If you could only go one time......

[Gamblers]

If you could go and stay only one time at WDW which resort would you stay at???

The reason I ask this is, that I plan on going and staying at a WDW resort next year. I have been to WDW twice but never stayed on site. Who knows what tomorrow brings so I am in the thought process of staying at a resort like I will not be back again and would like to go all out. I am taking kids with me and they will be 4 and 6 when we go. So I want them to remember it for quite sometime.

Planning on some Disney Magic,
Gamblers

[tileman]

Well for me it would have to be Animal Kingdom Lodge
We was there last yr and I love it there.

And I bet your kids would love to wake up in the am to the animals outside to see.

[Pigglets-pal]

Animal Kingdom Lodge would be great for the kids and yourself. Now if money was no object take the Royal or Governor suite at AKL. If you dont want to go that expensive then the 2 bedroom suite would be great as well. You could have your own room and the kids theirs.The kids would love seeing the animals every day as well,you will love it also. I only wish we could do something like that some day as well. the food at this resort is great as well.IMHO.:smooth:

[tigger'spal]

I agree with tileman and Pigglets-pal I love Akl!:D

[Tiffany]

Originally posted by Gamblers
If you could go and stay only one time at WDW which resort would you stay at???

The reason I ask this is, that I plan on going and staying at a WDW resort next year. I have been to WDW twice but never stayed on site. Who knows what tomorrow brings so I am in the thought process of staying at a resort like I will not be back again and would like to go all out. I am taking kids with me and they will be 4 and 6 when we go. So I want them to remember it for quite sometime.

Planning on some Disney Magic,
Gamblers

Well, another vote for the AKL. My husband and I talked and said either the AKL or the YC but when I told him the ages of your children he said the AKL hands down.

Your kids do like animals? Don't they?:D :D

[Maypo4fam]

I would choose either Grand Floridian or Yacht and Beach Club. Considering the ages of your children, Y & B would get the nod. It has a marvelous pool area and an ice cream parlor type of restaurant that I'm sure they would love (Beaches and Cream).

[macs4us]

I know that if we only had one more trip to WDW, we would choose a 1 bedroom villa at the Boardwalk. Love the location, love the room, love the tub!!! My sister who is NOT a Disney person took her daughter for their only trip to WDW and stayed there - they loved it. Of course, my niece's favorite park was Epcot, so that added to their liking the Boardwalk (she likes Disneyland better than WDW's Magic Kingdom). When we are not being park warriors, we like Old Key West - the one bedroom is huge there.

[lvs_eeyore]

I would have to vote for the Polynesian Lagoon View Concierge. The Poly is right on the monorail line so there is very easy access to MK and Epcot. There is the concierge where you can have breakfast making getting to the park in the morning just that much faster. Plus they have food offererings most of the day so you could always stop back and nosh. They also give you water bottles that you can take into the park. There is nothing like watching the fireworks and water pagent from your room. There are tons of kids activies at the resort. The volcano pool is brand new and has a really neat slide. They have great restaurants. I hear Kona has some really neat and spectacular kids desserts. I asked my kids who are around your kids ages and they both said POLY right off.

[CaliforniaDreaming]

The Grand Floridian --- no better place to stay for a once-in-a-lifetime Walt Disney World vacation!

[TigrLvsPooh]

As a Mom of 2 boys I'd say a 2 bedroom villa at one of the DVC resorts!!! :)

[jaguar9748]

I also vote for any DVC property - 1 bedroom at least. Because they are DVC properties, I think they are maintained the best and I think the staff is the best. I think you would have the most magical of stays. I would also vote for the GF, BC or AKL too.

[Beanie]

Another vote for Animal Kingdom Lodge!! It is my new favorite!! :) Second place, though, definitely goes to Wilderness Lodge!! :)

[preshi]

AKL no question about it! :D

[Gamblers]

I appreciate the responses that I have gotten on my post. I have started my countdown for next year.

I have checked with my travel agent and prices for AKL have not been posted yet for next Summer.

Thanks to all,
Gamblers:bounce: :Pinkbounc

[Diznyqt]

I can never just pick one of anything....indecisive me. :D Soooo....here's 2: Ankimal Kingdom Lodge or the Poly!

[eeyore0062]

I would vote for the Yacht and Beach Club! The convenience to Epcot and MGM can't be beat. They have the best pool on property, and they are beautiful~

As for the GF, that is also beautiful, and personally, having a girl, I would have to choose that one! I love the convenience to the MK!

The AKL doesn't do it for me! The rooms are too small and dark, and it is rather inconvenient from the parks. I feel the same way about WL, although it is a bit more convenient and the pool there is better!

The Poly is also very convenient, has large rooms and a nice pool...

The Boardwalk would be great, if we were going without kids, because I would love to take advantage of the nightlife right outside my door, and the convenience to MGM and Epcot.

[DisOrBust]

You really can't go wrong choosing any of the WDW resorts! But, you can spend a lot of extra cash using a travel agent...sorry no offense to the travel agents out there. Here is where you will get the best "bang for youe buck" if you are willing to do your homework. Otherwise you can use Dreams Unlimilted for a travel agent...they are the sponsors of this website and true Disney experts.


Our first trip I used a travel agent stayed at CBR at FULL price in low season and spent as much on our room as I did last year at AKL for a savanah view room with an AP discount. I still kick myself over that, don't make the same mistake....Have fun planning its almost as fun as going there!!

[Gamblers]

When I first started planning this trip I wanted to stay at the Poly or I would not go. I liked the convenience of the monorail and the location to MK. I wanted to watch the fireworks from the beach and wake up in the morning to look out of my room and see MK. I have also been told that the Poly is very near the Transportation Center. If I wanted to hop the monorail to go to Chef Mickey's for a character breakfast I could. I have also been told that the rooms are bigger at Poly. I have a group of my family going and they have posed the question to me that we will not stay or use the room that much unless sleeping. I also felt that Poly would appeal to the kids because of the pools and other things that we could do on the lagoon, etc.
As far as a travel agent, I fear that I will book a trip and have something that will not be included. I tried finding some pricing on WDW website and their prices were higher than my travel agents quote. Since I could not get prices for next summer I compared the pricing for this July. When I got pricing from WDW it included air(AA), Poly resort, Resort magic, and transportation to and from airport. I have been keeping an eye on the discounts page listed on this site. They have not listed anything for the time of the year that I was going yet. I am still doing some looking around for pricing. So if anyone has some helpful hints or sites I appreciate it. Thanks for the Dreams Unlimited, DisOrBust.

I appreciate all that are helping me out because I really want to feel confident when I make the purchase of my trip.

Gamblers;)

[Dallas_Lady]

Though not my favorite as far as theming (that would be WL) but I would go with Yacht/Beach Club or Boardwalk Inn for the location.

[eeyore0062]

Gamblers, from someone who always books everything herself... do this. Choose the resort in which you are interested, make your ressies over the phone, then keep watching these boards for discounts... when you see one for the time and resort you prefer, call and have it applied to your ressie, or remake the ressie, then cancel the other.

As for air... if you are flying, then go to the airline of your choice (ours is Southwest, as they are the only ones that have direct flights to MCO from our city). Make your own ressies... it is very easy and only takes about 5 minutes.

Then make your ressies for your airport transfers or rental car. We have used Tiffany Towncar, and it was WONDERFUL! We were able to get a $5 off coupon from their site. If you rent, Dollar Rent a Car was fine, and the rental place is at the airport, so you don't have to take a shuttle there. You can do that online, as well!

You can make any priority seating arrangements on the phone yourself. If you do a search, you will find a timeline that gives you how many days out you can make your PS.

If you are into golf, or any of the kids activities, they are done the same way as the PS for dinner.

As for tickets, we prefer to purchase the hoppers. We don't like the Unlimited Magic Passes, because any days you don't use, you loose. With the hoppers, they never expire. If you are going to stay more than 7 days, though, you would be better off with the Annual Pass. 4 and 5 day hoppers, as well as 6 day hopper plus passes may be purchased at the Disney Store, and you can order your Annual passes there, as well. AAA also has discounted passes, or you can join the Disney Club, which although you pay $39 per year, can save you money on passes, resorts and give you a discount at select restaurants, stores (including the Disney Store, Disneystore.com, and the catalog), and they have specials on resorts throughout the year.

We don't like using a Travel Agent, because we feel as though we have no control. If we want to change something, we have to go through them. Disney will not talk to you, if a TA has set everything up... that could be a problem if your TA is on vacation, unavailable, etc. You could end up not being able to take advantage of discounts, etc due to this... and that is too much of a risk for me!

Anyway, have fun planning... it is half the fun!

[Gillian]

AKL is beautiful, and it's new, but with kids the age of yours, I'd have to give another vote for the Polynesian. I also think the contemporary is cool, but you'll get a bunch of different opinions on that :)

Dreams Unlimited is a great travel agency! They will help you organize your trip. Once you are assigned to an agent, there is always someone to answer your questions. When my agent is on vacation, I am always given another person to contact with questions.

Discounts for your dates probably won't be out until winter 2003, so you should book what you want when you make a decision & hope for a better deal. DU will watch for specials after you book. Usually the best discounts are for the room only, so if you book a package, you may not be able to take advantage of them. Packages are convenient, but you will save money by booking everything separately.

Happy planning! :)

[enord]

With kids 4 & 6, there is no doubt, I would stay at one of the monorail resorts. You will probably spend more days in the Magic Kingdom, and there is nothing better than just hopping on the monorail to get back to your room. My personal favorite is the Polynesian(love the atmosphere at night). The kids would have a blast at the pool. You can stand and stare at the castle from the beach, and they have several nice places to eat. Have a great time whatever you decide on.

[Terry S]

My kids are 4 - daughter and 6 - son and I would definately go with the Beach Club. If you want to go all out, go for the 1 bedroom at the Beach Club Villas which are attahced to the BC and are opening this July. We have stayed several times at the BC and we love it, the pool, Storm Along Bay is the best on WDW property, my kids can't get enough of it. We stayed this past April at AKL since my husband and kids thought that it would be nice to look at the animals and I have to agree that, yes it was nice to get up in the AM and look at the Animals, it just wasn't for me for lots of reasons, decor was to dark, all transportation was by bus, no beach etc.... I asked my kids after the trip which resort they preffered and the vote went to Beach Club. You just can't beat the 5 minute walk to Epcot and the view from the beach accross to the boardwalk is breathtaking.

As far as the travel agent goes or booking a WDW world package I wouldn't do either one, I agree with everything eeyore0062 says about booking everything seperately. Call WDW at 407-WDISNEY or if you join the Disney Club call their 1-800 # and ask for a room only quote, no tickets or flights, then get your tickets seperately, I would also suggest the AP if your planning on 7 or more days and call the airline yourself also. Don't worry about missing anything. Just read everything you need to know here on the DIS and post questions.

You don't mention how long your stay is, if your planning on a stay of 8 days or more, there are plently of cool things for the kids to do like the pirate cruise, but if you are only going for a short time, you wouldn't want to waste time doing these things.

Planning is half the fun! Enjoy!

[MJames41]

I would split the stay. With kids that age, I would even start my trip at one of the All Stars, probably All Star Movies, perhaps for only a night. I would then go to my favorite monorail resort for a few days (we prefer Contemporary over Poly) to visit MK. Then, on to Beach Club to stay for when we go to MGM and Epcot. And then I would end the stay at AKL. Knowing what I know now, and given that you said it's a one time shot, that is what I would do. Of course I'd also want to go for at least 1 week, if not 2 weeks.

[Gamblers]

I was planning on staying at least 8 nights. Probably spending some time at Universal to hit the Spiderman ride, Back to the Future, etc. I do not do the roller coaters due to fear of heights, but love virtual reality rides such as Spiderman. If they get too high on those rides I can close my eyes! :D If you really wanted to have some fun you should watch me on a plane! :eek:

Terry S, I will try the booking things seperately.

I forget which thread it was but someone had said that they had booked with BC and after haggling with the WDW rep they got an upgrade to Poly for $25 bucks extra per night???? I will try and find the exact thread and post it here if anybody could explain that to me.

Gamblers.

Ok here is the quote:
I thought you might want to know I tried this tip and called several times and everyone at reservations at WDW said they have never heard of this. Just recently I booked a 10 day trip to WDW for our July visit. I made reservations at the Caribbean Beach through WDW directly. With a little prodding I was upgraded to the Polynesian for almost the same price as the Caribbean Beach (I'm paying about $25.00 more per night) . The nice lady said that you have to ask if invitational upgrades are available, they won't offer it to you unless asked. These "invitations" are only sometimes available and will bump you up one class (value to moderate or moderate to deluxe). It never hurts to ask. Thanks to David for this tip!

I found it here: http://www.guide2wdw.com/tipofthe.htm#RESORT%20TIPS

:confused:

[Terry S]

Gamblers.... The resort that a lot of people are referring to here is the Beach Club. Not the Carribean Beach. The Beach Club is a deluxe resort just like the Polynesian. The Carribean Beach is a moderate. What the person was offered is what is generally called an "upsell" rate. This is when you ask for a value or mod and it is booked they will sometimes give you an upsell rate to the next level of resort for a good price. There is a FAQ at the top of this board called The Yacht and Beach Club FAQ, you can see pictures of the Beach Club there.

[ContempoSMT]

Contemporary Resort Tower Room. The Lcoation is perfect, the view is great , and the hotel is unbelievable. Thats my pick
followed by
Grand Floridian
Wilderness Lodge

[Trekker]

I have always dreamed of staying at the Grand Floridian - - -

I cannot give a reason other than I think that resort looks awesome when we pass it on the monorail....

[susy]

I would do half the trip at GF and half at BC.

[Glory Days]

When my girls were 4 & 6 we stayed on-site for the first time at the Poly. It was a magical vacation, so great to be by the monorail, see the fireworks from the beach, watch the electric light parade. With teens, the Y/B Club was the best. But when it gets down to just my DH & me, I would love to stay at the Grand Floridian.

[BarryCF]

Hiya from another Texan Gamblers:) :D I agree with eeyore0062, whatever you decide to do, book it yourself. That's half the fun!!:D As you get closer to your vacation, check SW at www.iflyswa.com for specials. You can fly from Houston Hobby, DFW, and SA for around $200 pp. If they're doing Friends Fly Free it's even cheaper. As soon as Disney will let you, book your room, the deposit is equal to one night's rent, and then check the Disboards and www.mousesavers.com for codes. Codes usually come out a couple of months in advance. If your're gonna do a couple days at US/IOA and this is a once in a lifetime trip, try to do 10 nts, you'll be glad you did. A few months before you go, get a Disney Club Card. With the discounts it provides, it'll pay for itself in no time. Also get an Orlando Magicard, it's free and gives you discounts outside the World. Get it from www.orlandoinfo.com :). If you have any questions feel free to ask. I have so much fun planning my own trips that I enjoy helping others.:D :p

Cheers:)

[Dana49]

If I had little children and money was not a problem, I would stay at the Grand Floridian. If I had older children, or it was just the wife and I, I would stay at the Yacht Club. Location, location, location! :)

[Gamblers]

Big howdy to you BarryCF. We are going to use AA to fly. Some in the group have frequent flyer miles. If they have any miles left over they are going to try and help others out in the group on their air. I had forgotten the friends fly free on SW.

Grand Floridian. Is it kid friendly??? I know all WDW resorts are kid friendly. I know some are more friendly than others. Just from looking at pics from the web the GF looks like a fancy place. I am having visions of my 3 and 6 year old racing through the lobby knocking over lamps, vases, etc. It is a very beautiful place and probably is a very kiddy place. I can probably vision staying at the Poly and watching my 3 and 6 year old knocking over tiki torches!!! Kodak moment. :D

Planning IS have the fun! Thanks to all for the help.

Gamblers

[beattyfamily]

Well, if it's your ONLY trip and you have little ones and want to go all out, I'd pick GF first, then either the Poly or the Cont.

You can't beat the convenience of a monorail resort with little ones!

The GF is WONDERFUL. You feel great! Cont. has the convenience of being able to walk to MK if you want. Poly has the tropical feel.

Good luck!

[imbe@aol.com]

Originally posted by Gamblers
If you could go and stay only one time at WDW which resort would you stay at???

The reason I ask this is, that I plan on going and staying at a WDW resort next year. I have been to WDW twice but never stayed on site. Who knows what tomorrow brings so I am in the thought process of staying at a resort like I will not be back again and would like to go all out. I am taking kids with me and they will be 4 and 6 when we go. So I want them to remember it for quite sometime.

Planning on some Disney Magic,
Gamblers

Well, I'd say the Grand Floridian (that's MY favorite! LOL) The proximity to the MK, which is probably going to be where you'll spend a lot of time with kids that age, is excellent. OTOH, AKL *is* a great resort too, as long as you don't mind the fact that you'll have to be taking a bus everywhere..