Help me choose! Which deluxe?

[Have3Kids&aHusband]

Ok, so we chose! We spoke to our travel agent and decided that since it's our 20th anniversary next summer, we're doing the Poly! Totally not what I was thinking originally but now we're really excited! I've always dreamt of staying on the monorail line and my son's favorite restaurant is O'hana. You only live once! Thank you everyone!

We stayed at the Poly for our 10th anniversary. We loved our stay there with our three.

 

[Mousetopia]

I have been going to WDW for over 35 years now. However, when I first started going, there weren't many on site resorts so we often stayed off property. As things started going up, we stayed at Caribbean Beach, then Port Orleans, then when values were built, we stayed at all of the All Star resorts, Pop, and Art of Animation. As you can see, we have NEVER done a deluxe. Fast forward to planning our 2023 vacation and my whole extended family is going from a Tuesday to a Tuesday and my husband says, "Why don't we go down there just the four of us (our two kids who will be 15 and 13 at the time) and go to a deluxe resort for a few days before your family gets there?" Well, now the gears are turning and while I've always DREAMED of staying at these resorts, I've never considered it! So which one would you choose? I have loved Wilderness Lodge most of my adult life when we started having dinners there. But, I also think Animal Kingdom would be awesome with a Savanna View. What are your thoughts or suggestions on any of the deluxe resorts? What are your favorites? We're just listening to everyone's thoughts! Thank you!

AKL Jambo house Savanna View renting via Daves DVC to make it affordable! Takes my breath away. Plan a day of no parks and stay at your chosen resort for the day! Whichever one makes your heart beat faster..thats the one!

 

[Timandalicia]

I have been going to WDW for over 35 years now. However, when I first started going, there weren't many on site resorts so we often stayed off property. As things started going up, we stayed at Caribbean Beach, then Port Orleans, then when values were built, we stayed at all of the All Star resorts, Pop, and Art of Animation. As you can see, we have NEVER done a deluxe. Fast forward to planning our 2023 vacation and my whole extended family is going from a Tuesday to a Tuesday and my husband says, "Why don't we go down there just the four of us (our two kids who will be 15 and 13 at the time) and go to a deluxe resort for a few days before your family gets there?" Well, now the gears are turning and while I've always DREAMED of staying at these resorts, I've never considered it! So which one would you choose? I have loved Wilderness Lodge most of my adult life when we started having dinners there. But, I also think Animal Kingdom would be awesome with a Savanna View. What are your thoughts or suggestions on any of the deluxe resorts? What are your favorites? We're just listening to everyone's thoughts! Thank you!

Beach Club followed by Contemporary, then Grand Floridian. But if you have a special place in your heart, and it sound like you do, you should stay at the Wilderness.

 

[beccasmom]

At one time I would have said the Contemporary (we stayed there on our first visit in 1981), but I really dislike the renovated rooms with the “Incredibles” theme. I think they needed to be renovated, but the theme décision was disappointing to me.

So the Wilderness Lodge would get my vote, followed by the AK Lodge/Villas, the Poly and the GF. All are solid choices, with the AK Lodge being less convenient than the others transportation-wise, but that is it’s only negative IMHO.

 

[nursejackie]

We haven't stayed at them all, but this is my opinion on he resorts we have stayed at (on rented DVC points)

BLT - loved the location for walking to MK, quick, easy walk to Contemporary for dining etc, can use both pools (but Contemporary guests cannot use BLT)
Kidani - wouldn't stay again in the village but would definitely stay in Jambo House, one of my favourite themed hotels.
BCV - great location for dining, access to World Showcase, and Stormalong bay is great for children.
SSR - had a room near the walkway to Disney Springs, and liked the hub/pool, but didn't grab my heart like some others
OKW - my favourite of all, holds special memories for us. Big rooms, great pool area and play areas. Nice boat ride to Disney Springs.
Swan/Dolphin (do they count?) - lovely rooms, reasonable walking distance to Epcot and HS, and nice pools, but not for us, too business-like.

 

[Jaymarkm]

I’ve never enjoyed staying anywhere for sheer “Disneyness” more than Contemporary. It’s just so awesome to wake up and be there!

 

[Jaymarkm]

I just love AKL and the Savannah view. But if you’re wanting to see that just as part of your four days, in eat at Saana in Kidani, go early, enjoy the scenery. Amazing naan!

 

[wdw4rfam]

We own DVC at AKL and POLY. Those are our favorites. BC is a real close next favorite. Everyone has different favorites for all different reasons so it really depends on what you like. Honestly I could stay at the resorts all day and not even go to the parks.

 

[bookgirl2632]

We have always been a Moderate family, having stayed at POR and CBR many times. When booking our trip last October, we decided to splurge since we hadn’t had a vacation in a couple years due to the pandemic. We did a split stay, staying 5 nights at Pop and 6 at Yacht Club. Both resorts were new for us. I was surprised to be as enchanted with Pop as I was with Yacht Club. We love Epcot and Hollywood Studios, so the resorts in that area are ideal for us. Yacht Club is beautiful and we had a great vacation. I booked our trip for October 2023 a few weeks ago and went with Boardwalk this time, but we’ll be staying at Pop first.

So I say go for the resort that you’ve always wanted to stay at. You can’t go wrong with either. Both WL and AKL are beautiful. If you are going to spend a lot of resort time there, AKL would be great. I only say that because it is a bit out of the way. If you intend to spend considerable time at MK, stay at WL. Either way, have fun!