Signia Bonnet Creek or AOA for Toddler?

[bloopkabob16]

Planning a week long trip for September this year with a group of friends and my 3 year old son. Our two options at the moment are 1) Signia Bonnet Creek (2 conjoining rooms) or 2) Art of Animation family suite. My friend has a bunch of Hilton points, so that comes in about $600 cheaper total ($300 per couple). I have added in resort fees and parking and such too FWIW. All things considered, I love the idea of both resorts, love the lazy river at Signia, but also love the theming of the AOA. I could go either way.

My #1 concern is the transportation. I am assuming I will want to take my son back to the room every day for a nap. I have seen hit or miss reviews of the Signia shuttle services, and notice they run every 1-2 hours. Some even say they are not reliable and are sometimes late/don't show up. Some reviews say it's perfectly fine and even nice compared to Disney's buses. However, compared to the every 15-20 minutes of the Disney resort buses, this seems like it might cause big delays in getting to and from the parks for that midday break. I want to knock out the nap and get back to the park within a few hours. I know if we go with cheaper Signia, spending that money we saved on Uber is an option as well, but multiple times a day and needing a carseat would definitely add up.

I have no experience with the Disney busses or shuttles in my adult life, so I have no concept of how long either of these take to get around.
So I guess my question is... does the Disney provided transportation to and from parks TRULY make the stay worth it for me, someone that will have to go back and forth with a child multiple times per day? The few hundred dollars of difference isn't the most important thing for me. I care about the convenience. If the Signia Bonnet Creek transportation is a huge pain, that holds more weight. Anyone with Signia/Hilton Bonnet Creek experience please chime in!

TLDR; Is Disney bus transportation/skyliner the absolute best way to get to and from with a toddler? Or will off-site resort shuttles be just fine?

 

[DL1WDW2]

Hi I am very familiar with both resorts, locations, shuttles,etc…
With a toddler, I would definitely choose WDWtransportation and stay at the AOA.
I love the Signia , Hilton points, etc… but the shuttle service not so much especially with a toddler.

 

[bffdisney]

What is your group? AOA suite all one room? Because that is one master bedroom, a murphy bed, and a sofa bed. I would say it's less private than 2 separate rooms. I know that's not what you asked but something to consider.

 

[bloopkabob16]

Me & my husband, my best friend & his husband, our mutual adult friend and my son. Not concerned about privacy, we are all close. However, over the last couple days I have been thinking about how 2 of the beds would be doubles at AOA and it might be best to instead do 2 connecting pop century rooms Instead. That way we can get real queen sized beds.

 

[bffdisney]

Me & my husband, my best friend & his husband, our mutual adult friend and my son. Not concerned about privacy, we are all close. However, over the last couple days I have been thinking about how 2 of the beds would be doubles at AOA and it might be best to instead do 2 connecting pop century rooms Instead. That way we can get real queen sized beds.

I agree -- plus 4 beds in 2 Pop rooms VS. 3 beds in AOA.

 

[Disturbia]

So your son is ok sleeping in a crib/playpen? Even though our 2 year old is ok at home, she insists on sleeping on the bed at AOA. The bed in the room could sleep 2 adults and a child though. The best part is not folding the stroller on the skyliner. If there is lightening or rain the skyliner stops and if it’s at Epcot you have to walk all the way to the front of the park to get to buses (skyliner only goes to Epcot and HS). Carribean beach I believe the buses are close (saw Paging Mr Morrow’s review on flying fish). It’s a ride in and of itself. The kids love the big blue pool as well.

The Nemo rooms have a Small fridge (no freezer even though the review below shows the old fridge with freezer compartment), coffee maker and a microwave (pop doesn’t have a microwave and the fridge is smaller I believe). The big pool is great as well.

 

[bloopkabob16]

So your son is ok sleeping in a crib/playpen? Even though our 2 year old is ok at home, she insists on sleeping on the bed at AOA. The best part is not folding the stroller on the skyliner. If there is lightening or rain the skyliner stops and if it’s at Epcot you have to walk all the way to the front of the park to get to buses (skyliner only goes to Epcot and HS). Carribean beach I believe the buses are close (saw Paging Mr Morrow’s review on flying fish). It’s a ride in and of itself. The kids love the big blue pool as well.

The Nemo rooms have a Small fridge (no freezer even though the review below shows the old fridge with freezer compartment), coffee maker and a microwave (pop doesn’t have a microwave and the fridge is smaller I believe). The big pool is great as well.

No, he would be sleeping in the bed with us or with our friend in her bed/pull out couch.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Disturbia]

No, he would be sleeping in the bed with us or with our friend in her bed/pull out couch.

Thanks for the reply.

Just thought of that. The bed is big enough for 3. You could also line chairs and put pillows under the bedsheet on one side to create a bumper

When you request coffee make sure to specify how many drinkers. I have a teen who drinks coffee so we requested 6 pods and they gave me 2 (after waiting 20 mins). They kept interrupting and telling me I can call again. I didn’t bother and bought my own.

Also call for housekeeping before heading to the parks on day 3 (sometimes works). If you call in the afternoon they will make the excuse they are booked and skip the room. We didn’t get towels toilet paper or bed sheets until day 4 (they wanted to just hand things at the door and leave; we have 3 kids, so they agreed to sweep around the dining area and take out the trash). Same thing at AKL in a 1 bedroom we were paying $1200 a night for.

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

No, he would be sleeping in the bed with us or with our friend in her bed/pull out couch.

Thanks for the reply.

You can also request bed rails at Disney resorts.

 

[Feberin]

You can request connecting rooms at Pop. I feel like two rooms at Pop wasn't that much of a difference from a suite at AOA. We're doing two rooms at Pop with my Dad.