Best monorail hotel for seniors?

flipflopsandpitstops

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jul 16, 2019
Hi all, I'm so very excited! My mom and I are planning on taking a mother/daughter WDW trip this December 2021. I'm a DVC member and already have our room locked in at my home resort of CCVC, but would like to spend a few days beforehand somewhere else on property. This will be her first trip back in about 10 years and she'll be turning 75 a week after we return. While at home she walks both with and without a cane depending on how she's feeling, but for this trip we'll definitely be renting her a scooter for the parks. My question is this. For those several days at the beginning of the trip when we won't be visiting any parks, we'd like to stay at one of the monorail resorts to do some resort hopping for food and to see the holiday decorations, etc. If you had to choose between the three monorail resorts for this trip, which would you choose to stay at and why? Full disclosure, this may wind up being the last time she goes to WDW, so I'm willing to shell out a little more than usual to make this one really special. :)

Thanks!
Susan
 
Ooh... that sounds wonderful!! Wilderness Lodge will be a wonderful place to stay... especially at Christmas!! 😍

For your first few nights... because of the possibility of walking with a cane or being in an ECV around the resorts, I would definitely avoid the Poly (the theming is amazing, but I would be very uncomfortable with my mother using a cane on those bumpy paths).

Either Bay Lake, the Contemporary, or the Grand Floridian would be amazing... but I would choose the Grand Floridian. Part of my reasoning is in its name- it’s grand! & at Christmas time, it is hard to beat!! The grounds are beautiful for strolling, and it’s just so very peaceful. I have spent many nights at Bay Lake around Christmas over the past several years, and I love it, but the one December night I got to have at VGF was pretty magical✨


Disclaimer: I am not a senior, but I do roll through Disney in a motorized wheelchair 😉
 
@flipflopsandpitstops I know you have your heart set on a Monorail Resort, but your biggest "Resort hopping" bang for the buck might be a *Skyliner* resort!

And, let's not forget the Resorts between HS & EPCOT's International Gateway - those are serviced by the Friendship Boats, and Boardwalk is (hands down) my favorite place to sit on any sunny winter day while watching the water, and enjoying a nice beverage 🙂 Not to mention the lovely cruise back and forth between the Parks... LOL I'm a sucker for a Disney boat cruise, if you can't tell! 😁

I have been blessed to be on both the "daughter" side, and the "mom" side of many a memorable mother/daughter trip to WDW. If I were in your shoes, I would engage Mom, and ask what she wants to do - where she wants to stay. Does she have any Resorts that she secretly always wanted to stay at? Maybe she always harbored a desire to stay in the Cabins out at FW, or the Treehouses at Saratoga. And even if you aren't going to the Theme Parks that day, remember that you can always "hub" through any of the Parks bus loops to Resort hop easily - as well as utilizing Disney Springs (which is a Christmas wonderland of it's own) Resort bus loop as another "hub" location.

I lost my Mom 10 years ago, and I still miss her to this day. Enjoy every moment you have together ❤
 
My question about Wilderness Lodge concerns the availability of transportation My understanding is that not all the boats can take a scooter, so you might have to wait longer That's the main reason we haven't stayed there A couple years ago I stayed at the Poly, took the monorail to MK, the big ferryboat back Worked pretty well However, I agree with mama bunny's recommendation of the Epcot resorts I remember one night when the CM went down the line double checking exactly where everyone was going before we all got on the boat When he got to me and I said "for a ride on the boat", he looked at me like I was being some kind of wisely But that's really what I was doing! And I really enjoyed it My ECV and I love the Epcot resorts, especially BCV
 
The easliest l resort to get to the monorail is the Poly. However, if you want to make the trip truly special, just go for broke and go for the Grand Floridian!
 
Wilderness Lodge is NOT a monorail hotel. The monorail does not go close to it. There is a boat to MK. Where you can get the monorail.
Comp. Has indoor loading. Poly and GF. Are the same with out door
If you are staying in GF main building then it’s like the Comp
 
I think either of those two would be lovely. I'm leaning towards Contemporary because how everything is primarily on one floor and the monorail is just a quick elevator ride up. (granted the same is mostly true at the Grand Floridian).

Grand Floridian does have the better Christmas decorations, though.....
 


My question is this. For those several days at the beginning of the trip when we won't be visiting any parks, we'd like to stay at one of the monorail resorts to do some resort hopping for food and to see the holiday decorations, etc. If you had to choose between the three monorail resorts for this trip, which would you choose to stay at and why?

All 3 are beautiful. I agree with the person who said to ask her if she has a preference. I've stayed at both the GF and CR and my #1 place to stay is always the CR. I have fond memories of it, etc. that goes beyond theming or anything else tangible. If she has never stayed in any of the 3... I'd still ask her. If you don't want to ask, I'd pick the GF - it's their flagship hotel - amazing CM's - beautiful grounds - lots of places that are easy to scooter around and explore. If they put all the holiday decor back and gingerbread house it's extra special. I cannot imagine anyone being disappointed at any of the 3 and if someone surprised me with a trip to any of those I'd be thrilled.

I'll also note that I very much enjoyed staying at the Dolphin on my last trip - the Boardwalk area was more fun than I expected and I enjoyed going out in the evening in the scooter to meander a bit around that whole area. I don't think that's on your list and I'd take the monorail resorts over it any day...but it was still awesome!
 
Hi all, thanks so much for all of the fresh perspectives! I wound up asking her and it's come down to the CR and Beach Club. We visited GF together in early Dec a little over 11 years ago when we were there to do my wedding prep and she loved the lobby decorations, esp the ginger bread house, but said that she'd love to experience staying in either the "Jetson's hotel" or closer to EPCOT so we can easily walk/scoot in and not have to take any Disney transportation to get there. Since we're staying at CCVC for the majority of our trip and can easily uber it or take the inter-resort boat to the CR and catch the monorail from there to do our own resort foodie tour, I'm leaning more toward booking the Beach Club. When we talked about it she loved the idea of it only taking 5 mins to get to the France pavilion (her fav) to eat pastry. :D

I've also stayed at the Dolphin once and really liked it, but tbh she's really self-conscious and nervous about renting a scooter, and if we stayed there she'd have to have one, there's no way she could do the walk from there into EPCOT. If we stayed at BC she could use her cane and just pace herself while in the park. We'd basically just enjoy strolling around the world, taking frequent food and drink breaks, which still sounds like a lot of fun to us! We really just can't wait to go and hang out together and enjoy some mother-daughter time.
 
Maybe take along the phone numbers for a scooter rental vendor, and/or a medical equipment vendor - she may want to try (or may need to try) using an ECV or Rollator, and having that info in your phone will be super handy.

A Rollator might be great for her, since it will give her a walker-like device, with a built in seat (so she can stop and sit whenever, wherever she needs to!) as it has a handy-dandy basket under the seat for storage! They are inexpensive to purchase new, and will fly for free on any US airline as medical equipment.

Do let us know how your trip goes! (And please, eat the Chocolate Mousse at Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie for me!)
 
Hi all, I'm so very excited! My mom and I are planning on taking a mother/daughter WDW trip this December 2021. I'm a DVC member and already have our room locked in at my home resort of CCVC, but would like to spend a few days beforehand somewhere else on property. This will be her first trip back in about 10 years and she'll be turning 75 a week after we return. While at home she walks both with and without a cane depending on how she's feeling, but for this trip we'll definitely be renting her a scooter for the parks. My question is this. For those several days at the beginning of the trip when we won't be visiting any parks, we'd like to stay at one of the monorail resorts to do some resort hopping for food and to see the holiday decorations, etc. If you had to choose between the three monorail resorts for this trip, which would you choose to stay at and why? Full disclosure, this may wind up being the last time she goes to WDW, so I'm willing to shell out a little more than usual to make this one really special. :)

Thanks!
Susan
We are seniors. My favorite is GF Royal Palm Club floor. DH favorite is floor 14 at the Contemporary. We have enjoyed both four times each as we compromise each trip as we have a different number one monorail hotel preference. Why GF? For me: overall aesthetic inside and out. Also, enjoy the places to dine and snack. (I bet your Mom would like High Tea at GF Cafe.) Enjoy the lobby area, pool areas, and just the r and r atmosphere. (Check out the spa for a day.) DH - CR Why? Likes the view of MK. Loves the 14th and I do too. Loves California Grill. Likes the short walk to MK but now GF has a walkway too. Shel out a little more: Dinner at Victoria and Albert's is amazing as is the Sunday Brunch at the California Grill. Don't know with Covid what is open and/or not open though. Have a wonderful time with you Mom. You are lucky to have one another!!
 

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