Best resort for your HM?

[Beautybelle43]

Well, if I had my way we would be at the GF for 2 weeks, but we need to be realistic here!

If all goes well, we will be able to afford an Escape ceremony!

We would like to do about 5-7 days in total. We are considering a split-stay with a moderate and a deluxe. I was thinking about POR & WL, but they seem too similar in theming. DF's favorite resort is the WL, so we will likely stay there for half, not sure we can afford to stay there the entire time.

I love the idea that we can travel by boat from the resort. I would also like to stay in a place that treats you extra special for having a WDW wedding and HM (i.e. fun surprises in your room like towel animals & stuff)

We are going to try for a value season wedding (January or late November) to save $ on hotel.

Anyways, where did you stay for your WDW HM? How did you like it & did you feel like you were treated a little special? Was your room comfy?

TIA!

 

[GlobalDiva]

Hey BEautybelle43

Congrats on your future wedding I haven't honeymooned yet, but will be getting married at Disney, so I thought I'd throw in a response to your question.

Have you considered maybe a 1-bedroom villa at Saratoga Springs resort? DF and I LOVE Saratoga. Plus it's one of their most recent resorts, so everything is shiny and perfect. It feels very much like a deluxe room--very spacious, has a full kitchen, waSher/dryer in the room, AND a great big hot tub in the great big bathroom. If neither of you have been there, it might be nice to experience something completely new to both of you, as a newly married couple.

I also like Saratoga because it's very quiet. It's pretty "adult" in mood and setting, which might be the kind of thing you want for a honeymoon. Unfortunately, not exactly sure what the price would be around that time. Sometimes they have really good discounts on the villas, other times not. But it's worth keeping in mind.

If you want a moderate to help with budget, then I would recommend Caribbean Beach. It feels like you're at a Caribbean resort on vacation--the grounds are gorgeous. And I know their main pool is under refurbishment for the next several months this year, so it's probably gonna be even more fabulous than before when it's done.

Good luck!

 

[Beautybelle43]

Hey BEautybelle43

Congrats on your future wedding I haven't honeymooned yet, but will be getting married at Disney, so I thought I'd throw in a response to your question.

Have you considered maybe a 1-bedroom villa at Saratoga Springs resort? DF and I LOVE Saratoga. Plus it's one of their most recent resorts, so everything is shiny and perfect. It feels very much like a deluxe room--very spacious, has a full kitchen, waSher/dryer in the room, AND a great big hot tub in the great big bathroom. If neither of you have been there, it might be nice to experience something completely new to both of you, as a newly married couple.

I also like Saratoga because it's very quiet. It's pretty "adult" in mood and setting, which might be the kind of thing you want for a honeymoon. Unfortunately, not exactly sure what the price would be around that time. Sometimes they have really good discounts on the villas, other times not. But it's worth keeping in mind.

If you want a moderate to help with budget, then I would recommend Caribbean Beach. It feels like you're at a Caribbean resort on vacation--the grounds are gorgeous. And I know their main pool is under refurbishment for the next several months this year, so it's probably gonna be even more fabulous than before when it's done.

Good luck!

Thanks Globaldiva!

I like SS well enough, but unfortunately DF doesn't. We've checked out pics online and we took a little visit to it on our last trip. but he wasn't impressed. "Didn't have enough Disney spunk" as he put it. I thought the buildings looked so cute, but I don't like the DTD area.

We LOVE CBR, but we stayed there for our last trip, so we'd like to try something new.

Please keep the suggestions coming!

 

[SarahInMN]

The Yacht club is an excellent resort, and my fiance's parents stay there every time they go to WDW. He really likes it too: the location is fantastic as it's essentially walkable to Epcot, near the Boardwalk, near the Dolphin/Swan for great sushi, and a short boat ride away to most anywhere.

Another great choice is the Port Orleans Riverside. My father is partial to the Contemporary and the Animal Kingdom. The contemporary has a fantastic location, but the Animal Kingdom is too far off for my tastes.

We're staying at the Grand Floridian for our wedding/honeymoon (8 nights total). We ultimately chose that for location and because I love the monorail. We're hoping for a special treat but frankly aren't certain if we should expect one (I would love to hear other people's answers to that question).

 

[Beautybelle43]

The Yacht club is an excellent resort, and my fiance's parents stay there every time they go to WDW. He really likes it too: the location is fantastic as it's essentially walkable to Epcot, near the Boardwalk, near the Dolphin/Swan for great sushi, and a short boat ride away to most anywhere.

Another great choice is the Port Orleans Riverside. My father is partial to the Contemporary and the Animal Kingdom. The contemporary has a fantastic location, but the Animal Kingdom is too far off for my tastes.

We're staying at the Grand Floridian for our wedding/honeymoon (8 nights total). We ultimately chose that for location and because I love the monorail. We're hoping for a special treat but frankly aren't certain if we should expect one (I would love to hear other people's answers to that question).

Ooh you are staying at the GF??? I'm so jealous! I wish we could afford it, but we can barely afford the wedding! With our budget, we should be staying at a value resort, but I just couldn't imagine my honeymoon in a resort with a life sized football or something. and I've heard that the beds are not comfy at the values....

Maybe we'll check out POR-only thing is the theming is very close to WL....

Does anyone know anything about Coronado Springs Resort?

 

[SarahInMN]

I just couldn't imagine my honeymoon in a resort with a life sized football or something. and I've heard that the beds are not comfy at the values....

Maybe we'll check out POR-only thing is the theming is very close to WL....

Oh, yeah, I hadn't even thought of the theming at the values but yeah the football would be a bit weird for your honeymoon resort.

AllEars has photogalleries of the value/moderate resorts (and the deluxe resorts too). Maybe this will be helpful: http://www.allears.net/acc/gallery.htm

I don't know anyone who has stayed at WL so I don't know if the theming is similar to the Port Orleans. Maybe post that question over on the Disney Resorts board.

Good luck!

 

[Beautybelle43]

Thanks!

I looked at those photos on that website and I'm leaning towards the POFQ for our moderate.

Anyone have any experience with this place?

 

[lurkyloo]

Hi! Our guests stayed at POFQ and liked the theming and how small and manageable it was. I think PO Riverside has better theming though.

One big thing: if you are going to do a Moderate and a Deluxe, stay at the Deluxe last so you don't get depressed having to downgrade halfway through your trip

We rented DVC points to stay at Beach Club Villas and LOVED it - walkable to Epcot and there's plenty to do at the BoardWalk after the parks close. We also rented points for Animal Kingdom Villas and loved seeing animals from our balcony. If you can get the points for about $10 each, you will be paying less than the cost of a Moderate to stay in a Deluxe Resort.

We also stayed at the Contemporary and loved walking to MK but thought the theming (which would have been great for a regular hotel in another city) was not Disney enough for us. But the monorail is cool. And we stayed at GF for just one night - fun, but I preferred Beach Club.

HTH!

 

[Beautybelle43]

Hi! Our guests stayed at POFQ and liked the theming and how small and manageable it was. I think PO Riverside has better theming though.

One big thing: if you are going to do a Moderate and a Deluxe, stay at the Deluxe last so you don't get depressed having to downgrade halfway through your trip

We rented DVC points to stay at Beach Club Villas and LOVED it - walkable to Epcot and there's plenty to do at the BoardWalk after the parks close. We also rented points for Animal Kingdom Villas and loved seeing animals from our balcony. If you can get the points for about $10 each, you will be paying less than the cost of a Moderate to stay in a Deluxe Resort.

We also stayed at the Contemporary and loved walking to MK but thought the theming (which would have been great for a regular hotel in another city) was not Disney enough for us. But the monorail is cool. And we stayed at GF for just one night - fun, but I preferred Beach Club.

HTH!

Wow, you must have had a long honeymoon!!

I know it makes more sense to move from mod to deluxe for the course of our trip and that's what we've done in the past, but for our wedding (night before, night of, and night after) we don't want to stay in the moderate.
DF loves the WL and I do too (though we've never stayed there! but we took a boat once from WL to MK and I was in heaven!), but we can't afford to stay there all 8 nights....I'm curious about this renting points thing though, especially if it's the same price as a moderate!! How does it work? Do you have to be a DVC member?

If I had my way, I would do first half WL and 2nd half BWI-I love love love the idea of staying on the BW and being able to walk to our favorite park-Epcot- during our trip!

Otherwise, I think we'll be ok with the downgrade (we'll be in WDW HM bliss!), IF the beds are comfy. If the bed at POFQ is not comfy, THEN there will be a problem!

 

[Scrap_Vamp]

We love POFQ and that's where we want to spend the majority of our honeymoon.

We would also like to spend a couple of nights concierge at AKL but I'm thinking this might prove difficult - we might have to save that for an anniversary trip!

 

[cappygirl]

We stayed at the Poly - they upgraded us to the Concierge level, sent up chocolate covered strawberries, sparkling cider, mickey wine glasses, and a signed photo of Cinderella and Prince Charming wishing us a congratulations.
They were fantastic!!

 

[PrincessBride010103]

for our wedding/honeymoon we stayed at the WL. it was so much fun & if you can swing it I highly reccommend staying there the whole time. we had a first floor room overlooking the courtyard/pool area and it was lotsa fun to feed the ducks from our patio. (can you tell we're only 20? )

 

[lurkyloo]

I'm curious about this renting points thing though, especially if it's the same price as a moderate!! How does it work? Do you have to be a DVC member?

No need to be a member! What you do is find a DVC member (usually through a point-trading site or the Rent/Trade board in the DVC section of the DIS) who has points s/he isn't using and arrange to rent them for a certain amount per point. You can find out how many points you need for your stay by looking at the points charts posted on the DIS or other online DVC member communities. For instance, say a reservation in a studio at BWV for Sun-Thurs is 13 points per night. If you rent points at $11 a point, you're getting your stay for $143/night - far below the $300+ rack rate.

It takes trust on your part because the member controls the reservation at all times - as a guest, you can't phone up DVC and check on it. When you are thinking about renting from a member, check their posts on the DIS to see if they're a longstanding community member or just someone who signed up to rent their points.

Usually the member makes the reservation and sends you the printed confirmation from DVC and you pay the member half the cost of your reservation (Paypal is good for this). Then you pay the balance a month or two before your arrival date - it depends on when the member would need to cancel the reservation to get his/her points back if you flaked.

Hope this isn't too confusing - there may be FAQs on the DVC board.

 

[DSNY4ever]

On our honeymoon we did a split stay- 5 nights at POR and 5 nights at CSR. We loved both and we were there during value season so it was pretty reasonable to do the two moderate resorts. I think the POR had a little bit more of a romantic feeling, but that is just because it is more our taste. But CSR was a little quieter and the food was better.

But I think combining POR with a one or two night stay at the WL or the AKL would be pretty neat! Have fun and congratulations.

 

[Beautybelle43]

No need to be a member! What you do is find a DVC member (usually through a point-trading site or the Rent/Trade board in the DVC section of the DIS) who has points s/he isn't using and arrange to rent them for a certain amount per point. You can find out how many points you need for your stay by looking at the points charts posted on the DIS or other online DVC member communities. For instance, say a reservation in a studio at BWV for Sun-Thurs is 13 points per night. If you rent points at $11 a point, you're getting your stay for $143/night - far below the $300+ rack rate.

It takes trust on your part because the member controls the reservation at all times - as a guest, you can't phone up DVC and check on it. When you are thinking about renting from a member, check their posts on the DIS to see if they're a longstanding community member or just someone who signed up to rent their points.

Usually the member makes the reservation and sends you the printed confirmation from DVC and you pay the member half the cost of your reservation (Paypal is good for this). Then you pay the balance a month or two before your arrival date - it depends on when the member would need to cancel the reservation to get his/her points back if you flaked.

Hope this isn't too confusing - there may be FAQs on the DVC board.

Hi Lurkyloo,

Wow, this sounds too good to be true!! Ideally, I'd still like to do a split-stay (one resort for the wedding stuff and one resort for the honeymoon), so we could actually do two deluxes, right? I would love to do 3-4 nights at a WL villa then 3-4 nights at the BW Villas!!

DF would be a little skeptical of this-is it safe? Have people been screwed over alot doing this?

 

[Beautybelle43]

On our honeymoon we did a split stay- 5 nights at POR and 5 nights at CSR. We loved both and we were there during value season so it was pretty reasonable to do the two moderate resorts. I think the POR had a little bit more of a romantic feeling, but that is just because it is more our taste. But CSR was a little quieter and the food was better.

But I think combining POR with a one or two night stay at the WL or the AKL would be pretty neat! Have fun and congratulations.

How comfortable were the beds at POR? Are they pillowtop?

 

[lurkyloo]

I know - I thought it would be too good to be true too! The tradeoff for this screamin' deal is that you are trusting a stranger (or at least a fellow DISer) with the reservation for your honeymoon! But we had no problems with this, and you can ask for references.

DF would be a little skeptical of this-is it safe? Have people been screwed over alot doing this?

Even though the renter has to trust that the DVCer will make and keep his or her reservation, it's the DVCer who usually gets screwed. If the renter changes her mind at the last minute and/or doesn't pay, the DVCer loses the money AND the use of the points. So really, it's in everyone's best interest to keep their word.

The only other drawback is that it costs WAY more points (at least double) to stay at DVC resorts on the weekends, and renting more points means spending more money. So what we did was use our wedding room discount (for Wishes weddings) to stay in other hotels on the weekends. With bell services and a rental car, it wasn't too hard to change resorts.

I don't know how your split stay would divide over the weekend, but that might be tricky. Or you might feel it's worth buying more points just to stay in a DVC resort over the weekend.

 

[Beautybelle43]

I know - I thought it would be too good to be true too! The tradeoff for this screamin' deal is that you are trusting a stranger (or at least a fellow DISer) with the reservation for your honeymoon! But we had no problems with this, and you can ask for references.



Even though the renter has to trust that the DVCer will make and keep his or her reservation, it's the DVCer who usually gets screwed. If the renter changes her mind at the last minute and/or doesn't pay, the DVCer loses the money AND the use of the points. So really, it's in everyone's best interest to keep their word.

The only other drawback is that it costs WAY more points (at least double) to stay at DVC resorts on the weekends, and renting more points means spending more money. So what we did was use our wedding room discount (for Wishes weddings) to stay in other hotels on the weekends. With bell services and a rental car, it wasn't too hard to change resorts.

I don't know how your split stay would divide over the weekend, but that might be tricky. Or you might feel it's worth buying more points just to stay in a DVC resort over the weekend.

Thanks-we are definately going to look into this for the VWL for night before/night of/night after wedding!! I wonder what the view options are like for Wilderness Lodge Villas....We'd love to have a room overlooking that amazing pool/courtyard area

 

[Bostonbride6292008]

We are staying at Coronado Springs for 5 nights before we go to Mexio for a week. We thought we would get the whole tropical atmosphere are Coronado Springs.