Young children grow and change so quickly that it seems like each DVC trip with my two-year-old son is quite a different experience from the one before. From having different likes and dislikes to hitting different developmental milestones, no stage has felt exactly the same. If you have an upcoming trip with a little one, here are some of my son’s favorite activities from our recent 4-resort split stay (BoardWalk, Polynesian, Grand Floridian, and Bay Lake Tower).
BoardWalk: Running Around the Village Green
Lucky for me, my son seems to enjoy my favorite resort, the BoardWalk Villas. His favorite part of staying there was playing on the Village Green. It’s a great spot for little ones to let out some energy! Whether it was running around, playing soccer (we brought his soccer ball from home), trying to make new friends with other little kids, or playing tag with Mama and Papa, he had a blast. We never made it to Movies Under the Stars at the Village Green, but that would have been right up his alley too.
Polynesian: Splashing Around Moana’s Voyage
With the Polynesian now having 3 pools and 2 splash pads, it’s a great resort for a pool day. Among all the options at the Polynesian, my son’s favorite was Moana’s Voyage, the new splash pad at the Island Tower. While smaller and simpler than the splash pad by the Lava Pool (the resort’s feature pool), Moana’s Voyage was less crowded and more approachable for my son. Moana’s Voyage had fun water features but nothing intense that would dump a ton of water on him (e.g., the Mad Hatter’s hat at the Grand Floridian splash pad).
Like many other kids, my son also loved playing around the Polynesian’s beaches, whether he was walking around in the sand or trying to play volleyball.
Bay Lake Tower: Playing at the Community Hall
Just like the refurbished Bay Lake Tower villas, the Bay Lake Tower community hall also got a nice refurbishment. The refreshed room has new furniture and decor that reflects the Joey Chou art that appears in the rooms and Contemporary lobby. My son spent a good portion of an afternoon just hanging out at the community hall. He colored a Winnie the Pooh and Piglet coloring page, and played with the Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head and toy cars from the community hall’s small collection of toys. He had so much fun that he initially didn’t want to leave to head out for the Magic Kingdom!
Grand Floridian: Playing with Lobby Board Games
The quieter DVC building at the Grand Floridian lacks a community hall. However, we were pleasantly surprised to find a few board games, such as chess, checkers, Jenga, and backgammon. Plus, there were some crayons near the kids’ waiting area. My son had fun playing with the Jenga blocks and trying to get to know the different chess pieces. (Honestly, it was starting to resemble the Bluey “Chess” episode.) It was a nice way to unwind at the end of the day before heading back to our room for the night.
At Any DVC Resort
Balcony Time
Before DVC, I never really cared about having a balcony in my hotel room, but now it’s one of my favorite parts of the Deluxe Studios, and my son enjoys them too. In the mornings, he would perch himself on one of the balcony chairs and happily eat some cereal while people watching.
At night, the balcony made for a nice private fireworks viewing area. We don’t typically stay out late enough to see fireworks in the theme parks, and my son is still a bit scared of the loud noise. Nevertheless, he was very interested in watching Luminous from our BoardWalk balcony. He watched in his pjs and was able to go to bed right after the fireworks ended.
Hey Disney and TV Bedtime Stories
My son is a big Pixar Cars fan and was excited to discover that Mater had a story to tell on the Hey Disney device, and the TVs had a condensed version of Cars 3 as a bedtime story from the on demand menu.
We would set up the Murphy bed for him, create a little pillow fort, and he would be content to watch a bedtime story or two before bed. It’s worth noting that Bay Lake Tower was the only resort throughout our split stay that didn’t offer the on-demand stories. Bay Lake Tower’s TVs have yet to be upgraded to the newer system.
All in all, sometimes it was the little things at the resorts that made my son happiest!
Fellow parents, what are some of your kids’ favorite activities among the DVC resorts? Let us know in the comments below.
