DH finally says "yes" to May 09 - now which resort?

[JJ&JSMOM]

Well last night DH finally agreed to go back to WDW when DD2.5 is 4. So she turns 4 in May so May 2009 it is-LOL!!! Seems far away but I know it will go by fast. So I decided to write all my pros and cons of our resort choices. I was going to type it on Excel and then thought I'd type it on here & see if I left anything out. The cons I won't put on here because the cons are cons to our family but might not be cons for others and I wouldn't want to offend anyone.

CR
Monorail
boat to WL
Walkway to MK
big rooms
Chef Mickey's (and new restaurant openning by 2009, I think)
New rooms
nice views
can view EWP/Wishes
all enclosed
heard the shops are some of the best

WL (would have to be the deluxe room to fit our family of 5-very expensive)
themeing - DH really wants to try this resort!
concierge level
deluxe room (2 rooms = more space)
close to MK
boat to MK & CR
can view EWP
can see Wishes from boat dock (I think)
nice beach area/playground
trails to FW
all enclosed

BC (not sure if we would stay at BC or YC - still confused on the differences)
bright rooms
walk to Epcot
boats to MGM/Epcot
zero entry in part of SAB
waterslide at SAB for DS8
walk to Boardwalk/entertainment
chance to explore another side of Disney
all enclosed

AKL (would have to be a 1 bedroom villa - pricey)
animals
big room
w/d, full kitchen
zero entry pool
themeing
get to try Boma
all enclosed
new rooms
bus service seems fine


I didn't list the Poly as we just stayed there and the pros could go on and on. But we would like to try a new resort. We may even do a split stay w/the Poly as one of the resorts. Well if you made it this far thanks for reading & feel free to mention any pros I missed or any advice on the resorts. I know I'll change my mind hundreds of times before we're ready to book but I'm so excited! TIA!

 

[time4Mickey]

We stayed at the WL in July 2006 and absolutely loved it!!! We were a family of 5 but 1 under 2 so just a regular room. We will definately stay there again. For us I don't think we will ever stay at the CR. It just isn't that appealing except for the location. We are splitting our next trip between the AKL and the Poly(2nd visit). We will have a 2,4,6,and 7 year old and want to be close to the Magic Kingdom. Plus last time we will all fit in 1 room at the Poly. Happy planning.

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

We stayed at the WL in July 2006 and absolutely loved it!!! We were a family of 5 but 1 under 2 so just a regular room. We will definately stay there again. For us I don't think we will ever stay at the CR. It just isn't that appealing except for the location. We are splitting our next trip between the AKL and the Poly(2nd visit). We will have a 2,4,6,and 7 year old and want to be close to the Magic Kingdom. Plus last time we will all fit in 1 room at the Poly. Happy planning.

Thanks for the reply. The WL is just screaming out to DH and I must say me too. The only problem is the price tag for a deluxe room. That is why I'm thinking split stay so we get a chance to try a new resort. I'm just afraid we'll like it so much we won't want to leave. We love love the Poly!!! We don't get to go to Disney much so we want to try a new resort. Anothe rreason to do a split stay.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

For something new I would definitely try YC/BC. Of course as you've heard SAB is great for kids and we love the convenience of being able to walk or boat to EPCOT and taking the ferry to MGM. You are really in walking distance of so many restaurants and of course there is always Beaches and Cream!

 

[Alicnwondrln]

You listed some great choices. I dont think you can go wrong. A spilt stay might be fun like 2 vacations in one.

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

Thanks for the replies. Sounds weird I know but I am so worried I'm going to make a mistake. Then I think to myself - we'll be a disney - no matter how much we may hate (sure like that would happen) our resort we'd be at disney! DH wants me to add GF to our list so probably CR is out and GF is in.

 

[kaysmommie]

your going back! I know you have been missing Disney since you got back, like me . So now you have dates at least! I love WL almost as much as Poly but you can't all fit in the regular room once your youngest turns 3. Tell DH you would have to go before DD turns 3 or you could just get the deluxe room. My next choice would be Yacht/Beach or Grand Floridian. My DH and DD actually like CR though I have no idea why. The only pluses are the monorail and 2 of our favorite restaurants. Yes there are excellent shops there too. Good luck deciding and keep us posted.

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

your going back! I know you have been missing Disney since you got back, like me . So now you have dates at least! I love WL almost as much as Poly but you can't all fit in the regular room once your youngest turns 3. Tell DH you would have to go before DD turns 3 or you could just get the deluxe room. My next choice would be Yacht/Beach or Grand Floridian. My DH and DD actually like CR though I have no idea why. The only pluses are the monorail and 2 of our favorite restaurants. Yes there are excellent shops there too. Good luck deciding and keep us posted.

Hi kaysmommie,
I guess we should have stayed at the WL this past trip and saved the Poly for the next one. I wish we could go before DD2 is 3 - I think we could financially I think its more of DH wants DD2 to remember (long term) her next trip. Even at 4 thats probably a little iffy but I'm not waiting for 5! I bet if we plan something real great for her bday she'll remember it. Maybe BBB & lunch or dinner at the castle or GF. Thanks again & happy planning to you!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

I think she'll remember more than you think! I was worried youngest ds wouldn't remember any of our first trip with the younger kids. He was almost 3, and believe it or not he remembers almost everything (4 1/2 years later he still talks about things we did the first trip).

Have a great time planning - that's half the fun.

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

I think she'll remember more than you think! I was worried youngest ds wouldn't remember any of our first trip with the younger kids. He was almost 3, and believe it or not he remembers almost everything (4 1/2 years later he still talks about things we did the first trip).



Have a great time planning - that's half the fun.

I'm hoping she will. I went for the first time the summer of '72 & I was 4 (I'll be 40 this year ) and I remember a few things. Mainly the electric parade, my Grandfather buying me a ring on Main St., some rides. So I'm hoping!

Thanks for the info on YC/BC - wow all these resorts are so tempting. Disney doesn't make it easy! I think we'll try a split stay this year and get going on visiting all these resorts! Thanks again!

 

[Kathy C]

Sometimes it pays for one person in your party to have an annual pass - it could save you quite a bit of money depending on when in May you're going.

 

[TJA]

If you are going to do a split stay with Poly, my thought is to split it with an Epcot resort such as BC. That way, one leg of your trip will be spent close to MK and the other leg of your trip will be spent close to both Epcot and MGM.

Just to add a couple things to your BC research: As far as SAB being zero entry, I just want to add a bit to that -- it actually has sand on the bottom of an entire shallow section and also mounds of sand for the kids to play in, some mounds are in the middle of the shallow section of the pool and there is another sandy area where you walk right into the water (like an ocean, sand mixed with water, except no waves in SAB!). Our twins are 4 and they talk about the BC all the time and mainly because of SAB. It's a nice pool for young kids, well, my girls can play all day at SAB.

Another thing you may not be aware of is Cape May restaurant at BC has a character breakfast each day. It's a nice breakfast with the mickey characters dressed in beach attire. It's not loud or "exciting" like Chef Mickeys, but my girls still enjoy it.

Also BC has Beaches and Cream, which is like a 50's diner serving the typical burger foods. But the main attraction is the ice cream treats. It also has a take-out area with limited choices.

As far as the differences between YC and BC, I think you'll find BC to have more young kids/families in the lobby area, sort of gearing towards the character breakfast. BC has the brighter, beachy atmosphere/colors. YC is more elegant-looking, I believe in gold tones.

I guess it seems like I'm trying to sell BC (LOL), but I truly think it would be a great vacation to split up between a monorail resort (Poly) and an Epcot resort (BC). Like two different trips in one! Have much fun planning!

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

If you are going to do a split stay with Poly, my thought is to split it with an Epcot resort such as BC. That way, one leg of your trip will be spent close to MK and the other leg of your trip will be spent close to both Epcot and MGM.

Just to add a couple things to your BC research: As far as SAB being zero entry, I just want to add a bit to that -- it actually has sand on the bottom of an entire shallow section and also mounds of sand for the kids to play in, some mounds are in the middle of the shallow section of the pool and there is another sandy area where you walk right into the water (like an ocean, sand mixed with water, except no waves in SAB!). Our twins are 4 and they talk about the BC all the time and mainly because of SAB. It's a nice pool for young kids, well, my girls can play all day at SAB.

Another thing you may not be aware of is Cape May restaurant at BC has a character breakfast each day. It's a nice breakfast with the mickey characters dressed in beach attire. It's not loud or "exciting" like Chef Mickeys, but my girls still enjoy it.

Also BC has Beaches and Cream, which is like a 50's diner serving the typical burger foods. But the main attraction is the ice cream treats. It also has a take-out area with limited choices.

As far as the differences between YC and BC, I think you'll find BC to have more young kids/families in the lobby area, sort of gearing towards the character breakfast. BC has the brighter, beachy atmosphere/colors. YC is more elegant-looking, I believe in gold tones.

I guess it seems like I'm trying to sell BC (LOL), but I truly think it would be a great vacation to split up between a monorail resort (Poly) and an Epcot resort (BC). Like two different trips in one! Have much fun planning!

Thank you so much for your thoughts on BC. Its great to read the feedback on SAB & that its ok for young ones. I'm a little concerned w/parts of SAB but I read (I believe on the YC/BC thread) that its not easy for kids to wander into other areas ie. ropes up and lifeguards testing kids swimming abilities. I watch our kids like a hawk around any type of water so swimming time really isn't much fun for me but the kids always enjoy it. When I was a younger I taught swimming and took the classes to be a lifeguard - never did though as waitressing paid better. So I guess I'm just nervous around the water & know things happen so quickly & quietly that I can not relax. Not sure where all that came from but sounds like SAB is safe enough w/lifeguards, life vests & me.

YC/BC sounds like a great resort & definitely a must try. DH (hes choosing this time w/my help ) has it down to 3 resorts - GF, BC & WL. We still may do a split stay depending on which resorts he chooses. Poly is still a possibility - I like the Poly (or GF)/Beach Club combo myself. Thanks again.

 

[TJA]

I think SAB can be hard for parents with kids of different ages because the older child wants to hit the big slide which is on the opposite side of the area where the sandy-bottom pool is and the younger child would most likely be. It would be difficult to juggle the kids in that regard. We have twins, same age obviously, so they stick together and SAB works out great for us because they play for hours in the sand/water.

GF is the only deluxe resort we haven't stayed at yet, so I can't comment on that one. But it certainly looks beautiful! We love Poly also, by the way. We're sort of in the mode of switching off between Poly and BC, and then trying to add in other resorts here and there to keep things fresh.

With the resort choices that you have, I really can't imagine making a wrong choice. They are all wonderful resorts.

As far as your comment earlier about your child remembering things in Disney, I can tell you that my girls remember almost everything from last trip and they were slightly over 4 yrs old. They can't stop talking about things, especially Beach Club and Chef Mickeys! It's a great age for Disney.

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

I think SAB can be hard for parents with kids of different ages because the older child wants to hit the big slide which is on the opposite side of the area where the sandy-bottom pool is and the younger child would most likely be. It would be difficult to juggle the kids in that regard. We have twins, same age obviously, so they stick together and SAB works out great for us because they play for hours in the sand/water.

GF is the only deluxe resort we haven't stayed at yet, so I can't comment on that one. But it certainly looks beautiful! We love Poly also, by the way. We're sort of in the mode of switching off between Poly and BC, and then trying to add in other resorts here and there to keep things fresh.

With the resort choices that you have, I really can't imagine making a wrong choice. They are all wonderful resorts.

As far as your comment earlier about your child remembering things in Disney, I can tell you that my girls remember almost everything from last trip and they were slightly over 4 yrs old. They can't stop talking about things, especially Beach Club and Chef Mickeys! It's a great age for Disney.

Thanks for your post. I've been researching the BC and eventhough DH is picking the resort or resorts (we may do a split stay) I am so wanting to stay at BC. When we stayed at the Poly DH and I would split up at the pool. We could still see each other but we'd switch off. DS8 loved the slide and DD2 & DD4 went back & forth from the fountain play area to the pool. DS8 could touch at every point of the pool but I just didn't feel comfortable leaving him - things happen so quickly and he isn't a strong swimmer at all. We have got to work on that. We've done swimming lessons in the past but I don't see them as very useful (at least the ones we go to). I think just more pool time and swimming as a family they'll get stronger.

Did I read correctly that the lazy river part of SAB is roped off? This area concerns me w/the "current" and from what I've read 8' deep areas. Can they wear life vests in this section?

Thanks again for the info.
Joanne

 

[TJA]

Ok, so you have 3 kids, I didn't remember that from prior posts. It may be a bit challenging for you at SAB because it's such a large area to keep an eye on 3 kids, but you won't know until you try I suppose. I will attach a picture of the sandy part of SAB so you can get an idea of what I mean about it. Hmmm, I can't recall a roping off of the lazy river, but I will say that we haven't ventured in it yet. Last stay at BC our girls had just turned 4 and pretty much stayed in the sandy pool section. I believe the kids can wear life vests in all sections. You may want to post a specific question about SAB and I'll bet you will get all the answers. In any event, here are 2 pictures of the sandy pool part of SAB:

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s79/tjaphotos/100_0315.jpg

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s79/tjaphotos/100_0374.jpg

And here is a picture of a small slide that is located at the section where the people climb to the top of the big slide. I don't think many people realize it's there because it's normally always empty:

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s79/tjaphotos/100_0337.jpg

 

[Minnie*23]

Since your going in May the weather will be hot, so I wouldn't do WL. I love the Poly. It's great for warm weather and there is the monorail and TTC. Even though you want to try something new it's a great choice. The CR never was one of my personal favorites , but there is the monorail and Chef Mickey's there. I'm not real sure about the others.

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

Ok, so you have 3 kids, I didn't remember that from prior posts. It may be a bit challenging for you at SAB because it's such a large area to keep an eye on 3 kids, but you won't know until you try I suppose. I will attach a picture of the sandy part of SAB so you can get an idea of what I mean about it. Hmmm, I can't recall a roping off of the lazy river, but I will say that we haven't ventured in it yet. Last stay at BC our girls had just turned 4 and pretty much stayed in the sandy pool section. I believe the kids can wear life vests in all sections. You may want to post a specific question about SAB and I'll bet you will get all the answers. In any event, here are 2 pictures of the sandy pool part of SAB:

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s79/tjaphotos/100_0315.jpg

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s79/tjaphotos/100_0374.jpg

And here is a picture of a small slide that is located at the section where the people climb to the top of the big slide. I don't think many people realize it's there because it's normally always empty:

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s79/tjaphotos/100_0337.jpg

Great pics! Thank you. The sandy pool area looks wonderful - I think the girls would have a great time. Perhaps they'll try the slide (little one). Yeah we do have 3 kids - but DH and I can take turns. DD5 stays w/DD2 (I usually watch them as DD2 is a challenge to keep an eye on) as shes not comfortable in the water yet and DS8 likes slides. DH goes w/him. Then we switch so we can have time w/the others. So I think we can make it work we'll have to because I want to go!!!

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

Since your going in May the weather will be hot, so I wouldn't do WL. I love the Poly. It's great for warm weather and there is the monorail and TTC. Even though you want to try something new it's a great choice. The CR never was one of my personal favorites , but there is the monorail and Chef Mickey's there. I'm not real sure about the others.

I know - the Poly is so great and is a great choice - we really started off our Disney vacations w/a resort hard to beat. DH and I joke about this all the time - "we had to pick the Poly first we couldn't have picked another one". I'm not sure the kids will want to stay anywhere else. That would make our decision easy. We know whats there and it fits our family so well but I so want to try the BC. Maybe we'll do a split between the Poly and BC - that would be awesome. Now to get saving!!!

Maybe we'll visit WL the next time. It was on our to do list last time but we couldn't find the time to get over there. I wish we had - we'd know if we'd like it or not. Oh well!

Thanks for the advice. It is appreciated.
Joanne