what's easier w/ kids: PO w/o car or Radisson w/ car??

[fa mulan]

Hi, It's my first post and our first trip (DH and 2 DD's - 7 & 3) to WWD! I've been planning & reading, and am estatic to have a AP rate for PO-R in Feb for $79. But I've been reading about how spread out PO-R is. So I started thinking of switching to PO-FQ. And then I started wondering....(here's the question!!):

Would it be better w/ a 3 & 7 y.o. to stay on property (either PO-R or FQ) w/ no car and wait 15 minutes for buses, plus walk long distances to the busstops, OR should we stay at Radisson w/ a car & ability to get to the parks in 15 minutes. (Budget-wise, they seem the same b/c the price of the car would be made up by the kids-eat-free deal there).

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Deb & Bill]

It will take you more than 15 minutes to get to the parks from the Radisson. More like 30 minutes, plus add the time to park the car. There is only one bus stop at PO-FQ and all the buildings are close to it. Get Bldg 5 - close to the pool, near the food court, not that far from the bus stop. Your kids will love staying on site. The Radisson is very ordinary. Plus when you drive to MK, you still have to park in the lot, ride the shuttle to the TTC and then get on a monorail or boat over to the MK.

 

[travelitis]

We stay 2 mi. away from the parks and found the travel time from our timeshare to the parks to be less than some of the WDW transportation between the parks. It didn't take us close to 30 min. to get to the parks.

I would go for plan C - on-site with a car

The Radisson is nothing special, and PO is a much better value for the money. Even if the car ended up being a bit more, it would give you the option of off-site eating or running to a grocery store for snacks. I'd keep looking for a good rate on the car even staying on-site

If you absolutely won't consider plan C, then I'd still say on-site.

 

[Gupsmom]

Up until the last year I have never stayed onsite. This yr we decided we wanted to try it. I will never stay offsite again...esp not with young kids.

In the past we felt that we had no choice but to stay in the parks until we dropped. Leaving and coming back was far too hard. Onsite, the bus service was great. We took breaks everyday and got far more enjoyment out of our resort. Also, offsite we never park hopped.. Onsite, after our break we took a bus to a different park.

I found the bus service to be very good and we were there at the busiest time of yr. At the end of a day it was nice to all be able to rest and let someone else drive us back to our resort.

Jess

 

[riggins]

We had always stayed off-site until our visit in April . . . never again will we stay off-site. We drive down, so we have a car anyway, but on our last trip, we only used it once (went shopping off-site). Like others have said, it always took us at least 30 minutes to get to the park driving. WDW transportation is so much easier. You can easily go back to your room during the day for a swim/nap/rest break. With the time it takes to get to your car and back to your off-site hotel, that really isn't an option- especially at MK (it can easily take 15 minutes to get from the park to your car!!). With kids, the time off is crucial to having a nice vacation.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[susy]

I would switch to FQ and request bldg5, like the other poster suggested. I assume you are going in value season, since you got the value season rate. It shouldn't be crowded. We have gone 5 times this past year (sixth time tomorrow!) with our 4 year old and taking breaks is a must for us. I mean, you wouldn't drag your kids around a mall or any other place(no matter how interesting) for 12 hrs, would you?

Also, if your kids are early risers, I would take advantage of the Magic Mornings, where onsite guests get in the parks an hour early (8am). It will give you lots of park time, then you can go to your resort, relax and return refreshed in the evening.
The schedule is:

MK- Thur and Sun
AK- Fri and Mon
MGM- Tues and SAt
Epcot-Wed


You may want to rent (or bring) a double stroller for the kids (also a good place for your stuff). All that walking over many days will wear their little legs out. You only pay once per day, even if you park hop.


Have a great time!!!!!!!

 

[tmfranlk]

I would agree with staying onsite. As for the walking to the busstops, will you have or rent a stoller? If so, then it shouldn't be too much of a problem. The past two years, my trips have been my now 6yo sister and me. I rented a stroller for her at the parks. By the end of the day, she was plenty rested to walk to the bus stops and then back to the room. She was tired, of course, but not too worn out to make it back to the hotel.

Personally, I don't like to drive to the parks, but that's just me. I did it one trip this summer because I had a free hotel room and I just wasn't as happy getting in the car after a long day and driving off property to my hotel. It just didn't feel right.

Whatever you decide, have a great time!!!

 

[JenniferW]

Another vote for on site particularly since price works out to be similar!

Jenn

 

[fa mulan]

Thanks for all of your helpful advice - I really, really appreciate it! I was able to switch to PO-FQ today, bldg. 5.

It's hard to plan when there are so many choices available! Yes, we are there during value season (just squeaked in the week before), and we will bring an umbrella stroller (I think my almost 7yo is too big for that stroller, but of course she will waaaaaant it! ) so we may rent a 2d. My DH can still carry her on his shoulders to the bus stops too, though at 50 lbs & growing as I type I don't know how long that will last. And I am checking for codes regularly to try to get a deal on a car rental, b/c I agree it would be nice to have it available for a possible trip to Universal or an outlet!

Thank you again. I love this site!

 

[Deb & Bill]

I don't know what view you got for Bldg 5, but we paid for water view (at my husband's insistance) and could have had the courtyard view for $20-30/night less and seen as much. Don't spend extra money on the water view.

 

[fa mulan]

Thanks Deb&Bill. I opted for the standard room, and requested a 2d floor corner, but I wonder if corner rooms have double beds? The CM didn't know....

 

[cboudre1]

I took my DS to the FQ when he was 5 and it was great. The pool is a good size for that age, with a smaller water slide. Even though we were in one of the farthest buildings from the bus stop it was not a long walk. The FQ is a great hotel for small children.

We had a corner room that had 2 double beds at FQ