Confused on where to stay

[Drayton1]

Have read and read the boards and have to say I am soooooooooo confused!!! I am planning on visiting DW for the second time and this being a first onsite stay. Me and my two children 5/9 and husband and hopefully my parents. I have looked at CBR, POR, in which they were ok. I liked them as I am one that likes a "resort" feel and a nice pool. I am asking if the following were important to you which resort would you pick? Nicely decorated rooms, nice pool for children, close to MK, monorail accessible, possibly close to DownTown Disney?? I was looking at moderate for 8 nights, should I break it up and stay 4 nights mod and 4 deluxe to get it all in. I know the last trip we stayed at the parks the time they opened until they closed!!!!!! But also stayed off site at GrandeVista (which was very Nice) but thought that perhaps we were missing the "total disney feel" so I am looking at onsite with the above perks, as well as wanted the option of taking "downtime" an hour a two during the day. What do you suggest??????

 

[HopperFan]

You just need to determine which fills your needs the most....
Of moderates - Theme is great at any of the resorts.
NONE on monorail. POR/POFQ has boat to DTD, otherwise it is buses.
Closest to MK is POR/POFQ, but if you are busing, CSR has great transportation.
Best pool - hands down CSR, then POR.
Food Courts - CSR is high end, but I think the POR is very good also.
Decor in rooms, we think that the "nicest" is POR Mansion side. POFQ may be similar. POFQ can also share POR amenities.

Personally for 8 nights I would break it up. I would like CSR or POR for moderate and WL or AKL for deluxe (thinking value for $). WL is close to MK and AKL has direct and great bus service (10 minutes for us to travel to MK).

 

[mrsgus06]

Personally, I prefer the cabins at Ft. Wilderness. It is a boat trip away from MK, which my kids love the boat, and there is a ton of things to do at the campground while not in the parks. It has a full kitchen so the meals could be prepared there, saving tons of money. It has bunk beds for the kids, a double bed for mom and dad plus a murphy bed for gramps and grandma. The campground has 2 pools (the pools are not themed), playgrounds, the beach, mid afternoon activities and the sing a long/movie. My little one loves to ride the golf cart down to the petting zoo/horse stables and look for peacocks. The busses run throughout the campground with about a 10 minute wait. Golf carts are extra, but before we bought one, I would rent one for at least one day to sightsee throughout the campground. On days that we don't have access to the golf cart, we ride our bikes or the kids ride their scooters.

 

[lmhall2000]

I think y'all would love the Poly if you could swing the cost or WL...WL allows you the boat ride to MK...my children are 5,6,9 and we spend 80% of our time at MK....we agreed only to stay at a monorail resort until they were all over the age of 9 and Epcot MGM had more appeal. I wouldn't like splitting the stay....but would if cost were an issue. I just don't like my vacation interrupted...by repacking/unpacking...lots of wasted park time!

My children LOVED the pool at the Poly...it has a volcano slide that is more like a tunnel that looks like lava is flowing over your head in one part...very warm and it also has a quiet pool...we liked taking the boat to MK more than the monorail..but we loved walking to the Monorail Transportation center (about a 4 minute walk) and taking the monorail to Epcot...or just switching monorails...the stroll over is nice. I think you and your family would love a dinner at 'Ohana's....very family friendly and great food. The same for WL...Whispering Canyon Cafe is supposed to be a hoot and it's just a wonderful feel...I'd go WL or Poly depending on how important the monorail is to you..

Tara

 

[Northern Lights]

At least until the kids get older, we will always go monorail resorts. Our favorite is CR-Tower b/c of the great views and convenience of walking to MK. We can't stay anywhere at the CR in September so we are going with the Poly.

If you break up your trip make sure you start at a Mod and then go Deluxe (we made this mistake our very first trip when we were unsure if the deluxes were really worth it). Better to look forward to the Deluxe than miss it. We are not park commandos and value the location and convenience of the monorail resorts.

I have read and been told several times that WL is perhaps the better bang for the buck.

 

[Drayton1]

Thank you all for your responses. As of last night though the plans have changed and now I am on the path of searching the Disney Villas as my parents like the idea of having a kitchen as well as thinking on taking my 2 nephews. Was looking at Disney beach and Key West also just came across the DVC points for sale. So Hi ho hi ho I am off on another trail.. .Hope to have the resort nailed down by this Saturday!!! Thanks Again!!!

 

[Bugsmom73]

I would either try to rent points or stay at one place with the number of people that maybe going. I would try for Poly then. A quick monorail or boat ride to MK and then walk to TTC for Epcot then bus it everywhere else. If you are going to rent points, I would try for Boardwalk, Beach Club or Wilderness Lodge, then you are close to a park.