hi!
we stayed at FW cabins in nov. with our 3 just-turned-2 y.o.s....the extra bedroom was GREAT for naptime and bedtime (they took LONG naps and slept pretty well at night), and i liked the idea that i didn't have to worry about them waking neighbors up if they did get up in the night (at that time, they didn't have a great track record of sleeping through the night).
the kitchen was nice to have (although they didn't eat as much "home cooked" food as i would have expected/preferred), and the BIG fridge was great for the gallons and gallons of milk we go through!!
the extra space on the porch and in the "family room" was nice for the kids to run around.
we stayed there because, like you, i thought we needed to plan for LOTS of time away from the parks. well, we did spend lots of time away from the parks, but because my kids didn't sleep in their strollers so we were back for 3 hr. naps every day , and transportation took quite a while..we drove, mostly, as it was easier to lug the strollers out the cabin door directly into the car as opposed to using them to get to the internal bus stop, then folding them up to get to the other bus stop or ferry, then back out to get into the parks. either way, we found that FW is not eay transportation for multiple 2 year olds (and we had parents and in-laws to help!)
we also thought we'd use the playgrounds, pool, petting zoo,and nightly campfire during "downtime".... for our kids, downtime meant needing calming, quiet activities to get them ready for nap/bed or giving them time to wake up and eat. being in the parks and in the sun really affected their ability to function well without their routine (and i have pretty easy going kids). we went to the playground 1 afternoon (the afternoon we didn't go into a park) and never made it to the campfire, pool, or zoo (the pools are nothing special at FW).
we're going again in april/may and will stay at the poly (if we get the AP discount!)....transportation will be SO much easier as it is a hop on the monorail (don't even have to fold the strollers) , and to me that was the biggest consideration this trip. also love the quick walk to the beach and the zero-entry pool (my kids don't really like "swimming", but we have a sloped-entry pool like the one at the poly at out local YMCA and my kids LOVE being able to control how much water they are in!)
as opposed to the last trip, we'll have the whole day off the 1st day we're there to swim, get into a sleep routine (we'll miss the extra bedroom!!!!), ride the monorails, play on the beach and on the playground, and watch the fireworks from the beach over "mickey's castle". we're also doing the character breakfast at ohana's that sunday (we'll check in sat. night).--all of these things, by the way, were my kids' favorite activities! ...in nov., we made our PS for the last day for a character breakfast to make sure the kids weren't freaked out, but should have tried to change it to sooner because they loved it! by the way, if you stay at any on-site resort, you can do all of these things at the poly (other than the swimming!!)
we're going again in sept. or oct (kids are free until 3!!!!), and we're considering trying adjoining rooms at a value resort at that time, just to try out all of our options (once i go deluxe, though, i might never want to go back!!)
oh, we stayed at AKL the first night (got a savannah upgrade!) and the kids really liked boma and loved the playground. the animal viewing was nice, but only kept my 3 entertained for a few minutes at a time (and they LOVE going to the zoo). there is A LOT for little ones to look at, though, and they enjoyed wandering arond the lobby and outside...we drove to AK in the morning, but i forgot that the parking lots don't open early for early entry
, so we wasted some time getting in...
hope some of this info. helps and have a MAGICAL time!!!
