Another "which resort" thread! Help! I'm a WDW newbie

[hammie59]

I'd like to add my experience with crowds if it helps. In 2014 we drove down for Easter. We stayed a week at the beach (when I figured Disney crowds would be at their worst. I've been in MK on Easter before and it's a little scary). Then when most kids would be back to school from the break, we went to Disney for a week. Granted, we had to take them out for 5 days, but it was such a good trip. Crowds were not that bad the second week. I'd definitely do it again, however, my ideal time to go is early May. Great weather, low crowds, school not out yet.

Discounts can be found through out the year in just about every season, you just have to be ready to pounce when they are released. Rooms can book up fast. Know your dates and know your resort. It also doesn't hurt to have a back up plan in case where you want to stay is booked or the discount doesn't apply, etc. This happened to me when a discount came out I went book POFQ. It didn't apply so I just switched to POR (not that far of a stretch and I saved a lot of money). LOVED the resort, but would pay extra for preferred building next time.

Edit: I've never gone in Oct, although my sister just did and she was taken by surprise how busy it was. Three things were going on that impacted her trip. F&W, MNSSHP, and free dining. She thought it was worse than when she went with us the week after Easter

 

[mmouse1239]

I get what you are saying about renting points and DVC. I have done it before, but I was really nervous that something would come up, and we would lose that money. We just booked a trip for the week after Thanksgiving next year. We really wanted to stay at the AKL. Since my husband and I are paying for our daughter and family to take this trip with us (they just can't afford it right now and our one grandson will be at the perfect age to go) we have to be concerned about cost. We decided to try POFQ. Have never stayed there, but we have stayed at POR. We are former DVC owners, and our resort experiences have all been good. We stayed at All Star Sports, POR, BWV, OKW, BCV, SSR, one of the Downtown Disney hotels, and several off-site locations. We have never been disappointed in our Disney experiences, and I'm sure you will have good ones, no matter which resort you choose. Happy planning!

 

[MulanyBelle]

Thanks, this is all helpful. Trying to decide the best option for a family of 5. A suite is ideal but can get pricey. I've heard good things about Art of Animation but really like the convenience of Grand Floridian & Polynesian.

 

[dansdad]

Thanks, this is all helpful. Trying to decide the best option for a family of 5. A suite is ideal but can get pricey. I've heard good things about Art of Animation but really like the convenience of Grand Floridian & Polynesian.

If you think the AoA Family Suite is pricey, wait until you see the rates for Poly and Grand Floridian.

 

[Micca]

To OP & MulanyBelle (welcome!) you'll get some great info here on the Dis. Please take some time to search the boards and try to take the advice in bite-sized chunks. It's difficult to get a lot of decisions made in just one thread. That's cool though, we all love to help. Don't rush into any decisions that don't require immediate action. Where possible, take some time to get a number of opinions and ruminate on them for a bit. You may find that what you thought were exactly what you had in mind could evolve over time. Enjoy the planning, it's really part of the fun!

 

[Nancyg56]

When we were at Disneyland two weeks ago, one of the evenings was a Halloween party night, so we left Disneyland at 6pm when it closed to regular park guests and we spent the rest of the evening at California Adventure. We all wished that we would have sprung for the Halloween party tickets because the costumes were so cool and it looked like a lot of fun!

If you can go to the party it is well worth it! It is our family favorite!

 

[Nancyg56]

October generally has discounts available and so you can lower the cost of s dream resort if you pay attention. Deluxe has had 30 percent off, and it added up for us.

I admit the CR is not appealing to me, but for my DH it screams Disney. We stayed there when it was "new" and we were young, so he still is partial. My family loves the Poly and it is a perfect tmredirt for kids. I would avoid WL because if this is a bucket list trip, construction will impact you more than you may think. Even a little disruption can impact the atmosphere, so be sure you can live with that if you choose WL.

The GF is gorgeous and we love it, but holy pricy!

You may want to check out the Epcot resorts. The Beach Club was not our favorite but a lot of folks with kids choose it. If you are renting points these resorts may be difficult to secure due to F and W. Actually they all will be pretty popular with owners I think.

You have time so I would keep reading these boards, planning can be a blast!

 

[VandVsmama]

October generally has discounts available and so you can lower the cost of s dream resort if you pay attention. Deluxe has had 30 percent off, and it added up for us.

I admit the CR is not appealing to me, but for my DH it screams Disney. We stayed there when it was "new" and we were young, so he still is partial. My family loves the Poly and it is a perfect tmredirt for kids. I would avoid WL because if this is a bucket list trip, construction will impact you more than you may think. Even a little disruption can impact the atmosphere, so be sure you can live with that if you choose WL.

The GF is gorgeous and we love it, but holy pricy!

You may want to check out the Epcot resorts. The Beach Club was not our favorite but a lot of folks with kids choose it. If you are renting points these resorts may be difficult to secure due to F and W. Actually they all will be pretty popular with owners I think.

You have time so I would keep reading these boards, planning can be a blast!

Thanks for your suggestions! This would be kind of a bucket list trip. I'm going into it expecting that we won't be able to do everything.

• Poly - I considered the Polynesian, but I don't care for this resort very much.
• GF - this is a beautiful resort! Architecture reminds me a bit of the Hotel del Coronado on Coronado Island in San Diego. I think it's outside our budget, though.
• WL - that's a bummer about all of the construction through 2017 at WL. We will cross it off the list in that case!
• Beach Club or Yacht Club - the pools here are pretty amazing, but after looking at all the pictures and videos online of the rest of these 2 resorts, I feel like of "meh" about both of them. The Beach Club rooms are decorated in a very similar way to the Paradise Pier Hotel at Disneyland. And I could stay at PPH for about $220-240/night.

We **might** end up renting DVC points once things get closer to the time to book, but it'll really depend on the school schedule.

 

[Nancyg56]

Thanks for your suggestions! This would be kind of a bucket list trip. I'm going into it expecting that we won't be able to do everything.

• Poly - I considered the Polynesian, but I don't care for this resort very much.
• GF - this is a beautiful resort! Architecture reminds me a bit of the Hotel del Coronado on Coronado Island in San Diego. I think it's outside our budget, though.
• WL - that's a bummer about all of the construction through 2017 at WL. We will cross it off the list in that case!
• Beach Club or Yacht Club - the pools here are pretty amazing, but after looking at all the pictures and videos online of the rest of these 2 resorts, I feel like of "meh" about both of them. The Beach Club rooms are decorated in a very similar way to the Paradise Pier Hotel at Disneyland. And I could stay at PPH for about $220-240/night.

We **might** end up renting DVC points once things get closer to the time to book, but it'll really depend on the school schedule.

I think you said that you are planning October. I would look at historica discounts, and then see if that helps to put a resort into your price range. The Poly is a lovely relaxes resort and the grounds are plush and inviting. My family liked first floor patio, we were give connecting rooms! My DGD was in Heaven, bouncung back and forth and the patios allowed an additional room for us.

The Grand standard view is still pricy, but I was able to secure a 30 percent off Room Only discount on one room and BB free dining on the other. WE grouped the adults int eh free dinign room and the children in the other. WE crunched numbers adn made it work.

We really wanted to love the Beach Club, but did not. The pool was more trouble than it was woth and the is a lot of walking internally. This is a huge resort, but it does offer a lot of convenience to Epcot, DHS and the Boardwalk.

I seriously would not rule out a moderate and feel that if size is important POFQ is thr best little resort on property. If you want CBR, while it is a large widespread resort a preferred room can mitigate a lot of walking, and you can have a beautiful resort and keep teh budget within range.

Take your time and do your research, you may find all your are looking for and in your price range, if you just keep stalking the resorts board here. FOlks are very good at finding discounts and ways to stretch a budget.

 

[happymommy]

Yes, the Grand Floridian was indeed built to look like the Hotel Del Coronado!

I agree, take your time & look around.