Best OnSite Resort and Off site Hotel

[mati]

We are planning to go to disneyworld this spring with 3 young children (one infant and then 2 boys - 5 and 7) and would like to stay on site if possible. We are thinking of trying animal kingdom lodge for a couple of days (spending time then at animal kingdom) and then moving to either polynesian, contemporary, or wilderness lodge for the days we will plan to go to magic kingdom. Any thoughts on splitting up a trip like this (i.e., moving between disney resorts -- worth it?) and also any suggestions as to the best on site resort close to Magic Kingdom?

Also, if we can't afford it, we are thinking of spending several nights at a hotel off site possibly near animal kingdom and then moving to a disney resort for the remainder of the trip - again, possibly one of the resorts near magic kingdom and on the monorail. Any suggests for hotels offsite that might be convenient to animal kingdom and also be a nice (but not expensive) place to stay? We will have a car with us. Thanks so much!

 

[HeatherC]

If you want to save some money, yet be "onsite" while technically "offsite", I would recommend Bonnet Creek Resort. It is on Disney property but is a timeshare resort owned by Wyndham. It is right next door to the Caribbean Beach Resort. Very easy commute to any of the parks as well as the Boardwalk and Downtown Disney area.

You can rent there through vacationupgrades.com for about $120 a night for a 2 bedroom villa with full kitchen, washer/dryer and 2 bathrooms. They have beautiful pools (lazy rivers, pool slide, free mini golf, small kids play area, kids activities, etc).

There is a thread about it with tons of info on the Orlando hotels board.

Just an option to throw out there so you wouldn't have to keep packing and unpacking.

 

[mati]

Thanks. Appreciate your advice!

 

[4forMe]

For onsite, I would suggest staying at the Contemporary. It was faster for us to walk to the Magic Kingdom from there than to take the monorail. However, I realize a lot of people love the atmosphere at the Polynesian.

For offsite, I would recommend renting a condo, townhome, or home in Windsor Hills. It is literally a 5 minute drive to Animal Kingdom. They have a wonderful pool area for young children!

You can check these places for availability:

www.floridasunvacationhomes.com

www.allstarvacationhomes.com

www.windsorhillsrent.com

Good luck with your planning!

 

[mjkacmom]

I don't know how long you are going, but I wouldn't switch hotels to save a 15 minute or so bus ride, unless I was going for a couple of weeks. We had to switch rooms in Philly in November because we added a night, and it was a PITA, even though we only had our dd8 and ds11 with us, and we had only been there one night, with little time in the room. I wouldn't want to waste all those hours between packing things back up and getting everything to the new resort, especially with young children.