We stayed at the Villas of Wilderness Lodge for our first family trip to WDW. I was me, hubby, my Mom, son aged 3 and daughter age 14months. We stayed in the master with the kids and my Mom slept on the pull out in the living room. We put son on an inflatable 'sleeping bag' type bed on the master floor (ended up just using the king comforter and sheets because the blow up was too noisy and put the pack & play you get with the villa in the master closet (left the door open. This worked perfectly for us! With a bit of furniture rearranging you could fit 2 P&Ps in the master, no problem and the 4 yr old on the pull out.
I liked having the kitchen for breakfast, had groceries delivered from GardenGrocer.com, we always had cold juice boxes and water bottles (we went in early Sept when it's as hot as the face of the sun). Other than snacks during the kids nap time we didn't use the kitchen.
The 4 yr old may need a nap because WDW is just a lot for even a preschooler, so keep in mind you may be having to settle 3 kids down in the master (so you can then lounge in the living area).
Here are a few pics of the villas and how we set the kids up (click to see larger):
Dining table in living area
Living rm w/ pull out sofa
TV
Counter seating adjacent to kitchen
Kitchen
Bath (doors to living room or master)
Master closet
close up of where we put P&P
Master
Master w/ furniture moved to make room for toddler bed
Toddler bed location (balcony to right, tv in master to left)
I can see how the meal plan could work for your family, particularly if you do a lot of buffets (which are ideal with small kids - send 1 adult to get food for the 3 kids, then back for self. Next adult gets food while the first stays at the table. It's actually quite efficient and everyone has food pretty quickly) because the twins can each have their own plates at no charge-you may end up paying for a drink for them. For counter serves I would have them share some of your food or split a kids meal between them. You could also buy a few ala carte items or sides to round out what you're sharing with them (such as yogurt or a fruit cup).
Swimming, ya never know. We froze in Feb 09 with massive rain storms but swam in Dec 09 because it was 85 degrees! The playground was on the beach - I believe you would get sandy getting to it, but don't quote me on that.
The boat might be cold/windy (we loved it in Sept though), bus to MK is just as fast if not faster.
Most of the Villas are similar so since DD was 14 mo we found it toddler friendly (here's my 1 parent pack tip - pack plastic zip ties - they can be used to keep cabinets & drawers closed as well as hooking items onto strollers). So really any of the Villas resorts would be fine, but both Villas of Wilderness Lodge and Bay Lake Towers Villas have the advantage of proximity to MK. If you want that separate room while kids nap them a 1 bedroom is the way to go. Another option would be a Family Suite at a Value resort such as the All Star Music resort or the brand new Art of Animation (if available)! They would be almost half the price of the 1 bdrm and would still give you a small frigde to store milk and a microwave & toaster (which was all we ended up needing). One last option to explore if the Cabins at Ft Wilderness.
Feel free to ask more questions and have a magical trip!
