Resort suggestions- unique split stay

[goofyredraider]

I need some suggestions/feedback.

We had planned another 13 night stay at Beach Club for next summer, however, DH just got an awesome promotion at his civilian job. While this promotion means great things for our family, it also means that he cannot afford to take his two week vacation consecutively as planned. He can take a week at a time.

Therefore, our plans have to change. He came up with the idea that we would drive there together, we would fly him home at the end of our first week, and the kids and I would stay for another week. The condition is that I stop halfway through the drive home and stay over night somewhere (not drive all 15 hours at once). He knows how much the kids and I love Disney, and doesn't want us to cut our fun short.

So-this week- I need to decide where the kids and I are going to stay. For the portion he is with us, we are planning to stay with Beach Club I think. I have priced out AofA (LM rooms), POR (we've stayed there twice already, so I'm familiar with it), POFQ (now an option because there is just4 of us without him), and AKL. The price difference isn't that scary to me.... We are using a military discount. But what other options should I consider? Or what opinions do y'all have on the things I have above?

I need to make a decision this week, so any suggestions or feedback would be appreciated.

 

[Disneyhenry]

What is your family interested in the most, AKL has lots to offer kids, I think with your kids ages they might like CBR. Sounds like a fun trip

 

[MMS1125]

Do you plan lots of park days on your week or some resort time? I'd stay at AKL or WL where you normally can't stay b/c of your family size if you are looking to stay deluxe. If looking to go mod I'd stay at POFQ or CSR. Not sure I'd go to a value b/c it might seem like a letdown after a week at the Beach Club since there's no pool slide or hot tub

 

[catho72]

Your situations sounds similar to ours this past summer. My husband could only join us for 4 nights of our 8 night trip. We stayed at BC with him, then moved to AKL for the rest of the trip. After thoroughly enjoying the magnificent pool at BC and the light and airy feel of BC, we didn't like AKL at all. We actually switched back to BC for the last two nights of our trip. We would have preferred to stay at POR instead of AKL...in fact, we ate dinner at the food court at POR and all three kids said, "why didn't we stay here?" ( we've stayed there in the past). Save the money and stay at a moderate....or spend the money and stay at BC once your husband leaves!

 

[goofyredraider]

Thank you all for the feedback. We plan (tentatively) to have some down time at the resorts...we like to do DTD, movies, swimming, HDDR on our down days...as well as just doing the resort activities.

After all the reading I did last night, it doesn't sound like a value would float our boats... So I'm leaning towards POR or POFQ .

Can anyone comment on the "vibe" at AKL as compared to BC? My kids loved the kids activities at BC. Any other deluxes I should consider? Kids will be 11, 10, 7 at the time of the trip.

 

[catho72]

Thank you all for the feedback. We plan (tentatively) to have some down time at the resorts...we like to do DTD, movies, swimming, HDDR on our down days...as well as just doing the resort activities.

After all the reading I did last night, it doesn't sound like a value would float our boats... So I'm leaning towards POR or POFQ .

Can anyone comment on the "vibe" at AKL as compared to BC? My kids loved the kids activities at BC. Any other deluxes I should consider? Kids will be 11, 10, 7 at the time of the trip.

The "vibe" at AKL to me is very serious. The interior is very dark. My three kids were bored to tears at the pool. After swimming for 20 minutes, one by one they came out of the pool wanting to play on my iPad. I told them they were crazy, that we were at the pool and they should SWIM! We ate lunch then we went over to the pool at Kidani, where they had much more fun. The kids enjoyed the bunkbed in our room, though. The room at AKL was much smaller than ours at BC. I'm sure it's smaller square foot-wise but it also seemed smaller due to the darker color scheme and the tall bunkbed.

We rented points and stayed at Kidani last year and we loved it! I wish we could say the same for Jambo. What I did like at Jambo though was the proximity of our room to the lobby and transportation. We requested a room close to transportation and we were in Giraffe Trail. We had a standard view (parking lot) but were extremely close to the buses (used a side door and we were in our room about three minutes after getting off a bus!) and very close to the lobby.

When we were at BC, I literally had to drag the kids out of SAB after hours of swimming! I think my son played volleyball for HOURS...no lie! The kids had more fun at BC than they did at the theme parks!

Hope this helps!

 

[goofyredraider]

The "vibe" at AKL to me is very serious. The interior is very dark. My three kids were bored to tears at the pool. After swimming for 20 minutes, one by one they came out of the pool wanting to play on my iPad. I told them they were crazy, that we were at the pool and they should SWIM! We ate lunch then we went over to the pool at Kidani, where they had much more fun. The kids enjoyed the bunkbed in our room, though. The room at AKL was much smaller than ours at BC. I'm sure it's smaller square foot-wise but it also seemed smaller due to the darker color scheme and the tall bunkbed.

We rented points and stayed at Kidani last year and we loved it! I wish we could say the same for Jambo. What I did like at Jambo though was the proximity of our room to the lobby and transportation. We requested a room close to transportation and we were in Giraffe Trail. We had a standard view (parking lot) but were extremely close to the buses (used a side door and we were in our room about three minutes after getting off a bus!) and very close to the lobby.

When we were at BC, I literally had to drag the kids out of SAB after hours of swimming! I think my son played volleyball for HOURS...no lie! The kids had more fun at BC than they did at the theme parks!

Hope this helps!

This is exactly what I needed to hear.

I would like to change resorts though - because I'm not sure if they will lose their fascination with BC after having already been there for a week.

ive heard mixed revives about CBR, so I'm not sure if I should consider that also.

 

[Sue M]

Our fav mod is POR. We also loved our stays at AKL. We were there 12 nights in August. Great pool. They seemed to have lots of kids activities going on.

We also love WL. It's a great resort, close to MK and has nice transportation options with a boat to MK, and a resort boat that loops around from WL - FW - CR It would be easy to get to HDDR by the boat, more fun then driving IMO.

 

[MMS1125]

is your DH set on staying at BC? Could you possibly splurge on say the Poly with his portion then move to BC for you and the kids?

If not I think I'd do BC then WL if going deluxe for POFQ if going mod. My kids like the pools at BC best, then Poly, then CSR

 

[jamala]

We stayed at AKL years ago when my kids were 6 and 4 and they loved it. They enjoyed the pool and loved having bunk beds. But they also got bunk beds at WL and liked that resort much better. BC is our favorite by far.

 

[catho72]

This is exactly what I needed to hear.

I would like to change resorts though - because I'm not sure if they will lose their fascination with BC after having already been there for a week.

ive heard mixed revives about CBR, so I'm not sure if I should consider that also.

When I was deciding where to stay, I considered CBR, CSR, POP and AKL. I didn't think we would enjoy POP after spending 4 nights at BC (if it were the other way around, first 4 at POP and second 4 at BC it would have been OK), I heard CBR was too big and spread out so it was down to CSR and AKL. I decided on AKL because it wasn't much more expensive than CSR. We ate dinner at CSR and now I'm glad we didn't stay there....it is WAY too big and spread out for my taste. There are 4 or 5 bus stops and not many sections are close to the main building.

How about staying in a DVC studio? You could rent points and it wouldn't be too expensive. We stayed at Kidani and BLT last year and loved them both!

AoA looks fun, too! I would like to stay there some day.

WL would be a good place to try also. It's the same price as AKL and it's much more conveniently located.

Good luck making your decision!

 

[Julie711]

I think your kids would love CBR. Every resort can have mixed reviews, we have stayed here 4x before and love the Caribbean vibe, music, landscaping, pool area is awesome. It is a spread out resort but that's what appeals to us b/c you feel like there is not alot of guest.

 

[goofyredraider]

Thank you all- a lot to think about for sure!!! I'll spend the evening running numbers and will post what I decide later this week. Thank you all so very much for all of your help!

 

[goofyredraider]

Opinions on the poly for kids?

 

[mouseketeermama]

I think that if you are staying at an Epcot resort, then you should move over to a MK resort. If you can swing it, there is no better place than the Poly! The location can't be beat and watching Wishes from the beach is just dynamite! Add in Dole Whips on tap,tiki torches, the volcano pool and fabulous dining.... There really is no better place to be.

 

[kpm76]

We stayed at AKL a few years ago and loved it! Let me also note that I am not a huge animal person, outdoorsy etc, but I thought AKL was wonderfully themed and a very pleasant place to stay. It's impossible to compare the theme of the resorts because they all have their own unique feel. If you can, just go into it knowing that and appreciate each resort for what it offers.

I also absolutely love the WL! It's one of my favorite places to stay Again, I'm not woodsy, outdoorsy, would never camp etc. I add that so you know that these types of resorts can be very appealing to a diverse group.

If you are looking for a deluxe resort, but want to save a little bit of money, I would recommend WL. Then you have the chance to experience both an Epcot and a MK resort. AKL is great, but it is a little off the beaten path and not convenient to the parks.

Have fun!