Cabins at Ft. wildnerness, AOA suite, Saratoga springs ...HELP

[Meghan4]

My original plan at WL is not working out. We are a family of 6, so to find rooms to fit us comfortably, and not spend a ridiculous amount of money for a room is hard. Between the resorts i listed, would you have any preference?

 

[Lisann]

If your children are young, I would do AoA suite, or possibly the cabins. I think they would enjoy it more.

 

[Meghan4]

If your children are young, I would do AoA suite, or possibly the cabins. I think they would enjoy it more.

My kids will be 12, 9, 7 & 5 at time of travel. The original plan was to stay at WL CL, but there is no discount for this room and our 7 night stay with hoppers was going to be over $9000.

 

[Jarmo]

What are your priorities? A cabin offers privacy and more beds, and a boat to MK, but you have to deal with the internal bus to take you anywhere (or pay to rent a golf cart). AoA rooms are nice, easier access to food and transportation, and a nice splash pad for the younger kids, but you won't have a kitchen and it will be the noisiest/busiest option. Saratoga Springs give you a little more room to stretch out and is most convenient to Disney Springs, but I'm sure is the most expensive option.

 

[Meghan4]

What are your priorities? A cabin offers privacy and more beds, and a boat to MK, but you have to deal with the internal bus to take you anywhere (or pay to rent a golf cart). AoA rooms are nice, easier access to food and transportation, and a nice splash pad for the younger kids, but you won't have a kitchen and it will be the noisiest/busiest option. Saratoga Springs give you a little more room to stretch out and is most convenient to Disney Springs, but I'm sure is the most expensive option.

Well, it would be nice to have more true beds for everyone. I’m worried about the Murphy bed at AOA to fit my 12 yr old and another kid. Saratoga springs is my least favorite option, due to it being farther out. I’m not too concerned with having a full kitchen, as we will have the dining plan.

 

[1234lucky]

We liked the cabins for our family of six with four kids. Liked that we could put the kids to sleep and enjoy the rest of the room and deck. I found the internal buses very prompt and reliable but it’s another step. For us having the kitchen really won out. We did breakfast in the room as everyone was getting ready and it saved us loads of time to do the rides (which is all they wanted to do).

 

[holden]

A 2Br at Saratoga Springs, Old Key West or Animal Kingdom Kidani would fit your family well. Kidani would get you 3 bathrooms.

 

[smiths02]

Well, it would be nice to have more true beds for everyone. I’m worried about the Murphy bed at AOA to fit my 12 yr old and another kid. Saratoga springs is my least favorite option, due to it being farther out. I’m not too concerned with having a full kitchen, as we will have the dining plan.

I'm pretty short 5'4'' but I'm overweight...I fit with my 3 year olds twins in the Murphy bed. My kids (10, 3, 3) at the time are all on the smaller side, but they also sometimes slept in the Murphy bed together. It's a full size bed, it's not like the pull downs in Port Orleans or anything like that. The couch is also pretty much full-size. I would call them all true beds.

 

[Meghan4]

We liked the cabins for our family of six with four kids. Liked that we could put the kids to sleep and enjoy the rest of the room and deck. I found the internal buses very prompt and reliable but it’s another step. For us having the kitchen really won out. We did breakfast in the room as everyone was getting ready and it saved us loads of time to do the rides (which is all they wanted to do).

Good to hear! Did you guys feel too far out? We would do the same with breakfast, eat quick and get to the parks.

 

[VeronicaZS]

I vote AoA. 2 BATHROOMS!!! While I think the sofa and murphy bed would fit 2 kids comfortably you could put the youngest on the sofa cushions and bring/order an air mattress for the 4th kid. Amazon has some electric pump ones for less than $60. I have traveled with one in my carry on. With the large size of the suite it shouldn't feel too cramped even with the extra mattress.

 

[cadawson]

What time of the year are you going? We love staying at Ft. Wilderness, but nicer weather will make it more enjoyable. We loved being able to take the boat to Magic Kingdom. There is a lot to offer - you have a deck outside, so the kids have space to spread out. You can stock the fridge for breakfast. However, it is a different kind of trip. We brought bikes because we drove down. It's a fun place to explore, but we spent less time overall in the parks because we were exploring Ft. Wilderness. We haven't stayed at the other options you mention, so I can't comment on how they compare.

 

[1234lucky]

Good to hear! Did you guys feel too far out? We would do the same with breakfast, eat quick and get to the parks.

So for the most part we did the parks and by the time we returned we were done for the day and hung around the Fort property. So we didn’t feel too removed but we weren’t going back and forth a lot either. MK proximity was great. I think the only park besides MK we left and returned to was HS. I remember AK feeling far away but that’s a full day park for us.

We also grilled one night last minute while the kids decompressed after a full day and weren’t in the mood for a restaurant. I didn’t expect to do that but it was easy and fit the bill for our day. You can also take out from Trails End.

 

[cadawson]

We also grilled one night last minute while the kids decompressed after a full day and weren’t in the mood for a restaurant. I didn’t expect to do that but it was easy and fit the bill for our day. You can also take out from Trails End.

OP - Note that the on-site shop caters to campers, so it has a good selection of food items and other things you may find you need. Trails End is super yummy and comparatively affordable - for Disney Dining out. Also Check out the Mickey's BackYard BBQ.

 

[Meghan4]

What time of the year are you going? We love staying at Ft. Wilderness, but nicer weather will make it more enjoyable. We loved being able to take the boat to Magic Kingdom. There is a lot to offer - you have a deck outside, so the kids have space to spread out. You can stock the fridge for breakfast. However, it is a different kind of trip. We brought bikes because we drove down. It's a fun place to explore, but we spent less time overall in the parks because we were exploring Ft. Wilderness. We haven't stayed at the other options you mention, so I can't comment on how they compare.

We are going the last week of September, so it will definitely still be hot! How fun to have your bikes there. We also drive, so we can pile a lot in the car.

 

[Meghan4]

So for the most part we did the parks and by the time we returned we were done for the day and hung around the Fort property. So we didn’t feel too removed but we weren’t going back and forth a lot either. MK proximity was great. I think the only park besides MK we left and returned to was HS. I remember AK feeling far away but that’s a full day park for us.

We also grilled one night last minute while the kids decompressed after a full day and weren’t in the mood for a restaurant. I didn’t expect to do that but it was easy and fit the bill for our day. You can also take out from Trails End.

Oh and I forgot to ask about the internal buses, how does that work?

 

[SteveH]

I'll toss out a different option, consider the Dolphin. Some members have been scoring some deals on Hotwire for $70-$120/night you could get two connecting rooms with 4 beds, if they are still available during your time frame it's worth a consideration. For info about that deal try this thread as the posters did a very detailed explanation of how to get it. https://www.disboards.com/threads/w...tion-questions.3264274/page-289#post-59093879

 

[cadawson]

We are going the last week of September, so it will definitely still be hot! How fun to have your bikes there. We also drive, so we can pile a lot in the car.

I think the end of Sept would be a great time to stay at Ft. Wilderness. Have fun planning! We had no problems with the buses. We stayed once in cabin and once in a tent campsite. It’s a tough decision! Old Key West looks fun - we visited once to take a look and caught the boat to Disney Springs. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the suggestions!

 

[Idaho Mouse]

Oh and I forgot to ask about the internal buses, how does that work?

The buses run about every five to ten minutes at bus stops throughout the resort. We were on the south end of the cabin area and it took about ten minutes to get to the Settlement area of the resort (north). The ferry to MK leaves from this area. The buses to the parks leave from the Outpost Depot (south). We found them easy and convenient to use.

 

[Goseethemouse]

We love, love, love the cabins. It feels like an entirely different kind of vacation. They are unfortunately a bit too pricey for us as we are only three people and easily fit in much cheaper accomodations. But the atmosphere there is great and there are lots of things to do (campfire, movies, haywagon rides, pony rides etc.). Obviously, that isn't so important if you plan to spend all day at the parks but if you plan on some down-time it is great. The cabins are not ideal for the quick service dining plan as there aren't a lot of options there. It matters less for the regular plan as you probably would eat all over the place anyway.

 

[Beachmom0317]

We love the cabins, your kids would probably like the bunk beds! There so much to do at the Fort too. There’s nightly free sing along with chip n dale where you toast s’mores by a campfire. Bike, canoe rentals, playgrounds, and the boat to MK is awesome. For RD we take the boat to the contemporary and walk over.