Advise Needed: Best place to stay with 5 yr old and 3 year old on Disney property

[itrainu]

Planning a trip with adult children and grand kids in Jan/Feb of 2022. Looking to start initial planning now. We have always stayed at Marriott timeshares when in Orlando, so have zero familiarity with Disney properties. Advise needed as to what would be the best option. Recommendations on Disney timeshares, etc.

Our Marriott timeshares trade through Interval, so I guess trading will not be a option......

Give us your recommendations.....Susan

 

[Firepath]

If you can get Saratoga Springs thru an RCI exchange you'll be on Disney Property and be able to use their transportation and free parking, but they are all one BR, sleep 4. I've never had trouble getting SSR in Jan or Feb, even 2 rooms, but things may be different this year. Wherever you stay, have fun! Of regular Disney hotels, I'd choose Contemporary, for easy walk to/from Magic Kingdom and Monorail access, but it's pricey. Moderate resorts, we like Riverside, and some of the rooms sleep 5.

 

[elaine]

So, I'm assuming you'll need a 2 BR. You can rent points from an owner or service or book via Disney direct. DVC is per unit/per night points. The minimum for a week's stay in about 250 points at OKW, SSR, AKV. Other DVC are 300+ points. You can google DVC points charts. The going rate for rental is about $13-17 per point. Much more $$$ thru Disney. Trading into DVC via RCI is usually a 1 BR at SSR. 2 units at SSR would be $500 in trade fees, plus $400 DVC fees, plus exchanging 2 prime RCI units.
Allears.net is a great place to see photos of the different DVCs. Each has a different vibe. I am partial to AKV, where I own, but have stayed in most of them. Those ages would love the animals at AKV and the points charts are reasonable. They're all great IMHO and I'd be happy with any. however, the $ saved by staying in your Marriott (have also stayed in most in O) would pay for a lot of WDW tickets, which are $$$$ now as well. We had years of great off-site WDW trips with young kids before buying DVC. Not trying to dissuade you, just letting you know it's a big investment to stay in a 2BR and maybe not "worth it" IMHO, and that's from a DVC owner. We get a 1BR with a family of 5 and that's worked fine for us--but to go to a 2 BR would not have been cost effective over other very nice off-site places, IMHO. We still trade via RCI for Marriotts and HGVC when we need a 2-3 BR at WDW.

 

[Dean]

Planning a trip with adult children and grand kids in Jan/Feb of 2022. Looking to start initial planning now. We have always stayed at Marriott timeshares when in Orlando, so have zero familiarity with Disney properties. Advise needed as to what would be the best option. Recommendations on Disney timeshares, etc.

Our Marriott timeshares trade through Interval, so I guess trading will not be a option......

Give us your recommendations.....Susan

Unless you own at one of the older Marriott's that trade with RCI, join and deposit, you can't exchange directly. You might look at a private exchange with another owner. Realistically this doesn't sound like an option for you so you might want to consider renting DVC or staying at a moderate resort like Port Orleans. If you can do with a 2 BR, SSR/OKW/AKV lower views will be the cheapest. Otherwise it depends on the age of the kids. If they are younger and MK will be your focus, I'd look at BLT or WL. If they're older (teens or similar), I'd suggest BWV/BCV/Riviera. Just remember that like MVC, lockout's will have a bed and pullout in the second, the difference is it'll be a queen and not a king in the studio side of a L/O. BWV is ONLY L/O for the 2 BR.

 

[Janann]

You can see some virtual tours and videos of the Disney resorts at David's Rentals:

Disney Tours & Videos | DVC Rentals | David's Vacation Club Rentals

Walt Disney World Resort Room Tours and Videos from David's Vacation Club Rentals.

dvcrequest.com

In the middle of the page is a drop down that says "select..." All of the resorts are at Disney World except for the last four on the list. Just going through each resort's photos might provide some inspiration. After that, start researching how many people can stay in each unit, where the resort is located relative to your favorite Disney park, the on-site restaurants, etc. Then start looking at options for renting a unit, renting DVC points, or some other option for getting a unit.

 

[ljmiii]

With a 5yr old and a 3yr old Bay Lake Tower is IMHO by far the best choice. Not only do you get to walk to and from the Magic Kingdom but you get an 'extra'* bathroom in the 1BR and 2BR villas. With young children I expect the MK will be your most common destination and the ability to easily come back for a nap/rest is very nice. There are also so two very 'kid friendly' restaurants - Chef Mickey (character dining) and the Contempo Cafe (one of the better 'quick service' restaurants on property). Lastly, you are on the monorail *and* Bay Lake boat system so you can easily get to the many resort restaurants (better than the food in MK) as well as 'Kid Dinner Theater' like Hoop Dee Doo Revue at Fort Wilderness and the Luau at the Polynesian.

All that said, the Beach Club Villas and Boardwalk Villas allow you to walk to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. Both are good choices...though BCV has Stormalong Bay which is the best pool complex of all the Disney resorts.

Lastly, in the 'less expensive' DVC category - SSR, OKW, and AKV - I'd go with AKV Kidani. Partly because of the animals (always a kid favorite) and partly because of that 'extra' bathroom.

*Bay Lake Tower, the Kidani section of Animal Kingdom Villas, and the Villas at the Grand Californian have 2 full bathrooms in the 1BRs and 3 full bathrooms in the 2BR Villas.

 

[capjak]

Bay lake for Magic Kingdom, Beach Club for kiddie pool area and close to epcot and boat to MGM also nice boardwalk walk in strollers in evenings. I prefer Beach Club but I own there so biased. Also if you go to Beach club you can stoll over to the new ski lift to go to other parks or walk through epcot to monorail to go to magic kingdom....

 

[Monykalyn]

Another option is family suites at Art of Animation if you want on property, plus flexibility with cancelling if needed. It probably isn't much cheaper than renting points through a broker, but the points rental means no changing or cancelling.
Animal Kingdom is my favorite villa-but the downside is no direct method to parks-have to drive or take a bus.
Another option is Cabins at Fort Wilderness-our family really loved this resort with boat to Magic kingdom, but we rented a golf cart from offsite to zip around campgrounds; there is an internal bus so golf carts not strictly necessary but so fun.

If we go for more than a few days and if there is more than 2-3 of us going we tend to stay off property in one of the MVC properties. Actually at Harbor Lake right now lol-doing a resort stay to use up some extra weeks. But we are comfortable driving around Orlando too-also a factor.

 

[Bailey#1]

Another vote for Bay Lake for the same reasons as ljmiii stated.

 

[bnoble]

I think there are three options.

1: Stay in one of Disney's properties. If you want the timeshare experience and a 2BR works for you, I think Bay Lake Tower is probably one of the better bets for reasons explained above. I am not sure you need a theme park view there; I happen to prefer the lake views because they are a bit more peaceful.

2: If you want your "home base" to be an escape from the constant stimulation of a theme park, Old Key West is my sleeper choice. Disney's timeshares tend to be on the small side compared to what you are probably used to, but OKW is the exception. I am particularly fond of the balconies/patios here, with a table and seating for four plus a ceiling fan.

These options will not be cheap, even if renting from an owner. You might find that renting from Disney is a better deal depending on how travel demand adjusts to the "new normal" of COVID.

3: Stay at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. This has a location that is comparable to (and, maybe a bit more central than) either Old Key West or Saratoga Springs. You will find a much better price point here, and that includes the possibility of a larger unit--a 3BR or 4BR. It feels like it is "on property" even though it is not because it is landlocked on three sides by Disney and the fourth by I-4. You will not get other "on property" benefits, but for very young kids those probably are not all that important provided you are comfortable driving back and forth.

We've done all three of these. Each was a great vacation, for different reasons. If the price point isn't too steep and a 2BR works for you, I'd go with one of the first two. But, the third is also great.

 

[chunkygal]

I love okw as the rooms are large and lots of space for kids to "run it off". Would vote against boardwalk as not as much room for spaces in your togetherness

 

[bogey21]

Many moons ago when my kids were 4 and 5 years old and Disney wasn't in the TS Business we stayed in the Contemporary with a package deal. The package included a lot of extras, Breakfast with Minnie and Mickey. etc. What was really nice is that the monorail stopped in the hotel allowing us to take nice air conditioned breaks during the day...

George

 

[silentg]

Although I never stayed at Ft Wilderness, I would try it now if I had young children. You could rent an RV or a cabin big enough for your whole family. With the limited things and changes in the park, there would be more outdoor activities at Ft. wilderness for the kids. There are places that will set up your RV rental for you so you don’t have to tow on in. Good Luck and have fun. We live in the Disney area so we hardly ever stay anywhere in the parks.
Silentg

 

[elaine]

We spent A lot of time at Fw. You can also stay at wilderness lodge dvcs and drive or take the boat to FW activities if you don’t want to cabin/rv.
ds caught a little bass in the creek right by the campfire area. We’ve toasted marshmallows and hot dogs many times. Super fun for kids.

 

[smmatrix]

Disney's Aulani is best place to go with young children. You can stay on property all week, have tons of fun, and not have to worry about the little ones. Really plenty to do with the tikes. You can always drop them off at Aunty's Beach House when you need to escape them.

 

[Dean]

Disney's Aulani is best place to go with young children. You can stay on property all week, have tons of fun, and not have to worry about the little ones. Really plenty to do with the tikes. You can always drop them off at Aunty's Beach House when you need to escape them.

Other than the air travel time and paying for the kids ticket as well, it is nice. Might be able to get any exchange there in the next few months as well. I think the OP was specifically asking about Orlando though.

 

[gwenb]

When we took my kids at that age, we rented "cabins" at Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground. Full kitchen, etc. It has horses, fishing, campfire movies and storytelling, nice pool without being overly big. We rented a golf cart through disney so we didn't need to use the internal bus system, and could just drive ourselves to the boat dock, take the boat express to Magic Kingdom, or to the TTC to get to the other parks. My kids absolutely loved it. You could do one for yourself and one for the kids/grandkids, side by side.

 

[Iggyearl]

ljmiii's, first paragraph sums up my thoughts on Bay Lake Towers. I owned my own business for 24 years and had a hard time getting away. However, my wife and daughter managed to descend on Disneyworld a total or 32 times. My daughter is an expert. We went with her kids 2 years ago and last year (5 y/o and 2 y/o). The convenience and accessibility of BLT is wonderful. If you value your time, and the ability to change course, BLT allows you the flexibility you may need.

 

[ljmiii]

Another option is family suites at Art of Animation if you want on property, plus flexibility with cancelling if needed. It probably isn't much cheaper than renting points through a broker, but the points rental means no changing or cancelling...

If you are a party of 6 the family suites at Art of Animation are indeed a great choice. A bit cramped for 4 adults and 2 kids - particularly if you are used to MVC - but perfectly doable. And AoA is on the Skyliner so you would have bus-free access to EPCOT and HS.

 

[ljmiii]

My other thought is that if you haven't already done so you might want to reserve a nice Orlando MVC villa with some 2022 points....that way you can cancel 61+ days out and not have to worry about using those points anytime soon.

It is entirely unclear what WDW is going to look like as it reopens - particularly in regards to Advanced Dining Reservations and Fastpasses. Or how 'available' tickets for your dates will be. If the advantages of staying 'on property' aren't significant you might just want to drive in each morning. If you have cash reservations at WDW (e.g. an AoA family suite) and a reservation at an Orlando MVC you can then decide what to do much closer to your arrival date.

 

[chunkygal]

Great suggestions for bay lake towers due to the afternoon nap down period and ft wilderness due to the fun things to do factor!

 

[gdrj]

DVC owner here.

1- With 2 young children Bay Lake Towers is a great choice as others have said. Not sure if it was mentioned but you can walk to Magic Kingdom which is nice, especially if you want o break up the day a bit. We personally do a lot of split stays where we stay at BLT for part of the trip when visiting MK and stay at Boardwalk or Beach Club when visiting EPCOT/Hollywood Studios. That may not be ideal for you but I thought worth mentioning.

2-Trading in- Usually trade in is at Saratoga Springs. If you want to stay at BLT you will need to rent points. While some have talked about staying off property, yes it can be nice but IMO, on property is worth it to never have to use a car or even rent a car. There are boards that talk about renting points and that process.

3- Bonnet Creek is close and is within the Disney footprint (kind of), but there is still the need to get in your car or take their shuttle which can get pricey and also IMO is somewhat limiting. Again personal choice.

4- Personally the Family Suites at Art of Animation would not be my choice. Bus or car for all parks. Not easy to take a break mid day due to busses, plus very large resort so busses are large and crowded. Lots of little crying kids on bus at end of teh day. Rooms/resort is a value resort so more limited, no sit down restaurant etc.

 

[ljmiii]

4- Personally the Family Suites at Art of Animation would not be my choice. Bus or car for all parks....

I agree with pretty much everything else you said. Particularly the advantages of a split stay between BLT and BCV/BWV...there is nothing better than being able to walk to and from every park but AK.

That said, I seconded the suggestion of AoA because it is on the Disney Skyliner so no bus to EPCOT or HS. And since it would be a cash reservation OP would have much greater flexibility if they decide not to go or to stay off property.

 

[Janann]

The OP hasn't said another word. I think we scared her off.

 

[Deb & Bill]

You might even want to consider the Treehouse Villas at Saratoga Springs. They sleep nine with one room with an attached bath and a queen bed, a second bedroom with a queen bed and a third bedroom with a set of bunk beds that might be good for the kids. Then there is a queen sleeper sofa and twin sleeper chair in the living room. There is a pool there, unthemed. If you are going to the theme parks, you can either take a bus from the THV to the Grandstand and there catch a theme park bus or just walk over to the Grandstand and catch a bus. Or you could drive, but you only have one parking space at the THV. Otherwise, the kids the age of your grandkids, Bay Lake Tower might be the best choice. If you don't need a full kitchen or washer and dryer in your villa, you could also try the Polynesian Villas, but they are all studios that sleep five each. Most of them connect to another studio, too (very rare with DVC).