Disney World Resorts

[MirandaMoes]

Hi!
Anyone have any thoughts on the Disney resorts? My mom and I are taking my 15 mo old dd in July and plan to stay at one of the resorts but can not decide which one!
Thanks!
Miranda

[egoldber]

Which ones are you looking at? Deluxe, Moderate or Value? What's more important to you, price, location or features?

[shburks]

Yep, I agree. The Deluxe ones are fabulous but PRICEY! Moderates are good. Value is a great value (ha ha!) but pretty bare-bones. There's nothing wrong with the value ones--they're just your basic rooms. There aren't any gourmet restaurants there--just a food court.

For the little amount of time we spent in the rooms, we did a value resort (All Star Movies) and loved it! Fun theming, decent pools, decent breakfast (that's all we ate there). This was just before ds, though. We would probably spend more time in the room now (naps, early bed time, etc) and might want more to the room. I don't know. For me, Disney is about the parks, not the hotel. If I had to choose, my money would be spent on restaurants or fun things at the parks.

Susan

[Momof3Labs]

There's a ton of great info at www.disboards.com - perhaps start there, and then once you have it narrowed down, ask some questions? It's such a broad topic - chapters and chapters of books have been written on the resorts!

[colleenfs]

If you are interested in a moderate, I've been told that Port Orleans French Quarter is the smallest and easiest to navigate with a small child. We plan to stay there when we go in January.

~Colleen
Julia, 1-10-02
Emma, 7-27-05

[kimbe]

All depends how much you want to spend and what kind of deal you can get. However, ANY resort you stay at will be nice. That is the good thing about Disney I think. You won't see beautiful pictures on a website and then end up at a "roach motel." We have stayed at value, moderate and we will be staying at the Swan at an upcoming trip. We were more than happy at the value resorts even though they are small they are SOOOOO geared towards children --- huge statues of Toy Story Characters even a football field etc. DH and I had a blast staying at them. To be honest we were bored at the moderates. We chose to stay at the Swan with DD because of its location. With a little planning and walking, we shouldn't have to use the busses all that much. I agree with pp that you should hit www.disboards.com. DH reads them every night --- there is lots of great information there! HTH!

[icunurse]

I agree. We have stayed there both times that we went to Disney. We didn't have DS at the time, but it is the smallest one and the layout is very easy to get around. The bus that takes you from the resort to the other parks also only stops at one other resort while some of the other buses stop at several places. I'd also check out one of the "Disney with Kids" books out there...it will give you lots of great tips on lodging, as well as restaurants, etc. Have fun!

Traci
~Connor's Mom 02/2004~
Agency paperwork completed - waiting (and waiting) for another baby!

[egoldber]

We stayed at POFQ for a week in March and it was extremely nice. We were very happy there. The resort is small enough to be easily walkable with a little one and a stroller.

We have also stayed at the Boardwalk, the Yacht Club, Old Key West, Port Orleans Riverside, and Pop Century.

They all have advantages and disadvantages, its just a matter of what you want.

[CBB]

We just came back from Disney last week. We stayed at PO French Quarter. I also debated between the different moderate resorts for a long time. We ended up picking POFQ (even though we weren't too crazy about the theme since we lived in New Orleans for many years)because of it's size and we were very happy with our decision. I also like the design of the pool a lot. The only down side is POFQ and Reverside share buses, but they always pick up and drop off FQ first. I second the disboards.com and also allearsnet.com. Decide b/w value, moderat and Deluxe first. Allearsnet.com has pictures of the resorts so you can see which theme you like the best. I also signed up for tourguidemike.com and was very helpful. I got all these websites from the moms here.
BTW there was free dining plan for those who are going in August and September which is a great deal. Also try calling AAA (if you're a member) for discounts.

HTH!

[colleenfs]

Also, I hear you can get discounted park tickets at BJ's...

~Colleen
Julia, 1-10-02
Emma, 7-27-05