When my kids were toddlers, we loved visiting Walt Disney World. While that’s always a challenging time to vacation, Walt Disney World does make it so much easier.
This includes some family-friendly resorts. If you are visiting with young kids, here’s the best Disney World hotel for toddlers. We have four options in different price ranges.
When you visit Walt Disney World with toddlers, you’ll notice some benefits and amenities that can improve your stay. For instance, children under
three don’t have to pay for a theme park ticket or food at one of the character meals and/or buffets. You’ll also be able to access the baby care centers which are great places to change a diaper or feed a meal.
Restaurants at Walt Disney World (except Victoria and Albert’s, which is for guests 10 and up), are generally kid-friendly as well. There are some great kids’ menus with lots of options. All of the resorts offer restaurants and/or food courts with kid-friendly meals and snacks.
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The Best Disney World Hotel For Toddlers (4 Fantastic Options)
Walt Disney World offers three main categories of resorts – value, moderate, and deluxe. All of them have fantastic on-property benefits for guests that can make it appealing to stay there. These benefits include:
- Complimentary parking at your resort hotel and the theme parks
- Option to use MagicBands to charge purchases to your room and open your resort room door. These are no longer provided for free, however.
- Extended theme park hours for deluxe resort guests on select nights
- Access to the theme parks 30 minutes in advance
- Free transportation from your resort hotel to the parks (options vary by the resort but include buses, boats, monorail, and Skyliner)
- Magical themes that will make it feel like you are on vacation from the minute you walk through the doors
When reserving your Disney resort, it’s a good idea to purchase together with tickets in a vacation package. That’s the best way to save money and ensure everything is linked.
Disney’s Pop Century Resort
With the addition of the Skyliner, I now think Disney’s Pop Century Resort is the best affordable option for families. It’s in the value resort category, so it’s one of the most reasonably priced resorts on the property.
Guests at Pop Century will enjoy the newly renovated guest rooms. Options include standard rooms, standard pool rooms, and preferred rooms.
The biggest difference between these rooms is the location and view. In general, if you aren’t planning to spend too much time in the room, the view doesn’t matter.
For families, you’ll want to choose a room with two queen beds. One of these beds will fold up into the wall during the day and can be used as a table. I love this configuration because it gives you so much more room during the day.
Within the resort, you’ll find the main Hippy Dippy Pool, a computer-shaped pool, and a bowling pin pool. There’s a kiddie pool behind the Hippy Dippy Pool for your little ones. While all of the value resorts have pools, there are no water slides.
Activities are held at the resort as well, including Movies Under the Stars. There are also activities held around the campfire.
The main building at Pop Century Resort is Classic Hall. Within Classic Hall are the check-in area, a gift shop, and an arcade. This is also where you’ll find the Everything Pop food court, offering quick service food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The food court can get very busy, especially during peak times at breakfast. You’ll be able to use mobile ordering, which is a great way to save time. Order on the app and you won’t have to wait in line to order or to pay, saving time.
When it’s time to go to the parks, you’ll have several options. Buses can take you to Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom, while you can take the Disney Skyliner to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. The Skyliner station is located on the bridge between the Art of Animation and Pop Century, so you’ll have easy access throughout your vacation.
See reviews of Pop Century here.
Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
While I wanted to choose one resort from each category, I also wanted to include Disney’s Art of Animation on the list. It’s considered a value resort, although most of the buildings offer family suites. As a result of this, the pricing is a bit higher than a standard value resort.
Despite that, I think the Art of Animation can be considered one of the best Disney World hotels for toddlers. It’s got one of the best themes for kids and is bright and colorful. Young kids loved the themed rooms and colorful exteriors.
At Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, there are four different themed areas. The Cars, the Lion King, and Finding Nemo sections are themed for their respective movies and offer family suites. If you’d prefer a standard hotel room, you can find those in the Little Mermaid section.
The family suites can accommodate up to six guests in a main bedroom and a living space with a pulldown table/bed and a sleeper sofa. There is also a kitchenette and two bathrooms, making it perfect for a family.
Amenities at the resort include the Deep Blue Pool, a huge feature pool (the largest pool at a Walt Disney World resort hotel) themed for Finding Nemo. There are also several smaller hotels, including one in the Cars section and one in the Little Mermaid section.
Movies Under the Stars are held nightly at the Big Blue Pool. There’s also an arcade in the main building and Schoolyard Sprayground in the Nemo area for little kids.
The main building, like the one at Pop Century, includes a large gift shop and a food court. Again, mobile app ordering is recommended during busy times to save time in line.
When you want to visit the parks, you can either take the Skyliner or the buses. The buses go to the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, while the Skyliner goes to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and EPCOT. The Skyliner station is located a short walk away.
See more reviews here.
Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter
Another one of my favorite Disney hotels is Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter. While the French Quarter theme won’t necessarily resonate with a toddler, this resort is smaller than others and is so much more manageable.
Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter resort is one-half of the larger Port Orleans resort (along with Port Orleans Riverside). As a result, you’ll get access to all the amenities and activities on both sides.
When we stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter with my toddlers, we packed them into the stroller one day and walked over to Riverside for dinner at the food court and a change of scenery.
Within the French Quarter side, there’s a swimming pool with a waterslide. You’ll also be able to access the larger main pool area on Ol’ Man Island, which includes a kiddie pool, a water slide, and a fishing hole (catch and release only).
There are other activities including surrey bike rentals, regular bike rentals, Movies Under the Stars, and campfire activities. The Riverside section has an arcade in the main building, as well as a table service restaurant – Boatwright’s Dining Hall. There are two separate check-in areas for the two resorts and two separate food courts.
If you are planning to visit the theme parks, you will need to take a bus. There’s also a boat that goes to Disney Springs. Port Orleans French Quarter is a great choice for families.
See more reviews here.
Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
All of the Disney deluxe resorts are fantastic, with great themes, restaurants, and amenities. But when my kids were toddlers, we loved staying at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. This deluxe resort, located on the monorail loop, has a fun Polynesian theme, several great restaurants, beautiful views, and a convenient location.
The restaurants at the Polynesian include ‘Ohana (which offers a Lilo and Stitch-themed breakfast), Kona Cafe (the best breakfast in Walt Disney World), Pineapple Lanai, and Capt Cook’s. There are several bars as well.
If you want to spend some time at the resort, there are some great amenities to enjoy. These include the Lava Pool, which has a zero-entry pool and a water slide. There’s also the Oasis Pool.
Other amenities and activities include Movies Under the Stars, campfire activities, and much more. You’ll also be able to take advantage of the spa at the adjacent Grand Floridian.
Visiting the theme parks? You can take the monorail right to the Magic Kingdom, and buses to Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. In addition, you can walk to the Ticket and Transportation Center to get a monorail to EPCOT. It’s one of the most convenient locations at Walt Disney World.
See reviews here.
Other Options
While we’ve chosen the best Disney hotel for toddlers in each category, there are still other great resorts for families. Other favorites include Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, Disney’s Contemporary Resort, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge.
