First visit, where to stay at Disney? :)

[Azza1987]

Thanks again guys!

The choice is just so hard, Im seriously considering 2 days in each resort at this rate

Hopefully I'll hear back from this job whether is a yay or nay by Thursday, then if its a Yay I think I'll look at booking AKL/WL/BC! Currently they all come in around £2000 with free dining for the week.

I would love to just book AKL but I would want to do have a Svannah view, and the its about £600 extra on top of their standard view (ouch!) Currently no budget for that, but there may be with the new job.

Yeah I looked at Deluxe dining it really does seem 'alot' of food, 3 courses, 3 times a day, I'd gain to many lbs! But doing a nice signiture meal every night and having a light lunch (i.e. snacks) would definitely suit us better. At least then I dont have to budget $'s for food as thats completely covered, we'd just need out cocktail money!

Who knew picking a resort would be so hard! I always wanted to go to Disney and thought it would be so easy to book, but turns out theres just so much amazing choice! xxxxx

 

[tofubeast]

Thanks again guys!

The choice is just so hard, Im seriously considering 2 days in each resort at this rate

Hopefully I'll hear back from this job whether is a yay or nay by Thursday, then if its a Yay I think I'll look at booking AKL/WL/BC! Currently they all come in around £2000 with free dining for the week.

I would love to just book AKL but I would want to do have a Svannah view, and the its about £600 extra on top of their standard view (ouch!) Currently no budget for that, but there may be with the new job.

Yeah I looked at Deluxe dining it really does seem 'alot' of food, 3 courses, 3 times a day, I'd gain to many lbs! But doing a nice signiture meal every night and having a light lunch (i.e. snacks) would definitely suit us better. At least then I dont have to budget $'s for food as thats completely covered, we'd just need out cocktail money!

Who knew picking a resort would be so hard! I always wanted to go to Disney and thought it would be so easy to book, but turns out theres just so much amazing choice! xxxxx

Nice resort choices. You will have a blast. Just remember that dining plan does not include gratuity, so you would have to budget for that.

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

Just throwing another big YAY in for AKL resort - - my fav resort right now no question.

When I stayed there I didn't want to swing for a savannah view so I booked standard and was upgraded - - now of course you have to be comfortable with whichever room category you book but I did an informal poll here on the DIS and it looked like people were upgraded there 50% of the time (probably not peak season)- so there is a chance. Also I thought I wouldn't mind a standard view either in the future as the resort is so beautiful with lots of little nooks to enjoy - I wouldn't mind - just might spend more time lounging all about the place.

You'll have a great trip no matter what you choose!

 

[Azza1987]

Thanks again guys!

Hmmm so maybe booking a standard view at AKL could be worth a little risk? If we get upgraded brilliant, if we don't we are still in an excellent resort, minutes from giraffes!
We are looking at 1st-8th may next year, is this peak? Would we maybe have a tiny chance of an upgrade then? Or no way?

It's £1500 for the week at AKL standard viewer £2200 for savannah view (totally out of budget) but £1500 with free dining is suitable!

How is the transport at AKL as in transfer time to MK? Or DTD? Again thanks guys

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

Thanks again guys!

Hmmm so maybe booking a standard view at AKL could be worth a little risk? If we get upgraded brilliant, if we don't we are still in an excellent resort, minutes from giraffes!
We are looking at 1st-8th may next year, is this peak? Would we maybe have a tiny chance of an upgrade then? Or no way?

It's £1500 for the week at AKL standard viewer £2200 for savannah view (totally out of budget) but £1500 with free dining is suitable!

How is the transport at AKL as in transfer time to MK? Or DTD? Again thanks guys

The beginning of May is not peak season - I stayed end of April. Here is the link to the informal poll I did about room upgrades at AKL.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2938216&highlight=akl+upgrade

The transport time for some people is an issue with an AKL stay - it is farther away from things than other deluxe resorts - basically 5 minutes from Animal Kingdom. I didn't notice it being much different than other transport times (POR, or SSR) but I take buses a lot and didn't have any young children with me which might make a difference. I think your longest transport time would be to DTD - could be 30 minutes I would imagine easy. What I like about the location is that it makes the resort feel secluded and in its' own little piece of nature. But if you want to be in the heart of the action, AKL may not be the best choice.

Anyway have fun deciding - so many resorts to choose so little time - LOL!

 

[Azza1987]

Thanks for the link, seems lot of standard views are upgraded so could be worth the gamble!

I wish Disbey didn't have such good choices would be so much easier!

 

[BabsBunny]

Thanks so much for your replies guys

I think I'll look to book SSR and requeset Congress Park if possible, I'd like a quiet pool (nothing against children, but I do love swimming and being able to swim from one end to the other sounds like a good deal to me!). Being able to walk to downtown Disney also sounds like a bit of a plus point, we do enjoy some nice bars etc.

However, I am holding off for a week booking, I have a second interview tomorrow for a much better job (and it comes with a significant pay rise!) So if all goes well (fingers and toes crossed) I might have a slighter bigger budget for another resort, such as Wilderness Lodge or Beach Club. Both I believe have balconies but are just out of my current budget at the minute! (they work about £600 more expensive with park tickets included ((ouch!!)).

So currently SSR is my choice, with the normal dining plan. I don't eat alot but OH does so he will probably use most of my credits which I dont mind. I just like eating crisps which I can buy from a supermarket (honestly my diet is so useless, it consists of yoghurts, eggs, crisps and cottage pie mostly!).

But the deluxe dining plan could also be an option, It would mean all our food is literally covered for the entire week! I would love do some signiture dining! But I just don't know if we would use all of it up? I suppose we could save our snack credits and use them to buy everyone sweets from the stores (can you do that?)

Thanks again, Honestly I am useless at making decisions (as an auditor you wouldn't think that would you!).

I think you've made a great choice. It's nice to be able to walk over to DD for the evening with it's shopping, dining, and lounge options.

If I had to choose a second option, I'd go with OKW for it's relaxed, tropical feel.

Have a great time.

 

[Cindie-rella]

You mentioned that you were "big" on animals? Well then my suggestion is to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge. That place is wonderful. We've stayed there twice and loved every second of those trips. It is especially nice for an adult only trip. Could be very romantic! My hubby and I also love animals. We were placed right in front of a watering hole and there would be tons of animals to view at all different times of the day. We would order room service breakfast and sit on our balcony watching the giraffes (my fave) and other African wildlife while sipping our morning coffee. It would feel surreal at times. There were many days we never left the resort. There is a great bar to relax and have a few drinks, the pool is wonderful and the food throughout the Lodge was delish ! I can't say enough about this resort...honestly. The only downfall, if I must find one, is that you are further away from the parks, not a big issue, but that is the only small negative thing I can find. It is however only a minute ride to Animal King. Park. There is another great site on the net that gives you a whole bunch of Disney World info, such as tons of pics of each resort and every restaurant across DisneyWorld with every menu and prices. It's called Deb's all ears.net. You will find this site very helpful along with the DisBoards. ( www.allearsnet.com )
Whatever you decide I'm sure will be perfect ! Enjoy your visit!

 

[Cindie-rella]

I want to add my opinion about resort hopping. Some might disagree but I did it once and would not do it again. Though the switching process went smooth, it did take up some time and it felt like we were never settled in. Our 1st resort of that trip was AKL and the whole time I was there I knew I would be moving soon and barely unpacked. I really missed AKL when we moved to OKW (which is a beautiful resort), but it did not have the splendor of AKL. My opinion is pick one, stay there the entire trip and during your stay pick a day and do some resort hopping and check out where you might want to stay on your next visit. (You will be back !) Our 2nd favorite is Port Orleans Riverside. It is absolutely gorgeous ! It may be moderate but it feels like a deluxe! The landscape and the amenities are superb ! As far as Coronado Springs for a moderate, it felt more wide open not nearly as cozy as the Riverside, and it is a convention resort. It just did not have the ambiance of the other resorts available. Go see for yourself. We did that once and just took extra money along so we could do it by cab service. It was so much easier than hopping resorts by bus!!

 

[mom2princesses2]

We've been to POR without kids and CSR with kids.

CSR is an incredibly romantic resort with far less kids then we've experienced at other resorts. The buses are great, the Pepper Market has an upscale feel to it for a food court since you are waited upon for drinks and there is a pool side bar

Plus CSR has a nightclub, beautiful fitness center, and a spa in case you want to treat yourself to a mani/pedi or massage. You won't find any of those at any other moderate.

Check out the CRS thread...pictures and reviews sold me! And we really enjoyed it with our kids but I would pick it for couples only trip in a heartbeat!

 

[Azza1987]

Thanks again guys for your replies and advice! As I'm paying for both of us, I really want to make the right choice, and ensure OH is catered for! (TBH as long as theres a pool, good food and beer he'll be fine )

I keep looking on the WDW website which seems to be the only place I can book a disney resort without flights! I've booked our flights seperately due to NYC for 4 days first.

There 'Free Dining' offer is avaliable until 15th of November. But I dont know what happens after that? Would a room discount open up?

I dont know whether to just book and get FD or hold off and see if another discount comes up? FD is such a good offer, and would really suit OH but It wouldnt really fit in with me. Im happy with a yoghurt for breakfast and packet of crisps for lunch, but I do always have a big dinner. So the deluxe dining whilst perfect for OH isn't for me, but the standard plan suits me but wouldn't be enough for OH and we would end up paying OOP (alot!).

I've done some number crunching and here's where Im at currently;

Deluxe Dining package suits OH but not me, we therefore would only have to budget tips, and will still have credits left over!;

All with Ultimate park tickets, Deluxe dining, For both of us, for 7 nights;

CBR - £2431 (Standard view)
OKW - £1931.30 (Studio)
SSR - £1913.30 (Studio)
AKL - £2370.20 (Standard room)
CSR - £2298.31 (Standard King)
POFQ - £2291 (Grden view)

So there's a big difference between them all. The main difference is the Mods only offer Quick Service Dining Plans, however to upgrade to Deluxe charges the full 'base' amount!.

However all with just normal dining (Suits me perfect, but I would expect to have to budget another meal for OH per day (£15 x 7 =£105), another snack (£3 x 7 = £21) plus all tips another £100? = £250

CBR - £1631 + £250 = £1881(standard view)
OKW - £1581 + £250 = £1831 (Studio)
SSR - £1581 + £250 = £1831 (Studio)
AKL - £2020 + £250 = £2270(Standard room)
CSR - £1598 + £250 = £1848(standard, King)
POFQ - £1591 + £250 = £1841 (Grden view)

So all with standard dining and approximate extra food cost for OH, (apart from AKL) pretty much come out the same!

Where as for £100 extra I could book OWK or SSR with the deluxe dining for both of us, so we could probably do signiture dining every night? Big breakfast, snacks for lunch and then lovely meal in the evening?

So I am now totally stuck!

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

Seeing as the prices are almost the same I would deifinitely choose AKL with deluxe dining only because it is very nice to have the freedom to do whatever you want when you want - not to worry about meals at all is a very nice thing.

Plus at AKL you could have breakfast everyday at Boma - which is a very nice buffet - you could have yogurt and your OH could chow down - both happy campers. There is also Jiko for an option at night which is a great signature restaurant as well as Boma - 1 credit. I also really like Sanaa at Kidani Village which is sort of "indian" inspired - plus you can get Bento box lunches at the pool bar at Kidani - like tandoori chicken and such - which would be 2 credits (like room service). (When you stay at AKL Jambo House - you are free to use the pool at Kidani as well.) You can order room service with the dining plan - I think it is 2 credits again per meal - so you could have some meals in your room if you wanted and not worry about it at all - you would have plenty of credits.

So you might have some credits left or let you OH use them all on extra meals - either way you have the freedom of not having to think about it which is a nice advantage.

 

[Azza1987]

AKL definitely seems the best choice based on numbers for what you get! I would mind the trip to MK or Epcot either!

But I still cant make a decision! Ahhh!

It's definitely SSR with a hire car, AKL as it is or POFQ river view! Maybe I just being man up book one and then plan my 2014 trip for one of the others!

 

[MMS1125]

wait is it deluxe or standard dining? If it's the free dining that comes with the Deluxe resort in the UK that's the regular dining plan (1 snack, 1 counter service, 1 table service)

I'd still go with AKL with regular dining and if you have to pay a little OOP for your boyfriend that cost should be pretty minimal. If you do a table service a day or a signature every other day or so you won't have any credits left over

 

[DeanDoug]

Welcome!
My wife and I have stayed at all of your selections over the years for a variety of reasons and all are enjoyable. IMO, the Coronado is fine, but not compared to your other choices.
POFQ and RS are fun, and you get to ride the boat to Downtown Disney. SSR is lovely, and a quick stroll to Downtown in the evening. The accommodations there are beautiful.

AKL (wait, was that one of your choices?) is our favorite, and one of the most special on property.

We stayed at OKW last year, and liked it, however we were far from the restaurant, so it depends on where you are located.

If you want theming, I would say AKL (also fabulous pools, restaurant choices, and lounge) or PORS or FQ. Remember, wherever you stay, you are a only a busride to somewhere else!

We never rent a car.

Cheers!

 

[Azza1987]

I think AKL is definitey the winner here!

A Savannah view is not within budget, but a standard room would suffice, just to be on the property would be great. With the standard dining, and then I'd just look to pay OOP for OH extra food

I dont want to rent a car either, I do not fancy driving on the other side of the road I can just about cope with the UK side!

 

[jade1]

Didnt read it all but AKL would be great-but did u check WL or VWL? Very nice and sometimes quite reasonable.

 

[Kae]

I would choice AKL then SSR then POFQ. Seven day first trip you will need some down time & akl is so awesome. You can not make a bad choice here. and May is just beautiful at WDW. If I could get them to move the F & W Fest to May I would never have a tough choice on when to go!

Kae