Favourite Disney World Resorts

[BryceKnott]

Hey Disboards, lets see what your favourite resorts are at Walt Disney World! Select a favourite from each category and give a little blurb why it is your favourite. Also, let us know where you have actually stayed!

Categories:

Value Resort Hotels:
Disney's Pop Century Resort
Disney's All-Star Movies Resort
Disney's All-Star Music Resort
Disney's All-Star Sports Resort
Disney's Art of Animation Resort

Moderate Resort Hotels:
Disney's Port Orleans Resort - Riverside
Disney's Port Orleans Resort - French Quarter
Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort
Disney's Coronado Springs Resort
The Cabins at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort

Deluxe Resort Hotels:
Disney's Polynesian Resort
Disney's Contemporary Resort
Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
Disney's Yacht Club Resort
Disney's BoardWalk Inn
Disney's Beach Club Resort
Disney's Wilderness Lodge

Deluxe Villas:
Disney's BoardWalk Villas
Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort
Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas - Jambo House
Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas - Kidani Village
Disney's Beach Club Villas
The Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge
Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
Disney's Old Key West Resort
The Villa's at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

Other Select Deluxe Hotels:
Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel
Walt Disney World Swan Hotel

 

[floridagirl61]

Value - have stayed at POP, AOA, All Star Music. Like all of them but actually prefer ASMu due to it being less busy than the others.

Moderate - Coronado Springs is the only one I have stayed at. I liked the atmosphere and landscaping here.

Deluxe and Deluxe Villa - have stayed at WL, BW, BC, and BCV. I really liked them all, but my favorite was either the BC or BCV due to the pool. I liked the space that the BCV 2bedroom villa had but I liked the CL amenities at the BC.

It's so hard to choose. Disney has some great hotels.

 

[elaw]

Hey Disboards, lets see what your favourite resorts are at Walt Disney World! Select a favourite from each category and give a little blurb why it is your favourite. Also, let us know where you have actually stayed!

Value Resort Hotels:
The Values dont really appeal to us ... We do not really care for the theming.

Moderate Resort Hotels:
Disney's Port Orleans Resort - Riverside - We love all the greenery and trees, river and the rustic charm of the AB

Deluxe Resort Hotels:
Disney's Wilderness Lodge - We love all the greenery and trees, the lobby is breathtaking and layout very compact and simple.

Deluxe Villas:
The Villas dont really appeal to us, they feel too much like apartments.

Other Select Deluxe Hotels:
We only like staying at the Disney Designed/Themed resorts when at WDW

Where we have actually stayed

WDW - resort stays rankings & qty.

Deluxe
(1) Wilderness Lodge x9 (CL and Non-CL)
(2) Grand Floridian x3 (CL-RPC and Non-CL)
(3) Yacht Club x1 (CL)
(4) Beach Club x4 (CL and Non-CL)
(5) Animal Kingdom Lodge x3 (CL and Non-CL)
(6) Boardwalk Inn x2 (CL and Non-CL)
(7) Contemporary x1 (CL)

Moderate
(1) Port Orleans Riverside x6
(2) Port Orleans - FQ x1
(3) Coronado Springs Resort x1
(4) Caribbean Beach Resort x1

 

[meridascurls]

I've stayed at Pop Century, Port Orleans French Quarter and Coronado Springs.

My favourite by far is POFQ. It's so small and peaceful, it has such a great atmosphere with the jazz music playing, the design of the resort is beautiful and I love the food court.

 

[VAfamily1998]

I have only stayed at a few. Here they are in my order of preference:

Boardwalk Inn--stayed once, CL. I LOVED the convenience of being able to walk to Epcot and HS
Wilderness Lodge--stayed once, not CL. Beautiful hotel and I love the rustic feel. Also loved being able to walk to the beach to watch that electrical water parade.
Yacht Club--stayed once, CL. Again I loved the convenience of being able to walk to Epcot and HS. I just liked the theme of BWI more.
Polynesian--stayed once, not CL. Convenient location to the monorail, nice large rooms--but the theme just wasn't as exciting to me as I thought it would be

They were all very nice, and I would definitely stay at any one of them again--but right now I have a "goal" to stay in each Disney resort at least once. Coming up I have POR in Oct. and POFQ in Nov!

 

[TNDisneyNut]

I've stayed at The Contemporary, POFQ, and WL with a trip to AKLKV this September for the first time. I was upgraded to Contemporary from ASMo and loved it but hated the walks. I walk all day in the park and want to relax at the resort. For this reason, i specifically chose POFQ and the WL when I could afford it. POFQ. Is compact, lovely theming, quiet and on the water. I love being near the water! WL is my fav due to it's more compact size and lovely theming. It's like not being at Disney but in the northwest in a real lodge. I love the lake, boat rides to WDW, boat and bike rentals, and the access the FW. We are trying AKLKV for the animals and also just to try something new, but WL is still my fav!

 

[mickeynut1]

We have loved every resort we've stayed at, but we do have our favorites.

Values - have never stayed at any of them

Moderates - have only stayed at CBR - loved everything about the resort:

- the grounds were beautiful
- the food court was great with a lot of variety
- the pool was fun and well themed
- the bus transportation was great
- the resort is centrally located, so it didn't take more than about 10 minutes to get to any theme park, water park, or DTD.

Deluxes - stayed at WL, AKL, BC, Poly, & GF

Poly - our favorite for the following reasons:

- the tropical surroundings are beautiful
- the beach is great for relaxing in a hammock watching the fireworks
- the volcano pool is great as it backs up to the beach with a distant view of the castle
- Captain Cooks is great for quick CS meals/snacks
- the rooms are large and spacious with all rooms having a daybed
- it's just 2 monorail stops from MK
- it's a short 5-7 minute walk to the TTC to catch the Epcot monorail

Even though the Poly is our favorite, the GF runs a close second, but we wouldn't hesitate to stay at any of them again (we have already stayed at a few of them more than once).

 

[kjcs618]

1st, the moderates...
Art of Animation - kids love the rooms, the pool, the colors
Port Orleans - appealed more to my wife and me.

2nd, the deluxes... (my faves)
Beach Club - best pool, walk to Epcot, boat to HS, Boardwalk
Polynesian - pool, MK right there, fireworks from beach, monorail to Epcot, theme

 

[mickeychick06]

Value: All Star Movies

I have stayed at all of the All Star resorts, and while amenities and bus service were identical, we like the fun themes at ASM the best.

Moderate: Port Orleans French Quarter

We have stayed at all of the moderate resorts, and we like them all. POFQ was the last moderate we tried, and we weren't extremely excited about it before our trip. Apparently, we had no idea what we were missing! The compact layout of the resort was phenomenal for refilling our mugs, and though we were in a corner room on the first floor next to stairs, it was very quiet and peaceful. The bus service was the best we have ever experienced at a moderate resort.

Deluxe: Animal Kingdom Lodge

Though I have visited every deluxe resort, this is the only deluxe we've stayed at, and it was an experience unlike any other. We splurged for savannah view rooms, and it was worth it! Altogether, our party had 4 rooms, and they were on different sides of the hallway, so we had views of 2 different savannahs, and there is nothing like waking up to giraffes, zebras, and a myriad of other animals right outside your room! We woke up extra early just to watch the animals before heading out to the parks.

Other: Dolphin

I always said I would never stay at the Swan or Dolphin because they were not officially Disney resorts, but my husband had a convention there, and no way was he going to Disney without me! We loved our room at the Dolphin. We were high up with a window facing the Boardwalk, and we could see Illuminations every night. We also loved walking to the Boardwalk, Epcot, and the Studios- much better than waiting on a bus!

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

I have not stayed at any values or moderates. Here are the ones I have stayed at in order of preference:

1. Polynesian
2. Contemporary
3. Dolphin
4. Swan
5. Grand Floridian
6. Fort Wilderness Cabins

 

[ArwenMarie]

Our favorite is Contemporary/Bay Lake. I just think being able to walk back and forth to MK is the most magical thing in the world.

 

[blackmamba10000]

Here is a list of the resorts we've stayed at, starting with our favorite and ending with our least favorite. With that being said, we wouldn't hesitate to stay at any of them.

Polynesian
Pop century
Wilderness Lodge
Coronado Springs
Animal kingdom lodge
POFQ

 

[BryceKnott]

Thanks for all the posts everyone! Keep them coming!

 

[GM24]

We've only stayed at one Value - AoA Little Mermaid room for two nights last November. We didn't mind the walk (well, I walked and my husband was on his ECV) from the food court or the bus to the room, but did not like the food court - very busy and extremely loud.

Moderates - we've stayed at CBx1, PORx1 (was Dixie Landings at the time), POFQx13 and CSRx1 (just one night in February of this year and did not like it at all) and our favorite, by far, is POFQ.

Deluxe - we've stayed at GFx1, AKLx3, BCx1 and WLx2. My husband's favorite is WL and mine is BC (loved being able to walk to Epcot and the room was huge).

 

[herb102211]

Value- We've stayed at Pop and Art of Animation. I would give the edge to Art of Animation because it is a newer resort and we liked the food court a lot better.

Moderates- We've never stayed in a moderate, but POFQ is on our must-do list. It's a beautiful, tranquil resort.

Deluxe/ Deluxe Villas- We've stayed at BCV, BC, YC, BW, BWV, OKW, BLT and we'll be staying at VWL in 2 weeks. Our favorite resorts are the YC and BC (or BCV) because they are close to Epcot and DHS and we love Stormalong Bay. Plus, there are several restaurants in the Boardwalk area that you could go to without having to set foot in the parks.

 

[KatMark]

Here is an order of the ones we have stayed at, favorite to least favorite (I am not including the values...we've stayed at two and didn't like either one of them and wont' stay at another)

Tie: Animal Kingdom Lodge -- just love the beauty of the resort and waking up to animals off my balcony and Old Key West -- love the theme, the quietness of the resort

Boardwalk Villas -- love being close to walk to Epcot and the entertainment on the Boardwalk

Coronado Springs Resort -- holds a special place in our hearts after ten stays, including celebrating a 50th birthday, 60th birthday, 25th wedding anniversary

Polynesian -- really love the resort, but not the price tag

Dolphin -- got a great rate for our two night stay there; the room was lovely but felt very removed from Disney

Beach Club Villas -- I wanted to love it from all the reviews, but our room ws in bad shape, the CM's were not very friendly and the worse bus service ever

Contemporary -- it's okay, but it just isn't for us

 

[gelimaurk]

Have not yet stayed at a Deluxe Resort, but when we finally do, I'd love to start with the Polynesian Resort.

Moderate Resort favorite: Coronado Springs Resort, although the Port Orleans FQ was very nice, and the ability to jump on the Sassagoula Riverboats was an extra plus.

 

[DisneyPanda17]

My favorite is the AK lodge for DVC villas. My favorite that isn't DVC is the Contempary

 

[Kristina4109]

Never stayed at a Value (double beds? No thanks) so can't speak to that.

Moderate - Port Orleans French Quarter. Love the New Orleans feel and the Dixieland jazz that plays in the background.

Villas- Beach Club Villas. Eating in World Showcase for dinner every night and walking back to our resort? Yes, please!

Deluxe - Polynesian! The only WDW resort we're returning to after already staying there.

And a shout out to pitching a tent at Fort Wilderness. In my 20's it was a blast. Now that I'm, er, no longer in my 20's I don't think my back could take it.

 

[cath1979]

going back in september 2015...went in september 2013 but i think my daughter was a little bit too young..she was 2..i eas wondering moderate ir value..is there more space in the room in moderate..we stayed at pop last time and the room was so small