First timer here. Need help planning for April 2017

[Valentina8623]

i know this is very short notice and not a lot of time for planning. We want to go to Disney this April 14-23. I have been researching and looking at the Disney website. I'm thinking of booking their fun & sun resort and park package. I think I have this narrowed down to CBR, AOA and AKV kidani. Would like a nice themed room, nice view and great pools. It will be me, husband, my daughter 7 and son 5. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. I'm looking to book asap. Other resort suggestions are also welcome. I want to make this a spectacular experience for my kiddos. Also, is the dining plan worth it and which one would make the best sense? Thank you.

 

[WDWNY]

Ive stayed at AOA and CBR. For kids, I think AOA is more fun theme wise. CBR is also huge so there will be a lot more walking to do.

For us, the dinning plan isn't worth it. We used to get it, and it would be the one with 1 quick service, 1 snack and 1 table service. I'm a picky eater, so a lot of the time I get the cheapest thing on the menu (sometimes i will just get 2 appetizers). I think it depends how you use it. If you're going to do a bunch of character meals I bet its worth it.
April is close though, so if you do go with the meal plan make sure you can get the reservations you want before you get it.

 

[Nancyg56]

First the dining plan opinion. Research the meals you would book. If you can book character meals then the DDP will be worth it in the TS meals. You should do the math to be sure.

I have stayed at AKL and CBR of the three you are considering. I liked both, but in terms of spectacular? Go for the Kidani Village. There is a little extra travel time, but when my DGD was little she wanted to "live" at AKL. I know that the main lodge is not the same as the village, but I would absolutely consider it.

 

[Tod&CopperFan]

I know others with much more experience will give you great advice, but here are my observations: I know you can still plan an amazing vacation even though April is only a few months away! As far as resort choice, from what you described and the age of your kids, I would suggest AoA. It has amazing theming and great pools, it screams "Disney" which is what I definitely wanted for my kids' first trip! CBR would probably be your cheapest option, but it is not as overly themed and it is a BIG (although I'm sure, lovely) resort. I have decided that the view of my room does not justify any increased price for me. We never look out the windows, the curtain is always closed, and the only time I see the "view" is when I am walking out of the room on my way to bigger adventures. Of course there would be exceptions to this, like AKL or theme park view at a monorail resort. But that's just me. Best of luck, and I'm sure your family will have an amazing vacation!!

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

If cost isn't an issue then I'd recommend either Polynesian or Beach/Yacht Club. Our favorite is Beach/Yacht Club, which are two different resorts that are connected. They share the same pool, Storm Along Bay, which is just about universally viewed as the best resort pool on property. If you stay there I would get a lagoon/pool view room. You can walk to Epcot in about 5 minutes from Yacht/Beach Club and walk or take a boat to Hollywood Studios (about 20 minutes for both). Polynesian is on the monorail loop and might be better if you plan on spending more time at Magic Kingdom since you can take the monorail or a boat from the resort to Magic Kingdom. We spend a lot of time at Epcot and almost always take a midday break at the resort pool so Beach/Yacht Club works better for us.

You'll get different answers re: whether the dining plan is "worth it." It probably won't save you much if any money but it is convenient to have your food costs prepaid. The regular plan is the best option - the cost works out to $67 per day for an adult and $24 a day for your kids and includes one table service meal, one quick service meal, two snacks and one refillable mug. The dining plan should be less expensive for your kids than paying out of pocket. It could save you money for the adults depending on where you eat/what you order. For example, this might be less expensive if you want to eat at a lot of character meals or buffets. Keep in mind that you MUST make advance reservations for your table service meals and should go ahead and make those if you can. Make sure your reservations are either at parks you think you'll be in that day or your resort so you aren't traveling all over Disney, which can take a fair bit of time.

 

[Tod&CopperFan]

Also, regarding the dining plans, I agree that you really need to price out how you would like to eat while there and see if the dining plan would benefit you. I know for my family, eating at the table service restaurants is my DH's favorite part of Disney, so for me it is worth it to me to add the dining plan to keep DH happy so that he wants to continue to go to Disney! Plus with teens and tweens in our family, the value gets better as they get older (they eat more).

 

[hakepb]

The dining plan generally only makes financial sense if you have children and plan on eating at many character buffet meals. Otherwise, it's possible to spend more buying the dining plan than you would spend out of pocket.

Kidani is a wonderful resort, and savanna view is worthwhile if you spend enough time in your room. Most of Kidani is on the Sunset savanna ... which has the most animal activity near sunset (main feeding time). If you expect to see a giraffe outside your room every morning as you glance out of the room, before you run to the parks, it may be disappointing.

 

[bryana]

Something to consider: runDisney's Star Wars Dark Side half marathon is that weekend (21-23). It probably won't have too much of an impact on things, if it's anything like the other race weekends I've done, but it's still worth mentioning. It might make getting around early AM on Friday-Sunday a little difficult if not using Disney transportation. It also might affect ADR availability too.

 

[MeganS721]

We will be going at the same time, April 19-24! I've stayed at AoA in the past and loved it. The fact that they have dedicated buses was a big plus for us. One bus stop for the resort, no extra stops before heading to your destination. We really enjoyed the food court as well. We stayed in January so it wasn't really warm enough to swim, but the pools were nice and the theming was great. As for the dining plan, we have used it once. We felt like it was too much food for us. We did the math and we pretty much broke even on if we had just paid out of pocket. However, we didn't do any character meals and I think that is where you will get the most bang for your buck. I did like that our food was paid for ahead of time because then we could order anything and not feel like we had to look at pricing. There was something very relaxing about that.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

i know this is very short notice and not a lot of time for planning. We want to go to Disney this April 14-23. I have been researching and looking at the Disney website. I'm thinking of booking their fun & sun resort and park package. I think I have this narrowed down to CBR, AOA and AKV kidani. Would like a nice themed room, nice view and great pools. It will be me, husband, my daughter 7 and son 5. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. I'm looking to book asap. Other resort suggestions are also welcome. I want to make this a spectacular experience for my kiddos. Also, is the dining plan worth it and which one would make the best sense? Thank you.

Of the three, if you are looking for nice theme, nice view and great pools, I would go with AKV. First, you are comparing a value, mod and deluxe resort and you will, IMHO, simply have a better, more comfortable experience in a deluxe over a mod and value. AoA and CBR don't really have "views". Yes, you will have a view out of your window, but you will have a balcony at AKV. You don't mention what view you are considering at AKV, but if it's savannah, nothing at AoA or CBR will compare to that. At AKV you will also have access to two pools and a cute splash pad, 3 sit down restaurants and a QS.

If it fits into your budget and there is availability, I would also consider Poly. The themeing is spectacular, they have two pools and a splash pad, the rooms are big and comfortable and you can see the MK fireworks from the beach. Definitely a spectacular experience.

We never purchase the dining plan as it just doesn't fit how we eat. I would first decide where you want to eat to see if a dining plan would even make sense for you.

 

[danielocha30]

also to take into consideration those are the dates for south florida spring break, so expect some moderate crowds, plan according and have wonderful trip!

 

[loves to dive]

I think it depends on your goals for the trip. I know you said you wanted to make it magical for your little one but that can be done no matter where you stay. AoA is cute as far as theming and the grounds go. Underneath it all (the rooms) it is a value resort and, for me, not worth what they charge, you can get a moderate and sometimes a deluxe for the same price. CBR is a nice resort, yes it's bigger and does have more than one bus stop. It's not my favorite moderate, that would be POR, but if it were less than POR or CSR, I'd stay there in a heartbeat. AKL is a beautiful resort, from the moment you step into the lobby you are in awe. Even if you don't have a savannah view room, there are plenty of opportunities to see the animals.

Are you going to be spending all your times in the parks or part of your time enjoying the resort? If all your time is in the parks, I'd say go with a moderate or a value other than AoA. If you are going to be spending a lot of time at the resort, and the budget allows, go to AKL or any of the other deluxe resorts. I'm a huge fan of Yacht Club but that is just because we spend most of our time at Epcot and HS, both of which are within walking distance. The only time we ride a bus is to AK, we take the dreaded monorail to MK (I hate the thing, it seems to either break down or have to stop for 5 min. every time we ride it).

As far as the dining plan, only you can decide if it's worth it. Look at menus and be honest about what you would eat. Do the math and then compare paying out of pocket. We don't use it any more but only because it just doesn't suit our style of eating. I eat breakfast, my son doesn't. So I get a kid's breakfast since that is more than enough food for me or a muffin in a park. I'm not a big meal eater so again if we are eating QS, I tend to get a kid's meal. I don't drink soft drinks and neither does my son. My son likes a good TS meal (as do I) but he prefers to kind of graze during the day. When we eat TS I tend to get an appetizer and soup or a salad, again just not a big meal eater. We rarely eat dessert and rarely eat snacks between meals. It just depends on what your eating style and comfort zone is. A lot of people like it not because it saves them money but because it seems easier to not to have to look at prices on the menu and just pay up front. No one is right and no one is wrong.

 

[PollyannaMom]

to the DIS!!


For resorts, I'm not much help, as I haven't personally stayed at any of the three on your short list, but my neighbor was happy with AoA, and AKL/AKV is definitely on our dream list! (if out of the budget for the moment)

For the dining plan, I do recommend it. We do the one that has 1 TS, 1 QS, and snack credits. The first year that we did it, we kept our receipts and I popped everything into a spreadsheet after we came home. It did save us money over what the same meals would have cost us out-of-pocket. Could we have eaten more cheaply? - yes, but the relaxation of not worrying about prices every time we sat down, and the comfort of one air-conditioned table service meal a day, really upped the relaxation factor of our vacation. We've done DDP on each subsequent trip.

On a side note:
We also booked a "Fun & Sun" resort and park package around that same time! As DH was clicking through the screens, there was one that listed some little extras that came with the package, but he didn't see a button to print it. I thought there might be a link in the confirmation e-mail, but there wasn't. Does anyone know where I can find that info? - Thanks!

 

[scrapquitler]

First the dining plan opinion. Research the meals you would book. If you can book character meals then the DDP will be worth it in the TS meals. You should do the math to be sure.

I have stayed at AKL and CBR of the three you are considering. I liked both, but in terms of spectacular? Go for the Kidani Village. There is a little extra travel time, but when my DGD was little she wanted to "live" at AKL. I know that the main lodge is not the same as the village, but I would absolutely consider it.

I doubt that renting points at any DVC location during Easter week, two months from now is going to be possible.

 

[bryana]

I doubt that renting points at any DVC location during Easter week, two months from now is going to be possible.

There are cash reservations available for Kidani...

 

[Nancyg56]

I doubt that renting points at any DVC location during Easter week, two months from now is going to be possible.

I know that DVC is probably not an option, but there may be villas available thru Disney. I never suggest people rent points because I do not know enough about rental to do so.

 

[LaidBackDad]

Of the 3 you mentioned Kidani AK best suits your preferences then CBR. If price isn't an object then you are talking about Yacht / Beach Club. People will probably get mad at me; but, for your group (ages of your kids) don't bother even trying to crunch the numbers, the DDP isn't worth it for your group. Even if you forget about the cost off the DDP, it is too restrictive. Even kids that age who are good eaters will not follow the rules of the DDP. Being your first trip, it will be a lot less stressful eating what you want, when you want, rather than having to worry about being locked into the DDP and worrying about having too many credits or not enough credits at the end of your trip. Enjoy your first trip get a feel for what your eating habits in the parks are then decide if a DDP will be worth it on a return trip. No matter how much planning you do things will always change once you are in the parks. Don't lock yourself into a DDP which has no flexibility until you get a better feel for how your family acclimates to the parks. Getting the DDP is one of the biggest mistakes 1st time WDW guest make.

 

[87Goofy]

Hey there!
As an Orlando resident - I myself are going to the World the week after you! I have tons of cheap things already set to do and to brings - any more help or questions you have?

 

[AshleeH]

Easter is the middle of April - falling in your travel week - so plan for massive crowds! It's the second busiest time of year for Disney. Plan accordingly and do a lot of research.

 

[JoanneAZ]

Also keep in mind that the Star Wars Dark Side races are on your final days 4/21-4/23 and racers will start coming in on Wed & Thurs 4/19 & 4/20.