Which Resort Looks/Feels Most Like Disney?

baldy6060

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 15, 2012
In your opinion, which resorts have that Disney "feel" to it or look most "Disney-esque"? And while we're at it which look/feel the least like Disney?
 
Depends what you are looking for. Do you want value resorts or the Deluxe Villas or someplace in-between.

We love the Animal Kingdom so love staying at Jambo with a Savanna view. That is something very special Disney to me. Before we had DVC, we loved the Value All-Star Movies with our little kids because they loved the huge cartoon statues. Disney now looks different than what I was expecting in 1988. I think I was thinking Toon Town from Roger Rabbit, and was disappointed when the charaters weren't cartoons. :) Disney does have something for every taste. If you like colonial, you will love Beach Club and it is so close to Epcot. If you like the actual beach, Caribbean Beach has a neat atmosphere. What age is your group and what experience do you want to have?
 
Least in my mind is easy, contemporary... for most i will say Polynesian but honestly that is mostly do to when I was 5 my family stayed there and I was blown away by it and when I visit there it still feels very disney to me.
 
It's totally preference based. The Value resorts are definitely the most "in your face" Disney animation, but they don't appeal to me at all.
The Contemporary resort "feels" Disney by virtue of the fact that you can walk to the Magic Kingdom, but it doesn't really appeal to me either.

I've only stayed on property twice, and both resorts "felt" like Disney in different ways.
Staying at the Doubletree Guest Suites during the trip in between didn't feel like Disney to me, even though it was super close. I've visited many of the resorts on property, and the theming just takes you away no matter where you are.
 


It just depends on what the Disney "feel" is or means to you. Its different for everyone. For us, the Polynesian is our favorite resort hands down. While we have many reasons we love the Poly, being able to sit on the beach at night and watch Wishes over the castle is special for us. Some other reasons we love the Poly:

Easy transportation to/from MK and Epcot
Restaurant/Shopping options
24 hour mug refill/QS dining
Well themed/beautiful grounds (especially beautiful at night IMO)
Neverland Club
Watercraft Rentals
Volcano Pool/Cabana Rentals
Monorail Resort tour on a rainy day (you don't feel trapped if it's raining!!)
and.....
Lapu Lapu!! (the pineapple drink in my picture)
 
For me, it's POR but really, all the resorts with the exception of the Contemporary feel very Disney to me. It's all about the attention to detail and the themeing.
 
We own at SSR, and for us, it's the least Disney "themed" (to us).

However, it has a special Disney feeling for us, and we actually like the relative lack of theming because:

1. we prefer subtle versus in-your-face theming
2. we're there 1-2x a year
3. we like 8-10 hours of in-your-face theming in the parks and then "escaping" it later in the day.
 


For me it is either an Epcot resort or Monorail resort.

Being so close to the Parks to me is DISNEY!!!

Especially with a nice view of the castle and monorail!! Nothing says Disney to me more than looking out my window and seeing them!

:goodvibes

But the Values are definitely more in your face Disney!
 
I love All Star Movies (can't afford more so I might as well go with the "In Your Face" theme)
AOA might be even more so - it seems that way for the pics I seen - hoping to stay there on our next trip (if I can talk DH into one after this next one)
 
The Swan/Dolphin feel the least Disney to me. But we have only stayed there once. They are corporate conference hotels. Nothing special about them at all, other than their location near Epcot. I like to avoid anything that reminds me of "corporate life" while on vacation, or any other time!

The value resorts have the big decorations, but seem a little "cheap" to me. We have stayed at Music, Sports, and Pop Century.

WL is incredible - but we have only walked around, not stayed there ($$$).

POFQ was very nice, and definitely feels Disney with the dragon pool slide.

In January we are trying POR. We walked around it briefly last year and found it to be beautiful!

I expect the most Disney place to stay at WDW would be the room in the castle at MK! If you can get it.
 
Probably, because of the movie icons, I'd say ASMO is the most "Disney." CS, though I like it a lot, would be the least.

Have fun making up your mind.

:)
 
I love All Star Movies (can't afford more so I might as well go with the "In Your Face" theme)
AOA might be even more so - it seems that way for the pics I seen - hoping to stay there on our next trip (if I can talk DH into one after this next one)

I agree, I love it AS Movies as well. Its very Disney! Love that resort. I think any of the values is pretty much in your face disney. I've stayed at all of them (except AoA) and love them all. I hope to stay at AoA next trip. To me, thats VERY much in your face Disney. Cant wait.

My fave moderate is PO Riverside. Its not "in your face" disney, but its lovely. And i love the boat to DTD! :goodvibes
 
It depends what your looking for. I agree the values are the in your face Disney Theming. The Mods and Deluxe resorts are more about transporting you to a different time or place, with incredible theming and attention to detail.
For me the least themed would be the CR. except for the monorail running thru it and walk to MK, it just feels like a hotel in an airport to me. And SSR just looks like a condo complex. But that's me.
 
Which resort looks/feels most like Disney? And no one has mentioned the Art of Animation? Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, Cars and the Lion King? The Art of Animation is the first resort to put the cartoons that the kids have seen our front. ASMo, ASMu, ASSp and POP all have Disney feel but they pale in comparison to the decor of AoA.
 
I think people were including AoA when they said "value" resorts. I agree AoA or ASmovies would be the most Disney with the over the top icons. But as others have said, it depends what speaks "Disney" to you.

I agree also that the CR is the least Disney with Swan & Dolphin a close second.
 
I totally agree with everyone else that if you want over the top disney feel the any value is where u want to be. Once the resort starts going up in price the theming last there just it other ways.

For a mod- I would have to say POR royal rooms. A wonderful but a very large resort.

Deluxe it could be any of them. Poly, GF &CR u can see MK from the resorts them selves and the monorail is a plus. With BC/YC, & BW the view of epoct right out your door. It me u can't get a better theme then seeing MK from your window or the lake.

So much to Choose from I am struggling with the same issues myself
Good luck!
 
I was afraid EVERYONE would say AoA when I asked. Good to see different answers. I'm asking for myself, wife, DS-12 and DD-15. We've stayed offsite, POFQ and WL (honeymoon, no kids). We've felt both onsite felt "disney-like" in their own way. You know, Disney service, hidden Mickeys, well thought out imagineering (the tour at WL showcased the details. Amazing!). We are currently booked for a coupla days at Pop then 4 days at CSR. My wife and I think CSR looks beautiful and Pop just looks like a cheap hotel with cool theming. I'm just afraid Pop will be too cheezy and "kiddie" for us adults and CSR may not feel Disney enough for everyone. My wife didn't like DHS because it didn't feel like she was in Disney (I get it. Not as magical now that I have kids. I like it but not near as much as when I was a teen). We had a POR Royal Room booked but I can save money by booking standard at CSR, we probably won't be in the room enough to appreciate the RR and we've already been to POFQ and used POR pool and such. It was nice but we all wanna try something new. I'm just overthinking everything right now hoping all goes well.
 
For my family, POR and CSR were both magical and got us in the Disney spirit very easily. Everything from the buses to the dinning hall was exciting.

However, we had a very hard time feeling anything at CBR. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it felt like our Disney vibe was being sucked out of us. There was just no magic or excitement to be found there for us.
 
The Swan/Dolphin feel the least Disney to me. But we have only stayed there once. They are corporate conference hotels. Nothing special about them at all, other than their location near Epcot. I like to avoid anything that reminds me of "corporate life" while on vacation, or any other time!

I agree completely. I stayed at the Swan once and checked out a week ahead of schedule. I was thrilled and relieved to get a last-minute-reserved room at AKL.

BTW, WL is awesome. I hope you have a chance to stay there someday.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top