First trip to Disneyworld in October! Where should our family stay??

[BamaGuy44]

First trip with your 6 year old, so exciting! or a 2 bedroom, you should have some decent options at 7 months. I'll throw in another plug for AKV, it's absolutely amazing especially to kids that age. Make sure to ask at the desk for a list of activities going on while you're there. As my son got older, we were all about location for our resort, but when he was little we really enjoyed the resorts with great theming, especially AKV. I mean they all have a nice theme, some are just a little more.

You said you don't know much about resort locations, so here's a quick idea: WDW is divided up into "areas" based on where the parks and DS are. MK area, Epcot area, etc. In the MK area you have the monorail resorts. BLT (contemporary) , VGF, and Poly. Poly only has studios, no 2 BR except the outrageously expensive bungalows. BLT and GF both have short walking paths to MK, and quick monorail access to Epcot. At BLT you feel like you have a luxury apartment 5 minutes walk from MK, it's very cool.

Also in MK area are the Wilderness Lodge resorts, Boulder Ridge and Copper Creek. Those are a quick pleasant boat ride to MK.

Epcot Area has Beach Club and Boardwalk and Riviera. From BCV and BWV you can walk to both DHS and Epcot. BCV is literally right next to the gate of Epcot, and the Skyliner station. Riviera is a little further away, but it has the Skyliner for DHS and Epcot.

AK area you have AKV, which is a bus to all the parks, which can be a hassle but most of the time the service is good.

DS area is OKW and SSR. They have a boat that goes to DS, and you can walk to DS from SSR, thought it's a pretty long walk from some areas (SSR is HUGE, it's not like a hotel, more like a little neighborhood)

I highly recommend watching resort and room tours on YouTube, there are hundreds of them. They will give you a good feel for what the rooms and resorts are like. Hope this helps and have fun!

 

[sndral]

Through the years I became the resident WDW expert in my office. Being in CA (albeit nearer the Bay Area than SoCal) everyone was familiar w/ DL thus I’d stress that things at WDW were much much further apart & urge them to factor that into their plans. Despite my warnings everyone always returned from that first visit saying WDW was so big & spread out!
IMO once you get the hang of the transportation system it’s easy to get around - but it takes time to get from one place to the next. Sorry if the following is TMI, but -
W/ MK resorts it’s very easy to get to the MK via walking, monorail, or boat. It’s fairly easy to get to the front of Epcot via monorail. It’s bus only to AK & DHS - Poly & VGF share buses. Not sure but I think BLT sometimes shares w/ WL?
W/ Epcot resorts it’s easy to walk into the back of Epcot & you can boat/walk over to DHS. But to get to AK & MK it’s buses & BC shares w/ YC, @ BW sometimes the Swan/Dolphin folks use their bus stop since Disney stopped transporting them. In the before times you could walk through Epcot (a long walk) if it was open & you had park hoppers to catch the monorail over to the MK - but w/ the park reservation system that’s not workable anymore - might work to get back to an Epcot resort assuming you left the MK before Epcot closed.
Disney Springs is huge, nothing like DTD at DL. You can walk there from SSR & there are also boats from/to SSR & OKW to DS. It’s buses to the parks & SSR has multiple bus stops (not familiar w/ OKW.)
AKV is buses to all parks & they don’t share w/ other resorts - 2 stops w/ park buses stopping first at Kidani second at Jambo.
The length of the actual bus rides isn’t the bad thing - less than 20 minutes usually, the waiting for buses to arrive can really add time.
On a first trip if doing sit down restaurants I’d try to eat at restaurants in my evening park or possibly venture to resorts near that park to reduce time lost getting from place to place.
I love the fact WDW is so spread out & that there’s so much to see & do & that it’s so green & lush compared to DL, but it is an adjustment if you are a DL vet
edited to add - in Oct. you may have some rain so pack ponchos (I buy & pack several of the cheap throw away ones.)
https://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/orlando/florida/united-states/usfl1021

 

[Rulanna411]

First trip with your 6 year old, so exciting! or a 2 bedroom, you should have some decent options at 7 months. I'll throw in another plug for AKV, it's absolutely amazing especially to kids that age. Make sure to ask at the desk for a list of activities going on while you're there. As my son got older, we were all about location for our resort, but when he was little we really enjoyed the resorts with great theming, especially AKV. I mean they all have a nice theme, some are just a little more.

You said you don't know much about resort locations, so here's a quick idea: WDW is divided up into "areas" based on where the parks and DS are. MK area, Epcot area, etc. In the MK area you have the monorail resorts. BLT (contemporary) , VGF, and Poly. Poly only has studios, no 2 BR except the outrageously expensive bungalows. BLT and GF both have short walking paths to MK, and quick monorail access to Epcot. At BLT you feel like you have a luxury apartment 5 minutes walk from MK, it's very cool.

Also in MK area are the Wilderness Lodge resorts, Boulder Ridge and Copper Creek. Those are a quick pleasant boat ride to MK.

Epcot Area has Beach Club and Boardwalk and Riviera. From BCV and BWV you can walk to both DHS and Epcot. BCV is literally right next to the gate of Epcot, and the Skyliner station. Riviera is a little further away, but it has the Skyliner for DHS and Epcot.

AK area you have AKV, which is a bus to all the parks, which can be a hassle but most of the time the service is good.

DS area is OKW and SSR. They have a boat that goes to DS, and you can walk to DS from SSR, thought it's a pretty long walk from some areas (SSR is HUGE, it's not like a hotel, more like a little neighborhood)

I highly recommend watching resort and room tours on YouTube, there are hundreds of them. They will give you a good feel for what the rooms and resorts are like. Hope this helps and have fun!

Thank you for this detailed and insightful post. This is extremely informative as a new member who has never been to WDW. Will follow your recommendation to watch some of the youtube videos.

 

[Rulanna411]

Through the years I became the resident WDW expert in my office. Being in CA (albeit nearer the Bay Area than SoCal) everyone was familiar w/ DL thus I’d stress that things at WDW were much much further apart & urge them to factor that into their plans. Despite my warnings everyone always returned from that first visit saying WDW was so big & spread out!
IMO once you get the hang of the transportation system it’s easy to get around - but it takes time to get from one place to the next. Sorry if the following is TMI, but -
W/ MK resorts it’s very easy to get to the MK via walking, monorail, or boat. It’s fairly easy to get to the front of Epcot via monorail. It’s bus only to AK & DHS - Poly & VGF share buses. Not sure but I think BLT sometimes shares w/ WL?
W/ Epcot resorts it’s easy to walk into the back of Epcot & you can boat/walk over to DHS. But to get to AK & MK it’s buses & BC shares w/ YC, @ BW sometimes the Swan/Dolphin folks use their bus stop since Disney stopped transporting them. In the before times you could walk through Epcot (a long walk) if it was open & you had park hoppers to catch the monorail over to the MK - but w/ the park reservation system that’s not workable anymore - might work to get back to an Epcot resort assuming you left the MK before Epcot closed.
Disney Springs is huge, nothing like DTD at DL. You can walk there from SSR & there are also boats from/to SSR & OKW to DS. It’s buses to the parks & SSR has multiple bus stops (not familiar w/ OKW.)
AKV is buses to all parks & they don’t share w/ other resorts - 2 stops w/ park buses stopping first at Kidani second at Jambo.
The length of the actual bus rides isn’t the bad thing - less than 20 minutes usually, the waiting for buses to arrive can really add time.
On a first trip if doing sit down restaurants I’d try to eat at restaurants in my evening park or possibly venture to resorts near that park to reduce time lost getting from place to place.
I love the fact WDW is so spread out & that there’s so much to see & do & that it’s so green & lush compared to DL, but it is an adjustment if you are a DL vet
edited to add - in Oct. you may have some rain so pack ponchos (I buy & pack several of the cheap throw away ones.)
https://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/orlando/florida/united-states/usfl1021

Thanks for the pearls and advice. I was just at Disneyland and California Adventure today and it is a lot of walking but sounds like WDW is going to be quite the workout. Will plan on getting in shape for my October trip !

 

[Rulanna411]

For those of you that have been to Disneyland/California Adventure and WDW: Are there places in any of the 4 parks that are similar to Tom Sawyer's Island or Redwood Creek Challenge Trail? My son likes rides but would much rather run around in outdoor activity type areas like the two that I mentioned.

 

[CarolynFH]

For those of you that have been to Disneyland/California Adventure and WDW: Are there places in any of the 4 parks that are similar to Tom Sawyer's Island or Redwood Creek Challenge Trail? My son likes rides but would much rather run around in outdoor activity type areas like the two that I mentioned.

Tom Sawyer's Island is in MK and is very similar to the one in DL. Animal Kingdom (AK) has trails in Africa and Asia, not so much activity trails but trails to see a variety of animals in their natural habitats, including gorillas (who frequently have young ones) and tigers, and a trail around the Tree of Life which has animals to see as well as different views of the many animals carved on the Tree. Epcot has a small playground (I think it's permanent, but I'm not sure) but Hollywood Studios (DHS) doesn't have anything at the moment.

 

[donaldbuzz&minnie]

With a 6 year old, do you want to factor in the ease of getting back to the room for, say, a nap in the middle of the day? As much as I think he might love the animals at AKL, it is a long bus ride. Wilderness Lodge, Bay Lake Towers, and the Grand Floridian are all on the monorail and boat routes that are close to the Magic Kingdom. Anyway, something to think about.

 

[dcfromva]

This is a fun thread--helping you spend your points.
Have you thought about which parks you will be visiting the most? That is generally where I start. Quite often the EPCOT resorts win because of proximity to 2 of the parks. However, if you plan to stop by the MK every day, maybe one of the MK resorts?

They have the food and wine festival (at EPCOT) in October--maybe you would like to park hop there for the 2nd half of your day each day?

It may come down to making a reservation for what is what is available at 7 months and then wait list your top 2 choices.

 

[jason423]

If you plan on all four parks there probably is not a major advantage to any particular spot unless you also plan on park hopping and would like to go to MK or Epcot every evening. We have always rented a car when we are there so we don't have as much experience with the transportation. In the experience we have had the actual ride times are not that bad its the waiting time for a bus that can be a pain.

If you stay at BLT you can walk to MK and, if they are running, the monorail to Epcot and buses elsewhere . BW and BCV are great for Epcot and Hollywood studios. You can either walk or take a short boat ride to either park. WL also has an easy boat ride to MK. AKV has a more private bus system which works well but nothing is direct from there.

Another thing I would consider is where do you plan on eating. Would you like options where you are staying, do you plan on mainly eating in the parks, or do you just plan on cooking? WL worked out well for our family with kids similar to your age. The quick serve there was good as was the pool food. The sit down is good too. AKV food overall is probably the best but I wasnt as crazy about the mid day options. BW doesnt have a great selection inside but does have options on the Boardwalk depending on what is open.

AK is the most unique. When we stayed at Kidani a lot was closed for Covid but it seemed like a lot of activities are normally offered. The resort itself is great with all the animals and my son (he is also 6) loved having dinner with some of them coming right up to the windows by the table.

 

[sndral]

…
AK is the most unique. When we stayed at Kidani a lot was closed for Covid but it seemed like a lot of activities are normally offered. The resort itself is great with all the animals and my son (he is also 6) loved having dinner with some of them coming right up to the windows by the table.

Sanaa is the name of the table service restaurant which overlooks the Sunset savanna at Kidani. The two table service restaurants at Jambo are Boma and Jiko (Jiko has not yet reopened) neither has a savanna view, but the Boma buffet is an excellent buffet IMO.
Another big difference between WDW & DL is that WDW has so many more dinning choices than DL, especially when you add in the options at Disney Springs!