Best Place to Stay

[mphyatt]

We are looking at going the beginning of Sept 2017 and have stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge the last two trips. This time around we were 'thinking' we might try another deluxe resort. Our agent has given us options of the Wilderness Lodge, Polynesian, Grand Floridian, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and the Contemporary with the theme park view. It would be myself, hubby and our 4 year old. Which would you recommend? I worry the Contemporary might be too blah for us or the theme park view won't be worth it. TIA!

 

[snowybelle]

I'd pick the Polynesian, personally.

 

[GillianP1301]

I'm assuming that cost is not a factor since some of those options are considerably more than others (i.e Contemporary TPV vs Wilderness Lodge). Of those listed, I have only stayed at WL and have CR booked for this year. Given the choice, and money not being a factor, CR TPV is my ultimate bucket list item. WL is really lovely though, so for a less expensive option, that's the one I would go with. The only one I would have no interest in is GF, but that's just my personal preference, I just don't like the look/feel of the place.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If budget isn't a factor I would, personally, narrow it down to Poly and GF. WL is lovely, but the rooms are smaller, there is no monorail and there is a lot of construction going on right now. CR has its merits. You can walk to MK, there are some great restaurants and the TPV view is great (I actually like the lake view as well - if you are on a high floor you can see the EP and DHS fireworks). I'm not a big fan of the elevators, however and, yes, the theming can feel a bit "airport terminal".

My preference in terms of an overall resort is GF. Even in the garden view rooms you get turn-down service, there are a ton of restaurants at the resort and you are one stop away from MK. For theming, I prefer Poly, but the restaurants there are really lacking. One is virtually impossible to get in (O'hana) and the QS is super crowded and chaotic. Both have zero-entry pools (which is great for a 4-year old), but there is almost zero shade at the Poly pool.

 

[Hopefully]

We are looking at going the beginning of Sept 2017 and have stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge the last two trips. This time around we were 'thinking' we might try another deluxe resort. Our agent has given us options of the Wilderness Lodge, Polynesian, Grand Floridian, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and the Contemporary with the theme park view. It would be myself, hubby and our 4 year old. Which would you recommend? I worry the Contemporary might be too blah for us or the theme park view won't be worth it. TIA!

Welcome to the DIS
This question is best asked on the Resorts Forum here on the DIS, Not here on the Theme Parks Attractions and Strategy Forum. You will find a wealth of information, including threads to review for the resorts you are considering, there.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

We did a Contemporary Resort theme park view last October. The view was absolutely fantastic! I loved waking up in the morning and having a cup of tea on the balcony as I looked out on the Magic Kingdom. It was also watching the Electrical Water Pageant at night. It was also excellent being able to walk to Magic Kingdom and having the TTC be the first stop on the monorail when we were heading to Epcot. There were some negatives though. The elevator situation was a nightmare. They don't have enough elevators for the resort so you had to wait a long time. When one finally did arrive it was common for it to be too full. We ended up taking the elevator up just so we could definitely have a spot on one and then took it back down. For our family, we are very happy we did it and don't regret it, but we aren't planning on doing that again anytime soon. For us, we'd rather use that money towards something else.

We all love Wilderness Lodge. It is the most requested place when we discuss where we might stay on an upcoming trip. Just walking into the lobby is very relaxing. We all love the pool, especially the fact that is starts inside the lobby as a bubbling brook. You can also see the Electrical Water Pageant here, but with the growth of the trees, it is more difficult to see it from your balcony. You can easily walk down to the beach to watch it, though. We love taking the boat to Magic Kingdom. The captains are so friendly and make the ride enjoyable. Some will sing, tell jokes, or ask Disney trivia. Others will simply talk with you, but it is never a dull ride. Very beautiful and fun. On the downside, there is a lot of construction now and there is no longer any such thing as a woods view (personal rant: how can you have vies of the woods at Beach Club and not at Wilderness Lodge? Ridiculous). The counter service restaurant here, Roaring Fork, is also incredibly small for the size of the resort which results in long waits around breakfast time. Still, our family loves it here and would be more than happy to stay here at any time.

Polynesian is gorgeous. Transportation is also excellent because you can walk to the TTC if heading to Epcot or the monorail if heading to Magic Kingdom. Not a lot of negatives to say about it, but it has been forever since I have stayed here.

I have no desire to stay at Grand Floridian or AKL, so keep that in mind when reading my recommendations.



I'd recommend Wilderness Lodge first. Our daughter fell in love with it when she was 4 and has loved it ever since. My second recommendation would be Polynesian. If your daughter loves Lilo and Stitch, definitely look into breakfast here, as well. Third, I would go with Contemporary. After that, it's a wash between AKL and Grand Floridian. With AKL, the animals can be fun, but you have already stayed here twice and might want to change it up. Plus, it is close to Animal Kingdom Lodge but none of the other parks. Grand Floridian is beautiful and convenient to Magic Kingdom, but I just keep hearing the words that a boat captain at Wilderness Lodge said. He said that he loved doing the Wilderness Lodge boat the most, was perfectly fine doing Contemporary or Polynesian, but hated Grand Floridian. He then said that passengers make all the difference when it comes to his preferences. He left it at that, but I guess it just stuck in my head and makes me less likely to want to stay there. So many people on here, though, swear by the resort and seem like perfectly lovely people so I just really don't know. For me, I'd just rather spend the money elsewhere. If I wanted a resort that I thought was just breathtaking, much like Grand Floridian is, I'd go with Yacht Club or Beach Club since they are within walking distance to 2 parks.

 

[TiggerGirl]

I would definitely vote Contemporary, especially if you're planning lots of Magic Kingdom days. It's the ONLY resort you can walk to from the park, which is a lifesaver if you're staying for the fireworks or going to the Halloween party. You can always monorail-hop to see the Polynesian and Grand Floridian.

If you're planning a longer trip, you can always schedule a lunch or dinner at AKL to see the animals. (I love Sanaa for its floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the savanna.)

 

[TXPyroMom]

I would vote CR with TPV. We stayed there when our daughter was 5 and it is magical sitting on the balcony watching the castle change colors and enjoying fireworks in your PJs and then going straight to bed. The view is definitely worth it. The theme is a bit blah, but it's still a cool resort with the monorail running through it.

We have also stayed at GF and that resort is breathtaking. We loved it, but the CR view winds out for us.

 

[loves to dive]

Normally, I'd say WL since it's less, a little smaller and a beautiful resort. However, since you have stayed at AKL and they are similar, and you are only thinking MK resorts, I'd say GF. I'm not a fan of CR, as a matter of fact I've had opportunities to stay there for around $500 less than where I ended up staying but just couldn't get over the, for lack of better words, contemporary look and feel of the place. I have stayed there way back in the dark ages when the MK resorts were the only game on property, even got upgraded to concierge and still couldn't bring myself to like it. I like the Poly well enough and we have stayed there a number of times, again back in the dark ages. It is a good resort for kids but that kind of is it's downfall for me, it's loud and crowded and busy. GF is beautiful, we have stayed there and if I were going to stay at a MK resort, that would be where I'd go. Just a thought to throw out though, you will be there during F&W at Epcot so have you thought about an Epcot resort? They can be hard to get that time of year but you can't beat the location and they can be a lot less than the MK resorts.

 

[Allison]

You will find a lot of information on the resorts board. Check it out.

 

[DisneyWorldbuff]

The Polynesian or the Contemporary would be great options for a family that will probably spend most of their time in MK.

 

[amberpi]

So much of resort choice is personal preference. I hate "lodges" - just doesn't interest or appeal at all. I've only been to WL to eat at AP and even then was kinda put off by it, but others LOVE it. And I've stayed at Grand Californian - for convenience only. I love CR, its where we stayed every year as a child and many times as an adult, until I feel in love with the Epcot resorts - for the prices of the resorts you listed, you could stay at the YC/BC and have access to Storm Along Bay, which is kid heaven. And heck, you're so close to Epcot there, I've had pool afternoons, were one person has run to the IG, grabbed a bunch of F&W choices close by and brought them back to the pool, its that convenient. One time I did this, I did "lose" my travel partner for a bit though, he may or may not have had a bit too much fun at the pub in the UK, but he was hilarious when he got back:0

 

[amberpi]

Further, having a monorail go through your resort is pretty darn special, for kids and adults, or maybe I'm just easily amused? Have a fantastic trip.

 

[brockash]

We are looking at going the beginning of Sept 2017 and have stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge the last two trips. This time around we were 'thinking' we might try another deluxe resort. Our agent has given us options of the Wilderness Lodge, Polynesian, Grand Floridian, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and the Contemporary with the theme park view. It would be myself, hubby and our 4 year old. Which would you recommend? I worry the Contemporary might be too blah for us or the theme park view won't be worth it. TIA!

In our opinion staying at CR would be our first choice as it's most convenient to overall parks and we also like having a monorail going through the inside of our resort. There are some things that aren't the best (elevators slow and often crowded with non-resort guests for various restaurants etc. and it's not the most Disney-themed), but for us you can't beat walking to/from MK, especially when the monorail is down, and when it is working it's a quick loop to MK or Epcot.

If you're going to have a MK view, you can't get any closer and you can see all sorts of things in MK, including the train coming around in the morning. Also, not sure if you'll have a stroller with the 4 year old, but if so, just wanted to add that one more reason we've chosen CR over Poly/Grand Floridian is because you can walk to/from MK when monorail is down (which is often). While it doesn't seem like a huge difference as oppose to just taking a boat or bus, not having to load up the stroller/kid/stuff to get on/off boat/bus makes a huge difference to us. While you don't have to do that with the big Ferry from the TTC to MK, you do have to fold up the stroller on the smaller boats that go from the resorts to the MK, so we take that into account as well.

 

[LSUfan4444]

We are looking at going the beginning of Sept 2017 and have stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge the last two trips. This time around we were 'thinking' we might try another deluxe resort. Our agent has given us options of the Wilderness Lodge, Polynesian, Grand Floridian, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and the Contemporary with the theme park view. It would be myself, hubby and our 4 year old. Which would you recommend? I worry the Contemporary might be too blah for us or the theme park view won't be worth it. TIA!

Contemporary is my preference. I like the convenience of being able to walk to/from Magic Kingdom.

 

[PSUGuy]

What, no Board Walk among the choices? We won't stay anywhere else given a choice.

Bill From PA

 

[Planogirl]

I would decide which theming I liked and go from there. For example I dislike the Grand Floridian but do like the look of the Contemporary. I was a big fan of the Polynesian but it has changed for the worse to me. You might see these places completely differently however.

 

[heazer]

We've stayed at all of your choices except for the Contemporary.

--That being said, we normally love Wilderness....but it's got a lot of construction going on right now.
--We love the AKL. If you are going to plan on a lot of breaks, early evenings, or to spend down time at the resort, AKL would be one of my top picks. Our son loves the activities available there.
--You can't beat the logistics of the monorail resorts to the MK though......and as lovely as the Contemporary can be, we are always suckers for the ambiance at the GF and the Poly. We love the Poly the best. Partly because we got married at Sunset Pointe, partly because of the grounds, partly because of the pools, and partly because it's a quick walk to the TTC if you need an alternate bus or monorail.

 

[abeautybutafunnygirl]

I did Contemporary TPV for one night using my cast discount (couldn't afford it without it ) and I loved it. I have always loved the Contemporary, since I'm a sucker for a monorail and a Mary Blair. We had a fantastic room, and we loved being able to go back/take a break during the day. Watching the fireworks from our room was a once-in-a-lifetime thing for me, and it was fantastic. I didn't have the problems other have mentioned with elevators, and we were there in the middle of July.