Deluxe Hotels??

[disneychard]

Here is my situation, my husband wants to stay at a deluxe hotel, we have stayed at all the moderate hotels. We like to try different hotels when we go to wdw. Can anyone give me some suggestions. It will be me, my husband and my son who is 11 years old. We are going next Sept/Oct

 

[brergnat]

What is your favorite park?

What is your favorite NON park thing to do at a hotel? (swim, boating, mini golf, etc.)

What type of people are you in general? Do you like nature/outdoors? Do you prefer cities/modern architecture? Are you into tropical atmosphere?

What type of decor "floats your boat". Victorian? Modern? Light and Airy? More subdued and geometric? Flowery? Pastel? Bold colors?

Tell us a bit more about YOU, and we will help you pick the PERFECT resort for your family.

 

[disneychard]

What is your favorite park?

What is your favorite NON park thing to do at a hotel? (swim, boating, mini golf, etc.)

What type of people are you in general? Do you like nature/outdoors? Do you prefer cities/modern architecture? Are you into tropical atmosphere?

What type of decor "floats your boat". Victorian? Modern? Light and Airy? More subdued and geometric? Flowery? Pastel? Bold colors?

Tell us a bit more about YOU, and we will help you pick the PERFECT resort for your family.

We have two favorite parks, Magic Kingdom, and Animal Kingdom. My husband and son love to swim and do the slides at the hotels. we love the outdoors. My favorite hotel within the modern was the carribean beach. I love the atmosphere. I hope that helps

 

[jdads2]

I've stayed at the Poly (1st trip) and AKL. I was bumped to concierge at AKL for one of the trips. I would highly recommend AKL. I love that resort. We use Disney transportation every time we visit, never a rental and have had to wait excessively(more than 30 minutes) to get a bus from AKL once or twice. That is my only, very small, complaint. If you go to AKL take advantage of what is offered at the resort. I haven't been for a couple of yrs but they used to have story time around the campfire(look out for the toads), night vision goggles, hidden Mickeys search and the Safari Breakfast. Great pool and a decent slide.

We also loved the Poly. The convenience of the monorail in itself is a huge selling point. Getting from illuminations to the Poly was a dream. The TTC is within walking distance depending what bldg you're in as well.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

How about AKL? If not a monorail resort.

 

[Demosthenes]

If your husband and son like the slides at the resorts, you can't beat YC/BC and Stormalong Bay. The resort is in a great location, though admittedly not too convenient to MK (nothing but AKL is convenient to AK). Still, if you are spending deluxe money, spend some deluxe resort time. The farthest resort from the MK is only 15 minutes farther away than the closest resort to the MK. I wouldn't get too bogged down in park commute times.

 

[LUVDZNY2008]

Check out the BC/YC, their pool StormAlong Bay will awesome-your son should love it. Plus, the location is great..you can walk to Epcot and take a boat to HS. You are also able to walk to the Boardwalk.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Wilderness Lodge.........One of the cheaper deluxes but it's the location we enjoy the most, a boat ride to the MK. We spend most of our time there, and our children are grown and gone. MK usually has the latest hours, we usually have AP's so ending each night of park hopping at the MK and then taking the boat "home", is our ideal situation. WL is a beautiful resort, pool area very compact and centrally located no matter where your room is. We don't do values or moderates, it's deluxe or nothing, been that way for 42 trips and no regrets and we never rent or use a car, Disney transportation all the way and again, no regrets. We relax, love spending time at the pool, picnics, beer and wine and Florida's sun. Give it a look see.......we base most everything on location and really enjoy staying in the MK/monorail area and on the lakes, gotta love that EWP each night.

 

[wideeyes]

I would suggest AKL however I don't mind not being closest to the park. I would rather stay at I hotel I enjoyed than be right near a park. The Poly looks good however I think there is better pools at other resorts.

 

[lustergirl]

I would pick the AKL.

 

[WTP]

I agree with pp that WL or AKL sounds like a good choice for you. They're the least expensive deluxes and both have great themeing. Choose WL if you want the boat to MK and like the woodsy theme, and AKL if you want something a little more exotic or if you would enjoy taking time to view the animals there.

 

[Hopefully]

We love the Epcot Resort areas, but Epcot is our favorite park. We get Park Hoppers and eat in the International restaurants in WS several nights on our trip. We love being able to walk to 2 parks (EC and DHS)
Storm Along Bay is the best resort pool on property, bar none. If your DH and DS love the pools and slides they will love it here.
The Beach Club has a light airy beach motif, while the Yacht Club has a more formal wood and brash ship like theme. They are beautiful resorts.
If you decide to stay near the MK, I loved the Poly. The rooms are large and the grounds are beautiful.
Good Luck with your choice.

 

[disneygirlinnj]

i'd suggest either the Polynesian or Animal Kingdom Lodge Both are beautiful and we love them!

 

[hoosiergirl7]

i'd suggest either the Polynesian or Animal Kingdom Lodge Both are beautiful and we love them!

I agree with this. Either of these 2 resorts are probably best for you. But if pool is the most important to you then the BC/YC are your best options. I've heard Storm-a-Long Bay is a great pool but I've also heard it can be very crowded too at times.

We're staying at Poly for our next trip. We did WL last trip and although we liked it, I don't know if we'll stay there again.

 

[Dawn68PA]

I'll hop on the AKL band wagon. Gorgeous resort, animals off your balcony, delicious food, a pool area themed like an African watering hole, lots of activities and artsy stuff for all ages.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

For your situation pick the YC/BC.

 

[Chelmarie53]

I'll just copy and paste my post from a similar thread

My absolute favorite is the Yacht Club. I love everything about it.

The location is amazing, being so close to Epcot (walk or boat), a boat ride from Disney Studios, and a short walk to the Boardwalk across the way...there's always something to do.

Stormalong Bay (the pool area) is the best resort pool on property in my opinion (there's sand on the bottom of the pool!)

There are a lot of dining options (Beaches and Cream's ice cream sundaes are to die for!) plus you can also walk to the Boardwalk for more restaurants or just head on over to the extremely close World Showcase at Epcot!

Another plus is that you'll be able to see Epcot's Illuminations fireworks from the resort.

I highly recommend the Yacht Club! If you're thinking a MK resort, I'd also recommend the Wilderness Lodge. It's breathtaking.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I would stay at OKW. The rooms there have 2 queens size beds and have a bit more room.

 

[brergnat]

I would stay at OKW. The rooms there have 2 queens size beds and have a bit more room.

OKW is a Disney Vacation Club resort. The rooms there are villas.

FYI, to the original poster, ALL deluxe resort rooms have queen sized beds. I think what this poster was saying is that the OKW STUDIOS have 2 queen sized beds, vs. the 1 queen and pull out sleeper sofa that ALL the other DVC properties have.

 

[brergnat]

I think you SHOULD definitely consider the parks you will spend the most amount of time at when picking a DELUXE resort. After all, one of the major benefits of them is that they are located within close proximity to one or more parks...

That said, you mention you like MK and AK the most. AK is an odd park, in that it is far removed from EVERYTHING else. Even staying at AKL would mean a BUS to AK, so the close proximity to that park nets you nothing when staying at AKL. You will be THAT much further from the rest of the attractions at WDW. That, plus the SLIDE at AKL is pretty lame...it's more for the 8 and under crowd.

I think you should concentrate on one of the MK resorts. Poly seems like it would be just perfect for your family. WL too, although it suffers from the same "lame slide" problem as AKL. BUT, it really takes that "outdoors" theme to new heights, and it's my favorite all time WDW resort, just because the theme is pulled off SO well that it feels like a "vacation within a vacation" every time you get back to your resort. It's SO peaceful. And, there is so much recreation there...

Forget the suggestions of the Epcot resorts. Yes, Stormalong Bay is great, but it gets crazy crowded, and the rest of the resort doesn't seem to mesh with your needs/likes at all. The bus system at these resorts is convoluted and time consuming to go anywhere.

I'd choose either Poly or WL for you (WL if you're looking to save a few bucks), and add in the water parks fun and more option, for your DH and son to enjoy the REAL waterslides for a few days.