Old Key West, Saratoga, or Animal King??

[maminnie]

We are planning a last minute trip with four 18 and 19 year old kids (boys and girls). Yes they still want to go to Disney after all these years and all those trips!! At this point we can book at Old Key West, Animal Kingdom, or Saratoga Springs.

We have never stayed at any of these resorts.

Would greatly appreciate people's opinions on what would be the best resort for this age of young adults.

Thank you in advance for your advice.

 

[NJDVCmember]

I would suggest the Saratoga resort. They can walk over to DTD. Animal Kingdom...and OKW nothing else around.

Look into the Epcot resorts too. Lots to do there

 

[kenly777]

I would book OKW, as the rooms are bigger, which would be a bonus with the age of your travelers. You can take the boat to DTD which the 18-19 would probably do often, plus there are many things to do on site.

 

[stormer]

I would go with Animal Kingdom. The resort is beautiful. It is so relaxing to sit and watch the animals. If you book at Kidani and are getting a 1 or 2 bedroom you get an extra bathroom, which is always helpful!

 

[lovin'fl]

I would want to pick AKV as that is my fave of the 3 and then OKW for bigger villas...BUT...as someone who was just at AKV with my 3 teens who wanted to be in DD a lot...I'd have to suggest SSR (which is my personal least fave of the DVC resorts). My SIL always books SSR and requests Congress Park so her college aged boys and HS daughter can hop in and out of DD. They go for coffee, lunch at EoS, bowling, shopping, etc. The extra bathroom at Kidani is nice to have with teens though...and the OKW villas are huge (and there is the boat to DD but that stops pretty early in the night). But it was tough waiting up for my teens to get back in each night and then they wanted to still do stuff and there was nothing at AKV (pools/hot tubs/food/soda machines all closed at 11pm). We were with their cousins and they could have all been in DD and walked back each night and we wouldn't have needed to stay awake to make sure they caught a bus in time and got back to AKV.

 

[magicaldisney]

Though we personally would prefer AKV out of those three resorts, SSR is the closest located next to Downtown Disney and that might be a plus for you.

 

[CarolynMink]

Both OKW & AVK-KV, have larger rooms than SSR. I have stayed at all three and my two teens (16) & (18) both say you should go for AKL. You should know however, Boma is their favorite resort restaurant.

 

[George4]

Of those three, we have only stayed at SSR, which we love. It has quiet areas, loud areas, places with young kids, and places without. However, the walking path to DTD is temporarily closed, so I would not base your hotel choice on that fact. We still love SSR, but this is a detractor for SSR right now with older teenagers.

 

[whamma]

I have a teenager and a pre-teen. We have stayed at all three of those resorts. Not based strictly on what I would want but based on what teens would like, I think your choices are in this order SSR, OKW and AKV. My teenage son likes to go to the pool at night and SSR has several pools. The proximity to Downtown Disney can't be beat--even if you have to take the boat. OKW also has a boat to DTD. Unless you think the kids would REALLY enjoy seeing the animals, AKV is probably the last choice. You didn't mention what size room you were looking for which also may help make your decision--SSR rooms are the smallest of the 3. AKV-Kidani has an extra bath if you're getting at 1 or 2 bedroom (which is nice with teens). OKW has larger room sizes--but bathroom space is similar to SSR. Decisions! Decisions!

 

[Donna M]

OKW has more seating in the living room and is a boat ride away from DTD which I think the kids would enjoy.

SSR is a long walk, or a boat ride away from DTD, but not as spacious as OKW.

I didn't care for AKV due to its remoteness, but if the kids like the theming there are always the buses.

 

[lovin'fl]

A couple things to note. One thing, there are still ways to walk to DD from SSR...I think the path by the West Side is still open and SIL's kids went out to the sidewalk by the road when at Congress Park to walk over. Second thing, the last boat at OKW is 11pm and it leaves DD for the last time at 11:30pm according to http://www.wdwinfo.com/transportation/water.htm

When we were at OKW in Dec 2011, I thought the boat stopped way before 11:30 pm. But even still, 18-19 year olds may want to be at DD past 11:30pm...my kids and their cousins went bowling until 1am one night.

 

[bnk1120]

At 18/19 the kids will definitely want to go off on their own. SSR has the benefit of DTD and many pools to choose from.