Hi Everyone ! I won a trip ! Need some help with planning choices please !!!

[lakeparadise]

Hi Everyone ! I never ever thought it would be possible for us to visit Walt Disney World... however... I was blessed by winning a trip for 8 !

I need to let the Disney rep know which Deluxe Hotels are my top 3 choices... Anyone have any suggestions... if price was not a factor? Animal Kingdom Lodge, Beach Club, Contemporary, etc... ????

Also since this might be are only trip to WDW we would like to make it very remarkable for all of us... Anything you can think of 'extra' that we should maybe do ? *hoop-dee-doo revue, etc..?*

Thanks Bunches !!!

 

[kaceyisme]

I would choose the Poly, GF or BW, and hope hope that I got the Poly, but no matter where you stay, you are going to have such a great time!! The reason I would pick the Poly is for the great atmosphere, as well as the great transportation. Definitely go to Ohana for dinner one night!

Congrats on winning such a great trip!!

 

[HM]

What things does your prize include?

I also won a trip a couple years ago. We chose to stay at the Grand Floridian since it was one we felt we'd never pay for on our own. We got extra money to use toward recreation, so we did other things we hadn't done and probably wouldn't have paid for on our own. These included: parasailing, spa treatments, Cirque d'Soliel tickets, and boat rentals. We had park hoppers included and tickets to the water parks as well.

Have fun planning! -HM

 

[travelin' tigger]

This is so exciting!!! The most expensive, extravagent deluxe is the Grand Floridian. I've never stayed there, but a friend has and raved about it!!!

Personally, I'd go for the Polynesian Concierge!!!

I've never done Hoop-De-Doo so can't help you there.

Have fun with your planning!!!!

 

[Fokus17]

How exactly did you win this trip? It sounds awesome. Give us all of the details like length of stay and what all comes with it

 

[Michelle2]

Wow! Congradulations!
If it were me, and money were no option, then I would choose a monorail duluxe resort..they are so convenient. IMO I think it would be between the Poly and GF. I have stayed at the Grand Floridian but have heard really good things about the Polynesian Resort. They are both beautifully themed. One is tropical/Polenisian thememed and the other is fancy victorian themed. The GF is WDW flafship resort, and once we stayed there, we fell in love with it. The Poly has a really neat volcano pool, and the GF has a rock themed pool. Either of those would be my personal choice.
We thought our last trip was our one and only trip too, so we tried to pack in all the not-to-be-missed too. I would suggest the Hoop dee Doo Revue, I think definitely an Illuminations Cruise, maybe even the other fireworks cruise too at the MK. We are trying Cirque de Soleil this trip because we missed it last time, and have heard AWESOME things about it...just really expensive! And there are alot of really neat dining experiences as well. The Cinderella's Royal Table in the castle if there are young children who likes the princesses , and the Crystal Palace were some of our favorites. I am so sure that others will have alot of imput on other great things to see, do and eat at while you guys are there! If money is no option, I say make it the vacation of your dreams and shoot for the stars!
Have a great time! When would all of you be going??

 

[westjones]

Hi Everyone ! I never ever thought it would be possible for us to visit Walt Disney World... however... I was blessed by winning a trip for 8 !

I need to let the Disney rep know which Deluxe Hotels are my top 3 choices... Anyone have any suggestions... if price was not a factor? Animal Kingdom Lodge, Beach Club, Contemporary, etc... ????

Also since this might be are only trip to WDW we would like to make it very remarkable for all of us... Anything you can think of 'extra' that we should maybe do ? *hoop-dee-doo revue, etc..?*

Thanks Bunches !!!

Wow! Cool!

I would go with the Grand Floridian if that was possible. We have never stayed there (to expensive), but we would love to! Actually the three monorail resorts would be my 3 choices, the GF, Poly and CR.

The Hoop Dee Doo Revue is a lot of fun and we really enjoyed the food (but we are vegetarians, so our meal was not the traditional one).

Character meals: Go for Cinderella's Castle. It is fun to eat in the castle!

Of course, if you want your resort to be a bit of an adventure, the Animal Kingdom lodge is very nice. We just enjoyed spending the day at the resort.

Have a great trip!
DJ

 

[webray]

The top three disney resorts without question are...Boardwalk, Animal Kingdom Lodge, then probably Yacht Club.

Boardwalk, because of the wonderful convience and restaurant options. You are just a short walk or boatride away from EPCOT/MGM, and all the close resorts, including Swan/Dolphin have wonderful dining options. Also, entertainment at night on the boardwalk is a lot of fun also.

Animal Kingdom Lodge..well, the place is just outstanding, no matter what way you look at it. totally fantastic experience.

After that...We try Yacht club if we want to stay at an epcot resort, or the Dolphin (of course not a disney resort..but totally fabulous).

We have stayed at both Boardwalk and AKL..many, many times..they are always great.

We do not recommend Grand Floridian..we did this..main building concierge in a honeymoon suite..it was totally horrible, the castmembers know nothing about service..the rooms are terribly ugly. Definately not grand, and definately not the best disney has to offer.

If you want a MK resort..Contemporary would be our choice, although we have stayed at the Poly ( I don't think they have a hot tub), Contemporary has great pool area, excellent pool slide, large rooms, ok food options..you would probably always eat elsewhere, not the best food on disney property at Contemporary. It is an easy walk to MK, faster than taking the monorail..so that is nice.

Congrats and good luck with your choices..I am sure you will have a blast.

 

[minkydog]

I'd choose Poly, BC or GF. If you have small kids, you might want to choose from the monorail resorts, as you will want to have ready access to MK. However if your kids are older, you may rather be at BC or BW so you can take the boat to DTD. AKL is great, but it's off the beaten path. If your kids are really into animals, though, it would be fantastic.(Boma is marvelous and the food in Mara is very good.) Definitely do Hoop De Doo--too much fun!

 

[Tink03477]

Congratulations & Welcome!
I'd consider the Beach Club too. It has an awesome pool, great resturants, close to the Boardwalk and you could walk to Epcot & MGM!
My other choices would be the same as the others, GF and Poly!

Please tell us what you won the trip for, from what company, what are the ages of the 8 people that are going, time of year, ya know; details!

Kim

 

[leighe]

In order of preference
1. Poly
2. GF
3. YC/BC

The Hoop Dee Do Review is great! Are you travelling with children? We used to love Mickey's B-B-Q as well.

Congratulations on winning such a fabulous trip! How did it happen?

 

[pumpkinboy]

Depending on your tastes, and those of the children in your party, I'd recommend some of the choices you already put down. If it were me, I'd choose AKL, Yacht Club, Poly, in no particular order. AKL is our favorite resort ever! Talk about completely themed everywhere. I'd take Yacht Club over Beach club bcs YC tends to have better views, but otherwise YC/BC would be interchangable for me, with access to Stormalong Bay and the proximity to Epcot and MGM being the biggest plusses here (near Boardwalk also handy). And for a monorail resort, Poly has always been someplace I have wanted to stay, with the heavy theming, volcano pool and Monorail access.

But if you decide you want to be sure of an Epcot resort, you could choose YC, BC and BWI. And there are 3 Monorail resorts too, tho I think I might avoid the Contemporary during its rehab (replace with AKL or WL). But for cool theming, I think AKL would be first choice, with Poly and WL being right up there too.

Congrats and have a great trip!

 

[henrylovespooh]

If I won a trip and had my choice of deluxes, I would choose:

1) Grand Floridian
2) Polynesian
3) Beach Club

I would never pay for the Grand Floridian so that's why I picked that one. Also, it's on the monorail which makes life easier. You can walk or take the Monorail to the Poly.

Same reasons for the Poly. And Poly has Kona Cafe and O'Hana, which are good. Also the Spirit of Aloha show. You can ask for a room with a view of the castle so you can see the fireworks.

The Beach Club is also expensive and has Stormalong Bay for kids and all the nearby restaurants and features of the boardwalk. I like the east access to EPCOT.

 

[westjones]

I suggest you spend some time on this site viewing the slideshows of the different resorts. I must say, Beach Club is one of our very favorites. The pool is great and we like Beaces and Cream AND we really like walking to Epcot.

http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/gallery.htm

DJ

 

[DisneyMomx7]

1. Grand Floridian
2. Poly
3. Yacht or Beach Club

WOw - what a trip to win!!! I'm so jealous. What trip was it since I enter these things all the time, alas, I never win.

 

[Dis2times]

Grand Floridian.

How did you win? I can't count how many times I've entered to win a WDW trip in the last 6 months. It's the only type of contest I'll enter.

 

[Disneyglobegirl]

WOW!! COngratulations! You will have a blast! I would pick a monorail resort for sure ; GF, Poly or Contemp - Hoop Dee Doo is suppose to be great fun - we will be doing that for the first time in May. Make sure you do a couple character meals - Cinderella's, Crystal Palace or Chef Mickeys. Also do not miss Fantasmic at MGM - You may want to pick up a guide book to see what there is all to do and go from there. ENJOY!!!

 

[Fokus17]

still curious as to how you one this trip? If anyone knows places to enter for this type of thing please let me know

 

[missypie]

Do go onto alleearsnet.com and look at the pictures of the rooms and other areas of each resort...one of them is bound to suit your fancy.

Also, be sure and talk to your tax person and find out how much income tax you will have to pay for the "free" trip. You can be sure that the "value" of the room will be stated at full rack rate, etc.

 

[pplasky]

Do go onto alleearsnet.com and look at the pictures of the rooms and other areas of each resort...one of them is bound to suit your fancy.

Also, be sure and talk to your tax person and find out how much income tax you will have to pay for the "free" trip. You can be sure that the "value" of the room will be stated at full rack rate, etc.

This is soooo true. DH and I won a cruise. Come tax time, the "free" cruise was over $2000.