Which is best, your opinion counts !!!!

[fairytale]

Hiya All.

I have a dilema on my hands.

My family and I are visiting Disney in October from the UK, and are hoping to stay at any one of the Disney Villa Reosrt, (we are a family of six with all four children 6 and under). !!

Can anybody advise me which resort they feel would be best for us. I had set my mind on Beach Club but am now having second thoughts as I feel a resort nearly to Downtown Disney would be more beneficially to us.

Thank you for your help.

Annette

 

[spiceycat]

VWL - with four children under 6 - the MK will be your park of choice.

VWL is the only MK resort that is also DVC. (at this time - hoping for the CRV)

it has a nice theme pool - not as great as BCV - and FW campground is next door - you can walk, bike, boat to it.

 

[southtexasmom]

SSR is just a short boat ride to DTD. We stayed there last year and loved it.

 

[Pakey]

I agree with VWL. Beach Club is great and close to Epcot but with the ages of your children, I would think that Epcot is not going to be where you are spending much time. Plus the pool there, although great, may be a bit tough for you to keep track of your children as it is huge and usually pretty busy. And the two Villas close to DTD (Saratoga and Old Key West) are not that close. Even getting to the boat docks at those resorts to get to Downtown Disney could be quite a walk for you depending on what building you are in and it's a longer bus or car ride to get to MK from there too.

 

[iluveeyore]

I would suggest Old Key West - they have the largest rooms to spread out in - if two of your children are 3 and under, you could get a one bedroom. Huge living room, large dining table, pull-out couch plus a loveseat, very large patio with furniture, huge master suite with king size bed, jacuzzi tub all the kids would fit in (or Mom and Dad to relax after kids are asleep!) plus full size washer/dryer in separate laundry room in your room to save on packing or help with all those darn kiddie spills! Check out dvcfriends.com for viewing rooms of all the DVC resorts and all their amenities to see which suits you best. OKW has a great new pool slide (sand castle with Mickey's head as opening), and a lovely boat ride to DTD (quick 5 min. bus ride there as well). Saratoga Springs is nice as well, but with the kids you'll have more space at OKW - we just stayed last year with 4 adults and 3 kids in a 2 bedroom, and it was pure heaven - put the kids to bed and spent the evenings on the deck playing cards and watching the ducks in the pond.
Happy planning. Don't forget to visit the DVC rent/trade boards to help with the cost if you like.

 

[auntie]

The Villas at the Wilderness Lodge is a great choice....has a water launch over to the MK. I visited Saratoga Spring last year, while it looks nice..it's not near to any of the parks. I don't see where being in close proximity to Downtown Disney is a plus with children the ages of yours. While it was lovely to look at. It just didn't have the same "magic" feel to me as the Villas at the Wilderness Lodge. As earlier poster indicated, at the Wilderness Lodge villas you will have access to a bike/walking path where the kids can ride bikes. You can also take that path over to Fort Wilderness. The marina area at the WL offers both bike rental and boat rentals. Sea sprites and pontoon boat rentals. You can take the family out of an excursion on Bay Lake that leads to the Seven Seas Lagoon where the Magic Kingdon is located. Your kids will also enjoy seeing the Electric Water Pagent, which can be seen every evening off the shore of the Wilderness Lodge. The resort offers a themed pool with slide and a quiet pool/with hot tub right at the Villas. We spent a good amount of time in it during our last trip! The lodge itself also offers a childrens pool in addition to the themed pool and another hot tub. Add to this the replica of the Yellowstone geyser that erupts, with Bay Lake as it's back drop, and it is truly a magical experience.

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Another vote for OKW. It has the largest rooms overall, and the resort is a nice change from the chaos of the parks.

Being close in miles is a non issue. Disney transport is sufficient and very reliable.

I have stayed at other DVC resorts with little ones and they all prefer OKW. They love the slide in the main pool (and the pool is easy too keep track of the children).

IF you have your own transport it's wonderful to be able to park infromt of your resort instead of having to walk from a distant car park.

I've stayed at BWV with a two year old and it was pretty miserable. The walk to the room was just too much after a long day, and the noise coming from the boardwalk itself (we had a boardwalk over look room) kept the baby awake. It's not as clean overall as OKW (and the other DVCs).

One of the wonderful things about Disney is that there is something to suit nearly everyone's taste. What one family doesn't like, another family will love.

 

[fairytale]

Thank you for your responce.

I have thought about VWL but was concerned about the Transport situation.

The last time we visted Disney we went to the Hoop De Doo and was waiting a good 20 mins for our bus to arrive to take us back to AKL.

The bus was jam packed and had to stand with our eldest two children who were only 3 and 4 at the time.

Do the buses from WLV pick up and drop off at any other hotels when travelling to the parks ?

Your help is very much appreciated.

 

[Luv2Roam]

I have been on WL buses that included Ft W guests too.
At WLV you have bus and boat. The boats I think come and go more so than the buses.
Saratoga you would be close to DTD, and they have boats or buses also. (And the Turf Club is a good place to dine. )
WLV is a good location.
OKW has a very nice feel and not a bad location.
You can't hardly go wrong with any of the DVC resorts. Any are really are a good choice.

 

[MomtoGKC]

If I had the choice I think I would pick VWL with my kids. We stayed at Beach Club villas, and although walking to Epcot was nice, it was a long walk from our room to the bus stop (to MK/AK)