As the Ticker Turns...the neverending saga of the Resort Changers

[mevelandry]

Within 6 weeks I've gone from Downtown Disney Hotel, to SSR, to POR... To a Lion King Suite at AOA (current reservation) ... All of that for a 1 night stay (split stay).

14 days to go.

Hopefully, this will be the last change I make on our itinerary.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Happy Passover or Joyous Easter to all!!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Dis or iPad is driving me nuts this morning!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Oops!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Oops! Kept telling me it could not post!

 

[pigletgirl]

Happy Passover or Joyous Easter to all!!

Same to you Christine!

I've stuffed about 100 eggs tonight and so we're ready to go!

 

[dimndgal1]

Hope everyone had a Happy Easter and a wonderful weekend! It has been raining a ton here but we're still finding ways to have fun!

Cinderella finally gets here next week! DD7 is dying to see Frozen Fever... can't wait to surprise her with TKD in 2 weeks!

 

[Koh1977]

Just wanted to report…

My parents are going with us then to Disney!! Set up their FastPasses last week!

Only 8 more weeks of school!! Hopefully I will be back in high school next year!

 

[pixarmom]

Hello RCers! We're back from our spring break trip and very happy with our choices after all the resort changing that preceded it! WL CL is a new favorite and we're so glad we tried the new and improved BC CL! I've posted reviews on each of the resort thread and copied them on to the club level thread.

Now for next year and the Princess Half Marathon Weekend. There is no question that WL CL is part of the mix. But our middle son requested no more split stays. Our oldest lobbies for a Poly/WL split. I love Poly but all this tikiman/construction stuff is wearing me out right now, so I'm thinking all WL, but we'll see!

 

[Tippytoes1111]

I think I need to be talked down. Help??

We're traveling to Fla. for a wedding in December and decided to swing by Disney for four nights while in the neighborhood. Moderate fit our budget and wants, and we settled on and reserved CBR. I was very happy to have a resi for a preferred room as I despised all the walking that came with a LM room at AoA last year. Food as a problem for us at AoA too, so chicken nuggets in a bucket sounded like a better fit for us at CBR. Great pool for the kids too.

Then I started reading all about this magical travel agency, so I went and got a quote. Three of the quotes they returned at Deluxes matched what I was going to pay (rack rate) for CBR + tickets. So then I thought, Why stay at a moderate when you can stay at a Deluxe for the same price? I always wanted to stay in a Savannah View room at AKL, but it was beyond what I was comfortable spending. Until this quote. Now it's not going to induce hyperventilation. But the food onsite is extremely unappealing to my family, so we booked BWI. There seems to be more safe food, we like the options to walk to places (but I thought I hated all that walking at AoA???)...

Now I read how AKL is so peaceful and BWI is loud, and I don't know what to do. I'm feeling like I should change to an AKL - SV. It's only like $200 more. But the food...

My kids want the pool at BWI.

We hate exotic food.

Blah. I was happier with my CBR on my little budget. Silly magical travel agency and their deals. Any insights??

 

[pixarmom]

We've stayed at AKL twice, BWI three times and CBR once. Between the three, I'd recommend BWI. The dining options at BWI sound like the best fit for your family, the BWI pool slide is great fun and the location is wonderful - easy access to both Epcot and DHS. We've also stayed in a LM room at AOA and, in my opinion, the walk to/fro DHS and Epcot from BWI is far more pleasant than the walk within AOA. And if you don't like the walk, the boat is a very convenient alternative.

AKL may be more quiet, but in my opinion, BWI isn't loud. Some (like my husband) prefer the BWI garden view because it doesn't overlook the boardwalk. But I love the boardwalk view and don't consider it loud at all.

 

[Koh1977]

I think I need to be talked down. Help??

We're traveling to Fla. for a wedding in December and decided to swing by Disney for four nights while in the neighborhood. Moderate fit our budget and wants, and we settled on and reserved CBR. I was very happy to have a resi for a preferred room as I despised all the walking that came with a LM room at AoA last year. Food as a problem for us at AoA too, so chicken nuggets in a bucket sounded like a better fit for us at CBR. Great pool for the kids too.

Then I started reading all about this magical travel agency, so I went and got a quote. Three of the quotes they returned at Deluxes matched what I was going to pay (rack rate) for CBR + tickets. So then I thought, Why stay at a moderate when you can stay at a Deluxe for the same price? I always wanted to stay in a Savannah View room at AKL, but it was beyond what I was comfortable spending. Until this quote. Now it's not going to induce hyperventilation. But the food onsite is extremely unappealing to my family, so we booked BWI. There seems to be more safe food, we like the options to walk to places (but I thought I hated all that walking at AoA???)...

Now I read how AKL is so peaceful and BWI is loud, and I don't know what to do. I'm feeling like I should change to an AKL - SV. It's only like $200 more. But the food...

My kids want the pool at BWI.

We hate exotic food.

Blah. I was happier with my CBR on my little budget. Silly magical travel agency and their deals. Any insights??

Hmmm...what about WL? Similar to AKL (without the animals though), but with more family friendly food.

 

[Sue M]

I can't say about the food, everyone in my family enjoyed all kinds of food. I've never stayed at BWI but love BC & YC. Location, being able to walk to Epcot and boat to DHS is very nice.
We also love AKL. In the mornings or when returning to our room we always looked forward to seeing what animals were out on the savanna! A very unique resort. And they have a beautiful pool.
How much will you be eatting at resort. We usually pack food for breakfast like bagels or instant oatmeal we can make in room. Lunch is usually at a park, and dinner sometimes at our resort, or sometimes ADRs at different resorts.
I never thought AKL QS had very exotic food, we thought their food was very good. But that's us.

 

[Tippytoes1111]

A lot of good points.

WL was my first choice when I got a quote from the TA, but they didn't have that resort available for a discount. I love it there. If/when a late fall discount comes out, I'm going to price shop for sure.

How much will you be eating at resort. We usually pack food for breakfast like bagels or instant oatmeal we can make in room. Lunch is usually at a park, and dinner sometimes at our resort, or sometimes ADRs at different resorts.
I never thought AKL QS had very exotic food, we thought their food was very good. But that's us.

Very good points. We had maybe five meals at AoA last time, but that was 5 days, so that means we ate approximately 35 meals elsewhere. We were just left totally unsatisfied for each of those meals. And we pack breakfasty foods too to have in the room so we can just get on the bus/in the car/on the boat and go. I guess I just like the option? But we're only going to be there for four days. Hmm.

We've stayed at AKL twice, BWI three times and CBR once. Between the three, I'd recommend BWI. The dining options at BWI sound like the best fit for your family, the BWI pool slide is great fun and the location is wonderful - easy access to both Epcot and DHS. We've also stayed in a LM room at AOA and, in my opinion, the walk to/fro DHS and Epcot from BWI is far more pleasant than the walk within AOA. And if you don't like the walk, the boat is a very convenient alternative.

AKL may be more quiet, but in my opinion, BWI isn't loud. Some (like my husband) prefer the BWI garden view because it doesn't overlook the boardwalk. But I love the boardwalk view and don't consider it loud at all.

Thank you SO much for the feedback. It's exactly what I needed to hear. I really doubt I could go wrong with any of the resorts. Probably one of the biggest underlying factors is that I'm afraid I won't get DH to go back anytime soon b/c he is not a Disney fan, so I'm afraid this will be my one and only pick for a long time, so I better choose wisely. My gut kept pushing me toward BWI. I sleep with ear plugs b/c DH is a freight train when he sleeps, and we pack a white noise machine for the girls since they are used to that anyway, so I'm not sure how much the noise would affect us if there was anyway. I know I would love AKL, but I think I would really like/love BWI too. Hopefully someday I'll get to try them all. CBR might be it when we do another longer trip someday.

Thanks for each of you for taking the time to respond. Apologies for any typos. I'm flying through this on a short work break.

 

[dimndgal1]

Just wanted to report…

My parents are going with us then to Disney!! Set up their FastPasses last week!

Only 8 more weeks of school!! Hopefully I will be back in high school next year!

YAY! Fun Family Time!
*fingers crossed* for the last few weeks of school and good news for next year!!!

Hello RCers! We're back from our spring break trip and very happy with our choices after all the resort changing that preceded it! WL CL is a new favorite and we're so glad we tried the new and improved BC CL! I've posted reviews on each of the resort thread and copied them on to the club level thread.

Now for next year and the Princess Half Marathon Weekend. There is no question that WL CL is part of the mix. But our middle son requested no more split stays. Our oldest lobbies for a Poly/WL split. I love Poly but all this tikiman/construction stuff is wearing me out right now, so I'm thinking all WL, but we'll see!

I know what you mean about the Poly. I had considered it for future trips but I'm not even going to look that way until all the drama dies down... even if that means it's years and years from now. Glad your trip was great - always love hearing positive reviews and BC is definitely on our MUST DO list!!!

I think I need to be talked down. Help??

We're traveling to Fla. for a wedding in December and decided to swing by Disney for four nights while in the neighborhood. Moderate fit our budget and wants, and we settled on and reserved CBR. I was very happy to have a resi for a preferred room as I despised all the walking that came with a LM room at AoA last year. Food as a problem for us at AoA too, so chicken nuggets in a bucket sounded like a better fit for us at CBR. Great pool for the kids too.

Then I started reading all about this magical travel agency, so I went and got a quote. Three of the quotes they returned at Deluxes matched what I was going to pay (rack rate) for CBR + tickets. So then I thought, Why stay at a moderate when you can stay at a Deluxe for the same price? I always wanted to stay in a Savannah View room at AKL, but it was beyond what I was comfortable spending. Until this quote. Now it's not going to induce hyperventilation. But the food onsite is extremely unappealing to my family, so we booked BWI. There seems to be more safe food, we like the options to walk to places (but I thought I hated all that walking at AoA???)...

Now I read how AKL is so peaceful and BWI is loud, and I don't know what to do. I'm feeling like I should change to an AKL - SV. It's only like $200 more. But the food...

My kids want the pool at BWI.

We hate exotic food.

Blah. I was happier with my CBR on my little budget. Silly magical travel agency and their deals. Any insights??

I don't think you'll be disappointed with BWI - location is great and the food options plentiful! We stayed at YC and loved being able to walk to EPCOT and hop the boat to HS... not to mention the nightime entertainment along the BW. In terms of wanting Savannah View - AKL: it's a great room and definitely unique... but if you aren't going to be in the room a ton, might not be worth it. Also, you can always visit AKL and walk the paths to see the animals (we did this last two trips). If food is really your worry, I can say that Mara had some 'safe' options and Boma has some low-key options on the buffet as well. My MIL is NOT adventurous with food and we did Boma at Christmas and she really enjoyed it. Also, FWIW, it encourages you to try other places for meals. I know it's not the same, but Shades of Green is notorious for its 'eh' food, so when we stayed there a few years ago, we made a point to explore the monorail resorts for meals. While AKL is set apart from most areas, it's not that far to DtD and there are SO many great places to eat there. Just a thought if you still want to consider it but I do think BWI is a great choice.

***

Hello all!

Spring Break is here and all our plans have fallen through due to DH's schedule and weather and the fact Hello Kitty Harmonyland (totally not making that up... it's worth a google) is closed on Thursdays. Not sure why, but so much for that! So, we're doing a stay-cation and wandering around southern Honshu. The girls and I drove to Hiroshima Monday, are wandering locally today, and then hoping to do Miyajima tomorrow (the Tori gate at the Japanese Pavillion at EPCOT is modeled after the one there). That said, we head to Tokyo in 10 days!!! I am HOPING we can squeeze a day at TDR that trip but our days are starting to get bogged down. Not only would it be fun but one of my friends who is a Disney nut is going that day and I'd love to tour with her - we haven't seen each other in years so it would be so neat to reconnect with Mickey.

Hope everyone is doing well! Any trips coming up??? I feel like I've lost track!

 

[Sue M]

YAY! Fun Family Time!
*fingers crossed* for the last few weeks of school and good news for next year!!!



I know what you mean about the Poly. I had considered it for future trips but I'm not even going to look that way until all the drama dies down... even if that means it's years and years from now. Glad your trip was great - always love hearing positive reviews and BC is definitely on our MUST DO list!!!



I don't think you'll be disappointed with BWI - location is great and the food options plentiful! We stayed at YC and loved being able to walk to EPCOT and hop the boat to HS... not to mention the nightime entertainment along the BW. In terms of wanting Savannah View - AKL: it's a great room and definitely unique... but if you aren't going to be in the room a ton, might not be worth it. Also, you can always visit AKL and walk the paths to see the animals (we did this last two trips). If food is really your worry, I can say that Mara had some 'safe' options and Boma has some low-key options on the buffet as well. My MIL is NOT adventurous with food and we did Boma at Christmas and she really enjoyed it. Also, FWIW, it encourages you to try other places for meals. I know it's not the same, but Shades of Green is notorious for its 'eh' food, so when we stayed there a few years ago, we made a point to explore the monorail resorts for meals. While AKL is set apart from most areas, it's not that far to DtD and there are SO many great places to eat there. Just a thought if you still want to consider it but I do think BWI is a great choice.

***

Hello all!

Spring Break is here and all our plans have fallen through due to DH's schedule and weather and the fact Hello Kitty Harmonyland (totally not making that up... it's worth a google) is closed on Thursdays. Not sure why, but so much for that! So, we're doing a stay-cation and wandering around southern Honshu. The girls and I drove to Hiroshima Monday, are wandering locally today, and then hoping to do Miyajima tomorrow (the Tori gate at the Japanese Pavillion at EPCOT is modeled after the one there). That said, we head to Tokyo in 10 days!!! I am HOPING we can squeeze a day at TDR that trip but our days are starting to get bogged down. Not only would it be fun but one of my friends who is a Disney nut is going that day and I'd love to tour with her - we haven't seen each other in years so it would be so neat to reconnect with Mickey.

Hope everyone is doing well! Any trips coming up??? I feel like I've lost track!

Wow you've been busy. How are you enjoying it there? Hello Kitty Harmonyland??? You couldn't make that up, lol!!! Very cool all the places you're getting to see. You must go meet your friend in TDR!!! No question about it!!
We have our usual August trip planned. We were supposed to stay at Poly last August, but we jumped ship to GF when it was announced the main was going to be closed. So this trip will be Poly.

 

[pixarmom]

I loved Hello Kitty! My mom, however, did not. So now, I love buying her Hello Kitty doo dads now and then just to be silly. Love your updates!

 

[vcb]

Hello everyone!

I never knew there was a group of us!!!!

I was in conflict last year and changed and I don't think it was the best fit for us (WL to GF….bittersweet trip after my mom passed, she always wanted to stay there). We stayed at WL in 2013. We are booked the WL again 7/11-7/17 but the summer saving at the Poly is making the standard room look appealing and I don't think we'll be able to afford it again (or so I'm hearing) and I'd like to try different resorts, even though we always say WL is our home resort. Am I annoying yet??

So, what's really holding me back is that the Poly can't guarantee balconies/patios on all the rooms (2nd floors). How much did that bother anyone that's had this kind of room and did you have a problem not getting your request made? I don't really want to spend even the extra $400 and not have that. Esp since we love WL, but I've always loved the Poly, even as a little kid. I can get a little cabin feverish in a room so a balcony or patio is nice for me.

Our trip last year was a little drab last year because of my mom and grandmother's death side by side so I really want to make it come alive again. SO I can't decide if I want to mess with a good thing or try something different and adventurous! The construction isn't really bothering me all that much, the pool is done and that was my main concern. And not going until July is 3 months away….

 

[Sue M]

Outside area is a must for me too. So I've requested a balcony or patio, and hope for the best. We are also afraid of being priced out of Poly once all the construction is finished. I'm fairly sure price will jump up a lot. It did at WL too after last room refurb.

 

[pixarmom]

Balcony or patio is very important to us when paying for a deluxe. Poly has always granted our request for either, even when staying in Hawaii, so we've been very fortunate.

We've stayed at Poly twice during construction and it didn't bother us either time, but that was based on our individual and unique circumstances for those stays. At this point, we'll wait for Poly to complete all construction - including the quiet pool. Could be our construction burn-out. But I'd go with WL. (Although you all may just kick me off this thread for the repeated WL recommendations I'm about to give - so loved our stay last month!)