please tell me more about cabins (esp. vs. off site vac. home)

[tooraloora]

going to WDW in may for one week, with kids age 9, 6, 6 and dh. we don't mind roughing it a bit, and cooking some of our own food is quite appealing. how small are the cabins? would it still be best to rent a car (eg. for grocery shopping etc). i am also looking at 3 bedroom pool homes for 80 a night (eg at elite vacation homes website). in kissimmee. what are the pros and cons? does anyone know if the current code avail to all that covers this time frame could be used for a cabin, and how much it would be? thanks so much for advice. cheers.

 

[North7]

Hi tooraloora, welcome from a fellow Canadian

First off, if you decide on the cabin, you definitely won't be roughing it. The cabins come with a full bath, A/C, heating, refrigerator, stove, microwave, dishwasher, coffee maker, 2 TV's, VCR etc, not to mention daily maid service. We have stayed in the cabins 3 times (and the wilderness homes before that) but have also rented pool homes in Kissimmee (Chatham Park) quite a number of times. Obviously, the difference in price is a factor but you will have to rent a vehicle if you decide on a rental home. Some of the shuttle services from the airport will stop at a grocery store to allow you to pick up groceries on the way to FW. You can also pick some things up at the Trading Posts in FW but it will cost you more. The cabins will sleep 6, so you will be ok. They are not excessively large or anything, but from my experiences, you won't be spending a lot of time inside the cabin anyway.

Having stayed in the cabins and at the vacation homes, the choice is very easy for me to make. There is no feeling like staying in Disney and especially FW. I have two young children (5 & 6) who enjoy FW as much as any of the parks. They ride their bikes, play on the playgrounds, go on the pony rides, see the animals at the petting zoo, fish in the streams along with many other things. This is something that you don't get at a rental home and it's hard to put a price on it. For us, the difference in price is worth it, especially with the kids. In previous years, we would stay at FW for a week and then at a rental home for a week. The homes were very nice, but there was such a letdown once we left FW, you could just about classify it as depression . The rental homes are just not the same...

My recommendation would definitly be FW. Your week will go by before you know it and with the ages of your children, I don't think you can go wrong.

I'd be happy to answer any other questions you may have.

Jeff

 

[Grumpy92]

I totally agree with Jeff. The wilderness homes are wonderful. They are fairly new and you get all the ammenities of staying in a hotel room. Love the housekeepers who clean the kitchen for you. We love the feeling of getting away because of the wooded surroundings. The homes have these great decks and in the evenings we just sit out and people watch. FW is kind of a secret of WDW there is so much to do I know of many guest who go and never enter a park because they enjoy the resort so much. Children especially seem to like this place along with all the activities Jeff mentioned there is a great nightly Chip & Dale Campfire with Disney movie, for free. We bring our bikes and rent a golf cart. The boat to the nearby resorts and MK is great and very relaxing. As for groceries the resort has a luggage van and will take you too the nearest grocery store if you need it. Definitely keep your FW reservation.

 

[Grumpy92]

Keep and eye on mousesavers.com. The closer it gets the more likely they are to offer specials and your resv can easily be changed.

 

[melk]

I have to agree with the other posters. We have done both and would definitely pick FW over the vacation homes. Everyone has already told you what is wonderful about FW and I agree with them. As far as the vacation home we had, it was very, very nice and affordable also, but you definitely feel more a part of things at FW. Also there is no daily maid service at the rental home so you have to do your own dishes, make beds, etc. Also, the house we had was very clean but we really didn't think the pool was. It definitely could have had better upkeep. We did complain but the owner said they were "between pool companies at the moment" which didn't really help us. Although the home was close, you just can't beat just hopping on a boat to go to the Magic Kingdom. I know that if you pick the vacation home you probably will be happy with it, but if you can afford a little more and stay at FW, you'll love it!!

 

[caelwind]

I love the cabins, we stayed there in Oct 2000. The maid service and the direct access to the parks is the key. I have stayed offsite in one of the 3 bdr homes and it doesn't compare the service and convenience of the cabins.