Deluxe Resort Choice for Large Group

[MacMama0930]

As DLR vets and California residents, my family got to spend a week at WDW this last October. It was truly an amazing vacation. I still love my home park the best (park-wise) but enjoy WDW for an overall vacation/destination.

We treated ourselves to Poly CL, TPV room. It was magical. I loved the Resort, and LOVED watching the fireworks from our own balcony. If you’ve ever been to DLR, you’d know that this is a special treat that’s really only achievable at WDW. I did not take it for granted.

Ok, getting to the point of post, I promise.

I was able to convince my sister and my parents to join us for another trip to WDW sometime late this year or next year. This would make us a group of 10, 4 children, 6 adults.

Because I know the Polynesian and because I feel somewhat responsible for the groups enjoyment, I wanted to play it safe and book there again....however...I began looking at DVC rentals and the prices floored me. But the Poly only has studios and I believe they’re kinda small? Or no?

Then I thought about the GF...we could each do our own unit or possibly do the 3 bedroom Grand Villa. But I didn’t love the overall vibe of GF. Or CR.

So then I began looking at the others and they each appeal to me for different reasons. I wish I had checked out more resorts on my last trip.

Aside from the monorail resorts, which is your favorite Deluxe Resort for a large group? Villa or not. Just looking for opinions.

Thank you!!

 

[starry_solo]

I would make plans on having separate accommodations in case the others have issues of joining you.

Favorite accommodations are subjective. Each resort has its own advantages and disadvantages.
If you want to stay near the EPCOT/HS parks, stay at either Beach Club (or its villas), Yacht Club, or Boardwalk (or its villas).
If you want to stay near the MK park, then any of them on the monorail line.
If you want to stay near AK, then AKL (or villas) are good.

Are you looking to save money and cook? If so, then you'll need at least one 1-bedroom villa.

What is the family unit breakdown? I know you said 10, but what is each family unit comprised of? I'm assuming your parents make 1 unit of 2 adults, your family makes 1 unit of 2 adults and 2 children, and your sister makes 1 unit of 2 adults and 2 children.

Staying in DVC studios (or 1 bedrooms) only gives you two sleeping spaces (except for those studios which have the murphy bed like Beach Club). You'll get one real bed (queen) and one sofa pull-out bed. Some people think the sofa bed is comfortable, others do not.

If you want to all stay together in a DVC, then a 3 bedroom grand villa is the only one that will fit your party. But even those are quite costly (upwards of 112 points, depending on the resort). At a conservative cost (renting with an owner) of $15/point, that adds up.

 

[cmorris303]

Beach/Yacht Club
The pool is a lot of fun and the kids would enjoy it together. The boardwalk area is fun to check out and we had fun strolling around with our group. Also Epcot is in walking distance and HS is a boat ride. This was great with a group because whoever was ready first would head over and the stragglers could easily catch up without having to wait for another bus to come. This area is pretty lively at night which is fun for a group.

 

[Wild4Walt]

We just stayed at AKL in a DVC studio in September and we loved the resort. It's beautiful and had so many fee activities at the resort all day. Now, if you're not planning on staying at the resort during the day - then it may not be the resort for you. We were able to see some fireworks from the resort but it was just some of the higher ones.

I've also stayed at the Beach Club and loved it also. The pool is fabulous and there are tons of restaurants along the lake ( BWI, YC, Swan, Dolphin ). You can also walk to Epcot and HS. You can see most of the Illumination fireworks right from the beach. For a large group, if you didn't want to do Poly - this would be my choice.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

IMHO, you really can't go wrong with any of the deluxes. If you liked Poly, have you considered simply booking 3 standard rooms there?

 

[danikoski]

Copper Creek villas at WL now has Grand Villas. It's not quite as close as Poly, but still close to MK. A Grand Villa there, though, will run you $12,000-15,000 for a week renting points. That works out to $571-714/night for three families. For that price, I'd consider three CL rooms at WL. The CL lounge at WL overlooks the MK, as do some of the rooms, and you can see the fireworks.

 

[DisMommyTX]

I second the suggestion for 3 rooms. Much more privacy but still plenty of places to hang out together. I love the convenience of Beach Club and Boardwalk to both Epcot and HS. The monorail kept going down when we were at the Poly, so busses everywhere. AKL is great if you don't think grandparents will be joining you in the parks as much, but longer bus rides if the parks are your top priority.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Aside from the monorail resorts, which is your favorite Deluxe Resort for a large group? Villa or not. Just looking for opinions.

I don't have a ton of experience with large groups, but we did a large group / multi-room trip last July. Somewhat same boat as you - many in our group were first timers and I was 'unofficially' in charge of the resort accommodations being a success. I know Poly (and Poly CL) well and knew it would be a good fit for our group. So we all booked Poly CL so we'd be in the same building and have the lounge as the common gathering place. For us, it worked great! Everyone had the privacy of their own room, it was super easy to meet in the lounge, none of our rooms were that far from each other when the kids wanted to go visit the grandparents, etc. The varying price points of TPV, LV, and GC (edit, GV) room categories at Poly CL helped in our case as some in our group weren't on board with a TPV room cost, but others wanted it.

Certainly not the cheapest option, but it worked well for our circumstances.

Good luck!

 

[Shellyb84]

While I haven't been with a large group, if I could afford it I would stay TPV and Poly CL every single trip! We've stayed at Poly 3 times so far, and it's always been perfect. We stayed there one night during a split stay last June and were upgraded from TPV to CL TPV and it was magical.