Resorts. Help me choose

[katrinabennett]

I think Art of Animation seems so adorable. And the dedicated bus things appeals to me.
However my H is curious about Animal Kingdom - animal watching rooms. But that one seems annoying with the buses.
So then I think a monorail resort would be the best, but they seem more adult. But convenient?

Help!
My child will be 5. I want to make at least 2 breakfast reservations at the earliest times. And we plan to come back to our room in the middle of the day.

Things that are not important - food choices at the resort

[miss1180]

The Polynesian is on the monorail and has a new kids water play area that looks fun!
We stayed at wilderness lodge last year when my son was 4- and it was great!! Boat right to magic kingdom, buses were quick, they also have a kids water play area and water slide that my son loved!! But some construction going on there now. So not sure what that would be like...
Art of animation is really cute for that age though! I never stayed there but took my son to walk around there- the characters all over are really cute!!!
It's so tough! But you really can't go wrong I don't think :-)

[Deleted]

The monorail resorts ARE totally convenient and art of animation is adorable. It has a great pool, it's adorable and way more affordable than a monorail resort. But it comes down to what you prefer? More convenience or better price? You would enjoy either I'm sure

(Can't comment on the AK resorts...we haven't stayed there yet)

[Deleted]

Aug 1, 2016 7:51:05 GMT -5 katrinabennett said:

I think Art of Animation seems so adorable. And the dedicated bus things appeals to me.
However my H is curious about Animal Kingdom - animal watching rooms. But that one seems annoying with the buses.
So then I think a monorail resort would be the best, but they seem more adult. But convenient?

Help!
My child will be 5. I want to make at least 2 breakfast reservations at the earliest times. And we plan to come back to our room in the middle of the day.

Things that are not important - food choices at the resort

AKL is a great resort. I have really never had a bad bus experience there. The bus stops 2 places ( Kidani and Jambo) but it's not crazy. 

The Poly is a fantastic resort with kids. It's also the BEST for transportation in that you can walk to TTC and hop on the Epcot Monorail OR take the MK monorail from the resort OR take either of 2 boats that go to the MK either from the Poly OR TTC. The resort has a very small footprint so it is easy to walk from one side to the other and there is no really BAD location ( other than DVC rooms facing the water, the boat horns are LOUD) 

[Deleted]

Also if you are leaning towards AKL or Poly look into renting DVC points. It is MUCH cheaper. It puts AKL Standard View rooms on par with AOA family suites in terms of cost. Poly Studios are also not too expensive to rent.

Rooms at either of these resorts could be $$$ to book straight through Disney.

[ilikedonuts]

AKL is great but it's so far to come back to every day for a mid break that we always felt like we wasted so much time traveling back to the room. We've stayed there three times. Twice pre kids and once when dd1 was 18 months old. Awesome pools and the lobby, animals, etc are super cool.

[Wines Not Whines]

I've never stayed at AKL, because it seems so far from everything (well, except for AK, which is our least favorite park, hence my lack of desire to stay there). I don't think you can go wrong with a monorail resort, but they're the most expensive. I don't think they're too "adult." There are tons of kids everywhere!

[katrinabennett]

Aug 1, 2016 11:26:08 GMT -5 @savestheday said:

Also if you are leaning towards AKL or Poly look into renting DVC points. It is MUCH cheaper. It puts AKL Standard View rooms on par with AOA family suites in terms of cost. Poly Studios are also not too expensive to rent.

Rooms at either of these resorts could be $$$ to book straight through Disney.

Is there a renting DVC points for dummies? I don't get it all.
And I am Canadian, I don't have a Disney reward card etc.
Can I still book with an agent? So confused when people put that in their posts

[Deleted]

Aug 1, 2016 13:28:01 GMT -5 katrinabennett said:

Aug 1, 2016 11:26:08 GMT -5 @savestheday said:

Also if you are leaning towards AKL or Poly look into renting DVC points. It is MUCH cheaper. It puts AKL Standard View rooms on par with AOA family suites in terms of cost. Poly Studios are also not too expensive to rent.

Rooms at either of these resorts could be $$$ to book straight through Disney.

Is there a renting DVC points for dummies? I don't get it all.
And I am Canadian, I don't have a Disney reward card etc.
Can I still book with an agent? So confused when people put that in their posts

dvc basics


This is HOW you rent a DVC room basically. In essence Davids ( or another broker) is the intermediary between you and a DVC owner. You rent the amount of points needed for the room size, location and time of year of your visit ( there is a calculator on the site). The fee per point is 13.50 -15.00 I think. You are NOT booking through Disney but through a third party. You cannot use an agent (I don't think) to book a DVC point rental. Booking through a broker is the safest way to go. That way the member cannot steal your money and not book you a room. 

After you book you will get a confirmation code you can input in MDE and you will be able to see the reservation and book your dining and FP plus. 

DVC has a later check in time AND there is no daily mousekeeping. 

[ssmjlm]

We rented points and stayed at BLT and it was awesome to come back mid-day. We would take naps, check out the pool, then do whatever in the evening.

E was 2 though and not a stroller napper unless completely exhausted, so it was key to have some down time.

Personally I would love to stay at AK, despite it being so far out.

[zarapipe]

We rented points at the poly for our upcoming visit in January. It was totally overwhelming at first but you catch on quick. The savings were huge.

[katrinabennett]

Aug 1, 2016 19:56:57 GMT -5 zarapipe said:

We rented points at the poly for our upcoming visit in January. It was totally overwhelming at first but you catch on quick. The savings were huge.

But it isn't really 'renting' right? It's just buying the points and renting from a broker? how does one get points?

[katrinabennett]

Do the room prices include tickets to the park?

[countthestars]

Aug 1, 2016 20:34:40 GMT -5 katrinabennett said:

Do the room prices include tickets to the park?

No

[mslhb]

Aug 1, 2016 13:28:01 GMT -5 katrinabennett said:

Aug 1, 2016 11:26:08 GMT -5 @savestheday said:

Also if you are leaning towards AKL or Poly look into renting DVC points. It is MUCH cheaper. It puts AKL Standard View rooms on par with AOA family suites in terms of cost. Poly Studios are also not too expensive to rent.

Rooms at either of these resorts could be $$$ to book straight through Disney.

Is there a renting DVC points for dummies? I don't get it all.
And I am Canadian, I don't have a Disney reward card etc.
Can I still book with an agent? So confused when people put that in their posts

We just booked last month with DVC rental store. I liked that they offered a cancellation policy. I too was clueless about renting points but it was super easy. We are staying in a Poly std studio for spring break and even after adding the cancellation policy and over 7 months out premium it was still soooo much cheaper than booking with Disney.

dvcrentalstore.com/