Having your stay at a resort close to a park

[nlenguyen]

My family is trying to do a family reunion style trip where we would have 4 or 5 families come and get together. We are trying to decide on a resort to stay at and have come to some options. We were thinking about staying at Animal Kingdom, Bay Lake Tower, Beach Club or Old Key West in their villas. Out of the 4 resorts, we noticed that OKW is the least expensive but is the furthest away from a park. Would saving some money on the resort be better than staying close to a preferred park? Or would paying some extra money and getting rooms near a park outweigh the savings from choosing Old Key West

 

[lanejudy]

No resort is near all the parks. There is some degree of travel involved regardless of where you stay. If OKW fits everyone's budget, it's a beautiful resort with some of the largest villas. If your party expects to do a lot of back-and-forth between your room and a park several times a day, decide at which park(s) you will spend most time and choose a close resort (maybe Epcot area resorts where you can walk to both Epcot and DHS, or an MK area resort). But if you don't expect a lot of back-and-forth, I wouldn't worry about the travel.

 

[MKCP5]

It really is a toss up. I did a reunion with 5 former college program friends a couple of years ago. We decided to book the treehouse villas in Saratoga Springs. They were very nice. They were very expensive. They were FAR from just about everything. I don't regret it, it was a great experience, but if you're schlepping kids and strollers and lots of stuff, definitely think about where you want to be. I stayed the Contemporary for the first time last fall, and LOVED the proximity to everything.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I happen to love OKW, so I might be a tiny bit biased. But, my family loved them, precisely because they feel very remote and un-park-like. I know for some, that's Disney heresy, but for our gang, it was a great place to unwind after the crowds and noise. Added bonus, the villas are large, comfortable, and have full kitchens (true of all DVC, but I don't know if you're comparing them to say, Beach Club or Beach Club Villas). Even if cooking isn't on the agenda, the kitchen is great for breakfasts and snacks. Any villa is an easy walk to a bus stop.

As Lanejudy said, no resort is near every park. Even the ones that are, there are caveats--staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge still means a bus ride to AK, the park. Staying at Beach Club means you can walk to Epcot, but you're at the back entrance (World Showcase) which opens later than Future World. It's quite a hike to Spaceship Earth, and there's no bus to take you to the front entrance (although taxi or Uber would work). OTOH, Beach Club is handy if dining in World Showcase is a priority for your gang.

It might be helpful for you to google a map of the entire resort. If you've never been, it's tough to wrap your mind around the sheer scale of the 47 square miles that is Walt Disney World. On the good side, there is much to love about any of the resorts you mentioned.

 

[danceintherain]

I would talk to my group and figure out preferences. I would also consider letting everyone book what they want, and plan time together in the parks. If I wanted a ton of together time, then I probably wouldn't plan Disney.
Everyone values different things. Even when I'm planning trips for just my family, I value different things more or less based on our priorities at the time.

My bigger concern, in general, is the potential distance from my room to particular amenities. I don't like walking for more than 10 minutes (really 5 minutes...) or waiting for a bus to get between places within the resort.
Sitting on a bus for longer to/from the parks isn't as big of a deal for me. It might be a bigger deal for you or someone you're traveling with.

 

[MKCP5]

I would talk to my group and figure out preferences. I would also consider letting everyone book what they want, and plan time together in the parks. If I wanted a ton of together time, then I probably wouldn't plan Disney.
Everyone values different things. Even when I'm planning trips for just my family, I value different things more or less based on our priorities at the time.

My bigger concern, in general, is the potential distance from my room to particular amenities. I don't like walking for more than 10 minutes (really 5 minutes...) or waiting for a bus to get between places within the resort.
Sitting on a bus for longer to/from the parks isn't as big of a deal for me. It might be a bigger deal for you or someone you're traveling with.

That was the issue w the treehouses. You had to wait for a bus to take you to the main area of SS, then wait for a bus to take you to the parks, and the reverse on the way home, even though WDW transport drives right past the treehouses. It was a lot

 

[auralia]

My family is trying to do a family reunion style trip where we would have 4 or 5 families come and get together. We are trying to decide on a resort to stay at and have come to some options. We were thinking about staying at Animal Kingdom, Bay Lake Tower, Beach Club or Old Key West in their villas. Out of the 4 resorts, we noticed that OKW is the least expensive but is the furthest away from a park. Would saving some money on the resort be better than staying close to a preferred park? Or would paying some extra money and getting rooms near a park outweigh the savings from choosing Old Key West

I own 2 small contract at Old Key West and we don't mind staying there at all. The rooms are bigger and I really enjoy the pool area. I prefer to do "prefered rooms" as you can be very far from ammenities if not in the prefered areas. In 10 years of owning we have only used the points at Old Key West twice because we prefer to be closer to the parks and have been lucky with avability. That said, we can sometimes stay for 10-14 days at old key west but only 7-10 days at other resorts because the points cost at Old Key West is so much less. Overall the rooms are bigger, but the studios only sleep 4 despite being larger than some studios that sleep 5. I wish they would add the pull down beds to old key west. Also very few buildings in old key west have elevators, be aware you may be walking up some stairs to your room. It isn't alot of stairs, but this can be a deal breaker for some. Also, love that I can park practically right infront of my room. We prefer Old key west to most of the other resorts amenity and noise wise, but you can't beat Bay Lake Tower for proximity to the the Magic Kingdom. We have never had any real issue with busses at OKW. For the money over that many families I'd probably go with the cheaper resort and spend the extra money on extras like fireworks cruise for the family, desert parties, surfing lessons at the water park, shows etc.

 

[_19disnA]

I would talk to my group and figure out preferences. I would also consider letting everyone book what they want, and plan time together in the parks. If I wanted a ton of together time, then I probably wouldn't plan Disney.
Everyone values different things.

I agree. Everyone in your party may not have the same preferences for how to spend their time and each probably has their own budget to work with. The age ranges also matter as what some of the grandparents (if applicable) would enjoy doing is probably different then younger children. Do you plan to spend a lot of time as a group (like an all day picnic, for example) or do you plan to go separate ways and only meet as a group for dinner? Each family may not have the same preferences for which parks to attend, let alone specific rides/shows. I think it would be a mistake to think that large of a group will walk around a park together, but should certainly have that discussion ahead of time to avoid any misunderstandings.

If Disney is convenient to where everyone is traveling from is a different issue then picking Disney and then not planning to go to any of the parks.

 

[Eastern]

I would do BC (or YC) for the pool and for easy access to Epcot/WS. If some people don't want to go to a park that day staying at the resort by the pool would be very nice. Those two features are nice for a large group.

 

[Rob Huff]

If you want the full bubble experience and to maximize your traveling convenience, both BC and BLT are strong options. We didn't care for BLT when we stayed there, but having a monorail in the lobby was nice and the walk to MK is excellent.

We're partial to the Crescent Lake area and consider BC/BW to have "fun" transit options for reaching three of the four parks: walk/boat to DHS, walk/boat to EP, and monorail to MK. Yes, it take a hike through EP to get to the monorail, but I adore the experience of being on vacation from cars/buses.

As Eastern noted, BC gives lots of options for group splits, too. We stayed there on a previous trip with extended family, and there were a few times where some folks went to DHS, some to EP, and others stayed and played at Stormalong Bay. Everyone was happy and everyone was close. Depending on how well the members of your traveling party get along with each other, that could be nice or it could be a trip saver!

 

[Elephantay]

Since all of those resorts are great, I think you need to figure out more of the logistics of your trip.
Which parks will you spend time at and how often?
What are the interests of the people in your group?
How much do finances play into your planning?
Also, decide whether or not you will be wanting to purchase park hopper tickets. We've saved a LOT of money the past few trips by not buying them, but personally I think if you are at a resort right near a park ( walking distance) you're going to want them.

 

[kaytieeldr]

No resort is near all the parks. There is some degree of travel involved regardless of where you stay. If OKW fits everyone's budget, it's a beautiful resort with some of the largest villas.

OKW is actually pretty close to Epcot and DHS. No, it's not walkable, but the busride is probably about the same time as walkin g.

 

[maxiesmom]

My family is trying to do a family reunion style trip where we would have 4 or 5 families come and get together. We are trying to decide on a resort to stay at and have come to some options. We were thinking about staying at Animal Kingdom, Bay Lake Tower, Beach Club or Old Key West in their villas. Out of the 4 resorts, we noticed that OKW is the least expensive but is the furthest away from a park. Would saving some money on the resort be better than staying close to a preferred park? Or would paying some extra money and getting rooms near a park outweigh the savings from choosing Old Key West

That totally depends on what is important to you. My family has found we would rather all pile into one room, and stay at a resort next to one of the parks.

I would list out each resort and their pros and cons. Also decide on room size. For example at Bay Lake would you get studios? One bedrooms?

 

[NKHarris329]

We have stayed at AKL for our last 2 trips, but spent most of our time at MK. That bus trip is fairly long, but it wasn't too bad because the bus isn't shared with other resorts and there are only 2 stops. So that is something else to consider - How many resorts are on the same route AND how many bus stops are at each resort. You can generally find that information on the resort pages here and by checking out the resort maps.

The other thing with some resorts is checking out how far your room is from transportation. At one of our stays at AKL, we were in the furthest room from the bus stop.... which I found to be a bigger issue than the time we spent on the bus. I would rather stay on the bus for an extra few stops than to walk 10+ minutes to my room when everyone is exhausted. This obviously depends on what room you get, but something to consider if you have people who will have trouble with the walking.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Will you have a car? If so, then staying at AKL or OKW shouldn't be an issue, even if you plan multiple comings and goings.

AKL is amazing, and I can't think of any other resorts in the US where you can sip your morning coffee and watch wild African animals. But it's a bus or car/uber ride everywhere. The only park it's close to is AK, so if you stay there, it's for the experience of a truly unique hotel. It's very much an oasis, but probably the most time consuming for park-hopping purposes.

OKW is the best bargain in terms of space and amenities for your dollar. You'll get the largest rooms, and it's got a great laid-back vibe. You will take buses or uber/car to all parks, but the distances are shorter than AKL. Like AKL, the extra space and distance make OKW a relaxing break from the bustle of the parks.

BLT is awesome in terms of its proximity to MK. If you've got young kids who need to go back to the hotel for a nap, and you'll be spending a lot of time at MK, this is the ideal choice as you can just walk. You can even pop back to MK just for the fireworks. The downside is the units are smallish, and the pool isn't that exciting. You can monorail to Epcot, but you'll bus it to DHS or AK.

BC/YC gives you easy walking distance to two parks. If you see yourself spending a lot of time at Epcot or DHS, this is a great choice. Stormalong Bay is regarded by many as the best pool complex on Disney, but as a result it can get quite crowded. It's still a bus ride to MK or AK, so consider where you're spending most of your time. If you have hoppers, BC/YC can give you really nice flexibility to grab dinner in Epcot. It's definitely a popular choice during Food and Wine in the fall.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

Have you considered a home such as an airbnb?
This is just one of a few I found...
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/188094...1592334753_IfR/ZiPdsKr/xU+0&guests=1&adults=1 It was just sn idea, we rented a home in Colorado for a multiple families to stay it gave us more time to be together.

 

[Monykalyn]

I’m going to add in consider offsite as well. The Marriott vacation club resorts have amazing amenities and can be much cheaper. Spend the extra money on an experience- dessert party, special tour, extravagant meal, fire works cruise etc. most people remember the experiences not the room. Offsite doesn’t work for everyone but it’s worth considering