Input on resort options please!

[momtoprincesses]

I am so excited to be back on the boards and planning our next trip! We took our first trip as a family two years ago and stayed at WL. Our next trip will be Oct. 21-28, 2017. It will be DH (39), DD1 (8), DD2 (6), DD3 (almost 3 and her first WDW trip), and myself (36) (ages are at time of travel). Because we have one more child this time around, we are hoping to find a room with a little more space. I am hoping to find a RO discount or free dining for our travel dates. I have narrowed it down to the following resorts and would love your feedback on them.

ASM suite $2005 (Pros: roomy, kitchenette, food court options for my picky eaters, cute theming for kids; CONS: bus as only means of transportation, exterior hallways, lacking the amenities of a deluxe)

Cabins $2449 (Pros: very roomy with a full kitchen, boat to MK, lots of fun things to do CONs: not a fan of the theming, very spread out)

Contemporary (outer building) $3114 ( Pros: beautiful rooms that are larger than mods, daybed, walking distance to MK, monorail, Chef Mickeys CONS: pricey (although if we drop one night, it brings it down to $2617 which is an option), no separate sleeping/living space)

Polynesian $3427 ( Pros: beautiful theming, refurbished, daybed, monorail, lots of appealing food choices, awesome pool CONs: pricey (although we could also drop one night to get the price down), no separate sleeping/living space)

It may come down to what I am able to get a discount for, but I would love to hear your thoughts! Thank you!

 

[Sue M]

What about a moderate? Both POR and CBR have some rooms with 2 queens & Murphy bed and will sleep 5, although if your youngest is still under 3, she doesn't count for room occupancy. So technically you could still book a room for 4 and use the pack & play. Like AKL, which has room layout like WL.

POR is our fav moderate. Rooms aren't as spacious as a deluxe, but you also wouldn't have to drop a night, and the resorts are beautiful.
POR has a boat to Disney Springs.

 

[NeverTooOldForWDW]

Our family of 5 will be staying at AoA. We sleep much better when we have room to spread out and didn't even consider a single shared room. Also, it has an independent bus line I believe. Plan to eat breakfast in the room most days to save time and money. AoA offered dining plan for out trip, but we turned it down because we wouldn't possibly eat all that food, don't want to have sit down meals with all the kids, nor can they all stay up late to enjoy TS. Our DCs are the same ages as yours. HTH.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Disney hasn't offered October Free Dining in several years, so I think room discount more likely.

 

[momtoprincesses]

What about a moderate? Both POR and CBR have some rooms with 2 queens & Murphy bed and will sleep 5, although if your youngest is still under 3, she doesn't count for room occupancy. So technically you could still book a room for 4 and use the pack & play. Like AKL, which has room layout like WL.

POR is our fav moderate. Rooms aren't as spacious as a deluxe, but you also wouldn't have to drop a night, and the resorts are beautiful.
POR has a boat to Disney Springs.

My DH doesn't think the rooms at a moderate will be big enough. I personally think POR would be great, but mods are off the list (for now!)

 

[momtoprincesses]

Our family of 5 will be staying at AoA. We sleep much better when we have room to spread out and didn't even consider a single shared room. Also, it has an independent bus line I believe. Plan to eat breakfast in the room most days to save time and money. AoA offered dining plan for out trip, but we turned it down because we wouldn't possibly eat all that food, don't want to have sit down meals with all the kids, nor can they all stay up late to enjoy TS. Our DCs are the same ages as yours. HTH.

We had considered AOA. I think the resort looks like a lot of fun! But the suites at ASM are considerably less so right now we are leaning towards that suite option instead.

 

[momtoprincesses]

Disney hasn't offered October Free Dining in several years, so I think room discount more likely.

Thanks for this info! I would love a room only discount. I think this trip will be mostly QS as my older girls are picky eaters.

 

[NeverTooOldForWDW]

Thanks for this info! I would love a room only discount. I think this trip will be mostly QS as my older girls are picky eaters.

Did you check around on the rates? I priced the trip with a few travel agents, online resellers, and Disney directly. Ended up booking room and tickets via separate online authorized resellers to get the best price. Everything was refundable. I keep looking around and the price hasn't dropped.

 

[WildGinger]

Would you want to rent points? You could probably get Bay Lake Tower 1 bedroom, which has a kitchen, separate bedroom with king size bed, 2 bathrooms, sleeper sofa and a sleeper chair for around $3400. You could also do Animal Kingdom 1 bedroom standard view for around $2600 and savannah view for $3200.

If not, renting points I would probably do Poly or Beach Club.

 

[momtoprincesses]

Did you check around on the rates? I priced the trip with a few travel agents, online resellers, and Disney directly. Ended up booking room and tickets via separate online authorized resellers to get the best price. Everything was refundable. I keep looking around and the price hasn't dropped.

I definitely plan on checking with a travel agent to see if I can get a better rate

 

[justme0729]

Hmm if having a separate bedroom isn't completely necessary...I would choose the contemporary assuming you will go to MK a lot for the walking distance even though Poly is my personal favorite!

If having the separate bedroom is necessary, then I vote for the cabins. I've never stayed there but it would be nice to have the boat to MK and full kitchen for not much more than ASM!

 

[momtoprincesses]

Would you want to rent points? You could probably get Bay Lake Tower 1 bedroom, which has a kitchen, separate bedroom with king size bed, 2 bathrooms, sleeper sofa and a sleeper chair for around $3400. You could also do Animal Kingdom 1 bedroom standard view for around $2600 and savannah view for $3200.

If not, renting points I would probably do Poly or Beach Club.

I love the idea of renting points but with three little girls, the no cancellation policy makes me very nervous. I will check out Beach Club...thanks!

 

[momtoprincesses]

Hmm if having a separate bedroom isn't completely necessary...I would choose the contemporary assuming you will go to MK a lot for the walking distance even though Poly is my personal favorite!

If having the separate bedroom is necessary, then I vote for the cabins. I've never stayed there but it would be nice to have the boat to MK and full kitchen for not much more than ASM!

Thanks for your response !

 

[WildGinger]

Yup, I can see that. The no cancellation policy is scary. Beach Club is great, short 5 minute walk to Epcot, and a great huge pool. They have larger rooms with a daybed (like the Poly).

 

[Babsy]

I would go with the CR with children the age of your girls. You will likely spend quite a bit of time in the MK, so the walking path to the MK will be priceless. Also, it is very easy via monorail to get to Epcot from the CR. Monorail to the TTC (first stop), change to the Epcot monorail and you are on the way.

The pool isn't exciting but it has never been crowded when we have been there and we enjoyed it. The slide is good and there is a play area for little ones.

There is a boat to FW and WL to take part in the activities over there and the monorail to the other MK resorts. Plus, you can walk 5 minutes to the MK bus stop for direct bus transportation to any other WDW resort on property

The rooms at the CR are huge - as are the rooms at the Poly and GF. Epcot area resort rooms are much smaller and less comfortable. Plus the Epcot area is better suited to families with older kids, IMO. I would save the BC/YC or BWI for the next trip when you won't need to be folding strollers to get on a bus to the MK.

The Poly is another good option, but with the monorail not always as reliable as it once was, i would prefer the option to walk to/from the MK. Otherwise, I would suggest a stay at the Poly.

Both the Poly and CR have rooms with a daybed. Both also have great dining options with good QS and TS restaurants in the resort. The Poly has a theme that more people enjoy, but the CR has the edge when it comes to convenience and transportation.

FW cabins have separarte sleeping and living quarters, but we don't like the layout with the adults bed in the only bedroom really close to the kids bunk beds. Space is very limited in the bedroom area.

The ASMu resort suites are a good value, but we just don't like the long bus ride to the MK with little ones, especially with a stroller.

Good luck choosing!!!

 

[momtoprincesses]

Thank you so much Babsy for so much information! I really appreciate it! You have given me a lot to think about...

 

[Babsy]

You are welcome!