Best Upscale Disney Resort

[legaleagal]

What would be considered the nicest Disney resort? It will be myself, hubby and our 13 year old son so would want 2 queen size beds. Also the largest room sizes? I was all set to book at the Waldorf Astoria but started thinking about a resort onsite to take advantage of the extra park hours.

I think the Grand Floridian and Poly are supposed to be nice??? If you suggest other resorts can you spell them out, never stayed onsite and get confused by all the initials

Thanks!

 

[goofy4tink]

Well, I'm a huge fan of Boardwalk (BWI)...I own DVC at BWV, so I'm a wee bit predjudiced!! I love the area...the ability to walk to both Epcot and DHS.
But, I have friends who love the Grand Floridian (GF)...nice, upscale resort, easy monorail ride to MK. It's too 'formal' for me....just isn't my cup of tea.
I like the Polynesian...nice area, and very pretty. I like the choice of restaurants there. Many seem to find it to be a bit on the dark side in the actual rooms...I didn't feel that way. Nice to walk over to the TTC and get the Epcot monorail, and take the monorail over to MK right from the resort.
Then, there's the Contemporary (CR)..short walk to MK. Many find it to be on the 'cold' side as far as looks go. I love Bay Lake Tower (BLT)..own DVC there as well. But, you won't get two queen beds there. The actual CR resort has good food options as well and is a busy, bustling area.
I also love the Yacht and Beach Club resorts (YC/BC)...terrific pool area there. And again, you can walk to both Epcot and DHS.

When it comes to room size, all the deluxe resort rooms are pretty much identical. Not really huge but acceptable.

 

[gustavenla68]

I think it all depends on what you value most. Is it the pool, location, food, decor, theming ect. The choice is really individual. For example if your planing on spending a lot of time at the pool you may prefer the Yacht Club. If you love animals then AKL would be the place for you. If you are planning a lot of meals at world showcase then BWI would be best so you can walk to it. I don't think you will never get everyone to agree because they are all so different. Since all the deluxe have about the same size room it may help more to tell us more about what you like in a resort.

 

[Cee]

They're all wonderful! But we love CR for sentimental reasons. It was the first resort we ever stayed at as a family for our first trip in '93.

 

[spiceycat]

CR and Polyn have the biggest hotel rooms.

YC and GF are considered more upscale than the others - but really preferred BC, CR/BLT and Poly

now if you really want nice would go for 1-bedroom (not studio) at BLT - you will get a king bed in the master, queen sleeper sofa and chair bed in the livingroom. It has 2 bathrooms, full kitchen, living area, laundry area.

plus the lakeviews are really nice.

 

[Butterflygirl35]

I really think it depends on where you spend most of your time.. If Magic Kingdom the Grand Floridian is very nice and upscale. But depending on when you are going you could run into construction. Same with Poly.

If you tend to spend more time Epcot / Hollywood Studios then I would suggest either Boardwalk, Beach Club or Yacht Club. All three are very nice upscale Deluxe hotels.

Yacht Club and Beach Club have Stormalong Bay (Yacht Club tends to be a bit quieter), Boardwalk has awesome night life (some people fear the clown pool) LOL..

 

[ctl]

If you want to spend a lot of time in the resort then the Yacht and Beach Club is wonderful, with a great pool area. If you want proximity to the Magic Kingdom both the Polynesian and the Grand Floridian are top notch. If you want a quiet out of the way experience the Wilderness Lodge is in the woods and like being at Yosemite (One caveat, if you don't have a rental car, it's much harder to travel to and from). if it's your first time, I'd try GF or Poly, they are both on the monorail, they have boats that can take you to and from the MK and you can see the fireworks from either at night and the electrical water pageant over seven seas Lagoon at night.

 

[JavaQueen8]

We stayed at the Poly in June and loved it. There are flowers and plants everywhere and the room was great, flat screen tv and lots of room. The staff were great and the QS was great and the tonga toast is a cant miss. I would stay there again in a heartbeat!!

 

[mom of princessx2]

Like others have stated, it really depends where you want to spend your time.

We prefer the BC or BWI because of location. We enjoy the walk to both Epcot and DHS as well as being able to take the boat. We stayed at BLT this summer and loved being able to walk to MK but I didn't care for the monorail. Mainly because it broke down one day and it was a nightmare to get to BLT from Epcot. If a bus breaks down you call a new one if the monorail breaks down you have to find alternative transportion!

 

[cyb]

My favorite upscale resort is the Yacht Club, the Beach Club is also nice.

 

[ljmclin]

For my family - it's the Polynesian. The resort is beautiful and is always nice and quite no matter how many people are there. We are a family of 5 and there is plenty of room for us. The pools are great and the restaurants are wonderful. Like previous posts mentioned, you need to decide what works best for your family. We love the monorail and being close to MK. We also enjoy watching the fireworks from the beach. The cast members at the resort are excellent. You never pass someone without an "Aloha" sent your way. My kids even tell other guests Aloha. It's just a wonderful atmosphere. Not everyone considers their resort an important part of the vacation experience; However, my family enjoys the resort as much as the parks. Staying at the Polynesian is always a wonderful treat for us.

 

[Mousemommy1]

We stayed at the WL for 11 days last month and it was the most wonderful place!

It was relaxing (a nice break from the hustle/bustle of the parks), it is beautiful (rustically elegant), we had a beautiful view of Cinderella Castle from our room so we still felt like we were in the middle of it all.

If you can spring for Club Level - do it - it totally enhances the experience and the CL CM's are amazing!

WL has a great location in the MK area, and you can boat to MK or take the boat to CR and hop on the monorail.

We really don't have one thing we don't like abou the WL, and we can't wait to go back in April!

 

[Alabama Minnie]

We LOVE the Polynesian and Wilderness Lodge but I would say (1) Grand Floridian (monorail), (2) Boardwalk Inn (Epcot area). We have never been able to stay at GF but we did stay club-level/boardwalk-view at BWI and it felt upscale to us.

The Poly and WL have more of a relaxed, "homey" feel to us, which we prefer.

 

[danielryan]

definitely the contemporary!

 

[wdwrich]

When it comes to room size, all the deluxe resort rooms are pretty much identical. Not really huge but acceptable.

Not quite. The (standard) rooms at the Poly and Contemporary are larger than the standard rooms at the other deluxes.

 

[prune1977]

We stayed at the WL for 11 days last month and it was the most wonderful place!

It was relaxing (a nice break from the hustle/bustle of the parks), it is beautiful (rustically elegant), we had a beautiful view of Cinderella Castle from our room so we still felt like we were in the middle of it all.

If you can spring for Club Level - do it - it totally enhances the experience and the CL CM's are amazing!

WL has a great location in the MK area, and you can boat to MK or take the boat to CR and hop on the monorail.

We really don't have one thing we don't like abou the WL, and we can't wait to go back in April!

You sound too much like me; our first stay was at the WL for 10 nights. Wasn't even CL but we did have courtyard view. This past January we stayed at AKL and was even upgraded to a savanah view with bunk beds but it still just wasn't the same as WL. Our dream resort is the Poly but I think for me WL is going to be hard to beat.

 

[Pakey]

If you are used to staying in resorts like the Waldorf, you are going to be very disappointed by a Disney deluxe. Disney deluxe does not equal upscale. To me, the closest to that feeling is going to be the Grand Floridian, Royal Palm Club. However, this resort is currently in the midst of some construction. I'm not sure when you are planning to vacation but I probably would not pick GF in 2012 due to that.

After Grand Floridian, I'd probably pick the Yacht Club.

 

[ElizabethB]

Pakey said it best. Nothing at Disney will compare with the Waldorf. We have tried all the deluxes and concierge level at most of them. Your best bet is Grand Floridian Royal Palm Club. It's quite nice and the best Disney has to offer.

 

[padawans]

I don't think any of the Disney resorts are going to compare to the Waldorf. The GF is Disney's flagship resort, but I wouldn't stay there with the construction. I think BW or Yc would be your best bet. Poly is our favorite, but I don't consider it eleganat like a Waldorf.

 

[DisneyDetective]

Most of the resorts are nice, I'm a Saratoga Springs champion but I'm biased as that is my DVC home resort. Was think it may depend on where you want to spend most of your time. Yacht and Beach Club/boardwalk are good resorts for EPCOT and Hollywood Studios whereas Poly and Grand Floridian is close to Magic Kingdom. I will say that the Contempory is freezing and Boardwalk is a bit of a distance to your car (unless valet parking).