WL 1bedrm villa or FW cabin???

[asktriplets]

hi.
i'm hoping those of you with kids can give me some insight...

dh and i are taking our 3 almost-2 year olds to WDW in nov., along with both sets of our parents.

we currently have 3 cabins reserved at FW (we all want our space at the end of the day!). i am thinking that the extra space outside of our cabin, the playground, beach, and pool will be perfect for some non-park downtime in the middle of the day. we 're also planning for a hayride, a trip to the petting zoo, and the campfire/movie on our off day in the middle of the week.

i'm struggling with the idea, though, that i might like it better at WL (more "disney" without all of the dirt that my 3 will collect!). at WL, dh, kids, and i would stay in a 1bdrm. villa and the parents would each get rooms in the lodge . i've read mixed reviews on the lodge for toddlers (but i've also read mixed reviews, in general, on the cabins, too).

there is a playground, beach, and pool at WL, as well, right? it would be an easy trip to get to FW if we wanted to do the campfire at night or any other activities, yes?

is it a very quick and easy walk from the WL to the villas? could our parents come and go to help us out with the kids easily?


quick access to MK, a separate bedroom for the kids, and a kitchen are our priorities for our stay, so i'm thinking these are our best/only options....

any thoughts/suggestions?

thanks!

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

asktriplets

I have stayed in both the cabins, and a One-bedroom Villa at the Villas @ Wilderness Lodge...I loved the cabins but I believe for your group that with three cabins your parents would be wasting money with just two in a cabin. You also need to think about bus transportation with the three little ones, you would have to take two buses everywhere everytime you went to the parks...or really any time you wanted to do any activity at the Campground you would need to catch a bus. (Except the MK then you would take the bus to catch the boat) I am assuming you will have strollers...so just loading and unloading them on and off the bus would be work. Cabins are 12"X42"=504 sq ft.

I would stay at the Villas but request a two-bedroom with a lock-off that way one set of parents would be right next door so to speak...a lock-off is a studio+one-bedroom that can be connected with a door...but that door can be locked and both will have a seperate entrance for that (we all want our space at the end of the day!) you could then either reserve a seperate studio for the other parents or just make a reservation at the Lodge for one room. A one bedroom is 727sq. ft + studio is 356 sq ft. total sq ft is 1083 sq feet so you will also have much more room and a washer & dryer in your room that the cabins don't have.

The Villas are right next to the Lodge so only a short walk would have you all back together, so either group of parents could be at the Villas in a few minutes. The Villas & Lodge have everything you could want pool, playground, baby setting and you can either catch the boat, walk, ride a bike, or catch a bus to Ft. Wilderness.

 

[mikesmom]

The hitch to this is that availability is very limited for the Villas at WL in November. Up to the 15th, the Food & Wine Fest is on and DVC owners have pretty much booked solid (the DVC board is full of folks talking about being on the waitlist). Thanksgiving Week of course, would be busy (goes without saying).

If you have the week between the 15th and Thanksgiving, you would have better luck, or if DVC has release a few Villas to CRO for cash ressies (example, DVC member has traded points in for a cruise or something), you might get space. Otherwise, it's pretty close to date to get into the Villas.

Of course, you have those backup reservations, so it doesn't hurt to ask!

 

[asktriplets]

oh man! we had cabin reservations, then cancelled for villa reservations, then cancelled those for cabin reservations again!!!! you all are making me think the villas are the way to go! nothing i can do about it now, though, if there is no availability...i'll just have to enjoy our more rustic lodgings this trip and book the villas for next time (gotta get that 2nd trip in next year before they turn 3 and get expensive!!!)

thanks for your thoughts!

 

[disneyma2]

Wow, triplets...I can only imagine. We just have 1 dd almost 4 and she can be a handful at times!!! We stayed at the cabins in Jan 2004. They were very nice. It was myself, dh, my mom and dd. DD loved that she could chase little lizards on the deck. We did use the kitchen for breakfasts, those that weren't charater. We ate a few dinners there too. At trail ends', you can get pizza to go, we did that for lunch, and ate on the deck, and also dinner one night. Just to let you know, we've done it bpoth ways, we stayed at akl in sept 2003(no kitchen). I have to say that the extra room, per se, being able to put dd to bed, then relax, have a drink, watch tv, was really nice.

We are going back in Dec 2004, originally had the cabins booked, then changed back to AKL. DD loves the animlas on the balcony as she calls it. If you stay at the cabins, I WOULD NOT stay there with out a golf cart. It's so much easier to use then the inter-bus system. We had NO problems at all with transportation there. The golf carts are 44/day, call bike barn now to reserve.....they go fast, I suppose you'd need 2 because of your inlaws/parents.

The Villas will be larger and include a washer/dryer in your unit, that's a big plus! They are more expensive, although renting points would save you $$$. Good luck! Either place is great! The main diffference is space, and being a little isolated/no fancy hotel lobby etc....it depends upon what your preference is

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

The Villas that DVC Members have and the Villas the WDW CRO books as cash reservation are two different groups...a DVC Member isn't able to book using WDW owned Villas without paying cash.

WDW keeps a certain portion of all DVC properties to rent to guest that aren't DVC Members...so you may still be able to make a reservation through CRO.

 

[asktriplets]

thanks, everyone, for your thoughts. i did call today about a 2 bdrm. villa (with the lock out option), and MAN, is it expensive!!!
it was available, though, so dh and i are going to go over all of the details, yet again, and try and make a decision.

thanks!