What would you do with 8K?

[cheshiregoofy22]

Poppin' in to say "Welcome to the Dis!"

 

[kevgraub]

Toppolinos is also an amazing character breakfast , I agree with your post ! Especially if paying cash , we spent $230 on breakfast at toppolinos , So, we are a family of 6 ,
2 adults and our children are 14, 10, 6 and almost 2! Be our guest was about $350 for dinner and so was Cinderella’s royal table , at least that shock comes before your actual dinner since they have you pay ahead of time . We have always done the dining plan so I was shocked at how much I paid for meals ! Well worth it though ! To see how happy the kids were made it worth it ! I do miss the dining plan .

We miss the dining plan too. Last trip I sat down and figured out what we would have spent v. what the dining plan cost, and it came out almost exactly even. For us, the convenience of the plan was worth it. That is especially true if you have kids and do a lot of (one credit) character meals. Now that 2 of our kids would be paying the adult price for the dining plan, and we have moved away from the character meals, I suspect we would come out quite a bit ahead paying out of pocket. But you are right, the sticker shock on a per meal basis is tough to swallow.

 

[allaboutthemouse]

I’ll just throw this out there, have you checked out the cabins at Fort Wilderness? People either love it or hate it, it seems. We happen to love it, we have towed our camper down quite a few times with kids as young as 10 months. But I have also stayed in a cabin, there is a bed next to a set of bunkbeds in the bedroom. Our kids absolutely love renting a golf cart for our stay and “looping” around the fort looking at site decorations. Which leads me to time of year...definitely October or November/December. You will get Halloween decorations in October and Christmas decorations in November/December. And campers are known to be over the top with the decorations! We have brought more and more with each trip The fort is a boat ride away from MK, which I’m guessing with little ones you would be spending a lot of time at. And the new horse barn is beautiful! There are two pools, nothing fancy, but one does have a slide. As I said, it’s definitely not for everyone as some people complain it’s too big. But having a golf cart to get around solves that problem! If you are driving...unless something has changed, I don’t believe they charge the $25 whatever fee for parking your car there like the other resorts since it’s right at your cabin. But I would double check that if you care.

 

[toodycat]

If you want to swim, go in April and stay at BC. Kids enjoy SAB, whether you have a cabana or not. The easy access to Epcot and the Boardwalk will guarantee you don’t get bored, even if you find the theming dull. I haven’t stayed at AoA, but it sounds like that would be a great option too.

 

[KMarston]

We’ve always loved 2nd-3rd week in January, and we love the Polynesian for the ease of Monorail access, the incredible splash pad/play area for our grandson and theme park views! Also the food at Captain Cooks is good and we like Ohanna. It’s also a quick trip to GF or CR for meals. We get hoppers and usually end up in the MK most afternoons/ evenings.

 

[MomOTwins]

I would not stay at a 1 bedroom with a plan to make up the cost increase with in-room cooking. It's your first trip with little kids--you'll be exhausted come dinner time. And Disney restaurants are a big part of the fun for a lot of families--they have fun themes, are very kid-friendly, and a character meal can be really great at that age.

For us, the reason we prefer deluxe with small kids is the option for transportation other than bus so you don't have to fold up the stroller. So the skyliner is a bit of a game changer and makes CBR and AoA a lot more attractive for families.

That said, Beach club is fantastic and I do see availability next April. Would adjust your dates a bit and see if that makes a difference. Note: Yacht Club is connected to Beach Club and they are basically the same resort, so if you see availability at YC but not BC, just know they are basically the same.

 

[Belle83]

I would recommend skipping Nov-Feb if pools are important to you.I don't think your first Disney trip ever, with a 6yo and 2 yo, is one to do a split stay on. Stay in 1 resort the whole time. It's easier and you will most definitely not be bored.

Here are my thoughts on the resorts you mentioned:

- AKL. We love it and are staying there for our next trip, but I do not recommend for your first trip. The location is pretty far away from most of the parks. I wouldn't worry about it being dead as it's not going to stay closed forever. But it is a quieter hotel for sure. Kidani is a DVC resort so I would have a hard time paying Disney for that instead of renting points from an owner, which is kind of an overwhelming thing to do as a first-timer (and it's nonrefundable). You will not cook meals in your room....seriously. Especially when your hotel is so far away from the parks. I think the pool at Kidani is closed next year so that's another thing.

- Beach Club/Yacht Club - this is a great option, especially if pools are important to you. You won't be bored, you are literally right next door to Epcot and walking distance to the Boardwalk. You could even walk to Hollywood Studios if you were up for it, technically. I've heard that the pool at Beach Club/Yacht Club can get kind of crazy making it harder to watch kids at. I know that I would personally rather go here when my kids were a little older than 2 and 6, but it is a great pool area with a sandy beach that all ages would love.

- Contemporary - this is another good option, but I absolutely would skip theme park view pricing. A regular view tower room is still very expensive but would be great with little kids. We've done the fireworks from our room thing (at Grand Californian, where you are much closer to them than at MK). It was cool but not worth $$$$, to us anyway.

- Caribbean Beach - great option, especially with the Skyliner and the price.

- Coronado - I've stayed here but not in a suite. If I'm spending that kind of $$$ I think I'd pick a different resort. It is handy to have a second room with kids but they should be pretty exhausted by the time you are back from the parks and you may be surprised by how out they will be.

If it's in the budget, I would stay at the Polynesian, a tower (non-view) room at the Contemporary, or Yacht Club/Beach Club. If it's not, I would pick Caribbean Beach. A lot of that 8K will go to meals, tickets, and airfare so make sure to figure those out first.

The Art of Animation suites are pricey but your kids are the perfect ages for it and you'll have Skyliner access. A lot of people are recommending these for good reason.

I agree to book early

 

[AliceIn]

With 8K, I'd rent points to get a larger room at a Deluxe resort. Here's pricing for the second week in February 2022. You could do a split stay to get the best of both worlds.

 

[dmband]

The last thing I would ever do is drop 8k on a resort. That said AoA is great for kids followed by CBR (pool anyway) or AKL

as others suggested, if you want to go big do it on fun stuff at the parks like character meals and such.
honestly though I would consider going big in a couple yrs so the younger child has a better chance of remembering it. My kids remembered a lot of their trips from age 2/3 but after going a time or two more they don’t really recall the early trips

 

[Dis Dragon]

Days are hit or miss weather wise that time, you could have amazing weather and then find the next day requires a jacket.

As far as swimming, I think the Kidani pool has the warmest water on property. I still remember the first time we went there and it felt like a warm bath, not a swimming pool.

You should look at some of the DVC rental places if you haven't yet, they can save you a lot off book rates and make your money stretch further for more benefit. You can't miss with Stormalong, my 9 year old wants to go there just to play in the sand pool, your kids would love it.

AKL/BC would make an amazing split. AKL has alternative activities like the bead activity that can take up the most of one day and some of a second even if there is inclement weather. AKL is one of our favorites, I would hope by next February we see more of it open - but who knows.

 

[WhitneyMB]

For your very first Disney trip, especially with two young children, I would recommend staying at one resort the entire time. You and the kids will enjoy feeling that you come to know your way around the resort by the end of your trip. There is so much going on at Disney, you definitely don’t need to worry about boredom (feeling overstimulated, perhaps). You can always visit another resort for a meal to experience that resort.

When my kids were young, we really enjoyed the Beach/Yacht Club due to the proximity to the parks. It’s so nice to be able to leave when kids get tired, cranky or need a nap and easily come back later on. The monorail resorts also allow for this.

Good luck with your planning!

 

[bravenyc]

I think a lot depends on what appeals to you most. What appeals to me most about Deluxe hotels is the proximity to the parks, especially with little ones in strollers. When my two were 5 and 2 we rented points and stayed at BLT - not the most exciting but it was sooooo nice to be able to walk to and from MK - it made going back to the room for naps a breeze. You can also take the monorail to Epcot. This reduced the need to take sleeping or tired kids out of strollers and lugging a double stroller on a bus. We also adored the general atmosphere of being so close to MK - seeing the monorail go by on the walk over to the CR - it was so magical. On our next trip we did a split stay at AKL and BC. We loved, loved, loved AKL and it is our favorite but you are faced with all transportation being buses. We loved the proximity of BC (you can walk to EP and HS), but it was not our favorite resort - the pool is amazing but can be tricky with little ones because it so big and hard to keep track of them - and you have to leave the pool area to get to the slide. If you want to stay in a deluxe hotel and want to save money, you could look into renting DVC points - as this is often cheaper, but there are a few big drawbacks - the biggest is that you cannot easily change your reservations once you make them and to get most resorts, you need to book 7-11 months in advance. We have done split stays twice and love them (as we get to experience 2 hotels each visit) - this is especially nice if you book a monorail resort and then an EP resort - best of both worlds. But it is a little less relaxing knowing that you have to pack everything up a bit and knowing that you may not get access to your room the next day until later in the afternoon. (so we always make our switch day a park day). Good luck and have fun. All of this planning is part of the fun!

 

[mouschievous]

We do not have kids, and we haven't been to WDW yet. That said, we were hoping to stay at Beach Club, but are currently looking at CBR. The reason? BC is twice the price! We figure we can pay for a lot of Ubers with that extra money. I couldn't believe it when I saw the difference in cost, and ultimately we just decided that we couldn't justify the extra expense.

 

[unrequited23]

We went on our first trip when our kids were 5.5 and almost 3 yrs old. One thing that really increased our enjoyment was calling it "our first trip" and not feeling the pressure to do everything. I would probably go sometime between the end of February and the first week of May, but avoid President's Day, Spring Break season and Easter if you can to guarantee pool time. On our second trip, we went the first week of February and only had two days warm enough for the pool. (For us that means over 70 and sunny.) I have heard that SAB is really split up and parents have a bit of difficulty keeping an eye on their kids, plus it can get crowded.

I only considered moderates for our first stay, because way back then the values only had double beds and we needed queen size beds. When we stay in a hotel each kid shares a bed with one parent. (You can request bedrails too!) I would consider what you need for everyone to get a good night's sleep and let that narrow down your choices. We pretty much stuck to the same routine as home. We did keep the room dark for about 20 mins until the kids were asleep, they slept hard.

If you want someone to tell you how to spend your money...AOA family suite.

 

[Roxyfire]

Personally, I'm gonna go against the AoA grain and suggest something a little different, POFQ (once it opens). I feel like the bus lines are always looking very long at the end of the night for AoA. Personally, with two young kids (who would be pumped to be anywhere on property!) I would take the tack of enjoying a more relaxed approach the first time. POFQ (and I've never stayed there but want to) is a smaller sized resort and it shares facilities with POR so that gives you some extra options as well. It also was recently renovated (I think?) so I can see it feeling fresh and new as well.

 

[dmband]

We do not have kids, and we haven't been to WDW yet. That said, we were hoping to stay at Beach Club, but are currently looking at CBR. The reason? BC is twice the price! We figure we can pay for a lot of Ubers with that extra money. I couldn't believe it when I saw the difference in cost, and ultimately we just decided that we couldn't justify the extra expense.

While I agree that it isn’t worth double the price, where do you plan on going so much you need ubers??
You get free transportation to/from airport and parks.
we have never needed a ride anywhere ever

 

[robinb]

Personally, I'm gonna go against the AoA grain and suggest something a little different, POFQ (once it opens). I feel like the bus lines are always looking very long at the end of the night for AoA. Personally, with two young kids (who would be pumped to be anywhere on property!) I would take the tack of enjoying a more relaxed approach the first time. POFQ (and I've never stayed there but want to) is a smaller sized resort and it shares facilities with POR so that gives you some extra options as well. It also was recently renovated (I think?) so I can see it feeling fresh and new as well.

The lines are longer for the buses, but there are more buses to handle all those people.

 

[mouschievous]

While I agree that it isn’t worth double the price, where do you plan on going so much you need ubers??
You get free transportation to/from airport and parks.
we have never needed a ride anywhere ever

I should have been more clear. My point was, even if we decided not to wait on Disney transportation ever and use Uber our entire trip, we still would save money. I'm not about waiting in line 40 minutes to get to a park so I'm guessing we will Uber some.

 

[MomOTwins]

While I agree that it isn’t worth double the price, where do you plan on going so much you need ubers??
You get free transportation to/from airport and parks.
we have never needed a ride anywhere ever

With Magical Express discontinued in 2022, you will need to pay for airport transportation. Also bus transportation has been subject to long waits lately--on our last trip we would have missed our dining reservations had we not given up waiting for buses after 45 mins (they kept changing the "next bus arrival" time when a bus didn't show as scheduled, and just took an uber instead.

 

[Dis Dragon]

I should have been more clear. My point was, even if we decided not to wait on Disney transportation ever and use Uber our entire trip, we still would save money. I'm not about waiting in line 40 minutes to get to a park so I'm guessing we will Uber some.

Ubers are convenient but they are hit or miss vs disney transportation at park open. They are a complete loose going to MK since you get dropped at the TTC. We sat in a line for an AK opening for 20minutes in a Uber before. The driver mentioned that a lot of Ubers won't do park openings because they don't want to get stuck in that, he almost didn't take us.

Also right now, there is a huge shortage of drivers. This last trip a driver was telling us they were getting an 800 bonus to bring drivers back to work and there were several times we got a note that due to high demand rides were taking longer. At one point it was a 30minute wait - we cancelled it and rolled the dice on 2 bus transfers.