Disney Vacation Resorts

Good luck getting in to one of those through an RCI exchange. It is very difficult! We tried twice, both times were at low peak travel times. They pretty much laughed at us and said if you don't already own a specific week with them you don't have a chance. People just don't want to give up their week!

So, if you can't get into one of those three, I highly recommend the Hilton Grand Vacation Club at Seaworld. It's across the street from Sea World. We had a two bedroom with full kitchen. It was lovely. We did need to rent a car, though. It was worth it with the money we saved with the exchange, and we were able to go to the grocery store to buy food so we could have breakfasts and dinners there, which also saved a ton of money.

This year we are going again and couldn't get into Disney, or the Hilton Grand Vacation Club, so we are staying at the Cypress Pointe Resort (I think?)

Good luck!

OHHHHH, I know you said Beach Club....but ANIMAL KINGDOM is supberb!!!! We went two years ago the first week of June when our girls were 4 and 5. It is just amazing to wake up and see all of the animals. Plus, there is night time viewing led by rangers. The pool and the spas are never crowded. I think this is because it does tend to be a little further away from some of the other resorts. But that does bring on tons of benefits too. In terms of getting to the parks, we did not find any problem. I know you said that it sounded pretty inconvient, but we found no problems getting to and from any of the parks. The service is excellent there, it is relatively quiet-which is a nice reprieve from the bustle of the parks. They also have BOMA, which is a must have dining experience. There are people from all over the world. They will talk to your children, which is a great benefit. Your kids get to hear the different dialects and learn about other countries. The lodge is just beautiful and seems like a retreat at times. They have a campfire at night which is peaceful to go and sit out at. Plus there are balconies all over the place to sit and watch the animals at night. I cannot say enough about this resort. We would stay there again in a heart beat!

Definitely the Beach Club. We own with Disney, and have gone over 20 times. The Beach Club is amazing and will be perfect for your kids ages. Boardwalk is nice, but the pool isn't as great. Animal Kingdom Lodge is too far from anything but Animal Kingdom. You can walk to Epcot and take the boat to Hollywood from the Beach Club. I LOVE helping people with Disney stuff, so if you have any other questions, feel free to PM me! :)

P.S. Use Disney's free transportation. In all our times going, we have never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus. It will save you tons and is definitely worth it.

The Beach Club. There is an amazing pool with huge water slide. You can walk to Epcot (get park hopper option with your park tickets so you can go over to world Showcase area of Epcot for dinner. You can also walk or take a boat to Hollywood studios. Boardwalk is in the same area, but their pool isn't as nice and the Beach Club had a better store/quick food area. I love Disney.... Have fun!!!

We have taken the Disney transportation from the airport the hotel that T.F. is talking about and it was pretty efficient. We waited about 15 minutes for the bus and then rode it for 1/2 an hour to get to our hotel. If I had remembered to put the stickers that they had send us with the reservation information, they would have gathered our bags for us at the airport and delivered them to our rooms. But.... I forgot and we had to get our own bags and carry them through the line with us. = - )

I would recommend using their transportation. It is pretty good and FREEEEE = )

My husband and I stayed at Boardwalk Villas on our "second honeymoon" last year - it was heavenly! And you are close to Epcot. We had lots of space, and the cutest little kitchen I've ever seen.

I haven't stayed at the other two places but have heard great things about Animal Kingdom. At their ages your kids might love that, especially if you can get a "savannah frontage" room (or suite?).

Good luck and have a great time.

We stayed at the DVC Kiddani Village at Animal Kingdom last fall. It was a very nice place and we had a great view of the animals. Your kids would have a great time if they like to watch animals. However, it is at Animal Kingdom and it is quite far to the other Disney Parks. The weather was kind of cool, so I didn't even see their pool. There is bus transportation to the other parks and resorts, but it seems we had to wait on busses sometime. If you had a car, it really wouldn't be an issue. The Beach club villas is close to Epcot and has a great pool. There are usually activities going on on the boardwalk. Have fun. Good luck! depending on the time of year you are trying to book, some of those places are hard to get into to.

We live in Orlando and are at Disney about 2-5 times a month. Sometimes we go just to walk around the different hotels. I agree with what pretty much everyone else Beach Club is probably the best hotel on property. The Cape May Cafe (while expensive) is AMAZING the food is to die for and they have a little bit of everything. The pool is great.
From Boardwalk and Beach Club you walk to Epcot (maybe a 5 min walk) and you take a boat to Hollywood Studios. They also have the bus to the trransportation and ticket center (o get on the monorail for Magic Kingdom) and they have a bus to Animal Kingdom.
The Animal Kingdom hotel is beautiful and there are a bunch of animals are around, but the busses can take a little while. Never more than a 15 minute wait though. It depends how many days you are going to be there and what parks you want to go to.
It really depends on what is more important to you, if you want to spend more time in the parks I would suggest board walk or beach club (you can use both pools if you stay at either, they are very close to each other) and if you are spending more time at the hotel I would probably go with Animal Kingdom.

Definitely the Beach Club. The most amazing pool at Disney...beyond compare. It has a lazy river and a zero entry beach with real sand among other things. The location is great also.
I would not choose the Animal Kingdom because of its remote location.

We just stayed at the Yacht Club (sister resort to the Beach Club) and it was great, love that you can walk to Epcot and take a boat to the Studios and also the option of walking through Epoct to the monorail to get to the Magic Kingdom is always good. We also take our car to the different parks because parking is free when to stay at a resort on property. We have also stayed at the Boardwalk Villas which are also nice and the kids love the pool there too.

Animal Kingdom is great, but is far from everything, we love staying there too, but you need to add time to your travel around the resort if you are using Disney transportation.

Please let me know if you have any other questions, we go a few times a year (if we can) and would love to help!

J.

Our favorite resort and we've stayed there over 8 times is the Polynesian. It is worth the $$ to be on the monorail line as well.

If your ONLY choices are the 3 you listed, I would opt for Animal Kingdom.

I've always dealt directly with Disney and directly with the airlines.

There is a shuttle for Disney guests from the airport which is free but only God knows how long you'll be on it and finally get to your destination. We always get a private taxi (about $80 each way) straight shot and at the hotel within an hour.

Animal Kingdom hands down. Kids will absolutely love it!

BEACH CLUB!!!! I've never stayed at the other 2, but we've been to Disney 3 times. The other places we stayed were Wilderness Lodge and Disney All-Star Movie resort. Beach Club is the BEST. My girls were 6 and 4 when we stayed there, and it was the vacation of a lifetime (even for me!!) One day we actually just stayed on the resort the entire day. The pools are sooooo much fun. And you can walk all around the Boardwalk - we ended up renting one of those 4 person bicycles. It was hysterical :) Have FUN!