Which resort?

[Niki Mouse]

We're going to WDW in October and we're using my friend's timeshare exchange to stay at Disney. We tried to book BCV but they were all booked. We have 2 boys, ages 5 & 2, and it's their first trip to WDW as well as my dh's. We can stay at Old Key West, Boardwalk Villas, Saratoga Springs, or the Villas at Wilderness Lodge. Which would you choose?

 

[vicki_c]

For a trip with small children, I would pick VWL due to the theming and proximity to the MK.

 

[GuardMusic]

Really depends on which park you will visit the most. I expect that young, you'll need to do mid-afternoon naps.

 

[Niki Mouse]

Are the other hotels really far? We're spending a week there, so I'd like to do MK probably two days, one of those hopefully will be for Mickey's Halloween party. We'd really like to do all the parks, but aren't too worried about missing Epcot, I don't think the kids would really appreciate it until they're older. Like I said, I'd like at least 2 days at MK, and then at least one full day at the other two, and maybe do a day at Epcot or maybe drive to Sea World. (we're driving down so we'll have our car). As far as naps go, my younger son does take them, but he's kind of in that in between stage where he can go without one as well. It would be nice to go back to the hotel to get some rest and eat something, etc.

 

[vicki_c]

I don't know if you know this or not, but

VWL - that's an MK resort
Boardwalk and BCV are Epcot resorts
SSR - that's considered a Downtown Disney resort
OKW - ? I think that would also be considered a Downtown Disney resort, not sure what else it could be classified as

So just given that you're doing more MK days than others, and you're thinking of possibly skipping Epcot, VWL would be the closest for the bulk of your touring. Therefore, quicker to return to (whether by boat or bus) than the other choices you mentioned.

 

[tiger4me2]

Then if you really don't think you will be doing Epcot a lot then stick with WLV

 

[Niki Mouse]

How long of a boat/bus ride is it to the other places? My only problem is I don't like the scenery much at the Wilderness Lodge...we camp alot and see that kind of scenery all the time, so I was hoping for a little change of pace. What about the pools? I know BCV would have been the 1st choice for a pool, but what about the others? Are there any differences between the pools? Which one is best for kids? The length of the boat/bus ride does matter, but not terribly much. Aside from location, is there any resort that sticks out as better for kids? I'm sure they're all great...they are Disney places afterall.

 

[fall08CP]

If you were interested in BCV, I would suggest BWV for similar theming and location. There is a really fun pool there with a great slide. I think it would be about a 15 min bus ride from MK but not 100% sure. The downside of BWV + BCV is that there are a ton of stops on their route.
SSR is really large and looked overwhelming. OKW is nice but sort of out on its own. BWV are right on the boardwalk and there's a lot of space to walk around.