OMG So many resort choices so little time!!

[saralexander97]

Okay I need some help from all you Disney Professionals

I am planning a trip for my family to the MOST MAGICAL PLACE ON EARTH for summer 2011!!!!! People involved are me , DH , DMIL DS will be 12, DS will be 8/9 depending on which part of summer we are going, DD will be 2.5, DN will be 5/6. So that will be 4 adults because DS 12 is considered an adult and 3 kids but DD 2.5 is under three so she is free excepct for the flight.

First order of buisness: HOTEL

Here are my choices
I want this trip to be magical for the little girls because it will be their first trip to Disney, I want to stay 9 nights and 10 days. Give your opinions please!!

• Animal Kingdom Villa 2 Bedroom
• Contemporary Bay Lake Tower Villa 2 Bedroom
• Wilderness Lodge Villa 2 Bedroom
• Port Orleans Riverside 2 rooms
• Swan or Dolphin 2 rooms

[CoachBagFanatic]

Originally Posted by saralexander97

Okay I need some help from all you Disney Professionals

I am planning a trip for my family to the MOST MAGICAL PLACE ON EARTH for summer 2011!!!!! People involved are me , DH , DMIL DS will be 12, DS will be 8/9 depending on which part of summer we are going, DD will be 2.5, DN will be 5/6. So that will be 4 adults because DS 12 is considered an adult and 3 kids but DD 2.5 is under three so she is free excepct for the flight.

First order of buisness: HOTEL

Here are my choices
I want this trip to be magical for the little girls because it will be their first trip to Disney, I want to stay 9 nights and 10 days. Give your opinions please!!

• Animal Kingdom Villa 2 Bedroom
• Contemporary Bay Lake Tower Villa 2 Bedroom
• Wilderness Lodge Villa 2 Bedroom
• Port Orleans Riverside 2 rooms
• Swan or Dolphin 2 rooms

Ok my question is are you going to be doing a dining plan? If so I don't think that you can do the dining plan if you are staying at the Swan or Dolphin as well as ME if you are going to do that as well. Since you want to make this magical for the little girls my choice would be to stay at a MK resort. Now depending on your budget, BLT would be a great choice. You can walk to MK and you also have the boat launch as well as the monorail which will allow you to transfer to the Epcot monorail as well. Traveling with little ones, you want to make it as easy as possible for you, DH and DMIL.

[saralexander97]

Yes we will be purchasing a dinning plan, I really want to have lots of character meals for the little ones. I am leaning towards the Contemporary BLT, I really want to do a MKV but am wondering if its worth the extra money. I totally agree that the close proximity to Epcot and MK will benefit me greatly with DD and DN. But AK looks so awesome, DS loves animals. I am soooooo torn!!!!! I keep teeter tottering between the two.

Whats a girl to do?

[Dawn68PA]

We stayed in a 2BR villa at AKL last year and I cannot say enough good things about it! There is nothing that compares to animals outside your room! The resort is beautiful, it has a zero-entry pool that is themed like a watering hole, the restaurants are delish and the staff is friendly and they have kid activities.

Good luck and let us know where you choose!

[rie'smom]

Originally Posted by saralexander97

Yes we will be purchasing a dinning plan, I really want to have lots of character meals for the little ones. I am leaning towards the Contemporary BLT, I really want to do a MKV but am wondering if its worth the extra money. I totally agree that the close proximity to Epcot and MK will benefit me greatly with DD and DN. But AK looks so awesome, DS loves animals. I am soooooo torn!!!!! I keep teeter tottering between the two.

Whats a girl to do?

You cannot get the dining plan at the Swan or Dolphin, so that's 1 off the list.

My friend who stayed at the AKL with a Savanah view room said she wasted her money. Unless you were up at the crack of dawn or spent tons of time waiting in the room, you won't see any animals.

We're staying at BLT with an MK view in April. Is this your family's first trip? If so, then I can't imagine a better place to stay than a resort with a Magic Kingdom view. You can even walk from BLT to the Magic Kingdom. Then with this being the girl's first trip, they'll love looking out of the window and seeing Cinderella's castle. BLT will also have a kitchen- great for snacks and a washer/dryer which means you don't have to pack as many clothes.

[Sleeping Becca]

Easy choice, BLT for MK proximity.

Wilderness Lodge is also a good choice.

[CoachBagFanatic]

Originally Posted by saralexander97

Yes we will be purchasing a dinning plan, I really want to have lots of character meals for the little ones. I am leaning towards the Contemporary BLT, I really want to do a MKV but am wondering if its worth the extra money. I totally agree that the close proximity to Epcot and MK will benefit me greatly with DD and DN. But AK looks so awesome, DS loves animals. I am soooooo torn!!!!! I keep teeter tottering between the two.

Whats a girl to do?

So now since you are doing the dining plan, the Swan and Dolphin are off the list.

Friends of our stayed at AKL and although they loved the resort, they rarely saw any animals unless they were up early. I know this is a hard decision and let us know how you make out.

[saralexander97]

What about the Wilderness Lodge, MK is just a short boat ride. Is it a good choice?

[CoachBagFanatic]

Originally Posted by saralexander97

What about the Wilderness Lodge, MK is just a short boat ride. Is it a good choice?

WL is a beautiful resort and I think it would be a great choice as well. Would be cheaper on the pocket book as well.

[saralexander97]

I knew you guys could totally help me :))
So Swan and Dolphin marked out, now I have it narrowed down to three choices. AKL, BLT, or WL now the vote is going to the family. DS 10 voted for BLT because it is close to Chef Mickeys. Looks like several of you suggest BLT and I looked at pics today. I will see what the others say and get back to you guys.

[4forMe]

We were at WDW last week in a 2 BR at Bay Lake Towers. I highly recommend the resort! My DH, who is not a disney fan, LOVED the resort. The king bed in the master bedroom is extremely comfortable. I loved the separate laundry room with laundry basket in the unit. We were going through 2 changes of clothes a day with a heat index of 100 degrees, so I really appreciated the nice laundry facilities. The 2 BR units also have 3 bathrooms! The kids loved the resort as well as the pool area. They also loved the pool area at the Contemporary which Bay Lake Tower guests are allowed to use.

The location is ideal for visiting Magic Kingdom. We used the walking path to and from the hotel - took 10 minutes to walk to MK. No waiting in line for the monorail which was nice, especially after leaving a crowded park at the end of the day. We did use the monorail to go to Epcot as well as dinners at the Polynesian and Grand Floridian.

Good luck in your decision and enjoy your trip!

[Dawn68PA]

I'm sorry to hear some people didn't have animals at AKL. We were there for 8 days and always had animals except one afternoon. We were there in November, maybe they're out more in cooler weather? It was in the 80s...

[saralexander97]

So I think the decision is made, it is going to be BLT. I think that I will get two Studios with MK view for our group and request the rooms be close. It will be cheaper than getting a Two-Bedroom Villa. I do not want to cook during vacation!!!!

[rie'smom]

Originally Posted by saralexander97

So I think the decision is made, it is going to be BLT. I think that I will get two Studios with MK view for our group and request the rooms be close. It will be cheaper than getting a Two-Bedroom Villa. I do not want to cook during vacation!!!!

Have a great trip!!!

[LoraJ]

Originally Posted by saralexander97

So I think the decision is made, it is going to be BLT. I think that I will get two Studios with MK view for our group and request the rooms be close. It will be cheaper than getting a Two-Bedroom Villa. I do not want to cook during vacation!!!!

We had a 1BR Villa at Beach Club last year and loved having the full kitchen even though we did not cook. Loved the full fridge. I did make my own breakfast a few mornings, yogurt and granola. It was nice having the bowls and sticking them in the dishwasher.

And the jacuzzi was a huge plus!!!

But I think the two studios will be good as well.

I think I will try and talk DH into BLT for our next trip, whenever that is. I've been impressed with the pictures and video that I have seen.