ADVICE NEEDED: Resort for 3 days, no parks

[kdphi94]

- I have been to Disney parks countless times in the past, but not in the past 7 years (since we had kids.) We live an easy 8 hour drive from the parks. We have taken them to Disney property and stayed at Shades of Green once or twice a year, do area attractions, hang at Shades, go to Disney Springs, LegoLand, Seaworld, etc (we vowed we would never take babies into the parks hence the wait). Well, November 2017, we will take the kids to the parks for the first time. Son will be just shy of 8, daughter celebrating her 5th birthday there.

We have 7 or 8 days available but only plan to do 4 days in the parks, and the rest of the time doing other things in the area, and just relaxing at the resort.

We would like to split the resorts - 4 days at an All Star or some budget place, and then 3 or 4 days at a nicer resort. We want it to have a nice pool, fun atmosphere, night time entertainment on site, etc. Current thoughts are Poly, Beach Club, and Animal Kingdom (son loves animals). Not interested in the GF.

So, basically, seeking advice on which resort would be a fun place to spend 3-4 days with no concerns about the parks / transportation, etc. just resort fun. We will be going in Nov/Dec 2017. Thank you in advance.

 

[fla4fun]

AKL is a great resort if you don't plan on doing parks. However, if I were going and wanting night time entertainment at/near my resort, that would not be my first choice. There were a lot of things going on during the day, but it didn't seem like there was much going on at night.

Will the kids have an issue with being able to see the park from the resort, but not visit it? That would be my concern with either an Epcot resort or a monorail resort - the close proximity of a park I didn't plan to visit. Epcot resorts aren't quite as bad in that respect as monorail resorts, and BC has a great pool. You do have the three Disney properties as well as the Swan and Dolphin to explore. So of the choices you mentioned that would be my first pick.

 

[Aliceacc]

I agree-- my first choice would be the Beach/Yacht Club, assuming that the weather would be warm enough to enjoy StormAlong Bay, the amazing pool complex those resorts share, and that you plan to spend some time at Epcot. Of the two, the Beach Club is probably more kid orientated, but not enough so to offset a possible discount at the Yacht Club. You're a short walk or boat ride away from the Boardwalk, which offers some more diversions.

ETA-- You know your own kids. But I know my own kids would MUCH MUCH rather be in a value if the money we saved meant more park time. We're in the parks on arrival day, departure day, and every single day in between.

 

[Nancyg56]

I would not do a split stay. I would choose a moderate, and for the ages of your children I would choose either POR. POFQ, or CBR, and instead of limiting the park days I would extend my tickets.

You could also look at the Cabins in FW. The kids may like the activities there, and you have such easy access by boat to the MK. There is plenty of room to spread out, and lots of room for the kids to play.

We never spend all day every day in the parks, but there is a lot to be said for being able to go into a park for a few hours at dinnertime, or for breakfast, and then back to the resort for swimming, etc. The cost per day drops dramatically after 4 days, so you are not adding too much onto your total cost, and I think in the long run you may save because you always have the opportunity to have a destination in mind.

I like Deluxe resorts but I have never had a bad stay at the moderates.

If you want to do the split stay I would consider AKL or the Beach Club as the second resort. AKL is stunning and is the place I woudl choose for an animal lover. BC is just plain fun. You can head out ontot he Boardwalk in the evening and enjoy the activities there, and during the day there is the pool.

 

[Nancyg56]

I just wanted to add, we went to WDW 4 years ago with a limited park day plan. We were there over Thanksgiving so we planned to avoid the parks the first few days. It did not work for us. My DGD was 11 at the time so she understood the plan, but it was just odd for us. WE kept busy and had fun, but we wont leave so many days open again.

 

[piccolopat]

I would pick one place and stay there. I don't like the split stay (did it twice) because it means packing up and moving, checking in and out multiple times. You can go to the park for the 4 days and perhaps leave days in between to do other things. I'd suggest you go to the Space Center and Busch Gardens if you haven't been there already and then one day as a resort day.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

For non-park stays, I recommend Saratoga or AKL among deludes, and POFQ for a mod.

 

[NH-to-FL]

We want it to have a nice pool, fun atmosphere, night time entertainment on site, etc. Current thoughts are Poly, Beach Club, and Animal Kingdom (son loves animals). Not interested in the GF.

With those thoughts in mind the Beach Club would be my choice. The pool is great, there is so much to do around the Epcot resorts such as the Boardwalk in the evening and watching the Epcot and DHS fireworks from just outside the parks. There are plenty of restaurants nearby.

You could take "day trips" to the AKL or the monorail resorts.

Full disclosure... I am a big fan of the BWI and the Epcot resort area.

 

[bumbershoot]

ETA-- You know your own kids. But I know my own kids would MUCH MUCH rather be in a value if the money we saved meant more park time. We're in the parks on arrival day, departure day, and every single day in between.

Yep.

We have stopped park visits because we are somewhat bored with wdw but need to use dvc points. But it's not the same with newbie kids.

You guys made that vow and stuck with it? I just can't imagine doing that if you had the means to go (we did not have the means to have any sort of proper trip to Disneyland until DS was 3). Especially since you went to other themeparks? Most people (who aren't immune to "magic" like I am) consider the young years to be the best time to go.

DS was so easy to cart around as a baby/toddler. As he got older he got more opinions that interfered with my plans lol.

 

[MommaBerd]

I would not do a split stay. I would choose a moderate, and for the ages of your children I would choose either POR. POFQ, or CBR, and instead of limiting the park days I would extend my tickets.

You could also look at the Cabins in FW. The kids may like the activities there, and you have such easy access by boat to the MK. There is plenty of room to spread out, and lots of room for the kids to play.

We never spend all day every day in the parks, but there is a lot to be said for being able to go into a park for a few hours at dinnertime, or for breakfast, and then back to the resort for swimming, etc. The cost per day drops dramatically after 4 days, so you are not adding too much onto your total cost, and I think in the long run you may save because you always have the opportunity to have a destination in mind.

I agree with the above, and especially the bolded part. Right now on UT, you can get 7 day PHs for the price of 4! But since you have stayed at SoG before, maybe you get a better military discount on 4-day tickets?

Also to add that we loved POR/POFQ because of boating to DS. And though we have never seen Yeeha Bob, I hear awesome things about his evening shows and it is on my Disney bucket list.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

A few years back, my family and I decided to do a short parks free trip. We ended up staying at Wilderness Lodge and had an absolute blast! The pool was so much fun and it was great to see the Electrical Water Pageant on the beach at night. You are also a short boat ride away from Fort Wilderness where the kids can ride ponies and see and pet so many different animals.

As others have said, Beach Club would be a great choice, as well. The pool there is probably the absolute best on property where you could easily spend hours and never get bored. Plus, Boardwalk is just a short walk away with all of its fun nighttime entertainment. The kids could also do a pirate cruise one morning (kids only). My daughter absolutely loved the one she did at POR. While the kids are on their pirate cruise, you and your spouse could enjoy some alone time having brunch, taking a very pleasant walk along the river, shopping at the resort or Boardwalk, or just relaxing in the room. You can also rent a boat and go around the area. Fantasia Gardens is a short walk away if you have an interest in playing miniature golf. My daughter is 6 and absolutely terrible at miniature golf, but that never stopped her from having a blast playing. Oh,and if you want some couple time, the kids could spend an evening at Sandcastle Club while you have a romantic dinner at Yachtsman.

This past summer, we stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort for another parks free trip. That was a fantastic time! Caribbean Beach is such a huge resort, but when you aren't rushing off to the park in the morning or exhausted at the end of the day after walking for miles, it really doesn't seem bad at all. The grounds are absolutely gorgeous for walks and my daughter loved played at Caribbean Cay. The pool? It's pretty fantastic. It's pirate themed with 2 water slides, a zero entrance area, play cannons to trickle water, and a fun splash pad. We spent a ton of time there and never felt like it was enough. They also have a pirate cruise there during the day, but they also were advertising something called Pirate Camp (I think) that was at night. The kids were fed a pizza dinner there so parents were encouraged to have a nice dinner just the two of them at Shutters while the kids were off having a good time. We never saw anything about this online, but it was definitely advertised around the resort. It's also fun to roast marshmallows around the campfire and then watch a movie under the stars at night. Of course, they have that at most of the resorts, but I love the grounds at Caribbean Beach so much that for me, it just seemed a little more fun here. It's not a deluxe, but definitely, in my opinion, worth considering.

 

[ChasingLeslie]

I wouldn't do a split stay.

I took my first timers (also 8 and 5) to CSR last year. They loved the Dig Site pool and slide, roasting marshmallows, and watching fireworks over the lake. The food options at the Pepper Market and Cafe Rix were a hit.

I wouldn't recommend POFQ or CBR, only because your son will exceed the height restrictions for the kiddie splash pads and it wouldn't be fun having to keep him out of it.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If your overalll goal is to stick within a certain budget (hence the value/deluxe split with 4 day tickets), I would recommend pricing out a mod for the whole stay (we like POR, POFQ) and then seeing costs adding on a 4 day and a 7 day ticket. I don't think you will see much of a price difference. I understand wanting to relax at a resort with more amenities, but by scheduling your park days around the value stay you are actually eliminating one of the perks of staying at Poly or BC which is incredible proximity to the parks. With POR and POFQ, in addition to a beautiful resort, you will be getting a boat to DS which will provide some of the nightime entertainment you are looking for. I would also recommend pricing out the Swan/Dolphin for your entire stay to see what kind of cost savings you can find there over a WDW deluxe. If you are an SPG member (Starwood's fee loyalty program), you will find better rates directly through the Swan/Dolphin website.

If you really want to stick to your value/deluxe plan, of the 3 resorts you've listed, I would choose BC. The pool is fantastic and you can walk over to the Boardwalk for the evening entertainment, but, again, you will be wasting that perk of walking right next door and going to EP unless you upgrade your tickets to more days.

 

[alex9179]

Our coming summer trip is like what you're thinking about doing. We're a family of 5, so our resort choices reflect this...no inexpensive value rooms for us. We're staying 9 nights and have 5 day PH tickets. The first 5 nights will be at POR. On arrival day, we'll hang out at Disney Springs to see the new stuff, look for souvenirs, and eat lunch. Then, we're enjoying the pool area to avoid the incessant nagging from my children about when they'll get to swim. Two park days will be followed by two more resort days. POR to swim and Yee Ha Bob's show in the evening and the next day we're going to resort hop and snack before we finish the day at FW. We'll visit the stables if we have time before dinner at Trail's End, then a wagon ride and Chip & Dale's campfire if the kids are interested.

It's time to check out and go to a park before we finish up our vacation with 4 nights at YC! After morning parks, we'll play at SAB and park hop to Epcot or catch the evening entertainment we missed at DHS. Our last full day is another resort day at SAB and a nice dinner at The Blue Zoo. On our departure day, we'll have a big brunch and get on the road for home (we're driving).

There is a possibility that we'll end up adding to our park tickets, but we're all really looking forward to taking in the sights and enjoying the resort amenities this time.

 

[illinidp]

If I were doing this as part of a split stay and staying on property I would go for the BC for the pool and the S&D and Boardwalk nearby, or resorts with easy access to Disney Springs like POR or SSR.

I would also be strongly considering taking the opportunity to check out an off property resort such as nearby resorts like the Hilton Bonnet Creek, the Wyndham Bonnet Creek, the Four Seasons Orlando, and the Hyatt Grand Cypress; or Universal hotels such as Portifino Bay or Cabana Bay; or I drive hotels such as the Renaissance Orlando, Hilton Orlando, Holiday Inn Orlando Suites (the former Nickelodeon Suites) or Floridays.

 

[kdphi94]

Good evening everyone and thank you for the input. With this information, we have decided to adjust our schedule - we will do 6 or 7 days in the parks, and just take our time. Our idea of going to other things in the area (Sea World, LegoLand, etc) have been scrapped and will be done in a separate trip. Being military, those parks offer great value (READ: Free for family at SW/BGargedns, and very discounted at LL), and we go yearly. The off-site options are great, and have been done thru the Armed Forces Vacation Club (afvclub.com) which allows military personnel to stay at the time share resorts at a very discounted rate.. Now, looking into our resort options, thinking of Port Orleans or the BC.. Thank you again everyone!

 

[kdphi94]

Good Evening - so, we have booked! Went with the Caribbean Beach Resort for 7 days, and 5 days in the parks. Will also be doing 2 or 3 somewhere else to just spend some time in Florida. We went for the fun themed room, good price, and pool. Shortly after we booked, we were told by them that there will be some construction going on, and they would be providing us with a gift card because of the inconvenience. Score!