Art of Animation vs. Ft. Wilderness with Little Kids

[Tom P.]

Well, folks, I appreciate all the input, but this actually became a moot point this morning.

My wonderful wife checked Disney's site and found free dining available at AoA. She called our TA immediately, and the TA was able to get it! So we are now booked at AoA *and* with the free dining! Problem solved.

I do appreciate all the input everyone provided, though.

 

[sxeensweet]

Well, folks, I appreciate all the input, but this actually became a moot point this morning.

My wonderful wife checked Disney's site and found free dining available at AoA. She called our TA immediately, and the TA was able to get it! So we are now booked at AoA *and* with the free dining! Problem solved.

I do appreciate all the input everyone provided, though.

So happy that happened and worked out for you!! Hope your family has a wonderful vacation!!

 

[slappy magoo]

Well, folks, I appreciate all the input, but this actually became a moot point this morning.

My wonderful wife checked Disney's site and found free dining available at AoA. She called our TA immediately, and the TA was able to get it! So we are now booked at AoA *and* with the free dining! Problem solved.

I do appreciate all the input everyone provided, though.

Biggest mistake of your life. It'll all end in tears.

j/k have a great trip.

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

Yay!

 

[kelknight84]

You should still visit the Fort and checkout the campfire sing a long if you have time!

 

[Mouse_Trap]

A cabin at FW, or a value motel room with some tacky decorations?
I don't think that's a difficult call.

If you want to save money and/or have more space then consider a villa offsite. You can literally halve your costs, have 3/4 times the space....transit time to the parks will probably be quicker too.

 

[slappy magoo]

A cabin at FW, or a value motel room with some tacky decorations?
I don't think that's a difficult call.

If you want to save money and/or have more space then consider a villa offsite. You can literally halve your costs, have 3/4 times the space....transit time to the parks will probably be quicker too.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but the OP has a loooot of little kids. Getting that many little ones on and off a WDW bus isn't going to be a snap, but neither is getting all of them into a car (perhaps a rental, which means the extra cost of the car plus all those rented booster or infant seats will really take a chunk out of savings from the lodging), driving to the lot of the park du jour, only to shepherd them on to a tram to the front gate (or in the case of the MK, the ferry or monorail) versus the bus straight to the front gates.

I only have 2 kids, and getting them set for a trip by car to a park (either at WDW or something local like Sesame Place) can be a major PItA. I can't even imagine keeping 5 kids together in a giant WDW theme park lot.

Or if they use transportation provided by the offsite company, chances are it won't be as frequent as onsite. For all the complaints we throw at the buses, theyr'e still usually far more frequent than every half hour or hour like offsite.

 

[SeanWM48]

i've stayed at FW three times but have no kids so i don't know if i can help much. as stated above there is a lot to do at FW so if you're a group that plans on being at the resort or if you have an 'off day' or 'off afternoon' set up, you'll have way more fun at FW. their dinner event/show called "Hoop de Doo Revue" is awesome and the food at Trail's End is great. i assume kids would love all this.

i've always been a big fan of the boat access to the kingdom. yes sometimes the boat fills up but there are usually 2 in action so you rarely wait long. certainly not longer than for a bus.

i do recommend a golf cart but that will run you a good $65 a day so if price is a factor that can really make things expensive.

 

[Tom P.]

A cabin at FW, or a value motel room with some tacky decorations?
I don't think that's a difficult call.

I appreciate the input, but your perspective is just obviously very different than our family's. The rustic, "you're out in the woods" theming of FW just doesn't appeal to us at all. Whereas the theming of the family suites at AoA most definitely does. And, quite frankly, having looked at the floor plans and watched the detailed videos of both, I like what the suites at AoA have to offer better than the cabins. Yeah, you get a full kitchen at FW, but we won't use that. We will, however, use 2 full bathrooms with 7 people.

In short, AoA just suits our tastes better. With the ability to get free dining, it wasn't even a question. We grabbed AoA the moment we could. My only debate was when FW was going to be cheaper. Now that we've got the lower rate on AoA, no looking back!

 

[slappy magoo]

Yeah, you get a full kitchen at FW, but we won't use that. We will, however, use 2 full bathrooms with 7 people.

Not trying to change your mind, but I will suggest you try to maximize the use of your suite's kitchenette best you can versus AoA's food court. The food court has some tasty options but it's distractingly loud, a bit of a madhouse, especially if everyone wants something different to eat because of all the different food stations to get different items. We had two meals there - an off-hours lunch and a dinner = and while my kids liked being looky-loos, I intend to avoid it if we ever go back. We in fact were going to eat there for dinner the one night we stayed, and opted to see where we could get a table service meal instead (wound up driving to WL for Whispering Canyon which seemed SOOO much quieter. Seriously. Whispering Canyon was the more relaxing and quieter option).

So if you were planning on breakfasts at the food court, see if you can get by with cereal/bagels in the room. If you were planning on lunches, try to pack some sandwich fixings if you can fit enough of what you need in the little fridge. Either that or anticipate lunches in the parks you intend to visit or nearby hotels (example, on a day you're going to MK, walk over or monorail to Contemporary and get lunch there. Even if you need to go back to MK after that to catch a bus to AoA for naptime, you'll probably save time versus having lunch at AoA).

 

[Flmom81]

Fort Wilderness!!
Just got back from there a month ago and we loved it!! My kids are 4 and 1 1/2 and had so much fun there. We actually booked a bounce back to stay again in August. We rented a golf cart and that just added to the experience in my opinion. There is tons to do there for the kids. I liked that my kids could be loud in the cabin and not bother anyone. We have stayed at AOA twice and I truly wasn't impressed. The pools are ALWAYS crowded as well as the food court.