Choosing a Walt Disney World hotel can already feel like a major part of planning a vacation. For families traveling with babies, toddlers, or preschoolers, though, that decision can come down to something much more practical than the pool, room theme, or restaurants.Transportation matters.That could make an upcoming Disney Skyliner closure especially important for parents planning a January 2027 trip.Credit: DisneyThe Disney Skyliner will temporarily close from January 24 through January 30, 2027, for annual maintenance. The gondola system normally connects EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios with Disney’s Pop Century Resort, Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, and Disney’s Riviera Resort.Disney will provide complimentary bus transportation while the Skyliner is unavailable.On paper, that sounds like a fairly simple replacement. Guests still have a way to reach the parks, and the closure only lasts seven days.For parents traveling with young children, however, a bus and the Skyliner aren’t always interchangeable.The difference can become especially noticeable when a stroller enters the picture.The Skyliner Can Make a Disney Vacation Much Easier With KidsDisney’s Pop Century Resort and Disney’s Art of Animation Resort are especially attractive options for families. Both are value resorts, Art of Animation offers heavily themed areas that appeal to young children, and both provide access to the Skyliner station they share.Caribbean Beach and Riviera also give guests Skyliner access, making the gondola system a major transportation advantage across several different price points.Credit: zannaland, FlickrThat convenience becomes even more valuable when parents are traveling with smaller children.A family leaving its room in the morning may already be carrying a diaper bag, snacks, water bottles, cups, sunscreen, ponchos, extra clothes, and everything else that seems to accumulate during a Disney World vacation. Add a stroller and one or two tired children, and simply getting from the hotel to a theme park can become an event of its own.That’s where the Skyliner can make a big difference.Depending on the stroller’s size and configuration, many families can roll a stroller directly into a Skyliner gondola without folding it. Single strollers and many tandem double strollers, where one child sits in front of the other, can be much easier to manage this way.Wide side-by-side double strollers may need to be folded before boarding.For a family whose stroller can remain open, that is a huge convenience.Instead of taking a child out, emptying loose items, collapsing the stroller, and carrying everything aboard, parents can have a much smoother transition from the resort to transportation.That might sound like a small perk before having children. Parents who have actually navigated Disney World with toddlers know it can feel anything but small.Disney Buses Create Another Challenge for Stroller FamiliesWhen the Skyliner closes in January, Disney’s buses become much more important for guests at these resorts.And buses can change the morning routine considerably.Strollers generally need to be folded before boarding Disney buses. That means parents can’t simply roll their child aboard the way they may be accustomed to doing with a stroller that fits properly inside a Skyliner cabin.Imagine arriving at the bus stop with two children, a stroller, and several bags.Credit: Ed Aguila, Inside the MagicNow the children need to come out of the stroller. Anything that prevents the stroller from folding needs to come out as well. Someone has to collapse it, carry it onto the bus, and keep control of everything else.Meanwhile, one parent may be holding a toddler while also trying to manage a diaper bag and drinks. If another child is tired, upset, or simply doesn’t want to stand still, the situation gets harder.Then the family gets to do it all again after reaching the park.It becomes particularly exhausting at the end of a long Disney day. A child who happily walked onto a bus at 8 a.m. may be asleep in the stroller at 9 p.m. Folding that stroller could mean waking the child, holding them for the entire bus ride, and simultaneously keeping track of everything the family accumulated during the day.The Skyliner doesn’t eliminate every challenge of visiting Disney World with small children, but for families with compatible strollers, it can remove one particularly annoying step.Some Families May Look at Different HotelsThat’s why the January closure could influence where some families decide to stay.Pop Century, Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, and Riviera will temporarily lose one of their biggest transportation perks during the closure.If a family specifically picked one of those hotels because of the Skyliner, paying for that resort during a week when the gondolas aren’t operating may suddenly feel less appealing.Credit: Kelly C., Inside the MagicThat doesn’t mean these hotels become bad choices.There are plenty of reasons to stay at each one beyond transportation. However, parents should consider what they’re actually paying for and how they expect to move around Disney World each day.A family with older children might barely care about the difference. Everyone can get on the bus, find a seat or stand, and head to the park.A family with a baby, a three-year-old, a double stroller, two bags, and a week’s worth of toddler vacation necessities may see things very differently.For those guests, transportation can become part of the resort’s value.A Different Resort Could Make More Sense That WeekFamilies traveling January 24-30 may want to compare Skyliner resorts with hotels offering transportation that better fits their plans during the closure.For example, guests primarily visiting Magic Kingdom might place greater value on staying somewhere with convenient access to that park. Other families may prefer a resort with boat transportation or a hotel that puts them within walking distance of one of their most frequently visited parks.The EPCOT Resort Area is another interesting possibility for families spending significant time at EPCOT or Hollywood Studios.Disney’s BoardWalk Inn, Disney’s Yacht Club Resort, and Disney’s Beach Club Resort sit within walking distance of the International Gateway area. These resorts also have their existing transportation options, including buses and boats connecting the EPCOT Resort Area with EPCOT and Hollywood Studios.Of course, changing hotels isn’t automatically the right move. Price differences can be significant, and transportation is only one part of choosing a Disney resort.But it is worth considering before booking.Seven Days Can Make a Big Difference With Small ChildrenA one-week transportation closure probably won’t ruin anyone’s Disney World vacation.Still, parents shouldn’t dismiss the impact simply because Disney provides replacement buses.Transportation works differently when you’re responsible for little kids.The Skyliner’s appeal isn’t only that it gets guests from Point A to Point B. For many parents, the real benefit is how simple that journey can be. Walk to the station, roll aboard with a compatible stroller, sit down, and head toward the parks.Remove that option, and suddenly there are more steps.Take the children out. Grab the bags. Remove the cups. Fold the stroller. Carry the stroller. Carry the child. Board the bus. Find somewhere to sit or stand. Get everything off. Reopen the stroller. Put everything back.Credit: Jeremy Thompson, FlickrNone of those tasks is particularly difficult on its own.Doing them repeatedly while navigating Disney World with young children is another story.That’s why families planning a January 2027 vacation shouldn’t look at the Skyliner closure as simply a transportation note buried in Disney’s refurbishment calendar. If the Skyliner was one of the main reasons they planned to book Pop Century, Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, or Riviera, the closure could change the equation.Parents already have their hands full at Disney World. For families accustomed to rolling a single or tandem stroller straight onto the Skyliner, losing that convenience and relying on buses could add another frustrating task to every park day.Seven days isn’t a long closure.But if those seven days happen to be the exact seven days of your Disney World vacation, especially with a stroller and a couple of little ones in tow, choosing a different resort may suddenly be worth considering.The post Families With Young Kids May Want To Avoid These Disney World Resorts for 7 Days appeared first on Inside the Magic.