Favorite overall deluxe resort

[BigThunderFamily]

Beach Club or The Polynesian

 

[MamaBelle4]

SSR. The grounds are gorgeous and the convenience to Disney Springs for a meal, shopping or entertainment is amazing.

 

[CinderellaCupcake]

Poly! It is our home resort and everything about it is absolutely beautiful. Truly, it's stunning, relaxing, and fun all at the same time.

Grand Floridian is a close second, but because it's basically THE resort of WDW, I find a lot (like A LOT, a lot) of non-GF guests flood the grounds, which is especially noticeable during the busy seasons. Not that that is a bad thing necessarily, I just don't feel as tranquil because of this as I do at Poly.

I find that you really can't go wrong at any deluxe resort, though my vote is for Poly!

Have a magical vacation!

 

[100acreHiker]

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?

At boardwalk inn (not villas) there is only standard or boardwalk views. We didn't want to do boardwalk because I worried it would be noisy. Many standard views are actually Epcot views (or pool or parking lot), and we did luck out and get a 5th floor Epcot view with the most perfect view of illuminations I could have ever asked for. I'd do standard again in a heartbeat.

 

[got15]

For MK resorts: GF
For Epcot resorts: BWI

we have stayed at other Disney Resorts- but these are the most relaxing for more Resort Time. The GF has location but there is also a wonderful peace there by the pools, on the immaculate grounds, looking at the water and watching the boats, castle, and also listening to the pianist and band in the lobby. It really transports you and there are enough great QS and TS on the resort grounds to keep you happy- you are also on the monorail in case you want to travel anywhere else. For the Epcot resorts- I would pick BWI- it was almost a similar feel like the GF, but you have a great "quiet" pool (I love SAB- but the BW pools are less chaotic), the boardwalk entertainment and restaurants/qs at night- proximity to 2 parks. We love sitting on the boardwalk and people watching - its so relaxing.

 

[DisneyWorldbuff]

Wilderness Lodge is our absolute favorite. I love everything about it. It is so relaxing and calming. Unfortunately, we are a family of five and our youngest is over three now so we are out of one room there. Last trip we stayed at the Poly and we were surprised at how much we loved it too. Still that lovely MK location and the fireworks on the beach are amazing. It is also so special because it has the original "classic" Disney feel.

 

[DG25]

Poly is our home resort, but in the order of what we love and a one word why.

WL, peaceful
Poly, beautiful
BW, whimsical
GF, gorgeous
CR, convinent
Yacht, stuffy
AKL, noisy
BC, filthy

 

[JETSDAD]

Our favourite would be Wilderness lodge and then Animal Kingdom. We've also stayed at Poly and BLT. BLT would be our least favourite. We don't like things busy and love the theming at AK and WL.

 

[Sue M]

Hard to pick a fav, but GF I think. Love the pools, grounds, dining, shops, lobby. Walk to Poly, hop monorail to CR, easy to take boat to WL or Ft W. On non park days I like to monorail hop around the MK area resorts for dining, shops, etc. Love watching the fireworks and electric water parade from resort.

 

[Hopefully]

BC without question. The location is fabulous, the resort is beautiful, the dining options within walking distance are terrific.

 

[Mousemommy1]

At this time, we have stayed at WL, YC, BC, CR, and GF. Our current favorite is the GF!!! It is wonderful. However, we are finally getting to stay at the Poly in August, and we will see if the rankings change!!

 

[mickeynut1]

Another vote for the Poly.

 

[cwt580]

Poly is our favorite(booked for dec 2017 ) w WL very close second.... but with 5 plus in infant, WL is not an option anymore. That's alright Grandpa is ok w Poly again..!!!! Coming from Michigan we enjoy the tropical relaxation and overall warmth of Poly. Monorail and boats are a plus and being able to walk to the TTC is very convenient..


Contemporary is very nice but the elevators during busy hrs is just insane and Chef Mickeys is always noisy. Beautiful rooms though. Very convenient location but you definitely pay for a view. Liked it better before they built the towers. just very very busy nowadays.

 

[tinkerbella16]

The Beach Club, without a doubt! We have gone to WDW so many times, so the resort is more important to us than it used to be. We spend every afternoon at the pool to relax, so Stormalong Bay is PERFECT for us! We love the location, walking to Epcot is a huge plus for us since we spend the most time there besides MK. We love the restaurants - we do both breakfast and dinner at Cape May Café. And we loved the rooms, they were spacious and beautiful. We also had great transportation the entire trip in September - buses were great and the boat to DHS was also great. Can't wait to be back!

 

[AllieBoo]

We've only stayed at two deluxes - Poly and Yacht Club. Both resorts were beautiful and relaxing and they both have great pools. I might lean more towards Yacht Club because we loved being able to walk to Epcot, and we also enjoyed strolling around the Boardwalk area. That said, you can't beat hopping on the monorail to go to Magic Kingdom!

 

[buzznina]

The deluxe resorts that we have actually stayed at, in order of our family.
GF - Absolutely our favorite resort of all
AKL - Such a unique experience
BW - Enjoyed it very much.
CR - Had to show our DDs the hotel that has a monorail that goes through it
POLY - Nice, now we are fine with just going there to eat

 

[carlymcqueen]

Contemporary, although I've never been. I fell in love at age 7 when I went to Chef Mickey's there. Ten years later, I'm finally going to get to stay there (in 5 days!!!!). I'm absolutely ecstatic.

 

[mindeola]

The Poly is my very favorite resort. Staying for a relaxing vacation at AKL in May and I think we can accomplish that there. IT is like a different world!

 

[riddlemethis]

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.

Beach club! There is SO much to do there! sit by the lake and people watch, swim in the pool/lazy river/ hot tub, go to the poolside bar, rent bikes and ride around the lake, walk over to the boardwalk and view the art galleries, explore nature, etc. Beach club, in my opinion, offers more "things to do" at the resort.

If you like nature walks, then I would say wilderness lodge. Their pool is more basic but they have nice areas to walk in the woods. That being said, you could always take the bus from beach club to MK then hop on the boat to wilderness lodge for the day and resort hop.

 

[loves to dive]

In order of preference of all the ones I've stayed at and why:

1. Yacht Club - I love the feel of the resort, BC and BW are close and Epcot is our favorite park so walking there and HS is a bonus.
2. Beach Club - Same reasons as YC but not number one because you aren't always guaranteed a balcony and YC has a more adult feel, my kid is grown.
3. Boardwalk - Again proximity to two parks is priceless.
4. Swan/Dolphin - proximity to parks and if you work the numbers right, you can stay at a deluxe for almost moderate prices.
5. AKL - it's just a beautiful resort with so much to see and do.
6. Grand Floridian - I love the look and feel of the resort, it has a more adult vib. I'm not a huge fan of the monorail resorts since they force you to use the monorail to get to Epcot and it tends to break down or delay a lot.
7. Poly - I liked the previous version of the Poly better before they renovated. If you have kids and are going to spend a lot of time at MK, it's great but it can be noisy and crowded.
8. Contemporary - my least favorite of all I've stayed in and frankly, I've had the opportunity to stay there for much less than what I've paid at other resorts but just dislike it so much. I don't like the look of the resort or the furnishings, the lobby/gift shop/convention area can be very confusing and loud.

We have not stayed at WL yet, we have visited it many times and do intend to stay there on a split stay with it being the first few days of the stay then over to the Epcot resorts. Just haven't gotten around to it yet.