Which is better - AS Fam Suite or FW Cabin?

[DisneyChamp]

By our next trip we'll have 3, maybe 4 kids. Counting DH and myself, that brings us to 6 ppl. We are trying to decide between an AS Fam Suite and the FW Cabins - leaning toward the cabins.

Kitchen size is of moderate consideration - mostly we eat breakfast in the room, and prepare snacks there. Maybe a couple other meals during the week. Convenience to parks is the biggest consideration along with having enough room so we aren't tripping over each other.

Anyone out there with experience at both? What would you suggest?

 

[ssjerauld]

Hi! We've never stayed in the family suites, but we have stayed in the cabins for several of our trips. Our last trip was in Aug 07 with our 3 "kids"--ages 24, 21, and 18--and even with 5 adults in the same space, we had plenty of room. The kitchen is more than adequate for what you want; you have a full size frig, range, and dishwasher, plus all the dishes, utensils, pots, pans, coffee maker, etc. While many feel that transportation is a real issue at Fort Wilderness, it has never been a problem for us; the internal bus stops are not that far from the cabins, and we've never waited more than 15 min for a bus from any of the parks. We love the feeling of the campground--at the end of the day, it's quiet, peaceful--and you feel like you're coming "home' instead of a hotel room. (Can you tell we like them?!!) AND--daily maid service! Our mousekeeper even did our dishes one day when we left without loading the dishwasher!

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

Hope you get more responses - ASMu suites and FW cabins are on our possibility list to try next. If only I could get DH to like them. He doesn't like the loud colors of the values and the huge icons. He likes the pics of the FW cabins but thinks the cabins would be dark and that the cabins are too close together.

 

[Buzz2001]

We stayed at the cabins back in 2000. The cabin itself is great but the location seemed out of the way and the internal/external bus service was confusing at first. It all depends on what you are looking for in a resort. This is a resort with a lot of walking. Rent a golf cart if possible.

 

[bennythepug]

We only have experience with the cabins, and we loved them. We didn't find them dark at all. As for, being close together - there were a tad - but not so much that it bothered us. Only when your outside do you notice it. Inside, it's your own little house. Very spacious and everyone can spread out ! We are thinking about the AS suites next time.

 

[tulamom]

We're facing the same choice for a stay next summer...these are our top 2 contenders. We've stayed at neither but have always done moderate or value resorts in the past so think we'd be happy with both. Looking forward to hearing from someone who has stayed at both!

 

[Tink415]

We've stayed at both and also like both very much.
The cabins seem like there is a bit more room, but the 2 bathrooms and seperate queen bedroom in the family suites are very nice.

Which place has the better sleeping options depend on whose going.
I was comfortable with my older DD, her boyfriend and my younger DD sleeping in the living area of family suites, but I don't think I would be if they slept in the bedroom at the cabins - if that makes any sense I know it seems dumb but the hallway seems a little long..

I think if we weren't going to rent a car I would choose the family suites.
If we planned a few dinners and evenings in, I would choose the cabins.

Hope this helps!

 

[Eeyore's Pal]

For us the dividing line is always the number of bathrooms. In the ASMu family suite you have two. The cabins have one. With a family of five, the two bathrooms is a necessity.

I don't know your price range, but have you considered renting points from a DVC member for a villa? That is our real preference. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, full kitchen, washer/dryer. And lots of space...especially if you stay at OKW.

 

[chrisw127]

We just got back from the cabins (two adults, a five year old and 9 month old twins). Ironically, I think it would have been roomier with older kids. With babies, we needed more space for them to crawl around in and to sleep separately from everyone else. I would think for a family with older kids, it would be fine. One huge plus is that it is very quiet and since you are in your own cabin, the kids can be as loud as they want. If you need a lot of storage space, the cabins are a good choice.

I liked the looks of the cabins too. Ours could have used a little cleaning. That was the only downside.

We had no problems at all with transportation however I think that if you use the FW cabins, you need a car. Once I figured out all the back roads, it was very easy to get around. It never took us more than 45 minutes to go anywhere, but it was a very slow time of year.

There are a lot of fun activities to do at Ft. Wilderness, as well.

 

[EpcotQueen]

We've never stayed in the suites before but have stayed in the cabins many times. Have traveled with son and his wife, so 4 adults in the cabin. As others have mentioned, only 1 bathroom. Didn't create a problem for us as each of us had different 'bathroom habits'. Was handy having the full kitchen for breakfast and late night snacking. The bedroom has a double bed and set of bunkbeds. The living room has a murphy bed that I suspect is a full size but looks bigger than that. The murphy bed is very comfortable. The cabin has a nice dining area with 2 chairs in addition to a bench seat. Outside on the deck is a picnic table. It's a great spot to spread out if you're traveling with a number of older children. You also have a charcoal grill at the bottom of the deck. If you have a car, the location is not a detriment. In fact, given that you can drive right up to the cabin, I would consider this a big plus for choosing a cabin. If you're traveling with kids that have, as I call it, "itchy britches", always on the go, the cabins afford a chance to play safely outside the cabins. Traffic through each loop is low, slow. You can rent or take your own bicycles to travel around the resort. It's VERY bicycle friendly. As others have mentioned, you can rent a golf cart. We never have. They are pricey. Need I say that we love it there????

 

[alldiz]

I haven't stayed at either....

but FW has a lot more activities onsite than asmu....
being on Bay lake is also very appealing...nice boat to m.k...
Kerri

 

[Hopefully]

I have never stayed in the suites but we stayed in the Cabins twice when our children were younger and we loved them. Given the layout of the 2, I would prefer the Cabins to the Family Suite. Our 3 shared the bedroom, oldest DS in the Double and 2 younger ones in the bunks. They would "hit the sack" as soon as we got back from the parks (usually fairly late).That gave DH and I the living space to relax in until we felt ready to pull down the Murphy bed. In the Suites the kids would be in bed early in the "Living Space" forcing DH and I to sit only on the bed. I would not like that.
With younger kids having one bathroom was not a problem at all. I can see with teenagers etc it might be.
We also loved having the full kitchen, the full size fridge, dishwasher, etc. We ate breakfast in each day and 2 nights we came back to the Cabin for dinner. Having the choice was great.
There is also lots of things to do at Fort Wilderness. Folks are also really nice. I love the themeing of Fort Wilderness, and the Suites themeing does not appeal as much to me.
The boat is great to the MK.
Transportation is more complex at the Cabins. One trip we rented a Golf Cart and I loved doing that. It was almost another "ride" to the kids. It is great for getting around within the Campground. On another trip we had our car - we had driven to WDW from MA. We did use it to get to other theme parks. All that said, the internal/external buses certainly are doable. They would not be a deciding factor against staying in a Fort Wilderness Cabin for me. I would even go back now, even with adult children or with only DH and I.
HTH

 

[GinnyFavers]

Everything about the cabins is better except for the master bedroom.

In the cabins, it's a Double bed, with bunk beds for kids right next to you (you can put them out on the murphy bed in the living room, if you just have one or two, but with three or four, some are going in the bunk beds).

In the Suites, it's a Queen bed, and there's sleeping for four kids in the seperate living room.

We are unable to get a good night's sleep in a Double bed, coming from a King at home.

Honestly, we usally go off site to a rental house when we get faced with Disney's housing choices for traveling with family.

 

[moneydiva]

My husband and myself and our 4 sons (yes, four!) all stayed in a FW cabin for a week in 2004, and we thought it was great. Yes, there is only one bathroom, but we only have one at home, so it didn't really matter for us. It was a nice space, and we didn't have to worry about disturbing anyone with our noise! The bedroom has a set of bunk beds and a double bed, so two kids slept in one bed, but they didn't care. We parents had the LR with the Murphy bed all to ourselves after the kids went to bed, so no prob. The place IS big, but we found the bus system to be very efficient. The boat to MK was very cool, and we ended up taking the boat to MK and grabbing the monorail from there to other locations, just for fun! My kids, who were all in their teens at the time, still talk about it! We also had a rental car, which did come in handy for grocery shopping and driving to the dining hall, as well as to and from the airport. I don't usually get one, but we had one this time, and it was an added convenience.

Hope you have a magical trip no matter where you stay!

 

[goodferry]

We are a family of six, DD turned four since our last trip. We have done BWI deluxe room, which has two queen beds and a pullout couch that sleeps two and a two bedroom at the BWV, so those are both options also.
We loved the both, but having the kitchen was nice, even though the only cooking I did was breakfast once. I was able to set out fruit and yogurt and granola for the kids in the morning and have bagels.
We went to the hoop dee doo review this trip and Fort Wilderness looked like fun, the Christmas decorations some of the campsites had set up were great! We have talked about trying one of the cabins for part of the time next trip, but I understand from others who have stayed there that you really need to count on renting a golf cart when you budget because of the size of the resort. That's the only advice I have, having never stayed at either resort you asked about.

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

Well my family just got back from a grand gathering. Here is what they thought.

1st family in All Star suite: Mom and Dad loved having their own room away from the 3 boys. Loved having 2 bathrooms. Loved the transportation. This group rated it A+

2nd family had a cabin. Like the cabin itself but hated the transportation and the amount of walking that had to be done. The cabin had a bigger kitchen but didnt feel as roomy as the suite.

3rd family (me) rented the deluxe room at WL: Loved the room and had plenty of space and the perk of CL access but I did see tranportation issues at WL that I didnt have at AKL last 2 visits. Probably because WL shares transportation with other resorts.

Out of all of us only the Suites family said they would choose to go back.