AKL or ASMo with toddlers

[disneymidwife]

My friend and I are taking our little princesses to Disney in Sept. We are currently booked at asmo with free dining. We both have annual passes-- Do you think AKL would be better for the girls ( 2,2 , 2) (yes 3 2 year old girls ) The package price is $200 more for 6 nights (but no dining ) TIA for any advice

 

[hoosiergirl7]

I'd stick with ASMo with dining. I've heard that the All-Star resorts are great for kids. It's worth having the free dining. Save that $200 for some really nice souvenirs.

 

[wdwrich]

Tough choice. Based on my grandkids, I would go with AKL for the animals.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I would not give up free dining. ASMO is a great resort. For three little girls, they will be in heaven. The values are great, esp. when your kids are little and you don't need pool slides, bigger beds and bathrooms and other things the deluxes offer. Stay cheap when they are young, they won't know the difference. And again, giving up free dining seems almost sacreligious to me!

 

[wdwrich]

Oops! Missed the part about losing the free DDP. Definitely stay with what you have. try AKL next time.

 

[disneymidwife]

Thanks for the advice. I will lose free dining, but it is only 2 adults so it saves about $60 per day. The price I have for AKL is 144/night, which saves $81/night. I know we would love ASMo, but I heard there is no shallow end in the main pool. The girls love the water and it would be great to have a zero entry pool. Would everyone still vote for ASMo -- I know we will have a great time anywhere in the World!!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Okay, if you have just two adults (the kids all eat free whether you and your friend pay or not) and you are going to save only about $60 a day that is somwhat different.

I guess the real question is how do you like to eat at WDW? If the meals are a focus in that having a full service meal is very important, than getting those for free is quite nice. Also, how much time will you spend at the resort? And how much does that extra savings mean to you overall?

Free Dining is great, however the DDP, whether you are paying for it or not means two things: You eat a lot of the time, and you eat a lot of food! Sometimes when we have done the DDP I feel like we have to be a lot more structured than I like. I don't think I"ll ever pay for it again. But to get it for free is a different story!

The All Star Movie pool's shallow end is around 3 feet I think. It does have a baby pool and a splash area that is very nice for young kids. Zero entry pools are wonderful too. To me it would be about an even experience. When my kids were little having them in a baby pool that was completely separate was nice. Once my son got old enough to really swim, a zero entry was nice since I could hang in that area with my daughter while he swam nearby.

$144 a night for AKL is a wonderful deal. I am sure the girls would love the outdoor viewing area.

I guess in all, I would say you can't make a bad choice. You can either take advantage of a really, nice, deep discount at the AKL or you can take advantage of a really great deal on some nice meals.


I think its even as long as that extra money won't stress you out. Sometimes I have taken trips to WDW where every penny counted, other times it was okay to spend more and I was happy to upgrade to a nicer hotel. I think the pros are even with either choice, you just have to decide which pros are better for you and your friend!

 

[bzzymom]

In Jan 2005, we stayed at AKL when DD was 11 months old, and DS was 7. He was into the animals and really enjoyed. DD wasn't that interested. Then, 8 months later, when she was 19 months we went back to WDW for the first free dining, and stayed at ASmovies. She loved it there. She liked the larger than life characters. The pool isn't zero depth, but it is still fun. She played around in the kiddie pool too. The kids loved ASmovies so much, we went back there the in 2006when she was 2.5. We would go back there in a heartbeat. DD is now 4 and still talks about the hotel.