Arruggg, picking a resort, which one???

[golfgal]

I think this is the worst part of planning a Disney trip--which resort??? We stayed at AKL last time and would love to do that again but this time we are going with my Dad and Step-mom and my sister and her family. It is a trip to celebrate my Dad's 70th birthday. Everyone would LOVE AKL, no one wants to pay for it.

So, here is the deal, our family, kids will be 14, 14 and 16. Sister's family kids will be 7, 10, 13. We would love to have access to Stormalong Bay BUT, I think we would spend more time at Typhoon Lagoon then the resort pool so a nice pool isn't a priority.

Easy access to the parks would be a plus for my parents as I think they would probably want to go back to the hotel during the day more then the rest of us. I haven't researched the mods much or the values. With 12 of us going we can do 4 in each room so we wouldn't need a room for 5 (which saves a lot of money).

Soooo, give me the pro's and con's for various mods/values for our families?

 

[WDW Newsletter]

Not sure how much you plan to spend, but for the $$ Pop Century is nice. The negative to all the values is that they are not "next to" or within walking to a park.

Deluxe for convenience you cannot beat Boardwalk or BC as you can walk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

 

[Princess Jenny]

Hello...I have stayed at POR and FQ and both are awsome! Since your parents are going and in there 70's I would say FQ since it is the smaller of the two resorts. Plus the boat rides to DTD at night is just amazing. I've also stayed at CB and hands down the family loves PO. Good luck picking!

 

[geokeim]

Hi, Not sure if you are doing a package and need the additional convenience of everything together? If you don't mind getting your tkts separately, and won't use DME, Dolphin is a great option.
You can get some great deals (for a deluxe) around $200-$220 all in, by using AAA or entertainment book rate.
It's a nice place and so convenient, especially to Epcot & MGM, you use Dis transportation and EMH's.
Just and idea.....

Have fun & don't stress!

 

[ntsammy5]

None of the values or mods will have direct access to the parks, so in that regard they're all equal. I guess it's a toss up, but the mod rooms are a little bit bigger and have better pools. The only mod we've stayed at is CBR and it's great but a lot of people here love PO. Good luck.

BTW we have stayed at all the values and loved them all. If pools are not important, that might be the right choice.


PP is right about Dolphin BTW. Good choice

 

[Bill From PA]

If anyone in your party is a teacher, school staff, nurse or government employee they can often book Swan or Dolphin at a reduced rate. For instance, August has many dates at Swan for $179 per night. You can't beat the Epcot area for access to the parks and the BoardWalk, Epcot and DHS are a short walk or boatride. You might want to check out renting points from a DVC member, you can probably get AK or Boardwalk for the same per night as a Moderate. We've got 8 days at BW next March for $1220 total, $152.50 per night.

Bill From PA

 

[golfgal]

If anyone in your party is a teacher, school staff, nurse or government employee they can often book Swan or Dolphin at a reduced rate. For instance, August has many dates at Swan for $179 per night. You can't beat the Epcot area for access to the parks and the BoardWalk, Epcot and DHS are a short walk or boatride. You might want to check out renting points from a DVC member, you can probably get AK or Boardwalk for the same per night as a Moderate. We've got 8 days at BW next March for $1220 total, $152.50 per night.

Bill From PA

My Step-mom works for the federal government so that is an idea. I used to be a teacher but I am guessing that doesn't count. If we book 3 rooms can we all get the government discount?

I have heard about renting the points, how do we go about doing that and what kind of places/rooms, etc. can we get for that. We are also going next March and if we can get an AK room for $150/night that would be GREAT!! Is there set number of nights you can get the DVC points for? We will probably only go for 5 nights.

 

[Bill From PA]

If you've got a teacher's license or perhaps a photo ID from your old teaching position that would probably do it. A pay stub from a gov't job works too. Each qualifying employee can reserve 3 rooms, all at the discount rate. Check Dreams Unlimited, SPG.COM and call Swan/Dolphin directly to see if the discount is available for your dates. One source may be out of rooms but another will still have them. Head over to the DVC boards to get up to speed on that. Basically, you post a note there saying that you want a reservation at a certain resort for your dates. A DVC member responds with an offer for the number of points you need and the price per point. You do the math and decide if it's a bargain by your standards. The last 2 years and next year, in the first week of March, we've stayed at a BoardWalk standard view studio for less than what a Moderate would cost, and a studio room has a microwave, toaster and a small 'fridge so we eat breakfast and lunch there, saving considerable $$. Good luck.

Bill From PA