Best for MK if can't afford monorail resorts

[HClayton]

Hi,

Have just booked our flights (we are in UK) for Easter 2006 and now have noticed high rack rates at resorts in April.

We wanted to stay at Polynesian for ease of access to MK - we have 2 children under 5 and have always stayed off-site and found the journey into MK hard work. It would be lovely to stay somewhere we could pop back to during the day for a rest.

So my question is which of the resorts, if any have easier access to MK if you can't afford those on the monorail circuit? We have rented DVC points in the past to visit Vero and that reduced the cost thought the DVC resorts seem even further out than others?

Is it simply a busride to the Ticket/Transportation centre whichever resort you are at?

Thanks
Helen

 

[TChris]

We just got from a stay at the Fort Wilderness Cabins, they are very nice and only a boat ride away from the MK or the CR. We enjoyed Fort Wilderness very much and the cabins are less expensive than the monorail resorts.

 

[grimley1968]

WL is a deluxe like the Poly, but much less expensive. WL shares the same boat the FW uses to go to MK. It's actually quicker than the resort monorail loop, IMO. We swear by WL, if monorail access isn't absolutely necessary to you.

 

[WDW LifeLong Fan]

I would choose either the WL or AKL. They are Deluxe resorts and usually have at times, significantly lower rates than POLY, CR, and GF.

We have found the transportation from AKL to be excellent to all parks. As grimley1968 has already stated, the WL has the boat to MK, which is usually very quick.

Good Luck!

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

Check the Contemporary...I stayed there last February for $139 a night...this was actually lower than the WL which is my favorite. This was a Florida Resident rate, but I think their rack runs lower than Poly or GF

 

[LAS]

When we stayed at the WL the boat ride was great to the MK. It seemed like a rather short ride.

 

[snowy76]

Resort buses drop you off at the front gate of MK, not the TTC. You walk right up to the turnstiles! So don't worry if your resort is further out. It's a direct route.

That being said, I would try on the rental board and see what you can get for the villas at WL. There are also a few DVC-ers who post their rentals on Ebay and we've used that successfully. You may even consider BCV or BWV if you rent. The bus ride from the Epcot resorts is relatively short, and you have the bonus of being walking/boating distance from two other parks.

 

[keishashadow]

The AS Resorts really are great for young children, their eyes light up when they see the giant icons. Additionally, you can't beat the price. IMO, the bus service is extraordinary: never have waited more than 15 minutes for one, usually less time & never taken more than 1/2 hour to get to the MK. We usually left the parks around noon & returned in the late afternoon without a hassle. If you time it right, you can even get a FP to coincide with your planned return. Good Luck.

 

[AJKMOM]

All the resort busses drop off people at the main gate to the Magic Kingdom, not the monorail station/parking lot. The busses are the only way we travel to the Magic Kingdom when we stay anywhere onsite. It is so much easier than driving-tram-monorail or boat- then reverse to leave. If you are only going to the MK, you don't need to stay at a monorail resort to get close to the Magic Kingdom, just pick one in your budget and bus-it.

 

[littlestar]

I would stay at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge and rent points if I were you. The villas are just a short covered walkway to the main lodge. The health club is in the villas lobby. The VWL lobby is nice. Lots of rocking chairs and very peaceful. If you're going to rent points you would need to do it soon. VWL is the smallest DVC resort and the rooms go quick (especially peak season).

The transportation would be by boat and bus to the Magic Kingdom. We had a choice of either when we stayed there over the 4th of July. So I'm assuming it's still that way.

 

[pooh2001]

Contemporary Garden Wing - North side - or renovated room in the South side.
Less expensive than the tower - look for an AAA rate (if you have AAA).
Sleeps 5 (has a day bed and 2 queens)
Very large room & bathroom. - Room size: 436 Sq Ft
Views of fireworks, boats, & gardens - no parking lot vierws.
Wings are closest to the playground and pools.
Wings are quieter than the tower for little ones to nap.
The Wings have laundry centers - none in the tower.
mini-Refrigerators in the room- free to use.

The North garden wing is closest to the food court, monorail, walk way to the Magic Kingdom, and bus stop. (The North wing is 100% nonsmoking). The South garden wing is closest to the pool, and the convention center. The second floor in the South wing is nonsmoking.

There are actually two pools at the Contemporary. The large pool is a freeform pool complete with a 17-foot high curving slide. There is also a round, quiet pool which is shallow around the edges and deeper in the center. Two whirlpools have also been added, one of which is located on a peninsula which juts out into the freeform pool area. In addition there is a toddler wading pool located near the North Garden Wing.



Other pro's - Contemporary tower has the monorail - 4th floor, 5 min walk from the Wings, - the CR is the first stop back from MK after a long day at the park. The monorail also goes to TTC- switch to monorail to EPCOT - let the kids do the KID-STOPS at EPCOT World Showcase.
You can also walk back from MK to the CR - about a 10 minute well lit, paved stroll.

Contemporay has Chef Mickeys - fun place to eat.
It also has a great snack bar and the BEST game room with prizes for tickets won - great toys for kids under 10 years old.

Consider a Garden Wing,if the price is in your budget.

 

[swilphil]

How many days are you going to be in WDW? Last Easter we found it economical to buy 1 Annual Pass in order to get the AP rate at the Contemporary. For the rest of the group we bought the MYW tickets from Ticketmania. The Contemporary standard view in the wings are the cheapest rooms there. My sons who are 3 and 5 loved staying in the monorail hotel, plus you could walk over to MK in 10 minutes. The rooms are HUGE too!

 

[tinkerbell60]

WL is a great alternative to the monorail resorts. In addition to the boat, they also have a bus which is about a 6 minute ride to MK - my DH loved the boat the first time we stayed at WL, but he admitted the bus was a lot quicker when you were tired and ready to get back to the resort.

 

[SeaSpray]

I also vote for the Wilderness Lodge. It is absolutely gorgeous! Just got back a few weeks ago, and fell in love with the place. Short and fun boat ride to the Magic Kingdom. I have my pictures and review on a thread, the link is below if you'd like to see my pictures

Not to knock the Contemporary resort, but I will not stay there until the refurb is all done, and even then, ONLY in the tower. Those "wings" look terrible to me, but that's just my opinion, I know a lot of people love them

 

[Minnie]

Another vote for the WL. It is only a quick boat ride away from MK. The rates are usually much less for it than the monorail deluxes. It is also our favorite resort bar none.

BTW - You could also try to FW cabins as they also have boat transporatation to MK.

 

[Minnie]

Not to knock the Contemporary resort, but I will not stay there until the refurb is all done, and even then, ONLY in the tower. Those "wings" look terrible to me, but that's just my opinion, I know a lot of people love them

We stayed at WL a couple weeks ago and spent some time at CR. It really looks like u could have quite a walk from the "wings" at CR depending on which wing u ended up in.

 

[EthansMom]

I agree with other posters that Wilderness Lodge would be great.

If you still need to get lower in price, I would recommend that you try Port Oleans French Quarter. It is WDW's smallest resort and has a charming pool and play area. The resort occasionally shares buses with POR, but POFQ is the first stop for both drop off and pick up. Also, POFQ is small enough that it only has one bus stop and even the furthest room is less than a 5 minute walk from the bus stop. Additionally, there is a boat that goes directly from POFQ to Downtown Disney with lots of restaurants, stores, etc. -- my kids (3 and 11 mos.) and I had a delightful time one evening taking the bus to go to McDonald's for dinner when DH had an upset stomach.

Also, ask for the AAA rate -- it's usually enough $ off to more than pay for the membership.

 

[minnie61650]

I enjoy staying at the ALL stars.
Bus ride times according to PassPorter.com

All Stars Buses ------ Pop buses---------WL buses------Contemorary buses
20 min MK -------- 25 min MK -------8 min (boat)MK-----20 min (monorail)
10 min Epcot ----- 20 min Epcot-----10 min Epcot--------15 min (monorail)
10 min MGM ------ 15 min MGM------15 min MGM---------20 min
10 min AK ---------15 min AK--------15 min AK-----------20 min
15 min DTD ------- 20 min DTD------25 min DTD---------35 min

Here is a site with a map of All Star Sports and All Star Music.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/allstarmap.htm
Scroll down.All Star Music is at the bottom of the page.
The Calypso buildings at All Star Music are #1 and #10 are nearest to the food court and bus stop.
They are the preferred buildings and cost about $12 extra per night.
The Calypso pool at ASMU has Donald Duck.

Here is the map of All Movies.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/allstarmovie.JPG
The Fantasia Buildings are the perred buildings.
The All Star Movie Fantasia pool has Mickey.
The buses are wonderful. It takes about 20 min.to get to MK but, Epcot,MGM,and AK are only 10 min.away which is one the of the resons I love the All Star Resorts --they can't be beat. I have visited WDW more than a dozen times with the 1st time in Oct. 1971. I've stayed at FW, Disney Inn, a few the of Hotels on hotel Blvd., CBR and the towers at the Contemporary. I got to see the MK from my balcony at the Contemporary and I'm happy I got to experience it once. I just prefer the All Star Resorts.
The theaming is pure Disney.
My last 4 visits have been at The All Stars and this fall when we take dd,dsil, and our grandson age 3 we are staying at the All Stars Music. I thought about AKL and even though we can well afford AKL I just wanted Alex to experience the Disney Magic at the All Stars on his first visit. I can hardly wait.
Linda
Just 62 more days
_

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

Th CR garden rooms are exactly the same as the tower rooms...only cheaper and not a great view...Like I said, I am a huge WL fan (I am a WL Vet) but when I get a monorail resort cheaper...well, I can't resist!

Also, yes...walking to MK isn't too bad a trip...maybe 5 minutes..I always thought it was far, but it was actually a nice walk

 

[AJKMOM]

Actually, I read that Disney is in the middle of refurbishing the Contemporary. They are re-doing the Tower rooms first, so the wings are towers are not the same, yet, anyway, until they finish the whole resort.