Thanks for replying. We will be two families (sisters). There will be at least 6 of us, two adults and child (Teen/tween) per family, but we each also have an adult child that may or may not come, so could be up to 8. We are good with all in one room, if possible, as well as 2 rooms.
We would like to do the Not So Scary Halloween holiday.
thanks again!
Got it, thanks!
You will find lots of opinions on the topic and there really aren't any right or wrong answers/ways to approach this, just whatever works best for you. There are so many pros/cons among each CL let alone the resorts themselves, so figuring it all out can be hard!
I guess depending on what you mean by 'sort of new to WDW' - I generally lean towards the MK/monorail resorts - Contemporary Resort, Polynesian, Grand Floridian for new or newish WDW folks mainly because they are the resorts that have the most broad recognition, proximity to MK, fireworks viewing, monorail. Sort of WDW at its core, if you will. You just can't beat seeing MK from your room (if you go with a Theme Park View room), fireworks from your room or hotel grounds, etc.
Since you are interested in
MNSSHP then a MK resort offers convenient proximity. We tend to always lean monorail resort in the fall when MNSSHP is on the agenda.
CR, Poly, and GF have the largest rooms among WDW resort options and are slightly more accommodating to bigger groups than the Epcot resorts (if we're talking about standard rooms), in my opinion.
The monorail resort CLs all have a lounges and various location benefits that have a bit of wow factor to them... eg, Poly and CR lounges have MK views, GF is in the main building overlooking the lobby. CR CL guarantees a high floor room, Poly will be in the Hawaii longhouse, GF will be in the main building.
I have nothing ill to say about the Epcot resort CLs, their lounges and floors just don't really have the same unique place elements that the monorail CLs do (although in fairness, they tend to be materially cheaper, so if budget is a factor they shouldn't be discounted). What I mean by the above is that the lounges don't really have views of anything notable, most CL rooms are on the top floor of each but that's not a major value add at these resorts, relatively speaking.
No doubt the Epcot resorts have great locational attributes (walkability to two parks, Skyliner, abundant food/beverage options in close proximity). But on the margins I just sort of like those better for a more seasoned WDW traveler and not a new group.
If you want 6 or 8 people all in one CL room, your options will only be suites - and generally speaking there aren't all that many suites around the resorts (and they are way up there in terms of prices). Suites are sort of a whole other topic so I'll stop there before totally confusing you.
Personally I'd probably migrate towards CR or GF if I had to pick two to focus on. I loove Poly but its CL tends to attract a lot of families with younger children. Not that anywhere in WDW doesn't, there just tend to be more little ones at Poly and your slightly older group may like some of the other ones better. That said I could always make a case for staying at Poly personally.
I haven't mentioned pools - if swimming/lounging is of interest there are various pros/cons amongst all the resorts as well that are worth digging in to as you continue your research.
I have purposely not mentioned Wilderness Lodge as those rooms are small, don't have daybeds (only two queens), and so I'm thinking may not be ideal for your possible party makeup. But if that's not a concern WL is a beautiful resort with a unique WDW vibe, MK proximity, and is cheaper than the monorail resorts.
Just my rambling two cents, but hope it helps!
