Everyone's favorite: a "Where Should We Stay?" question!

[kristenm514]

We are a family of 4, with a 5yo and a 1yo (will be 1.5 when we go). Our travel dates are 8/24-8/31, and I am going absolutely loco waiting for late summer discounts to be announced. Here is the dilemma in which we find ourselves:

We got a quote from a TA for their agency exclusive during our dates. For 7 nights with 6-day base tix, we could do YC for the price of a moderate at rack rate(a little less, actually), or we could do GF for about $450 more. We can't add DP, but that's fine as I've run the numbers and we would break even on it at best, it definitely doesn't save us a significant amount. Unless, of course, it's FREE!, which complicates things.
If FD is announced, we would likely book a mod or maybe even a value and save ~$1000 over the agency exclusive. At this point, though, it's looking like we can't exactly expect FD to happen, and it could be weeks before we hear anything about late summer discounts. I could book with the agency now and cancel if FD is released, then just book a mod, but once I have that pretty little deluxe reservation in my name, I don't think I would want to cancel it! LOL. Plus, where we stay does have some bearing on our dining reservations, which I have made but will almost inevitably continue to tweak until we get this resort thing nailed down. SIGH.
So! Should I wait for late summer discounts to be released and make my decision then? At that point, the agency deal will possibly not be available anymore. Should I book with agency now and plan to cancel if a significantly better deal (like FD at a mod) is offered? Should I just go ahead and jump, and book with agency, be done with it, and delight in the fantastic price for one of the best-located deluxe resorts? If so, which one?
We have 2 MK days and 2 EP days planned, with one day each at HS and AK. Is being on the monorail $450 worth of convenience over YC? We do have an 8am ADR at 1900PF on our first MK day, so being at the GF would be nice for that (and getting there from YC could be a hassle, as we'll be relying on Disney transportation), and we'll be trying to return to the resort for naps on our MK and maybe EP days, but not for AK or HS (short hours). The kids both love water, so SAB is a big draw, even though they're really too small to enjoy the best parts of it. I actually think the GF pool may be more appropriate for them, but SAND BOTTOM, man! Ah!! Decisions!

 

[FreeTime]

Book the YC now. You may find IF FD is offered that it is still more than the YC due to rack rate being applied. I wouldn't let a deal pass you by if you have one already. Book it, stop looking, and start planning for the fun.

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

We are a family of 4, with a 5yo and a 1yo (will be 1.5 when we go). Our travel dates are 8/24-8/31, and I am going absolutely loco waiting for late summer discounts to be announced. Here is the dilemma in which we find ourselves:

We got a quote from a TA for their agency exclusive during our dates. For 7 nights with 6-day base tix, we could do YC for the price of a moderate at rack rate(a little less, actually), or we could do GF for about $450 more. We can't add DP, but that's fine as I've run the numbers and we would break even on it at best, it definitely doesn't save us a significant amount. Unless, of course, it's FREE!, which complicates things.
If FD is announced, we would likely book a mod or maybe even a value and save ~$1000 over the agency exclusive. At this point, though, it's looking like we can't exactly expect FD to happen, and it could be weeks before we hear anything about late summer discounts. I could book with the agency now and cancel if FD is released, then just book a mod, but once I have that pretty little deluxe reservation in my name, I don't think I would want to cancel it! LOL. Plus, where we stay does have some bearing on our dining reservations, which I have made but will almost inevitably continue to tweak until we get this resort thing nailed down. SIGH.
So! Should I wait for late summer discounts to be released and make my decision then? At that point, the agency deal will possibly not be available anymore. Should I book with agency now and plan to cancel if a significantly better deal (like FD at a mod) is offered? Should I just go ahead and jump, and book with agency, be done with it, and delight in the fantastic price for one of the best-located deluxe resorts? If so, which one?
We have 2 MK days and 2 EP days planned, with one day each at HS and AK. Is being on the monorail $450 worth of convenience over YC? We do have an 8am ADR at 1900PF on our first MK day, so being at the GF would be nice for that (and getting there from YC could be a hassle, as we'll be relying on Disney transportation), and we'll be trying to return to the resort for naps on our MK and maybe EP days, but not for AK or HS (short hours). The kids both love water, so SAB is a big draw, even though they're really too small to enjoy the best parts of it. I actually think the GF pool may be more appropriate for them, but SAND BOTTOM, man! Ah!! Decisions!

If you can book YC for the same price as a mod $180 a night I would jump all over that.

But if FD comes out you could actually book a mod and get free dining for $180 a night. I think I would book with the agent now and cancel if FD comes out then book a mod if available.

 

[aVASTGrl]

YC is AMAZING! Book it! Then you can see if there are better deals for you when the discounts come out.

 

[sharadoc]

I hated the sand bottom. It was just on top of concrete and would move around so much that you were walking on lumps of sand and bare concrete right next to it. And the concrete was much rougher so we got scraped up.

At your kids' age, I don't think SAB will be much of an advantage and may actually be a disadvantage. A mod with a nice fun pool for the 5 year old would probably get more use!

 

[darkwing818]

YC is AMAZING! Book it! Then you can see if there are better deals for you when the discounts come out.

Absolutely Agree book it before it goes away...

 

[mmmears]

We love the YC. And the GF has a bunch of construction going on right now. I'd pick YC since you will be conveniently located to both EP and DHS -- so that's 3 days of your touring plans. SAB is really fun -- and there is a big sandy play area (very shallow) and a smaller slide for little kids.

As for the deal, I'd take a good deal now rather than hope for one down the road. FD doesn't appeal to me, though, so YMMV.

 

[Happyjen27]

I would go GF.

As previously mentioned, SAB seems like it would be really tough with a 5 year old and 1 year old. That 5 year old is going to want to be here, there and everywhere, which might be hard considering the 1 year old if one of the parents has to run back to the room, or wants to grab lunch. A less appealing pool might be easier to keep him swimming in one place.

Hard to beat a monorail resort for ease of transport.

 

[mariamouse]

We are a family of 4, with a 5yo and a 1yo (will be 1.5 when we go). Our travel dates are 8/24-8/31, and I am going absolutely loco waiting for late summer discounts to be announced. Here is the dilemma in which we find ourselves:

We got a quote from a TA for their agency exclusive during our dates. For 7 nights with 6-day base tix, we could do YC for the price of a moderate at rack rate(a little less, actually), or we could do GF for about $450 more. We can't add DP, but that's fine as I've run the numbers and we would break even on it at best, it definitely doesn't save us a significant amount. Unless, of course, it's FREE!, which complicates things.
If FD is announced, we would likely book a mod or maybe even a value and save ~$1000 over the agency exclusive. At this point, though, it's looking like we can't exactly expect FD to happen, and it could be weeks before we hear anything about late summer discounts. I could book with the agency now and cancel if FD is released, then just book a mod, but once I have that pretty little deluxe reservation in my name, I don't think I would want to cancel it! LOL. Plus, where we stay does have some bearing on our dining reservations, which I have made but will almost inevitably continue to tweak until we get this resort thing nailed down. SIGH.
So! Should I wait for late summer discounts to be released and make my decision then? At that point, the agency deal will possibly not be available anymore. Should I book with agency now and plan to cancel if a significantly better deal (like FD at a mod) is offered? Should I just go ahead and jump, and book with agency, be done with it, and delight in the fantastic price for one of the best-located deluxe resorts? If so, which one?
We have 2 MK days and 2 EP days planned, with one day each at HS and AK. Is being on the monorail $450 worth of convenience over YC? We do have an 8am ADR at 1900PF on our first MK day, so being at the GF would be nice for that (and getting there from YC could be a hassle, as we'll be relying on Disney transportation), and we'll be trying to return to the resort for naps on our MK and maybe EP days, but not for AK or HS (short hours). The kids both love water, so SAB is a big draw, even though they're really too small to enjoy the best parts of it. I actually think the GF pool may be more appropriate for them, but SAND BOTTOM, man! Ah!! Decisions!

Do you mind sharing the travel agency name with me? I am in the process of planning a trip for my relatives at the end of August and they are on a budget, so would love to look into this. Please feel free to PM me if you do not feel comfortable posting on here.

With regard to your decision, I would probably stick with a deluxe (either GF or YC depending on your preference/budget). The YC is a beautiful resort, though, so I would not feel bad about staying there instead of the GF at all-- plus, the pool truly is amazing if you are not too worried about the size of it with your kids. You would definitely have to keep an eye on them more at that pool than at the GF pool. The moderate resort with free dining is undoubtedly a better deal, but I am more of a resort snob than a food snob. Just comes down to budget and where your priorities lie! If a good pool is important to you and you want to save $ at a moderate, I would pick CSR.

 

[tmbacon]

IMO, given what you've described GF may be the way to go. I agree with PP'ers re: age of your kids and trying to manage them while at SAB. Monorail for naps is highly convenient. If you can't do GF, see if Poly or Contemporary could work. Then when your kids are older, you can venture away from the MK resorts and try other ones.

Personally, we've already decided that our next stay will be YC. Our kids are older though (9 and 7) - I think SAB would have been lost on them when they were younger, but then again I've not stayed there so I don't know how valid that statement is.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[lmhall2000]

Just to throw a wrench in there, I would definitely do Contemporary Resort with any children under 5...what a treat to walk to MK and have the monorail run through your resort!! We have been to the World several times and dh and I are both of the mind when kids are that young, convenience is what we're paying for...plus the kids will love it! I just dread riding any buses with strollers/diaper bags etc...monorail resort is the way to go! GF just is not as much 'fun' for the little ones..you can go to Chef Mickey's and be back in your room in seconds...the pool is nice, too.

 

[kristenm514]

Just to throw a wrench in there, I would definitely do Contemporary Resort with any children under 5.

I would looove to stay at the Contemporary! It was my first choice for sure. Unfortunately, even if FD is released it is just outside our price range this time. The only reason we're able to even consider deluxes is because of this TA offer, which is only available for YC and GF. Even at the steep discount, it's hitting the upper limit of our budget, but is still squeaking under our absolute maximum.

I really love the idea of being right on the monorail for naps, with our kids being so young, but I just don't know if I can part with the extra money for the upgrade when I know we'd love the YC, too. At this point, I think I'm for sure going to book one of those two, but I still don't know which!

 

[TJA]

I think you should jump all over that agency deal. It's one of the best deals for those resorts you will find nowadays. I think you will appreciate not being on the DDP and having the freedom to do whatever, whenever. And you will certainly appreciate the ease of getting around with the 2 young kids and a stroller, I assume.

As far as the pool at YC, I just wanted to chime in and say that we LOVED it when our kids were your kids' ages. The sandy-bottom shallow section is perfect for both of them. The younger one can sit in the sandy section and play and splash with the water. The 5 yr old can do the same thing or else venture into the shallow water and play. If the 5 yr old is a great swimmer, one adult can take him into the other sections of SAB. It's a very large and spread out pool area, but we had so many great memories there when our kids were younger.

As far as which to choose between YC and GF -- I'd choose based on where you have your days allocated (which parks will you be at most often? where are your dining ADR's?). Personally, we prefer the YC/BC due to location (LOVE the easy walk into Epcot and the boat over to HS, especially love walking around the boardwalk). However, if your main park is MK, then you surely can't beat the convenience of an MK resort.

 

[kristenm514]

Well, we did it. We booked YC!! Woohoooo! I told DH we can rebook at a mod if Disney offers a discount that makes it a significant savings, but we are for sure going! Yay!
I feel like if FD comes out, we should take it, but with the way we eat I would almost rather not have DDP. Oh well, that's a decision for another day...