Post Your WDW Resort Experiences here.....

[AnnieW625]

Can we have a sticky for this?

Here are some questions that I have, but I think would be great to have in regards to trips to WDW, esp. for first timers planning their trip (don't feel like you have to answer all of them!).

I would like to know the best and worst of the WDW area (Disney, and non Disney owned) resorts, and the non owned Disney resorts near the parks.

What makes a value, moderate, deluxe, or deluxe villa resort worth it for BBB families?

What do I need a rental car for, if Disney provides transportation (and how much is parking)?

Are there regular grocery stores (like Albertsons, Safeway, etc.) in the resort, or is all of that off the resort area?

Are park hopper tickets worth it?

TIA!

[egoldber]

LOL! That is a pretty tall order for one thread. ;)

You will get a range of answers because different people value different things. We have stayed at all 3 levels of resorts, and have enjoyed them all for various reasons. If price were never an option, we would always stay at Boardwalk or Beach Club Villas.

I would read through the various trip report threads that people have posted to get a feel.

As for grocery stores, each resort has a small store on site that sells basic grocery items (bread, milk, bagels, etc.). They are not cheap, but they are also not as horribly priced as you might think. I think when we were there a year ago, a gallon of milk was $5 or $6 (for example). Also, there are small grocery items (Nutrigrain bars, etc.) for snacks.

But within a 15 minutes drive of WDW are many, many grocery stores. There is a Winn Dixie we like to go to and also an Albertson. There is a Super Target on the way in from the airport we have stopped at several times. Last time we packed a box with dry foods and checked it and that worked well also.

For example, here is my trip report from last January for Animal Kingdom Villas and Beach Club Villas. http://www.windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=349517

As for rental cars, no if you are staying at a WDW resort you do not need a rental car. However, Orlando rentals are quite cheap. And my DH is extremely impatient. ;) It's worth it to us to rent a car to prevent his grumbling about bus wait times. It's also nice to make a grocery run or if you want to eat off-site, which we often do. We get tired of the WDW food pretty quickly.

Parking at the parks is free if you are staying at a WDW rerort. Parking at the resorts is also free.

[TwinFoxes]

Do you mean a trip report thread sticky thread? That's actually a pretty good idea I think. That way folks wouldn't have to search around, they could just read the thread. I love reading the trip reports, I'd constantly be in that thread!

Is the Disney board moderated? You might try PMing the mods.

[crl]

Here is what I posted about our lodging in my trip report thread:

We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge, which is the cheapest of the deluxe resorts and is a Magic Kingdom resort. It was beautiful and the Christmas decorations were just gorgeous. Our room was very nice, not huge, but decent size for a hotel room. They provided a pack n play for dd.

We spent a lot of time at the pool with a slide, they have a second pool tucked away by the villas. They also have hot tubs and a poolside bar.

We ate at Whispering Canyon and the take away place. Wilderness Lodge also has Artist's Point. Whispering Canyon is okay, has a corny schtick going, but is very loud so not great for grabbing a family meal. Artist's Point, which we did not eat at, is fancy and pricey (also two sit down meals on the Disney dining plan).


Wilderness Lodge's advantages, IMO, are the price point, the boat to the Magic Kingdom and the theme/decor. Disadvantages are the lack of a simple sit down restaurant and the bus transportation to everything but the Magic Kingdom. I would definitely go with a monorail hotel instead if it is in the budget.



I'm happy to answer questions.
Catherine

[Moneypenny]

PPs have answered a lot of your questions, but I'll tell you our thought process when deciding to go with a mod over a value for each of our two trips. We've only ever stayed at a mod (Caribbean Beach), but when I priced it out both times, there was only a $200 difference for the entire week. At a mod you get a refrigerator included with your room (you have to pay $10 or $12/day to rent one at a value) and the rooms are larger. Those were both important things for us, so we decided it was worth it. I'm sure we'd also be perfectly happy at a value, too, but I hate clutter in the room and I felt like we had ample space to store everything we needed out of the way in the mod room.

[TwinFoxes]

This past time we stayed at Boardwalk Villas. We loved the location. People like monorail hotels, for good reason, but BW is also very convenient. It's walking distance to Epcot, and DHS. I think most people don't realize how close it is to DHS. We just missed a boat, and decided to walk, we got to DHS at pretty much the same time as the boat, but by the time they tied up and everything, we were way ahead of the folks who got off the boat. (We were pushing the BJCMD). I think the theming of the hotel is pretty lame. We had a one bedroom suite, and it was great, the perfect amount of space. We could park the stroller in the entry, we had our own bedroom, so we (in theory) didn't have to go to bed when DDs did. The kitchenette was so nice to have (we stopped by WF on the way in) and so was the in-room washer/drier.

The villas are part of DVC. We got a pretty good rate, but next time I will buy points from an owner.

I stayed at All-Star Music when I was single, and PO-R with DH and a friend of ours before we were married. I think Pop Century is supposed to be nicer than ASM (both are Values). I wouldn't go back to ASM. Very small rooms, no real restaurants, the layout of the resort wasn't all that good, and I hated waiting for the buses. Plus it seemed really loud from all of the kids and thin walls. I thought Port Orleans (moderate) was fine, I wouldn't have a problem with staying there again. It wasn't awesome, but it was fine. The pool is cute.

But honestly, for our needs, renting DVC points seems the best way to go. I'd love to try BLT next. But BW and Beach Club would both be fine.

[2Kates]

I agree with the PP in that the Epcot resorts (Boardwalk, BC/YC) are really convenient in that you can boat or walk to DHS and Epcot. We've recently returned from our first stay at YC and while we loved the resort and the awesome pool, the way the pool is set up made it difficult to keep up with the kids.
My favorite moderate is Coronado Springs Resort. It has nicely renovated rooms with queen beds vs. doubles in the other moderate level resorts. The pool is really great with a long slide my DD loves and we also enjoy the Pepper Market Food Court. The resort itself felt really relaxing to us after being in the parks all day.

We drive to WDW so we usually take our car to the parks. This trip we used the bus transportation some because we were with a large group of family. For the most part that worked fine leaving the resort but we did have some long waits at the parks going back to the resort.
Parking at the theme parks is free is you stay on property, otherwise it's $14 per day.
When I book trips for others who are flying into Orlando, one thing I suggest considering in regard to a rental car is whether you are traveling to other resorts to go to their restaurants (Chef Mickey's, Cape May, etc.). This can be pretty time consuming, if you are coming from your own resort say for a character breakfast, as you would need to bus to a park or the Ticket & Transportation Center and transfer to another bus to the restaurant's resort. You could also take a taxi in this situation to save on time.

As to Park Hoppers, we always get them added to our tickets and I suggest them to others. Yes they're a good bit more (about $57 per ticket) but I think they're worth it in the flexibility you gain. This can be useful for dining reservations and if one park turns out to be super crowded you can go to another. Also for younger kids a half day at some of the parks might be just right for them to enjoy but not a full day. Again you could go visit another park if you wanted.

HTH and Happy Planning!!!

[hellbennt]

We live in FL & drive; the longest we have stayed is 2 nights.
We stayed at Pop Century (researched here), and, for our needs it's been perfect so far.
Car: we drive and leave the car at Pop.

We have only 'done' WDW from Pop; the bus ride is not too long and the wait for buses is not bad, either. We have also taken the bus from Pop to downtown Disney (Halloween! Kids went trick-or-treating at Downtown Disney).

The rooms are very basic and we get two connecting rooms. We have not missed having a fridge in the room...

The restaurant is counter service (I think that's what it is? beth?), with lots of choices. We have been on the Dining Plan and also not. I think I prefer the dining plan!

I cannot say enough good things about the Crystal Palace for breakfast (characters are Pooh, Eyeore, Piglet & Tigger)!
We have been lucky to get reservations 3 times now!
Park Fare is on our list of other character meals to try, as are others mentioned here :)

Ok enough about dining; I suppose that is for another thread!

[clc053103]

Here's some of my thoughts on resorts.

Bay Lake Tower: DVC property at the Contemporary. It's modern- no real theming like other hotels. 2br villa has 3 bathrooms which is great. Easy walk to MK, also on the monorail. Can use both BLT and contemp pools for variety. Nice to be attached to contemporary for shopping and dining, but shared front desk sorta stinks- they don't really know what is over there. Stay on points, yours or rented, and get access to top of the world lounge which is nice for drinks and fireworks viewing. no kids club on site.

Boardwalk Villas: easy walk to Epcot and DHS. Nice theming, cool to be on the boardwalk for nightlife. easy walk or boat to Beach Club which shows movies most nights. Only 2 baths in a 2br villa but extra sinks. Ask to be near the elevators or you could have a room that's so far away you are practically at DHS! No kids club on site.

Poly: large rooms in most buildings. on monorail, and convenient from some buildings to walk straight to TTC to get on Epcot monorail. Great dining and shopping on site. older property- the elevator in the main house is downright scary. has the nicest kids club at disney. Love that everyone says Aloha! Some of the two-floor buildings do not have an elevator.

Will add Wilderness Lodge when I get back next week!

[clc053103]

Adding another from the weekend's trip!

Wilderness Lodge: Deluxe hotel in MK area but Not on monorail. Rooms are smallest of the deluxes but do have nice double sinks outside the bathroom. Rooms around the lobby are convenient, but can get loud during pony races at Whispering Canyon. Love the theming. Pool is small but can also go in DVC pool at villas. Transportation was not convenient- in particular, the Epcot bus was shared with Ft Wilderness which led to a very long ride to Epcot, and Epcot bus service seemed spotty at best. Boat to MK very efficient, and even bus to MK was direct. Definitely not as convenient as monorail hotel. Whipering Canyon Breakfast we excellent and much less goofy antics than dinner. Terretory Lounge was very nice as well.