Two new young ones which hotel for convenience

[westie55]

You start at the Contemporary and I'll start at Animal Kingdom Lodge with my kids, 7, 4, and 1. I'll race you to Spaceship Earth and we'll see who gets there first.

To each his own, I suppose. I've stayed at AKL and Contemporary and I do find the CR more convenient with stroller age children overall. YMMV. I happen to spend most of my time in MK, so racing to Spaceship Earth would not be how I define convenience. Getting into and out of MK quickly without having to collapse a stroller is tops on my list. Just my opinion. It's certainly a valid point that AKL is not as "far away from everything" as people make it seem. Still, having to take a bus all the time can be frustrating. As we all know, not all bus waits are created equal. I just know I've always been relieved on my vacation days when I don't have to take the bus and wake up my kids. It's also very difficult for me to go on a bus with babies and strollers if I am by myself because I can't carry the baby AND break down the double stroller at the same time. On a monorail or a boat I can roll the stroller onto, I don't have to do that. Different families have different situations. It's probably a moot point here because OP doesn't list monorail resorts among those he/she is considering.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I happen to spend most of my time in MK.

Absolutely, this is the key point. If you spend >50% of your time in Magic Kingdom, those resorts are tremendously more convenient. If you spend your time roughly equally in all four parks, I'd say that those resorts are the least convenient. Break-even lies somewhere in between.

I also think that convenience tends to be overrated. My absolute favorite place to stay is the Fort Wildness Cabins, which takes longer to get around than anywhere. It doesn't dilute my enjoyment of that resort or the trips I stay at that resort one bit.

 

[robinb]

The kids won't care and any hassle with the bus system is the same for the parents at AKV and SSR. I also think that people put WAY too much significance on being at a monorail resort. It will save you, at most, 30 minutes each way and then ONLY from the Magic Kingdom. Is that really worth hundreds of dollars more? Not for me.

IMO, the decision should be made on what the 7 adults want. Do they want an immersive African feel with animals everywhere? Or do they want a laid back resort with proximity to Disney Springs? I happen to love AKV (we own there) but if I think that my young adult daughter would prefer to be closer to Disney Springs and the restaurants and bars.

 

[tlaw66]

Oh I thank all of you so very much this has helped make our decision a little wiser.

 

[georgina]

That's great when you're going to Magic Kingdom, but when you're going to Epcot and have to transfer to a different monorail line at the TTC, you end up doubling your travel time over just taking a bus.

I gave my opinion, I am not the type of person who has to come back and debate every post that disagrees with me. Have at it!

We don't take Disney buses, we drive, but DH enjoys the monorail ride to Epcot from the TTC.