Why is it so hard the second stay?

[princessap]

Our first time onsite we knew exactly where we wanted to stay and booked it...poly it was! so easy to decide!

our next trip is proving much more difficult...augh.

Well we would love to go back to the poly it is looking like construction will be happening when we go and we don't want to pay those prices to have construction happening

I have considered VGF, CR, and now AKV...augh

how do people decide on this??

For us...we will have three kids under 7, LOVE MK and plan to do two days there and MNSSHP and trying all the other parks this time for the first time (we have only done MK and AK before).

should we stick to the monorail resorts??

 

[GaBelle]

Just based on the info that you gave- yes. It ultimately depends on what factors are most important to you and your family. Ease of getting to parks/convenience? Theming? Pricing?
I (my family) book based on convenience and location. We spend a lot of time at MK.

 

[princessap]

That's my concern about trying somewhere off the monorail as we love MK too and want to try epcot next time too which makes monorail sound like the way to go...if only AKV was on the monorail, it looks amazing!

I am going to try to get a studio villa at GF but I think they will be hard to get!!

WL doesn't appeal to us at all which leaves the poly (which I hear will be under construction), GF or CR.

 

[mickeynut1]

That's my concern about trying somewhere off the monorail as we love MK too and want to try epcot next time too which makes monorail sound like the way to go...if only AKV was on the monorail, it looks amazing!

I am going to try to get a studio villa at GF but I think they will be hard to get!!

WL doesn't appeal to us at all which leaves the poly (which I hear will be under construction), GF or CR.

If MK will be the park you go to the majority of your trip, then I think a monorail resort is probably the way to go. But, with that said, we found the buses at AKL to be great. Granted, we don't have little ones, but we found the buses to be quick and efficient (but we also are never in a hurry to get anywhere, so that probably helps too ). I totally understand how hard it is to choose a resort as there are so many great choices. Good luck deciding, although I'm sure your trip will magical no matter which resort(s) you choose .

 

[DJFan88]

Of the ones you mention, I would pick GF because of the things you want to do. If you can afford the luxury of the convenience then it's definetly a lot more convenient than AK. I've visited AK for meals and there is nothing there, in my opinion, that would outweigh the experience of convenience. CR is convenient too but, does nothing themewise for me. Many others disagree.
Look at the individual threads on the resorts to see what you like. If price is an issue AK will less than the other two, with GF the most expensive.
Everytime we go to Disney, we try to visit at 2 other resorts that are "in our minds" just so we have an idea for future visits. It has definetly eliminated some for us, and showed us which ones we want.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Will you have a car? If not, did you look into renting a car? You can get some good deals (I think Mousesavers has a good article on it) and it will make getting to the other parks a bit easier if you are staying on the monorail, especially with three kids.

 

[oldbay]

I'd pick Contemporary. It is great with kids and easy using the monorail.

 

[sandbmisnfla]

I would also suggest a monorail resort if you like MK the most. The convenience alone is well worth it especially at the end of the night when your tired. We stay in the Epcot resorts and like being so close you can choose to walk or take the boat instead of the buses.

 

[GaBelle]

We haven't stayed at CR, yet.
Of the ones you have listed, I would pick GF. It is amazing! Service there is top notch.

 

[letsgoreds]

We love BLT/CR. Just think how nice it would be after the Halloween party to either hop on the monorail, and be the first stop -or- just walk home if the line is long!

We stayed at Kidani last time, and drove to the parks. Much faster and comfortable than using the buses, only drawback is MK, where you have to park at the TTC and use boat/monorail to get there.

Honestly, you will be happy with any of those options!

 

[Pakey]

I've stayed at all of the deluxes and DVC resorts (except Poly, can't stand the theming) so that I would know which one I liked the best. There are just so many factors to take into consideration and your needs change as your children age.

With the age of your children, I would stay at CR. I love GF but only staying RPC in the main building. I do not think the outer buildings are that convenient to catch the monorail, especially at the price charged for those outer rooms. And as I had posted in your earlier thread, I do not find staying in a DVC studio with that many people to be a relaxing experience.

If you take location out of the equation, AKL is my favorite resort. While I personally think that the Disney bus transportation is very good at AKL, I wouldn't want to do it if I was coming back for rest periods. However, the resort itself (both AKL and AKV) are fantastic. I think they have the best combination of dining options and the pools are wonderful (and you have access to both pools while staying there).

 

[Sue M]

Either GF or CR would be great. If you are thinking of studio, I heard BLT studios are small. I don't think you'd want it with 3 kids.

CR has the largest rooms, I haven't stayed here yet but I think it has the advantage for you, with everything under 1 roof, and walking path to MK. No long waits getting to MK or returning. You'd only have to use monorail to Epcot.
You also have an advantage of being able to walk to thr MK bus loop for any non MK resort ADR.

 

[princessap]

What does this mean??

We are thinking of a studio at the new VGF....they are bigger and can fit five but I am doubtful we will get one as they are going to be popular....the girls would love it I think!!

Then we will move to CR or AKV at this point...augh decisions....the one thing making me lean towards CR is not renting points, I am nervous that I will change my dates or something and be stuck with those dates.

 

[Missyrose]

What does this mean??

We are thinking of a studio at the new VGF....they are bigger and can fit five but I am doubtful we will get one as they are going to be popular....the girls would love it I think!!

Then we will move to CR or AKV at this point...augh decisions....the one thing making me lean towards CR is not renting points, I am nervous that I will change my dates or something and be stuck with those dates.

You can walk from CR/BLT to MK and catch a bus to any Disney resort (for dinners, activities, etc.)

 

[princessap]

You can walk from CR/BLT to MK and catch a bus to any Disney resort (for dinners, activities, etc.)

That might have sealed the deal for me to pick CR as I never thought of that and we want to do dinners at AKL and Boardwalk, so that is a definite plus for the CR!

 

[Sue M]

What does this mean??

We are thinking of a studio at the new VGF....they are bigger and can fit five but I am doubtful we will get one as they are going to be popular....the girls would love it I think!!

Then we will move to CR or AKV at this point...augh decisions....the one thing making me lean towards CR is not renting points, I am nervous that I will change my dates or something and be stuck with those dates.

From CR you can walk to the MK bus loop to get on any resort bus. So say you have an ADR for Cape May, it would be easy to get a bus to BC.

I'd stick to CR. how many days are you there for? I don't even know if I'd do a split stay unless you are there for 10 days. Packing up 3 kids is pretty time consuming. But that's just me.

 

[princessap]

Thanks. We are there for seven nights. I am really leaning towards cr for the whole time if free dining is out. I like the walk to MK and now that you guys have pointed out about walking to MK to get bus, that sways me even more as we want to do dinners at AK and the boardwalk.

Now just to decide on view. I contemplated garden wing and then upgraded to TPV for a few nights at the end but that won't work with free dining either
Hoping to do TPV for some of it but cannot really justify the expense for the whole week when we will be at the parks at least three nights for fireworks.

 

[princessap]

thanks to everyone on here for their help. one last question. we decided on cR. Would it make sense to do garden wing for some and then upgrade to tpv at the end for a few days??

 

[Disneylover99]

You can walk from CR/BLT to MK and catch a bus to any Disney resort (for dinners, activities, etc.)

That is a great point! I had never thought of that.

 

[princessap]

That is a great point! I had never thought of that.

It was the deciding point!! so glad she thought of it! lol