non-park trip..which resort

[jlieblaw]

We're thinking of going down for a week and not doing any parks, just relaxing and enjoying the resorts. We have 2 kids; ds4 and dd7. We'd like to take our bikes down. Do any of the resorts allow/have paths to ride on? We've stayed at SSR numerous times and we're thinking of trying BCV this time but I'm worried we'll miss how open and relaxed SSR feels. Will BCV keep us entertained all week?

 

[wdw1972]

Bikes aren't appropriate for BCV. They do rent them over at the BW but there's no place at BCV to store them and it wouldn't be right going through the hallways and public areas with them.

For biking the best place is Ft Wilderness, which has a nice path to VWL. If you're ok leaving your bikes on your vehicle, that would be a good place.

If it wasn't for the bikes, I'd say BCV is a great choice for the pool, or AKV for the animals.

 

[Peepster]

I'm prejudiced, of course, because it's our "home", but I would consider the VWL. They have the boat rentals, bike trails (you can ride all the way to FW and travel the campground loops), pools, spas, beach (ELP at 9:35 if always fun). And you can go to FW and rent canoes, horses, (see the horses from Main Street when they're not working) walk the nature path, go to the outdoor movies with Chip & Dale, do the Hoop Dee Doo. And at the Lodge, the lobby is a wonderful place to just curl up with a great book, or rock the hours away in a chair in front of the huge fireplace. Just a suggestion...I'm sure being at any resort would be fun.

 

[Deb & Bill]

There won't be anyplace to ride your bikes but inside a single resort at a time. So you could drive over to Ft Wilderness and ride there. Or over to SSR and ride there or OKW and ride there. AKV, BCV, BWV wouldn't have any place to ride. You can't ride on the roads between the resorts. At the resorts you would have to watch out for buses and cars.

 

[mickeymom629]

I would stay at SSR or OKW; I don't know how you would stay in such proximity to the parks at either VWL, BCV or BWV without wanting to enter! That's just me, of course. Lots of paths at OKW, including one to DTD. You can even rent bikes at OKW. I've never stayed at SSR, but it seems like one with lots of paths too.

 

[Beavertails Queen]

I have to go with those who are saying VWL. One of my favourite things is to rent bikes or take them and bike around at Fort Wilderness. There is a trail that takes you from VWL to Fort Wilderness. There are always animals on the trail (my last stay at VWL I came across 4 deer just hanging out). Fort Wilderness will have decorations put up by the campers depending on the time of year. You can bike there for long periods of time all around. They also have the Chip and Dale movies (as mentioned). I agree with Peepster the VWL has a great lobby to read in or play games. And the pool is great. So that is my vote.

 

[eva]

Does anyone know if you can rent bikes at SSR? We are having a no park trip there next month. Biking sounds fun.

 

[Topo Bella]

Does anyone know if you can rent bikes at SSR? We are having a no park trip there next month. Biking sounds fun.

SSR does have bikes that you can rent. They also have those 2 and 4 person surreys which we decided to rent this last trip. Just be warned, the surreys are very difficult to pedal and what we thought was going to be relaxing trip around the property turned into a work-out for me and my husband since our children couldn't really reach the pedals.

 

[eva]

SSR does have bikes that you can rent. They also have those 2 and 4 person surreys which we decided to rent this last trip. Just be warned, the surreys are very difficult to pedal and what we thought was going to be relaxing trip around the property turned into a work-out for me and my husband since our children couldn't really reach the pedals.

Thanks for the quick reply. I totally agree on the surreys. We rented one at a state park in St. Pete Beach. Yikes! We were totally wiped after two hours.

 

[jlieblaw]

Thanks for the replies. We have stayed and own at SSR and did the surrey bikes there. It's just a loop around the lake, no major hills, and it wasn't that difficult (although dh did most of the work). I know the path to DTD indicated no bikes past a certain point but I'm not sure if that's just rental bikes or would be our personal ones as well. I would love to stay BCV but kind of figured there's no where to ride bikes. We will go over to FW at times during out stay so driving over with the bikes might work. We love VWL but don't care for the pool since it's not zero entry for the kids. dh loves SSR but I would like to try a different DVC this time. I, of course, wouldn't mind going to the parks but dh wants a break from them and since we're trying to do a cheap vacation this year, in anticipation of trying to go to Alaska next year, I'm trying to convince him that a week at one of the dvc resorts without parks would be great. As long as ds gets to ride the monorail and dd gets to see horses and eat at Chef Mickey's, I think we might get by without the parks. I'll probably miss them the most!

When do the new villas at AKL open and is there a new pool area yet? We're planning to spend a lot of time at the pool.