Asmu-family suite or fw-cabin

[LeahA]

2-ADULTS
3-KIDS
Have not stayed at either resort

Same Price

Any thoughts or suggestions on these 2 resorts?

 

[Jasperann]

Okay I've stayed at both resorts... I have not stayed in a cabin but I have stayed in a family suite.

We LOVED the feel of FW, very relaxing. It was amazing, the boat ride in the morning to MK was a nice way to start the day. I think if we got a chance I would pick the cabins. My hubby would feel differently, because you have to take a bus to the pool at FW and they have no QS. You have to walk to your bus stop from your cabin and then you have to walk again to get to the boat if you are going to MK. The walk from the bus to the boat is about the length from the front of ASMu to the back of ASMu. (It might be longer.) My hubby would pick ASMu because we were right at the pool and QS was a very short walk away. There is a lot more walking at FW.

My kids loved both pools, they did not miss the slide at ASMu at all. We did enjoy the two bathrooms at ASMu. I know you only get one at the cabins, but you get a full kitchen, which would be awesome if you wanted to cook.

 

[jennab]

We stayed at the cabins (4 adults and 1 child) and it worked out well. We didn't rent a golf cart so used the internal busses. We never waited more than a few minutes for one but DH hated having to switch busses (with a stroller a little more of a pain). There are quick service options. A walk up counter at the main restaurant and one by the pool I believe (we never made it to the pools). There were lots of activities there. We didn't get to try any (DS was only 1) but if he was older would have been fun. It was also nice to have a deck to hang out on!

I have not stayed in a family suite but we did pick the cabins over AOA but we had mostly adults…. It was nice being only a boat ride from MK and CR if we wanted to hop the monorail for fun

 

[LeahA]

Thanks for all your information. I guess, I really need to think if all the walking would be too much. We would cook some food in the kitchen but not every meal. I don't care so much about the food court. Decisions...Decisions....

 

[SA mom]

I know the family suites have 2 bathrooms, what about the cabins? That would be a big factor for us.

 

[sharadoc]

We've stayed in both, they both have pluses and minuses. Here's my review from 2009:

http://www.www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2272883

Nothing beats the privacy of a cabin. You'll NEVER hear a toilet flush, feet running outside your door or over your head, babies crying or people yelling through the walls. Plus the trees, wildlife, just the peacefulness of it all is just SO relaxing at a cabin. The cabin pool area is small but wonderful - surrounded by large mature trees, plus a hot tub.

 

[LeahA]

We've stayed in both, they both have pluses and minuses. Here's my review from 2009:

http://www.www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2272883

Nothing beats the privacy of a cabin. You'll NEVER hear a toilet flush, feet running outside your door or over your head, babies crying or people yelling through the walls. Plus the trees, wildlife, just the peacefulness of it all is just SO relaxing at a cabin. The cabin pool area is small but wonderful - surrounded by large mature trees, plus a hot tub.

Thank you for the great review, I just read it. Not sure what were going to do, we might rent points at a DVC, that would be more money though. We miss our DVC, had to sell last year!

 

[gorkt]

I have done both and I vote for the cabins hands down. Much more relaxing.

 

[veraletta]

I love the cabins... So another vote for Fort Wilderness Cabins...

 

[maxiesmom]

I vote for the Family Suite because of the second bathroom. And the easier transportation. Waiting for one bus is bad enough, having to wait for 2 to get where you want to go would be worse.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

2-ADULTS
3-KIDS
Have not stayed at either resort

Same Price

Any thoughts or suggestions on these 2 resorts?

We just came back from our 2nd stay at the cabins (actually last dec) and they are nothing like they used to be. Maybe it was an off week. The housekeeping was ok but they left us 1 bottle of shampoo the first cleaning and every day after we had to call for more. The once loved trails end seemed to close at different times everyday and the 10 locking of the soda machine was always closed by 9...good thing our mugs were free. We rented a golf cart but the transportation out of FW was triple the time it was in 2007. That being said... Of you are looking to have a relaxing vacation FW is pretty good. If your family wants to be on the go go go I would pick AS Music.

 

[LeahA]

We just came back from our 2nd stay at the cabins (actually last dec) and they are nothing like they used to be. Maybe it was an off week. The housekeeping was ok but they left us 1 bottle of shampoo the first cleaning and every day after we had to call for more. The once loved trails end seemed to close at different times everyday and the 10 locking of the soda machine was always closed by 9...good thing our mugs were free. We rented a golf cart but the transportation out of FW was triple the time it was in 2007. That being said... Of you are looking to have a relaxing vacation FW is pretty good. If your family wants to be on the go go go I would pick AS Music.

We are pretty much on the go. We like to come back, swim, get ready for dinner and then were off again. We usually watch a little t.v. right before bed, but, really we don't spend all day in our room!

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

We are pretty much on the go. We like to come back, swim, get ready for dinner and then were off again. We usually watch a little t.v. right before bed, but, really we don't spend all day in our room!

The cabins are definitely not the most convenient of resorts. We stayed there in 2007 and loved it.( But then again it was our first time to WDW so they could have stuck us a van down by the river and we would have been happy.) Anyway we decided to try something else in 2009. We stayed at the Poly. Loved the transportation and all the conveniences but just didn't feel like "home". So in 2012 we decided to go back "home". It wasn't very magical. Most of the CMs were beyond fabulous but some were just plain rude. Maybe I just missed the many conveniences of the Poly. During this last trip we made an effort to visit other resorts to 'shop' for our next trip. We fell head over heels in love with The Beach Club and (maybe because of the cost) really discovered an interest in The Swan and Dolphin.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

Also to add...I don't know how old your kids are but there are 2 other cons to FW. First we went with 4 females and 1 bathroom...you picture how the morning went. Also my kidddos loved the freedom of going down to Captin Cook's and refilling their mugs or getting their own food (heck I loved that too). These are things that are not possible at FW.

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

I have considered staying at FW Cabins and actually had them booked briefly last fall for a trip I ended up cancelling. At the time, with FD, they were a better deal (slightly) than the AOA suites because even thought he rack rate is higher, the cost of upgrading to regular DDP evened out. I was really torn about them. However, we don't rent a car and would rely on Disney transportation, so the need to either walk really far to get to the bus or transfer from one bus to another bus or boat was a big negative. While I really do like Disney transportation and rely on public transportation at home, I know that transferring can add significantly to commute time. Plus, I prefer having 2 bathrooms if possible. For those reasons, I decided that the value family suite made more sense. Also square footage-wise the value suites are slightly larger. The main pluses of the cabin are the kitchen (but I won't cook "real" meals on vacation so the microwave is sufficient) and the porch. Neither plus was big enough to sway me.

 

[tmanaster]

I've stayed at both. If you are eating all of your meals in the parks/resorts or on a dining plan I would say Family Suite for the extra bathroom. If you're going to want to prepare meals do the cabins.

They both are fun places to stay!

 

[lovesdumbo]

Have stayed at both and would pick ASMu suite where you'll get a queen bed in the bedroom. I also liked that the bedroom had a desk. Cabins are nice and quiet but transportation is annoying.

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

We have stayed in a family suite at ASMu twice and really liked the set up. It has a separate bedroom for mom and dad and 3 different sleepers in the living room so nobody has to share a bed. (we had 2 adults and 3 kids) It has 2 bathrooms which was invaluable at night when it was bath time for 5 ppl. It had the little kitchenette with a fridge, microwave, sink and cabinets for storage.

ASMu does have a food court where you can go fill your mugs or get a hot fudge sundae at night and there is a Ping Pong table down by the pool that my kids love. My kids, although they are tweens and teens still like watching the movie out by the pool every night.

With the way you have to walk a long way and take a bunch of buses to get around inside FtW I wouldn't stay there if it was free. But some ppl love it.

At the cabins aren't the mom and dads bed in the same room with the kid's bunk beds?

That doesn't work for us. The kids like to sleep with the TV on and DH and I have to have it very dark and very quiet (no TV) to go to sleep so we need two different rooms to sleep in.

Even the smallest sleeper in the family suite was still big enough for my 12 year old. It has a couch sleeper, a chair sleeper and an ottoman sleeper. The ottoman sleeper was the smallest but it is about the size of an army cot but it has a mattress on it. My 13 yr old slept in the chair sleeper and our 14 yr old slept on the couch sleeper (which is big enough for 2 ppl)

We used the food court every morning to have a hot breakfast for everybody. We eat 3 meals a day at home so we continued to do the same on vacation.

Now on our first family trip and first stay in the family suite we had gone to Walmart (we do every trip) and bought some breakfast items and about half of the days we had a pastry or other bfast item in the room and the other half the days we went to the food court and had breakfast. The second family trip we still went to Walmart for drinks and snacks but we skipped the bfast items and just ate in the food court every morning.

We had free dining both trips so the only food we had to pay for were those breakfasts.

I don't know how much the cabins are but you can stay in a family suite for around $230 a night in the off season.

 

[sunsetbeachgal]

Another big plus for the family suites is that they are located in the buildings closest to the lobby, and very close to the bus stop (there is only one bus stop). For us with little ones in tow, this was huge. The suites are great and the two full bathrooms was great. We used the kitchen for a nice quiet breakfast in the morning while getting ready. Our extended family is all about "easy" when we travel, and the family suites fit the bill!!

 

[LeahA]

WOW! Thanks for all the information. The family suites seem to have more room and be more efficient. Are the rooms run down or are they looking o.k.?