Best Disney Hotel?

@lainie  Out of the value resorts at WDW, I believe only the Pop Century has a dedicated bus line to each park.  For instance, at All Star Music, the bus will pick you up for each park, but it will stop at other value resorts before going to the final destination.  At the Pop Century, it goes directly to each park.  I would check this, but I believe it is the case.  We stayed one night at Pop Century, and were not happy with it.  It had two queen beds, but the one bed was almost out the door.  That said, it was very well priced and it is on property. I am not really a good judge of the room, to be honest, because we were so pissed at what Disney has become, that we slept there one night, and just went directly back to Universal in the morning - we didn't even go to a park!   

But I digress.  I think Disney, with pre-planning a must, would be ideal for the little guys.  perfect for three year olds.  If they stay onsite, I think they can load magic bands for fast passes up to three months in advance (which I would recommend), and can make dining reservations up to six or more months in advance.  

So, all in all, after blabbering  I think the kids would enjoy the value resorts.  The pools looked like fun.  We stayed at the All Star Sports many years ago, and we thought the room was fine then.  That was before we despised, were disenchanted with Disney   

Forgot to mention, we stayed at a moderate hotel there once, Port Orleans, Riverside, and we were very happy with that room.  More space, double sinks separated from main room by curtain and separate toilet/shower area.  Quite good, actually.  But more moolah

I don't think staying at Universal and commuting to Disney is best idea with small kids. Plus won't get the perks of Disney on site.

Maybe not for kids, but DHPLover maybe able to help with on site perks

Hello my name is Kelly (spell check tried to change that to Jelly FFS!) and I love Disney.

I've only ever stayed in three Disney hotels. When I was 9 & 10 I stayed in the Polynesian which was the dog's bollocks but I don't remember much. Too expensive though and not worth it with wee ones.

I stayed at Riverside once at Dixie Landings (I think that's what it was called) with my sister and the kids. Very kid friendly. The rooms were a decent size and it had a boat ride to Downtown Disney.

Now I stay in the Swan which is not a Disney hotel but is on their property. The location is the best in Disney for convienience but they're all stupidly expensive around that area.

From my experience Riverside would be the best with nippers. As for perks you get a Magic Band each, you book Fastpasses 30 days before the general riffraff, if you buy you tickets at the same time you get free dining plan which helps with food costs plus free Memory Maker. I think you can book restaurants 180 days beforehand regardless if you're staying on site. Character breakfasts as also good for kids. However the buses can be a nightmare. The bus I go on picks up at the Dolphin and the Boardwalk so can get rammed. Thankfully it comes to us first so we can usually get a seat on the way out. On the way back is a different story but I always stand anyway because no matter how tired I am I can't let someone with a sleeping babe in arms stand.

Cheers Kelly. Ive said to them that I think their best bet is a Villa. Theres going to be My brother, his Mrs, her sister and her hubby and wee one, her mother and her partner and probably her aunt and uncle. I think the Villa option will be much cheaper for them, but none of em fancy driving so they want to stay in a hotel.

First, we've never stayed on Disney...only visited T-Rex and the Lego store in 2012 when boys were nearly 3 and 6.

Second, they really don't want to drive around @lainie? Especially with that size crew coming, renting a mini van might be the most affordable option in all honesty when you factor per person fares and onsite meals, etc. and that getting out the door with that many people and the child is an effort in itself in order to meet schedules as such. I guess if they never plan to leave Disney during the visit, onsite might be more convenient but less costly???

My cousin only stays at Port Orleans. She has a 10 yr old now but went when she was younger too. A friend traveled with two little ones and stayed in the Little Mermaid suites but said it was so far from the transportation options and drink refill, etc., that she was done in by the time she got to whichever park they were going to.

We have stayed in Kissimmee at Oakwater, and in Davenport at Bahama Bay and Tuscana Resorts. Always three bedrooms so that if need be, boys can have their own rooms. That enables us to put them to bed at normal times and have our usual breakfasts and healthy suppers/snacks plus well rested kids the next day (and enjoy our own beverages on the patios facing lakes once they r in bed.) It also allows us to take a down day in between parks to enjoy pools, playgrounds, splash pads, resort pool bars, lizard chasing, snake sighting, and bird/gator searches. Bahama Bay even has a sandy section so u can pretend you're at a beach. We've never paid more than USD$100/night, all taxes, cleaning fees, deposits, etc included. The owner of the condos we've used at BB & Oakwater, also has two 3bdrm detached houses with plunge pools in another community that she's offered us before at the same price. We just prefer the resorts so that we have the bigger pools and opportunities to meet others. In BB, she has two side x side, so your family and friends could potentially have 6 bedrooms for $200/night; seems like they'd need at least 3 hotel rooms to fit everyone; 4 without sharing. Oakwater is really close to the Animal Kingdom gate, less than 5 mins drive I think, and is closer to UOR than BB with its own pool table and games room downstairs. That resort even has its own theatre as does Tuscana (or maybe it was just Tuscana; can't quite remember.)
Something to consider...especially if they like to escape the noise of the parks at says' end...i am still trying to convince hubby to stay at Sapphire Falls at some point so i dont have to cook during vacation but I would need a very good price to make that feasible I think. We may consider staying at Disney (maybe Coronado Springs) once the boys are old enough to venture out on their own for a bit and come back to the hotel. For now, we have enjoyed staying offsite and renting a car so that we can drive to Tampa or Kennedy Space Center or UOR or Legoland on our time. Fun trip either way.