Hello

[chief]

hi
us parents always do whats best for our kids, if that is waiting for your kids to be a little older that is ok.
if you take them as babies that is also ok.
whatever your choice will be the right choice for you, mostly because when you decide to do any trip you will plan and accommodate for your family.
just think of all the shopping you can fit on pushchairs and if you have to fly you will get loads of room as long as you request a sky cot lol
it will be fabulous,
we stayed in a villa in 2010 when my 2 ds were 11 and 8. we are going back to a villa this time [they are now 13 and 10]
although if you stay on site the travelling will be much easier to go back for nap etc.
sara

[cprej]

Hello, been a while. Little update. We now know we are trying to go in October. We switch which sister we are goin with (in-law now lol). As of now we have an offer to stay with my Nanny in her camper at the wilderness. This is by far our cheapest option, but it is not 100%. Soooooo we still in the hunt of for a second option. Would like to hear some more about staying off site. Windsor hil is a place we looking to stay anyone staye there before? My wife is getting super excited about the trip now. Thanks again for the info.

[Faythstar]

Hello, cprej!

We stayed offsite for our honeymoon in 2011. We stayed at a Holiday Inn (I think) that was in Orlando, honestly not far from WDW. It was our only option, as we were traveling on a budget (I'd just graduated college and my husband was working to support us and we were sort of struggling). It was much less expensive, and the hotel was pretty nice. They had a shuttle service that would take you to the parks everyday, but unless you got down to the lobby real early to wait for it, you couldn't always get a seat. Sometimes you couldn't anyway, because the shuttle service was shared with several hotels in the area. Also, coming back at the end of the day, very often the buses were packed and you had to stand all the way back to your hotel with your feet aching. That was honestly the only bad part about it for me. I have flat feet and not so great circulation, so that ride back at night was murder for me.

I don't really have anything else to add except that I hope everything goes smoothly for you planning your trip. I know how stressful it can be sometimes, trying to make things work. Also, what time in October are you looking to go? We're also planning to be there in October this year!

[Watchinherskip]

First off, welcome to the forum Cody. We have only stayed onsite, and that is part of the allure for our family. DD went first as a 6 year old. That was a perfect age. We travelled with my brother and his family with a toddler. It was a bit hectic but we all had a great time. I am sure you will figure it out. Again, thanks for joining the group.

[arkvilla]

Hi Cody and welcome to Secrets, it's a lovely, friendly forum.

We are unlike most as we have never stayed on site we like our own space and to do things at our own pace.

Something to consider if you stay off site is that you will need a car so you need to take that into account.

Florida is huge and there are so many things to do apart from theme parks but as your children are small then I think you'll probably spend lots of time at the parks on this trip.

Keep them in the shade and take lots of water with you when you are out and about and make sure you have strollers with you as they will need a nap.

Enjoy planning your trip, it's half the fun

Sandra

[Tink]

Nice to see the update.

It's really a matter of doing what you think best suits your family. If you stay offsite you'll want a precise plan to make sure everything goes smoothly and that's not always possible with little ones.

Onsite does make everything easier, but you are going to pay for convenience.

Staying in a camper at Ft. Wilderness sounds like great fun! They have so many nice things to do there, and a pretty decent buffet, too.

October is a very busy month for special things to do. The Food and Wine Festival is on at WDW, and there are several Halloween celebrations (Disney has the MNSSHP, and the other parks have special events too). Plus, the weather can be darn near perfect.

It's great that you are putting much thought into your visit, and planning but don't lose sight of the fact that you'll want some unstructured free time to be able to do those unplanned impromtu events that always pop up!

[Mari]

I think the downside to staying off site is the distance and time involved in travelling. It might seem ok in the morning, but having to wait for a bus that leaves at very specific times(assuming the hotel provides transportation) plus riding said bus for 20-30 minutes with two sleepy toddlers and tired parents will wear you out. We experienced that within Disney one nught we decided to go to DTD for dinner. Both girls fell asleep on the way back to the resort, so it was 2 sleeping kids, 2 strollers, 1 large diaper bag, 2 Dolls plus doll accesories, plus 2 bags with souvenirs.... Crazy!!!! And the bus ride was 10 minutes

Fort Wilderness is a great place to stay. It is huge, but it is a boat ride away from MK, and it has lots o entertainment in the resort.


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[Faythstar]

I think the downside to staying off site is the distance and time involved in travelling. It might seem ok in the morning, but having to wait for a bus that leaves at very specific times(assuming the hotel provides transportation) plus riding said bus for 20-30 minutes with two sleepy toddlers and tired parents will wear you out.

YES to the very specific times. We didn't get to see most of the nighttime shows the last time we were there because our bus left before them, and we had to get to the buses even earlier to have any hope at all of getting a seat on them at the end of the day, and often, we still didn't get a seat, which was miserable for us.

[cprej]

So after talking with the wife, we decided to go ahead and stay at fort wilderness. We can not wait and hopefully all goes as plan. I think I will start buying disney gift cards and hopefully have all my meals and some souvinears paid for before we get there. Thanks for all the info that was provided.