Gotta keep em separated.

[Oilers]

So I'm in the early stages of planning my families first trip to DW. It's going to be my wife and I our 3 girls and Grandma and Grandpa. We are planning a split stay at AOA and AK.
I don't think the grandparents will like staying at AOA so I'm suggesting that they stay at the Board walk. Is it going to be too much of a hassle to meet up everyday? Should I find a more age neutral hotel? Cabins maybe?

 

[Capang]

Depends on what you are planning for each day and how much time you will be spending together. It may be a hassle to meet up unless you only plan on meeting at parks. Even then you have to wait for not only your bus but theirs to show up, as well. If you plan on spending significant amounts of time together it would be way easier to stay together. Cabins are nice. If you haven't been there before just know that FW is very large. If Grandma and Grandpa have mobility issues it could be a hassle to stay at FW cabins although people that have stayed there can speak to that more than I can. Are you sure they would be opposed to AOA? It is a neatly themed hotel. If they hopped with you over to AK they can then enjoy a more adult looking resort.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

So I'm in the early stages of planning my families first trip to DW. It's going to be my wife and I our 3 girls and Grandma and Grandpa. We are planning a split stay at AOA and AK.
I don't think the grandparents will like staying at AOA so I'm suggesting that they stay at the Board walk. Is it going to be too much of a hassle to meet up everyday? Should I find a more age neutral hotel? Cabins maybe?

I wouldn't like this setup, but I'm sure some do depending on family dynamics. I guess it depends on where you want to "meet up" every day. At a park? Will you have a car? Resort-to-resort transportation can be pretty difficult in most circumstances if relying on Disney transport.

 

[megs1313]

OK....so my mom almost always comes along with us. She always gets her own room. Last time, she stayed at All Star Sports while we stayed at Port Orleans. We had a car, so we thought it would be NBD. We were wrong. It was VERY obnoxious. I would never do it again. We're going again here in january and we're ALL staying at CBR and we've requested rooms near each other.

So if it were me, I'd plan to stay at the same resort.

 

[ols386]

I would think it's more convenient for you all to stay at the same resort.

 

[Habbott]

The big question is why don't you think they would enjoy aoa?

You said you were doing a split stay, so maybe, even if they weren't thrilled, they would tolerate it until the all part. I would not stay separately unless you weren't spending much time together.

 

[HopperFan]

We go often with other family members and only once have we been at same hotel - works out just fine. You set up a meeting time & location in the morning and later in day if you end up splitting for rests etc. Unless one has a car I would stick with dining reservations that are easy to get to.

 

[dansdad]

We go often with other family members and only once have we been at same hotel - works out just fine. You set up a meeting time & location in the morning or later in day if you end up splitting for rests etc. Unless one has a car I would stick with dining reservations that are easy to get to.

This.

After multiple trips with multiple families doing it both ways, everyone has agreed it works out best when each family is at their own resort. We still have tons of togetherness, yet everyone feels like they had their own vacation by the end of the trip. But I admit this is just us, I know there are plenty of people who want to do everything together. Just saying it's very possible to have a great trip, filled with great memories, without being at the same resort.

 

[DebbieB]

I went with a group of friends and we stayed at 3 different hotels - Animal Kingdom Lodge, Fort Wilderness and All Star. We met at the front of the planned park every morning.

 

[HopperFan]

This.

After multiple trips with multiple families doing it both ways, everyone has agreed it works out best when each family is at their own resort. We still have tons of togetherness, yet everyone feels like they had their own vacation by the end of the trip. But I admit this is just us, I know there are plenty of people who want to do everything together. Just saying it's very possible to have a great trip, filled with great memories, without being at the same resort.

We have found this works out the best too. Have awesome memories from parks, dining, water parks ..... and yet still having our own quiet space for sleeping and resting. Have done it both ways and the same hotel puts too much pressure on the trip, and not everyone has the same taste, budget or expectations. We also don't set up meeting at early times nor ADR breakfasts in case come morning someone wants to sleep etc.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I think it's logistically possible, but if you would rather be together, I would suggest looking at the Poly. It's a little more upscale than AoA and much more comfortable IMHO, but the theming is really fun!

 

[happymommy]

Why not all stay at the Boardwalk? It's a fun resort, and the first one that my kids stayed at when we all went (they were 2 and 4). We love the proximity to Epcot!

 

[Julylady]

My two cents. We spent 3 nights in a A of A suite last spring as a party of Aunt, Grandma and teen girls (after a week at Beachclub). No one liked it! The resort was crowded and noisy. Lines in the food court and for the bus were horrible. The theming in the room was too much. The girls missed the hot tub and pool slide. My 14 year old asked that we never ever stay there again. I think the problem was that the resort theming is so over the top that we could never relax. After all the stimulation in the parks, we need a nice tranquil resort to come home to.

 

[bumbershoot]

The phrase "age neutral hotel" is boggling me. Neither one has an age requirement. Both are perfectly nice. (Though Boardwalk is a hotel and aoa is a motel due to doors opening into hallways vs the outdoors).

I wouldn't bog this down with expectations of enjoyment based on a perceived age line. Ask the parents where they want to stay (showing them info about aoa as well as others) and go from there.

I do prefer the idea of having family units get ready on their own with meeting plans, but that includes even when the family units are in the same place! Sometimes getting the different groups ready together is difficult.

 

[mickeygirl78]

We travel as an extended family (my sister, brother in law, niece, nephew, my mom, my dad and me). We all stay at the same hotel and get rooms either connecting or close by. For us that works out well. With cell phones now it's easy to meet up though if you stay at separate resorts. If you say you will meet at 9am in front of one park but busses are running slow, just text the other with your ETA. Maybe the grandparents could stay at AKL the entire time if you are doing a split stay? Then they don't have to move....

 

[Shellyred8]

So I'm in the early stages of planning my families first trip to DW. It's going to be my wife and I our 3 girls and Grandma and Grandpa. We are planning a split stay at AOA and AK.
I don't think the grandparents will like staying at AOA so I'm suggesting that they stay at the Board walk. Is it going to be too much of a hassle to meet up everyday? Should I find a more age neutral hotel? Cabins maybe?

Here are a couple of questions to ask yourself: Who are you mostly trying to please? Do you want to be in a resort that the kids will like more? Or that the grandparents will like more? I think moving from AOA to one of the cabins might take away some of the enjoyment for the kids. This of course all depends on what your kids like. One thing you might want to look at is putting the grandparents at Pop Century. I don't think the rooms are quite as heavily themed as AOA, and it's just across the bridge from AOA, so within walking distance to each other.

Have a great trip!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

My two cents. We spent 3 nights in a A of A suite last spring as a party of Aunt, Grandma and teen girls (after a week at Beachclub). No one liked it! The resort was crowded and noisy. Lines in the food court and for the bus were horrible. The theming in the room was too much. The girls missed the hot tub and pool slide. My 14 year old asked that we never ever stay there again. I think the problem was that the resort theming is so over the top that we could never relax. After all the stimulation in the parks, we need a nice tranquil resort to come home to.

I have to agree with this and with the PP who suggested you all stay at the Boardwalk (if that is the one you choose for your parents. I had suggested Poly as well). I know AoA looks cute and there are people on here who like it, but we tried it out the first year it opened, but it was SO uncomfortable. The bedding is terrible (literally, the most uncomfortable beds we've ever slept in). It was noisy (walls are paper thin), the food court is absolute chaos and waiting for the buses was a nightmare. I know it looks REALLY cute, but then you have to actually stay there and the novelty wears off VERY quickly. As Julylady said, with all the stimulation of characters and theming in the parks, IMHO, it is nice to go back to a resort that is a little more subtle yet still has Disney theming. If you can swing a deluxe for everyone, I would really consider booking rooms for everyone at one of the deluxe resorts. The Boardwalk is really lovely (our favorite), the Poly is great, Grand Floridian is also gorgeous and both GF and Poly have super cute splash pads for the kids and zero entry pools.

 

[rwdavis2]

The big question is why don't you think they would enjoy aoa?

You said you were doing a split stay, so maybe, even if they weren't thrilled, they would tolerate it until the all part. I would not stay separately unless you weren't spending much time together.

This. Just ask them what they would like.

 

[fbb]

For our next big family trip to WDW, I'm booking my mother-in-law at the Grand Californian.

 

[Murron]

For our next big family trip to WDW, I'm booking my mother-in-law at the Grand Californian.