3 generations--where would you stay?

[jamstew]

Don't the 2 BRs in BCV have a king in one room? will that work for you, your daugher & her child? or for your son & his family? If you have 7 people and do not want anyone sleeping in the living room, do you have enough beds? I know my kids like to sleep on the floor, but not all do. I think a room on either side of the living room is really nice, just not sure about the beds for you guys.

You might have trouble getting connecting rooms with a door between them, but I'd think rooms near by would be fine, since you've 4 adults. I believe they like to hold the connecting rooms for famlies with more kids than adults. And I wouldn't want my mother in law having a room that connected directly to one with me & my husband. just sayin'

The wilderness lodge is a nice option that's close to the MK. It has a fun pool for the little ones, and they love riding the boat to the park or to Fort Wilderness campground. I'm not sure about bus service. We have stayed at FW twice, and like to visit WL.

Excellent points! I wasn't aware that the villas had a king in one bedroom, which might be an issue, but I'm thinking the kids would love sleeping in the living room. I was really thinking that no ADULTS would have to sleep on a fold-out couch

I really wouldn't have a problem with two rooms next door (without a connecting door) or across the hall. We've done this plenty of times and used the baby monitors during naptime. That way, the adult or adults in charge have somewhere to go. We've traveled so much together that my DIL wouldn't have an issue with a connecting door.

There's SO much to think about

 

[Gillian]

How about WL villas? good location, but the benefits of the 2 BR.

AKL is great too. We really love the savannah view rooms. The busses work well and are pretty fast. It's a beautiful resort.

The thing that appeals to me about WL over AKL is that you are just a boat ride away from the MK and the Contemporary which has some different food options as well. Fort Wilderness is also fun to visit by boat.

 

[K9pal]

Ditto to Gillian's reply, we just got back from doing this very thing and stayed in a 2 BR at VWL. The two boys just LOVED it! It's so close to the MK, yet has a great 'quiet' feel to it. The 2 BR dedicated units have a king in one BR, 2 queens in the other, and a pull-out double in the living area. It's easy to hop a boat to either the MK or the Contemporary. The boys liked looking for lizards (baby dinosaurs!), bunnies, and ducks, all of which were quite plentiful. We were also entertained by the pelicans "fishing" on the boat dock. Highly recommend!

 

[jamstew]

I was surprised to see that not many people suggest AKL. I know that was one of you choices. Our Grand Gathering stayed there last year and loved it! The resort has a fantastic food court, much better than POR (FQ) in my opinion. We also found in convenient to have sit down restaraunts on site if we all wanted to have dinner together and not spend a lot of time traveling to another resort or park. All of the kids loved the resort too. There ages ranged from 16 years-4 months). They have activities you can participate in for viewing the animals for no additional charge (such as the night time goggles). The pool and kiddie pool are great as well. Prior to satying at AKL we were concerned that the bus ride was going to be long bc of its location but we had no problem with them. We waited a lot longer for the buses at our rescent trip to POR (FQ). Up to 45 minutes!

In any case, I hope you and your family have a great time!

I was a little surprised no one had mentioned it, too. My only concern about AKL was it's remoteness from everything and the fact that you needed a bus to go anywhere. Do the buses from AKL stop at other resorts on the way to the parks? If not, that would seem like a big plus to me. If you don't get a savannah view, are there other places in the hotel to see the animals?

In the end, I may let the kids hash out where they want to stay, with the understanding that gramma foots the bill for up to a certain amount and they make up the difference if they want something more expensive.

 

[jamstew]

How about WL villas? good location, but the benefits of the 2 BR.

The thing that appeals to me about WL over AKL is that you are just a boat ride away from the MK and the Contemporary which has some different food options as well. Fort Wilderness is also fun to visit by boat.

I remember that the last time we were there (2005), my daughter and I hopped the monorail at MK and "toured" all the hotels around the lagoon. She immediately noticed WL and loved the way it looked. Do the WL buses stop at other resorts on their way to the other parks?

 

[JAM3]

No, the bus for AKL do not stop at any other resort. This is a big time saver! Port Orlean (FQ) also stops at all 4 Riverside bus stops before going to the parks! I did not realize how much time this would take until we actually did it. It is nice that AK is the only resort on the bus, especially bc bus is the only form of transportation!

We were upgraded to Savanah rooms, but there are a lot of other places to see the animals as well. There are many viewing areas in the hall with rocking chairs by some of them. There is also a large viewing area in the main hall with seats by them. We stopped at these viewing areas every time we went back and forth from our room even though we had a savanah view. The animals are at different places at different times.

What a great treat you are giving your family! Letting them hash it out between all the options you like may work out well! As long as they all agree

 

[Gillian]

I remember that the last time we were there (2005), my daughter and I hopped the monorail at MK and "toured" all the hotels around the lagoon. She immediately noticed WL and loved the way it looked. Do the WL buses stop at other resorts on their way to the other parks?

WL may share some busses with Fort Wilderness, but you'd want to double check. We didn't find the busses from Fort Wilderness to be a problem, but we prefer to drive our own car.

The AKL busses only go to/from AKL, so they're efficient. There are places to view the animals. I love it there, but have stayed I think 4 nights at the most. It's fun to visit, but with a group you might enjoy being closer to the action.

 

[DISNEY4XMAS]

We are going to disney at christmas time and we are going with 3 generations also. (Like you My Mom and myself husband and 3 kids.) We are staying in the cabins at fort wilderness. That is where we stayed 7 years ago also. there is a bedroom with queen bed and bunk beds and then there is a MURPHY bed in the living room. This worked out well the last time we went. It is also close to MK (boat ride) It also has a full Kitchen, a deck and grill available. There is also a stable and petting zoo. There are pools close by. There are buses that run frequently back and forth through out the camp ground that bring you to the boat. I found it lovely that there are wild animals just walking around, ie: peacocks deer rabbits.
Well good luck where ever you decide and ENJOY your Trip

 

[design_mom]

We are going to disney at christmas time and we are going with 3 generations also. (Like you My Mom and myself husband and 3 kids.) We are staying in the cabins at fort wilderness.

Disney4Xmas -- We've stayed at the Wilderness Cabins too and really liked it. (The buses seemed to take a while since you had to go from the "outpost" to the "settlement" for some things, but we really love FW.)

But I thought maximum occupancy in the Wilderness Cabins was 6 people. We had me, DH, my mom and dad, and our two kids -- and we had all the beds full. I wondered where your 3rd child sleeps (crib?)? I believe the OP has 4 adults and 3 kids in her party, so I'm not sure this would be an option for them. At any rate, it would be something to check out.

 

[DISNEY4XMAS]

It is 6 people and we are 6 my daughter will be sleeping with my mom on the murphy bed since that is a double bed. ( I hope that is what will happen) They are all seeming to be fighting for the top bunk. Last time we were there there were only five and we thought that our 11month old would sleep in the crib NOt he slept between my husband and I, on the queen bed or I think maybe it was a double, NOT MUCH ROOM.

 

[design_mom]

It is 6 people and we are 6 my daughter ...

LOL! It would help if I could count, wouldn't it?

We loved the Wilderness Cabins, but I don't think it'd work for the OP in this case, since they've got 7 people.

 

[Gillian]

It is 6 people and we are 6 my daughter will be sleeping with my mom on the murphy bed since that is a double bed. ( I hope that is what will happen) They are all seeming to be fighting for the top bunk. Last time we were there there were only five and we thought that our 11month old would sleep in the crib NOt he slept between my husband and I, on the queen bed or I think maybe it was a double, NOT MUCH ROOM.

Yes, both beds are doubles and they are tiny! Of course, we're spoiled by a king at home, where there's room for us, the cats, and an occasional kid.

The main drawback to the cabins, besides the tiny beds, is the single bathroom.

 

[DISNEY4XMAS]

LOL! It would help if I could count, wouldn't it?

We loved the Wilderness Cabins, but I don't think it'd work for the OP in this case, since they've got 7 people.

I guess we all had problems counting last night because I could have sworn that they alsohad six, ooops my goof!

 

[mericletwins]

I know that renting a house would be the best and most economical way to go, but I really want to stay on-site, which I've never done. We'll be flying, and I don't want to have to rent a minivan and car seats to transport us around every day

I would stay on-site without a doubt. We have stayed three generations in teh two bedroom villas and it was great. Pick the BCV. It was so nice to have the kitchen for breakfast items and snacks and a central gathering place. It is a great location and sometimes we would all stick together and sometimes go our separate ways. Our group is my DH and myself, 7 yo twins, a 6 yo and my older bro. It works out for everyone. We have stayed in 2 bdrm villas 4 times over the past 5 years or so. The washer and dryer are a nice bonus. You can pack less and it comes in handy when you have young kids. My kids would also highly recommend the BC pool.

 

[Golden Rose]

We're doing our first three generation trip in September, and we had planned to stay at one of the monorail hotels. We ended up booking one of the Boardwalk Garden Suites because we could get free dining and it saved about $2000 (!?!) over booking two rooms in the Grand Floridian.

I've always stayed at Epcot Resorts as an adult, and I just love the conveniance to both Epcot and D/MGM, but we'd really thought we would prefer a monorail hotel for our toddler. I would think that the kids you are traveling with are old enough that an Epcot resort would be great for you (Beach Club was always our favorite); there is nothing like just walking over the little bridge and being in the park.

This may sound silly, but my mom and I have always preferred the deluxe resorts because we like having the table service restaurant options and we like the room service option when we're just too tired to contemplate leaving the room again at night. We don't get room service very often (too expensive!), but it is really nice to have the option.

 

[csclemons]

I'm a big fan of Saratoga Springs. My husband and I will be there in September with my parents and our DD4, DD1. It offers beautiful grounds and is super close to DTD. I think I like it so much because 1) there's room in the two-bedroom villa to spread out, 2) it's a great respite when you're ready to take a break. All the best of Disney without the constant frenzy. Great pool. It's a great solution for all three generations.

CSC