Attn DVC'ers with kids around 6 yrs old.

[Mickey's House2]

Hi;

I posted another thread on which resort to stay at but I wanted to ask any DVC'ers that have children around my two boys age (5 & 7) which resort their child likes best and why..
We are going first week of February so swimming may NOT be important depending on the weather..
THanks for any help!

 

[amandaC]

I have 2 boys ages almost 7 and 4 1/2. We have stayed at SSR, Poly, AKL, POFQ, CSR, and BCV.
Their least favorites were CSR and PO.
The others they love for different reasons. They like getting a 1 BR because it has a DVD player , more space, and a kitchen- can't beat that! SAB is great but you said swimming was not a consideration (although we were at SSR in Jan and went swimming a lot- pools are heated). DS7 loves B&C (and the kitchen sink!) so BCV is a big hit. The DVC resorts also have a community hall with activities that they enjoy. Poly was nice and the monorail is great if you will spend a lot of time at MK. We would just hop on the monorail to watch Spectromagic almost everynight after dinner!
AKL is also a favorite- esp. the savannah view. They loved trying to identify all the animals they saw outside our balcony.

I think it boils down to where you will be spending most of your time- if at MK I would stay at WL or Poly. If EPCOT or MGM, then one of the EPCOT resorts. If they love animals, do AKL. Any Disney resort will be great!
Amanda

 

[tom in ct.]

I'm sorry I'm having a brain freeze this morning SAB?

 

[disneydenisel]

SAB is short for Stormalong Bay, the meandering swimming area that is shared by the Beach Club and Yacht Club resorts (and Beach Club Villas). It is famous for having a sandy bottom area, among other things. We haven't seen it yet, but we will in November!

 

[Alexander]

I just asked DS (6) and he said, "Beach Club because of the pool." I asked what his second favorite was and he said, "Wilderness". We do spend a lot of time at the pools. If you will be spending alot of time at Magic Kingdom, VWL is a good choice. They also have the water pageant each night that you can see from the beach. The front desk can give you a list of hidden mickey's to look for around the lodge. You can also inquire about being the flag family one morning.

 

[debbiedoo]

Believe it or not my daughter who is six loves the ASM!! Her second is OKW. The OKW main pool was under construction when we were there in Oct. I think she liked the layout with the flowers and stuff. And since I am from FL she thinks that it is more of a home for me!! She is definitely a girl. I told her that OKW was designed after key west and showed her on a map.

She has stayed at ASM, CBR, SSR, OKW

I have stayed at :

GF
ASM
CBR
SSR
OKW
Poly

and after my next trip I can add VWL and BCV

My DD6 is looking forward to the pool at BC. I will post trip reports upon return

 

[crbalb]

My DD5 says her favorite is BCV because "it is our Disney home" and because of "the pool." That aside, I would also say BCV because of the boat ride to MGM and the quick walk to Epcot.

 

[crusoemom]

Favorite: AKL (the bunk beds, the good pool, and the many animals are reasons my kids will give to me). The bunk beds are far and away the main reason for this being at the top of the list. The bunk beds are not guaranteed, but we've visited twice and had bunk beds both times, even on one very late check-in night.

They also like BWV because of the pool slide. However, my 8yo didn't get on the slide until she was 6, so if your 5yo is a little timid, be aware that he has to be willing to slide alone.

We've stayed in the Contemporary and POFQ, but the oldest was only 4 at the time, and she didn't seem to have a preference. However, she was able and willing to slide on the pool slide at POFQ, unlike BWV a year later.

As you can tell, my kids base their hotel preferences mainly on the pool. Sorry if this doesn't help much.

 

[deanna2426]

My sons are 2 and 5. We have stayed at WL, Poly, ASMovies, Yacht Club, Boardwalk and CBR. While we loved most of the resorts we've been lucky enough to stay at (CBR is the only exception), we bought at BWV b/c it is by far our family's favorite resort.

The kid's love the pool, all the activity on The Boardwalk (you don't have to go the parks at night b/c there is so much to do), the short walks to Epcot and MGM (we often travel in the off season, so MK isn't open as late). We love to eat breakfast on the Boardwalk and people watch. In addition, there are great restaurant choices (we love Spoodles for breakfast and dinner, plus pizza window for a late snack. Flying Fish more upscale, but still very accomodating to the kids, ESPN is great for a casual meal, and even though the Ice Cream isn't as good as B&C, it is still great). It is great to browse in the gift shops!

The kids do love the beach at the Poly and the monorail (awesome acess to MK and Epcot) and we love 'Ohana and Kona Cafe. We did enjoy SAB at YC, but if you aren't going to be spending alot of time at the pool, it won't matter.

WL has a great atmosphere and pool. I love it there at Christmas time. The one thing I find as a big negative here is the transportation. I know many love the boat to MK, but we felt it was slow. I guess we just like being to walk to/from the parks without being stuck to the transportation schedule.

Our kids love ASMovies b/c of the huge Toy Story figures, but after awhile this wears off. We sometimes spend a night or two at the beginning of our vaction here so the kids can get there Toy Story fill, plus it's an inexpensive way to add a couple of nights to our vacation!!! Also, the food court and transportation are surprisingly good.

Kids weren't with us at CBR, but we didn't care for it at all! It was many years ago, but I remember not being too impressed with the transportation or food options.

We stayed at the Poly in GVC last trip and while we we can't say enough great things about it (CMs, Monorail, good food options, pool, beach), when we went to the BW for dinner, we were all homesick!!! It is just an unexplainable feeling we all get when we were are there!!! Can you tell how much we love it!!! I am counting the days to our first trip "home."

I really believe you will be happy no matter where you stay...it is Disney after all. But our vote is for the Boardwalk!!!

Have a great trip!!!

 

[NMW]

My older kids (8 & 6) like BC and BWI (have not stayed in the villas yet). Their reason: the pools and taking the boat into MGM and Epcot. They love that boat. Only my oldest really remembers the Poly, but it's great too!

 

[crisi]

Depends...

Just have to add one word about SAB....its a really cool pool if your children will be with you or are old enough to swim unsupervised. It is a nightmare if you need to stay with your five year old and your seven year old wanders off and disappears. It is deep - very deep in spots, there is little line of sight, it is huge, the pool slide is far away from the zero entry.

Personally, I think its a baby-5 year old and then around 11 to grownup pool. The 6-10 set (around there, depending on kid and parents) I would think carefully before swimming there.

 

[kweaver]

As long as there is a pool with a slide, they are happy.

I suppose now that we've spoiled them with DVC, they will always want a kitchen. Good thing Mom and Dad like to be spoiled too.

 

[kathleena]

My DGD9 would take BC/YC/BCV hands down any time of year because of the pool. My DGS7 likes the pool, but is afraid of the slide because of the enclosed tube. And since the pool he swims in this winter goes up to 9' deep and he can swim out to the 9' deep water he has recently proclaimed that he doesn't want to go in any water over 9' deep at SAB this March. kids are so funny. Just doesn't quite get it yet.

Second favorite of DGD and favorite of my DGS is BWV and the Clown Pool and the Community Center activities. They also love being able to take the boats to Epcot and MGM as opposed to always a bus. And they love the BoardWalk at night with all the activities and then watching the fireworks from the bridge.

DGD also loves AKL. She doesn't know she will either be there or at the Poly this summer for two nights before we go to BWV.

 

[JKLLady]

My DS, 8, gives his vote to the BWV's. His comments were:
Great pool & slide, loves the Friendship boats, the games at
Community Hall rock, you can get an ice cream cone anytime you
want one at Boardwalk Sweets, the games & players on the
Boardwalk are great!

To his comments, I'd like to add that I prefer the Boardwalk pool over SAB, because I can see him from anywhere at the pool & don't have to follow him to the slide. At SAB, it's too spread out for Mom to relax; you have to keep moving around after them if you want to know where they are.

 

[Alexander]

Depends...

Just have to add one word about SAB....its a really cool pool if your children will be with you or are old enough to swim unsupervised. It is a nightmare if you need to stay with your five year old and your seven year old wanders off and disappears. It is deep - very deep in spots, there is little line of sight, it is huge, the pool slide is far away from the zero entry.

Personally, I think its a baby-5 year old and then around 11 to grownup pool. The 6-10 set (around there, depending on kid and parents) I would think carefully before swimming there.

You can get a life vest to fit your children at any of the Disney resorts. You can keep it for the length of your stay. We always get one for our son. We never have had a problem swimming at SAB with him. Personally, I wouldn't let my child, even 11 out of my sight at a place as busy as WDW. It doesn't take much effort to sit by the section of pool your child is swimming in. And for goodness sake, we always get in with our son.

 

[Lesley]

My almost 5yo says "All of them!"....my 10yo says "Beach Club"

and now...some smilies to appease my resort loving dd....

 

[gopherit]

You can get a life vest to fit your children at any of the Disney resorts. You can keep it for the length of your stay. We always get one for our son. We never have had a problem swimming at SAB with him. Personally, I wouldn't let my child, even 11 out of my sight at a place as busy as WDW. It doesn't take much effort to sit by the section of pool your child is swimming in. And for goodness sake, we always get in with our son.

Yes, you can get a life vest. Did that.
Yes, you can get in the pool with them. Did that, too.
But the human body just isn't readily divisible by 2 or more (or at least, not without creating a mess...)

In other words, if you have more than one child, and those children are at different swim levels / desires for action, you may well be in for a calisthenic workout at SAB. We had our 2 boys (9 and 8) and our 4yr old dd with us. Boys wanted the big slide. If we want to be with them (and we are the kind of folks that do) DH or I had to split up and one go with them while the other stayed with dd. If they were gone too long, next thing you know, dd gets curious. SHe wants to go over to the "little slide" (in the boat). SO ya get out of the main pool and walk across the sidewalk to the little slide. If it's off-season and there's a chill in the air -- walk fast! But now ds,ds, and DH are nearly ready to go down big slide... so now THEY are in the main pool, and dd and I are over in the boat. After a bit, dd says, "Let's go back to the big pool!" So we go to the shallow sand area...DH stays with dd while I take boys on lazy river. Suddenly one son wants to slide -- other wants to do lazy river. We must now strike a compromise, because as I tell my kids, alas, I am but one woman, and it's just too big a pool. If one son heads to slide -- you cannot see them for the duration of that wait. Totally lose sight of 'em. So Slide Boy goes in circles waiting for his turn while Mom tries to keep the peace on who goes where, when, and how. Rewind and replay this several times over the course of the next few hours and you have our day at SAB. Granted, they don't always want to be 3 places at once... but if you too have a Mild child, a Wild child, and a Wants-to-be-Wild-but-is-vertically-restricted child, you may just feel our pain at SAB.

We like our pool time to be a relaxing time together -- for this sort of "divide and conquer" experience, we could go to TL or BB. Not exactly what we're looking for at the end of a busy day! In contrast, most of the other pools (VWL/WL, OKW,SSR, BWV) allow your family to remain in one body of water, with all parties nearly always visible, no matter what their swim level or "thrill" desire may be.

Perhaps when our kids are older (say, teens, when they would prefer not to see their ol fud-dud parents anyway), SAB will be easier for us all. We do LIKE the SAB; it does have many wonderful features. It's just that, logistically, it's not as parent-friendly for the multi-child family as the other pools. Making that statement doesn't make us chaise-potatoes -- a life jacket should never be a substitute for parental monitoring, and we are hands-on parents who always get in the water, too. It's just that at SAB, we have to do a LOT more getting in.. and out...and in ... and out... than we found necessary at other pools.

That said -- back to the original OP -- my boys have now stayed at all the resorts, and while they differ in opinion on some, they BOTH agree that VWL is awesome. I think this was even more true at the ages you suggest (5 and 7) than at their current ages, because they were much more into MK then and the slide was much more their speed. The slide at WL is really good for that age group -- swift and peppy, but not too daunting. My boys LOVED seeing the "wildlife" there (we saw otters, rabbits, and there was a family of baby ducks on one January visit -- too cute!) In the summer it feels 10 degrees cooler there; in the winter, 10 degrees cozier! And the boat ride over to MK and also FW (for HDDR and the activities, animals, campfires there) is a great option as well.

But here's some good news -- all the resorts are great! Good luck choosing one -- you really can't go wrong, there's something to love about every one of 'em.

 

[Melrosgirl]

I just asked dd (7). She says it's a tie between Saratoga Springs and Beach Club Villas.

SS b/c of the Donald Duck squirting fountain, lol, and BCV b/c of the Alligator and the pool