Does the Resort You Stay At Help Enhance Your Vacation???

[scanne]

Do you think the resort you stay at plays a significant role in shaping the mood of your vacation?? Do you plan around the resort or do you just see it as a place to sleep?

[Ricola]

The resort certainly influences our plans. We always take advantage of at least some of the activities it offers!

[Luv2Roam]

For the most part, it is a place to shower and sleep. But that doesn't mean I don't want to enjoy it too. :)
POR I was disappointed in for various reasons:
1) read how this was many's favorite resort (And so far my least fav)
2) pathetic bus service
3) not a clean room by the past Disney standards I have experienced
But to me, well groomed, nice grounds don't make a resort good alone.
And there were things at CSR that weren't so good either.
I still think it odd that the resort I liked best, so far where we have stayed, is a Value.:confused: Which is fine by me. ;)
Less $ on the room -- more $ elsewhere.
We really are in our room very little.

[Tink]

I think that the resort adds to our magic. To me, other hotels have the standard things and Disney resorts have all of the special touches, nicely themed pools, food courts, mickey soaps. These things just can't be found anywhere else except on a Disney preprty hotel.

I guess I feel the difference becuase when we go to DL, we stay off property due to the costs. And having stayed at the Disneyland hotel once, there was a noticeable difference. The theming just isn't there.

There is just something about a Disney Hotel, maybe it's that wake up call from Mickey!:D

My DH says that I am a "Disney Snob" since I always find fault with other hotels!

[SnackyStacky]

The resort is a place for me to sleep and shower. I stay wherever I can get the best rates.

This trip, however, the best rate we could get happened to be at POR. When we decided to extend our trip by one night, we decided to splurge and see what a deluxe resort was like and are staying at the Boardwalk.

But personally, I would never plan a trip around a resort.

[Mickey76]

:D

The resort that I stay at plays a very important part in my vacation. Piglet203 and I looked at a lot of options during our recent visit to WDW. We knew we would stay on-site, of course, and we wanted to make sure that where we stayed for the first time together at WDW would be memorable and and a resort that we could utilize when not at the parks. We chose the Coronado Springs and we loved it! Next year, we'll probably have to stay at the All-Stars, since we'll be be at WDW to go over some ideas with our wedding planner for our 2004 Wedding Pavilion Wedding, which will cost us some money. Our honeymoon will be at the Polynesian because we were there for dinner and we loved the theming and the romantic ambiance throughout he resort. Part of the excitement of going to WDW for us is chossing which Disney resort we're going to stay at. Others feel differently, but we like planning on what we're going to do at the resort and looking at the various pictures that a lot of DIS'ers post here on the Boards.

Mickey76:D

[SeaSpray]

For us, too, the resort plays a significant role in our overall WDW vacation. I enjoy planning in 3 ways: the resorts, the restaurants, and the parks! All 3 of these together is what makes WDW a very special place to go on vacation. :)

[mkymouse4ever]

Definately piviotal decision! We spend alot of our time at the resort! Being ap holders for years, we go into the parks then oh no it's too hot, back to resort, swim and then dinner & return late when its cooled off. Now with the limited hours this plan only works if your staying for a good while, (3 weeks this j/a & 2 wk in oct).

We like to use the pools alot, have nice resturants available, and be near a park. It is so nice to have good transportation, so we usually choose a magic kingdom hotel and / or epcot hotel.

We even "scout" out other sites when we are down there so we always have pictures and info to make the next plans! Usually spend time in all of the disney resorts, scouting or having lunch.

:) MKY

[princess angel]

for me it is a huge part of the vacation!
we spend a good amount of time at the resort, the theme is important, as well as amenities, location, & service is very important, after all you go on vacation to be catered to and to have fun right !!! :)

very very important!
why Anne, what are you up to????

Laura :)

[Tulip]

We've only stayed at one value resort but enjoyed it so much we're planning on upgrading next time to a moderate. For us the resort ended up helping us choose our schedule every day because of the location.

[TigrLvsPooh]

The resort is very important to us. ;) In many ways it determines what type of vacation we'll have. Believe me, there is a BIG difference between a WDW vacation at the Wilderness Cabins and one at the GF! LOL :D :D :D

I bet you're getting excited for your new little prince's arrival!!! :D

[abitjaded]

When the parks stayed open late, the resort was less important. When we were at All Stars, Oct 2001 the hours were cut severly and EE was gone, in the middle of our stay. We had visited Epcot already and seen Fantasmic before they cut the hours. We spent a couple very boring evenings freezing in the All Stars pool, since we had small kids and the clubs at Board Walk and PI were not an option. Probably would book a cheapie again if the hours were good, but for off-season-short-hours, we are bailing on the official resorts and getting the teacher's rate at The Swan. So far at least, Disney cannot touch the amenities or price at even their moderates ('tho I'd take AKL or Alligator Bayou if rates will go down).

[Amgrease]

We go to Disney a lot for weekend trips and the hotel plays a big part in where we go. We have annual passes so we tend to stick to one or two parks during a 3-4 day visit. When we stay at a monorail resort we do MK and Epcot. At AKL we do a lot of AK and then maybe another park. It just depends what's convienent. When we go to the Poly in Sep we will spend A LOT of time at MK and at the hotel.

[joyful1nh]

Since we now seem to go at least once per year (and then we bought AP's......) I've found the resort becomes much more a part of the vacation. We no longer are rushing around trying to squeeze in as many park hours as possible, so we try to pick a resort we will enjoy spending time at, with a great pool, and good kids activities. Then we plan our park schedule around the resort.

[mat2672]

I know the resort is a definite enhancement to our vacations. I think its just like the icing on the cake. I stayed at the Wilderness Lodge last time and it was a pleasure just coming back to the resort at night and just walking thru that lobby with the native american music in the backround. I just think a nice resort really tops off the whole disney magic thing. I know some people look at the hotel as just a place to sleep and shower, but I just dont agree at all. It all depends on your own personality I guess. If you dont feel the "magic" while in the resort as well, then you probably wont ever understand why someone else does.

[JulesMom]

The resort is very important to us!

We love to try different places.

The more we like the resort, the more we like our vacation.:D

[Dee & Greg]

All except CBR. Would like to try there. However, after Sept 11 last year, the DTD hotels had such great rates that we couldn't pass them up for a last-minute trip. $39 for Tower Room at Grosvenor! But it wasn't as good as on-site. No theme. Wouldn't do it again unless it was another great deal.. I love CS, but DH prefers POFQ. Half the fun of planning a trip is choosing the resort.

[Muushka]

The resort thing has been a slow addiction for us.

It started out staying off site, Kissimmee or wherever.

Then, it was the moderates. That was such a treat.

Then, we decided to just 'try' the deluxes. MISTAKE

Now we own a DVC at VWL. And that is "the rest of the story.."

Yes, the resort helps enhance the vacation! :cool:

[imbe@aol.com]

Originally posted by scanne
Do you think the resort you stay at plays a significant role in shaping the mood of your vacation?? Do you plan around the resort or do you just see it as a place to sleep?

Yes, the resort DEFINITELY plays a BIG part in the enjoyment of my trip! Since I've already made many trips, I don't do them "commando" style, with constant park going, morning and night. We do things a little more relaxed, taking "chill" time, and because of that, I want a really nice, comfortable place that I enjoy.

Judi

[jimmiej]

I just got back 3 weeks ago, & I'm already making a priority list of the Disney resorts I want to stay at in '04!

[MinnieGi]

I love picking out what resort we will try next. It definetly plays a big part in our vacation. We like to spend time at the resort and just soak up the atmosphere. It feels so special to be in that Disney resort environment for us. It also influences what areas of the World we eat in and tour.

Last year at WL we concetrated on MK and had toured and had meals at CR, Poly, and GF as well as WL.

This year we are at OKW and I am planning to do more DTD meals and activities than we have previously done.

I love how the different themes enhance your Disney experienc, at least they do for me! :D

[nluvwithdisney]

The resort is a part of our whole vacation experience. We try to budget our money so we can stay where we want within reason. Even if we are on the go much of the time, we still want to "feel" and absorb the resort or hotel.

[s&k'smom]

Add me to the list of the resort is very important. DH and I splurge and spend the money on a deluxe if we can. We definately spend a lot of time there. We are taking two kids with us this year and are splurging on the GF because we don't know how our DS will react to the parks (he's mildly autistic) so we'll just have to put our feet up at the pool, sipping drinks and relaxing. Boy that's gonna be a tough vacation.:D

[mat2672]

I think a good point was made earlier. I think after youve been to disney several times you tend to realize that there is much more than just running off to the parks all day and night and you come to appreciate the little things that a resort can add. You realize that you can slow down and relax and take in more of what everything else outside of the parks has to offer. In that case the resort would obviously play an important role.

[Hnymoon@Dixie]

The resort really adds to the magic for us!!
I didn't realize how much until we stayed @ all stars, it was ok for the money, but we will NEVER go back there!! The $$ savings was not worth the magic lost! This vacation, we will only buy park passes for 5 of the 8 days we will be staying there!! The reason is, we enjoy relaxing @ the resort & will be resort hopping to check out other resorts for future visits!!!

[MJames41]

For us, it most definately does. That is why we resort hop so much. Each resort has so much to offer to a Disney vacation, even the values. When we stay at a deluxe, we are usually staying there because that area is our primary focus (Epcot/MGM, or MK). For our next trip, I'm thinking of adding in another night so we can stay at All Stars first, then WL, then Boardwalk Villas, then Contemporary, then our final night will probably be at either French Quarter or CBR (my daughter loves the moderates).

The deluxe resorts at Disney have so much to offer. And then there is all the activity at Ft. Wilderness. There is less to do at some 5 star resorts in the world than at one deluxe at Disney. Probably the only thing they are missing is gambling.

[idontknow]

In the past, we have always based where we will stay by what days we go to the parks. (this year is different. We are on a really tight budget) Normally, we stay at the Allstars or a moderate with a great rate when we do the parks. That way we got EE privilages, bus service, etc, but are not paying an arm and a leg. Then, towards the end of our trip, we would splurge for a few days and stay at moderate or delux just to enjoy the resort. No parks, just pure relaxation using what the resort has to offer.