First Time! Honeymooners. Where to stay?

[Lynne M]

Well, every single resort on property is swarming with kids, year round. Orlando is a mecca for families with kids, no matter when or where you go, and every Disney resort caters to families. You might see fewer kids at the high-end places like the Waldorf or Four Seasons, off-property.

Are you looking at this year, or next? If it's this year, DVC villas are probably not an option for you in November or December. The resorts you mention were probably booked up months ago. You might find something in the cash inventory (not renting points), but it will be much more expensive. If you're thinking mid-January, start making your arrangements very soon. Like, this week.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

Go to Italy.
Thank me later.

 

[momof2cuties]

I'd do a week at POFQ and week at akl. We had a standard room at akl with lots of animals below our balcony!

 

[amyy]

We do love POR/POFQ (and stayed at POFQ for our honeymoon). I would suggest renting DVC points and staying at Kidani. It is a quiet resort and a short walk or van ride to AKL. We have stayed often and the distance to any other resort never seems to bother us. We love all the night time activities including the cultural presentation and also a night in with supper at Jiko. I will say Italy does sound tempting too. Enjoy!

 

[RustManFan]

I'd go to Italy!!

 

[cutigerlady]

We stayed at the GF for our honeymoon almost 17 years ago. My dad told us to stay at the nicest hotel because we would never be able to justify spending that much on a trip again. We shortened our stay, but went all out and stayed in the Honeymoon suites in the main building for 4 nights. It was worth every penny! We went the week after Thanksgiving, which use to be a very slow time. For our 15th anniversary we stayed here for 2 nights (same price as the 4!) and my dad was right, we haven't been able to justify spending that much on a trip very often!

We stayed at AKL last year and it was really nice. We thought it was very peaceful. However, nothing beats the sense of calm that overcomes me walking into the lobby of the GF!

 

[Jaimie1911]

We honeymooned at the AKL. We both loved the hotel and the bus ride didn't bother us at all. The theming just looks romantic, along with the 2 secluded hot tubs and great restaurants.

If you choose a mod, I love either POR or POFQ. It seems a little more "adult" and the grounds are gorgeous. The boat ride to Disney Springs can be very romantic.

Finally, if you wanted to save money, Pop is my favorite value. It's not the most romantic hotel. But, it's a lot of fun, and there is a nice lake you can take a walk by and request it as your view!

 

[yaksack]

We honeymooned at the Wilderness Lodge.

 

[awalker1015]

Port Orleans are our favorite resorts. We has stayed at both with our kids, and most recently had a couples only trip at POR for a race weekend in April. I found it very romantic. We love the charm and feel of both resorts and enjoyed taking the boat to DS. We rocked on the porch off the main lobby with plastic cups of wine. We took in Yehaw Bob one night and did the later show, which was mostly adults. If you are going for a longer stay I would think you could adjust your touring style (since you aren't trying to cram everything into a short stay) and do later morning (food courts are a zoo until 9:00am or so, and do later nights at the parks.

All that said, if we had an unlimited budget, we would do an adults trip at GF or the Poly. But Port Orleans is very budget friendly. I don't know that I would do the values for an adult trip. Have only toured them, never stayed, but they seemed chaotic and the price point between them and moderates never felt that drastic.

 

[Upup4fun]

Look UK friend, You only honeymoon once. Go fancy and and do a split stay.

Here is what I would suggestlonger stay with some frills)
Pop 6nights ( just do the parks and use your hotel as a crash pad)
GF 6 nights garden view ( lovely resort, with a charming boat to MK; make sure to eat at Victoria and Alberts!)
AKL 2 nights Savannah ( make sure to eat at Sannaa)

 

[Upup4fun]

Look UK friend, You only honeymoon once. Go fancy and and do a split stay.

Here is what I would suggestlonger stay with some frills)
Pop 6nights ( just do the parks and use your hotel as a crash pad)
GF 6 nights garden view ( lovely resort, with a charming boat to MK; make sure to eat at Victoria and Alberts!)
AKL 2 nights Savannah ( make sure to eat at Sannaa)

Don't know why the sad face showed up! I meant to put a happy face.

 

[EvilQueenT]

You can't make a wrong decision here. Your honeymoon will always feel more magical/special than any other vacation you take. For a moderate resort I'd choose POFQ. It's a little more adult. Of the deluxe resorts I personally prefer AK over OKW but that's just personal preference. Personally I'd rather stay longer and spend more on doing special things but that's just me.

 

[kniquy]

You could opt to try a couple of different resorts which could open up a few options. You could stay at AKL or an epcot resort (people love being able to walk over to epcot - there are so many restaurants there to try) for the first 5 days or week and then move to the GF for the remainder of your trip. The benefit in doing this would be to almost have 2 honeymoons in one with 2 different experiences. The other benefit would be to have 2 different or only a portion of your trip on the dining plan. This way you could do the deluxe plan for the first part and indulge in some 2 credit meals and then either do no dining plan or change to the regular dining plan for the second half of the trip. If I had the option of going for 2 weeks i would definitely plan on trying 2 resorts.

 

[Robyonkers]

We are heading to the Boardwalk Inn Garden view club level (little cottage) for our Honeymoon. We have been to Disney before and stayed in the Coronado. Had a great time but darn the location of the Boardwalk is huge, and it gives off the vibe to me like it's the place to be lol. We had dinner reservations almost every night at Epcot. I kept saying to myself on our first trip I should have loosened my wallet and upgraded. At the Boardwalk you can just walk to Epcot and have a few pints or cocktails......so convenient and fun. After the day at the park there is still fun to be had. At night the Boardwalk is alive with fun, and for adults. We did the firework desserts party almost everywhere. Worth it for the location and view but not for the desserts. Ring Dings, and devil dogs would have been better lol. Still would book it though, the viewing location rocks. If you could spring for the extra money do it. The Coronado which is a moderate was in my opinion like a motel six back home. We are from NY. Hope this helps. Also If Club Villain is available book that. Its in Hollywood Studios great food music and dancing.. Have fun Disney Rocks. Queen Victorian room at Victoria and Albert here we come.

 

[Parker Clan]

We are honeymooning at the Grand Floridian in August

 

[ArmyVet80]

We "disneymooned" and stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter. It has since become our home away from home. It's small and quaint. The boat to/from Disney Springs is a big plus. Short bus rides to all of the parks. One bus stop which is fantastic. The down side is there isn't a TS eatery but a short walk to POR and you are at Boatwrights that has some pretty good food.

I would recommend it to extend your stay and get more time at the parks. We tend to only be in the rooms to sleep. Oh yea.. Remember that the moderates and deluxes have hot tubs. Those are a must after a long day walking around the parks for us. Stop and pick up a bottle of wine (my wife has all the of the Once Upon a Vine bottles), fill up your mickey mug (refillable mug) and relax in a nice hot tub.

Oh.. We didn't run into many kids at the resort. We were at the parks all day and when we would get back it was almost as if we were the only ones staying at POFQ. Very few people out after 11 pm.

 

[writersblock]

Thank you so much to everyone who replied. Not sure it's given me an answer but definitely a lot to think about!
I have a couple more questions relating to the answers, if people don't mind? You've all been so helpful!

1. Some people suggested Wilderness Lodge. I LOVE the look of the place over the Christmas period. I hear construction is ongoing. We would be traveling either Nov 2017 (before thanksgiving), end of December over the New Year (is this madness considering this?) or mid-late January. Should it be finished by then? Or is it not worth bothering with because of this?
2. People are mentioning French Quarter. Is it so much better than Riverside? We were considering Riverside for ease of the food halls/transportation etc. as we assumed FQ was quite a walk away. Can anyone clarify?
3. Regarding split-stay between Disney and Universal - I was under the impression that you can only use Magical Express if you are at Disney, and therefore switching would mean we have to make our own way either from or to the airport (depending which side we stayed at Universal)? Is it really that bad getting from the Disney resorts to Universal for the park? In addition, would you say one day is enough for Universal if we are only interested in Harry Potter?
4. Split-stay at Disney seems intriguing. If we did two weeks across two or more different resorts, can we still get free dining as it is linked to having a 14 day park tickets? Or would we only get dining for the first seven days (for example) as we are booking a hotel for 7 days, and then have to purchase park tickets again with the second hotel reservation to quality for the free dining again on this one? Not sure if that makes sense - we'd be aiming to book to get free dining.
5. In relation to the above - free dining makes moderates (with an upgrade to dining) or deluxe (with free dining in total) more reasonable. Moderates especially, don't work out much more than values when you take into account the free dining you'd get with the moderates. So with this in mind, I don't even know if split stays are worth doing to try and save money.
6. Very last one - relating to number 1. If we stayed from 29 Dec onwards, would it be crazy busy? I really, really want to see the christmas decs but January is going to be cheaper than November generally!

Many thanks!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

If you stayed from 29 December onward, December 30, 31 and January 1 are usually the busiest days of the year. Discounts are limited, and even UK Free Dining may be blocked out (I am unfamiliar with their offer terms).

The Marathon is usually the next weekend, which is also very busy.

Most of us who mentioned French Quarter over Riverside do so because it is smaller and more romantic. It has a Quick Service food court.

Wilderness Lodge is probably still going to be under construction at the end of 2017, given Disney construction schedules, but the main Lodge should be fine. One of the pools may not be open (not a huge deal in December), and tree replacement is unlikely to have begun. The new lakefront cabins may or may not be done (again, based on past schedules, may be ongoing, but I'd expect major exterior work to be complete).

 

[AJA]

Congrats to you both!

POP and AoA are swarming with kiddo's lol! Also AKL is gorgeous, but def at kids hotel.

For a moderate I would pick Coronado Springs or French Quarter. I think you'd be really happy with either. You can always take a down day and visit AKL or any deluxe hotel to see if you'd like them in the future.

Since it's your honeymoon and you do want some time away from crowds of little ones don't stay at a value if you can comfortably afford the moderate. Of all the mod resorts Coronado Springs, since it's a convention hotel, would probably fit all your needs. Have a longer stay and def go to Universal!

If you rent DVC points don't forget about SSR. It's easier to get a lower cost ressie (because it's large you can usually get "last minute" points at 3-5 months out) and it's walking distance to Disney Springs for the night life and food.

If you really want to rent DVC points anywhere except OKW or SSR then get your wish list/ressie in before the 11 month window, that way it can be booked right at the 11 month mark. The DVC resorts do fill up fast.

ETA: if you are going over the new years holiday you probably wont get last minute points anywhere! Get your reservation locked in sooner rather than later!!

 

[ellie05]

The best week we have expirience with the least amount of kids was the week before Christmas last year. I would stay away from the holidays as the parks will be packed. Realistically every Disney resort will be swarming with kids so if that is something you don't want maybe WDW is not the place for your honeymoon.

I would automatically disqualify all values and moderates because of lack of insulation and privacy because of the exterior hallways. I would choose a deluxe and really not worry much about the dinning plan.