CR, WL, or AKL in Sept w/3 yo & 18 mo baby?

[scoutmontana]

Hi I need your advice please. I have been to WDW and only staying at ASMu and PO before we had children. We are going in Sept for 9 nights with 3 yo DD and 18 month old DS. We will be staying at ASMu (Movies was booked) for 4 nights and then move to either the Contemporary, AKL, or WL for 5 nights. I would take CR hands down for the monorail but its so boring to me and I thought my kids wouldn't get the "magic" there like in "themed" resorts. Plus I think we'll spend most afternoons at the pool and the CR pool didn't seem very exciting.

DH will be in a convention during the second 5 nights so we'll only do the parks 2 of those days. Plus we are driving our own car so we have transportation options. And we'll have our own strollers of course.

Thanks so much for your help! We are sooooooooo excited ANYWHERE we get to stay! My DD says everyday "I see mickey mouse in 'tember"!

THANKS

 

[Gillian]

WL is probably the most convenient, after the contemp. But I think the CR is the easiest of those 3. AKL is beautiful and fun, but if you are there by yourself with 2 toddlers and 2 strollers, you may feel isolated.

September hours are short, so you may end up spending some afternoons at the parks.

Did you see your other thread on the family board? Lots of replies!

 

[Selket]

I haven't stayed at any of those resorts but I've booked a stay for the AKL in August. I've heard nothing but great things about the bus service (they don't share bus service with any other resort). Another reason I picked AKL was the zero entry pool. I have a 5 yr old and another that will be 19 months old when we are there. I figure they can both use the same pool and I won't be stuck in the baby pool the whole time! It sounds nicer to me than the pools at either WL or CR. Plus the animals of course - just like being at the zoo! I figure that will offer some hours of entertainment. The hotel activities like storytelling around the fire pit and other things also sound great. I don't think you could go wrong at any of them however.

Enjoy!

 

[Yzma and Kronk]

As much as I love the AKL - with children that age I would say WL.
We stayed at WL when DD was 9 months, then again at 20 months. There is lots to do, and it is close to MK.

 

[Mainebound]

We stayed at AKL in March with our children ages 3 and 18 months. We had a great time and may very likely return on our next trip. Everything was great from the animals, to the room, to the transportation to the pool, to the food, to the staff. The only slight drawback, esp. if you are having a nonpark day, would be that there isn't any place to walk or stroll the kids. In that case, WL might be a better choice.

Good luck!

Mainebound

 

[richard3330]

Out of those 3, I have only stayed in Wilderness Lodge - but I highly reccomend it.

I agree with you regarding The Contemporary - although there are many fans out there it just seems a bit 'boring' to me.

Our 4 year old DS said on our last trip that The WL was his favourite resort. The pool is magnificent and the location is great -we just had a few days relaxing at the resort - the fort wilderness forest is right next door and is great for cycling, walking and other activites. The WL also has a beach and a boat to take you direct to MK. Out of all the WDW resorts we also found the coach service from WL the absolute best - even in high, high season (Xmas/New Year) I don't remember waiting more than 10 minutes. The rooms may not be as spacious as other deluxe resorts, but anyhow we really, really enjoyed our stay here and will definitely return in the future.

Richard.

 

[susy]

I woud AKL for the "quiet" and the great ZERO ENTRY POOL!!!! You can just sit in the shallow end with both babies. The food court is right there next to the pool, so you can get lunch, snack, breakfast , whatever, without having to go far at all. I think the kids would love seeing the animals and at 1:00 they have cookie decorating at Boma. Unless you bring a double stroller, you won't be able to go out with the kids by yourself...

 

[scoutmontana]

Thanks for all the advice. I think I'll probably try the AKL just because of the ZERO entry pool thing. I've never heard of that! And my 18 mo old is a WILD MAN : )

With the Fairytale PKG I might not be able to get AKL or WL but I'll try to change resie to one of those.

I'm so glad I asked b/c I just knew everyone was going to say CR. I learned alot! THANKS!