Best Resort to vacation with young children?

Eyore4Ever149

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I am looking into planning our trip for next May.
We own at OKW, and I have experienced the spaciousness of a 2 bedroom- but found limited dining and the fact that we had to drive for everthing to be a drawback with little kids.



We stayed at BWV in a 1 bedroom last time and LOVED it! So at the moment Im leaning towards there, but since I don't own there, I know it's not a gaurantee and I should have a backup or 2 in mind...

I will be traveling with our two daughters.
Their birthdays are right around our next trip.
DD #1 will have just turned 4 and DD #2 will turn 1 on our trip

I want to book a 2 bedroom

where else do you think works great for these ages?

(also wanted to say I don't cook on vacation, we use our kitchen for making breakfast and heating up take-out and left overs)
 
Driving is worse than taking Disney transportation? What Parks will you be spending the most time at?
 
Driving is worse than taking Disney transportation? What Parks will you be spending the most time at?
when at BWV we took the ferry to Epcot and Studios, and bus to MK (no AK)
but I was thinking of the driving to the pool, driving to pick up food at the quick service counter, driving to get to the gift shop-convenience shop, driving to go to every meal....
 
when at BWV we took the ferry to Epcot and Studios, and bus to MK (no AK)
but I was thinking of the driving to the pool, driving to pick up food at the quick service counter, driving to get to the gift shop-convenience shop, driving to go to every meal....

May I suggest that you take advantage to the kitchen in the villa for some of your meals. That may take some of the pressure off and the kids can have some of the food that they are used to. BCV has a nice pool and access to food, Epcot, and DHS. VWL and BLT have access to food and the MK.
 

We love the VWL for our DGC, and we brought them there first when they were 1,2 and 3 and we returned twice there before going elsewhere. We like the fact that there are dedicated 2 bedrooms, the springs villa pool is very convenient to the villas, and Roaring Fork has a nice variety of take out food for everyone. There's the Cub's Den that you can visit with the children in the afternoons if you want to watch a movie, or color with the kids and we've rented surrey bikes to go to FW, and we've seen deer along the way. The boat to MK was very convenient.

We love VWL and the family has also been to BCV, and that was nice, but really VWL is their favorite for now. The DGC will be 5,6 and 7 when they go next.

Bobbi:goodvibes
 
If you have enough points and you can get a ressie, I'd suggest BLT. You are walking distance from MK which is perfect for kids at that age, and your on the monorail and have direct busses to HS and AK.
 
I'm glad you asked this question because I'm wondering the same thing. We just purchased BWV, and I have it booked for next February. I'm not sure if I want to stay there. I stayed with my two kids, 5 and 2, at VWL in May and loved it. I'm thinking of changing to VWL at 7 months. I really enjoyed the closeness to MK and Roaring Forks since I don't cook much on vacation either. The transportation to the other parks was good also.

I'm thinking you would really like VWL also.
 
My children are 6 and 4, we have been DVC members since 2002 (the year the 6yo was born) we typically go twice a year. So my kids have stayed at many of the DVC resorts at different ages.

Our personal favorite is Beach Club- we love the pool and the location. Next would probably be BWV, then AKV, WLV, SSR, and finally OKW.
 
If they enjoy animals, then the built-in entertainment of a AKV savannah view makes time in the room much more enjoyable.
However given your reluctance to walk around OKW (and thus walking from Kidani to Jambo), you may hate having no breakfast dining and limited lunch and dinner counter service at Kidani, so you may want to consider Jambo. (Although when the girls are older and start spending more time getting ready in bathrooms, that 3rd bathroom in Kidani might become really useful)
 
We have stayed at OKW a few times and really enjoyed it! But we didn't mind walking. The only thing that we were far from was the hospitality area (gift shop, main restaurant and big pool). But the smaller pools were actually very nice and not as crowded.

So far my favorite place is BCV!!!! The pool can not be beat, walking distance to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. But if you don't own there (which we don't) getting a reservation can be difficult!
 
May I suggest that you take advantage to the kitchen in the villa for some of your meals. That may take some of the pressure off and the kids can have some of the food that they are used to. BCV has a nice pool and access to food, Epcot, and DHS. VWL and BLT have access to food and the MK.
LOL, nope, no cooking. That puts pressure on me! We do a lot of breakfast at the villas- cereal, eggs, muffins, but that's where I draw the line. I'm "off duty" when at WDW.....other vacations I cook.

We love the VWL for our DGC, and we brought them there first when they were 1,2 and 3 and we returned twice there before going elsewhere. We like the fact that there are dedicated 2 bedrooms, the springs villa pool is very convenient to the villas, and Roaring Fork has a nice variety of take out food for everyone. There's the Cub's Den that you can visit with the children in the afternoons if you want to watch a movie, or color with the kids and we've rented surrey bikes to go to FW, and we've seen deer along the way. The boat to MK was very convenient.

We love VWL and the family has also been to BCV, and that was nice, but really VWL is their favorite for now. The DGC will be 5,6 and 7 when they go next.

Bobbi:goodvibes

Bobbi, thanks for this, I was just watching a dvd last night and my husband said he thought he would really be interested in this and MK will probably be a favorite, although the Studios is a close runner up for us. I haven't even had a meal here, but the videos sure make it look appealing. Are the villas seperate from the rest of the resort, or do you share in everything like Jambo house at AKL?

If you have enough points and you can get a ressie, I'd suggest BLT. You are walking distance from MK which is perfect for kids at that age, and your on the monorail and have direct busses to HS and AK.
for BLT a standard view is 318 and Bay Lake view is 354- I have 294, so I'd have to borrow to get a standard view. I wouldnt be willing to borrow enough for the BL view- but when I stayed at there before (we stayed in the wing on a ground floor where BLT is now) it is a long walk from the resort to the actual enterence to a restaurant....I would guess at least 45 minutes with 2 kids? (I didnt find the counter service palatable during previous stays) but I am still entrigued with this resort..although all I have read sounds like this is a very small space.

I'm glad you asked this question because I'm wondering the same thing. We just purchased BWV, and I have it booked for next February. I'm not sure if I want to stay there. I stayed with my two kids, 5 and 2, at VWL in May and loved it. I'm thinking of changing to VWL at 7 months. I really enjoyed the closeness to MK and Roaring Forks since I don't cook much on vacation either. The transportation to the other parks was good also.

I'm thinking you would really like VWL also.
Isnt that funny because Boardwalk was such a dream for us last time- it was so awesome to have room service, or we even were able to walk in to Spoodles easily, and be back to our room in a few minutes, Its our first choice, but I have learned to always have a 2nd choice...and not get my heart set on something that's not a gaurantee.

My children are 6 and 4, we have been DVC members since 2002 (the year the 6yo was born) we typically go twice a year. So my kids have stayed at many of the DVC resorts at different ages.

Our personal favorite is Beach Club- we love the pool and the location. Next would probably be BWV, then AKV, WLV, SSR, and finally OKW.
BCV is 311pts, so within my borrowing range, but I have NEVER been able to secure a room there, and after renting points a couple times I have made NUMEROUS calls on behalf of others to try and secure BCV- it got to the point where I would tell people I wouldnt call if BC was their only choice. It seems near impossible to get into. SAB is sooooo appealing to me. Hmm....perhaps Ill put this as a #1A and chioce #1B and and #2 LOL!

If they enjoy animals, then the built-in entertainment of a AKV savannah view makes time in the room much more enjoyable.
However given your reluctance to walk around OKW (and thus walking from Kidani to Jambo), you may hate having no breakfast dining and limited lunch and dinner counter service at Kidani, so you may want to consider Jambo. (Although when the girls are older and start spending more time getting ready in bathrooms, that 3rd bathroom in Kidani might become really useful)
. I definitely want to stay there when they are older.


THANK YOU everyone, Im so interested in everyone's replies and everyone has had really great posts, I dont know if you realize how helpful your posts are to us research addicts!
I will continue to keep reading!:surfweb:
 
My favorite is WLV....close to M.K. A short boat ride to the monorail.
when you leave the parks....it is soooo peaceful and beautiful....Lots of stuff to see and do.
Happy planning
Kerri
 
The VWL is a different building than WL, and there is a covered walkway connecting them. You do check in at the WL, and the VWL is closer to the bus stop than most of the rooms at WL, but the WL is closer to the boat dock. Counter service, restaurants and lounge are in the WL, the main building.

VWL/WL is a destination in itself, a beautiful one.

Bobbi:goodvibes
 
I agree with bobbiwoz about VWL with small children. My DGC (3, 4 & 5) loved it, and the MK location was perfect. When they get older, it will definitely be BCV (I own at both), but as long as MK is their park of choice, we'll stick with VWL. We had a second floor 2BR very near the elevator, so the bus stop was less than 2 minutes from our door. We used the buses to get to MK and the boats coming back, either for naps or when we were done for the day.
 
All the two bedroom villas at BWV are lockoffs - no dedicated two bedroom villas. So if you book there, you will have a second entrance into your villa in the second bedroom. Meaning a door to the corridor your little ones might open if they are so inclined.

When people ask for recommendations because they have smaller children, my guess is it all what you are looking for. When we bought in 1997, our son was just 4 and we spent a lot of time at OKW before we ventured out anywhere else (of course, there wasn't much else to book at WDW except BVW until VWL opened). We found OKW met our needs the best of all. We stayed at BWV one time and didn't care for it at all. We've never been back there.

BCV is nice, but SAB is really not that suitable for smaller children unless you are going to be right by their sides the entire time. There are very deep areas and very swift currents that pull you into the deep areas if you aren't careful.
 











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