Poll-Best DVC Resort for Age 2-6

[bwbuddy5]

If traveling with grand-kids, say ages 2-6, what's the best choice of DVC resort, assuming total extended family group size of 8-11 people.

 

[Granny]

Do you want everyone to stay in one place? Then you'll need a Grand Villa. That eliminates VWL. Given the ages of the kids, I'm assuming there will be a lot of time spent at Magic Kingdom. So I'd go for BLT, since it is walking distance to MK and easy to come back for naps, etc.

 

[senadler]

I think BLT is your best choice for kids that age since you will most likely spend a lot of time at the MK. You can do a 2BR if you are 9 people or less, and in the case the 3 bathrooms are a plus. We have 11 our next trip and our doing a 2BR and a studio at the BCV.

 

[hakepb]

As a parent, I would say Bay Lake would make my life easiest....but it is very possible that Animal Kingdom (with savanna view) would actually make the biggest impression on the children.

(As DS7 was walking with me into VWL at the beginning of a trip, he started asking me, "remember when we had animals outside our room.. ". Then, later he mentioned BLT with the walk across the bridge to the monorail, but you could tell his first love )

 

[DenLo]

I agree with Bay Lake Tower. You can walk to MK and easily return to the resort for naps. You also have the monorail to go to Epcot and you don't need to fold up the stroller, just roll it onboard.

 

[Hollymom1229]

I voted for AKV, because I know almost all kids love to watch the animals from the balcony, but I understand BLT being in the lead because of proximity to MK. Either one is a great choice with the really junior set.

 

[suebeelin]

My kids are 2 and 5.5. We spend 50% of our time at MK, the other 50% at the other resorts.

I vote BLT. You can get a 2bd and a studio to save points

 

[GrumpyInPhilly]

Eight of us (mom-mom, pop-pop, mom, dad, grandkids (9,8,3,1)) went in April and stayed in a treehouse. Went to all the parks. Fabulous time. Kids loved the treehouse!

 

[Kidanifan08]

I voted AKV, but I certainly understand the affinity for BLT due to location. You did not mention what time of year, as that may make a slight difference if using the pool is not an option. If you are there during swimming weather, I would sub-vote Kidani. The pool has a mini-slide and a zero entry and the splash play area is the best on property, IMHO. Additionally, although the ride to MK is longish, the buses to the parks stop at Kidani first and are basically empty, so you will get a seat for your little ones. Of course, the kids love seeing the animals. Kidani and BLT both offer the bonus of the third full bathroom in the 2BR, if you want to squeeze your group of 9 into a 2BR.

We have stayed at BLT three times, and love the proximity to MK. But we like AKV because when we return to the resort, we feel like we are away from the chaos of the parks.

 

[Simba's Mom]

We wondered the same thing when we took our two grandkids, 4 and 2 yo, last year. We ended up at OKW, mostly because we couldn't decide and DH loves OKW. Well, it was perfect! Every morning we could sit out on the big table on the porch and watch the ducks while we ate breakfast. And although some might say the pool elsewhere is best, the girls loved the OKW pool. Oh-and the washer dryer having its own room and the huge size of the villa, well, we'd choose OKW again.

 

[debdisneycruiser]

I agree with other posts, depends on how much time you wish to be in the parks and what time of year. We own at Bay Lake and choose BLT when our goal is to spend the majority of our time in the parks. When wishing to spend family time together and much of our time at the resorts it is Kidani Village hands-down for Kids Water Play area and animal viewing.

 

[bwbuddy5]

I think I'm leaning BLT too. Being so close to the MK and being able to see fireworks from the balcony (as well as the monorail exiting the Contemporary) makes it hard to pass up.

I'm a little concerned about AK after reading a Kidani trip report that said they saw one giraffe the whole week. Also, GF is tempting since it's also on the monorail, but aren't you staying there mainly for the luxury, great for my age, but perhaps maybe a bit boring for the youngsters?

 

[DVCcurious]

I'm a little concerned about AK after reading a Kidani trip report that said they saw one giraffe the whole week.

We stayed for a week at Kidani in a Savannah view and saw 0 giraffes, because we got stuck on the Pembe savannah side which has no giraffes or Zebras. Just some ostriches.

The savannahs at AKL are not exactly teeming with wildlife. Sure there's an animal here or there but you have a 50-50 shot of seeing nothing when you look out your window. There's probably 2 or 3 giraffes out on the savannah at any one time, and Kidani is huge so if those giraffes decide to be somewhere else you're not going to see them. We stayed at AKL twice and never will again. At least until they put out stuffed giraffes and zebras so you're guaranteed to see an animal (even if it is a dead animal).

 

[hakepb]

I think I'm leaning BLT too. Being so close to the MK and being able to see fireworks from the balcony (as well as the monorail exiting the Contemporary) makes it hard to pass up.

I'm a little concerned about AK after reading a Kidani trip report that said they saw one giraffe the whole week. Also, GF is tempting since it's also on the monorail, but aren't you staying there mainly for the luxury, great for my age, but perhaps maybe a bit boring for the youngsters?

At AK, animal activity is better observed if you are in your toom at a variety of times during your stay. Each savanna has set quiet times (when animals visit their vet barns) and active times (feeding schedules)

For Sunset Savanna, (most of Kidani) the feeding time is in the evening and the quiet time is in the morning. If you are only in your room to sleep, and leave at 9am ..... It's possible to not see any animals.
On the other hand, if you take a late afternoon nap, you will probably see a lot of animal activity after the nap.
It just happens that the schedules are great for some guests and unfortunate for others.

 

[hakepb]

We stayed for a week at Kidani in a Savannah view and saw 0 giraffes, because we got stuck on the Pembe savannah side which has no giraffes or Zebras. Just some ostriches.

The savannahs at AKL are not exactly teeming with wildlife. Sure there's an animal here or there but you have a 50-50 shot of seeing nothing when you look out your window. There's probably 2 or 3 giraffes out on the savannah at any one time, and Kidani is huge so if those giraffes decide to be somewhere else you're not going to see them. We stayed at AKL twice and never will again. At least until they put out stuffed giraffes and zebras so you're guaranteed to see an animal (even if it is a dead animal).

Pembe has the Giraffe's only relative, the Okapi.
They are wonderful creatures, but do lack the "wow" of watching a group of giraffe walking nearby.
I enjoyed the variety of animals from Pembe, but was glad Pembe was the view on my 3rd visit, not my 1st.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I'm a little concerned about AK after reading a Kidani trip report that said they saw one giraffe the whole week.

That's one more than I saw when I stayed at Kidani. What was weird about that was that I was on the Sunset Savannah, the one that's shared with Jambo. When I've been at Jambo, overlooking the same savannah, I've seen up to 3 giraffes at a time. But at Kidani, none. It's like they all like to hang out on the Jambo side! Surprisingly, though, my granddaughters weren't interested in the giraffes but in the elephants at DAK.