Need Veteran help planning once in a decade trip

[Roook22]

We recently took our foster daugter (4) to Disneyland and had a blast. We were hoping to now take her and her sister (11) to Disneyworld Jan. 25-Feb 1. Does anyone see anything wrong with these dates?
We visited Disneyworld for our honeymoon 10 years ago, but are pretty out of the loop now as we normally do Disneyland every year. I have seen a lot of stuff on DIS about the FP+ and don't think anyone really knows what the system will entail in late January, so I am leaving that out of our decision for now.
We got airfare from Seattle for under $400 by using a combination of companion tickets and miles, but can't figure out where to stay because the pricing and room size is so dramatically different based on onsite vs offsite.
We can stay at the Sheraton Vistana with 2 bedrooms (where we stayed on our honeymoon), with 6 day MYW base tickets for $2300. The only Disney resort that is similiar with room for us all (and is in our price range) is the Wilderness Cabins @ $3020 for the trip. The Vistana reservation includes a rental car and the Disney one does not, but would have the Disney airport shuttle.
Can people please help me figure out what to do or if another resort would be better? The 35% off Disney Resorts right now seems like an amazing deal, but I have never stayed at any of the WDW resorts because of the cost and we can't really spend much more than $3000.
We usually eat breakfast in the room and like to have a fridge and kitchen to save us some money. Also, we like the idea of being able to have the kids sleep in the living room one or 2 nights and having the bedroom to ourselves.
Thanks in advance for your help. We would like to book by this weekend - 11/9/13.

 

[mousehunter3]

We were just there last week. We stayed at All Star Music in a family suite. It was WONDERFUL to have the extra space and we were really happy with resort. Plus, it has a small kitchenette with a small fridge and microwave.

I suggest ordering this book:
http://www.amazon.com/PassPorters-W...383848415&sr=8-3&keywords=disneyworld+planner

There is so much to know about Disneyworld. I was so overwhelmed with the planning at first. This book was a lifesaver for me! It's updated every year, so their information is always current.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[mom2cgj]

Those are great dates to go! We went that same time this last January. It is a slower time, so we had hardly any waits and got to do pretty much everything we wanted. Weather can be a bit hard to predict that time - it can be absolutely fabulous, or on the chilly side. We had mostly upper 70s/low 80s while we were there, but I've heard others who have gone that time of year say they had 50s...so just be prepared! Have a great trip!!

 

[mom2cgj]

How many people are going? You mention 4, but I wasn't sure if that was everyone? You could do a family suite at AS Music like a PP mentioned. With the 6day MYW base tickets, it's about 2990 for the dates you gave. You wouldn't have the rental car, but you would be able to use the Magic Express to the airport, and you would have Disney transportation. The family suites have a kitchenette, which you could use for breakfasts in the room. The onsite/offsite question is tough, and everyone has their own opinion, but it would be an option if you wanted to stay onsite.

 

[Roook22]

Thank you for the information about the family suites. I didn't know and am going to check them out right now.
It is 4 of us, me, dw, dd 4 and dd 11. Standard 1 room just won't work for us.
How does the AS family suite compare to the Wilderness cabins for the $100 difference?

 

[Roook22]

Thanks for the feedback on the travel dates. That makes me feel better.
Looks like the AS Suite is under $2700 vs the Wilderness cabin $3000.
I guess I need to research pools, locations and activities of the two resorts now.

 

[mousehunter3]

We looked at both of those options too. My husband wanted to be more in the thick of the Disney atmosphere and he felt that Wilderness would be too out there. That said, if we had not gotten free dining for the time we just went, we may have gone that route anyway because of the kitchen at the Wilderness. That may be another thing to consider because if you add the dining plan, that could cost another $1000 or so and eating at the parks is definitely not cheap!

We will probably do the Wilderness next time we go because our kids will be bigger and will be able to do more help with making meals and cleaning up rather than me feeling like I just moved my regular mommy duties to another location. ;-)

 

[5stljayhawks]

Also check out art of animation - family suites. have part kitchen - large rooms with two bathroom. Family room couch, dinning with Murphy bed and P's room.
we 5 of us stay in these last oct and was awesome,


If you stay at cabins at fort wilderness you can take the boat over to the kingdom. very easy and usually short trip VS taking bus to kingdom.

If you can get dinning it makes life grand were you can bring food back to the room and eat and have the space to do so.

 

[DISNEYNV]

The dates are great! I have heard there are basically no crowds (as far as crowds in Disney are concerned). Like other have noted, it can be a bit cool so be prepared with jackets, hats, gloves, etc. just in case. I would try the Cabins if you can swing it with the discount. They are really nice and you can make meals or order pizza and have room to move around. You might want to research when they offer FREE DINING at Disney and you might just get lucky enough that they offer it again. Typically I think it's around September and early February and March when it's not as crowded, but you never know. We have gone for FD a few times in September and it saved a lot of cash. We stay at Pop Century most of the time and love it!!! Have fun with your foster daughters. They deserve a great family trip to Disney World