Best hotel to propose in?

[The proposer]

At the moment I'm planning a Disney vacation for my girlfriend and me. We will go for about two weeks at the end of August and beginning of September next year. What she doesn't know however is that I'm planning to propose to her on that vacation!

Because of budget issues (we're from Europe so aren't able to go to WDW too often and really want to make this time count, therefore want to go for two weeks) we will probably stay for one week at a Disney hotel (probably Coronado Springs) and then one week at Universal's Cabana Bay (which is much cheaper in our case). Maybe we'll also have a night somewhere outside Orlando for trips to Saint Augustine and Cape Caneveral. I'm considering cutting Coronado Springs to just five nights and add two nights at a deluxe to propose to her there (because I know she wants to get proposed at someplace more intimate than the parks). Earlier I've read a beautiful story on this forum about someone who proposed at the Polynesian right when the fireworks went off and had a photopass photographer making pictures of it!

Sadly however the Polynesian won't fit in my budget. The hotels that do (within 350 USD more than the two nights at Coronado would cost) are Yacht Club, Beach club, Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge. I personally don't like the AKL that much and I think she would like Yacht Club and Beach Club the most because her favorite hotel at Disneyland Paris is Newport Bay because of the theming and atmosphere.

Sorry for my long rambling but I was hoping you guys and gals could shine your lights on this. Which hotel has the most romantic setting? Has someone here already proposed at one of those hotels? Or do you think I should just do it at Coronado or even Universal? Do you have any ideas about romantic spots at the hotels? There seem to be a lot of websites and blogs concentrating at the romantic spots in the parks but not so much at the hotels.

P.S. This isn't my normal account, I've made a new one just for this because my girlfriend knows the name of my real account.

 

[rspencer38]

I recently proposed to my girl friend at poly! Although we weren't staying at poly, each trip I plan one night as a surprise, so she wasn't suspicious when we pulled into the resort. I made dinner reservations, followed by a walk through the resort with dole whip, and finally watching the fireworks on the poly beach where I proposed! I guess the point of the story is that you do not necessarily need to stay at the resort in order to propose.

 

[ALegrande]

I got proposed to at Poly! We weren't staying there. We went to the Luau dinner show and afterwards my boyfriend proposed to me on the beach with the castle as the backdrop. We then had celebratory drinks at Trader Sam's (an awesome bar). I must say the staff at the Poly made the night amazing. The photopass people captured the whole thing, and the staff at Trader Sam's went above and beyond for us (free champagne and free Mickey and Minnie cupcakes, free real-flower leis, a special song played for us by the ukeleli singer) so I cannot recommend them more! As the person above said, you definitely don't need to be staying there to do the proposal and it really is a great place.

If you are set on proposing where you're staying, the Yacht and Beach Club area is a great choice as well. They have the beautiful Yacht Club Gazebo (which is actually used for weddings!) there and as long as there's not a wedding going on you could do it there! It's super secluded and intimate so that would be very private and romantic. Staying there you could also do it during the Epcot fireworks as there is plenty of great viewing of those fireworks from the bridge connecting the Beach Club and the Boardwalk. So, you could still have that fireworks element if you wanted if you do it at Yacht and Beach then you could also go for a nice dinner at Yachtsman's Steakhouse as well. Just my input as someone who lives in Orlando and goes to these resorts all the time! Good luck- it's going to be amazing no matter what and she'll love it!!

 

[Mari0824]

I was proposed to at the Poly and wasn't staying there. It's one of my favorite resorts and I love to sit on the swings in the sand and watch the waters and hear the nearby noise. It was absolutely perfect and very intimate and private. We had dinner at Ohana followed by the stroll on the beach.

The Wilderness Lodge has a beautiful terrace that should be opened by next year that over looks the pool etc. it's called the sunrise terrace and they also have a dock with a geyser that sets off on the hour and a dock to the boats. Very beautiful and it's my second fave hotel!

The Yacht Club is by far my #1 hotel! And they have multiple places to propose that are beautiful! They have the beach area with swings, gazebo and you can also go to boardwalk and use that gazebo. Yacht Club also has a light house that's fantastic and you can see the high fireworks from Epcot at this resort. You can also arrange dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse at this resort. This resort is also undergoing room renovations that are spectacular! So if this resort is in your budget I would totally stay here! The pool is phenomenal with a huge water slide and lazy river! You can def make a day just lounging at pool. The ease to parks from this resort is amazing as you can walk to Epcot, ferry boat to Hollywood and bus to Magic and Animal.

Also, a word of advice some parks and to get in monorail are requiring metal detector walk through so make sure you don't keep the ring in the box if you plan on proposing and need are running into a scenerio where you may need to walk through metal detectors.

I know! I have Disney problems as I am a huge fan! Lol!

 

[Karin1984]

I don't have any advice, but I noticed there are a lot of personal details in your post. Where you are from, what her favorite hotel is, when you are going to travel etc. If she knows your normal DIS screen name, isn't there a high risk of her browsing the wedding section one day?

Now that you have some advice, you might want to delete some details of your first post And just to be sure: your browser history

 

[The proposer]

Thanks for all the tips! I'm keen to propose where we're staying so I think it will be the Yacht Club! I might just do it at the Epcot fireworks, that's an amazing idea!

I don't have any advice, but I noticed there are a lot of personal details in your post. Where you are from, what her favorite hotel is, when you are going to travel etc. If she knows your normal DIS screen name, isn't there a high risk of her browsing the wedding section one day?

Now that you have some advice, you might want to delete some details of your first post And just to be sure: your browser history

Haha, I know but she isn't on the Disboards and the only way she would have seen it on my normal account would be if I'm on the account when we're together (and she would she the alerts or something). Small chance but want to make sure it won't happen!

 

[aristocatz]

Look into Port Orleans Riverside. It's a beautiful (and affordable!) resort with tons of great scenery for a beautiful & memorable proposal

The other option I would recommend is to take her to dinner at the Grand Floridian & propose in the lobby where the man is playing the grand piano-so romantic!