Help Us Choose!!

[Alexsandra]

Why is choosing a resort so hard?!? LOL....

Anyway, we are planning a trip in February for the 1st time for our son who will be 5 years old. My husband and I haven't been to Disney in 8 years and we aren't making this a yearly trip, so we don't mind splurging a little. We originally were thinking AKL or WL but then decided maybe we should stick with moderates as airfare is going to be killing the budget. I don't want to rent DVC points because of the cancellation issue just in case we have to.

We are going to be doing 6 days (incl. travel days) and would ideally like to take breaks to swim (but don't know how feasible in February??).My son loves animals and Mickey, so we are figuring we will probably be spending a good amount of time in Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. We are also planning on doing Epcot, but are skipping HS because of all the closures at this time.

If we do a mod we were thinking POFQ, if we do a deluxe we are now thinking BC as we can get a good deal(approx. 1000 difference between the two)....Does anyone have any insights which would be better for a 5 year old? Open to any suggestions!! Thank you!!

Honestly, I love the Deluxe resorts and now that my boys are older have taken advantage of them, but if traveling in February and with a 5 y.o. I would save the money and do the moderate resort.
I've been to Disney in Feb when my boys were 18 months and 5 y.o. The first three days it was freezing and we had no chance to enjoy the pools. The rest of the trip was warm and we swam once or twice in the afternoon when the sun was at its hottest. Florida weather can be so volatile in February so I would not spend all that extra cash on the BC and not be able to enjoy those pools. The kids cannot tell the difference between a moderate and a deluxe and unless you stay on at a resort with monorail access, the transportation will be all be similar to moderate resorts.
I personally would stay at POFQ. My boys loved it there. They have a pool with a dragon slide and a huge splash area for your 5 y.o. to enjoy. Its the smallest of all Disney resorts which makes every amenity a short walk away (5 min). This is so valuable when its raining outside or you just want to do a coffee run in the morning. It has only one bus stop. This matters because when a resort has multiple bus stops you have to wait for it to pick up all other guests, it can add 15 min to our travel time. Not only that but you can use the facilities of its sister resort POR. It has a boat to Disney Springs which I highly recommend.
The resort is very pretty with cobble stone roads, trees everywhere and antique street lamps. Plus you have the river with charming walkways.
We've stayed there over 4 times and each time we were happy with our choice.

 

[robl45]

Beach club is our favorite, but the problem is no one wants to leave the pool. It is convenient though. You can walk to Epcot and DHS although if you aren't going to DHS, thats not a huge plus. As someone said before, nothing beats the contemporary for easy access to the magic kingdom.

 

[Shellyb84]

We took our first family trip when my DD was 5 and stayed at BC. She loved it and it's still her favorite resort, over GF, Poly and AKL. She wasn't big on rides that trip but loved doing the Kidcot stations at WS so we spent a lot of time at Epcot. As far as the weather in February, yes it can be iffy, but we were at Disney this past February and the weather was great. We had one full pool day and spent several afternoons and even one evening at the pool.

 

[twoolle]

The boat option to MK from WL, especially when popping over to MK in the evening, is one thing that sold me. At moderates the travel time on buses just seems to be so time consuming (while totally doable). We did GF one year, then POR, CBR and finally in March we will do WL. We spend a lot of time at MK and I am so looking forward to the boat option and not dealing with the buses, esp at park closing. Plus you can see fireworks from WL!

 

[PamNC]

i suggest trying to rent from a DVC owner - that way you can get a deluxe resort at a moderate price. For your situation my picks would be AKL, WL - cooper creek villas maybe (haven't stayed there yet but stayed at WL and loved it), or I love Coronado as far as moderates go - great pool. Like another poster said, all your choices are great. Thus far I've stayed at the following and I can't think of one resort I just simply disliked: All Star Music, CBR, CSR, POR, CR, Poly, GF, BC, YC, OKW.