AoA Fam Suite vs CSR connecting rooms with littles - advice please?

[NurseJamie]

Hi everyone!
Gosh, I used to spend so much time on the Disboards, it's fun to be back!! I used to go to WDW 2x a year before I had kids, 2007-2017ish. Now I have a 4 year old and 2 year old and we are planning our first family trip and I am so excited! I haven't been to WDW since 2018 between babies/covid so lots has changed since I have been. I'm trying to decide which room/hotel arrangement would work best for our little family and could use some feedback.

My two boys are decent sleepers but one or the other usually wakes up at least once most nights. They currently have their own bedrooms so are not used to sharing a room or falling asleep together. My younger son still sleeps in a crib so we would consider a pack and play if needed. 2 year old still naps in the afternoon so the ability to take an afternoon break back at the hotel for a nap/rest/dip in the pool would be a major advantage. I know a lot of the perks of staying on property have been eliminated since I last went (RIP Magic Express and EMH) so at first we thought an AirBNB close to the parks would be the way to go, each kid could have their own space, we could prep food, ability to do other activities in the Orlando area, etc. But the more I thought about how our family works, the more I am thinking that if we have to load up a car, drive away from the parks, then load back up and go back after naps, the less likely we would actually be to do that. We're also not particularly morning people even with the little kids, so I am not sure the morning EMH perk would be something we'd take advantage of.

Anyway, I have it narrowed down to 3 options and would love feedback from anyone who has travelled with small children and could let me know how things worked out/didn't work out for them and how they feel about the current perks of on property vs off.

1st option - AoA family suite $428/night - 4 year old would sleep fine in the couch sleeper but not sure where we would stash my two year old. In bedroom with us in pack and play? In the bathroom? He still wouldn't have his own space.

2nd option - 2 connecting rooms at Coronado Springs - standard rooms are $202/night with the Visa discount, thought maybe we could get two connecting rooms for about the same price as the AoA fam suite, each person could have a bed and the boys would be in separate rooms so if one woke up the other wouldn't be disturbed. Plus two bathrooms for getting ready, or if the 2 year old needs REAL dark & quiet we could put a pack and play in one bathroom and still be able to use the other.

3rd option - just get an AirBNB nearby and not worry about sleeping, but probably spend a little less time in the parks themselves.

Any advice/feedback/travel tips for an old WDW pro who feels like a newbie all over again would be so appreciated! Thank you all for anything you share

 

[Skippyboo]

AoA is better than CSR in transportation and theming. You have Skyliner access to 2 parks vs buses only at Coronado. Plus the bus makes multiple stops around the resort. It’s also much more adult themed since it’s a convention hotel while AoA is themed more to animation with Nemo, Cars, Lion King. They have the big blue pool and splash pad area.

They just dropped a bunch of discounts like free dining, discounts on 5+ nights stays.

 

[Callsdodisney]

Unless Coronado allows you to book two connecting rooms specifically (I don’t think they do, but I know some hotel chains are now doing that, so maybe?), connecting rooms will not be guaranteed. It’s likely that it will happen, but you won’t know for sure until the moment you check in. So just think about that scenario and how you would handle it if they were not connecting and if that’s risk you are willing to take.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Welcome back, fellow nurse! You’ve been busy!

Coronado also has suites like the ones at AoA. We’ve stayed in one before. Not sure what the pricing is like comparatively these days. The connecting rooms would be pretty similar, but will have four beds instead of the sleeper chairs. There are a LOT of nice features for kids (and adults) around the resort and it’s so peaceful and beautiful. Transportation is bus only, but nothing wrong with that. (Just took the bus back there from MK a few weeks ago and it was fine.)

I’m not sure how it would work there with sleep for your family. We had many trips when our kids were little but they usually slept in the same bed no problem and would be passed out completely after a day in the parks and swimming, etc. (But they were twins and shared a bassinet as babies and a room at home in early years, etc.) DH and I would often enjoy some wine out on the walkway outside the room (with the door open) or on a deck if we had one once they were asleep. Loved those days.

A lot of people really love AoA/Pop. I was just talking to someone at work this week about that. They like the Skyliner and the theming. We had a lot of stays at Pop pre-Skyliner and liked it, as well. Since we enjoy a lot more resort time today than we did when our kids were small, we prefer somewhere now with more amenities. And, I’ll go on the Skyliner, but I don’t love it - just like I don’t like to fly, lol, or changing cabs, etc.

Not sure about an AirBNB, have never done that. We have stayed in a 2BR suite recently at the Residence Inn LBV (and others) and those are nice, and pretty affordable. Two completely separate bedrooms and bathrooms, full kitchen, sleeper sofa in living room, and a full breakfast that is decent. Very clean. That one is a short drive from the Disney gates outside of Disney Springs. I would check it out, especially where you have your own car (as we always do). If each of the kids having a separate, dark room is super important to you, you could give them the bedrooms and you and your husband sleep on the sofa. The bathrooms are in the bedrooms, though, although if you really don’t want to wake them in the middle of the night you could probably slip out and use the lobby bathroom. Our 2BR was right off the lobby.

Feel free to PM if you have any questions! Happy to help! You can see where we’ve stayed in my signature.

 

[SkyGuy]

It’s been a while since I’ve had littles, so maybe I’m misremembering the size of a pack n play, but that would be a really tight squeeze to get into one of the bathrooms in the AoA family suite. There is room to put one in the main bedroom, though. If your kids could sleep in the same room, you could put the younger child on the pull out, since it’s a lower bed and the other on the Murphy bed. (I’ve only stayed in a 1-bed suite at CSR, so I’m not sure how big their bathrooms are.) We love both those resorts. The skyliner is amazing, especially with strollers that don’t need to be broken down to board. I’ve seen complaints about the buses at CSR, but we’ve never had any issues. Pools at both resorts are great, but I think the AoA pool with the theming and splash pad would be better for your ages. We loved the QS at AoA - Mickey waffles every morning? Yes, please!

 

[loves to dive]

I'd do the ASMusic family suite. It's less than AoA, has a bigger kitchen area and two full bathrooms. My grand daughter sleeps in her own room at home (2 1/2 years old) but when they travel to WDW they just put her pack and play in the room and don't pull down the 2nd bed. She has no problem sleeping in the room with them. I would think you might could even set the pack and play up in the little kitchen area.

The only disadvantage to Music is there are only buses if the sky liner matters to you. Personally, we prefer the All Stars over AoA/Pop because of that. Not fans of the sky liner since my son is not a fan of heights and is a little bit claustrophobic. Depending on the time of year you go, it can go down often for thunder storms. You do not want him stuck on that thing in the air, it wouldn't be pretty. If it's shut down you are going to take a bus any way.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

When my girls were young, we were concerned about one waking up the other before our first trip but it turned out to be a non-issue. Disney has a way of making littles so exhausted that they sleep very soundly.

I would pick AOA because of the room separation allowing the adults a space to hang out when the kids are sleeping. The pools at AOA would be better suited to your children's ages. The skyliner transportation is also a huge benefit at AOA being able to just roll a stroller on and off without disturbing a sleeping child or the hassle of opening and closing a huge stroller. For MK and AK, the bus transportation at AOA will also be faster given it's one bus stop and their buses are quite frequent. I also think the QS food at AOA will be much easier and more varied than CSR.

If you really prefer getting 2 connecting rooms vs an AOA suite, I would choose CBR for the transportation, pools, and food options over CSR. If you want a compact resort, POFQ has a really nice kids waterplay zone, pool, and playground all within the same area, great food, and a single bus stop.

In all honesty, CSR is the last moderate I would choose with littles.

On a side note......there is a youtuber(can't remember her name) that takes her 2 littles and puts her youngest in a pack-n-play with a little pop-up tent over it for light control. She then uses a white noise machine for soothing sound and noise blocking during nap time when the resorts aren't as quiet.

 

[Marthasor]

I would not count on CSR giving you connecting rooms - they would certainly try, but there is no guarantee. I would definitely book a room that automatically gives you the separate spaces you need - I would consider the AoA suite or, if you are willing to go up a little in price, look at a 1-bedroom villa at any DVC resort. The advantage of villa is it would offer you a living room/separate space, plus a full kitchen and washer/dryer that could come in handy with littles. Plus, you would have the upgraded amenities of a deluxe resort.

 

[DWillowBay]

I would not count on being able to get connecting rooms at CSR. It is my favorite resort, by far, but they do not guarantee connecting rooms. The last time we "requested" connecting rooms, we were in the same building, but different floors and different hallways. For your situation, I do not think that CSR is your best bet. As others have said, they do have suites, if that is in your budget, but a 4 and 2 - year old would far prefer AoA, for sure. I hope you have a great trip!

 

[NurseJamie]

Thank all of you for your advice and input! We only tried a stay with connecting rooms one time and managed to get it, sounds like that was less common than I thought! Thanks to your info that it's not as likely for that to work out, we decided to go with an AoA family suite. I think the kids will love the pool and the theming and I am excited to experience the Skyliner for the first time! Thanks again for your help in our decision-making!

 

[bluezy]

Thank all of you for your advice and input! We only tried a stay with connecting rooms one time and managed to get it, sounds like that was less common than I thought! Thanks to your info that it's not as likely for that to work out, we decided to go with an AoA family suite. I think the kids will love the pool and the theming and I am excited to experience the Skyliner for the first time! Thanks again for your help in our decision-making!

We really enjoy staying the AoA suites. We've stayed there 5 times so far and will be staying there again in June even though the "kids" staying with us are 19 & 24. I think the room will work well for your family. A pack and play will definitely fit in the bedroom and if your child requires more darkness/privacy, I'm pretty sure a pack and play will fit in the master bathroom. The catch there is that the fan in that bathroom has a motion/occupancy sensor in it, so every time the child moves, it will most likely turn on. I've seen people say they take a few pieces of paper and some tape and just loosely cover the fan/vent (which prevents the sensor from detecting motion) while the child is sleeping in there so that the fan doesn't turn on unexpectedly. I've never tried that myself because our youngest child was 6 when we started staying there. You *might* be able to fit the pack and play in the other bathroom. That's a split bathroom and the sink area can be closed off from the main living space by a pocket door. I really can't remember exactly how big that space is, but it might be big enough. You would probably need a baby monitor in there if you plan to close the bedroom door at night.

I'm not sure what kind of stroller you'll be using, but if you have a tandem double stroller, you'll be able to roll that right on to the Skyliner without taking the kids out and folding it up. If you have a side-by-side double stroller, you'll need to fold it up. Our son and DIL stayed at Pop last year and were very thankful they had a tandem double stroller because there were several times that 1 or both of the kids were sleeping when they were returning to the resort. It was nice not to have to wake them.

One other tip. If your 4 year old typically gets up to go to the bathroom during the night, you might want to take along a few of the battery operated tea lights as there is no outlet for a nightlight in the toilet part of the split bathroom. Your only options are turn out the main light in there or have a light on in some other part of the room and keep the door open. The tea lights offer just enough light so you can see what you're doing.

 

[NurseJamie]

We really enjoy staying the AoA suites. We've stayed there 5 times so far and will be staying there again in June even though the "kids" staying with us are 19 & 24. I think the room will work well for your family. A pack and play will definitely fit in the bedroom and if your child requires more darkness/privacy, I'm pretty sure a pack and play will fit in the master bathroom. The catch there is that the fan in that bathroom has a motion/occupancy sensor in it, so every time the child moves, it will most likely turn on. I've seen people say they take a few pieces of paper and some tape and just loosely cover the fan/vent (which prevents the sensor from detecting motion) while the child is sleeping in there so that the fan doesn't turn on unexpectedly. I've never tried that myself because our youngest child was 6 when we started staying there. You *might* be able to fit the pack and play in the other bathroom. That's a split bathroom and the sink area can be closed off from the main living space by a pocket door. I really can't remember exactly how big that space is, but it might be big enough. You would probably need a baby monitor in there if you plan to close the bedroom door at night.

I'm not sure what kind of stroller you'll be using, but if you have a tandem double stroller, you'll be able to roll that right on to the Skyliner without taking the kids out and folding it up. If you have a side-by-side double stroller, you'll need to fold it up. Our son and DIL stayed at Pop last year and were very thankful they had a tandem double stroller because there were several times that 1 or both of the kids were sleeping when they were returning to the resort. It was nice not to have to wake them.

One other tip. If your 4 year old typically gets up to go to the bathroom during the night, you might want to take along a few of the battery operated tea lights as there is no outlet for a nightlight in the toilet part of the split bathroom. Your only options are turn out the main light in there or have a light on in some other part of the room and keep the door open. The tea lights offer just enough light so you can see what you're doing.

Ooooh this is some pro level intel! Very helpful to know, thank you so much!!!

 

[NicoleLarson]

Thank all of you for your advice and input! We only tried a stay with connecting rooms one time and managed to get it, sounds like that was less common than I thought! Thanks to your info that it's not as likely for that to work out, we decided to go with an AoA family suite. I think the kids will love the pool and the theming and I am excited to experience the Skyliner for the first time! Thanks again for your help in our decision-making!

Sounds like you have already made your decision, which is the one I would have leaned towards. However, I just wanted to throw one more option out there. The Dolphin has family suites, you have to call to get these, they're not bookable online. Basically it's 2 connecting rooms with a couch. They typically run in the same price range that you are looking at and often give a Healthcare worker discount. Being able to walk to 2 parks was a game changer for us when we had small kids. The skyliner is nice until it breaks down or closes for a thunderstorm and both happen frequently.