What's Your Favorite Disney Resort?

[Fairy]

I hate to ask this. I know I can do a search. But I am feeling lazy today. I'm sorry. Would love your feedback on your favorite place to stay in Disneyworld on property, any property, and why. Right now, we're probably going to go to the Marriott Grande Vista, which is where we stayed the first time, cuz it's free for us (we live on points). However, there are some great package deals out there right now on property, it's just a question of where to stay and then weighing those expenses with the ones we'd have with the Marriott (suite, kitchen, etc.).

Me, DH & 5yo DS
My P's are going, too, their own room
We don't like Epcot
We'd very likely get Disney Dining either way
Will be there 4 solid days, 3 definitely intended for parks (one a day minus epcot)

THANK YOU! Kim, I'm waitin'!

[egoldber]

Well, my mind boggles at the thought of someone disliking Epcot that much. ;) Really? There is nothing you like about it?

Our hotel preference is centered around loving Epcot and like DHS very much as well. We have stayed at the Boardwalk more often than any other resort and made it our DVC home resort. But Epcot is almost always the park we visit first and spend the most evenings at.

But the MK is our least fav of the WDW parks, so that should tell you we are probably not the most typical of WDW visitors LOL! I also dislike the DDP, so feel free to just ignore us. ;)

[clc053103]

Are you talking regular rooms (2 rooms- one for your family, one for parents)- or how about a 2 BR Villa at a DVC- parents could take the "master" and you could have DS in your bedroom or on pull out in living area!

Fav deluxe: polynesian
Fav DVC: Bay Lake Tower
(also love Boardwalk- but again, you aren't Epcot fans!)

I love staying on property, would definitely prefer that over any off site accomodations (except maybe the new four seasons!)

[Fairy]

Well it's not all bad. We like the MK best, followed by HS and AK about equally. We could certainly stay at an Epcot resort and then monorail it to where we need to go or boat or whatever.

We like the front of Epcot, especially Soarin'. But the countries don't excite us, it's sooooo much walking to get to it (like we're not already walking constantly), and to me it just is alot of food and shopping and not as many attractions. Honey I Shrunk the Kids? Eh. We were bored with Kodak, but LOVED the Land, Nemo ride, and Turtle Talk. The Pavillions do look interesting, but ... I dunno what to tell you, we weren't impressed.

Maybe I should look into the Vacation Club.

[WatchingThemGrow]

My visits have been spread out over 20 years, but I loved GF when I was in college. The luxury is just what I needed, and I loved renting the water sprites. As a 20something when the first marathon happened, Dixie Landings was nice enough, with a fun pool for me and my friends and the cute guy who bought my lunch at the food court. As a family, we enjoyed going fishing at POR (used to be Dixie Landings), so that was really unique. OldKeyWest Resort was kinda meh when a bunch of teachers stayed there for a conference, but I can see how it would be really nice for our family now.

[Fairy]

I am a dummy with respect to the resort acronyms. Parks I got. I know what POR is, but what's GF?

[fivi2]

I am a dummy with respect to the resort acronyms. Parks I got. I know what POR is, but what's GF?

Gf= Grand Floridian (I wasn't in love with it when we stayed there with our girls, personally - not bad, just not worth the money imo)

POR - Port Orleans Riverside (I know nothing else about it).

eta: I would check out all the photos on allears.net and maybe read some of the resort threads on disboards. Just pick based on budget, location, and theming. Because, imo, at some point a hotel room is just a hotel room. They all have different pluses and minuses, which is why they all have their fans. We do not do well being crammed into one hotel room. We can't afford DVC, so we looked at ASMu Family Suites and a Cabin at Fort Wilderness. Based on my family, we went with a Cabin (haven't gone yet, going in May), but I can easily see how some people would not even consider it (like my sister!).

Good luck!

[egoldber]

We like the slow pace of Epcot. We like wandering the countries. My kids love the little things, like the toy store in England, the garden/maze in England, the trains in Germany, the storyteller in Japan, the Chinese acrobats, sitting in the shade at the pub in England and watching the water, etc. We like it all. :) Plus, the best beer in WDW is in Epcot. ;) We even like the cheesy boat ride in Mexico inside the pyramid and waving at the people eating in the restaurant.

Plus, if you stay in an Epcot area resort, you actually enter Epcot in the World Showcase, so the countries are more convenient. It is a lot of walking, I give you that.

The Boardwalk is actually the closest resort to DHS in terms of walking.

Just so you know, monorailing to the MK from the Epcot area resorts is the slowest, least convenient way to get there. It would be much faster to take a resort bus to the MK.

We also love Port Orleans French Quarter. Fun Mardi Gras theme, small-ish resort, great bus service.

If you ask Sarah, her favorite resort is Pop Century. Although she is super excited to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge on our next trip.

[Momof3Labs]

I love Polynesian and dream of staying there again - it's been 25 or so years since I've stayed there. Beautiful resort and easy to get to MK and Epcot via the monorail.

POFQ is nice - my favorite in that price range. I've never stayed in the Values.

We love the Swan/Dolphin. Amazing beds, great location (but we also love Epcot - my boys ask for Epcot first, last, and every other chance they get), and the gov't employee rates mean that it costs about the same as a moderate for us, but is more luxurious than most deluxe Disney resorts. They also treat Starwood members like royalty, even if you don't have many points. We got an amazing upgrade on our last trip, to a larger room with a view of Epcot, MK and AKL. We like the Beach Club for the location but the theming doesn't excite us - we'd rather pay half as much to stay across the pond at the Swan/Dolphin.

For theming, AKL is my favorite. I just feel so much at home when I walk in there (probably because we've stayed there for two of DS1's four trips). And the food (IMO) is really, really good at all three of the AKL restaurants. People complain about the proximity of AKL to the parks, but the upside is that AKL doesn't share busses with any of the other resorts, so it kinda ends up a wash in the end.

[LD92599]

We love Port Orleans French Quarter the best; we've stayed at Grand Florid; Beach Club; Caribbean Beach.

FQ is just nice and small, everything is convenient, one bus stop, etc.

[bubbaray]

Totally hijacking, but what is the Contemporary like? We are totally planning in advance (a couple of years most likely, when DD#2 can handle the long flight and more rides), but at this point, the girls are into all things MK-related, possibly with Epcot (is that where Tink is? Ariel?). Looks like the Contemporary is the only hotel that is right on the monorail? Its also super close, which would be good.

Also, what's the deal with DVC properties -- is it only for members are there some "rentals"??

I have to say, its a good thing I have a couple of years, b/c its a lot harder to figure out WDW than it is DL! I kinda like the DL is pretty much foolproof. I planned like crazy, but could have just winged it if I had to

[DietCokeLover]

We've only been twice, so I am definitely not an expert by any means. The first time we stayed at Shades of Green, which is the resort owned by the military.

For our trip last month, we used our timeshare with Wyndham to stay at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort and we LOVED it. We had a 3 bedroom condo that was well over 1500 square feet, with every amenity you could want in your condo. We loved the resort so much we thought we could have stayed there for a week without going to Disney at all (though we would never do that). Anyway, you might want to check into it. I do think they rent some of the condos out to non Wyndham owners.

[billysmommy]

We like the slow pace of Epcot. We like wandering the countries. My kids love the little things, like the toy store in England, the garden/maze in England, the trains in Germany, the storyteller in Japan, the Chinese acrobats, sitting in the shade at the pub in England and watching the water, etc. We like it all. :) Plus, the best beer in WDW is in Epcot. ;) We even like the cheesy boat ride in Mexico inside the pyramid and waving at the people eating in the restaurant.

Plus, if you stay in an Epcot area resort, you actually enter Epcot in the World Showcase, so the countries are more convenient. It is a lot of walking, I give you that.




This is the type of stuff we love at Epcot too :) Just wandering and finding all the little things that are around. We did the Kim Possible adventure this last time ~ we had our mission in France and we found some things we'd never seen before.

DH and I love that we can get a beer, grand marnier slushie, margaritas, etc to drink while we leisurely walk around ;)

We've stayed at the Boardwalk the last couple times but next year are going to try the Beach Club

[JTsMom]

If budget wasn't a huge concern, I'd stay at the Contemporary or Poly. MK is our favorite, and the convenience of being right there would outway any themeing concerns for us, especially for a short stay, when you want to maximize your park time. Wilderness Lodge would be another good bet. I think staying in the cabins at Ft. Wilderness could possibly be fun too.

[egoldber]

Totally hijacking, but what is the Contemporary like?

The Contemporary's theme is well, being contemporary. ;) We've never stayed there but have been inside a few times. The theming is not that great, but it has a lot of restaurants and other amenities. It is also the only WDW property where you can walk to the Magic Kingdom.

Other resorts on the monorail are the Polynesian and the Grand Floridian. You cannot walk to the MK from any of these resorts. The other "MK area" resort is Wilderness Lodge. That one has boat service to the MK.

All other WDW resorts have bus servive to the MK. Some resorts share their buses with other resorts, some have dedicated buses to that resort.


We are totally planning in advance (a couple of years most likely, when DD#2 can handle the long flight and more rides), but at this point, the girls are into all things MK-related, possibly with Epcot (is that where Tink is? Ariel?).

Tink can only be seen at the MK right now. Ariel can currently be seen in her grotto at the MK, but all of that is subject to change. WDW is planning a HUGE renovation and addition to Fantasyland in the MK. That will close the area where the current Tink meet&greet is and I'm not sure if it affects Ariel's grotto or not. Ariel can generally also be seen (wth legs vs with a tail) at the princess meal in Epcot. You may want to consider doing your visit after the Fantasyland reno and expansion is complete, maybe 2012?


Also, what's the deal with DVC properties -- is it only for members are there some "rentals"??

DVC is Disney's timeshare. They are made up of studios, 1BR, 2BR and Grand Villas (3 BRs that sleep 10-12). In all cases, non-DVC members are allowed to book rooms just like a regular hotel room. The room rates are quite high though and it is generally less expensive to "rent points" from a DVC member.

In some cases, the entire resort is all DVC type rooms (Saratoga Springs, Old Key West) but in most cases the resort is a combination of regular hotel rooms and DVC "villas". They share check-in and lobby and facilities, but the DVC rooms are generally in a different section. But it's like being in a different wing of a very large hotel. For exampe, the hotel room section of the Beach Club resort is just called "Beach Club" but the DVC section is called the "Beach Club Villas".

Anyway, just a taste....

[JTsMom]

Totally hijacking, but what is the Contemporary like? We are totally planning in advance (a couple of years most likely, when DD#2 can handle the long flight and more rides), but at this point, the girls are into all things MK-related, possibly with Epcot (is that where Tink is? Ariel?). Looks like the Contemporary is the only hotel that is right on the monorail? Its also super close, which would be good.

Also, what's the deal with DVC properties -- is it only for members are there some "rentals"??

I have to say, its a good thing I have a couple of years, b/c its a lot harder to figure out WDW than it is DL! I kinda like the DL is pretty much foolproof. I planned like crazy, but could have just winged it if I had to

The Contemporary is supposed to be.... contemporary. ;) The rooms were recently re-done, and they are really beautiful- just not very Disney-ish. Much more adult looking, kwim? Chef Mickey's is also there. The monorail runs right through the hotel. There are MK view rooms available, and on the backside, views of Bay Lake. Obviously, park view rooms get much more $$$. There is also a popular signature dining option there called California Grille. You can watch the fireworks from there, and they pipe in the music.

There is also a DVC property there called Bay Lake Towers. It's brand new. There's a walkway connecting it to the main building. Anyone can rent a room there, but another option is to rent DVC points from an owner (which makes it much more affordable). The really cool feature about the CR is that you can WALK to the MK.

There are 2 other resorts on the monorail- the Polynesian (a lot of people prefer it's themeing) and The Grand Floridian. The Poly and Contemporary are both older- there since the park opened. GF is somewhat new- I think it was built in the 90's.

You can see pics of all of the on allears.net, or disboards.


Tink can be found in Pixie Hollow at MK. She also flies during the Wishes fireworks. Ariel has a grotto at MK for meet and greets, and a show at DHS. She also has a meal at Epcot.

[bubbaray]

Thanks ladies, great info. Yes, we knew about the MK renos and had considered waiting until after that (though I'd prefer to go earlier). Will look into the DVC too when we go.

Sorry for the hijack! :)

[JTsMom]

The Contemporary's theme is well, being contemporary. ;)


:ROTFLMAO: Beth, I swear that's gotta be the third time this week I cross-posted with you with almost identical wording.

[Moneypenny]

We stayed at Carribbean Beach last year and quite liked it. We did spend more time at the resort than others might because DD was 4 and could really only handle doing part of the day at the parks. She loved the pool, the food court had decent variety, and she absolutely loved playing on the beach while DH and I lounged in hammocks. I know some people complain that it is a large resort, but that's what we liked about it because it never felt packed or busy (and we went during Spring Break time which is very busy).

[JTsMom]

Fairy, I also wanted to add that I don't think there is a bad Disney property. I think they all have pros and cons, and it's just a matter of what will work best for your particular group. The only ones I personally would avoid would be the All Stars, just b/c I can't find anything about them that is better than Pop.


This year we stayed at Pop- it was fun for different reasons than our stay at CSR was last year. CSR was nice too.

[egoldber]

Fairy, I also wanted to add that I don't think there is a bad Disney property. I think they all have pros and cons, and it's just a matter of what will work best for your particular group. The only ones I personally would avoid would be the All Stars, just b/c I can't find anything about them that is better than Pop.

:yeahthat:

We've stayed at deluxes, DVC, moderates and values. They all have pros and cons and there really isn't one that I would refuse to stay in.

[AnnieW625]

We've never been to WDW, but hope to go in a few years. And if someone wouldn't mind telling me the cost of the DVC I'd greatly appreciate it if you have it (message me if you prefer). We aren't huge travelers (since 03 we've been to Maui once, Vegas twice, and the rest have been to visit family in CA, or Wyoming) and for the most part we stay in California for quick trips (did go to Vegas a few weeks back but stayed w/friends), but both DH and I have kicked around the idea of some sort of time share dependent on the cost so we .

We'd probably never stay at Disneyland because we live 20 minutes away, but would love to do a Disney cruise, and or at least WDW to coincide with our 10th anniversary. DD will be 7, and #2 will be 3. I can honestly imagine us using the lodging more now that we'll two kids when we go to visit family so that might be another benefit of a time share.

[JTsMom]

I can't imagine it being worth it unless you are a pretty devoted Disney goer- going at least every other year. To buy in, I think it's upwards of $18K, and depends on which resort you choose, and how many points you want, then there are yearly fees as well. Some people split the membership among family members, and that would certainly help.

Here's more info that you probably need:
http://www.mousesavers.com/dvc.html

[egoldber]

We split the DVC membership with my ILs. We use it every 3 years for a large family gathering (us, MIL&FIL, and DH's two sisters and their families). We used to get a Grand Villa (3 BR) but now we get two 2BRs and that works better for us. We bought enough points for the whole family to go every 3 years at a low season, not high season. There's also a few extra points that we don't need for that family trip that allows just our family to go about every other year for a week in a 1BR. We have 220 points.

We bought ours on the resale market and I HIGHLY recommend going that route. We would not have bought directly from Disney.

But I agree that unless you go to WDW regularly, it's not a wise move. This is the reason the resale market for timeshares is so good. We also did not buy it with the intent to exchange it to stay at other timeshare proprties. We bought it to use at WDW, and so far it has worked out well for us. We bought in 2004 and we have easily recouped our initial investment at this point.

[Corie]

We love the Wilderness Lodge. We actually got married there in '98
and stayed the week following for our honeymoon.

We took the kids in 2007 and we stayed at the Contemporary. Not a fan.
(I did like the monorail though!)

In November 2009, we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge and the kids loved
it. The kids said that they want to always stay there whenever we go to WDW.
I agree!

[Fairy]

At this point, we've done alot of research now, and the frontrunners were the Wilderness Lodge and the Port Orleans. But we're probably going to end up at one of the Marriott properties not using our points cuz the packages they're offering are actually pretty great and half the price of the packages they're offering at the Disney properties, even with the $750 gift card offsetting it. Still not said and done, but getting there ...

[egoldber]

We love the Wilderness Lodge. We actually got married there in '98
and stayed the week following for our honeymoon.

DH and I are hoping one or both of our girls want to get married at WDW! :heartbeat:

[Corie]

The other "MK area" resort is Wilderness Lodge. That one has boat service to the MK.




We loved riding the boat to the Magic Kingdom. :)

[hellbennt]

chiming in late for the pop...we stayed there last trip and it's very much a basic room (we got 2 adjoining rooms)...but the property is nice- pool and there's even a playground- and the bus system is great- direct bus to MK, downtown disney, etc...also the food court has great selections...

[hillview]

We will be at the Poly in 2 weeks. Will report back!!
/hillary

[AnnieW625]

We split the DVC membership with my ILs. We use it every 3 years for a large family gathering (us, MIL&FIL, and DH's two sisters and their families). We used to get a Grand Villa (3 BR) but now we get two 2BRs and that works better for us. We bought enough points for the whole family to go every 3 years at a low season, not high season. There's also a few extra points that we don't need for that family trip that allows just our family to go about every other year for a week in a 1BR. We have 220 points.

We bought ours on the resale market and I HIGHLY recommend going that route. We would not have bought directly from Disney.

But I agree that unless you go to WDW regularly, it's not a wise move. This is the reason the resale market for timeshares is so good. We also did not buy it with the intent to exchange it to stay at other timeshare proprties. We bought it to use at WDW, and so far it has worked out well for us. We bought in 2004 and we have easily recouped our initial investment at this point.

Thank you soo much for the input Beth:)