Help me decide - AoA or BLT rental?

[gmorales29]

Hi!

We will be heading back to Disney in early May 2020 for both of our daughters' first trips. Our 2 daughters will be 2 & 4 at time of travel (purposely going a few weeks before 2 turns 3 so she's free and 4 will be be turning 5 either on the trip or right after we return - depending on travel dates). They still have early bedtimes and we've decided to get a 1-bedroom suite so we don't have to sit quietly in the dark for a few hours each night. Neither of them will be napping regularly at those ages, but they will probably require Disney naps (we all probably will!). We've narrowed down our picks to AoA and the Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary.

The "ideal" itinerary for this trip has us in MK a lot based on our girls' ages/interests and the restaurants we want to bring them to:

Sunday: Arrival Day, dinner in MK
Monday: AK
Tuesday: MK
Wednesday: Pool day, dinner in MK
Thursday: Epcot
Friday: HS
Saturday: Breakfast in MK, flight home in afternoon

We have enough AmEx points to cover a stay at a family suite at Art of Animation (translates to about $2,700 for the week). Or we could rent DVC points for a 1-bedroom villa at Bay Lake Tower for $3,780 (from David's DVC rental calculator) and pay out of pocket. It's taken me 4 years to save up the points on my business credit card and we do plan on going to Disney again in a year or 2, so it's not like the points will go to waste. But still... $0 now sounds pretty nice.

We're early risers and we wouldn't have a problem getting to the bus stop for rope drop - but would the ease of walking to MK be worth the extra cost? Or is the "fun" pool and theme at AoA a better trade off at this age? I know they would both absolutely love AoA. I've wanted to stay at the "monorail hotel" since I was a little girl but does the thrill of the monorail lose it's appeal for little kids when they're not staying in the A-frame? Should we wait until they're older for the Deluxe stay?

I'm honestly torn. A cheaper trip that I know the girls would love the hotel/pool or a more expensive, but more convenient trip? I need to make a decision soon, so we won't miss the 11-month DVC rental window (if we went that route). Any input would be appreciated! Thank you!

 

[DisneyWorldbuff]

Zero dollars sounds pretty great to me!
Your kids are very young, they probably won’t care about theming too much right now. I would use your points and save that money. Hope you have a great trip!

 

[LynnTH]

I agree - stay at AOA. We mainly stay DVC Villas Now (Boardwalk) but when the kids were younger we stayed at all the Values. The kids loved them and they will love the theming. Especially since you have all the points already saved for this trip. Then you can start saving and stay somewhere else next time. Have you looked at a DVC Studio? They are much cheaper and you can always sit on the balcony while the kids are sleeping.

 

[Miffy]

I voted for AoA for a few reasons. (1) The price. Can't beat that. (2) Adorableness--your girls will appreciate that. (3) You'll be booking it through WDW, which will give you far more flexibility than renting points can. In case you don't realize this, if you rent points, you have to pay in full upfront and it's extremely rare that you could get any of your money refunded if you had to cancel for some reason. And your dates would be set in stone, because you wouldn't be able to change your reservation, either. Those restrictions alone make booking your room through WDW reservations a far more appealing scenario.

And with the $1,000 you'd be saving, you'd be able to take as many Minnie Vans as you wanted, in case you didn't feel like waiting for a bus.

It's absolutely very convenient to be able to walk to the Magic Kingdom, but the bus from AoA is also very convenient, and, btw, AoA has a great food court.

 

[Micca]

BLT is the better choice but I don't know that it's $1000 better...and that's before you factor in that the first $2700 is already covered. Not sure if you're a WDW regular, but I'd say if you're considering dropping $4k in cash that'd be a nice down payment on a DVC contract.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Hi!

We will be heading back to Disney in early May 2020 for both of our daughters' first trips. Our 2 daughters will be 2 & 4 at time of travel (purposely going a few weeks before 2 turns 3 so she's free and 4 will be be turning 5 either on the trip or right after we return - depending on travel dates). They still have early bedtimes and we've decided to get a 1-bedroom suite so we don't have to sit quietly in the dark for a few hours each night. Neither of them will be napping regularly at those ages, but they will probably require Disney naps (we all probably will!). We've narrowed down our picks to AoA and the Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary.

The "ideal" itinerary for this trip has us in MK a lot based on our girls' ages/interests and the restaurants we want to bring them to:

Sunday: Arrival Day, dinner in MK
Monday: AK
Tuesday: MK
Wednesday: Pool day, dinner in MK
Thursday: Epcot
Friday: HS
Saturday: Breakfast in MK, flight home in afternoon

We have enough AmEx points to cover a stay at a family suite at Art of Animation (translates to about $2,700 for the week). Or we could rent DVC points for a 1-bedroom villa at Bay Lake Tower for $3,780 (from David's DVC rental calculator) and pay out of pocket. It's taken me 4 years to save up the points on my business credit card and we do plan on going to Disney again in a year or 2, so it's not like the points will go to waste. But still... $0 now sounds pretty nice.

We're early risers and we wouldn't have a problem getting to the bus stop for rope drop - but would the ease of walking to MK be worth the extra cost? Or is the "fun" pool and theme at AoA a better trade off at this age? I know they would both absolutely love AoA. I've wanted to stay at the "monorail hotel" since I was a little girl but does the thrill of the monorail lose it's appeal for little kids when they're not staying in the A-frame? Should we wait until they're older for the Deluxe stay?

I'm honestly torn. A cheaper trip that I know the girls would love the hotel/pool or a more expensive, but more convenient trip? I need to make a decision soon, so we won't miss the 11-month DVC rental window (if we went that route). Any input would be appreciated! Thank you!

We stayed at AoA the first year it opened when my DS was 5. It's super cute, but, for us, the novelty wore off very quickly and then we were stuck in a very loud resort with uncomfortable beds, a super chaotic food court and busing to all of the parks. We've gone to WDW multiple times a year since my DS was 1 and have stayed in almost every resort. From our experience, a young child will enjoy whatever resort you choose and, yes, the monorail going through CR is pretty darn cool. In looking at your itinerary, think of it this way, staying at BLT will be ultra-convenient. You have 5 days where you won't have to wait for a bus or break down a stroller. That's huge. On your travel days, you can simply walk back and forth from the resort and, especially on your last day, not have to stress about getting back to the resort in time to get DME to the airport. You will also have a full kitchen and washer/dryer at BLT which I found are major bonuses especially when traveling with small children. There are so many fun things to do in the CR resort area - take the boat to WL and Ft. W (visit the stables there and play on the playground), take the monorail to GF and Poly, etc. I have found busing becomes a lot easier when you don't need a stroller any more, so if you are planning on going again, I would do convenience now and use your points at a later time.

 

[gmorales29]

We stayed at AoA the first year it opened when my DS was 5. It's super cute, but, for us, the novelty wore off very quickly and then we were stuck in a very loud resort with uncomfortable beds, a super chaotic food court and busing to all of the parks. We've gone to WDW multiple times a year since my DS was 1 and have stayed in almost every resort. From our experience, a young child will enjoy whatever resort you choose and, yes, the monorail going through CR is pretty darn cool. In looking at your itinerary, think of it this way, staying at BLT will be ultra-convenient. You have 5 days where you won't have to wait for a bus or break down a stroller. That's huge. On your travel days, you can simply walk back and forth from the resort and, especially on your last day, not have to stress about getting back to the resort in time to get DME to the airport. You will also have a full kitchen and washer/dryer at BLT which I found are major bonuses especially when traveling with small children. There are so many fun things to do in the CR resort area - take the boat to WL and Ft. W (visit the stables there and play on the playground), take the monorail to GF and Poly, etc. I have found busing becomes a lot easier when you don't need a stroller any more, so if you are planning on going again, I would do convenience now and use your points at a later time.

Well, you've definitely convinced my husband (the one who will have to break down the double stroller for every bus ride!) LOL - thank you! This was very helpful!

 

[Disneypro1]

That’s a no brainier. Use the points. A of A. Is a great resort. Non issue there.

 

[smiths02]

We really loved AoA suites. We stayed there twice! I would stick with that. You say the points won't go to waste, but you don't know that, so that introduces some risk. I can't imagine going from $0 to $3780. Also adding in the risk and pre-planning required to rent points.

 

[smiths02]

We stayed at AoA the first year it opened when my DS was 5. It's super cute, but, for us, the novelty wore off very quickly and then we were stuck in a very loud resort with uncomfortable beds, a super chaotic food court and busing to all of the parks. We've gone to WDW multiple times a year since my DS was 1 and have stayed in almost every resort. From our experience, a young child will enjoy whatever resort you choose and, yes, the monorail going through CR is pretty darn cool. In looking at your itinerary, think of it this way, staying at BLT will be ultra-convenient. You have 5 days where you won't have to wait for a bus or break down a stroller. That's huge. On your travel days, you can simply walk back and forth from the resort and, especially on your last day, not have to stress about getting back to the resort in time to get DME to the airport. You will also have a full kitchen and washer/dryer at BLT which I found are major bonuses especially when traveling with small children. There are so many fun things to do in the CR resort area - take the boat to WL and Ft. W (visit the stables there and play on the playground), take the monorail to GF and Poly, etc. I have found busing becomes a lot easier when you don't need a stroller any more, so if you are planning on going again, I would do convenience now and use your points at a later time.

We didn't find it especially loud or the food court chaotic or the beds uncomfortable. The bus is less convenient, but for $3780, OP could rent a car or Minnie Van.

 

[FSU Girl]

The One-Bedroom Villas are so nice! And being able to walk back to Magic Kingdom is a huge time saver, especially if you are going to do midday breaks and spending a lot of time at MK. But spending no money at all is really nice too. That's a hard choice. With BLT you'll be locked into it and can't change once you've paid. It's why I don't like renting because there is very little flexibility.

 

[Shellyred8]

I would vote for BLT. The 1br villas are awesome! So much space, and two bathrooms! Since you will be spending a lot of time at MK, it will be a great time saver to be able to walk there and back. If one of the kiddos decides they need a nap in the room mid-day, it will take much less time to walk back to BLT than to take the bus back to AoA.

Also, I love being able to watch the MK fireworks from somewhere in BLT or the Contemporary. There are several options of places to watch them. If the kiddos can't make it late enough to see the fireworks from within the park, you could still catch them from the resort.

Have a great trip!

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Hi!

We will be heading back to Disney in early May 2020 for both of our daughters' first trips. Our 2 daughters will be 2 & 4 at time of travel (purposely going a few weeks before 2 turns 3 so she's free and 4 will be be turning 5 either on the trip or right after we return - depending on travel dates). They still have early bedtimes and we've decided to get a 1-bedroom suite so we don't have to sit quietly in the dark for a few hours each night. Neither of them will be napping regularly at those ages, but they will probably require Disney naps (we all probably will!). We've narrowed down our picks to AoA and the Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary.

The "ideal" itinerary for this trip has us in MK a lot based on our girls' ages/interests and the restaurants we want to bring them to:

Sunday: Arrival Day, dinner in MK
Monday: AK
Tuesday: MK
Wednesday: Pool day, dinner in MK
Thursday: Epcot
Friday: HS
Saturday: Breakfast in MK, flight home in afternoon

We have enough AmEx points to cover a stay at a family suite at Art of Animation (translates to about $2,700 for the week). Or we could rent DVC points for a 1-bedroom villa at Bay Lake Tower for $3,780 (from David's DVC rental calculator) and pay out of pocket. It's taken me 4 years to save up the points on my business credit card and we do plan on going to Disney again in a year or 2, so it's not like the points will go to waste. But still... $0 now sounds pretty nice.

We're early risers and we wouldn't have a problem getting to the bus stop for rope drop - but would the ease of walking to MK be worth the extra cost? Or is the "fun" pool and theme at AoA a better trade off at this age? I know they would both absolutely love AoA. I've wanted to stay at the "monorail hotel" since I was a little girl but does the thrill of the monorail lose it's appeal for little kids when they're not staying in the A-frame? Should we wait until they're older for the Deluxe stay?

I'm honestly torn. A cheaper trip that I know the girls would love the hotel/pool or a more expensive, but more convenient trip? I need to make a decision soon, so we won't miss the 11-month DVC rental window (if we went that route). Any input would be appreciated! Thank you!

At your girls ages you have a dilemma, it's a great dilemma but as a traveling parent of small children, you need to decide what's more important- cost save or overall convenience. AofA at $0 (which may be the wrong way to look at it bc someone has paid for those points) but in essence it's free and it's still a suitable size for a family so the kids can nap and you don't have to sit in a dark room but your transportation will be buses and the like. It's not horrible but it isn't as convenient as BLT. Whereas BLT, you also get a great size room but you will pay more out of pocket.

BUT you get walking distance to MK which with tired kids is AMAZING and you get monorail with kids is AMAZING vs a bus for everything. Really other than AK or DS, you won't have to bus anywhere while you're there.

As for what your kids would like, they're such a great age that they'll love anything you book. When my girls were that age, they loved a holiday inn since it wasn't their home. You really can't go wrong as far as their level of excitement. They'll have a blast no matter where you decide to stay.

Now my opinion, we stayed POP when our girls were younger around 3 and 4 and they loved it. We all had a great trip but that was our first disney trip as a family of 4 and had never stayed mod or deluxe at that time so we had nothing to compare that trip with. Now that we've stayed at other resorts, we see the benefit of park proximity and transportation alternatives. Our girls did nap but we didn't do any room naps that I can recall. They stroller napped or skipped. We did the buses which isn't that bad with a stroller but you do get side eye from some people when it's super crowded- just how some ppl are but overall it worked great for us. If I were in your shoes, I'd probably do BLT. It's hard to stay value (which the AofA suite is more mod than value) after you have stayed deluxe. Knowing what we love about deluxe and even mod resorts now, I wish I had chosen a resort closer to the parks when they were younger. Even now that my girls are 10 and 12, we get tired and just want to get back to our room ASAP and a lot of times we end up ubering or minnie vanning from the park just to bypass the buses since we don't want to deal with them. If the $3780 isn't a budget buster, I'd go BLT. Just my 2 cents

 

[westie55]

I have stayed at AoA and loved it. I actually adore the theming and the over the top Disney decor and giant statues everywhere at AoA. It makes you feel like you are in another theme park. I have also stayed at the GF so I know how convenient being on the monorail is, especially with a stroller. It was a huge relief on days that we went to Epcot or MK and didn't have to worry about getting sleeping kids and all of their gear in and out of the stroller to load it onto the bus. I think your kids would be happy with either resort. I am actually staying at the Contemporary for the first time this summer, and I am really looking forward to being able to walk back and forth to the MK easily. Sometimes when you have to go wait for a bus and then ride all the way to a park, you lose the motivation to go back because you're tired and it's a lot of effort with little ones. Being on the monorail also makes it easier to get to the other MK area resorts for character meals and dining. Taking a bus from AoA to a park or Downtown Disney and then to another resort for dining is a hassle. I know some people think it's garish, but I wish there was a deluxe resort with decorations like AoA that still had nice table service restaurants, a pool with food/drink service, and more comfortable/ higher end rooms. The beds at the value resorts are less comfortable than the deluxe. Tough call. There are pluses and minuses to both.

 

[foodiddiedoo]

Question for the original poster, what is your planned sleeping arrangements? If you do a 1 Bedroom at BLT you'll have a single King bed in the master, and then a sofa bed and a sofa chair. If your not quite 3 year old will sleep in a pack and play that makes it easier for her earlier bedtime, otherwise you'll have to put both the kids to bed in the living room and hang out in your bedroom till you want to go to bed. Is that ok with you?

 

[starry_solo]

A of A while the kids are small. When they get bigger, BLT

 

[gmorales29]

Thank you everyone for all of the great advice! I think we’ve decided to compromise on our rooming situation and just get a regular hotel room at the Contemporary for the walkability factor. We can still use AmEx points for that and it will (hopefully) cover a majority of the cost. smiths02’s comment reminded me that we couldn’t use AmEx points at Disney during a previous trip (10-ish years ago, maybe?) so there is no guarantee to use them for a future trip. We can sit out on the balcony while the girls sleep and watch fireworks instead of tv in bed from the AoA suite. Again, thank you! It’s been almost 5 years since our last trip and we’ve never been with kids so reading through this board has been so helpful.

 

[alex9179]

I think you've made a great decision. Our family of 5 has stayed at AOA and CR. My kids were past stroller age but we ALL loved the transportation convenience and how compact CR is. If you're getting a TPV room, YES! Room views aren't usually a concern of ours but watching the fireworks from bed/balcony was wonderful. Our kids were exhausted pretty early in the evening, so we rarely made any of the evening spectaculars that trip. DH and I really enjoyed it after the kids had passed out. Request an odd numbered room for "from the bed" viewing!