AOA or Cabin at Fort Wilderness for Family of 6

[808momof4]

My husband, DD 10, DD 8, DD 7, DD 2 and myself are going to Disney World for the first time EVER. I've narrowed our choices down to AOA Nemo Suite or a Cabin at Ft Wilderness. We will be at Disney for 8 nights 9 days and plan to get either the Dining Plan or the Deluxe Dining Plan. Please help me decide which resort to book. Also, how far in advance should I plan to book? We are 9 months out.

Thank you so much for your help!

 

[HopperFan]

My husband, DD 10, DD 8, DD 7, DD 2 and myself are going to Disney World for the first time EVER. I've narrowed our choices down to POA Nemo Suite or a Cabin at Ft Wilderness. We will be at Disney for 8 nights 9 days and plan to get either the Dining Plan or the Deluxe Dining Plan. Please help me decide which resort to book. Also, how far in advance should I plan to book? We are 9 months out.

Thank you so much for your help!

It's AoA .....

If money is no issue (if suite higher when you are going) then I would pick AoA for 2 bathrooms and more space, way better transportation to the parks (especially if you will have stroller), easy access to mug refills and food court and easy access to pools.

With the dining plans you won't have much use for the cabin kitchen, I didn't like the cabin having two doors exiting out to woods with young kids, the bedroom is very tight for four people and if your little one needs the pack n play, it will barely fit.

AoA gives you a big space with a queen bed in bedroom - yet space in the bedroom for pack n play for your little one, and sofabed and murphy bed (which is a real bed) in large living room space. If you want easy use of the resort and the amenities AoA is a good choice. Getting around campground was a pain with three kids, stroller etc.

 

[808momof4]

It's AoA .....

If money is no issue (if suite higher when you are going) then I would pick AoA for 2 bathrooms and more space, way better transportation to the parks (especially if you will have stroller), easy access to mug refills and food court and easy access to pools.

Whoops!! I've edited my comment and title.

 

[VAfamily1998]

We are also a family of 6, but our children are older (17, 15, 13, 11.)

Our upcoming stay is in January, and is our first trip as a whole family since 2012 (individuals/smaller groups of our family have taken trips since then.)

We will be staying in a cabin at Fort Wilderness. I have stayed there before by myself, but no one from my family has stayed at AoA.
These are the reasons why the cabins are more appealing to me than a suite at AoA

--Full kitchen (AoA has only a kitchenette)
--more "real beds" (AoA only has 1 Queen bed--the rest of the beds are made up from other furniture/pull outs. The Cabin has 1 Queen, a set of bunkbeds, and a sofa bed)
--The beach, for viewing MK fireworks and the electric water pageant
--A private deck outside of the cabin (suites at AoA do not have a patio or balcony of any kind)
--pool has a water slide and hot tub
--dedicated parking spot immediately outside the cabin

Reasons why AoA might appeal to your family more:
-2 bathrooms in your suite (cabin just has one)
-theme will be more fun for young kids
-simpler/more convenient transportation (the Fort is large and may require taking the inner bus system, plus a separate bus/boat to get to the parks.

 

[HopperFan]

Whoops!! I've edited my comment and title.

The title caught me though ... woah, what is POA, how did I miss that.

 

[VAfamily1998]

Also, I just noticed you have all girls. We have all boys!

 

[808momof4]

Thanks for the advice! My girls were disappointed about a lack of slide at AOA. And the beach side parade and fireworks sounds amazing. How does one rent a golf cart? Will our family fit on one?

 

[808momof4]

The title caught me though ... woah, what is POA, how did I miss that.

that's funny!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I would do the cabins. I found AoA to be very uncomfortable. The theming at Ft. W is wonderful and you can boat to MK.

I'm not sure if you have any interest, but, because you have a child under 3, you could also fit in any room that fits 5, including most of the deluxe resort rooms.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

We did a split stay in both of these resorts (Nemo room, also) and enjoyed both. I thought we would enjoy AoA more, but all of us really preferred the cabins. My older daughter loved the bunk beds. The cabins were far more quiet and peaceful.

We stayed when our younger daughter was not quite 2 and we really liked not sharing a wall with someone else when she was fussy or crying. We were also glad that it was quiet when she needed to nap. We thought the cabins were great with a little one because we could store a lot of her things (diapers, toys, stroller, etc.) in the car and it was so easy to have everything we needed just steps from our door. We had to haul a lot of stuff from our car to our room at AoA and it just wasn't as convenient.

We drove to WDW so we took our bikes with us. That was a lot of fun at the Fort. We also loved the beach and playground at the Fort.

The pool is definitely better at AoA.

The room was much noisier for us at AoA. People slammed doors and ran down the hallways yelling well after midnight. Everything echoed. That was the worst part of our stay at AoA.

Having the dining plan does complicate things a bit. It is very nice to make a quick jaunt to the food court at AoA to grab a drink and that will be harder at the Fort. They also do not have nearly the food options at the Fort as they do at AoA.

Have you considered a split stay so you can tell which one you might like better for future visits?

 

[mickeymom22]

I definitely recommend getting a golf cart. Fort Wilderness is really spread out. Will you have your own car?

It is great to be able to take the ferry to MK from Ft. Wilderness and watch the fireworks and ELP from the beach. Your kids would really like the campfire with Chip and Dale too! Your oldest might like to take the archery class there. My two oldest did this when they were about 10. My hubby took it with them, while the baby and I hung out in HS and did the Disney Jr. show and characters. They really liked the class and loved that their dad did it with them.

AoA's pool is totally awesome. Your kids would love it. I really like all the attention to detail at this resort. Your oldest would probably like the animation class there too!
This resort would be a lot easier to use the dining plan. You have the AoA food court, and if you want you could walk over to Pop and try their food court.

I suggest a split stay...best of both worlds! I would do AoA first when your energy is high and Ft. Wilderness when you are slowing down.

Happy Planning!

 

[808momof4]

We will have a vehicle. We are driving down from my parent's house in Georgia for the week after my sister's Savannah wedding. I'm leaning more toward the Cabins because of the archery, horses, water ferry to MK, parking next to cabin, and being able to see the fireworks from the beach. We live in Hawaii, and don't have alligators or snakes. I'd be fibbing if I said the idea of those creatures being in the water there didn't scare me.

 

[JennyDrake]

Have you considered TWO rooms at a value?? Costs less than the other options.....

 

[VAfamily1998]

We will have a vehicle. We are driving down from my parent's house in Georgia for the week after my sister's Savannah wedding. I'm leaning more toward the Cabins because of the archery, horses, water ferry to MK, parking next to cabin, and being able to see the fireworks from the beach. We live in Hawaii, and don't have alligators or snakes. I'd be fibbing if I said the idea of those creatures being in the water there didn't scare me.

I think with 4 young kids, this (parking next to the cabin) could REALLY come in handy--especially if you plan to drive to any of the parks (probably most convenient for all the parks except MK) And with a car and a full kitchen, you can stock up on snacks and breakfast items to help defray the cost of meals.

 

[VAfamily1998]

Have you considered TWO rooms at a value?? Costs less than the other options.....

The problem with two rooms at a value, is Disney won't guarantee they will be connecting. OP could end up with 2 rooms at opposite ends of the resort.

 

[PRomano]

We stayed at the cabins years ago. We loved them! You might not need the dining plan. You can have breakfast in the cabin. And sandwiches for lunch/dinner. The pool was plain though. We stayed at aoa but not in a suite. We have also done 2 rooms in a value. Both times at the values we had connecting rooms. At fort wilderness we didn't have a golf cart. We used the internal bus or drove everywhere.

 

[808momof4]

Have you considered TWO rooms at a value?? Costs less than the other options.....

That was going to be my first option at a moderate or higher level resort, actually. Then, I found out they won't guarantee connecting rooms. Our oldest will only be 10 by the time we travel. While she is very responsible and mature for her age, I can't say the same about things one and two who were born after her. LOL

I think with 4 young kids, this (parking next to the cabin) could REALLY come in handy--especially if you plan to drive to any of the parks (probably most convenient for all the parks except MK) And with a car and a full kitchen, you can stock up on snacks and breakfast items to help defray the cost of meals.

I do NOT want to cook or grocery shop on this trip. HOWEVER, snacks and such would be great. With parking included in the resort cost, we will probably drive to the parks. I also would be interested in information about the golf carts. Those could be fun.

 

[PRomano]

Both times we requested connecting rooms we got them. I think because you have more kids than adults you don't need to worry. I had 3 adults and 3 kids the first time. This time I had 2 adults, 2 18 year olds and a 12 year old

 

[runalarm]

We are a family of 6 also and were thinking about staying in the cabins (we ended up in a boardwalk villa). My kids thought the cabins sounded fun, though.

If you look at Disney's website under things to do and sports & recreation you will find the number for golf cart rentals. I would call soon, they can be reserved up to a year in advance, I think, and can be cancelled if you end up changing your mind. Your family with young kids would fit in a standard 4-seater. We used to own a golf cart and our kids LOVED it!

 

[familyman123]

My family stayed in a cabin sep 16 (myself, wife, DD9, DD6, DD4, DD1 at the time).
Pluses:
- Parking outside meant we just drove straight to all the parks except the magic kingdom and it was quick with the car right outside
- The area outside your cabin is still kind of "yours". Our kids would go outside for more space and fresh air and yet they were still around.
- My oldest LOVED horseback riding and the others loved the ponies
- The layout allows for kids to sleep in smaller backroom while my wife hung out in larger family room with fridge. In AoA, the kitchenette area will likely have sleeping kids

Downsides:
- Quick service credits are not ideal, would have preferred AoA food court
-AoA pool looks cooler, even without water slide
- only one bathroom