Help deciding on where to stay - Old Key West or Art of Animation

[larryl9797]

Hi! This is my first trip with my kids and my parents. Our party consists of: 5 adults (two seniors) and 2 children (5 and 9). We have done some initial pricing and the difference between OKW (2 bedroom villa) and AoA (one suite and one standard room) is not thant much - considering. My daughters have some dietary restrictions and my mom is really limited.. so I was thinking the full kitchen would be helpful. My parents live in Florida and are driving up so we will have access to a car. My main concern is distance from the parks and activities for the kids. Also, since I have never been to WDW with kids - are there NOT TO BE MISSED stuff I should build into our agenda? (i.e. character breakfasts?)

 

[bsiev1977]

Character breakfasts definitely. Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom is great. Also highly recommended is Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary.

Chef Mickey's is great because you get to see the main Disney characters: Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto.

 

[awesomeinabox]

I've never been in AoA but I do know key west is great. We stayed there with four adults in a one bedroom and loved the amount of space afforded to us. Two of us shared a king bed and the others took the pullout and the pullout chair. The extra bathrooms were great and it was nice to each have our own space. Yes the distance to some rooms stinks but if you have a car you will be ok.

 

[bsiev1977]

I don't know much about Key West, but from what I've seen AoA seems to be very kid friendly.

 

[lunchbox1175]

My vote would be OKW, wouldn't want anything to do with the busses leaving the parks at night, that alone would make it better.

 

[luv]

OKW is much nicer than AoA. If you are able to stay in either hotel, pick OKW. AoA is fine if that is the best you can do, but OKW is much better. Much prettier, calmer, whole bit.

I honestly wouldn't worry about distance from the parks. If you're in a WDW hotel, you are close enough. Some hotels, like AKL, get a bad rap for being "so far from everything", but they really aren't. I've actually seen posts from people saying theyd stay at CSR but not AKL, because AKL is so far from everything, lol.

I don't think anything is a must-do. I think everyone should do whatever interests them. The Birnbaum Guide is really fun and cute. It is a great help when it comes to selecting stuff you want to do. Unofficial Guide has loads of info to help with planning it all...and helps with picking one thing over another, too.

But, again, everyone should do what they're drawn to. The most popular rides aren't always everyone's favorite. I'd take IASW over TSMM any day of the week.

Happy planning.

 

[SkipperButler]

OKW will probably be the better choice so that everyone can be together in the same room.

At AoA, the single rooms are in a separate area from the suites so there could be quite a bit of space between your rooms. This could be difficult on your parents and some of the rooms are a little bit of a walk from the parking lots.

OKW has parking in front of each building so it shouldn't be too far of a walk. If you chose to use the Resort Busses there are multiple bus stops throughout the property.

 

[popcenturylover]

Hi! This is my first trip with my kids and my parents. Our party consists of: 5 adults (two seniors) and 2 children (5 and 9). We have done some initial pricing and the difference between OKW (2 bedroom villa) and AoA (one suite and one standard room) is not thant much - considering. My daughters have some dietary restrictions and my mom is really limited.. so I was thinking the full kitchen would be helpful. My parents live in Florida and are driving up so we will have access to a car. My main concern is distance from the parks and activities for the kids. Also, since I have never been to WDW with kids - are there NOT TO BE MISSED stuff I should build into our agenda? (i.e. character breakfasts?)

AOA is great for kids! We stayed there in Sept. with our almost 4 year old & she loved it! My only complaint is that the standard rooms are a bit of a walk to the main building especially, for a cup of coffee or soda! We ate at Chef Mickey's for dinner. Great atmosphere, not so great food! We also ate at Akershus for breakfast. Great atmosphere & great food! They have a Princess parade in which your little princes & princesses parade around the restaurant with Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, & Belle. It was the best character meal! We ate at O'hana for dinner on our 1st night & it was by far the best meal we had all week! Get autographs & take lots of pictures! Oh, & don't forget to have fun!

 

[Figgy1]

Hi! This is my first trip with my kids and my parents. Our party consists of: 5 adults (two seniors) and 2 children (5 and 9). We have done some initial pricing and the difference between OKW (2 bedroom villa) and AoA (one suite and one standard room) is not thant much - considering. My daughters have some dietary restrictions and my mom is really limited.. so I was thinking the full kitchen would be helpful. My parents live in Florida and are driving up so we will have access to a car. My main concern is distance from the parks and activities for the kids. Also, since I have never been to WDW with kids - are there NOT TO BE MISSED stuff I should build into our agenda? (i.e. character breakfasts?)

Go with the kitchen my ds has allergies and we can't live without one besides you'll be able to eat breakfast in the room some mornings to save time for touring. My must do meal is the Crystal Palace if you are on the dining plan might I suggest a late lunch or early supper(still 1 credit) great food and POOH and a nice break in the day. If you have girls do a princess meal. Must do for my children when they were that age Dumbo, SM, Splash, BTMR andPOTC in MK. EPCOT Soarin, Mission Space, Test Track, Character Spot at rope drop run and it won't be so crowded, kidcot fun stopsa nd Turtle Talk with Crush. HS ToT, RnR, Star Tours (several times) Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid and Fantasmic. AK KS, Finding Nemo the Musical, Dinosuar, Kali River Rapids,EE and PrimevilWhirl. I had little daredevils. The Unofficial guide has an excellent section for children. No matter what you choose to do they'll have so much fun!

 

[bmarkelon]

I agree with the crowd on this, OKW is the better resort for your travel party. Yes the kids would love AOA but they will have a blast no matter where they are and your adults will be much more comfortable in the Villa. OKW was my first "on property" experience and after that stay we were never off again!

 

[RonAnnArbor]

Just as a heads up, though -- OKW is overwhelmingly a better choice IF YOU HAVE A CAR while you are there. If you do not, then avoid it like the plague -- AoA has good transportation to/from the parks. OKW at least has a boat to Downtown Disney, but if you do not have a car, the walk to the rooms is often VERY far, and the bus transportation to the theme parks is horrendous (about half of what the other resorts offer)...