CBR, AofA or other for 7yo & 16 month old & their parents

[hokie98]

I have a PIN for free dining this fall, and we're planning a surprise trip for our daughter's 7th birthday in October. I called reservations and currently have a room a CBR. Initially I was excited for her about the pool, which I know she'll love. As well as access to paddle boats, etc. However, after reading some reviews, I understand it may not be as convenient in terms of the buses, and unlike the other mods, it hasn't be refurbished yet and doesn't have Q bed (which isn't a deal breaker, but would be a bonus). I've also given some thought to a suite at AofA, which would be about $1000 more for the week than CBR b/w the suite and upgrading to the regular dining plan. We also have a son that will be 16 months old at the time, so the ability to have a separate room for him to nap, etc. sounds nice...although, what are the odds we'll all be in the room together at naptime? The appeal of AofA is that it's new, TONS of kid appeal, one bus, but if we do a suite, it's more expensive and is that extra $$ worth it to stay at a value? Since the trip is my for DD birthday, I'd like something with pretty good kid-appeal. The Polynesian isn't available, and it doesn't look like any other deluxe has room except AK & SS, which doesn't really interest me. POFQ & POR have rooms, and has some appeal to me since they've just been renovated, plus have Q beds! Seems like transportation is easier there since it's smaller, but kid appeal for a 7yo? Secondly, as a side note, we live 3 hrs from New Orleans, so that resort would be sort of like 'home' instead of someplace exotic (but for what it's worth, I can also be on white sand beaches of the Gulf in 45 mins, so the beach at CBR isn't 'new' to us either!). What would you do?? To sum it up, need something with plenty of kid appeal (visually and activities-wise) for a 7 yo, something that won't be a bear transportation wise with a 16mo in a stroller (plus would be quick/easy to get him back for a nap), and would be pleasing for us adults (clean, good beds, not super noisy, enough room for the family, etc.). My inlaws are likely going, but we'll put them in a separate room....otherwise, someone may die.

This will be our 2nd trip as a family. First trip was Jan '09. We stayed 4 nights at AS Sports, which was fine - we only used the resort for sleeping/showering/changing. Planning staying 7 days this time and have more down/relax time than on that trip, so the resort is a little more important!

Thanks in advance!!

 

[ktmo]

I just got back from CBR with my two girls. We left on Sunday. We had a great time. We were in Aruba building 56, which is a pretty good hike to the main building and pool, but it never took more than 8/9 minutes. The pool was fantastic. Both of my girls (5 and 7) loved the slides. My youngest really liked the little pirates water play area. I sat and watched a mom with a toddler who was having a blast in the splash area. It was perfect for him.

We didn't have any real issues with busses. We never waited longer than 20 minutes for a bus, and most of the time it was less than 10 minutes. Depending on which park we were going to, we got on the bus and a stop later, we were on our way to the park, so we didn't have to go all around the resort. Coming back it never seemed to be a big issue as the stops are pretty close together. We stayed at the BC and would hit a few other resorts, so it really wasn't much different, less stops, but further apart. Our biggest wait was coming back from DTD, we waited about 20 minutes, got on the bus whent to Typhoon Lagoon and then went back to Pleasure Island. Then when we got to the resort we skipped the first internal bus stop.

When we went with a napper, we got a family suite at All-Star Music, which was really good. Although, usually when my youngest napped, I took my oldest to the pool. So, we weren't in the room anyway. But, the idea of having a room with a door was nice. For my oldest, a good pool was important for this trip.

 

[*Fantasia*]

AoA is definitely geared to children. It is a very bright, vibrant, larger than life icons from the movies of Finding Nemo, The Lion King, Cars, and The Little Mermaid. The LM is not a suite, and it definitely cost less than a suite. I think your children would enjoy the grounds better at AoA. Since you've done CBR, you can try a different new resort this time. But whichever resort you choose, I am sure the children will have fun!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Is the Contemporary available. For that much money more I would definitely go with a deluxe - better transportation, more amenities.

If not I would stick with CBR - especially if your 7 year old loves the pool.

 

[raven69david]

AoA, hands down. My DD7 and DS13 months loved it. The characters is what they will love as they are all over the resort and will be easily recognized by them. CBR is a great resort, but it's not as visually-friendly as AoA is.

 

[twinboysmom]

We stayed at cbr in April and loved it. Our room was very clean and the resort grounds were beautiful. The pool was fantastic for our little ones and I think your youngest will enjoy the separated fenced in younger child area. The food court was just average. As for buses, we had no problems and I have 2 toddlers in a stroller. We did not stay in a preferred room either. By the way, I am a native new orleanian do I get what you say about por/pofq and my parents have owned a condo in destin for over 20 years. I still thought the grounds were beautiful and very tranquil. Good luck with your decision.

 

[TJA]

I know you said the only deluxes that have availability are AKL and SS, but if you tweak your dates a bit, does that change availability? Sometimes just one night is sold out and if you punch in your whole week, it will show the whole week as unavailable. Also, with 2 adults and 1 paying child, it might be cheaper to go with a room-only discount a a deluxe (rather than free dining) but you'd have to price it out given I don't know the percentage discount for your time frame (if even released yet....).

As far as actual resort ideas, you also mentioned wanting a quick/easy transport back to the resort for nap time. Honestly, even if you drove yourself, it's not going to be quick and easy. Having gone to WDW lots of times with babies/toddlers, the quickest and easiest route we found was the walking path between CR and MK (this was by far the BEST route with sleeping kids/stroller). Also, we fell in love with the Epcot resorts (BC in particular) and if your family loves Epcot and HS, you'd also love the convenience of BC because you can walk to both of those parks.

 

[hokie98]

I know you said the only deluxes that have availability are AKL and SS, but if you tweak your dates a bit, does that change availability? Sometimes just one night is sold out and if you punch in your whole week, it will show the whole week as unavailable. Also, with 2 adults and 1 paying child, it might be cheaper to go with a room-only discount a a deluxe (rather than free dining) but you'd have to price it out given I don't know the percentage discount for your time frame (if even released yet....).

Do you think there maybe a room discount? My PIN was for FD in the fall, or 30% off through Sept. I guess if another code came out, will they amend my reservation (i.e. take away the free dining and give me, say 30% off the room rate?). We really rather go in Oct instead of doing the 30% off through Sept. I did swing my days one way and the Poly is available for $5500. I just can't justify that much of a price jump over even other deluxes for convenience. I was just chatting with a college friend that interned at WDW. She stayed at SS with her 2 young boys recently and loved it...so much so they hardly went to any parks. While I ruled out SS initially, that is a though - and much more affordable than Poly, and by the looks of it, a little more luxurious that some of the other deluxes, no?

Agh, I'm so confused as to where we want to be! Although in the end, I know no matter what we choose, it'll be fine!

 

[TJA]

Yes that Poly rate is quite a price jump and hard to justify, I agree. I can't see October having more than a 30 or 35% discount for deluxes, but I guess you never know. And, yes, you could call to amend your reservation if that would be the better deal. We have not stayed at SS, but I have also heard from friends that it was a great place to stay. I'm not sure about the kid-factor, though, as my friends are 2 older adults who travelled alone.

You are right and in the end no matter which resort you choose, it should be fine. I just wanted to point out the conveniences of getting around with little ones and a stroller. We've done it both ways and preferred the walking paths to the parks versus taking a bus (whenever possible). We did stay at CBR and it really does have a nice pool area. The separate splash/play zone is nice as well. However, we stayed in a pirate room, which was cute, but it was a very long walk to the main area. Or at least it seemed very long with 2 little ones along....

If a discount comes out for October and you play around with dates and rates, take a look at a CR wing room standard view. It costs quite a bit less than a tower room and you'd have the same benefits (walking path to MK, monorail access, watch Wishes from various parts of the resort, boat to MK, Chef Mickeys, etc.).

 

[hokie98]

Thanks all! I still have CBR reserved for the week....but I am still gathering info. I am meeting up with a friend today to discuss that is a frequent WDW visitor...then I will look at all the pros & cons....if only there was a moderate priced resort with luxurious, but magical, accommodations on the monorail with an out-of-this-world pool! ;-) A girl can dream, right?!?