Howdy all,

I am planning a early December trip to WDW. Now for the hard part: where to stay. We are planning on staying on property but not committed to any one resort yet. I am trying to achieve a balance and come away with all of my requirements/factors satisfied. If you can provide you suggestions that best fit my goals I would really appreciate it. For those of you who love going to WDW, this is your chance to plan an imaginary trip!

My requirments/factors:
1. 2 kids. 5 and 1yr.
2. I am cheap
3. The wife LOVES the idea of AK.
4. I am horrified of long bus trips - especially to and from MK - with 2 tired children
5. I am a firm believer in mid day naps while on vacation.
6. We will be there over our 10 year anniversary, so a suite or some other form of privacy might be nice.
7. My wife and I did the all star thing in 2000. It was great for just the two of us, maybe not for the 4 us us.
8. but I am cheap.

See, its a real pickle. I am looking forward to your creativity.

Howdy all,

I am planning a early December trip to WDW. Now for the hard part: where to stay. We are planning on staying on property but not committed to any one resort yet. I am trying to achieve a balance and come away with all of my requirements/factors satisfied. If you can provide you suggestions that best fit my goals I would really appreciate it. For those of you who love going to WDW, this is your chance to plan an imaginary trip!

My requirments/factors:
1. 2 kids. 5 and 1yr.
2. I am cheap
3. The wife LOVES the idea of AK.
4. I am horrified of long bus trips - especially to and from MK - with 2 tired children
5. I am a firm believer in mid day naps while on vacation.
6. We will be there over our 10 year anniversary, so a suite or some other form of privacy might be nice.
7. My wife and I did the all star thing in 2000. It was great for just the two of us, maybe not for the 4 us us.
8. but I am cheap.

See, its a real pickle. I am looking forward to your creativity.

I assume your reference to the AK, is your wife's interest in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. The "other" lower-priced Deluxe hotel is the Wilderness Lodge. An advantage to the WL is that it has boat transportation, as well as bus transportation to the Magic Kingdom. It is beautifully themed, and a very warm and inviting atmosphere. It is one of my favorite hotels, and my kids absolutely loved it. It is not the least-expensive choice, but, in my opinion, a very good value.

It depends on what you mean by "cheap". Do you mean $89 per night cheap, or $250 per night cheap? The busses are less crowded on the deluxe resort routes. If you are driving, I suggest you drive to the parks. It's MUCH faster and you get to park for free if you are on-property.

We've stayed at all three tiers of resorts. The rooms are all basically the same size. The values are a bit smaller. The biggest difference is the bed. The more you pay, the more comfy they are. We're planning our trip for October, and like you, I'm cheap. I just can't justify paying more for a moderate than a value room just for the bed. I'm gonna bring my own bed topper.

Good luck!

Welcome to MP!!

In regards to the bus rides... Generally speaking, regardless of where you stay, there will be a park or two that will take longer to get to than others. The good news is that there is not all that much difference overall.

You mention how you are frugal. A junior suite at the WL will give you some extra room but not cost a fortune. However, if costs are more important than anything else, try a family suite at the ASMu. It will cost more than a regular room but still be in the "moderate" price range. And since it is a two-room suite, there will be lots of room for both adults and the kids.

When are you going in December? It is a great time to go.

There is the family suite in AS Music that's not too dear.

I think the combination of "cheap" and "suite" only really go together offsite.

I would say invest the money in the Contemporary Tower. Yes, it is not cheap.

However, the rooms are among the largest on property. Each room has two queen beds and a day bed. There are several restaurants and shops just an elevator ride away.

The walk to the MK Bus Station from the entrance to the Contemporary is about the same distance as the walk from the MK Bus Station to the MK Entrance. Or it is one stop from the MK monorail station to the Contemporary.

I concur with Poolslide that the All Star Music's suites would be the cheapest on property. From what I've read, the suites cost about $10 more than 2 rooms would cost, so you may want to just go for 2 adjoining rooms. As to the busses, I strongly recommend that you get a rental car at the airport. Cars are cheap in Orlando, like around $150 to $200 for a week's rental. And it'll save you the hassle of waiting for a bus on either end of your park storming day.

I'll echo what Dan said about the rental car. I'd do the ASMu suite, save a bit of money and use it for a rental car. We had some nightmarish bus trips home from parks when our kids were as little as yours the trip we didn't have a car. We like to take the bus/boat/monorail to the parks in morning. Head back to the resort for a swim/rest in the afternoon and then drive to the park for the evening so we can avoid the crowded busses. It's no fun riding a packed bus, standing while holding a 5yo. It's a quick judge of character to see who offers you a seat and who doesn't!

In regards to the buses, if you are going during the first couple of weeks in December, you will most likely experience lower crowd levels, and subsequently, easier bus trips. From my experience if there was a time I did not need a rental car, it would be during the slower, early-December timeframe. Not trying to contradict those who do prefer a rental, just sharing my experience. (And one of my kids was around 1 that time as well.)

To add to that, if you stay till park close, take your time leaving the park. By the time you get to the bus stop you will have minimal waits and you get to squeeze every minute you can out of the park.

As for the ASMu suite vs 2 adjoining rooms... I would just spend the couple bucks to get the suite. You automatically get two adjoining rooms and a small bar area with a small fridge and a microwave. (That in of itself may be worth the extra charge, especially with little kids.)

Another vote for the Family Suites at ASMu. It really is the only suite option on property in the more moderate range. For the extra $10 over 2 adjoining rooms, you get a coffee maker, fridge and micro-as well as a queen bed for you and your SO.

I love Annie's idea of the half/half bus/car thing with the rental car. Simple bus rides in the morning when everyone is fresh and excited; easier transits "home" at night when everyone is tired.

Having that mini- "kitchen" should allow you to miss the craziness of the food court at breakfast at a Value-that's a good thing. Beds-well-like Pookster...a bed topper might be in order. But, maybe not-the Suites are relatively new.

There are suites at Coronado Springs(a moderate) and all of the home-away-from home resorts and Fort Wilderness too-but the Music ones are the cheapest way to go.

Thanks for all the useful info! You are all my hero’s!

I should clarify that while I am cheap, I obviously know what I am getting into on this trip. The flight to WDW and the whole on site experience is not for the overly-Frugal. It seems to me that the Grand Flordian is out, but if my experts tell me that I need to go to place X to have the best possible trip I will take it under consideration.

It seems that the primary votes are for suites at ASMu + rental car. I will ponder that, pop-warner wasn’t too bad in 2000.

Any thoughts on any thoughts on beach club or boardwalk villas?

I have only read about this so someone else will have to explain, but it sounded good to me. I believe you can 'rent' DVC points from people and thus get access to some of the suites that the DVC properties offer. Basically, if you want some proper privacy for an anniversary trip you definately need a suite somewhere or 2 adjoining rooms.

I have only read about this so someone else will have to explain, but it sounded good to me. I believe you can 'rent' DVC points from people and thus get access to some of the suites that the DVC properties offer. Basically, if you want some proper privacy for an anniversary trip you definately need a suite somewhere or 2 adjoining rooms.

There are several DVC properties at WDW. The two largest resorts are Old Key West and Saratoga Springs. Several hotels also have adjourning DVC villas: Beach Club, Boardwalk, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and Wilderness Lodge. The villas range from studios, which is basically a hotel room with a kitchenette, to full villas with one, two, or three bedrooms, full kitchens, a living room, and laundry facilities. The studios have common, but free, laundry rooms. A one-bedroom should be sufficient for the OP; there is a fold-out couch in the living room, and plenty of room for a crib, There are two ways to stay in a DVC, if you are not a DVC owner. You can book directly with Disney, but it is a really expensive way to go. To rent points, you contract with a DVC owner for the use of their points. The going rate is about $10 per point, maybe up to about $12. To see how many points you would need, you have to consult a points chart. One source for that is DVCbyresale, which also has links from the allearsnet.com site (just look under the section for Home Away from Home Resorts). Before we bought into the DVC ourselves, I rented enough points for a Sunday-Thursday stay in a studio at OKW, and it ran me roughly what it would have to stay at a moderate. The studio was bigger, and the resort amenities were consistent with the Deluxe resorts. If you go that route, you need to be aware that you are trusting the owner to make the reservation for you, because you would have to pay the cash to them. You would, likely, be at OKW (which has larger rooms), or SS, just based on availability, if you rent points.

I don't know what you are looking for as privacy in a suite, but I wouldn't pay the high price of an ASM suite with a 5 year old and 1 year old. I am too cheap to pay more than the price of 2 rooms for that. If you had 2 older kids that needed 2 bathrooms in the morning that would be different. Just my opinion though, others here love the deluxes, but I can't justify the expense for the little amount of time we spend in our room. I agree that if you don't want to carry 2 tired kids on bus rides, consider a rental car, just remember that there will be a charge for carseats so figure that in. Check Mousesavers for discount codes and play around online to get the best rates.

OK, so now I know that you are not only thinking about the values, I will put in my vote: the wilderness lodge. we stayed there in jan/feb and we LOVED it - and I think it would be great for you for the following reasons. First, transport to and from the MK is a breeze and with two small kids, my guess is that this will be your primary park. You can catch the boat over in the morning, which is always fun, and catch the bus home in the evening. The bus was hardly used at all while we were there; every night the line for the boat would be 2-3 boats long (ie at least 30-40 minutes long) but there would be no one at the bus stop, which always arrived within 5 minutes of us getting to the stop, and takes all of 4 minutes to get home on. a breeze! your kids will LOVE the pool, which is fabulous (as are the hot tubs) - so well themed. the food choices are excellent - the whispering canyon would be great for kids that age (very entertaining!). getting to the other resorts is also easy - short (15-20 minute) bus trips. while we were there, the Epcot bus was shared with Camp Wilderness but the bus always goes first to the WL which means you get first pick at the seats on the way out, and dropped off first on the way home. Plus you can always catch the ferry over to the contemporary or MK and catch the monorail to Epcot if you prefer.

it is also affordable = we got an AP rate of $175 a night, but the normal rate is about $225 a night, which is, in Disney terms, affordable for a deluxe.

book a room with bunk beds for the kids, and ask for a room up on the 4-5th floors with a woods view overlooking the MK, and you can watch the fireworks each night from your room. its just wonderful!

:)

Wilderness is a great bang for the buck, but I LOVE POFQ!

Don't be too cheap on anniversary...go Wilderness Lodge..nice boat ride to MK,Romantic view off balcony while kids sleep,nice pool less noise than the all stars...similiar decor to AKL...;)

I'd definitely 2nd, 3rd, 4th... you can't go wrong with the Wilderness Lodge- it is one of the best themed resorts on property and right in the heart of the magic (Magic Kingdom)

I would opt for Port Orleans. If you go with Riverside, you can get a trundle bed so your kids do not have to share a bed. I think if you spend the $ saved on a rental car and upgrade to the moderate, you can have a bigger, nicer room, better beds and amenities (including great restaurants - way better than the all stars). Plus the cost of a family suite at All Star is more than a room at PO. In the suite, there is a separate bedroom, but the kids would sleep on a pull-out couch or chair. You'd have a microwave and fridge in the suite, whereas at the PO you wouldn't have a micro, but you DO have a fridge. Either way there is only one bathroom.

Also, the PO offers boat transportation to/from Downtown Disney in addition to the buses. The buses to the All Stars (except pop) all share a bus route and tend to be very crowded - whereas the PO FQ / R buses only run there.

Just my 2cents.... Either way - have fun! :D

I drive a bus at Disney and when I stay there I like the Boardwalk and Beach Club Resorts. and you can walk or take the boat to Epcot or to the Hollywood Studios. and since they are about half way between the Magic and Animal Kingdoms the bus rides are not bad. The restaurants in this area ( we call the EPCOT Resorts ) are great. The ESPN club is right on the boardwalk. :)