Another help me choose post

[Mainemama]

I have been enjoying reading all the help me choose posts, and am ready to add my own to the mix. I only need to add 1 night to our June stay. We are booked for 4 nights at the YC, but our arrival night is not available in the same room class. We are a family of 5 (kids are 11, 8,4) and have always stayed in one deluxe room and have loved every resort we have tried. We are driving from Tampa, and won't arrive until 8:30 pm or later, so will just plan to enjoy the resort the night we arrive. Ease of check in would be a priority. I am torn between trying to be close to MK, so we could hit the park early the next day, or choosing a resort that is new to us and just enjoying the pool before we transfer to the Yacht Club (we love to try different pools). We have APs and no ADRs to worry about so are really open to anything. What would you pick? (All resorts listed below are with an AP discount, in order of cost.) I am including the YC/BC rooms as an easy transfer option.
Available choices are:
All Star Music Family Suite ($228, in the 200s...)
Fort Wilderness Cabin
Art of Animation Suite
Boardwalk Standard View
Villas at Wilderness Lodge Studio ($313, in the 300s....)
Beach Club Standard View
Old Key West 1 bedroom Villas
Contemporary Garden Wing
Grand Floridian outer building/garden view ($400 or above for the rest)
Yacht Club Club level (this is $120 more than our currently booked garden view for the next nights)
Polynesian
Animal Kingdom Kidani 1 bedroom villa

The last 2 would be hard to justify price wise.

Port Orleans also has a preferred room, no discount ($250).
Thanks for opinions!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Since you are arriving late you want to have a convenient pool, so that would cancel Fort Wilderness cabins. If you want the pool to have a water slide then that would cancel the value resorts, although the Art of Animation suites are really cute and the pool looks like fun.

Then you would have to decide if you want to see fireworks from your resort or have any other fun night time activities.

 

[Ensusieasm]

I have been enjoying reading all the help me choose posts, and am ready to add my own to the mix. I only need to add 1 night to our June stay. We are booked for 4 nights at the YC, but our arrival night is not available in the same room class. We are a family of 5 (kids are 11, 8,4) and have always stayed in one deluxe room and have loved every resort we have tried. We are driving from Tampa, and won't arrive until 8:30 pm or later, so will just plan to enjoy the resort the night we arrive. Ease of check in would be a priority. I am torn between trying to be close to MK, so we could hit the park early the next day, or choosing a resort that is new to us and just enjoying the pool before we transfer to the Yacht Club (we love to try different pools). We have APs and no ADRs to worry about so are really open to anything. What would you pick? (All resorts listed below are with an AP discount, in order of cost.) I am including the YC/BC rooms as an easy transfer option.
Available choices are:
All Star Music Family Suite ($228, in the 200s...)
Fort Wilderness Cabin
Art of Animation Suite
Boardwalk Standard View
Villas at Wilderness Lodge Studio ($313, in the 300s....)
Beach Club Standard View
Old Key West 1 bedroom Villas
Contemporary Garden Wing
Grand Floridian outer building/garden view ($400 or above for the rest)
Yacht Club Club level (this is $120 more than our currently booked garden view for the next nights)
Polynesian
Animal Kingdom Kidani 1 bedroom villa

The last 2 would be hard to justify price wise.

Port Orleans also has a preferred room, no discount ($250).
Thanks for opinions!

Try the art of animation suite. The kids would get a kick out of walking around and getting pictures with the amazing icons and decor. The pool is awesome. Also you can walk across the bridge and check out Pop's theming and icons too. (I'm a Mainer too!)

 

[Babsy]

If the Polynesian is hard to justify, but the GF isn't, then I would book the GF! If I am moving anyway, I would like to be in the MK area for a night. It would be nice to watch Wishes from the resort, enjoy the beautiful grounds, perhaps walk to the Poly and hit the parks early your first morning.

BTW, any chance of booking 2 nights and changing YC to 3 nights? It makes the switch more enjoyable if you have more than one night at both resorts, IMO.

Second choice would be the Poly, because, well, it's the poly and therefore justifiable by that alone!

Third choice would be the CR GW. SO close to the MK and very convenient for a one night stay.

Fourth choice would be a FW cabin. I would make sure everyone understood that the existence of a kitchen does NOT mean that I am cooking, though! LOL

Good luck choosing. Sometimes the one night starting the vacation sets the tone. Hope you LOVE your choice!

 

[dkrauss]

Since your arrival is so late.............why not just do the All Star Music Suite! Its the best price...........and the pool should be open. Or......................why not just stay off site and save the money?

If you we're going to be earlier I could see staying on site because you could do things but with that late arrival you might as well get some sleep and start early the next day. You can get to the YC early and leave your luggage, they hold it until the room is ready...........no worries.

Hey just a thought

Doug

 

[ChasingLeslie]

Have you considered Swan/Dolphin?

 

[Micca]

Poly would be sweet, but the price is tough to swallow. If CR is in the budget, I think that would be our choice.

 

[Mainemama]

Thanks for all the replies!

Since you are arriving late you want to have a convenient pool, so that would cancel Fort Wilderness cabins. If you want the pool to have a water slide then that would cancel the value resorts, although the Art of Animation suites are really cute and the pool looks like fun.

Then you would have to decide if you want to see fireworks from your resort or have any other fun night time activities.

Yes, as much as I am sort of interested to try FW (the pool looks fun and I love the Fort area ), checking in worried me. I hadn't thought about the pool being hard to access, so that is out. The water slide is a plus, but not necessary. We should get our fix at Stormalong Bay. The A of A pool caught my ODD's eye, so we will add that to the short list. I think we will be up for 1 night activity, I.e. Pool or fireworks, we don't need both. Our travel day will be pretty straightforward, so we won't be exhausted, but we are relatively early to bed folks.

If the Polynesian is hard to justify, but the GF isn't, then I would book the GF! If I am moving anyway, I would like to be in the MK area for a night. It would be nice to watch Wishes from the resort, enjoy the beautiful grounds, perhaps walk to the Poly and hit the parks early your first morning.

BTW, any chance of booking 2 nights and changing YC to 3 nights? It makes the switch more enjoyable if you have more than one night at both resorts, IMO.

Second choice would be the Poly, because, well, it's the poly and therefore justifiable by that alone!

Third choice would be the CR GW. SO close to the MK and very convenient for a one night stay.

Fourth choice would be a FW cabin. I would make sure everyone understood that the existence of a kitchen does NOT mean that I am cooking, though! LOL

Good luck choosing. Sometimes the one night starting the vacation sets the tone. Hope you LOVE your choice!

I am having a hard time justifying Poly, because we have stayed often with a good discount, and this price is much higher for the season than I typically pay. We also just spent a week there in December, so we have had our fix! I will add GF to the short list.... I like the "sets the tone of your vacation" thought! No way on the rebooking of YC. Our Disney part of the trip is contingent on us staying there 4 nights. DH has his mind set. Pool and lazy walks into the IG for as long as possible.

Since your arrival is so late.............why not just do the All Star Music Suite! Its the best price...........and the pool should be open. Or......................why not just stay off site and save the money?

If you we're going to be earlier I could see staying on site because you could do things but with that late arrival you might as well get some sleep and start early the next day. You can get to the YC early and leave your luggage, they hold it until the room is ready...........no worries.

Hey just a thought

Doug

Any off site recommendations? Since we are off site (and not visiting Disney) for the two weeks following our YC stay, I think I was just hoping to spend as much time as possible in the bubble! But I will take recommendations!

Have you considered Swan/Dolphin?

When I have checked rooms that sleep 5, their prices do not seem justifiable. No savings compared to those I am listing. Also, June just doesn't seem like a time they give discounted rooms? Busy season, I am sure.

Poly would be sweet, but the price is tough to swallow. If CR is in the budget, I think that would be our choice.

We ended upon CR garden wing last summer for 3 nights, and it was wonderful. We could see the EWP from our bed, which was awesome!

So, current short list: A of A, CR, GF. Any more votes?

 

[dkrauss]

Thanks for all the replies!

Any off site recommendations? Since we are off site (and not visiting Disney) for the two weeks following our YC stay, I think I was just hoping to spend as much time as possible in the bubble! But I will take recommendations!

Sorry I haven't been offsite in years................you could try Orbitz. Didn't realize you'll be offsite for 2 weeks at the end. A tough call with that 8:30pm arrival time.............

No matter what happens have a great vacation!

Doug [/QUOTE]

 

[DisneyWishes14]

For "in the 200's" I would book Boardwalk standard view!!! The Boardwalk is our absolute favorite resort. At night, you can see the entertainment, get some good QS food and even swim in the pool. All of those activities are in such close proximity to each other. The pool slide is really fun, too!

 

[Chrelaine]

I personally would stay offsite when arriving so late, but I am budget crazy. Maybe one of the places near Disney Springs so that you can walk over and at least get some Disney right away without quite being in the "bubble" yet.

 

[DisMommyTX]

If you want to save money, Embassy suites Lake Buena Vista is nice for an "arrival night" in the $100-$150 range. Nice pool with movies, free breakfast and evening snacks and drinks. However, we would definitely choose a different on-site resort, probably in a different area than the YC.

Last summer we stayed in an AoA Little mermaid room before our week at the Poly, and the room was so tiny that it made the Poly seem like a mansion Next trip with DD was POR Royal guest suite, and we loved it more than the Poly--good thing we didn't stay there before moving to the Poly, or would have been disappointed, especially about paying so much more! I would try something new but if it ends up nicer than the YC, it had better cost more. Of course, 5 days is a short trip for us so we would probably end up hitting the parks the first night anyway, especially with long hours in June. FP+ is ideal for an evening arrival at MK--three mountains, a parade and fireworks from 8pm-midnight.

 

[Mainemama]

For "in the 200's" I would book Boardwalk standard view!!! The Boardwalk is our absolute favorite resort. At night, you can see the entertainment, get some good QS food and even swim in the pool. All of those activities are in such close proximity to each other. The pool slide is really fun, too!

Yes, this price seemed the best value for a deluxe! I explored the BWI in December, and I definitely want to stay there sometime, it looks beautiful! It would be easy to transfer from here.

If you want to save money, Embassy suites Lake Buena Vista is nice for an "arrival night" in the $100-$150 range. Nice pool with movies, free breakfast and evening snacks and drinks. However, we would definitely choose a different on-site resort, probably in a different area than the YC.

Last summer we stayed in an AoA Little mermaid room before our week at the Poly, and the room was so tiny that it made the Poly seem like a mansion Next trip with DD was POR Royal guest suite, and we loved it more than the Poly--good thing we didn't stay there before moving to the Poly, or would have been disappointed, especially about paying so much more! I would try something new but if it ends up nicer than the YC, it had better cost more. Of course, 5 days is a short trip for us so we would probably end up hitting the parks the first night anyway, especially with long hours in June. FP+ is ideal for an evening arrival at MK--three mountains, a parade and fireworks from 8pm-midnight.

Thanks for the offsite recommendation. I will definitely check that out. I hadn't considered longer park hours. The hours don't look all that long right now, but I expect they will be adjusted. If we were at CR, at least some of us could pop over for a ride!
So now the short list is.... AoA, BWI, CR. (I think I would prefer CR for our purposes over the higher priced GF). I will also look into Embassy Suites!

 

[Mainemama]

I checked out the Embassy Suites. It looks very nice, but rings in at $200. (With a AAA discount). That includes the resort fee and tax, but doesn't seem worth the savings to leave the familiarity of on site.