Cabins vs the All Star Suites?

[mccathy]

What are your opinions? I'm helping some friends (who are from Hungry!) plan a Disney trip this summer - July. It'll be hot, not doubt.

They have 3 kids - so a family of 5.

I'm thinking of transportation - is it pretty easy at the Cabins to grab an internal bus to get where you need to go to grab another bus or boat? Or is it pretty easy to walk?

Any thoughts/opinions on either place would be great!

Thanks in advance.

 

[nonnasally]

What are your opinions? I'm helping some friends (who are from Hungry!) plan a Disney trip this summer - July. It'll be hot, not doubt.

They have 3 kids - so a family of 5.

I'm thinking of transportation - is it pretty easy at the Cabins to grab an internal bus to get where you need to go to grab another bus or boat? Or is it pretty easy to walk?

Any thoughts/opinions on either place would be great!

Thanks in advance.

I think they would be very comfortable at ASMus. family suite. Stayed there twice so far. Two bathrooms are wonderful and space for kids to play if the weather gets too difficult. The transportation is wonderful ( all buses) but are almost every 15-20 min. Loved the pool, movies at night for kids, bar is open and food court is great. I have stayed at many places ( never the cabins) but think there is more space and room at newer places.

 

[sscassel]

Don't do the cabins. Friends of ours stayed there and they said the place was huge. The really needed a golf cart rental to get to the boats & such because it was a long walk. I would shoot for the family suite or 2 rooms at Pop

 

[mccathy]

Anyone love the cabins? They actually have reservations there already - but asked if I thought it was the best choice!

I was thinking they might be spread out since you have the option to rent a golf cart.

Actually - these people are friends of a friend - so I have no idea how active/fit they are. Their kids are 13, 8, and 6.

 

[mmouse50]

The cabins are great - lots of room to spread out inside - full kitchen with full refrigerator, stove and dishwasher, if they are planning on doing any cooking or just cereal in the mornings. If they have a golf cart it is very convenient to get around - the buses are ok but it will take a little longer - you take internal bus to catch either the other bus or boat to the parks. There is a lot for them to do there - the main pool has just be refurbished there is the sing along with Chip and Dale at night along with the movies. The electric light float parade on the lake each night.
The drawback of the cabins is that they don't have a convenient food court like the All stars do. But for sleeping arrangements - a double and bunks in one back bedroom - a double murphy bed in the living room so plenty of space -

I love the space given with the cabins but I don't like the transportation situation - but I don't like to do Disney buses I drive to all the parks no matter where I stay. That is just me - impatient.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

I have not stayed at All Star Suites but I stayed at FW Cabins last May and we loved it. We enjoyed that the kids could go to sleep in the bedroom and we could watch tv in the family room. We ate breakfast almost every morning in the cabin, had a few dinners there including a night of grilling and smores. It is very quiet and relaxing there. We did rent a golf cart and found it very convenient to get around.

 

[North7]

Jump over to the Camping forum and you will find a lot of reviews and comments from people who have stayed in the cabins... most of which are all positive. We have stayed in the cabins a number of times as well as a number of other resorts and our children prefer the cabins and Fort Wilderness over the others.

Transportation is fine and we haven't found it to be any different than any other resort. Having a golf cart will definitely save a bit of time and allow you to explore all over the resort, but it isn't a necessity. You can always rent from an outside company which will save you a bunch of money as compared with renting from Disney.

With your friends having 3 children, FW offers a great number of activities to keep them entertained when not at the parks.

 

[manhattan]

We have stayed at both and like the cabins, but we drive our car, so we just hop in and out. I remember one time we stayed at the POFQ and went to the campfire via their bus system and we did not enjoy it, so if I had to base the decision solely on the transportation, I would say the ASMU. However, some people have no problem with the transportation at FW.

 

[Disneyhenry]

Family Suites - Offer 2 bathrooms and a mini kitchen, buses to the resorts, movie night, pool with no slide but still fun
Cabin - 1 bathroom, full kitchen, boat to MK, buses to the other parks, petting zoo, very fun pool with slide, movie night, bike, canoe, boat rental, fishing, horse back riding
Just some of the differences

 

[hauntedcity]

We stayed at a cabin in December and loved it. Lots of room, quiet location (except when a "neighbor" decided to bounce a tennis ball against our cabin BAM BAM BAM!), beautiful surroundings. The only negative was the "catch a bus to catch a bus" situation. It wasn't horrible, but sometimes in the evening, we'd come back from the parks tired, and then have to wait another 20 minutes to catch another bus to get to our cabin. If we had to do it again, we would definitely consider renting a car.

We seriously considered a family suite at ASM. Having 2 bathrooms is a big plus for those. However, we were going during Pop Warner week, and the thought of sharing the resort with thousands of football players and cheerleaders scared us away.
Plus, we just LOVE the whole Fort Wilderness resort. Lots of fun diversions there.

Doug

 

[CLR4321]

If they want 2 bathrooms, I'd do ASMu. If they don't care about having just 1, I would go with a cabin, for sure. I would pick the cabin myself. The kids would likely enjoy the campfire and the petting zoo area there. The pool has a water slide and a hot tub now (recently refurbed). There is also the boat to MK, which a lot of people like to have available. There is also a full kitchen rather than just the kitchenette. If they will have a car with them, they would also be able to park right at the cabin rather than dealing with a regular parking lot.

 

[MelissathePooh]

I'll admit that I loathe the value resorts, but regardless my family has always loved the cabins. The kitchen is very handy, there is a charcoal grill at every cabin. We've never rented a golf cart - just plan on an extra 15-30 minutes travel time. Its worth it to have the privacy of the cabin.

The new pool is excellent with a great kids water playground and slide - none of the values have that. Pony rides, playgrounds, fishing, campfires, etc... My kids love Trails End - its still one of the better dinner buffet values left at Disney.

FW is old school Disney - love it!

 

[mccathy]

Thank you everyone!

Now I have lots of "insider" information I can share with them!

Someone mentioned renting a golf cart off site? Any suggestions for a company?

 

[North7]

A lot of people on the boards rent from here;

Tee Time Golf Cart Rental (Kenny)
407.276.0809
(no website)
email:ttimegolfcarts@aol.com

I have yet to read a negative review from anyone... in fact, most reviewers are overly positive. I can't personally comment as my reservation with Kenny for August will be my first with him. I have a 24 day reservation and the cost was less than 1/3 of what renting from Disney would be.

If you're going during a busy time, I'd recommend making your reservation as early as possible.

 

[mccathy]

A lot of people on the boards rent from here;

Tee Time Golf Cart Rental (Kenny)
407.276.0809
(no website)
email:ttimegolfcarts@aol.com

I have yet to read a negative review from anyone... in fact, most reviewers are overly positive. I can't personally comment as my reservation with Kenny for August will be my first with him. I have a 24 day reservation and the cost was less than 1/3 of what renting from Disney would be.

If you're going during a busy time, I'd recommend making your reservation as early as possible.

My friends are going mid-July. I'll tell them to get on this! Thanks for the information!

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Another thing to consider is depending on the time of year your friend is going, the cabins can be anywhere from $50-$90 more per night than the family suite. The concept of the cabins really appealed to us, but a few other reasons we decided against it were: it only has one bathroom and is a little smaller in square footage than the family suite, no queen size bed, and having to incur the expense of a golf cart rental to get around the resort (we all can't fit in one anyway) was just a bit much for us. I know there are internal buses you can take to get to the MK boat and other park buses; but again that seems like a bit much to me and time is precious at WDW, especially with children. A plus that is often overlooked with the family suite is that you are in a preferred building location which means short walk to the food court and bus stop; but if your friend's family would really enjoy the recreational offerings of Fort Wilderness and plan to utilize the full kitchen, grill, etc. then it is definitely worth considering.

 

[Klarah]

I was actual debating the same 2 resorts for my next vacation! When deciding on a resort - I always ask myself this question — "How, what, and where do I plan to spend my vacation time" If it is going to be a "park till you drop" kinda trip then I would go for the "semi less" magical value resort, plus then the 2 bath would come in very handy so we could all get ready quick for the parks, the smaller kitchen wouldn't matter cause we wouldn't be home enough to cook extensively, the straight shot transportation would be better, and the pools wouldn't matter as much because we probably would only go in them a little. BUT if I was planning on spending most my time at the resort then I would go for the Fort Wilderness cabins because I think it is one of the best showcases of Disney's immersive theming and that equals Disney magic to me. It can be like having 2 vacations, camping & Disney, there are so many extras. Then just vice versus all my above mention reasons. Plus I would only be concerned with the extra walking if there was a group member who couldn't handle walking. I'm not even sure if Fort wilderness is the most spread out resort, or if it is just perceived to be more because it is all outside, because some the the other resort are really big (i.e. Grand Floridian Self Parking 5K)hahha husband added last part cause his job is parking the car lol seriously he is gone forever.

 

[disneys pirate life]

I say FW, but you will want to a rent a golf cart becase it is a big resort

 

[sukhakuli]

How much of a walk is it from the cabins to the boat launch? We have no problem walking, and with 3 kids and a stroller, the buses are an incredible pain. We avoid them at all costs (Disney really needs to add a place for people to put their strollers on the bus!). We're fine with walking up to a mile to get to the boat launch. Do you have to fold your stroller for the boat?

We will have a car, but if we have to drive to the park, then why bother staying on site, you know? We might as well get a house and save a ton of money, if we're going to drive.

I really like the idea of the cabin - a separate bedroom, privacy, no loud neighbors above and below keeping the kids up a full kitchen for when everyone gets sick of eating out (my family hates eating out). But the buses could be a dealbreaker.

 

[North7]

Depending on which cabin loop you get, I would guess it could take from 20-30 minutes to walk from your cabin to the marina. Depending on how busy the boat it, you may be asked to fold your stroller but I have seen unfolded strollers on the boat a number of times.

The internal FW buses are usually not very crowded. We've had 2 children in strollers and used the FW buses and didn't find it to be an issue.

Have a great trip... your children will certainly enjoy everything FW has to offer