If you were me would you Cabins or ASMu?

[Winka]

I'm not sure what tide this thread is taking but just responding to your initial post and knowing nothing else-my vote is to try something NEW!

I've never stayed at FW but I've stayed at WL and the peaceful ferry to the MK (which I believe is also available for FW guests?) is a nice perk if you are going to spend a good portion of your time there.

And if you don't end up liking it-well, you'll just have to try for better luck next time.

 

[hokie98]

What about renting DVC points to get a suite? Never done it (didn't plan far enough in advance this time), but want to try it next time.

 

[maxiesmom]

I've stayed in a Family Suite before, and while I have never stayed in a FW cabin, I have looked into them. The transportation thing there looks a bit scary to me. I don't like the idea of having a really long walk/golf cart ride to get to a bus stop or boat launch. And I find the whole internal bus thing a bit confusing. And $63.54 a day for a golf cart, that seems crazy!

Being in a Family Suite at ASMu you KNOW you will be very close to the bus stop. No messing around! Also, there is the bonus of the second bathroom. No additional fee to pay for a golf cart. Plus, you get a queen bed in the bedroom.

 

[wishing4PA]

I've stayed in a Family Suite before, and while I have never stayed in a FW cabin, I have looked into them. The transportation thing there looks a bit scary to me. I don't like the idea of having a really long walk/golf cart ride to get to a bus stop or boat launch. And I find the whole internal bus thing a bit confusing.

The internal buses aren't all that confusing when you are actually there. Give it a day or two and you'd be experts.

Since it looks like OP can deal with the cabin bed situation, maybe FW is worth a try? I wish I knew the chances of being able to rent a cart if they went down without cart plans and then suddenly decided it was worthwhile. You can certainly survive being at FW without a golf cart. We did! But it would be nice to know they could change their minds and just give Mickey Mouse the extra money if they absolutely hated not having a cart. There are off-site companies too, I believe, which will rent carts - perhaps cheaper, but I don't know, since we used the internal bus. If you are interested in that option, you might find more info in the FW part of disboards.

 

[ke3d98]

I dislike camping so ASmu

 

[tobikaye]

I have not stayed in the family suites at ASMu, but have stayed in the cabins at FW three times. It is nice having the separate room, but what I enjoyed the most was having a deck to sit on and not having a room right up against the wall.

As for transportation, a car is great for getting to and from all of the parks, except MK. We tended to drive to all but MK. For MK, we would either take the boat directly to MK or to Contemporary and then walk or monorail (just to ride) over. Just note that you cannot use the car inside FW to get around the Fort. Other than parking at your cabin, you can take it to the market near the Bike Barn, but can only park there for a short time, about 15 minutes. The buses inside FW really are not the difficult, one goes down along the cabins, one goes down the middle and one goes along the campsites. To reach MK, you go to the Settlement (near the marina) and for the other parks you go to the Outpost (near check-in).

 

[sharadoc]

We've done both:

http://www.www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2272883

You can rent a golf cart from an offsite company, Tee Time Rentals. We paid $280 for 8 days. Much less than Disney. Over on the camping board, you can read about it. You'll also hear folks call it renting from Kenny. That's his company.

The quiet in a cabin is just great. No one above your head or running in hallways. Lots of wildlife and peaceful relaxation.

Food is limited, there is not a food court. But, you can get sandwiches at the pool and take-out after 4 from Trail's End to Go. They have pizza, fried chicken, pulled pork, nachos. All delicious. We got wings one night to go with our cooked dinner and there was about a 20 minute wait, so it can get busy.

We had breakfast and dinner at Trail's End. Both good and they have all the basics. We saw a family come in for breakfast take-out and were very annoyed that the only choices were muffins and other baked goods. Didn't do their research, they expected regular breakfast food. It's better to cook or have cereal at your cabin for breakfast. Many folks don't use the dining plan at the cabins because of the limited food choices. But you can also take the boat to the Contemporary and utilize all of the monorail resorts, or over to Wilderness Lodge for lots more food choices reasonably close by.

You can get a grocery delivery too. We used WeGoShop and it was great. You can look at local food ads and send specific requests from the advertised prices. You pay regular retail and you get the store receipt. Garden Grocer also delivers and they have a more limited selection and pricing, but many folks like them.

You must go into a cabin with an open mind. It's very different from staying in a typical Disney resort because it's so spread out. But it has SO much to do, nightly entertainment at the campfire and movie, boat to MK, Electrical Water Pageant from the beach.

If you have two kids, they can use the bunks and you can go in there and sleep in the double bed too. My husband and 17 yo slept on the Murphy bed and were fine, no complaints. It's so much easier than a sofa bed. Pull it down, push it up in the morning.

 

[auprincess]

we will be in this situation on our next trip, and I'm really leaning towards the cabins. A little worried about only having one bathroom, but my girls will be young enough that it shouldn't be that big of a deal. I just like all that the fort has to offer ~ as far as activities and stuff. And after staying at WL and the Poly ~ my oldest would be so disappointed without a pool slide! I know that sounds silly, but we swam everyday on our last trip.

 

[JJsmama]

I think you've answered your own question during this conversation. If you're worried about transportation AND there is the issue of renting the car, stick with All stars.

I was going to recommend POR instead too. However, then I saw that you were in a Suite at ASmu. If you've gotten used to two rooms, you are not gonna like have one at POR.

 

[KonaKaiTom]

We solved the bathroom problem easily -- located where the "community" bathrooms were such as by the laundry areas, etc., so in the event of an "emergency" -- there was an option.

Tom

 

[jvattes]

We've done both:

http://www.www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2272883

You can rent a golf cart from an offsite company, Tee Time Rentals. We paid $280 for 8 days. Much less than Disney. Over on the camping board, you can read about it. You'll also hear folks call it renting from Kenny. That's his company.

The quiet in a cabin is just great. No one above your head or running in hallways. Lots of wildlife and peaceful relaxation.

Food is limited, there is not a food court. But, you can get sandwiches at the pool and take-out after 4 from Trail's End to Go. They have pizza, fried chicken, pulled pork, nachos. All delicious. We got wings one night to go with our cooked dinner and there was about a 20 minute wait, so it can get busy.

We had breakfast and dinner at Trail's End. Both good and they have all the basics. We saw a family come in for breakfast take-out and were very annoyed that the only choices were muffins and other baked goods. Didn't do their research, they expected regular breakfast food. It's better to cook or have cereal at your cabin for breakfast. Many folks don't use the dining plan at the cabins because of the limited food choices. But you can also take the boat to the Contemporary and utilize all of the monorail resorts, or over to Wilderness Lodge for lots more food choices reasonably close by.

You can get a grocery delivery too. We used WeGoShop and it was great. You can look at local food ads and send specific requests from the advertised prices. You pay regular retail and you get the store receipt. Garden Grocer also delivers and they have a more limited selection and pricing, but many folks like them.

You must go into a cabin with an open mind. It's very different from staying in a typical Disney resort because it's so spread out. But it has SO much to do, nightly entertainment at the campfire and movie, boat to MK, Electrical Water Pageant from the beach.

If you have two kids, they can use the bunks and you can go in there and sleep in the double bed too. My husband and 17 yo slept on the Murphy bed and were fine, no complaints. It's so much easier than a sofa bed. Pull it down, push it up in the morning.

Thank you for all this super-valuable information! Very helpful! I wondered about renting a cart from off-site

 

[Tink415]

Staying at FW could be a vacation on its own depending on what you bring and do while there! We also enjoy trying new places to stay.

We've stayed in the family suites at ASMu & FW cabins, and also own DVC. Advantages and disadvantages to each. To me, it kind of of depends on what we want to do on vacation. But FW cabins are in my top 5 places to stay at WDW! ASMu family suites, as nice as they are, are not.

Comparing FW and ASMu:
Spend time at the resort doing activities? FW
Have a slide at the pool? FW
Cook some meals using stove vs microwave? FW
Relax outside (porch) FW
Not hear much neighbor noise? FW
Sleep in larger than double bed? ASMu
Two bathrooms? ASMu
Food court type available? ASMu
Spend most of the time at parks? ASMu
Eat most meals at other resorts? ASMu or FW with a car

One other thing, my kids are big now, and they don't want to put up their beds everday (its their vacation too ), so that makes the living area in the cabins more appealing to me cause dh & me would sleep there!

You don't need a car or a golf cart to stay at FW.
But a golf cart makes it much more fun to get around the resort to food, beach, boat to MK, CR WL, stores, pool, etc. And I will say, after 3 or 4 days using the internal bus to get around can get old depending on the weather. They do run out of golf cart rentals sometimes so its good to have a ressie. A car makes it easier & quicker to get to parks (except MK) or other resorts.

FW is in my top 5 cause its fun and peaceful to stay there. We also use schedules for the 1 bathroom at FW and it works ok. I would prefer to have a golf cart for a few days at least..and a car, but we've done it various ways and all were great vacations.

Visiting FW for something - a meal, shopping, golf cart ride, rent bikes, trail ride, etc is usually on our agenda for any WDW vacation no matter where we are staying - that's how much we enjoy it.

Have fun deciding Op!