Help! First time Disney visit... need some advice please :)

[Allisonmomofthree]

We will be taking our FIRST Disney trip in October. Two adults and 3 kids.. We're so excited but we are having a problem deciding on where to stay. We would like a suite so we're thinking of AOA, or Animal Kingdom Jambo House.. but I'm up to suggestions.. Any please!! Thanks so much Also, how is the Halloween not so scary party? Is it work the money? We're going Oct 13-16th. Thanks again

 

[TML2012]

I have not stayed in the AoA suites but have visited the resort. The theming is really well done especially the pool area and cars section. The food court is one of the better ones.

 

[TML2012]

I don't really like spending money over and above the resort and base ticket price. With that being said, we went to MNSSHP in 2012 and really liked it. It is definitely doing it at least once. There was a good selection of candy for trick or treating. Hallowishes is a very good fireworks show. The highlight of the party for us though was the parade. It is sooo well done!

 

[FindMeAFishingSpot]

How old are the kids? I think AOA is good for the younger children, but if they are all over 7, I would go with AKL.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

POR sleeps five and it's awesome there.

 

[Sue M]

We haven't stayed at AoA, just walked around it one day and ate lunch. It looked fun.
But we've stayed in a regular room at AKL and love that resort. I guess you're looking at 1 bdrm suites? Some people on Dis have had good sucess using David's DVC to rent points. But only if your dates are 100% sure. Renting points from a DVC owner is different than booking the DVC unit with Wdw as a cash booking. DVC points are non-refundable. Another difference is with renting DVC points, you don't get daily housekeeping as you would booking it as a cash booking with Disney. But renting points can be a big savings.

A big part of a WDW vacation is advance planning. Another good website for planning is Allears.net. Look at the accommodations section, it has fact sheets and photos of each resort, including DVC.

A great planning book is WDW Unofficial Guide. It was my bible for my first few trips. Their touring plans were great, they work, and you'll spend less time on lines and more time doing things! As I mentioned, WDW isn't like a regular vacation, and advance planning is important to a successful trip. The one thing you don't want to do in WDW is wander the parks aimlessly.
Happy planning!

 

[Allisonmomofthree]

How old are the kids? I think AOA is good for the younger children, but if they are all over 7, I would go with AKL.

The kids are 17, 8 and 3

 

[Allisonmomofthree]

We haven't stayed at AoA, just walked around it one day and ate lunch. It looked fun.
But we've stayed in a regular room at AKL and love that resort. I guess you're looking at 1 bdrm suites? Some people on Dis have had good sucess using David's DVC to rent points. But only if your dates are 100% sure. Renting points from a DVC owner is different than booking the DVC unit with Wdw as a cash booking. DVC points are non-refundable. Another difference is with renting DVC points, you don't get daily housekeeping as you would booking it as a cash booking with Disney. But renting points can be a big savings.

A big part of a WDW vacation is advance planning. Another good website for planning is Allears.net. Look at the accommodations section, it has fact sheets and photos of each resort, including DVC.

A great planning book is WDW Unofficial Guide. It was my bible for my first few trips. Their touring plans were great, they work, and you'll spend less time on lines and more time doing things! As I mentioned, WDW isn't like a regular vacation, and advance planning is important to a successful trip. The one thing you don't want to do in WDW is wander the parks aimlessly.
Happy planning!

Thank you so much!! Did you buy the unofficial guide with kids? or just the regular book? I've been trying to figure out which one to buy

 

[Allisonmomofthree]

I don't really like spending money over and above the resort and base ticket price. With that being said, we went to MNSSHP in 2012 and really liked it. It is definitely doing it at least once. There was a good selection of candy for trick or treating. Hallowishes is a very good fireworks show. The highlight of the party for us though was the parade. It is sooo well done!

We are excited!! Thanks so much

 

[Allisonmomofthree]

We haven't stayed at AoA, just walked around it one day and ate lunch. It looked fun.
But we've stayed in a regular room at AKL and love that resort. I guess you're looking at 1 bdrm suites? Some people on Dis have had good sucess using David's DVC to rent points. But only if your dates are 100% sure. Renting points from a DVC owner is different than booking the DVC unit with Wdw as a cash booking. DVC points are non-refundable. Another difference is with renting DVC points, you don't get daily housekeeping as you would booking it as a cash booking with Disney. But renting points can be a big savings.

A big part of a WDW vacation is advance planning. Another good website for planning is Allears.net. Look at the accommodations section, it has fact sheets and photos of each resort, including DVC.

A great planning book is WDW Unofficial Guide. It was my bible for my first few trips. Their touring plans were great, they work, and you'll spend less time on lines and more time doing things! As I mentioned, WDW isn't like a regular vacation, and advance planning is important to a successful trip. The one thing you don't want to do in WDW is wander the parks aimlessly.
Happy planning!

And we do want a suite because we have a 3 year old and she never sleeps so this will give us an extra room to entertain her if we have to in the middle of the night I'm praying that she will be so worn out from the excitement that she will sleep through the night, which she never does!

 

[Sue M]

And we do want a suite because we have a 3 year old and she never sleeps so this will give us an extra room to entertain her if we have to in the middle of the night I'm praying that she will be so worn out from the excitement that she will sleep through the night, which she never does!

I had one of those! Lol

 

[Sue M]

Thank you so much!! Did you buy the unofficial guide with kids? or just the regular book? I've been trying to figure out which one to buy

I bought one when I first started going to WDW. It included various touring plans for each park, adults only, teens, children's touring plans, the one that made me laugh was called Dumbo or Die touring plan. Thought title was hilarious.
The book really taught me how to tour, but I still subscribe o their web site, touring plans.com. I like their crowd calendar.
You'd have to look and see what's in the regular book. They didn't have a children's book back then so I can't comment. When you buy the book it gives you a year free subscription to their web site.

 

[Mickeycrocs]

My family and I (Husband, 18 month old, Mom, and Friend) all stayed at Animal Kingdom Kidani Village when we went last May. I highly reccomend staying there! The room was lion king themed, and we had a balcony we had plenty of room to relax after a long day at the parks and watch the animals, it was awesome. Outside our balcony we saw zebras, birds, and in the distance were giraffes. The CM's were awesome, and the resort is beautiful. There was a bedroom with a king mattress, and in the living room area was a queen pull out and twin pull out, and plenty of room, and also a full kitchen. Hope you have an awesome trip! I wish I could help you with the Halloween, I was wondering the same!

 

[bigbabyblues]

You can usually find the guide books at the library. Check a few out and see which ones you like before you buy any.

 

[mernin]

I don't have any experience with the resorts. We are hoping to stay at AKL next Feb. we went to MNSSHP with our DD3 about 5 years ago and loved it. I thought it was worth the extra money and would go again if we were there when it was on.

 

[Allisonmomofthree]

I don't have any experience with the resorts. We are hoping to stay at AKL next Feb. we went to MNSSHP with our DD3 about 5 years ago and loved it. I thought it was worth the extra money and would go again if we were there when it was on.

I can't wait!! We are going to get tickets for that

 

[Allisonmomofthree]

You can usually find the guide books at the library. Check a few out and see which ones you like before you buy any.

THANKS, great idea!! I never thought about that

 

[Allisonmomofthree]

My family and I (Husband, 18 month old, Mom, and Friend) all stayed at Animal Kingdom Kidani Village when we went last May. I highly reccomend staying there! The room was lion king themed, and we had a balcony we had plenty of room to relax after a long day at the parks and watch the animals, it was awesome. Outside our balcony we saw zebras, birds, and in the distance were giraffes. The CM's were awesome, and the resort is beautiful. There was a bedroom with a king mattress, and in the living room area was a queen pull out and twin pull out, and plenty of room, and also a full kitchen. Hope you have an awesome trip! I wish I could help you with the Halloween, I was wondering the same!

Thanks so much for the info I will let you know about the Halloween when we get back

 

[Allisonmomofthree]

Is it worth the money to go to ak or should we just stay at aoa? Just wondering if it's really that big a difference?