We just got back from spending spring break in Florida, and I have so much to share, including the kid-friendly hotel near Disney World where we stayed. We really went on the ultimate family getaway for little kids and it was so much fun (and so exhausting, but truly in the best way possible). Now as you probably have figured out if you’ve been here for a bit, I am a total planner, with a capital Type A all the way. I sometimes have to be reminded that everyone needs time to just chill or that the kids like just having free time to play without tons of scheduled activities and places to be. This is really hard for me as I have trouble sitting still, but it’s something I’m starting to learn, especially as we travel with young kids. In fact, when planing a vacation, I find this is the hardest balance to strike for me. As a parent of little kids, typically having a plan makes things a lot less stressful so I like to have activities and meals etc. mapped out when we travel. That helps me make sure I have everything we need packed and ready, we avoid hanger tantrums, get in the naps, etc. But some of traveling is blowing up the plans and schedules and giving into the fun and suffering the consequences later, right? Finding that balance when traveling with kids so shit doesn’t hit the fan and completely ruin your time but that you are also able to enjoy yourselves and aren’t beholden to a schedule so you can make special memories and let the kids push the boundaries a little is a tricky dance. I think I found a key to striking that balance and that’s picking a really family-friendly hotel to serve as your home base no matter where you’re going. For this trip, I really leaned into planning the ultimate kid-friendly trip, right down to the resort where we stayed. I wanted us to have some really special family-friendly activities but also ensure the place where we stayed offered enough for the kiddos to be happy and for us to be as well so that we could enjoy down time and not constantly feel like we had to be on the go, packing into a car to go see something or go somewhere. If you’re looking for a kid-friendly hotel near Disney World and Universal Studios (and all the other attractions in Orlando) that also offers plenty to do on site, we found the Grove Resort and Water Park is an incredibly family-friendly spot that kids of all ages will absolutely love.
We headed to Florida for spring break this year as I had a few meetings for work that were timed to the kids’ school vacation. While we were there, we decided to squeeze in a visit to Disney World and to check out Universal Studios, where the kids and I had never been. But theme parks with three little kids is a lot, so we wanted to have a kid-friendly hotel near Disney World and Universal Studios where we could chill and swim and break up the theme park days. The Grove Resort is near both Disney World and Universal Studios (and Sea World for those interested) and has shuttles that run to both parks daily. But it’s also a huge sprawling property that you could never leave and feel like you had a complete vacation. This kid-friendly property has its own water park (with bigger slides and smaller play areas for littler kids like mine, plus, a lazy river which was a huge hit with my kids), an arcade, mini golf, a kids’ center with crafts and activities, as well as multiple pools and places to eat. There are fun activities all around the property like ping pong tables outside the pool restaurant and bar (which was a great way to keep my kids busy while waiting for our food), a surf simulator where James learned to boogey board and kids and parents of all ages were having a blast learning to surf, as well as afternoon poolside activities like music and dancing and hoola hoop contests and snow cones. The staff couldn’t be nicer or more accommodating of the kiddos, and there are tons of families all hanging out and having fun, so you won’t feel like you’re ruining someone’s vacation with your splashing and screaming kids. With that said, there are areas where you can relax and not deal with other people’s splashing screaming kids, in case you can steal away or have older kids who don’t need to be supervised like mine.
We had our own private cabana for one of our pool days and it made a great home base. If you’re going with another family or want a place to hold all your stuff and relax from the sun, I recommend booking one, but you definitely don’t need one. We put Brooks down for his nap inside it, there was a TV so we could keep tabs on The Masters and give the kids a quick Paw Patrol break while they were eating their snow cones, they had tableside service and brought food to us right there so we didn’t have to go anywhere to eat, and it was a great home base for all the pool activities.
Our kids just love playing in a pool tbh, but when we got tired of throwing them around in the pool, we hit up the lazy river (a huge hit with our kids lol) and watched them run around the kids’ water park area, which they did for hours and couldn’t get enough of. We could sit on a chair and watch or take Brooks inside for a splash, so it was great afternoon activity. We spent multiple days at the pool and would go there after a long day at the theme parks — it was the perfect way to cool down and burn every last bit of energy (which my children seem to have endless amounts of). One of the pools also opens early and has a splash pad and lots for the kids, so that was great for us since our kids are up and at ’em early and we stopped by for an hour of swim before flying home, which was a great way to burn some energy before a long travel day.
The resort also has a little lake on site where you can take out kayaks or go for a boat ride or fish. We did a pontoon boat ride and it was a nice change of pace for us post-lunch and pre-naps. We didn’t have time but there’s a little dock area where we could have taken James fishing, which he would have loved and they even did a fishing contest one day.
There are multiple options for dining on site, which we also really appreciated. Almost every morning we had breakfast at the Valencia. It made things really easy for us to fuel everyone up for the day and they had great options like Mickey Mouse waffles for the kids and made-to-order omelettes for us. We also ate dinner at the Valencia a couple nights, which was a nicer setting but not too nice that we were embarrassed by our wild kids. We loved that you could sit outside for dinner too, which we always prefer to do when with the kiddos. Right next door to the restaurant is a bar and grill, where you can eat the same food in a more casual setting or grab some pre-dinner drinks. A couple of the days we stayed late playing at the pool and just ate at the pool restaurant, Longboard Bar and Grill, and a some days we did takeout from there and ate poolside right on our chairs, so the kids could just run around and grab bites in between. This actually proved to be one of our best tactics and for the kids, it was such a treat to be able to skip sitting down and getting dressed and cleaned up and to just run around and eat fries and chicken fingers at will. There’s also Alfresco Market near the lobby, where we picked up pizza and snacks a couple nights as well as muffins and coffee on the mornings we were rushing out to the theme parks. The market also has tons of snacks and things you can cook in your suite if you prefer. We stayed in really spacious three-bedroom suite and it had a kitchen and dining area. We didn’t do much cooking but totally could have and would have been easy to get stuff at the market to make for breakfasts and dinners etc.
There are tons of on site activities for kids and families that just make this the best place ever for little kids. The arcade and mini golf were favorites of James’ and a good way to keep him entertained and out of the room when his little siblings were napping. I also took him to the kids’ center one afternoon and he did a bunch of crafts, including a build-a-bear and they have toys for toddlers and babies there as well as movies and coloring. There’s a calendar of events on the website, so you can figure out the best ones for your kids during your stay. I also got to steal away for a spa treatment (poor Andy missed his massage because we got caught late at the water park) and it was exactly what I needed after lugging Brooks around Disney all day.
All in all, we had an amazing trip and found the Grove Resort and Water Park to be a great kid-friendly hotel near Disney World and Universarl Studios (the resort also offers a shuttle to both). It’s an excellent option if you want to do several theme parks in the area or are looking to do Disney but also have a home base that feels like an adventure itself. It’s a great off property Disney hotel option, especially with kids. We made so many great memories during our week in Florida and Andrew says he’ll be ready to go to another theme park in about ten years, lol.
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