Are there any resorts you would not go to just because of its theme?

[Vowelmommy]

For me it is the Wilderness Lodge, and the Bayou at POR. I actually switched our res from POR, because I just could not get over the theming. We live in MN, and there is a lot of cabin and rustic theming around. It just does not feel "special" enough for Disney for me!!

 

[tigeramy75]

Based on theme alone, we are not interested in CR. Location is great, convenience is great...but the whole look and feel of it just leaves us cold.

 

[forever11709]

I don't like the themes of the values, but that being said I am planning a trip for my daughters second birthday and since it will be just me and her and possibly one other person we are looking at staying at POP or AS Sports .. No reason to dish out a whole lot of money on a trip she won't really remember. Although our trip in July when she will be just 15 months old we will be staying at beach club, we like to travel to OBX and I think this will remind us all of our house there and nothing can beat SAB

I also am not a fan of AKL, not sure why but it just doesn't appeal to me :/

 

[redc]

OP, for the same reason you *don't* like CSR, we love it! The Southwest feel is so very different from the area where we live, it's like having 2 vacations in one!

CSR is like a motel in the Southwest.

 

[jakeybake]

Yes.

Poly
Contemporary
Wilderness Lodge (we did stay there once)
AKL
Any of the All Stars

 

[jess20k]

Not anymore..but, at one time I was hesitant and delayed staying at one resort because of that...And guess what???? It is now one of my favorites..lol!!

I was never impressed with the Mardi Gras type of theming, so I never thought I would like POFQ. Well, I was so wrong! I finally ended up staying there and fell in love with the resort. So, you just never know. It doesn't hurt to try something, and then if you end up not liking it, then you don't have to go back.

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

The Contemporary and Bay Lake Tower have no appeal to us. To me, the look very much like a standard hotel. I could be in a Marriott that I stayed in in Palm Springs were it not for the monorail. They just seem a bit blah to me.

On the other hand, my two favorites Coronado and the Poly, have had several knocks on here. Everyone likes different things

 

[midnightlouise]

Based on theme alone the only places I really would not want to stay would be the All Stars or Pop. Let's just say those would be at the bottom of the list. They just don't seem to be my thing, but never say never. I never used to be interested in WL, I'm not a rustic/camping type of girl, but for some reason it seemed like it would be perfect for our Christmas trip

 

[mcd2745]

I never say "never"...but there are many whose themes do not appeal to me at all. Principal among them are both PO resorts, the Grand Floridian (yeah, that's right), and OKW. You certainly could make the case that the themes for all those those are all somewhat similar - so it's no wonder they do not appeal to me. CSR, BW, the values, and CR I'm kind of indifferent to. Their themes do nothing for me...literally. I'm not turned off by it like those previously mentioned nor am I interested by them like I am for CBR, Poly, Yacht/Beach Club, WL, SSR, or AKL.

 

[kaligal]

The only way I can be dragged into the Contemporary/BLT or any of the value hotels is if someone I really love has their poor heart set on it.

I don't care for the rooms at CBR, either. If they re-do them, though, I'd happily return.

 

[jmendez24]

For me it's the GF as well, the victorian theme just doesn't appeal to me.

 

[ChiCat]

Based on pictures and what I've read because I've never been to Disney I have no desire to stay at the Poly, FW, or OKW.

 

[yaksack]

I would not want to stay at the Grand Floridian. We love the WL and Beach Club.

 

[CTH3]

WDW resort themes seem to be split into two categories:

The Deluxe and Moderate resorts have an “idealized geo-historical hotel” theme. The WL is supposed to be like staying at one of the western National Park lodges built in the 1930s, the Poly like staying in a traditional South Pacific island longhouse, the AKL like an accommodation in a remote African village (that happens to have all mod con), the YC like a traditional New England yacht club, POFQ like a hotel in (an astoundingly clean and safe) New Orleans, the GF like staying at a grand resort hotel in the early 20th century, and so forth.

There is a conceptual difference in the way Values are themed. Rather than going the “idealized geo-historical hotel” route, Disney chose to focus on varieties of pop culture--the Pop, which is an artfully exaggerated celebration of pop icons, and the various All-Stars, which celebrate various specific areas of popular culture.

One big reason we prefer to stay at a Moderate or a Deluxe is our preference for the “idealized geo-historical hotel” theme as opposed to the “celebration of popular culture” theme. We enjoy the "it's like we're staying at a hotel in...." quality of the experience.

So while we would never say never, it is unlikely we will ever stay at a Value because of the theming concept.

 

[collegejunkie]

we are staying on site for the first time in a long time because we own a timeshare off property that we usually stay at. we'll be staying at AKV, and i'm thrilled, because when we took the DVC tour, i fell in love! i think the theming is great and the details are awesome.

i wouldn't want to stay at the grand floridian or the contemporary. funnily enough, i'd enjoy staying at BLT. i don't think i'd like CSR or all star sports. i could dig all star movies and music.

that said, i've been looking at pictures of the rooms on here and other websites and none of the rooms really feel very disney to me. i was disappointed because i imagined them being so different, but they really just look like regular hotel rooms to me. the AKV rooms seem to keep more with their theme than others. i really wanted to try VWL or AKV and then when i looked at pictures of WL rooms, i was so sad that they didn't seem to have anything really special or disney to them. is it the small things in the rooms? i was expecting mickeys everywhere. *shrug*

 

[Invisable89]

GF - the exterior/surroundings look beautiful it's just the inside that doesn't do it for me, it looks a little dated nowadays - a bit plain, not really the wow factor i would expect at the 'flagship resort'.

 

[tina.tina]

The thing someone posted about not liking the Poly because it reminded them of polygamy. How totally irrational and weird- I love it!!!!

I guess I'm irrational & weird, too. I don't think I'd ever want to stay at the GF. We walked through there & it was dead silent- except for the loud & annoying kids' activities director at the pool. We could hear her from very far away. We caught a bus there to DTD & waited 40 minutes for a bus!!!! After 20 minutes a bus to HS came along but that wasn't where we were headed. Maybe no one there rides the bus. There were only 2 others waiting at the bus stop.

I actually fell in love with Pop but I might not love it quite so much if I went without kids. It was so much fun. We stayed in a preferred room & it was so convenient. We went around the beginning of April and the main pool was never crowded. We thought walking around the lake was peaceful & romantic.

 

[Babbletrish]

I know Coranado Springs has queen beds and probably is a great resort.... but I am from Arizona (not originally) and I hate it here. I want to get away from here and so to be on vacation in a SW themed resort would not work at all.

Funny, I'm from New England and I love the Yacth/Beach Club...

Well, seriously, I'd avoid the super-value resorts (Pop, All-Stars, anything that's basically a base geometric building with a bunch of crazy stuff glued to it that caters mostly to teens - this then is getting old). The Dolphin was perfectly adequate but felt too "sterile". And the Grand Floridian is way too pretentious.

That said, I wouldn't have chosen to stay at Port Orleans if our school group didn't book it, but I liked both hotels a lot. So I'd be willing to try anything.

 

[Babbletrish]

After back-tracking through the thread a bit...

The thing someone posted about not liking the Poly because it reminded them of polygamy. How totally irrational and weird- I love it!!!

I thought that was one heck of a cognitive leap too, so I looked for the actual quote:

The Polynesian doesn't appeal to me either because of the theme, which I can't really explain. I think it's because I've been to Hawaii so many times that it just seems wrong to pretend to be in the Pacific when I'm in Florida (I know that's irrational, especially given that I have no problem pretending I'm other places outside of Florida at other resorts..). Also, people refer to it as the 'poly', which sort of just reminds me of polygamy.

My father is a geometry teacher and I am a fantasy fan. My brain goes straight to Polygon, Polymorph, that "Poly High" song from the trippy animated film based off Harry Nilsson's "The Point", Polymer, and, uh, Polynesia way way before it starts thinking "Big Love" but, eh, different strokes.

The Mighty Ducks building of ASMo really bugs me!! Was that movie really even good enough to make a whole building about?!

Wait a minute... are you saying that the Mighty Ducks building isn't part of All-Star Sports? That makes absolutely zero sense!

 

[wdwislife]

I plan to stay at every resort for at least one night! I will definitely like some more than others, but I want to give them all a chance.