Which deluxe resort has the best pool slide and is the most kid friendly?

[sjkwheeler]

Trying to decide on the best Deluxe resort for our 2nd trip. It originally was between the Contemporary and AKL; however, I am open for other suggestions. I'm really looking for a decent pool with slide for my daughter - she had a lot of fun on the slide at CBR.

Any suggestions ya'll have would be greatly appreciated. Your ideas/opinions/suggestions helped to make our first trip last week that much more Magical!

 

[mrsannb]

The pool is huge and has a great slide at AKL. I haven't stayed at Contemporary, but I can tell you that my kids loved AKL. The arcade is good there too. The animals really make the whole experience. There are cast members from Africa with night vision goggles at night. You will see giraffes, zebras, flamingoes, etc. etc. It's a nice and relaxing place. And they have bunk bed rooms.

 

[chalee94]

here's a recent discussion for more ideas.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I would go with the Contemporary because in my opinion they have the better overall location compared to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and more transportation options. Besides that their guests rooms are a lot bigger and if you are able to get the Tower Magic Kingdom View that would make you stay there even more magical.

 

[WDWKOOK]

And, the same discussion held yesterday on the CR's FAQ thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2140296&page=85

 

[sherminator]

AKL has a very nice pool (quite large) but not sure about the slide. I can't remember the site I saw it on, but I came across pictures of the new slide over at Kadani Village - WOW! Something like 128 feet.

*As a side note (and not to hijack your thread) but is it true that you have to be a DVC member to reserve at Kadani Village?

 

[LUVDZNY2008]

The best pool is SAB at the Beach Club

 

[vicki_c]

The best pool is SAB at the Beach Club

 

[MNT568]

My DS is 11 and here is his take on the pool slides.

Best slide - POLY, he loves the tunnel and the little red lights inside it. However, I found that pool to be very crowded and hard to find a seat.

We love the pool at AKL, my DS always enjoyed the slide however he is getting older and said that it is not long enough now. But it was perfect when he was in the 5 - 10 age group. They also have games in the pool with the lifegaurds that are fun. I found this a very relaxing pool.

Right now, our favorite is CR. The slide is long enough for my son and we always found a seat, the pool never seemed to be crowded last year (I hope that is the case is 3 weeks!). He really enjoyed the slide at CR.

When we stayed at the BC, my DS was just 5yo and we didn't use the slide. I know everyone likes that pool but I found it hard to keep track of where everyone was! Maybe now that he is older we might try it again.

Have fun picking, I know in our house the pool and slide are very important!

 

[sjkwheeler]

Thanks so much for all your help. It looks like we're leaning toward AKL - for the pool/slide, animals, and all the kid friendly activities.

Quick question: Is it true Storm Along Bay is extremely crowded as it is shared by resorts?

 

[LUVDZNY2008]

It gets crowded during the day (not sure if it is more crowded than other resort pools). The BC has movies on the beach at night too!! If you stay at AKL-enjoy, we are staying there in August for the first time

 

[Jenny-momof3]

We're returning from our 2 week trip right now.

The first week we were at Beach Club. We loved stormalong bay but I found it extremely difficult to keep track of all 3 of my kids.

The 2nd week we were at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Believe it or not but my kids actually preferred this pool to Beach Club. We stayed at Jambo but AKL resort gueses are welcome to use the pool at Kidani as well.. which we did.

 

[Deb & Bill]

SAB is not very kid friendly if your children are younger. They need to be in double digits at least so that you don't spend your time worrying about them. I think SAB is the most overrated pool at WDW. The "lazy river" is a small quick loop that is 9' feet deep with a very swift current. You must rent tubes there.

AKL/AKV have some nice pools. The new pool at Kidani Village (any guest at AKL/AKV can swim there) is nice with a great kids water play area, but it is small.

SSR has a neat pool with slide and two rather neat water play areas (one at High Rock Springs pool and the other at the Grandstand pool).

Lots of people like Luna Park at the BWV/BWI, but the clown slide scares some people away.

 

[c&m]

When my DH and I agreed to choose a deluxe resort for our Aug trip, we were torn between AKL, CR, and WL. WL was quickly eliminated because we live in the Pacific Northwest, and the pool is too small as we read in many reviews. It came down to AKL or CR -- and we chose AKL for these reasons:

1. The pool is bigger and the slide is decent (our DDs are 13 and 10 and short kiddie slides no longer cut it ). Also lots of shady spots at the pool area for some of us who are pale and can turn into a red lobster (DH).

2. AKL is the epitome of Disney theming at its best. Now that our DDs are older, they will be able to appreciate it more too. Lots of cultural artifacts displayed through the resort for us to look at.

3. Location is not essential or a key factor in the decision, as our DDs are older. No need to be close to MK and no need to return to the hotel for naps/downtime (though we parents may need it on this trip ).

4. Apparently has a great fitness room (to work off all that eating around the world), and as I read somewhere, probably one of the best fitness facilities at WDW. Don't know if that's true (someone correct me if I'm wrong), but that's a determining factor for us.

5. Lots of fun resort activities for school-aged kids to enjoy. Not to mention the big firepit and the storytelling in the evening. Wow.

6. Fine restaurants -- Boma and Jiko. We've eaten at Boma and it was a GREAT experience. It was actually the last dinner DH and I bought my brother before he passed away from liver cancer 5 weeks later.

We haven't stayed there yet. There just seems to be so much going on with this resort that it is impossible not to go there and try it out.

 

[chimo2u]

Although my boys at 13 and 16 feel AKL slide is pretty short/kiddie-ish....They still beg to go back to AKL!! The pool is amazing and the hottubs under the stars listening to the birds is breath-takingly beautiful! AKL!!!

 

[wdwfan]

Have you thought about trying one of the Epcot resorts? Both YC and BC and BWI have fantastic slides. We've stayed at both several times and our kids have loved both slides. We used to prefer the BWI when the kids were younger because we could see them going down the slide right from the pool where as at the BC the kids have to leave the pool area to climb the slide since it is so huge. But both resorts have fantastic pools. Good luck deciding!

 

[RMulieri]

To answer a PP .SAB is quite large and quite busy.With small kids it is hard to keep track since it is so large. The big slide is the flying Jib.It is located on the pirate ship.You have to leave the pool area, cross the walkway and climb to the ships mast.The slide is partially enclosed and winding it shoots you back over the walkway and into the pool.Most of the time they do not allow swimmies or floats on it ( though I have seen it).Also behind the pirate ship is the kiddie pool with kiddie slide.It is a great pool complex but as others have stated,if you have children of varying ages it is difficult to watch everyone .Plus a huge balking point for some is that the slide requires you to leave the pool area and cross over the walkway to epcot to get on the slide.