Polynesian vs. AKL with 6 yr old, grandparents

[MT813]

Hi all! I am very excited to be planning our first family trip to WDW. (I went once as a child and twice in high school, but those were a long time ago!) We are going for my dad's 70th birthday in early/mid November. There will be 5 of us: My husband and me, our son (6), my dad (turning 70) and mom (70+). We are strongly leaning toward renting DVC points, and I *think* I have narrowed to a studio at Poly or a standard 1BR at AKL. Based on everyone's varied interests, I think we will probably do one day in each park. We will need to come back to the room midday for a rest, and while we're all up for some amount of walking, we don't want to be expending too much energy getting to and from the parks.

I would love to get input from experienced Disney-goers...would you recommend one location over the other for a group with our age range, visiting 4 parks? Is there another location I should consider? I also welcome any other tips you might want to share re traveling with older adults and a younger child.

Thank you so much!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If your main concern is proximity to parks, I would suggest looking at 1-bedroom villas at BWV or BCV. They are the only DVC resorts within close proximity to two of the parks (DHS and EP), thereby eliminating a lot of park travel. BWV is closer to DHS if you are willing to walk there. If not, BCV is probably your best bet as EP is literally less than a 5 minute walk away and you are a bit closer to DHS by utilizing the boats.

AKL will get you close to AK, but, unless you are willing to uber/lyft/Minnie Van everywhere else, you will be relying on buses to get to 3 of the parks.

Personally, I would not book a studio with your family configuration. I would focus on the 1-bedrooms for more space plus the kitchen and W/D which I find quite helpful!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Get the 1BR. It is truly no contest. And give the grandparents the king bed.

 

[gillep]

I stay at AKL all the time and find the buses very easy to use. I personally, would not be comfortable in a studio with that many people for more than a night, maybe two. Between the two options listed, I would absolutely do a 1 bedroom at Kidani for the extra bathroom and space. We took my mom and her husband to WDW for the first time in November 2016, and stayed in a Kidani 1 bedroom, they thought it was fantastic, and it was a good amount of space for all 4 of us.

 

[CarolynFH]

I agree with AKL - Kidani due to kitchen, W/D and 2 bathrooms. BWV & BCV 1 BRs have only one bathroom.

FYI if you’re interested in renting DVC points, you should be contacting owners and/or rental agencies now. BWV & BCV book up very quickly for the fall months. AKV books up more slowly but does fill up!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I agree with AKL - Kidani due to kitchen, W/D and 2 bathrooms. BWV & BCV 1 BRs have only one bathroom.

FYI if you’re interested in renting DVC points, you should be contacting owners and/or rental agencies now. BWV & BCV book up very quickly for the fall months. AKV books up more slowly but does fill up!

It's too late for "early November" for Poly Studio and most BCV/BWV.

 

[MT813]

Thank you all! I was talking with my family members and I think we've all ruled out the studios for exactly the space issues described above...close quarters for that many days! We need to be able to close a door. (and the grandparents would definitely get the king bed!)

 

[PollyannaMom]

I think I would lean toward AKL in case anyone in the group gets tired and doesn't want to go back to the parks after mid-day break. They could hang around the resort and watch the animals.

 

[heidijanesmith]

I have done a couple trips with my Mom and Step-Dad who are also in their 70's.

We also did AKL as our 1st trip. AKL is a beautiful resort, a perfect resort for your 1st time. We found the bus transportation to be very easy as there are no other resorts to share. We take a mid-day break, every day and found AKL to be easy to get back and forth. The pool is beautiful, especially at night.

I would think about two rooms instead. We love staying 1bd Villa at BWV, but are you ok with three of you sleeping on a pull out queen size couch? I find the couch to be comfortable, but not for 3 people.
We booked a pool view room and my parents booked a savannah room. We saved money on the pool view, which we really liked. Their room was across the hallway from us, it worked out perfect.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I have done a couple trips with my Mom and Step-Dad who are also in their 70's.

We also did AKL as our 1st trip. AKL is a beautiful resort, a perfect resort for your 1st time. We found the bus transportation to be very easy as there are no other resorts to share. We take a mid-day break, every day and found AKL to be easy to get back and forth. The pool is beautiful, especially at night.

I would think about two rooms instead. We love staying 1bd Villa at BWV, but are you ok with three of you sleeping on a pull out queen size couch? I find the couch to be comfortable, but not for 3 people.
We booked a pool view room and my parents booked a savannah room. We saved money on the pool view, which we really liked. Their room was across the hallway from us, it worked out perfect.

The 1BR at AKV has a pull out sofa and a pull out chair bed.

 

[CarolynFH]

It's too late for "early November" for Poly Studio and most BCV/BWV.

Thanks, @_auroraborealis_ ! I thought that might be the case but can’t check availability today.

The 1BR at AKV has a pull out sofa and a pull out chair bed.

That’s another reason AKL-K would be better for your family, @MT813. BWV and BCV have only the pullout couch.

 

[heidijanesmith]

The 1BR at AKV has a pull out sofa and a pull out chair bed.

That is good to know, the 1BD villa's at BWV do not have a pull out chair.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The part of early novNovem that is not Jersey week is half marathon and veterans day.

 

[oceanmarina]

Get the 1BR. It is truly no contest. And give the grandparents the king bed.

I stay at AKL all the time and find the buses very easy to use. I personally, would not be comfortable in a studio with that many people for more than a night, maybe two. Between the two options listed, I would absolutely do a 1 bedroom at Kidani for the extra bathroom and space. We took my mom and her husband to WDW for the first time in November 2016, and stayed in a Kidani 1 bedroom, they thought it was fantastic, and it was a good amount of space for all 4 of us.

Yep to that, our 1 bedroom at Kidani was such a great space. I loved the pool complex more at Kidani as well (as opposed to Jambo house as well as the Poly). I also found the bus service to be great, never a long wait.

Having stayed in both, my vote is Kidani hands down.

 

[happymommy]

No matter what, I would reserve two rooms; one for the 3 of you and one for your parents.

NO WAY would I share a room. And a couple years ago, we did a one bedroom at AKL (oldest was added last minute). Never again! You cannot walk through the living room with the chair and sofa pulled out.

No matter where you decide to stay, I would do one room for your family, and one room for your parents. They deserve their own room at very least!

 

[Sue M]

Aside from 1 bedrooms 2 regular rooms are something to consider maybe at POFQ. It’s a beautiful moderate resort and the grounds are lovely. It’s also compact. It’s along a river and has boat transportation to Disney Springs. The resort is centrally located, a short bus ride to Epcot or DHS. And maybe 10 min to MK and 15 AKL

 

[MT813]

The part of early novNovem that is not Jersey week is half marathon and veterans day.

Yes, it would be over Veterans Day weekend. I was hoping this wouldn't be too crowded, as far as holiday weekends go...

Budget-wise, if we did 2 rooms, we would be in Pop Century or Coronado Springs, probably. (2 rooms at AKL is not in the budget; it is doable only if we rent points.) I've heard Pop Century is especially noisy, though?

I appreciate all of the input so far. Thank you all very much!

 

[MT813]

Aside from 1 bedrooms 2 regular rooms are something to consider maybe at POFQ. It’s a beautiful moderate resort and the grounds are lovely. It’s also compact. It’s along a river and has boat transportation to Disney Springs. The resort is centrally located, a short bus ride to Epcot or DHS. And maybe 10 min to MK and 15 AKL

I had been looking at POFQ when it was just us (my parents decided to come when I mentioned we were considering a trip, and we all thought it would be fun for my dad's bday), but had gotten away from it when the DVC points rental idea gave us a chance to consider a resort with more fun (to us) theming...(I've been to New Orleans twice in the past year for work)...but it sounds like I should consider it again, especially if we would be better off in 2 rooms. Thanks!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Yes, it would be over Veterans Day weekend. I was hoping this wouldn't be too crowded, as far as holiday weekends go...

Budget-wise, if we did 2 rooms, we would be in Pop Century or Coronado Springs, probably. (2 rooms at AKL is not in the budget; it is doable only if we rent points.) I've heard Pop Century is especially noisy, though?

I appreciate all of the input so far. Thank you all very much!

Veteran's Day weekend is pretty nuts, and is high season for DVC. It also includes the end of Food & Wine relative to total crowds. If you're after a 1BR via DVC, you have a shot. For studios, you are already in rough shape and need to rethink.

 

[MT813]

Veteran's Day weekend is pretty nuts, and is high season for DVC. It also includes the end of Food & Wine relative to total crowds. If you're after a 1BR via DVC, you have a shot. For studios, you are already in rough shape and need to rethink.

Yikes! Ok, good to know. I'm ruling out the studio. We are pretty much limited to holiday weeks/weekends or summer, and we don't get out until late June. Thank you for the crowd info!