A family of 6 staying at a Disney resort - these are my options - what do you think?

[SweetMissy]

AKL is close to AK, but farther away from the other parks compared to other resorts. So if you plan on going to MK everyday, just be ready for a longer commute on the bus. AKL is a beautiful resort though!

Ohhhh ok, no biggie. The ride IMO isn't that long, goes by fast. We've stayed in the AK area being at Movies and Pop, so we're ok with it. We don't plan on going to MK everyday anyway....however we are doing the park hoppers this trip, so hmmm I don't know.

 

[java]

Money no object? It's all about location location location.
Since becoming. Family of 6 we have stayed at Boardwalk in the deluxe concierge room( loved this! As we spend lots of time in EPCOT) can't beat the drinks and snack either.

Last time we stayed AOA. It was way better than I expected. The kids loved it. The room was adorable. They loved the pool(with the music underwater! So cute!) BUT it was not a great location. We couldn't walk to any park (at be we walked to both EPCOT and HS) we spent an hour one night on a bus because he missed the-resort turn and we ended up on i4! (it was right when the resort had opened)

But with the ages of your kids I would stay BLT hands down. Location location location.

 

[happymommy]

We are partial to the Boardwalk area, so to us, the Boardwalk villas would be a great choice.

We like to be able to walk around the Boardwalk, plus when my kids were stroller age, it was nice to walk back from Epcot (where we love to eat!).

Have you looked at rentals on Redweek? They seem less expensive than renting points sometimes.

I would choose a two bedroom villa! The washer/dryer is a great bonus in the room. The kitchen is great for snacks and meals.

We don't go to MK as much, so to me the Contemporary villas don't appeal as much. If I were in your shoes (which of course I'm not so this is just my opinion) I'd look at renting at the Boardwalk or Beach Club villas.

 

[MandiC]

If money were not a factor I would definitely choose BLT 2 bedroom out of your options. Kind of the best of everything right there (can take monorail to MK and Epcot, no hassle with cars/carseats, and bus to the other two parks, which you probably won't be at as much as Epcot and MK anyways)

 

[nadira36]

Thanks everyone for the great advice!! It has been so helpful!

Have now gotten it down to six choices!


1. Bay Lake Tower at Contemporary
1 bedroom Villa lake view OR
2 bedroom Villa lake view

2. Old Key West Resort
1 bedroom Villa OR
2 bedroom Villa

3. Art of animation resort
The Lion King Family Suites OR
Cars Family Suites OR
Finding Nemo Family suite

4. Wilderness lodge
Deluxe Room - Club Level

5. Animal kingdom villas - jambo house
1 Bedroom Villa - Standard View OR
1 Bedroom Villa - Savanna View

6. Animal kingdom villas - kidani village
1 Bedroom Villa - Standard View OR
1 Bedroom Villa - Savanna View OR
2 Bedroom Villa - Standard View

Will keep doing research to try and make a decision!

I say AKV savannah view Jambo side - check out the AKL/V threads you'll find this will give you fabulous views! :good vibes

Though if you're traveling at the time of a party, and you plan to attend, it may be useful to be walking distance for after the party. But given the ages of your children, I would chose based on a theme they will find fun and appealing. My kids don't find BLT all that great, BUT if attending a party we might stay there just to make 1 night easier.

We've also done split stays before. A week here, a week there - try 2 different resorts Disney makes it (mostly) easy to do so. Bring bags to bell services, and they transfer them to your new resort. Once you check in at the new resort, they bring the bags to your room.

Sometimes I'm indecisive

Family of five here!

*A lot of people talk about doing DVC on rented points. It's great when it works. But do your homework - when I looked this year, buying direct was basically the same price as renting due to my PIN discount. Plus, I get housekeeping daily included when I go direct. Depending on date and resort, what you want may not be available via renting but is available direct. Just do your homework.

We've found the same with DVC points. Most of the time our discount is better than renting.

We've always stayed at value resorts...not because we can't stay at other higher level resorts but because we refuse to pay a ridiculous amount of money to sleep. We love the value resorts, they're fun....the theming really makes you feel like you're at disney! We recently discovered renting DVC points, so we're trying out AKL. Beautiful resort (fun is more important for us) but we'll see how it goes. IMO it's crazy to spend that kind of money but if you can get a good deal, such as renting the points, then go for it. I would never in my right mind spend $300+/night anywhere, especially for a 2 week trip, wow. Do what others have said...there's plenty of videos on youtube on every resort out there, watch them and decide what's right for your family.

We always get good deals, which helps. Also we LOVED AKL. So far, it's our favourite resort!

One of the reasons I didn't include AKL in my recommendations is because its far from everything and the savannah views can vary significantly from amazing and full of animals to dried up looking brush...

The kidani pool is great for your family ages though ...

Make sure that you know what you could be getting if you go there..

Yes, distance wise it is farther, but the buses have run consistently more regularly than other resorts. We found it took less time for us to get to all parks from there than when we stayed at the Poly.

It's not too difficult to figure out the best savannah views and book your rooms to accommodate your desires.

For us, being close to food was important - being just off Jambo house's central building made it easy to get a quick breakfast or snack for a little one.

Also we do use deluxe dinning - I highly suggest looking into it. For us, having one child eat off our plates made us need the little bit extra food - but at the 12-20 month ages our children seem to eat more solid food than most adults we know.

 

[ali in wonderland]

I know you said money were no issue but if it were me I would stay at the Art of Animation. Your kids are the right ages for the wonderful theming at that resort, you still get a separate bedroom, and for the cost savings over the other resorts you've listed you could get the deluxe dining plan, book a ton excursions and tours, buy your kids every souvenier their hearts desired, or go to the water parks every day if you wanted to.

We stayed at AOA last summer for one night before our cruise on the dream. The room was so SMALL. We were on top of each other. The idea was great and the little kids enjoyed the theme. I could not do it for more than the one night. It was just a much more crowded and loud atmosphere. We find the villas to be more our speed. Even if you go for a one bedroom villa you will have more than enough space. Also NOTHING beats having in room washer and dryer like you have in the villas.

 

[AmyBWV99]

Fellow family of 6 here kids ages 8, 6, 3 & 20 months.

We fit easily in a 1 bedroom at OKW. Love the full size washer & dryer the apartment sized ones in other resorts double the loads.

I don't remember your entire list but we stayed 12 nights over Xmas & New Years at SSR 2 bdrm the kids loved it we were right at a pool and the resort was quiet but we could walk to DTD which was great.

That said our Fall trip prior & our upcoming May trip will be at AKL kidani. The kids LOVE the pool & splash pad. I love the extra bathroom and room arrangement. The 2 bdrm has an alcove to put a pack n play that's nice and dark and all 4 kids an share the 2nd bedroom. It's a >2 minute walk to the Mara for quick eats (full kitchen doesn't immediately equate to full cooking for this momma).

We always rent a van or drive our own so I can't attest to transportation the thought of 4 kids+ stroller on a bus stresses me out. Our 3 yr old is über active.

One thing that drives my DH and I bat sh*t crazy is the room arrangements of VWL, BCV, SSR & BWV of the 1 & 2 bedrooms. There's appox 4 doors flowing the bathrooms and master bedroom and they put the tub facet right at an enticing toddler level. So it feels like there are always doors swinging and water running. The other resorts you can shut the bathroom doors and still have access to the bedroom.

 

[Ariel on Land]

I only have experience with the suites at AoA, but we really enjoyed them. Super cute, very comfortable. The extra beds were actually very nice, and there was PLENTY of room to have all beds pulled out and the PnP set out.

 

[Mkrop]

I say AKV savannah view Jambo side - check out the AKL/V threads you'll find this will give you fabulous views! :good vibes

Though if you're traveling at the time of a party, and you plan to attend, it may be useful to be walking distance for after the party. But given the ages of your children, I would chose based on a theme they will find fun and appealing. My kids don't find BLT all that great, BUT if attending a party we might stay there just to make 1 night easier.

We've also done split stays before. A week here, a week there - try 2 different resorts Disney makes it (mostly) easy to do so. Bring bags to bell services, and they transfer them to your new resort. Once you check in at the new resort, they bring the bags to your room.

Sometimes I'm indecisive



We've found the same with DVC points. Most of the time our discount is better than renting.



We always get good deals, which helps. Also we LOVED AKL. So far, it's our favourite resort!



Yes, distance wise it is farther, but the buses have run consistently more regularly than other resorts. We found it took less time for us to get to all parks from there than when we stayed at the Poly.

It's not too difficult to figure out the best savannah views and book your rooms to accommodate your desires.

For us, being close to food was important - being just off Jambo house's central building made it easy to get a quick breakfast or snack for a little one.

Also we do use deluxe dinning - I highly suggest looking into it. For us, having one child eat off our plates made us need the little bit extra food - but at the 12-20 month ages our children seem to eat more solid food than most adults we know.

Our worst transportation was at AKL Jambo, didnt have enough buses, waited super long, over an hour for a bus to the MVMCP and over an hour to get back, and this was not at the end of the party either.

Also our Savannah view was kind of a dud, we saw more animals waiting for the elevator looking out the window then we did from our own room.


OP if I had no budget, I would go Boardwalk Villas so I could walk to Epcot or boat to DHS, or BLT so I could walk to MK

 

[charmed59]

What do you mean AKL is far from everything? We're staying there for our next trip and I'd like to know you mean.

You need to take a bus everywhere. Including quite a long ride from the resort to the AK park.

 

[arrical8]

We are a family of 6, 4 children ages 8, 5, 2 year old twins, going September 21-27, 2014. We were booked at the Poly but once we found out about the construction our TA moved us to the Yacht Club. There are not a lot of lodging options for families of 5+

 

[blessedby3]

If money is no object as you say, then I would also go with BLT. You would easily fit in a 1BR…but you will have to unfold and fold the beds everyday to have space in the living area. If you don't want to fool with that then go with the 2BR.
BLT can't be beat for location. You can walk or monorail to the MK and monorail to Epcot. Only need the busses (or your own vehicle) for DHS and AK. We stayed there a few years back and loved it. We were chosen as family of the day at check in and we had access to the CR club level for our whole trip! I have a link in my signature if you want to see some pictures:good vibes BLT has a great pool/slide and they have awesome kids club activities.
We can't afford those prices anymore and have moved to staying offsite to save some money (and our family size is now 7 with our SIL) and get lots of space.

 

[justhat]

We're going in June and will also have 6, kids ages will be 10, 7, 4, and 6 months. We stayed at Art of Animation last time we went (will be nearly 2 years from our June trip, so 3 kids then, ages 2, 5, and 8). We loved it. The 2 full bathrooms, table, couch, multiple beds, perfect. We are strongly leaning towards staying there again in June, just waiting to see what extended family wants to do. My kids are not the best at sharing beds and actually falling asleep quickly when doing so, so having the ability to put my son in his own bed and my girls in another, while the baby can sleep in a pack n play in the bedroom with the door shut, is very valuable. I considered a 1 bedroom dvc, but the bed situation isn't as ideal so we'll likely stick with Art of Animation again.

 

[MatoMany]

We are a family of 6 as well. Mine are similar ages (7, 5, 3 and 1). We are staying at AoA. For us money was a deciding factor, it was either AoA or two room at Pop. The idea of possibly not getting rooms together. I use to live in FL, Id love a dollar for every time someone told me they weren't together but were one large party in multiple rooms then I could fund my next Disney Vacation with it. I wasn't willing to risk having to separate from my husband and other children so we went with AoA.

If money was no factor Id LOVE to say at Animal Kingdom Lodge. A 2 bedroom would be so nice. Having the sleepers away from the ones awake is going to be hard at AoA but its worth it to be going on vacation together!