Help me choose a resort!

[Isabelle12345]

We will be traveling with my DD2 and DS5 in February. We are doing a split stay 3/3, first 3 are at Pop with a group rate (my parents will be there so no plans of modifying)
For the second part of the stay, I had my heart set on a Little Mermaid room at AOA because I think the theming would be awesome for my kids
We paid 214/night
Well yesterday with the AP discounts I decided to upgrade for a family suite since there were no discounted rooms for LM and the upgrade was less than 150/night which was in my budget
This morning I looked just for fun at other options
For the almost the same price, I could get a studio at Boardwalk Villas or a studio at Copper Creek Cabins at WL
Our planned park days were HS - Epcot - MK and HS so I was leaning to change to boardwalk villas for convenience, but then I saw the creepy clown pool ? Not sure about that...
We could also switch a MK day to yhe end to take advantage of the boat at WL...
This discounts have made me reconsider all my plans...
Any suggestions?

 

[Isabelle12345]

We could also switch to Yatch Club for about the same price...
What do you suggest?

 

[shannonstar]

We have stayed at WL and BC, and I can say both of these are great. The creepy clown always puts the Boardwalk lower for me, although I do want to stay there eventually. We ended up choosing the Yacht Club for this trip. On trips where we spend the bulk of our time at HS/EP, we find that the convenience of the Epcot resorts edges out all the others.

 

[Disneylover99]

I’d switch to a deluxe if it’s about the same price as an AofA suite.

Since you’re staying at Pop first, you can always walk around AofA and enjoy the theming. The LM rooms are not very appealing.

 

[glocon]

Pop is a great resort- do your MK days while there, then go to YC or BC and do your EP and HS from there since you’d be so close. Never stayed at YC but have stayed at BC and loved that too.
Never stayed at AoA so cant give any advice there. Really, now that I think about it, I would stay where I thought my kids would think it was most magical, so if you think they’d love a LM room, well they’re only little once.

 

[Nick6300]

I’d switch to a deluxe if it’s about the same price as an AofA suite.

Since you’re staying at Pop first, you can always walk around AofA and enjoy the theming. The LM rooms are not very appealing.

Agree with Disneylover on going deluxe instead of suite at AA. And good point about being close by from pop to AA for visits. The convenience of the EP hotels are great. We do love the cabins though.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We could also switch to Yatch Club for about the same price...
What do you suggest?

I would do any of the deluxe resorts you mention over AoA. As PP said, you are already staying at Pop, so can easily walk over to look at the theming at AoA.

For me, it would come down to park plans and bedding arrangements. With your current park days, as planned, I would choose between the BWV studio or Yacht Club. We actually love the clown pool, though, for smaller children, given there is no zero entry and the slide is quite big, it's not great. However, it may be too cold to swim in Feb., anyway, so I probably wouldn't make the pool a huge part of my decision making. In terms of bedding - would you rather have a queen and a pull-out bed (BWV studio) or two queens (Yacht Club). I would base my decision on the answer to that question. They are both gorgeous resorts that will offer great convenience to both DHS and EP, so, IMHO, you can't go wrong either way. CCV is also gorgeous, but, if you leave your park plans as they are, it is not convenient to DHS or EP.

 

[Babsy]

I would stay at the YC! PP's have mentioned reasons to stay deluxe over value at AoA already. Also, at YC you are at the end of SAB pool for kids with the sandy area for your 2 year old. The walk/boat to Epcot and DHSD is awesome! The rooms are comfortable, large and have 2 queen beds and a daybed - all of which are comfortable. You can see everything at AoA while staying at POP.

You could choose a studio at BWI as well, but you indicated not liking the clown pool (I don't either) and I prefer real beds to pull downs. Of course YMMV.

Have fun choosing!

 

[John Parsons]

Definitely do yacht club if you can, although we didn't have the best experience there, the pool is awesome and you are so close to epcot.

 

[Isabelle12345]

Yacht club definitely sounds appealing
I guess I am hesitant because of the lack of Disney theming... but the convenience of walking to Epcot and HS may make it easier to add some extra magic and maybe just go back for the evening when we hadn't planned to do so...
Which one has the highest chance of being sold out with AP discount: AoA family suites or YC standard rooms? I would book that one while I take the time to review my options and discuss with DH...

 

[Isabelle12345]

I have narrowed down my options to:
Yacht Club (pros: walk to Epcot / DHS, pool, proximity to Boardwalk, balcony - cons: less Disney theming for the kids)
AoA family suite (pros: separate bedroom, kids will love the theming, pools, Skyliner - cons: value resort)
Caribbean Beach Pirate room (pros: theming will appeal to the kids, skyliner (even better than AoA because no transfer necessary), pools - cons: double beds, pirates room are far from pool / food court, bus service), but we could use a Minnie Van to get to MK with the money we saved...
Conorado Springs (pros: save $$, pools, lots of food options - cons: theming underwhelming, bus service)

I have added a poll... any thoughts?
I know I am overthinking this but this will be our first real Disney trip and I want to make sure I have the best option!

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

I personally wouldn't do Yacht Club or Beach Club with 2 small kids. Their shared Stormalong Bay pool complex is spread out and sprawling, with some deep areas where even adults can't touch bottom.

 

[Babsy]

I have narrowed down my options to:
Yacht Club (pros: walk to Epcot / DHS, pool, proximity to Boardwalk, balcony - cons: less Disney theming for the kids)
AoA family suite (pros: separate bedroom, kids will love the theming, pools, Skyliner - cons: value resort)
Caribbean Beach Pirate room (pros: theming will appeal to the kids, skyliner (even better than AoA because no transfer necessary), pools - cons: double beds, pirates room are far from pool / food court, bus service), but we could use a Minnie Van to get to MK with the money we saved...
Conorado Springs (pros: save $$, pools, lots of food options - cons: theming underwhelming, bus service)

I have added a poll... any thoughts?
I know I am overthinking this but this will be our first real Disney trip and I want to make sure I have the best option!

I wouldn't worry unduly about Disney theming for the kids at the second resort. They will have lots of access to Disney theming while you are staying at POP and only a bridge away from AoA. Also, it is actually nice , IMO, to have a 'quieter' hotel to go back to when the Disney theming that they experience all over in the theme parks gets to be a bit much. A quiet respite is greatly appreciated at nap and bedtimes. It is nice to wind down sometimes.

I voted for the YC, but CBR would also be nice. I wouldn't book the pirate rooms, however. They really aren't as convenient as the other rooms and cost more! I would pay the extra for a preferred room instead and enjoy the additional convenience.

Theming is important and can add a lot to the vacation. However, it often feels to me like the adults are more impacted than small children. Little kids are happy wherever their parents are happy. Comfort and convenience are really important when everyone is tired and overwhelmed. There is so much theming in WDW, that the more restful and convenient the hotel, the better we like it - especially when we have small children with us. In fact, we choose the CR tower for the first visit with small kids. WE really like the walk to the MK and we find that we spend a lot of time there with younger children. YMMV.

Have fun choosing! Any of the resorts that you are looking at will be lovely. Enjoy!

 

[Pucks104]

DH and I thoroughly enjoyed our YC stay a couple weeks ago but decided that SAB wouldn’t be an option for a visit with our 5 year old GD. The pool was lovely but too sprawling to keep a close eye on a child.

 

[Babsy]

DH and I thoroughly enjoyed our YC stay a couple weeks ago but decided that SAB wouldn’t be an option for a visit with our 5 year old GD. The pool was lovely but too sprawling to keep a close eye on a child.

That is a good point. It depends upon how comfortable you are with kids in a pool. We always have someone with each of the children in the water at all times, so they are never out of our sight. Also, we tended to stay at the shallow sandy play area when the kids were 3 and 5 when we stayed at the YC.

If the children and you are comfortable with the adults watching the children while adults stay poolside, then SAB may be a poor choice as children can move out of sight quickly. It is really big and sprawling.

 

[Wild4Walt]

My opinion will probably be unpopular but AoA is great for the ages your kids are. The pool areas are outstanding and the kids will love being around the giant Disney icons. ( great photo ops too ). The microwave in the room can be pretty handy when it comes to snacks.

 

[Isabelle12345]

So after reading all the comments here I went to change my reservation and unfortunately I was too slow to pull the trigger... there are no more garden or standard view rooms so I would have to pay 150$ more (50$/night) which doesn’t make sense to me as we will not be in the room enough to justify this just for a view.
What are everyone’s thoughts on Boardwalk villas studios? It would be the same price as AOA suite
I was worried about the creepy clown slide but it seems like the pool area is nice other than that (and I think the Dumbo theming would appeal to my kids)
And the proximity to restaurants / Hs and Epcot seems even better than Yacht Club?

 

[Shellyred8]

I love BWV studios. There is a playground by the pool area that would be nice for your kiddos. I would book the BWV studio if you can still get it. Being able to walk or boat to EP and HS is really nice when you are dealing with a stroller. There is also a nice "grassy (it's fake grass)" area near the Boardwalk area that is nice to just let the little ones run around on.

Have a great trip!

 

[UtahsGoofy]

We could also switch to Yatch Club for about the same price...
What do you suggest?

yatch club is very nice, you may want to decide based on the park (s) you will visit most

 

[aporthole]

I completely disagree about Stormalong Bay not being good for young kids. The sand bar area is AMAZING for little kids. It is our favorite pool for small kids. A few days at YC (or BC) after staying at a value or mod resort is the perfect way to end a vacation.