Help With Choices-Resorts. 4 Adults 2 Babies

[Tooning]

Help With Choices-Resorts. 6 Adults 2 Babies

Background And Info
All 6 Adults have been to Disney World before. My wife and I have been twice in past 4 years. I have been a Few more times. Friends have been twice quite a few years ago. And other 2(mothers) have been once each. and the babies have never been- but that doesn't matter for this help lol. We are going March 6th to 20th 2012. We are renting 2 cars but need to stay on resort if people want to go back early(especially people with babies). We are going to be booking Saturday August 27th. We are going to disney World 7 days + 1 to Downtown Disney and the rest to the other parks in Orlando Area

Ok so here is the research I have done(I have never stayed on resort before). We looked at Getting 3 Rooms-2 Adults per room in the Value Resorts. One with doubles-Mothers will share 1 room and other 2 with Biggest beds we can get(king or Queens) for around $2000.00 per room-without any discounts(got a pin code but not for our dates D'OH).

We also looked at buying Points and staying at the AKL which from the chart we need 486 points which equals $6318 so only $300.00 more dollars but we then get less privacy have to share bathrooms etc. but Have a kitchen(Although I have been told nobody intends to cook, although I enjoy cooking so I would if needed lol).

Which is the better option in your opinions? Any other options without going any higher price wise plus still on resort? The rooms I would think would be way nicer at akl plus better bussing options I think, but the privacy and not having to share bathrooms would be nice too. I Just can't decide and we are all split with a couple of whatevers. So I am pretty much going to make the Final decison after talking about one last time on Saturday. Food isn't really too huge of a difference maker as we already have our favorites picked out.

Thank You for any opinions and any help.

P.S. If Any Travel Agents could help or Have deals alreadyI would book through you-Just rooms probably though as I get my CAA discounts on tickets and just watch the airlines every day.

 

[BigRedDad]

4 adults and 2 babies = 2 rooms I think unless I am missing something. I would look at 2 Studios for rental points if you are renting points. That would be the cheaper option. If you go that route, I would look at AKL or Boardwalk.

It is confusing on how many rooms you want. Wish I could give more advice.

 

[Tooning]

Sorry I edited it there are 6 adults

 

[ml123_9]

Personally, I would do the values. The extra bathrooms and space will probably come in handy. Plus, 6 adults in one room, even if it is 2 bedrooms, sounds a little cramped. Just my 2 pennies. Good luck and have fun. Planning is almost as fun as going.

 

[beckyj3266]

Have you thought about the Fort Wilderness cabins? We had a group of 5 adults & 2 toddlers in a cabin last summer & we loved it! Magic Kingdom was a quick 15 minute boat ride away - a huge bonus with the current monorail issue!

 

[BigRedDad]

That helps With 6 adults and 2 babies, I would prefer separate rooms. In your situation, I would look at 3 rooms at a Value resort or 3 studio rooms through DVC rental. It will come out to about the same price I think. The only issue with renting points is that there is a possibility of the owner canceling the reservation or selling their deed.

 

[Tooning]

Thanks For the replies I will Check out the Wilderness Lodge Cabins. You guys may be right about the seperate rooms. Will Keep looking and More thinking

 

[dreamfinder]

Well, how well do you all get along? Are you going to go nuts being stuck in 3 rooms together for that long? Also, what are the chances one of the 3 groups would need to cancel?
If you think there is even a chance that someone may need to cancel, I wouldn't do the 2 bedroom. Unless the other 2 parties can afford to pay for it by themselves. Not to mention thats a fairly big chunk of points you would need to rent, not sure how many people but that many up for rent as they would all need to come from a single person. Also, 2 people would end up sleeping in the common area. But, you would have laundry in room which may be a huge selling point for a trip that long and any trip with babies.
Going with either studio point rentals or the value rooms would help to get around the cancellation issue. But, the value resorts don't have very many rooms with king beds. For some reason I think its like a dozen or so at each. So the odds of you getting 2 of them are kinda slim. Also, even though you can request to be near each other, you may end up in different buildings.
And the studios don't have double beds, but rather a queen/king (don't remember which) and possibly a pull out (depending on resort). But I believe they should all have a pack n play in room for the babies.
With a DVC rental, you know exactly what you will pay. And if you go through a 3rd party broker, they usually have legal agreements to help cover you to ensure you get what you paid for. But with a regular room rental, there may be discount available at a later date for at least part of, if not all of your trip. If you do go this route, booking through someone like Kingdom Konsultants should help to greatly simply applying any discounts.
So based on that, which is most important to you?
I think for a trip that long, I would want to have the separate rooms. With the DVC there will be at least one couple that cannot go into a separate room. But studio or or value is really up to you and how you think you would spend your time. The DVC resorts tend to be a little more peaceful to relax if that is your goal.

 

[slappy magoo]

If you rent a 2 bedroom villa, chances are, it'll be a "lockoff" anyway - a 1BR villa and a studio with a connecting door. The big questions would center around sleeping arrangements - there would be a master bedroom, and a 2nd bedroom with 2 queen beds, as well as a sleeper sofa. Someone may wind up unhappy with their sleeping arrangements. So I'd suggest working that out first, whether you all kind of rotate and each get a few nights in the master bedroom, or one couple pays more for the privilege.

Otherwise, I'd suggest seeing if you can rent the points necessary for 3 studios, which I believe would be around the same amount of points, perhaps less, than renting a 2BR. You won't get full laundry in the room, but you'll still at least get a kitchenette in each (small fridge, microwave, coffeemaker). You'll also get noticeably larger rooms than the values in resorts with more amenities and nicer grounds. If either baby is cranky enough to make getting out of the park a necessity, it might be nice at the very least to be able to take that child for a walk around the resort grounds.

Because you do have small kids, I'm also going to gently suggest renting points at Saratoga Springs Resorts as opposed to Animal Kingdom Villas. YES, it's the red-headed stepchild of of the DVC resorts, but for a party like yours it holds some advantages. For example, a number of quiet pools. Last time out we stayed in the Congress Park section, and when we went back to the room so our baby could sleep or was too fussy to be in the parks, one would stay in the room to nap or play with the baby while the other one would walk around the corner to the quiet pool, then switch. When she wasn't too fussy, we'd bring her with us, keeping her out of the sun. Another advantage is that Turf Club is a very nice restaurant but rarely busy. If a cranky baby forces you to scratch some dinner plans, it's often easy to score a table without ADRs there. You're also walking distance to DTD, so a leisurely stroll to soothe a baby could also result in a shopping trip if you don't feel like being in the room but also don't want to waste a day on a park ticket when you know you won't be able to enjoy it until/unless baby calms down.

AKL is also a lovelt resort with plenty to see, if only savannah watching, but if you wind up spending a lot of time at the resort, you may wind up feeling a little cooped up. True, you plan to have cars, but being able to walk someplace without worrying about car seats or parking is nice too.

Another suggestion would be trying to rent at Bay Lake Towers. You'll have monorail access to two other resorts, boat access to Wilderness Lodge & Fort Wilderness, walking distance to MK.

Finally, renting at either Boardwalk or the Studios would also give you much more breathing/walking around room, being able to get to other resorts and 2 of the parks during a stroll. Save the Animal Kingdom Villas for when the kids are older and enjoy the views more.

 

[Master Yoda]

So far it looks like you have been give great advice. Having three rooms, whether they are 3 rooms at a value, 3 studios, etc, would be may main goal. If you were only going for a few days, cramming everyone into a cabin or something similar might be an option but with a 14 night stay I feel that even the best of friends could come to blows if crammed too tight for that long.

 

[eroyee]

I would definitely go with the 3 value rooms. Everyone will need their privacy at times. And the 3 bathrooms will be so nice. The adults without babies will probably not be spending much time in their rooms anyway. Use your extra money you save for something else!!

 

[Tooning]

Thanks Everybody for the Advice and the opinions. I think I am going to go with the 3 rooms. But I'll look into the cabins.


You guys have been a big help as you always are:kiss: