Split stay question

[toystorymom]

We are going to be staying at Windsor Hills for a week and plan to add just a couple of nights at Art of Animation. We would really like to see the new resort and my youngest DS is a huge Cars and Nemo fan. It is way too expensive to stay there for the whole vacation and as a family of 6 I think we will really appreciate the extra space of a 3 bedroom at WH! Also, since we plan on visiting SeaWorld and Universal this trip I can't really justify the need to stay onsite the whole time.

Anyway, I'm wondering if you would stay AofA before or after the week at WH? I thought it might be a nice way to end the trip but our last day we will be leaving very early in the morning, feel like that may be a waste of a night. If we stay at the beginning of the trip I feel like it would be a better value, could check in early on the first day and make the most of that last day before checking in to WH in the evening. My only hesitation is that I don't want the kids to love it there and then feel a letdown at WH. We've never stayed there so not sure what to expect. The kids are 2, 12, 13, 16.

I know it's not a big problem, just curious if anyone had any thoughts. Thanks!

 

[kokomos]

I hadnt even looked at the prices of the family suite until now. OUCH! If I were you I would stay at WH the whole time and take a few hours to tour the resort. You can get some lunch great pictures, play in the arcade or if you think a day at the pool is in order just book 1 standard mermaid room and when its time to end the day head back to WH.
Just another option.

 

[Ametista]

I'm not sure how your kids will react, but we always get 2-4 bedroom condos/townhomes at a Marriott resort or Paradise Palms. Last trip I stayed our first night at Pop Century thinking it would be a treat for my daughter, getting her immersed in the Disney magic. She walked into the room and just looked around and said "this is IT????" She was actually very disappointed. I did take her over to AoA and walk around and look at everything, and she liked it, but not nearly as much as she likes the theme parks. Her reaction was enough to make me not think about staying onsite again. Apparently having her own bedroom with tv outweighs the magic, since of course she got to go to the theme parks anyway. If you lengthened your stay at Windsor Hills you would probably save a fortune and I doubt your kids would be disappointed.

 

[BadgerGirl84]

I agree with the other two posters...I don't think it'd be worth the money to stay at a value (or value plus) just for the sake of finding a Cars or Nemo room. Most of the kids rooms at Windsor Hills are themed...did you try to find a rental with a theme from Cars?

http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p237163 This home has 6 bedrooms...but one is Cars. Just showing an example of what a Windsor Hills Cars-themed room could look like.

A lunch and walk-around-the-resort would be so much cheaper than actually staying there.

I did a split-stay for my honeymoon. We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge the first 2 nights and then stayed at a Fairfield Inn (free with Marriott points). The WL was nice and all....but not worth the money to stay there more than a night or two. Our Fairfield Inn room was much larger and included breakfast.

 

[AboutTheMouse]

If you want to do the split stay, I would stay at AofA first. We did this a few years ago - split our stay between a home in Windsor Hills and then went to the AKL for three nights. We are a family of four and our kids were 15 and 12.

I can't tell you how cramped we all felt in one hotel room with one bathroom after being in the house for a week. AKL is a beautiful resort, but to me I'd rather visit for lunch and a walk around than give up the space and private pool. We seriously won't do a hotel room at Disney again.