If you could only go one time......

[Gillian]

AKL is beautiful, and it's new, but with kids the age of yours, I'd have to give another vote for the Polynesian. I also think the contemporary is cool, but you'll get a bunch of different opinions on that

Dreams Unlimited is a great travel agency! They will help you organize your trip. Once you are assigned to an agent, there is always someone to answer your questions. When my agent is on vacation, I am always given another person to contact with questions.

Discounts for your dates probably won't be out until winter 2003, so you should book what you want when you make a decision & hope for a better deal. DU will watch for specials after you book. Usually the best discounts are for the room only, so if you book a package, you may not be able to take advantage of them. Packages are convenient, but you will save money by booking everything separately.

Happy planning!

 

[enord]

With kids 4 & 6, there is no doubt, I would stay at one of the monorail resorts. You will probably spend more days in the Magic Kingdom, and there is nothing better than just hopping on the monorail to get back to your room. My personal favorite is the Polynesian(love the atmosphere at night). The kids would have a blast at the pool. You can stand and stare at the castle from the beach, and they have several nice places to eat. Have a great time whatever you decide on.

 

[Terry S]

My kids are 4 - daughter and 6 - son and I would definately go with the Beach Club. If you want to go all out, go for the 1 bedroom at the Beach Club Villas which are attahced to the BC and are opening this July. We have stayed several times at the BC and we love it, the pool, Storm Along Bay is the best on WDW property, my kids can't get enough of it. We stayed this past April at AKL since my husband and kids thought that it would be nice to look at the animals and I have to agree that, yes it was nice to get up in the AM and look at the Animals, it just wasn't for me for lots of reasons, decor was to dark, all transportation was by bus, no beach etc.... I asked my kids after the trip which resort they preffered and the vote went to Beach Club. You just can't beat the 5 minute walk to Epcot and the view from the beach accross to the boardwalk is breathtaking.

As far as the travel agent goes or booking a WDW world package I wouldn't do either one, I agree with everything eeyore0062 says about booking everything seperately. Call WDW at 407-WDISNEY or if you join the Disney Club call their 1-800 # and ask for a room only quote, no tickets or flights, then get your tickets seperately, I would also suggest the AP if your planning on 7 or more days and call the airline yourself also. Don't worry about missing anything. Just read everything you need to know here on the DIS and post questions.

You don't mention how long your stay is, if your planning on a stay of 8 days or more, there are plently of cool things for the kids to do like the pirate cruise, but if you are only going for a short time, you wouldn't want to waste time doing these things.

Planning is half the fun! Enjoy!

 

[MJames41]

I would split the stay. With kids that age, I would even start my trip at one of the All Stars, probably All Star Movies, perhaps for only a night. I would then go to my favorite monorail resort for a few days (we prefer Contemporary over Poly) to visit MK. Then, on to Beach Club to stay for when we go to MGM and Epcot. And then I would end the stay at AKL. Knowing what I know now, and given that you said it's a one time shot, that is what I would do. Of course I'd also want to go for at least 1 week, if not 2 weeks.

 

[Gamblers]

I was planning on staying at least 8 nights. Probably spending some time at Universal to hit the Spiderman ride, Back to the Future, etc. I do not do the roller coaters due to fear of heights, but love virtual reality rides such as Spiderman. If they get too high on those rides I can close my eyes! If you really wanted to have some fun you should watch me on a plane!

Terry S, I will try the booking things seperately.

I forget which thread it was but someone had said that they had booked with BC and after haggling with the WDW rep they got an upgrade to Poly for $25 bucks extra per night???? I will try and find the exact thread and post it here if anybody could explain that to me.

Gamblers.

Ok here is the quote:
I thought you might want to know I tried this tip and called several times and everyone at reservations at WDW said they have never heard of this. Just recently I booked a 10 day trip to WDW for our July visit. I made reservations at the Caribbean Beach through WDW directly. With a little prodding I was upgraded to the Polynesian for almost the same price as the Caribbean Beach (I'm paying about $25.00 more per night) . The nice lady said that you have to ask if invitational upgrades are available, they won't offer it to you unless asked. These "invitations" are only sometimes available and will bump you up one class (value to moderate or moderate to deluxe). It never hurts to ask. Thanks to David for this tip!

I found it here: http://www.guide2wdw.com/tipofthe.htm#RESORT TIPS

 

[Terry S]

Gamblers.... The resort that a lot of people are referring to here is the Beach Club. Not the Carribean Beach. The Beach Club is a deluxe resort just like the Polynesian. The Carribean Beach is a moderate. What the person was offered is what is generally called an "upsell" rate. This is when you ask for a value or mod and it is booked they will sometimes give you an upsell rate to the next level of resort for a good price. There is a FAQ at the top of this board called The Yacht and Beach Club FAQ, you can see pictures of the Beach Club there.

 

[ContempoSMT]

Contemporary Resort Tower Room. The Lcoation is perfect, the view is great , and the hotel is unbelievable. Thats my pick
followed by
Grand Floridian
Wilderness Lodge

 

[Trekker]

I have always dreamed of staying at the Grand Floridian - - -

I cannot give a reason other than I think that resort looks awesome when we pass it on the monorail....

 

[susy]

I would do half the trip at GF and half at BC.

 

[Glory Days]

When my girls were 4 & 6 we stayed on-site for the first time at the Poly. It was a magical vacation, so great to be by the monorail, see the fireworks from the beach, watch the electric light parade. With teens, the Y/B Club was the best. But when it gets down to just my DH & me, I would love to stay at the Grand Floridian.

 

[BarryCF]

Hiya from another Texan Gamblers I agree with eeyore0062, whatever you decide to do, book it yourself. That's half the fun!! As you get closer to your vacation, check SW at www.iflyswa.com for specials. You can fly from Houston Hobby, DFW, and SA for around $200 pp. If they're doing Friends Fly Free it's even cheaper. As soon as Disney will let you, book your room, the deposit is equal to one night's rent, and then check the Disboards and www.mousesavers.com for codes. Codes usually come out a couple of months in advance. If your're gonna do a couple days at US/IOA and this is a once in a lifetime trip, try to do 10 nts, you'll be glad you did. A few months before you go, get a Disney Club Card. With the discounts it provides, it'll pay for itself in no time. Also get an Orlando Magicard, it's free and gives you discounts outside the World. Get it from www.orlandoinfo.com . If you have any questions feel free to ask. I have so much fun planning my own trips that I enjoy helping others.

Cheers

 

[Dana49]

If I had little children and money was not a problem, I would stay at the Grand Floridian. If I had older children, or it was just the wife and I, I would stay at the Yacht Club. Location, location, location!

 

[Gamblers]

Big howdy to you BarryCF. We are going to use AA to fly. Some in the group have frequent flyer miles. If they have any miles left over they are going to try and help others out in the group on their air. I had forgotten the friends fly free on SW.

Grand Floridian. Is it kid friendly??? I know all WDW resorts are kid friendly. I know some are more friendly than others. Just from looking at pics from the web the GF looks like a fancy place. I am having visions of my 3 and 6 year old racing through the lobby knocking over lamps, vases, etc. It is a very beautiful place and probably is a very kiddy place. I can probably vision staying at the Poly and watching my 3 and 6 year old knocking over tiki torches!!! Kodak moment.

Planning IS have the fun! Thanks to all for the help.

Gamblers

 

[beattyfamily]

Well, if it's your ONLY trip and you have little ones and want to go all out, I'd pick GF first, then either the Poly or the Cont.

You can't beat the convenience of a monorail resort with little ones!

The GF is WONDERFUL. You feel great! Cont. has the convenience of being able to walk to MK if you want. Poly has the tropical feel.

Good luck!

 

[imbe@aol.com]

Originally posted by Gamblers
If you could go and stay only one time at WDW which resort would you stay at???

The reason I ask this is, that I plan on going and staying at a WDW resort next year. I have been to WDW twice but never stayed on site. Who knows what tomorrow brings so I am in the thought process of staying at a resort like I will not be back again and would like to go all out. I am taking kids with me and they will be 4 and 6 when we go. So I want them to remember it for quite sometime.

Planning on some Disney Magic,
Gamblers

Well, I'd say the Grand Floridian (that's MY favorite! LOL) The proximity to the MK, which is probably going to be where you'll spend a lot of time with kids that age, is excellent. OTOH, AKL *is* a great resort too, as long as you don't mind the fact that you'll have to be taking a bus everywhere..