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[Happyjen27]

Okay resort experts, I'm in the planning phases for my second trip to The World.

The first trip was 3 weeks ago (can you believe I took 2 weeks off of Disney planning?!) and we stayed at the Poly. While it was nice, I didn't love it. Many of these things could happen at any resort, I'm not bashing the Poly, just interviewing for new candidates. I'm not saying I'll never stay at the Poly again, I'm just in the mood to try something new.


What I didn't like:
-the rooms were dark, even with all the lights on
-the room seemed outdated
-the location of our room was right outside the staging area for the mousekeeping staff, so all I heard while trying to nap my 5 year olds was banging and loud noises.
-mousekeeping was still cleaning our room at 3:45 PM, that was way too late.
-bus service to DHS and to terrible. 30-40 min waits both ways in the mid-morning, not due to lines, due to lack of buses.
-bus service MK while monorail was down for an hour from 7AM-8AM on an EMH morning never happened. After waiting for an hour for a bus, the monorail started working again and that is how we got there.

What I did like:
-boating to the MK
-the monorail while it was working. 30% of the time on our 9 day trip; it wasn't.
-the greeting by the staff when we arrived was so wonderful and welcoming!
-the staff was friendly
-Capn Cooks had a great variety of food and we ate there a lot and didn't get sick of the food
-things weren't too spread out
-proximity to the TTC for monorail to EP

What I'm looking for:
-a bright, airy room
-convenient transport to the MK (the twins will be 6, so I think the trip will still heavily be weighted toward MK.)
-good QS, since we seem to eat at our resort a lot (but don't plan to do DDP)
-2 queens and a daybed. Or some means to have the twins sleep separately from each other.

Off the cuff I'm considering the Grand Floridian, The Beach Club or we could save 2000.00 by staying in the royal rooms at Port Orleans - Riverside if we're willing to give up the daybed. $2000.00 is no small amount, but I don't mind spending the money if the resort and convenience of transportation is worth it, since Time is Money at Disney. (and everywhere else).

What resorts am I missing in my short list? My DH didn't really like WL when we went for lunch at the WCC, so that's out. But I'd love to hear where everyone else loves!!

 

[my2princessgirls]

Bright, airy and close to MK - Grand Floridian! We loved our stay there a few weeks ago.

 

[HM]

I agree with GF. I prefered it to the Poly as well. The bright rooms were so nice. If you want to try something bright and cheerful in a different area, I'd suggest looking at the Boardwalk Inn as well.

We've pretty much stopped staying at the Deluxe resorts as the prices have become really high for the times of year we can travel. We really like the CSR for very comfortable rooms, but they are dark. I am trying the Royal Rooms at POR next month.

 

[Pakey]

I like GF the best out of the MK resorts; I like BWI the best out of the Epcot area resorts.

 

[AlohaAnnie]

Wilderness & Animal Kingdom would be a no for you. The rooms are dark.

I agree Grand Floridian sounds like a good choice.

Maybe even Contemporary or a DVC like Bay Lake Tower.

I am not sure if you would like Beach Club but maybe Yacht Club. They have a great pool in SAB at BC/YC.

Good Luck, I hope you find something that suits your family.

 

[EpcotBill]

I think your only choices are Grand Floridian and Contemporary. Beach Club isn't convenient to MK. POR will save money and isn't too far from MK but you'll have the small fold out bed instead of a daybed if you're in the AB section.

 

[mickeynut1]

I agree that the GF would probably be the best fit for what you're looking for. The rooms are bright and airy and it's convenient to MK as it's the next stop on the monorail. The BC rooms are bright as well and it's a great resort, but getting to MK isn't very time efficient, IMO. If you will be spending alot of time at MK, I think a monorail resort would be the best choice. Good luck and happy planning.

 

[owl0306]

Gf!!

 

[twinboysmom]

The best resort for transportation to the MK is the CR. It has a walkway to the MK. It takes around 7 minutes or so, 10 if you walk slow. It never breaks down or doesn't show up. There are no waits either. We love the convenience. The CR also has the monorail option but forus, it takes too long and is unreliable (as you know). We also enjoyed the quick service option of the contempo cafe. We have had some really good meals. The rooms are not dated for sure. They are large and have 2 queens and a day bed. The garden wing rooms are also less expensive with the same CR conveniences.

So, here's my two cents about the resorts you asked about. The GF rooms are brighter than the Poly but I think they are very dated looking. I think the rooms at the beach club are also brighter than the poly but the room is smaller and IMO, this is your worst option for transportation to the MK. We have had such poor luck wi the bus service at the boardwalk resorts (for us BC and BWI) that we will not stay there until the boys are more into DHS and Epcot. Our experiences have been that the buses for all of the boardwalk resorts were shared (BWI, swalphin, YC/BC) even during busy peak times. I know that sometimes BC/YC have their own service to the MK but not always and for us right now, that's a deal breaker.

So that's my opinions. Hope it helps. Happy planning.

 

[Marthasor]

I'm going to vote CR on this one! Or even BLT. Rooms will be brighter, newer AND you can walk to MK, which will certainly help if the monorail is down. CR has a good QS restaurant and, for a casual sit-down meal, the Wave is great as well.

GF is beautiful, but the rooms are very shabby chic these days. We just stayed there in May and the rooms really need a refurb.

 

[olive]

I would also suggest the CR. I have stayed at all of the monorail resorts, too, and really think CR sounds like the best fit for your needs. Those are my favorite rooms of the monorail resorts - definitely bright and spacious. Check out the GF and CR rooms and see which seems more your style. If you expect to spend most of your time at MK, being able to walk is such a great perk. Long lines or delays or service issues for the monorail or boat become non issues. We really appreciated that especially with a stroller, or just with a little one who needs to get back to the room. The garden wing rooms will be cheaper than poly was or GF would be, and are the same as the standard tower rooms. (BLT may be a great choice, too, but we haven't stayed there yet so can't opine; we will be staying next month though so can offer an opinion then).

That said, if you like POR, you can always stay there and cab back and forth to each park to avoid buses/transportation concerns and still save a bundle over the monorail resorts. Or you could rent a car and still be under. Not sure if those are appealing options.

Also - I can echo the annoying bus experience to MK mentioned above. When we stayed at the Dolphin during a relatively busy period - Memorial Day trough early June - ALL of the Epcot resorts were sharing buses to MK. We had a crazy long bus experience there and back one day and then cabbed after that (cabbed to CR and walked). The hotel was able to call us cabs that provided carseats. To us, it was well worth avoiding the aggravation.

Good luck deciding, and happy planning!

 

[padawans]

At Christmas time I would go with GF. If the construction is not completed by next Dec I would look into an Epcot resort. The Wl rooms are darker and smaller than Poly so I don't think that would be a good option. CR is very sterile looking, and poorly decorated at Christmas. I really love the Epcot resorts at Christmas time. The bus service is not the best, but I think the proximity to Epcot and DHS is a major plus.

 

[tinkermommyof3]

It sounds like you may be a GF girl! Why not give it a try? We stay mostly at the Poly, but have stayed at the GF and it seems to meet your criteria. It definately has bright and airy rooms, convenient transport to the MK, good QS at Gasparillas, 2 queens and a daybed. We have stayed at BWI and it meets criteria #1, ie. bright and airy. What it does not have, IMO, is good and easily accessible sit down QS for a family with young children and it is not convenient to the MK. It does come with a daybed. Happy planning!

 

[KrazeeK120]

Based on your requirements, it sounds like the Contemporary is the best fit for you. You can walk to MK, so no worrying about unreliable transportation. In addition, the QS Contempo Cafe has some really good food and is convenient to the tower rooms (just an elevator ride away). The rooms have 2 queen beds and a daybed and are very nicely appointed. The Bay Lake view rooms have a breathtaking view of the lake and of course, the other side of the tower overlooks MK, which I've heard is a very magical experience.

The GF is another choice, but you may run into the same transportation problems you encountered at Poly and the QS there isn't all that great, nor is it convenient to most of the rooms.

 

[Robbi]

Wilderness & Animal Kingdom would be a no for you. The rooms are dark.

I agree Grand Floridian sounds like a good choice.

Maybe even Contemporary or a DVC like Bay Lake Tower.

I am not sure if you would like Beach Club but maybe Yacht Club. They have a great pool in SAB at BC/YC.

Good Luck, I hope you find something that suits your family.

The rooms at both WL and AKL did not seem nearly as dark and gloomy as those at the Poly.

The GF is beautiful. If you can stay at The Royal Palm Club in the main building, go for it!
The CR is very nice too. The rooms are very modern.
At both though, you might have to wait in fairly long lines for the monorail because of the throngs of guests attending meals and special events. It isn't horrible but it can be a pain.

 

[lady_hlh]

We're trying CR garden wing next year because my 11 year old DD loves the idea of walking in to MK and so do I. We stayed at BC and YC which were both great too because you can walk in to Epcot and HS but the buses to MK were just OK. However if you plan on spending most of your time at MK the option of walking in and out without having to use the monorail, bus or boat would be really nice. I'm not in love with the theme at CR but I'm willing to give it a try at least once besides my DD is now a park monster so we spend less time hanging out at the resort than when she was little.

 

[Happyjen27]

Thank you so much everyone!!

I started looking into the CR last night while reading my PassPorter, and it looks like it might fit the bill. Interestingly, that was my first choice when I was planning my first trip a few months ago, but then I read the Poly thread, and Poly has so many devoted fans, I switched.

So, this time, I'll follow my first instinct and maybe go CR? Or, I could go POR and have a whole 'nother vacation? Choices, choices.

If I went BLT, do I still get any %off deals or anything like that? I'm not really interested in the DDP, but I would hate to buy my points for BLT, only to have the room only discounts be announced and find I could have gotten a tower room (or CL) for the same price.

 

[olive]

We booked at BLT in a one bedroom using a AAA discount - it was somewhere around 15-20% off rack rate. We were very happy with the rate. When the GP codes were released for room only discounts for our dates in January, they could only be applied to studio rooms at BLT. We would much prefer the space of a CR standard room over the BLT studio for our family of 4, even though our children are young. We understand the studios are pretty cramped for that. So the answer is yes, there are discounts for BLT rooms but depending on the discount, you may be limited on room type. I recall that a garden view room at Poly with the GP discount was about $1000 less for our 6 nights than the 1 bed at BLT. Hopefully that provides a good sense of cost since you are familiar with the Poly. We decided to stick with the one bed for the extra space, especially with an infant.

 

[Megsie1000]

I wouldn't call CR rooms "airy" but they are definitely cool. Very mod chic. I love it. And walking to the MK can't be beat. If you can swing it financially, a MK-view room is awesome, awesome, awesome. My favorite stay of all time was in one of those rooms. I will probably never see the inside of one of them again because of the cost. That was a one-time thing and in the middle of the steepest discounts at WDW. LOL

Loved being able to walk to the MK from the CR, so that is a huge plus. And you are still on the monorail to do things at other resorts easily.

I *loved* the BC, too, but I have to say that transportation to the MK was the worst. The location of the BC is so amazing, the pool, walking to the World Showcase, etc. But yes the bus to MK sucked to put it bluntly. LOL

What about a split stay? Do CR or GF for a few days and do MK on those days. Then move over to the BC and do Epcot and HS on the days you are staying there? That way you get the best of both worlds.