Deluxe Resort advice for family of 5...HELP ME DECIDE!!

[Bunnyteef]

Our first trip to Disney was in 2012, and we stayed at the Value Music. Since it was our first experience, I didn't have much to compare it to but thought it was just fine. I thought it was great having a family suite, and I liked having the transportation taken care of...even though you did have to wait a bit sometimes. Our daughters for our next trip in 2014 will be 16, 14, and 9. At first I was going to book the AOA Nemo Suite...I really love having a separate room at night to wind down as I'm not the best sleeper in the world. BUT-I started looking at some of the deluxe resorts and I've decided that it might make sense to splurge and have a different Disney experience AND to have access to the monorail to save us time. Right now my heart is really feeling the Poly...but now I'm kind of feeling the Contemporary as well.

Pulling me towards the Poly:
1. Tonga Toast & Dole Whips (we are eaters! LOL)
2. Beach and Fireworks
3. Monorail
4. Stitch is one of the girl's favorite characters

Pulling me towards the Cont:
1. Location, location, location
2. I've read the beds are like clouds (can anyone verify?)
3. It's about a thousand dollars cheaper than the Poly
4. Did I mention the location already?

Please help me decide...do you think I should do the Beach Club instead???

All of your reviews are fabulous...but maybe you can help me with what would be best for a family of 5, 3 teen/ pre-tween-ish girls, and being only our 2nd trip ever. I would be ever so grateful!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

We've stayed at the Beach Club, Yacht Club, Grand Floridian and Polynesian.

Our #1 favorite is the BC - but they are all fantastic resorts.

Our favorite things about BC are:

Stormalong Bay - best pool on Disney property!
Walking and/or water taxi to both Epcot and DHS
Beaches and Cream Soda Shop
Super friendly cast members
Double sinks outside of bathroom (easier for everyone to get ready in the morning)


Our favorite things about the Poly are:

Watching fireworks from the beach
Relaxed Polynesian atmosphere
Bigger rooms
Monorail and/or boat to MK and TTC
'Ohana

You can't go wrong either way!

 

[Angeejoe]

My only question about Poly is "will the DVC construction at Poly be going on while you are there?" It would be a downer to pay to upgrade to deluxe & end up in a construction zone! If you want monorail & there is construction you may want CR then. My deluxe experience is just YC/BC & I love it there, but do not have kids. I would think your kids would love SAB & maybe the teenagers could go off on their own to Epcot or DHS Or the Boardwalk if you were comfortable with that.

 

[mickeynut1]

Our first trip to Disney was in 2012, and we stayed at the Value Music. Since it was our first experience, I didn't have much to compare it to but thought it was just fine. I thought it was great having a family suite, and I liked having the transportation taken care of...even though you did have to wait a bit sometimes. Our daughters for our next trip in 2014 will be 16, 14, and 9. At first I was going to book the AOA Nemo Suite...I really love having a separate room at night to wind down as I'm not the best sleeper in the world. BUT-I started looking at some of the deluxe resorts and I've decided that it might make sense to splurge and have a different Disney experience AND to have access to the monorail to save us time. Right now my heart is really feeling the Poly...but now I'm kind of feeling the Contemporary as well.

Pulling me towards the Poly:
1. Tonga Toast & Dole Whips (we are eaters! LOL)
2. Beach and Fireworks
3. Monorail
4. Stitch is one of the girl's favorite characters

Pulling me towards the Cont:
1. Location, location, location
2. I've read the beds are like clouds (can anyone verify?)
3. It's about a thousand dollars cheaper than the Poly
4. Did I mention the location already?

Please help me decide...do you think I should do the Beach Club instead???

All of your reviews are fabulous...but maybe you can help me with what would be best for a family of 5, 3 teen/ pre-tween-ish girls, and being only our 2nd trip ever. I would be ever so grateful!

My choice would be the Poly. Out of the deluxe resorts, we've stayed at WL, AKL, BC, Poly, and GF and the Poly is our favorite for the following reasons:

- large, spacious rooms
- daybed in every room
- volcano pool is great as it backs up to the beach with a distant view of the castle
- tropical atmosphere is relaxing
- 2 monorail stops from MK
- 5-7 minute walk to TTC to catch the Epcot monorail
- Captain Cooks is great for quick CS meals
- Ohana & Kona are great TS restaurants
- the beach is great for relaxing in a hammock while watching the fireworks

I can't comment on the CR as we've never stayed there, but I do know the rooms are comparable in size to the Poly and all rooms come with a daybed.

The BC is a beautiful resort and while we had a great stay there, the rooms are quite a bit smaller than at the Poly & CR and not all rooms come with a daybed.

As far as comfortable beds, we've never had trouble sleeping in any of the beds at any resort, but the bed at the Poly was the most comfortable to me. Good luck deciding, although you really can't go wrong with any of them as they are all great resorts.

 

[Desnik]

This is a tough one because all of them are great resorts!

Yes, the beds at the CR are comfy! The rooms are large and modern. The location can't be beat. It's a really cool resort with a great atmosphere. I hate the sinks though. They are too shallow. It's seems like a stupid thing to comment on, until you use them lol. If you can, a tower MK view room is amazing!

The Poly is just as great! The resort is beautiful and relaxing. The pool and beach area are great too! The food options are some of the best.

Now if you want the Epcot resorts area then I would go with the BW. We prefer it over the YC/BC. Yes they are nice resorts, but we just like the BW better for the atmosphere and decor and the feel of being in the middle of all the excitement! Our family is in the minority because we don't care for the YC/BC pool.

Having said all that, if I were you what would I choose? The CR. But I would splurge for the tower MK view room.

 

[bluejasmine]

That's a hard one! We live the MK area ( even tho EP is our fave park) you can't beat the views, the location & the convenience of the monorail to MK & EP!

We love the Poly & GF but we have also stayed CR & are returning to CR in Sept b/c of the great price we got..

We plan in taking monorail over to Poky for tonga toast one morning for sure.. DH is sad about not staying at the Poly but I'm relieved to still be in the MK area!

We have stayed Poly, GF, CR & BC our least fave being BC only b/c of the horrible service we had & that resort really needs refurbishment especially on the concierge floor!!

ASMU/POR Dec 16-22, 2012 & CR Sept 8-15, 2013

 

[Hooked On The Mouse]

I think hands down your best choice would be Poly, assuming no construction. The location is absolutely awesome and the grounds are beautiful. Now that the rooms are being refurbed it should be in great shape for your trip. My 2nd recommendation would be Contemporary. It is also a comfortable and enjoyable resort. The best thing about it to me is the ability to walk back and forth to MK. I wouldn't recommend BC because you say you want to be on the monorail line. BC has a great location for Epcot and pretty good for HS, but it doesn't imo have the convenience of a monorail resort. I would change that opinion if Epcot happened to be your favorite park, or if you're really avid swimmers and would get a lot out of SAB at BC. I would also say it might be worth rethinking the Nemo suite. It is not a deluxe and you will have to bus it everywhere, but that extra bathroom and bedroom space can add a lot to your vacation enjoyment.

 

[Minnie824]

I would go for the Yacht Club....we've stayed at all the deluxe hotels at some point and we LOVE the Yacht Club. I picked this over BC because it has the full balconies. The pool is great, our DDs love it...the location is perfect. There's the Boardwalk Bakery you can walk to as well as a quick walk to Epcot for all the restaurants.

 

[PamelaKay]

I have stayed at all the deluxe resorts except the contemporary. For a family of 5, I would definitely pick the Poly just for the room size. It truly has the most spacious rooms and then add in the convenience/variety of transportation options AND the dole whip machine in Captain Cooks and you just can't lose.

 

[geraghty]

At first I was going to book the AOA Nemo Suite...I really love having a separate room at night to wind down as I'm not the best sleeper in the world.

Have you considered the villas over at BLT. It's connected to the Contemporary and has 1 and 2 bedroom options that may fit your needs. Those rooms have 2 bathrooms, washer and dryer and a full kitchen. There is also the cabins at Wilderness Lodge that is just a boat ride over to MK.

Either way you have some great options.

 

[Bunnyteef]

I am always amazed at how much people know about Disney! It's amazing! I really appreciatea all of the suggestions. I did fail to mention that we were planning for May 2014. I wonder if they've ever offered deluxe room discounts around that time. Does anyone know? Early May?

 

[sarah4770]

go to mousesavers and look at historical discounts, that will give you an idea when the typical room discounts come out. Poly rooms are spacious if you can handle all that togetherness or also the contemporary garden wing rooms are spacious as well, both with daybeds. A cabin could work to... just not a deluxe, but plenty of space. I like the poly the best.

 

[mefordis]

I would do BLT 1 bedroom villa.

Our first trip to Disney was in 2012, and we stayed at the Value Music. Since it was our first experience, I didn't have much to compare it to but thought it was just fine. I thought it was great having a family suite, and I liked having the transportation taken care of...even though you did have to wait a bit sometimes. Our daughters for our next trip in 2014 will be 16, 14, and 9. At first I was going to book the AOA Nemo Suite...I really love having a separate room at night to wind down as I'm not the best sleeper in the world. BUT-I started looking at some of the deluxe resorts and I've decided that it might make sense to splurge and have a different Disney experience AND to have access to the monorail to save us time. Right now my heart is really feeling the Poly...but now I'm kind of feeling the Contemporary as well.

Pulling me towards the Poly:
1. Tonga Toast & Dole Whips (we are eaters! LOL)
2. Beach and Fireworks
3. Monorail
4. Stitch is one of the girl's favorite characters

Pulling me towards the Cont:
1. Location, location, location
2. I've read the beds are like clouds (can anyone verify?)
3. It's about a thousand dollars cheaper than the Poly
4. Did I mention the location already?

Please help me decide...do you think I should do the Beach Club instead???

All of your reviews are fabulous...but maybe you can help me with what would be best for a family of 5, 3 teen/ pre-tween-ish girls, and being only our 2nd trip ever. I would be ever so grateful!

 

[WisconsinDad]

We just went through the same decision making process. We were originally booked for an AoA suite in Aug but when the RO discounts came out, we were able to book a CR-GW room for about the same price.

If being on the monorail is important and view doesn't matter much, I think the CR-GW is a good choice. These are actually the least expensive rooms you can get on the monorail.

I haven't stayed at the Poly but I've read mostly great reviews of it. It is just so much more expense than CR (unless you book a tower room in CR). If I had the choice of Poly or a CR tower room, I would personally choose Poly based on the reviews.

 

[lmhall2000]

We are a family of five...this may help you decide...


Beach Club, if your kids put the pool as a top consideration.

Poly, if they would prefer that Hawaii feel.

Contemporary, if MK is the favorite park..convenience is awesome, we oved walking to MK with no wait for anything.

Any which way.they will love it!