What resorts would you pick?

[flinkerfrosch]

Well, my wheels won't stop turning!?

I have a few options, and would love some insight from you wonderful people

I thought I had my trip all set, but now I'm not too sure? A few things have been thrown at me, and now I have another decision to make.

Going in Oct with DH, DS6 & DS3. So, here is my question..

What resorts in this order would you stay at?

1- AKL 5 nights, Beach Club 5 nights & Poly 5 nights

OR

2-AKL 6 nights, Poly 5 nights, and the Grand Floridian Villas for 4 nights?

My kids LOVE to swim, they are fish, so I'm really torn!?

Thanks in advance!

 

[disd55]

Well, my wheels won't stop turning!?

I have a few options, and would love some insight from you wonderful people

I thought I had my trip all set, but now I'm not too sure? A few things have been thrown at me, and now I have another decision to make.

Going in Oct with DH, DS6 & DS3. So, here is my question..

What resorts in this order would you stay at?

1- AKL 5 nights, Beach Club 5 nights & Poly 5 nights

OR

2-AKL 6 nights, Poly 5 nights, and the Grand Floridian Villas for 4 nights?

My kids LOVE to swim, they are fish, so I'm really torn!?

Thanks in advance!

If your kids love to swim, they will absolutely love the HUUUUGE beach club pool. It has a lazy river, tall pirate ship slide and kiddie pool/slides. That's the biggest pool area on property. Poly is also very very nice, convenient to MK. The second package looks pretty good also, as Poly and GF are the most high-end resorts. You should show each resort pool to your kids (if the trip isn't a surprise) and then make them cheer for the best pool. Loudest cheers=Best pool. Also take other accommodations, such as room size, food and conveniency into consideration.

 

[flinkerfrosch]

If your kids love to swim, they will absolutely love the HUUUUGE beach club pool. It has a lazy river, tall pirate ship slide and kiddie pool/slides. That's the biggest pool area on property. Poly is also very very nice, convenient to MK. The second package looks pretty good also, as Poly and GF are the most high-end resorts. You should show each resort pool to your kids (if the trip isn't a surprise) and then make them cheer for the best pool. Loudest cheers=Best pool. Also take other accommodations, such as room size, food and conveniency into consideration.

Thank-you! Great ideas (and it's not a surprise..I could never hold it in that long..lol)

This is all new to me. I haven't been to WDW since 2005, and this will by my DH and boys first visit.
I actually didn't even think about the "food" thing...I've covered all my bases for AKL and Poly, but the GF and BC is all new to me. I haven't done as much research on them because these resorts were not available, but now they are.
I think my boys would pick the BC pool over any of them, but because I haven't done much research on the BC I'm unsure at this time what to do. Is it a nice resort? I am HUGE on cleanliness!!
I originally was only going to stay at 2 resorts, but now I am thinking 3 would be fun. We don't mind moving.

 

[tardin1964]

I think also a thing to consider is with your first option you get to stay in both resort areas. While you stay at AkL you can concentrate on going to AL and HS. When at the beach club you can concentrate on Epcot and when at the Poly you have easy access to MK.

 

[Disneylover99]

Definitely option 1, so that you have some quick access to Epcot and HS when you stay at the BC.

 

[goofy4tink]

Option 1. That way, you can focus on MK the days you are at the Polynesian, and on Epcot when at BC.
I would almost opt for AKL as the second resort though. That way, you could stay at the Polynesian first, do MK to your (and the boys') hearts content. You'll be pooped. So, a nice quiet stay at AKL would be perfect at this point. You would have quick access to AK, and be able to spend some down time at the resort!! THen, after relaxing for a bit, move to BC and hit Epcot and HS primarily.

You might even want to add a day at the Polynesian. 6 at Polynesian, 4 at AKL, and 5 at BC.

 

[mickeynut1]

Well, my wheels won't stop turning!?

I have a few options, and would love some insight from you wonderful people

I thought I had my trip all set, but now I'm not too sure? A few things have been thrown at me, and now I have another decision to make.

Going in Oct with DH, DS6 & DS3. So, here is my question..

What resorts in this order would you stay at?

1- AKL 5 nights, Beach Club 5 nights & Poly 5 nights

OR

2-AKL 6 nights, Poly 5 nights, and the Grand Floridian Villas for 4 nights?

My kids LOVE to swim, they are fish, so I'm really torn!?

Thanks in advance!

I would go with option 1. We've stayed at all of your choices and although the Poly is our favorite, all of them are great resorts with great pools. Have a great trip.

 

[pixarmom]

I highly recommend Poly, then BC then AKL. As a previous poster mentioned, you can start with MK while at Poly and then focus on Epcot/DHS when you move over to BC. Then end with some relaxing time at AK while staying at AKL. We like to avoid the bus when possible, so the ability to monorail to MK/Epcot from Poly, walk/boat to DHS from BC and then take a very short bus ride to AK from AKL makes the whole trip easier and is well worth the transfer for us.

We've stayed at all three resorts and done split stays many times. Love them! But I'll warn you . . . our most recent split stay was in January and we planned Poly/BWI/AKL, but we couldn't leave the Epcot area at the end of our BWI stay. So we cancelled AKL (even though we know we like it from a previous stay) and extended our time in the Epcot area.

Our kids are swimmers, too. Our youngest is 6 years old and has been swimming competitively for a year now. Our older boys participate in recreational swim team and love to swim too. BC really does have an amazing pool and with your kids' ages, the sand bottom zero depth area and the kiddie pool with slide out at the base of the pirate ship would be perfect contained areas for them to swim and splash. Our second favorite pool is at AKL, but the volcano pool at Poly is great for little swimmers too. Good luck with your decision and have a great time!

 

[SheenaXena21]

#1.

The BC is a perfect size and the pool looks awesome!!! We stayed at the BoardWalk Villas one year, and wished we were over at the BC pool. As PP have said, the access to EP and DHS is great. I loved walking to both, so nice and peaceful!

Poly is on my wishlist... monorail access...

I've stayed at AKVKidani, and we loved it there! It was pretty far away from the other 3 parks, but not so much to take away from the "magic". We ate at Boma at AKL, and we loved the lobby there! Very impressed!!! And the CM's that work at both resorts (well, most of them) are some of the nicest you'll meet.

Any way you go, you're going to have a wonderful trip!!!

 

[flinkerfrosch]

Thank-you to all that replied

You all have some VERY great points!

I thought about changing up the order, but a few reasons I didn't was because a) The BC isn't available for the last 5 nights of my trip, only the first 10, and b) If I put Poly at the 1st 5 nights, the rate is much higher then putting AKL at the beginning. I will run the #'s again, and see how it works out. In all honesty, I have BLOWN my budget so much, that doing AKL, BC then Poly saves me a bit of $$..
We will have a rental car while at AKL, so I assuming that will help.

I think my boys will love all the pools, but I have a feeling SAB would be there fav.

I think all the resort choices have something so fun and different to offer, that they will love everything!

 

[disd55]

Thank-you! Great ideas (and it's not a surprise..I could never hold it in that long..lol)

This is all new to me. I haven't been to WDW since 2005, and this will by my DH and boys first visit.
I actually didn't even think about the "food" thing...I've covered all my bases for AKL and Poly, but the GF and BC is all new to me. I haven't done as much research on them because these resorts were not available, but now they are.
I think my boys would pick the BC pool over any of them, but because I haven't done much research on the BC I'm unsure at this time what to do. Is it a nice resort? I am HUGE on cleanliness!!
I originally was only going to stay at 2 resorts, but now I am thinking 3 would be fun. We don't mind moving.

BC is very clean. It is beautiful and simple. The lobby smells amazing. They put s cent in the lobby that you never forget. Also, you have a boat to Epcot and HS. Poly also has monorail and boat to MK. They will love all those resorts.

 

[flinkerfrosch]

BC is very clean. It is beautiful and simple. The lobby smells amazing. They put s cent in the lobby that you never forget. Also, you have a boat to Epcot and HS. Poly also has monorail and boat to MK. They will love all those resorts.

Very good to know, thanks! Cleanliness is so key, and regardless of pool etc..if it wasn't clean, or well maintained, I would avoid like the plague..lol

The boats are a huge + cause my kids will love them

 

[MMS1125]

I'd go with #1 if we do a split stay we always end with our favorite resort (the Poly)

I'd probably shorten my AKL stay though and lengthen BC or the Poly if it's in the budget. They are just much more convenient to the parks than AKL IMO. I know moving after 3 nights or so might be a pain but unless you are doing AK a few times it's worth the hassle

 

[flinkerfrosch]

I'd go with #1 if we do a split stay we always end with our favorite resort (the Poly)

I'd probably shorten my AKL stay though and lengthen BC or the Poly if it's in the budget. They are just much more convenient to the parks than AKL IMO. I know moving after 3 nights or so might be a pain but unless you are doing AK a few times it's worth the hassle

So many others have said the same thing.

I thought AKL was beautiful? Is it because its so far away? Do you think my boys would be bored here? Its so hard for me to know because I have never been to any of the resorts.
I have to make my mind up this weekend, so Im a bit stressed trying to figure it all out (happy stress of course), and my 3 yr old just had surgery, so my nerves are shot trying to keep him still, and his brother away from him so they don't get wild (like boys do) <not so happy stress>

 

[LisaTC]

The only thing I could possibly add to this conversation is....JEALOUS! Wow, what a wonderful gift to your boys because you are really picking ideal locales for them to enjoy the parks and facilities. I have friends that swear by BC and friends right now at AKL-Kidani. Your vacation is my DREAM vacation!
I think the convenience of the monorail resorts can't be beat, in some ways.

After reading some answers to your post, I see why people do split stays now for convenience/concentration to a park. I never quite got the split stay thing before.

 

[flinkerfrosch]

The only thing I could possibly add to this conversation is....JEALOUS! Wow, what a wonderful gift to your boys because you are really picking ideal locales for them to enjoy the parks and facilities. I have friends that swear by BC and friends right now at AKL-Kidani. Your vacation is my DREAM vacation!
I think the convenience of the monorail resorts can't be beat, in some ways.

After reading some answers to your post, I see why people do split stays now for convenience/concentration to a park. I never quite got the split stay thing before.

Thank-you, you made me chuckle..I needed that

Hubby and I am are working very hard to make this vacation happen. I tend to over think things, and doubt myself, but from what I've been reading, sounds like I have nothing to doubt at all, and I thank you and everyone else for there wonderful, knowledgeable info!!

 

[flinkerfrosch]

One more question...At the BC, Garden View is the only thing available. Is there any good locations I can put a request in for as for the room??

 

[Kristibo42]

We love POP. I know it's a value but we don't spend much time in the room. There has been 4 (adults) of us at times and we still have plenty of space. I just can't see spending all of the that money for a place to sleep. I went for work once for 3 days and stayed at Contemporary and only slept and took showers. What a waste.

 

[flinkerfrosch]

We love POP. I know it's a value but we don't spend much time in the room. There has been 4 (adults) of us at times and we still have plenty of space. I just can't see spending all of the that money for a place to sleep. I went for work once for 3 days and stayed at Contemporary and only slept and took showers. What a waste.

I totally get what you're saying, but because we will be in Disney for 16 days, we don't plan on going to a park every day. We plan on spending a lot of time at each resort and utilizing all it has to offer, so for us, it is not a waste. We will use the pools for sure, and the activities at each resort. This is my kids and DH first visit, so we decided to splurge.
The next visit we will probably stay on site a few days, and then at my parents condo after that to save money on the 2nd trip, but not our 1st trip.

 

[goofy4tink]

So many others have said the same thing.

I thought AKL was beautiful? Is it because its so far away? Do you think my boys would be bored here? Its so hard for me to know because I have never been to any of the resorts.
I have to make my mind up this weekend, so Im a bit stressed trying to figure it all out (happy stress of course), and my 3 yr old just had surgery, so my nerves are shot trying to keep him still, and his brother away from him so they don't get wild (like boys do) <not so happy stress>

I love AKL!!! The pool areas are wonderful and there is a food court, Mara, at Jambo House. I say stay there for a bit less time only because you have to take a bus to all parks. And because it is such a nice resort to just kick back at and relax at.

As far as BC goes, I think any garden view room will be fine. I never stress over where my room is going to be. It's not as if I'm buying it. Just using it for a few nights. If it's not perfect, oh well.