when we will have an almost 3 year old and an 11 month old.

Can anyone who who has gone with similar ages advise on what they did for accommodation and how they found it?
We are looking at either on site Disney in a hotel room or renting a villa. I don't think we will be able to stretch to a 1 or 2 bed onsite at Disney so it will be a standard room.

This year we went with our DD who was 9 months old and we stayed in a studio at SSR. We had a great time and loved SSR. The only downside was, as she's quite a particular sleeper (needs a dark room and quiet) we found that when we put her to bed we were sat in the dark and couldn't even put the TV on without waking her!

So that's the reason we are wondering if a villa next time will be better for us, especially as we'll have another little one by then... but we did love staying onsite.

Anyway, would love to hear from anyone who has been with children of similar ages and where you stayed (hotel/villa) and how you found it/experiences.

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I’d either rent DVC points and get a one bed which will be much cheaper than booking with Disney. Or rent an apartment/villa offsite.

We have a similar issue and get round it by taking an iPad loaded with films and headphones. We also use a white noise bear in each bed/cot for the kids to drown out the background noise. So far so good.

I also hang a towel over the mesh panels of the travel cot until
I’m ready to go to sleep as that keeps it darker in there for them.