Favorite overall deluxe resort

[disnutnat]

What's your favorite Deluxe Resort overall if you're planning on spending more time at the resort than the parks? I'm planning a chill vacation and trying to decide where to stay. We'll still be doing parks, but will be spending a good bit of time at the resort and pool, I think.

 

[ErinsMommy]

Poly and I haven't even stayed there yet - the pool looks like so much fun, trader sams is there, as is ohana. Win all over!

 

[Shoshana]

Wilderness Lodge. I love to explore the Lodge -- beautiful iron work, lighting, and displays are hiding in every nook and cranny. I've literally walked every hallway. I love sitting in the lobby, or outside (first floor pool or garden view rooms are the best).

 

[Emma Rose]

Beach Club, hands down. We love the pool.

 

[gingerfeathers]

Of the ones I've stayed at, Poly is probably my favorite overall... but I've loved the others too (Wilderness Lodge and Yacht Club). Each one has a unique feeling, and all of those have great pools.

Of the ones I've visited but not stayed at, I think my top pick for that is Boardwalk.

 

[100acreHiker]

We have stayed at Grand Floridian, Beach Club, Contemporary and Boardwalk Inn. We LOVE Boardwalk and Grand Floridian! Won't do Contemporary again, and Beach Club is really nice but the Stormalong Bay is just way too busy. We love being in the Epcot resorts so we can walk in and out of World showcase with parkhopper tickets everyday, and hop the boat to Hollywood Studios. Boardwalk has a great vibe.

 

[Babsy]

POLY and GF are a tie. Pick the theme that appeals to you the most. Plus, no matter which you choose, you can walk to the other one to use all facilities except the pools.

Enjoy!

 

[Disneylover99]

I've stayed at the BC and the Poly.
The Poly is my absolute favourite!

 

[MickeyEars]

We love the Wilderness Lodge!! Love being so close to the MK, the atmosphere and the boat transportation.
We'll be there for 10 nights beginning June 4th and I can't wait!!

Carla

 

[Minniedap]

If I were doing a lot of resort time, I would choose the Poly. Love the atmosphere of the resort and sitting on the beach. I also liked the Beach club because there was a lot to do in that area without being in parks.

 

[Ewoks]

My favorite? The Contemporary. It's the most Disney place on earth. Can you have an extremely relaxing resort-centric trip staying there? Absolutely, we do every trip. There is a lot of hustle and bustle though, so if that isn't your thing or you fear it'd be less relaxing than you'd want, I'd suggest Wilderness Lodge or Animal Kingdom Lodge. Both are little sanctuaries that feel a world apart from the parks. I'd be more inclined to say WL over AKL, but due to the construction going on I'd suggest AKL for now. BWI and the whole EPCOT resort area is nice, but for me the garish Swan and Dolphin buildings lurking in the background all the time totally ruins the views and takes me out of the magic. That's probably just a "me" problem though!

 

[VAtink]

We've stayed at Grand Floridian, Beach Club, Yacht Club, Poly, AKL, and Contemporary, and although we have loved them all, our favorite is the Yacht Club! We love how convenient it is to Epcot...plus Stormalong Bay is amazing! We also love being able to walk over to the Boardwalk for the evening entertainment! We have also found, on trips we want more down time, AKL is our go to resort. It's so relaxing sitting out on the balcony watching the animals roam, and the pool there is pretty awesome as well!

 

[disnutnat]

Beach Club, hands down. We love the pool.

We did a walk through of Beach Club. Isn't the pool super crowded and busy? It looked like it could get crazy there when we went by. Maybe not though.

 

[disnutnat]

We have stayed at Grand Floridian, Beach Club, Contemporary and Boardwalk Inn. We LOVE Boardwalk and Grand Floridian! Won't do Contemporary again, and Beach Club is really nice but the Stormalong Bay is just way too busy. We love being in the Epcot resorts so we can walk in and out of World showcase with parkhopper tickets everyday, and hop the boat to Hollywood Studios. Boardwalk has a great vibe.

Did you do a standard, pool, or boardwalk view? How much of a difference do you think it makes for your overall experience, as far as view is concerned?

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Beach/Yacht, especially if spending a lot of time at the resort. Poly is very nice but the pool pales in comparison to Storm Along Bay, plus you have the Boardwalk area right next store and can easily walk in and out of Epcot to grab food, drinks or just hang out. Love to grab breakfast at Les Halles at park opening and then eat on one of the benches outside when there's basically nobody else around.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

We did a walk through of Beach Club. Isn't the pool super crowded and busy? It looked like it could get crazy there when we went by. Maybe not though.

We've stayed at Yacht Club 3 times and I've never been when the pool was super busy, although I've also never stayed there during the summer months. Sometimes it is busier than others, but we've always been able to find chairs and had a great time. Keep in mind that the only people who can visit the pools are resort guests, and while Beach/Yacht has roughly 270 more rooms than Poly (as a comparison), Storm Along Bay is MUCH larger than the Poly pool (although our kids really like the Poly pool too).

 

[DisTXMom]

So happy to be seeing all of these votes for Poly!! Was torn between that and CR for next trip. Theme at Poly is much more our speed. Also, if we did CR, we'd want to do TPV and that's more than we'd prefer to spend on a room since we are in the parks a lot. Some of the Disney blog sites list Poly lower in rating, so this is very encouraging!!

 

[Scott MC]

In order of the places we've stayed...(best to worst obvi.)

1. Beach Club/Yacht Club- they're very different from each other, but we are equally happy at either
2. Grand Floridian
3. Boardwalk
4. Polynesian
5. Contemporary
6. Swan/Dolphin
7. Port Orleans Riverside
8. Animal Kingdom Lodge
9. Bay Lake Tower

 

[Parker Clan]

Grand Floridian! We never used to be stay at the resort people but when we stayed there all we wanted to do was hang out there!

 

[eastendlights]

In order of preference:

Beach Club, Wilderness Lodge, AKL Jambo and then Yacht Club

Love the pools at all of them.

BC/YC -easy access to Epcot and DHS, the new CL lounge (Stone Harbor Club) is fantastic, good choice of TS meals right there along with Boardwalk area.

Wilderness Lodge-love the theming and the grounds, the lobby reminds me of GCH in Disneyland where we spent many fantastic trips when my kids were young, Artist Point

AKL Jambo-love the decor, the lobby is spectacular with lots of amazing artwork and is less busy than most of the other deluxe resorts, the rooms are gorgeous, we always stay CL/savanna view so balconies with animals right outside-what more do you need?