Help us choose. Party of 14

[godwin25]

We are planning a trip for Thanksgiving week 2018. We will probably be staying 8-10 days. We will be getting 5 rooms. We are trying to decide between 4 resorts right now: Riverside preferred rooms, Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club woods view, and Contemporary Garden wing. The last three are relatively the same price with Riverside being quite a bit cheaper. We are hoping to possibly snag Free Dining so are wondering if the cost of the Deluxe resorts would be worth it since we are more likely to get Free Dining staying at those. Last time we went we were lucky enough to receive the a Free Dining pin in the mail and stayed at Riverside but had to upgrade to a Royal room for our trip. Anyone's thoughts would help greatly.

 

[maxiesmom]

What are the ages of the guests? Does your crew have a preference for Epcot or the Magic Kingdom?

 

[gingerfeathers]

I just got back from staying at the Epcot resorts, and personally I LOVED them far more than I ever thought I would (I used to be a monorail and/or Wilderness Lodge girl!). Being able to walk or take a boat to Epcot and DHS was fabulous, and I felt like the pace of that area was far slower and with less crazy than down by the Magic Kingdom. During the mornings, it was so relaxing to do a walk or run around Crescent Lake, and it was fun being able to access Boardwalk easily. So if given the choices you mentioned, right now I would pick Beach Club in a heartbeat.

With that said, I also do love Wilderness Lodge, and the Contemporary has the monorail access if you spend a lot of time at the Magic Kingdom. I don't think either of those are bad choices, particularly if you plan on spending a vast majority of your time at the Magic Kingdom since both resorts are a boat ride away, or in the Contemporary's instance, a monorail ride as well.

I haven't stayed at POR, but I have stayed at POFQ. They were nice, but if given the option between those and a deluxe I would absolutely go deluxe, if only for the additional transportation options available at the resorts in your list.

 

[heidijanesmith]

Great choices! My aunt took her family to WDW and they all stayed at POFQ, they got 4 rooms. They loved it, thought it was a great place for a large family trip. They needed a small resort as two of the family members have mobility issues, so they did not mind not being part of the resort discount.

I would through out YC as a great choice. YC is usually part of FD and rooms discount offers, plus they have greater chances of a full balcony or patio. We love staying at the EPCOT resorts, as the location is fantastic.

 

[Nancyg56]

It is not possible to hep you choose the better discount without knowing how many people in any given room. The better discount for a deluxe may be a room only, but without knowing the discount offered or the number of people in the room, it woudl be premature to guess.

It si easier to determine the better discount in a moderate. For instance, if you have 4 or 5 adults in a moderate room, and have the choice beteeen RO or FD, FD will be the better discount. I always run the numbers with RO and with and without DDP when it comes to deluxe.

 

[Babsy]

The decision between these would be easy for us. WE would choose the CR GV rooms. Generally, we prefer a monorail hotel for its proximity to the MK, large comfortable rooms, great dining options and overall magical atmosphere of being able to see the castle from your resort. The CR also has great transportation to other resorts via the MK parking lot and is walking distance to the MK!!
My second choice would be the WL. again a MK resort, but with awesome theming. It has a boat ride to the MK, but buses everywhere else. The rooms are comfortable, but small. They have balconies, which is nice as well. Food options are quite good at WL and you have the monorail resorts restaurants just a boat ride + monorail away.

The BC is a great resort with walking distance or boat to Epcot and DHS. Rooms are smaller and some rooms have full balconies or a smaller, 'juliet' balcony. Dining options do not appeal to us as much at the Epcot resorts, but you are right next to World Showcase for the dining there. That can work well if you have a park hopper ticket. The BC also has a pool that most people tend to really like. It is large and meandering - great with older kids and good swimmers that do not need Mom or Dad to keep track of them.

POR preferred rooms are last choice, because they are a moderate and just can't compare with a luxury resort, IMO. Deluxe resorts are worth the extra $$$, IMO, as long as it is an easily affordable expense. That said, POR preferred are a great choice and would save $$$. We frequently choose to stay here for at least a portion of our trip. Except for DS all transportation is via a bus, but the buses at WDW are pretty good for the most part.

Any are good choices, but our selection, in order of preference would be CR, then WL, then BC, and finally POR.

Good luck choosing!

 

[adisneyaunt]

If money any type issue POR preferred would be top choice.
Consider renting DVC pts ... we did 2, AKL 2 BR villa and it worked awesome.
Good luck planning, enjoy.

 

[godwin25]

The group break down would be 5 rooms: 2 60+ in one room, 2 adults (42 & 40) and 1 child (8), 2 adults (30 & 32) and 1 (9) child and 1 infant (18 months), 2 adults (37 & 38) and one teenager (16) and 1 child (6), and 2 adults (22 &21). Convenience to parks and resort would be a huge bonus. Free dining would be the kicker with any of these.

 

[Surgie2]

With the resorts you listed and the ages of the kids in your group, I would go with the CR for its ease of getting to MK and Epcot.

 

[Nancyg56]

The group break down would be 5 rooms: 2 60+ in one room, 2 adults (42 & 40) and 1 child (8), 2 adults (30 & 32) and 1 (9) child and 1 infant (18 months), 2 adults (37 & 38) and one teenager (16) and 1 child (6), and 2 adults (22 &21). Convenience to parks and resort would be a huge bonus. Free dining would be the kicker with any of these.

With the group you have, you may find that a RO discount will be a better value than free dining for a deluxe resort. When the discounts appear, you should calculate what the best one is. For a moderate, it is easier to make the numbers work. Also, you can age the children up so they get the adult meal plan. It was something like $45 I think, when I considered doing that for my girls. I ended up with Deluxe which was less money for us.

If you decide to go with the DDP, think about how your guests are in each room. WE travel together, so I will often place 5 of our adults on the FD room, and two adults and the children on the RO room, purchase the DxDDP for that room. The children are very little in comparison to what you get. This will only work as long as the language in the brochure remains the same. If the "no sharing credits" is reinstated, you have to have a different strategy.

 

[godwin25]

Between the three Deluxe resorts which has the best chance of getting Free Dining: Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club woods view, and Contemporary Garden wing?

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Between the three Deluxe resorts which has the best chance of getting Free Dining: Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club woods view, and Contemporary Garden wing?

There really isn't a definitive answer to this question. No one can predict what resorts and room categories will be placed into discount inventory and the more rooms booked, the less chance those rooms will go into that inventory. If free dining is the kicker here, your best bet is to wait until the discount is released and book then. If you are going to go regardless, I would choose the resort that appeals the most, book the rooms and then be prepared to modify when the discount is released. While many resorts may be included in a promo, room categories can be very limited, so I would plan to have a little flexibility with that.

I also agree with the PP who suggested playing around with the dining plan numbers. As mentioned, a room-only discount may be your better bet especially in the rooms with only 2 adults. As they suggested, if you are going to eat a lot of meals together, you may want to consider doing DXDDP on the rooms that have more people in them and then sharing the credits. Definitely do the math on all of it before you decide.

 

[cheryllarsen]

Wilderness Lodge is best for adults. Kids prefer the Beach Club!

 

[Nancyg56]

Between the three Deluxe resorts which has the best chance of getting Free Dining: Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club woods view, and Contemporary Garden wing?

It really is hard to say, and honestly, you need to look at the number of people in the room as well as the ages of the guests before you book FD over a RO discount. I would not book unless you knwo you are going no matter the discount, and then I would book the resort that you want. FD often carries conditions, so you need to factor the costs of those conditions, and decide if you were going to pay for them anyway.

I would build a spreadsheet with each resort you are interested in, and hte people in each room. Start with the rack rate for each resort, and make sure you cost out each component When discounts occur you have a base line.

 

[IrishNYC]

I wouldn't count on there being a discount for Thanksgiving. It's a very popular week to go.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

^^^^^ This. Thanksgiving week is an extremely busy time at WDW. I'd be surprised if "free dining" were to be offered so...don't chose your resort based upon that aspect. With that said, Wilderness Lodge is our hands down favorite.