Best WDW resort for 9 YO Boy after Animal Kingdom?

[AC168]

Where would you stay with a 9 year old boy? Father will be with son. Mother has to leave trip early. (We’ve stayed at AK Savanna last time and he loved it.)

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[jemtx]

YC or BC might be good bc of the pool. Stormalong Bay is a bit of a mini water park with a lazy river, pirate ship slide, sand bottom, etc. The pool can be a little overwhelming and spread out though so it can be a little dependent on your child and their age, etc, the monorail resorts are good if he’s into trains and the like—the monorail actually goes right through the CR. Mine was that age during his first trip and was really blown away by that.

 

[elvispursley]

I was also going to suggest BC/YC, especially if he likes swimming. My bous also liked POR. They liked that they could do the fishing and rent bikes. They also liked taking the boat to DS, but you can do that as well at BC/YC

 

[NVDISFamily]

I see you have the Grand Cal in your signature. If you like that vibe and have already done AKL I would recommend you consider Wilderness Lodge. Great resort with good food and an awesome vibe. Grand Cal is my favorite resort of any in the US, but Wilderness Lodge is a close 2nd (or perhaps tied with AKL). It's much quieter than GC as it's a bit out of the way from the monorail madness or the similar foot traffic that the Grand Cal has most days. You also won't get yelled at by security for falling asleep in the amazing comfortable chairs in the lobby at WL like you will at GC (it's just so much bigger and not crowded).

We also love Riviera and it's a fun place to be with easy Skyliner access to the parks.

 

[Marthasor]

What are their park plans? Do you have a budget in mind?

 

[DeeBee3]

Only deluxe or are you considering any of the resorts? What are his interests when he goes to the parks?

 

[MamaMermaid]

Beach or Contemporary.

 

[juxtapose]

My 8-year-old son picked BWI for the slide and activity room when we offered him several deluxe resorts to choose from. We haven't been yet to get his final opinion though, Contemporary was his second choice.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Maybe this is a dumb question, but if he loved the AK savannah, why not go back there again? Or whichever you stayed at last time (Jambo or Kidani) stay at the other one this time.

 

[stace1214]

At that age, although I preferred deluxe, my kids LOVED All-Star Movies. The giant Toy Story icons were just amazing to them.

 

[Giraffe_Zen]

BC/YC, WL, Poly

 

[kiford]

Wilderness Lodge has some of the same vibe and decor as AKL. Pools are nice.

YC/BC are also great resorts - best pool of all IMO.

 

[westie55]

A 9yo will enjoy any Disney resort. Moderate and deluxe resorts have waterslides, but the value resorts have giant "in your face" character theming which is always a hit with kids. I would pick the resort that appeals most to the adults based on price budget and proximity to the parks you are planning to attend.

I've stayed at almost every resort on property. I think Wilderness Lodge is perhaps the best bang for your buck. The boat to MK is very convenient. I prefer the MK resort area, personally. Polynesian is great but not worth the upcharge IMO unless you have a fireworks view.

 

[Nabas]

I took my son to WDW for his 10th birthday. We went with Pop Century. (He really wanted the Tie Dye cheesecake and large game room.). I’d do that or All Star Movies.

Our experience is that children that age enjoy the over-the-top theming of the Value Resorts. They like the large food courts and the large game rooms. They like the hustle and bustle.

As they became teenagers, their tastes shifted to Deluxe Resorts.

 

[chalee94]

A lot depends on the parks you choose.

With younger kids, walking to the MK from Contemporary or BLT is hard to beat.

If DHS is the favorite park, walking or boating from Boardwalk or Beach Club is nice (although it can be a long-ish walk to keep it real.)

 

[AC168]

Thanks for all the great suggestions! How crazy is Stormalong Bay? My son is a decent swimmer but his Dad isn’t!

 

[AC168]

Maybe this is a dumb question, but if he loved the AK savannah, why not go back there again? Or whichever you stayed at last time (Jambo or Kidani) stay at the other one this time.

Part of it is to experience another DVC. I’m contemplating buying more DVC, but my wife isn’t so hot on that idea. We’ll probably split stay SSR with this other stay. Also, we may only do 1 or 2 Disney parks this trip and AK will be one for sure.

 

[jemtx]

Most of stormalong bay is fairly shallow—probably btwn 4-5 feet so I’m sure your husband would be able to stand. The only part that is deep is the lazy river which ranges from 5 to almost 8 feet in the deepest parts. It has a current, but I think it is a very gentle current. There are tubes to float in but if you get out of the tube the 7-8 feet area can be pretty deep if you aren’t a great swimmer. You do have to make a conscience effort to enter the lazy river, so if your husband wasn’t comfortable with the depth he could definitively avoid it. The pool has many lifeguards. The major problem with SAB is that it has lots of nooks and crannies and not clear sight lines where it is hard to keep a close eye on small children. Also another parental worry is that the slide is located outside of the fenced area.

 

[AC168]

When you say the slide is outside of the fenced area, does it mean it is super deep?

 

[jemtx]

When you say the slide is outside of the fenced area, does it mean it is super deep?

No. The slide is very tall (you sort of climb the mast of the pirate ship) but the water it dumps you out in is probably only about 4 feet. I’m you go down fairly fast, so you do sort of go under the water for a second. Definitely google some pics or even YouTube videos. There are lots good pov videos of the slide. The “scary parental” part is that you have to go out of the fenced area and cross the little sidewalk/path that goes around the YC/BC lake.