We just came back from a trip and stayed at the Polynesian with a 19 month and 2.5 yr old. Honestly, staying at a monorail resort is worth every penny. The best park for babies is MK. It is such a pain to fold up strollers for a bus. There is basically no line for the bus so the crowds just hover to get on the bus, while you fold your stroller. By the time time you are done you might not get on the bus bc everyone crowded on already. On days you go to HW or AK, just get the Minnie Lyft. The drivers are lovely. My kids did love the pirate splash pad. My 2.5 year old had pure joy on his face while playing there.
We always rent a car, because we go to different places that is not just Disney, but now we noticed is easier to just pay the uber for the one or two times we go outside of Disney to enjoy something vs the whole rental thing. Unless we were to stay off property then a rental is needed.
as someone who recently stayed in a 1bdrm at OKW , the room is HUGE!!!! 10/10 recommend! I stayed thered with my 2 year old (1 week shy of her 3rd bday) and it was perfect for her! she had a blast and loved the main pool, even went down the mickey slide, loved the pool games the cast members did and loved taking the boat to Disney Springs.
We always got out early and took a mid day break when our kids were toddlers. Agree with you it allows your child to nap, refresh themselves and enjoy the evening. Now my kids are teens/adults. We get to sleep late and stay out late!
When my kids were little like her age, they loved the simple pools like at Pop Century. They genuinely only wanted to be in the pool and they liked the shower flower features, but they really didn't want for more. We stay at Deluxe now with slides but little kids really have much simpler needs.
We put an Apple AirTag in our stroller to give us peace of mind! Also in our checked bags when flying 🤣 might be over the top, but helped us locate our stroller once at Disneyland when it got moved and we couldn’t find it and EVERYONE had the same stroller as us 🤣
Hi Bekah! I would absolutely love to see your family do a Dollywood/Gatlinburg trip. Also, musical venues in Nashville or cool restaurant trips and reviews in and around Nashville would be so fun! Please consider it😊👍😊
We drove very long road trips when my girls were little to visit family. I always saved most of the car activities and kept them with me. When boredom set in, I would give them a car surprise from the stash so they were getting something “new” at different points in the drive. J saved things for the trip home too. Then they didn’t blow through all the things in the first hour. I also did things you might not think of like bubbles in the car ( I blew them to them) and glow sticks when it turned dark!
If you're planning to expand your channel away from Disney a bit, I would definitely watch for more Tennessee travel content as well. We took our teens to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg and Nashville last year. Overall a fun trip but would love some other family-friendly ideas to consider for the next time we visit your state. 🤠😊
I'm so happy you're going to the Christmas party! My kids also didn't care for the splash pads at Wilderness Lodge or Grand Floridian, my daughter and I enjoyed the pool trivia instead.
The family suites are more like a studio really. The one bedroom at any DVC resort, especially OKW is HUGE compared. You do technically have a separate bedroom, but no real kitchen and the room feels pretty small. I also do not care one bit if my kids watch their tablets for 12 straight hours when we’re driving to Disney. Survival is the name of the game 😂
The OKW one bedroom is literally DOUBLE the square feet 🙌🏼😅 Yes please. And oh yes, the full kitchen compared to the kitchenette 👌🏼 Huge bonus. And 100% agree about the tablet 👏🏼
I think it depends on your budget and how big your family is. We have four kids and did fine in an All Star Music family suite, with a full refrigerator and two bathrooms. We would’ve needed a two bedroom DVC at minimum, so the full kitchen lost out to the price difference. However, I wasn’t brave enough to rent points on our first family trip so I 100% will consider that next time as our kids get older and bigger. OKW looked awesome!
We just had an almost 2-year old with us a few weeks ago. Mom & Dad managed to get her to nap for almost 4 hours, then we went to dinner at Grand Floridian and stayed for the 10pm-12am MK extended after-hours. Worked out nicely walking right onto everything. 👍 She did really well and might have lasted until 12:05am had we pushed it LOL (she was JUST starting to run out of gas there at midnight)
May seem random, but what car seat do you use? I know all kids are different but would love to try another option to see if my son would tolerate car seat longer/ another would be more comfortable.
As someone who did a split stay in an OKW 1-br and an AOA family suite over the course of a week with 3 adults and 2 kids (age 5 and 6) I would 100% choose OKW only next time. LOVED the Art of Animation theming but the room just felt soooo cramped and having only a kitchenette was more inconvenient than I thought it would be
When our girls were picky we would just tell them that as they grow up their taste bids change and different foods will become something they like. And then to just let us know if they want to check if that happened. I think they wanted to grow up so they would try things every now and then, and now the youngest will try anything. Oldest still sticks to what she knows she loves, but we halfway got the job done!! 😂 If they tried it and still didn’t like it we would just say ‘well, you’ve grown up some but your taste buds haven’t caught up with that food yet!’ Always the easiest when they saw my wife and I try each others food as an example. And we had to not let them try anything spicy or too hot.
I’ve stayed & reviewed alot of Disneyworld resorts. Saratoga Springs is a hidden gem. Very comparable to Old Key West in $$ but much better theming (it has port orleans riverside vibes) and boat transportation to DS. My personal top 3 though is, Polynesian, Grand Floridian, & Wilderness Lodge (specifically Boulder Ridge). Wonderful videos as always 👌
Saratoga is great! We’ve stayed there on a past trip ☺️ I prefer the theming at OKW 🙈 It’s totally personal preference! And love all of your top 3 resorts 🙌🏼✨
@@ScubaCat3 great point, it is very tough to beat for the amount of space they give you. For me, a big reason I pay the Disney premium to stay at their hotels is the theming, and the theming of old Key West just doesn’t speak to me personally.
@@BekahHart Glad you enjoy OKW! There is nothing worse than staying at a hotel you don’t enjoy for a trip you have been looking forward to for a long time.
People that try to do full days open to close to get the max ‘value’ out of a ticket will not make good memories for anyone. You can’t see everything so don’t try. Enjoy your time, relax and come back later to see more. People always ask us how we can do eight days at the parks without dying. And we just tell them ‘we do less in eight days than first timers do in three’. We have teens so we don’t make any before 1 pm for parks that close at 9 or 10, and 2 pm for any parks that close at 11 or 12. We usually get to the parks for the first time as people are going home. 😂
I think all screen time rules go out the window on travel days- it’s all about survival on travel days. Picky toddlers is frustrating, my son is the same but then I look around, he’s not used to eating around 100 people in an unfamiliar environment, eating so close to other people, food sometimes looks unfamiliar- nothing wrong with familiar sandwiches- I call it a “safety sandwich.”
We booked through dvc rental store in July and idk if it was just because it was a busy time of year or what…but my experience with them was HORRIBLE. It was the slowest process ever. It was at least 24 hrs between every single step of the process. By the time we would get to the end of the process the room we were discussing was gone. So we would have to start all over. It was a long process and I will probably not book with them again. Maybe it was just a busy time..but it was so bad I just can’t deal with the stress that goes with booking with them. Wondering if their process is always that slow? I mean I felt like there were about 5 steps to booking. It literally took me almost a week to secure a room with them. I have worked with David’s and dvc shop. They were both very quick to respond and it was a pretty easy process.
I’m so sorry!! I would say 24 hours between each communication is pretty standard. Because they are waiting on communication with an owner on their end, it can take some time to get responses. The process of renting points can be very slow 🤪 It’s definitely a sacrifice to save that 40-60%.
I don't mind the bus travel. Love all that space & covered bk porch. ❤😊 Old Key West our home since 1997. That bathroom & huge tub!
We put an airtag on our stroller to find it easily when it would be moved.
We just came back from a trip and stayed at the Polynesian with a 19 month and 2.5 yr old. Honestly, staying at a monorail resort is worth every penny. The best park for babies is MK. It is such a pain to fold up strollers for a bus. There is basically no line for the bus so the crowds just hover to get on the bus, while you fold your stroller. By the time time you are done you might not get on the bus bc everyone crowded on already. On days you go to HW or AK, just get the Minnie Lyft. The drivers are lovely.
My kids did love the pirate splash pad. My 2.5 year old had pure joy on his face while playing there.
We always rent a car, because we go to different places that is not just Disney, but now we noticed is easier to just pay the uber for the one or two times we go outside of Disney to enjoy something vs the whole rental thing.
Unless we were to stay off property then a rental is needed.
As a single father of Twins I really appreciate these tips you went real in depth and this’ll help a lot during my Christmas Trip. Thanks! 🤙🏼
I’m so glad! 🙌🏼
as someone who recently stayed in a 1bdrm at OKW , the room is HUGE!!!! 10/10 recommend! I stayed thered with my 2 year old (1 week shy of her 3rd bday) and it was perfect for her! she had a blast and loved the main pool, even went down the mickey slide, loved the pool games the cast members did and loved taking the boat to Disney Springs.
I have become obsessed with your channel lately. You could change your channel name to Disney with Hart! ❤
Aw thank you! Ahhh I LOVE that! ❤️
We always got out early and took a mid day break when our kids were toddlers. Agree with you it allows your child to nap, refresh themselves and enjoy the evening. Now my kids are teens/adults. We get to sleep late and stay out late!
Those mid day breaks are a must! 🙌🏼 We’ll probably continue them even when Ellie gets older 😅
Good morning Bekah happy Thursday morning and I loved your vlogs and you are amazing Supporter and I'm proud of you and I enjoy your channel
Thanks!
@@BekahHart your welcome
When my kids were little like her age, they loved the simple pools like at Pop Century. They genuinely only wanted to be in the pool and they liked the shower flower features, but they really didn't want for more. We stay at Deluxe now with slides but little kids really have much simpler needs.
Always enjoy the videos. Congrats on this being your full-time job!
We put an Apple AirTag in our stroller to give us peace of mind! Also in our checked bags when flying 🤣 might be over the top, but helped us locate our stroller once at Disneyland when it got moved and we couldn’t find it and EVERYONE had the same stroller as us 🤣
I know a lot of people love using air tags for peace for peace of mind! 🙌🏼 Great tip!
Picky eater mom
Here too. I have stopped buying food for her 😂😂 I do love the snack pack lunchables that Riviera has though!
Hi Bekah! I would absolutely love to see your family do a Dollywood/Gatlinburg trip. Also, musical venues in Nashville or cool restaurant trips and reviews in and around Nashville would be so fun! Please consider it😊👍😊
We drove very long road trips when my girls were little to visit family. I always saved most of the car activities and kept them with me. When boredom set in, I would give them a car surprise from the stash so they were getting something “new” at different points in the drive. J saved things for the trip home too. Then they didn’t blow through all the things in the first hour. I also did things you might not think of like bubbles in the car ( I blew them to them) and glow sticks when it turned dark!
So fun!! I’m thankful I have a preschooler who LOVES road trips 🙌🏼😅
If you're planning to expand your channel away from Disney a bit, I would definitely watch for more Tennessee travel content as well. We took our teens to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg and Nashville last year. Overall a fun trip but would love some other family-friendly ideas to consider for the next time we visit your state. 🤠😊
I'm so happy you're going to the Christmas party! My kids also didn't care for the splash pads at Wilderness Lodge or Grand Floridian, my daughter and I enjoyed the pool trivia instead.
The family suites are more like a studio really. The one bedroom at any DVC resort, especially OKW is HUGE compared. You do technically have a separate bedroom, but no real kitchen and the room feels pretty small. I also do not care one bit if my kids watch their tablets for 12 straight hours when we’re driving to Disney. Survival is the name of the game 😂
The OKW one bedroom is literally DOUBLE the square feet 🙌🏼😅 Yes please. And oh yes, the full kitchen compared to the kitchenette 👌🏼 Huge bonus. And 100% agree about the tablet 👏🏼
I think it depends on your budget and how big your family is. We have four kids and did fine in an All Star Music family suite, with a full refrigerator and two bathrooms. We would’ve needed a two bedroom DVC at minimum, so the full kitchen lost out to the price difference. However, I wasn’t brave enough to rent points on our first family trip so I 100% will consider that next time as our kids get older and bigger. OKW looked awesome!
We just had an almost 2-year old with us a few weeks ago. Mom & Dad managed to get her to nap for almost 4 hours, then we went to dinner at Grand Floridian and stayed for the 10pm-12am MK extended after-hours. Worked out nicely walking right onto everything. 👍 She did really well and might have lasted until 12:05am had we pushed it LOL (she was JUST starting to run out of gas there at midnight)
Question! What was the Mexican restaurant you ordered from? Thanks 😊
Great video, so much good information as usual!
Thank you!!!
May seem random, but what car seat do you use?
I know all kids are different but would love to try another option to see if my son would tolerate car seat longer/ another would be more comfortable.
Very curious what the stroller backpack situation looks like.
I’ll have to show this in a vlog on our next trip! 😍
Hi! How was the weather compared to August? I went in August and I totally underestimated the heat! Thanks!
We went the first week of September, so pretty close to August 😆 Still low 90s, but wayyy better the 103 heat index in July 🥵
As someone who did a split stay in an OKW 1-br and an AOA family suite over the course of a week with 3 adults and 2 kids (age 5 and 6) I would 100% choose OKW only next time. LOVED the Art of Animation theming but the room just felt soooo cramped and having only a kitchenette was more inconvenient than I thought it would be
When our girls were picky we would just tell them that as they grow up their taste bids change and different foods will become something they like. And then to just let us know if they want to check if that happened.
I think they wanted to grow up so they would try things every now and then, and now the youngest will try anything. Oldest still sticks to what she knows she loves, but we halfway got the job done!! 😂
If they tried it and still didn’t like it we would just say ‘well, you’ve grown up some but your taste buds haven’t caught up with that food yet!’
Always the easiest when they saw my wife and I try each others food as an example. And we had to not let them try anything spicy or too hot.
I’ve stayed & reviewed alot of Disneyworld resorts. Saratoga Springs is a hidden gem. Very comparable to Old Key West in $$ but much better theming (it has port orleans riverside vibes) and boat transportation to DS. My personal top 3 though is, Polynesian, Grand Floridian, & Wilderness Lodge (specifically Boulder Ridge). Wonderful videos as always 👌
At Old Key West the rooms are MUCH bigger than at all the others! They built them big before realizing they didn't have to lol
Saratoga is great! We’ve stayed there on a past trip ☺️ I prefer the theming at OKW 🙈 It’s totally personal preference! And love all of your top 3 resorts 🙌🏼✨
@@ScubaCat3 great point, it is very tough to beat for the amount of space they give you. For me, a big reason I pay the Disney premium to stay at their hotels is the theming, and the theming of old Key West just doesn’t speak to me personally.
@@BekahHart Glad you enjoy OKW! There is nothing worse than staying at a hotel you don’t enjoy for a trip you have been looking forward to for a long time.
People that try to do full days open to close to get the max ‘value’ out of a ticket will not make good memories for anyone. You can’t see everything so don’t try. Enjoy your time, relax and come back later to see more.
People always ask us how we can do eight days at the parks without dying. And we just tell them ‘we do less in eight days than first timers do in three’. We have teens so we don’t make any before 1 pm for parks that close at 9 or 10, and 2 pm for any parks that close at 11 or 12. We usually get to the parks for the first time as people are going home. 😂
We want to go every 3 months for 2-3 days.
Question, are you guys non residents of Florida? Do you have an Annual Pass?
We have out of state annual passes ☺️
I think all screen time rules go out the window on travel days- it’s all about survival on travel days. Picky toddlers is frustrating, my son is the same but then I look around, he’s not used to eating around 100 people in an unfamiliar environment, eating so close to other people, food sometimes looks unfamiliar- nothing wrong with familiar sandwiches- I call it a “safety sandwich.”
Put an AirTag on the stroller.
We booked through dvc rental store in July and idk if it was just because it was a busy time of year or what…but my experience with them was HORRIBLE. It was the slowest process ever. It was at least 24 hrs between every single step of the process. By the time we would get to the end of the process the room we were discussing was gone. So we would have to start all over. It was a long process and I will probably not book with them again. Maybe it was just a busy time..but it was so bad I just can’t deal with the stress that goes with booking with them. Wondering if their process is always that slow? I mean I felt like there were about 5 steps to booking. It literally took me almost a week to secure a room with them. I have worked with David’s and dvc shop. They were both very quick to respond and it was a pretty easy process.
I’m so sorry!! I would say 24 hours between each communication is pretty standard. Because they are waiting on communication with an owner on their end, it can take some time to get responses. The process of renting points can be very slow 🤪 It’s definitely a sacrifice to save that 40-60%.
What Mexican restaurant was it!?
do a dcv vid I'm still lost
Check out my DVC rental playlist! I have several videos that will help! 🙌🏼❤️
What Mexican restaurant did you have delivered?
Tacos My Guey! It had the most reviews, so we went with it haha. It turned out so good!!
Take what she eats. Smart move. 😊