Decided to do Disney next yr as well.. planning advice needed!!

[ChipnDaleRule]

Actually, the deluxe resorts tend to be busier than the mods. They all have something that attracts people to come and look round. I also haven't found Disney magic at any of the resorts varies.

The moderates/OKW/SSR are probably the quietest resorts - little bit more spread out with multiple pools.

We have stayed at a few of the deluxes and honestly there was always a lot of people around the lobby and the main pools.

In comparison we had the Millers Road pool at OKW to ourselves a few afternoons on our trip and there was never more than about 3 families. Even the main pool wasn't crowded. It was the same when we used to stay at CSR. On the other hand I can't think of a single time we have been in a deluxe where I would say the pool was empty unless it has been cold.

In fairness to the deluxes (and I'm talking about the Yacht Club Resort specifically,because thats the one we stay at) we have found the absolute opposite to the above deluxe drawbacks. The Yacht Club lobby is one of the most relaxed/quietest lobbies I've walked through,and I've walked through them all,budget/mod/deluxe!The pool area(StormalongBay) is one of the few pools in Disney where you are not allowed to pool hop,so it was very manageable,and we were there May/June when a lot of the american schools had finished.It also has the benefit of the Quiet pool which each time we were there it was extremely quiet.
When we stayed there we timed it and took us 5 minutes to walk from our room to EPCOT, and either a 20 minute walk to Hollywood Studios or a 10 minutes boat ride.The Boardwalk area in the evening is a lovely place to walk round, and you can sit on the beach and watch a movie or Illuminations.

I am saying this though as someone who is in the minority because i really do not enjoy DTD.Im not someone who likes shopping of any description.The only thing there for us is a couple of great restaurants and thats it! So being close to DTD has never been an incentive.

Hope ive not offended anyone by DISing DTD!

 

[higgy66]

We stayed at the Beach Club (which is classed as a delux) last year over the Halloween period so a fairly busy time and we couldn't fault it. Yes it does have a very popular restaurant but this is in the corner of the hotel lobby so apart from that area it never seemed busy anywhere else?

The Stormalong Bay pool is amazing and can only be accessed by your room key so this was never busy with people not staying there. It also has a quiet pool literally a stones throw away, tucked around the corner, and we had that to ourselves almost every afternoon!

I think if you want "Disney" theming you won't really find that in The Beach club as it was more of a seaside theme but as you will see with research each resort has it's own theme

We're stopping at Old Key West this year as there are several families going, however, we have booked to go back next year to the Beach Club as this has been our favourite by far. Also as we're looking at going for the first time in August we imagine we will have a lot of pool time due to the heat and the kids love the SAB and wjat they call their "private" pool!

Being able to walk to Epcot and Hollywood is priceless!

 

[foxxxy83]

Been looking this morning and Beach and Yacht Club is the one I've put in my SERIOUS list along with Animal Kingdom Lodge. Both look FAB. Otherwise, will possibly SMILE (and flutter my eyelashes in that sweet puppy dog eyes type way) and hope my other half lets me book Grand Floridian. (Heehee) We usually book one hol together over Xmas which we go halves on and I pay for me and my son to go somewhere on our own for quality parent-son bonding time

 

[foxxxy83]

Before anyone says it, I know Beach Club and Yacht Club are two different hotels.. put both of them in SERIOUS list with Animal Kingdom Lodge is what I meant to say! Doh!

 

[ChipnDaleRule]

This thread has been set up so you can navigate through all the Unofficial resort threads.These are very helpful threads started by people who love their resorts and offer a a wealth of information and pictures

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2876920

 

[2Tiggies]

and hope my other half lets me book Grand Floridian.

It's an absolutely beautiful resort. But I have absolutely no inclination to stay there. I found it missing something - not sure what - but it had no real Disney feel to it and we've been there a number of times. But then for those who don't want their entire trip to be in your face Disney I can totally see the appeal. It's personal preference. I highly recommend going onto the resorts sub forum on here and going through the threads for each resort (each resort has a fan thread with reports, suggestions, photos and advice). I would recommend going through the ones on your short list first and making notes of pros, cons and questions before you start posting. They get a lot of traffic and it can make finding your questions and answers a bit of a nightmare a few months later

 

[2Tiggies]

Apologies to Chip&Dale - I didn't see your posted link above mine. That's what you get for coming back to a page and replying before refreshing

 

[foxxxy83]

OK, cool... thank God for seasoned Dis-sers!! And thanks for the link!

 

[Summer-Caitlin]

I have stayed at CBR, POFQ, GF and OKW. Hands down GF was the best out of the lot, mainly due to location, monorail access and well it is just somewhere that I knew we would never normally stay. we stayed 7 nights at Club level as part of our honeymoon, and before you ask, we were upgraded as I never would have paid out that much for 7 nights! It was fab though, but for us a once in a lifetime stay. CBR was okay, theming is beautiful, but food court and restaurant is poor imo. I LOVE POFQ and I keep trying to book there again, but Disney keep offering such good deals on SSR/OKW. Hence why we stayed at OKW last time. We were there for 17 nights and it is a beautiful, laid back resort with a great bus and boat service. Rooms were a bit dated imo though. This time we are thinking of trying SSR as it is working out cheaper than the moderates with DDP. However you are right in that AKL is a beautiful resort and it has fab restaurants, it is creeping up on my list but my concern is the location of the resort, as it is furthest away from most of the parks.

Good luck in your decision

 

[foxxxy83]

Have had an extensive conversation with my other half. We've whittled it down to AKL with a Savannah view room or Beach Club with standard room. Will decide when I get back from our hol. Thanks everyone SO much!!

 

[irenep]

Have had an extensive conversation with my other half. We've whittled it down to AKL with a Savannah view room or Beach Club with standard room. Will decide when I get back from our hol. Thanks everyone SO much!!

Both beautiful resorts

Personally, I prefer the Beach Club for the location and found AKL just that wee bit too far when travelling to the parks every day although the balcony/view is lovely. You might as well have a look around them when you are there to help you decide.

 

[foxxxy83]

Yes, I thought so too so I've booked a meal at Sanaa for the evening before we fly home and am planning on taking my son to the boardwalk area & to the Beaches & Cream ice cream parlour one of the days we're not doing the parks so can see the Beach Club Resort then

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

Stormalong Bay pool is the BEST pool area on property ...... just saying

We love staying in an EPCOT area resort as being able to walk to EPCOT, HS and having The Boardwalk just the other side of Crescent Lake for us it's a no brainer

 

[foxxxy83]

Yeah, have to admit, I am leaning towards that one but am keeping an open mind til I see them for real

 

[zippy99]

I know late in the day to put my thoughts in - but we really LOVED Wilderness Lodge.

As the smallest of the deluxe resorts it never felt overcrowded and it was amazing for those 'relaxing' days. Watching the water pageant on the beach, getting to boat to magic Kingdom, the chef's daily flatbread! Two great pools.

There is only one resort we never liked and that was Caribbean Beach - too big, too spread out, too busy (main pool).

Like you we are still debating on our location for next years trip - we are drawn to OKW in terms of quality & value - but DH likes to stay somewhere new each time!

 

[foxxxy83]

When pricing it up, Complete Orlando came in best and going to come in approx £7000 for me and my son (including park tickets and DDP etc) for 14 nights which is pretty good considering have paid approx £10000 this time and we aren't staying at a Disney property although we are staying at Hilton Bonnet Creek which is inside gates of WDW (quite literally next door to CBR).. this is whether we stay at AKL or Yacht & Beach Club. The price is for end of July/start of Aug as well which I thought would be WAY more expensive!!

 

[foxxxy83]

Will have a look at Wilderness Lodge as well though as "peaceful" sounds like right place for my son

 

[Elise79]

I don't know your sons needs but having had a toddler at Beach Club - Stormalong way was a nightmare from a sheer size point of view.

Also as an FYI BC doesn't have full balconies on every room but YC does.

WL is a lovely resort - we usually visit and quite happily spend a few hours relaxing there.

 

[foxxxy83]

My son's Autistic and has doesn't recognise or display emotion.. he also has no sense of personal space and very little in the way of social skills. It's almost like he's in a bubble. A friend of ours has a child with the same probs and they took him to WDW and the emotion he was feeling was SO intense that he started to show it outwardly (although I'm going with an open mind). We'd be going for 2 weeks in Summer so it would be really busy I'm assuming. Hence, the appeal of somewhere that offers some kind of calm atmosphere. He's a BEAUTIFUL child don't get me wrong but when it comes to REALLY crowded places, he just can't handle it and his flapping gets a LOT worse.