Favorite Deluxe Resort

[Mousemommy1]

For deluxes, we have stayed at WL, BC/YC, and CR. Our favorite so far has been WL. It has such a great ambiance and it's really like a vacation within a vacation. That being said, we absolutely LOVE the location of the Epcot resorts so we have always said if they could drop WL into the Epcot resort area, that would be the best resort!!

Sadly, we will pretty much size out of the WL due to being a family of five (unless we want to spend mucho dollars!). CR was nice too, and the walk to MK can't be beat but I wasn't feeling the "magic" there.

 

[lala5176]

My favorites are Poly and GF. Love the theming and convenience of both resorts to the monorail. There are lots of food options and the views of the castle are fantastic!! Both have great children splash and play areas also!!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We have stayed at all of the deluxes and my favorite is BWI. I love the atmosphere, the music, the ability to walk to EP and DHS and all of the restaurants in the area. It's so fun to walk back from EP at night and then enjoy the entertainment on the Boardwalk. The QS food on the Boardwalk is great. The whole resort is very relaxing. I also love that the pool bar is inside the pool area, so I can grab a drink or snack and still have my eye on my DS if he is swimming or going down the slide. I love the EP resort area so much more than the MK area as you can walk to two of the parks and so many restaurants. I have found over the years that the monorail is quite unreliable and is simply not worth the up-charge of the monorail area resorts.

 

[betrent75]

We have 1 daughter who will be 9 next year when we would be going and i swear was a fish in her previous life because she loves to swim! Beach Club would probably be her choice because of the pool

That sounds like our daughter! We've stayed at all of the deluxe resorts except WL and she's loved every one at that age EXCEPT the Boardwalk because the clown creeped her out. The GF pool with the slide and the theme was one of her favorites, the BC (obviously), and the AK too were her tops. GF always won because of the added monorail magic. CR was fun because the monorail went through it and the pool was "OK" but not as much fun as GF or BC in her estimation. I never liked how far away AK seemed. I think you'll win out at the BC. You can't beat that slide!

 

[gzmtlock]

Responding before reading other posts (but looking forward to doing so!).

Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Great restaurants - love them all! Boma and Mara are long-term favorites; Sanaa is a new addition for us, and also much loved! And when we want a special evening, Jiko fits the bill perfectly.

Wonderful, amazing theming. Not overly "Disney" but highly integrated atmosphere. From the lobby smell, to the indoor fire pit, to the awesome CMs from Africa who are always ready to share and interact, to the artifacts in the lobby and throughout the resort. Oh, and the animals. Yea, them too.

The "remoteness." After a day of Disney immersion in the parks, we enjoy a different atmosphere at the resort. You get the same high level of service, the same attention to detail. . .but a different feel. And if you're worried about transportation - we have never found the bus service sub par or time spent on buses to be significantly longer than other deluxes.

The pool is pretty awesome, too. And if you can spring for club level, do it! Great CMs, great service, great food/drinks/COFFEE.

So I guess this is why, when we bought into DVC, we chose Kidani as our home! LOVE IT!

 

[tinkerbella16]

Love reading everyones replies! This thread is making me even more excited for our first deluxe resort stay this year! We have visited all of the deluxe resorts.. whether for a meal or just resort hopping. My favorites from just doing that have always been BC and Poly. Those 2 happened to be our choices for our Sept trip this year, and we came down to deciding on Beach Club. We are huge Epcot lovers, MK too but the proximity to Epcot from BC is just amazing. Also the pool was a deciding factor since we are going during a hot month. Stormalong Bay just looks amazing, and we take midday breaks each day of our trips.. so this pool is going to be a real treat, and was a deal breaker. We also love the look of the rooms since the renovations at BC.. they look beautiful!

 

[EmmyKay]

I've stayed at the Contemporary, Grand Floridian and Wilderness Lodge. So far, WL is my favorite. I love the ambiance...it is so beautiful. WL has a quick service, family restaurant, and signature dining restaurant in one building. The boat ride to MK is great! My kids loved the bunk beds.

 

[AllieBoo]

I have stayed at the Poly and the Yacht Club and loved both of them, but I prefer the Yacht Club. We just loved being able to walk to Epcot and the Boardwalk area. We also really enjoyed the pool. The Poly is nice too of course, and we loved having the monorail, but I think YC has the edge for us.

 

[100acreHiker]

We've stayed at the Grand Floridian twice and loved every single thing about it. Stayed at the Contemporary and found it fine, but not amazing. We're trying out Beach Club this month, because a visit to the Boardwalk at night just wowed us, and we love the idea of walking between the resort and EP and HS.

 

[disneygolfer1985]

I think it depends on when you go and where you plan on spending the most time. We have stayed at GF, BC, YC, and BW. I love the BC/YC for the summer time because of SAB. We are currently DVC members at GF and BWV. I prefer the BW for the ability to walk to Epcot and DHS. I enjoy walking around the WS in the afternoon. Also, I like knowing that I can walk to 2 parks and not rely on buses. That is my personal opinion.

 

[Grand Admiral]

Our last trip, we stayed at CR. I had wanted to stay there since I was a kid. We also wanted maximum convenience to MK. DS was almost 3 at the time, so we were still using a stroller. Being able to walk to MK was a lifesaver. He loved Chef Mickey's. We stayed on the Club Level, so in the evenings when he went to bed at 7:30, my wife and I could retire to the lounge with a baby monitor.

CR may not have heavy theming, but it has some great things about it. The monorail goes through the hotel. How cool is that? The Mary Blair mural work is really great, especially when you see it up close. Being able to watch Wishes from our room was also fantastic. We finished each day with the fireworks and then nodded off to sleep.

This time around, we're staying at WL. We wanted a different experience, and DS will be 6 weeks from his 5th birthday, so he'll be old enough to enjoy things like riding the boat to MK. My wife and I grew up in Montana, so WL will have a bit of a nostalgic feel to us too.

 

[loves to dive]

I've stayed at most so here is my list in order of preference:

YC - we are Epcot/HS lovers so you can't beat the location. It wins over BC for me just because I no longer have a little one and like the more adult feel of the YC side. The pool makes no difference since we don't use the big one, we use the smaller one. I like the fact that you are 99% guaranteed to have a balcony/patio which is not the case with BC.

BC - again it's all about location, location, location.

BWI - Again, location, location, location. I'm not overly fond of this resort and if it weren't at Epcot/HS I would not stay there but since it is, there you go.

AKL - Just a beautiful resort, usually less than the MK/Epcot resorts (other than WL) but since you have to ride a bus, it doesn't get up there with the Epcot resorts for me.

GF - Beautiful resort, not fond of any of the monorail resorts since you don't have a choice but to use it for Epcot and for me, the buses sometimes are quicker. We are not MK people, it's a half day park for us so we would stay there with a split stay.

Poly - pretty resort but a little too kid friendly for us and again, it's all about location.

CR - Dislike this one, the style is just too contemporary for me.

Not a deluxe but OKW - big rooms, quiet resort but again, you either have to drive your car or take a bus.

Not a Disney per se but Swan. This would be right up there with YC for me, maybe even above it since it costs less. I like the feel of YC better since Swan is pretty in your face convention but you can't beat the location, rooms are large, great pool and shared facilities with Dolphin. You can't charge your purchases back to it, which is not a big deal for me since I don't do that anyway but it is a minus for some people.

 

[Anesthesia Fine]

Our stays so far have been at BLT (wonderful to be able to walk to MK; we're also the nerds who never get tired of the boat parade so the view of the lagoon was a plus); GF (loved the pool and all of the transportation and dining options), and WL (so beautiful; it is the resort of my heart. Nice dining options, gorgeous theming). I'd go back to any of them, but Wilderness Lodge was so awesome I almost don't want to stay anywhere else. The kids have never been there other than a dinner at Whispering Canyon, but they've requested it for the next trip.

I'd like to try one of the Epcot deluxe resorts at some point, though.

 

[PlainJane]

I've stayed at all of them, except the GF, either on the DVC side, resort side, or both.

I can't choose one. I like variety. My top three are BWI, YC, and Poly.

 

[jdmn2010]

We have stayed at the CR, BC, AK and GF and will be staying shortly at Poly and BW. Out of where we have been so far, I would say that my kids absolutely love CR. They love the monorail and being able to walk to MK. They just love the atmosphere and always ask to stay there. As for pools, there is no comparison with BC.

 

[The Sasquatch]

We have three current favorites but I will be at GF next week so we will see...

WL - Best themed hotel on property. Best hotel at Christmas. Good mix of restaurants, nice pool.
BC - Best pool on property. Refurbed rooms are very nice. Good mix of restaurants. Beaches and Cream. Proximity to Epcot for F&W or F&G
BW - Good entertainment and restaurants on boardwalk. "Lively" at night and great atmosphere. Proximity to Epcot for F&W or F&G

 

[The Sasquatch]

The deluxes I have stayed at are Poly, YC, and BC, although we have visited every deluxe except the WL. My personal favorite has always been the Poly, the theming is gorgeous and the location is prime (although similar to buzznina, it also has large sentimental value for me). However, we are staying GF next trip, so my opinion may change . But for now, I am a die-hard Poly fan and always plan at least a visit there every trip. WL is also on my bucket list.

i tell everyone to make it a point to visit WL. Every time you walk in that lobby its amazing

 

[The Sasquatch]

We have 1 daughter who will be 9 next year when we would be going and i swear was a fish in her previous life because she loves to swim! Beach Club would probably be her choice because of the pool

no other resort compares to Stormalong Bay! Sand bottom, lazy river, pirate ship slide, etc

 

[dp911]

Yacht Club for the location, pool, Grand Floridian for location, ambience and food choices.

 

[goofy4prez]

Here are my thoughts on the deluxe resorts I have stayed at.

• Yacht Club: Loved the resort, the décor, staff, SAB and the location to Epcot and to the Studios. What I didn't like was the horrendous bus sharing with the BC/BWI/Dolphin/Swan... Perhaps that has changed but it was a real nightmare when I was there.

• Contemporary/BLT: Best location in all of WDW. What more can be said about a quick easy walk over to the MK and not having to deal with the crowds after Wishes. It is also very easy to hop on a monorail over to Epcot or any of the dining options along the monorail resorts. What I don't like about this resort is the generic feel, the incredible loud atmosphere and the long and I do mean long waits to often try and get onto a packed elevator.

• WL: I absolutely love the décor of this resort. The staff in my opinion has been the best I have experienced at any WDW resort. I love the compactness of the resort with everything under one roof. I love that it is one of the most affordable deluxe resorts. I also enjoy Artist Point, Whispering Canyon Café and the QS Roaring Forks. The WL is also unbelievable during the Christmas season as well. I also have not found the bus or boat situation to be a problem either for transportation. The one thing I don't like about the WL is that yes the rooms are a bit small but that is certainly not a deal breaker for me.

Grand Floridian/VGF: What more can I say other than the look, décor and landscaping of this resort is remarkable. I have heard the argument that it is stuffy and not kid friendly. I say horse hockey. I have found the resort to have a friendly staff and I have never witnessed a kid that didn't look like they were having a great time there. I love the look and size of the rooms. And the dining options at the GF is second to none in WDW. The GF is also now my home resort with DVC. What don't I like at the GF? Perhaps that it is a bit expensive. (ok, a lot expensive... LOL)

With all of that said, of the resorts I have been to, for quit some time the WL was my favorite resort; that has now been edged out by the GF. A close second would be the WL. Third would be the YC, but only if the bus situation has been improved and lastly would be the Contemporary. In spite of it's location I just have a hard time getting exciting about the resort itself.