Where to stay???

[Crazie4daMouse]

We are a family of 7 with 2 kids who will be 5 years old and 5 months old when we go. The 5 year old has ADHD and can be difficult to handle at times. The baby is very easy, but does wake up once at night, he may or may not do that in September. We currently have a reservation at AOA, but I'm concerned that having us all in 1 room for a week may be too much. Trying to stay in the $4000 range for the week, we have FD. Here's our options:
AOA
A cabin
2 rooms at a value resort
3 rooms at a value resort
I really, really want to stay at AOA for the 5 yr old. I think he would really enjoy that, but if he doesn't know about it he won't be missing anything anyway.

 

[LovesTimone]

We just stayed at AOA in a Loin King family suite. I think that you will be fine here. This resort is super cute... You really feel like you are in the movies. I loved the interior hallways. The pool areas are two up, amazing.

It sleeps 6 very comfortably, the murphy style bed will sleep 2 my DD who is 25 slept on it and it was very comfortable. She is about 5' 9 " , The pull out couch was comfortable, my 71 year old mom sleep on it and was very comfortable, the master bed room is nice and a pack and play crib can be put in the corner of the room easily. The bathrooms are well done, the master has plenty of room, and the other the shower and toilet are separate, with a sink on the outside. It was nice having the little kitchen area to store snack and drinks. with the master having the door, you can put sleeping kiddos to bed and still be able to watch a bit of TV, and talk and get ready for the next day.

Food Court is really well laid out, and we only ate breakfast here, but did get some drinks and such in the evening, everything was clean and great.

Take time to check out all the area's, It's just amazing the detail and such. Enjoy your trip...

 

[MandiC]

As a family of 6 we decided we are going to stay at the FW Cabins for our next trip, but most of our 6 are children and it sounds like you have 5 adults, 2 kids so your needs will be different. I like how much it offers (Chip and Dale campfire, pony rides, archery lessons, boat rides, ect) and the fact that you get a full kitchen (we are hoping to go during free dining but we will still likely eat 1 meal a day at the cabin). Also something to consider during free dining is the cabins count as a moderate reservation which means you get the basic dining plan as opposed to getting the quick service dining plan when you stay at a value. So it really just depends what you want.

 

[ceyj1100]

We stayed at AoA in 2012 in the Nemo section. It was great. We had a group of 6 and it easily fit us all. I think you will be very comfortable there. Having double bathrooms, the mini-kitchen, and table to sit 4 (pulls down to be a murphy bed at night), was great. The pools, splash pad, little playground, and overall decor and themes were wonderful. We had so much fun just exploring the entire resort.

Hope that helps!

 

[kastoney]

AoA is a great choice. It's nice to have 2 bathrooms, as well as all the space and kitchenette.

 

[momH2the4th]

We are a family of 6 and stayed at the cabins last year ~ 2 adults, 4 kids (15, 13, 11, 8). I don't recommend you staying there. No storage, very cramped sleeping in the bedroom (double bed and bunk beds), 1 bathroom. I'm not sure where a pack 'n play would even fit once the murphy bed was down in the living room unless you set it up in the kitchen area. Beautiful campgrounds and fun to explore in the golf cart, but we won't be staying there again.

 

[justhat]

We stayed at AoA in 7/12 and loved it. We have 4 kids (5 month old who still wakes up overnight, 4yo, 7yo, 10yo) and found it to be a lot of space, loved he 2 bathrooms. We would be back there now but got a 30% off code for BWV and booked a 1 bedroom because my oldest and her cousin (12yo) will be staying with their aunt (sil) at AKL. This way we get a washer/dryer too. I think we could have all fit in a 1 bedroom at okw so maybe check that.

 

[SWofDisorder]

Have you considered renting points from a DVC owner and getting a 2 br in a deluxe resort for the same price?

There have a forum on the DVC section just for rentals and it makes a lot of sense to have a full kitchen, 2 bathrooms, wash machine, dryer and all things for a baby already in the room.

 

[akclayton]

I've seen a lot of people satisfied with AoA with 6 people. I think with a little one, you'll be fine. If you are still worried, maybe get a suite and a LM room. You'll still be at the same resort and you'll have a little more space. We are traveling with 6 in September but we'll have 4 adults, a 17yr old and my 3yr old. We're staying at POFQ in 2 rooms. We are used to sleeping in King size beds so we chose a resort where we could get Queens because we didn't see it being possible sleeping in doubles and being comfortable. For this reason, we chose POFQ over AoA. We originally wanted to try AoA because we thought DD would love the theming. We were able to stay around your budget with that. Another way to go as a previous person said would be the rent DVC. The only thing with that, is DVC don't get FD so you would lose that and you'd probably end up going over budget with the tickets and food or close to it. If the bed size(s) don't bother you, stay with AoA and enjoy.