AoA family suite or Pop?

[annainohio]

We are trying to choose between a family suite at AoA and a regular room at Pop.AoA is about twice as much, but with a two year old and three year old, I'm wondering if the extra room would be a life saver, or if we'd be just as happy all in one room. Any opinions?

 

[teacup princess]

We've done both. The family suites at AOA completely justify the cost for me. Having the separate bedroom with a door is great, especially with kids your age. We've had more than a few days at Disney where someone got sick, needed to go to bed early, was having a meltdown and in those situations the separate bedroom has saved my sanity. Spending all day in a small, dark, quiet room even for a couple hours while a kid is sick or takes a nap is no fun.

Plus, the pools and splash pads at AOA are wonderful for little kids.

 

[ChitownFamily]

We are trying to choose between a family suite at AoA and a regular room at Pop.AoA is about twice as much, but with a two year old and three year old, I'm wondering if the extra room would be a life saver, or if we'd be just as happy all in one room. Any opinions?

Hi! I can share our experience in the AoA Nemo suite. but ultimately you have to decide what is best for your family. We really liked the suite at AoA. It was really nice to have the extra room. It was my husband, myself, our 5 year old boy & our 7 year old girl. My daughter slept on the pull out couch & my son slept on the table/bed. We liked having 2 bathrooms to get ready. Since my kids are older, they were able to get themselves ready while my husband & I took showers etc. We were also there for almost 5-6 nights in the AoA suiite, before we moved off site. We were so lucky to take a 11 day Orlando split stay trip.

This was our first experience in a suite with kids. Before this experience we booked hotel rooms based on price not space. Since our disney trip, we now look for the upgraded hotel suite rooms. Hope this helps!

If you decide to stay in one room, look into the Little Mermaid rooms at AoA. AoA was ab amazing experience in itself.

 

[Jessica14]

I'm in the same boat. Ours are DD 11, and DS 9. They really need their own beds and we need our own room. The kitchenette and to bathrooms would be great too. For us, the decision will come down to overall cost and food costs coupled with any discounts available. So many choices, only so much money!

 

[annainohio]

Thanks for the advice. The wise part of my brain says that we should get the suite... the cheap part says to get the regular room

 

[annainohio]

Has anyone stayed at the all-star music suites? I haven't really considered this option because we really want dedicated buses, but maybe I should think about it.

 

[quandrea]

Has anyone stayed at the all-star music suites? I haven't really considered this option because we really want dedicated buses, but maybe I should think about it.

We did back in 2008. Really liked them. They were functional and nicely laid out. We made use of the kitchenette for breakfasts and snacks. Loved the space. We have never done one room since having kids. I want my own bedroom. The family suites allowed us to do that at a reasonable cost. We have since become dvc members so I can't comment on art of animation, but we were happy at all star music.

 

[luvmy2babies]

I have a 10 year-old and a 4 year-old. No husband, but we stay in suites pretty much everywhere else we go for the extra space and usually an extra television. I give that up at Disney because I want to stay on property.

I’d stay in one of those suites in a NY minute if I could swing it. That space would be wonderful at the end of a day in the parks.

 

[set1208]

We stayed at CBR one year with our three kids who were 1,3, 9 in a regular room. It was manageable but being in one room, my DH and I had to shut off the tv and turn off the lights so my little boys could fall asleep. If there is any distraction, they'll stay up all night. With that, we were all in bed and asleep by 9. We would have liked a separate place for us to stay up without distracting the boys.

 

[SweetMissy]

We've stayed at Pop and Movies with little ones and I think you'd do fine with the rooms at Pop. Yes I'm sure the suites at AOA are wonderful but to me they're too expensive....I don't even consider that resort a value when it's cheaper to stay at a mod. I think Pop is a great choice but may I suggest Movies. We stayed there last year and our little one who was 18 months at the time, loved the splash area that's there. Pop has one too but Movies is better IMO. Good luck deciding!

 

[annainohio]

I've tossed around the idea of staying at the double tree at downtown disney. Suites are about $70 less a night than we'd pay at AoA, but I've always thought I'd only ever stay onsite. Maybe a suite at all star music would be best, even if we needed to rent a car. Sheesh. I'm indecisive.

 

[set1208]

I've tossed around the idea of staying at the double tree at downtown disney. Suites are about $70 less a night than we'd pay at AoA, but I've always thought I'd only ever stay onsite. Maybe a suite at all star music would be best, even if we needed to rent a car. Sheesh. I'm indecisive.

It's so hard to choose! We just went this past October and stayed off site in a villa, rented a car, went to Disney, SeaWorld and LegoLand. I swore I'd never stay off site but once I did a little research and logical thinking, that was what worked best for us. It was fun to break away and try something out of my comfort zone....but we have four kids and it was just the best way financially too.

I bet you guys can make it work in a value room. It's only a couple of days. What's the worst thing...you'll have to fall asleep early when the kids go down so you don't keep them up with the lights and tv. That's relaxing!!

 

[bgirl29]

We have stayed at all star music suites and really liked them. I wouldn't let the shared buses stop you from giving it a try...most of the time we had our own buses. Only shared with the other all stars sometimes during the day when they were not busy.