Hotel Help Needed

[Princess_Dot]

So I thought all was set, my family was staying at the Grand Floridian in the summer of 2008. (see signature)

Well I was wrong, I come home last night to see my Mom checking out other hotels. Allright, its not a problem (so I thought), we had all previously decided that the Grand Floridian was the most relaxing hotel we've ever stayed at.

We are going down with another family, (who have the DVC) and they want to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Will the villa's be done at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for July 2008? My Mom said if we stayed there then we would get concierege...where is the conceriege located? I thought they might have moved it because of the new villas.

Another option is Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness. My Mom wants to stay in the cabins. UGH that does not appeal to me at all! I live in MA, if I want wilderness I can drive an hour to New Hampshire. Has anyone stayed in the cabins? Did it feel like a disney vacation to you?

I geuss I will be happy wherever we end up, because its Disney, and I am going down with family and friends. I just want a little more information before we end up making any hotel choices.

 

[AngelInDisguise]

um. I think they MIGHT be done by next year, but not sure. The concierge is at the very top of the hotel. But they have closed the whole thing down for now.

 

[KidGoofy]

The cabins are awesome. My family got one last year and you get a full-size refrigerator and you never hear the poeple around you. It doesn't really seem like you are in an actual cabin it seems like you are in a house. You can also get a golf cart there and people put decorations on them so it looks really cool. The only problem is the walk to a bus stop because sometimes you can be the farthest cabin away from one. I highly recommend the cabins.

For wilderness lodge that is also one of my favorites. My grandpa will only stay there because he likes the style and it was really family-friendly.


They both have boats to the magic kingdom and you don't have to wait long to get a bus to go any place else.

 

[JulielovesDisney]

I think the villas at AKL will be done completely in 2009. They now converted regular rooms and changed them to DVC type rooms. So, to my understanding, they'd be near the main building with the rest of the rooms.

WL is my second favorite resort. It's soooo pretty! You'll love it there. As for the cabins, I've never stayed there, but I've seen pictures and they are REALLY nice. I'd love to stay there. I'm sure you'll enjoy them as well. Plus, if you don't like where you're staying, just remember that you only sleep in there. The rest of the time is usually in the parks.

 

[STOPxmickeytime]

Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom are some of my favorite resorts.
But like you said, no matter where you go you'll be happy. I mean, it's Disney :]

 

[TinkerTracy]

Hmm I've stayed at AKL it's awesome. But the Grand Floridian is my favorite hotel. My second favorite is concerige at the Yacht Club. I stayed concerige at the Wilderness Lodge...I really didn't like it. But it's still Disney and that's the best part! Good Luck!

 

[tinkerbellblondie19]

Some of them will be. And they are getting rid of concierge; DVC bought those rooms and is converting them to villas. They should have some open by then. The entire thing is scheduled for opening in Fall 2009, but they will be opening each phase as they are completed.

 

[2HOT2touch]

i really liked the cabins. I stayed there a while ago tho. We had 6 people including myself stay in the cabin. They have alot of stuff to do there. I think you will be fine, I mean it's Disney!

 

[Babyjustrun]

I hated the Wilderness Lodge. It had a nice feel to it, but it was boring.

 

[tinkerbellblondie19]

I liked the WL. It wasn't my fav, by far, but it was nice. It was lacking things to do. They had the pool. It was a nice pool, but it wasn't as nice as most of the pools at the deluxe resorts. There were lincoln logs everywhere. Great for 4-year-olds, and for those sudden urges to goof off. It needs more.

 

[Princess_Dot]

I am nervous about being bored at the cabins. For those of you who have stayed in the cabins, was the walking situation horrible? I mean we will be walking all day in the parks, will I hate having to walk to my cabin? And how are the boats to the MK? Are they reliable?

As far as AKL goes...so they got rid of their concierge completely?! Will they ever re-open it?

 

[Babyjustrun]

I am nervous about being bored at the cabins. For those of you who have stayed in the cabins, was the walking situation horrible? I mean we will be walking all day in the parks, will I hate having to walk to my cabin? And how are the boats to the MK? Are they reliable?

As far as AKL goes...so they got rid of their concierge completely?! Will they ever re-open it?

The boats are like any other transportation system.
I don't like the boats though. The one to MK from WL, has outside (I don't remember if there was an inside) so the seats got hot. There was also A LOT of love bugs around. I was not happy until I got off that boat.

 

[tinkerbellblondie19]

AKL concierge is gone completely. The rooms that were formerly AKL concierge are now/will be DVC rooms.

 

[rutgersdeb]

I love the cabins; hated the bus system though. Luckily we had a rented car.

One time, though, my mom and I tried to do the buses. My dad and brother had left 30 minutes after us to take the boat and they still got to MK first. The problem is that you have to walk all the way to your bus station for your color bus. The campground is huge so they bus stations are usually far away enough from the cabin. All that the bus does is bring you to the front, where you have to wait for another bus to get to where you want to go.

 

[CheezDoodle]

WL is my favorite! And if you stay concierge there it's so nice, we did that once and it was so cool!

I've never stayed at AKL but I have visited it. I didn't like it much, there wasn't really any grounds to walk around in! But that's really important to me and my family because we don't spend much time at the parks.

Just a suggestion, have you guys thought about having your friends stay at OKW or SS and you staying at POR or POFQ? Even thought they're moderates they're so nice and have lovely grounds!

Oh and I just remembered another good thing about WL. They have the least amount of smoking areas of all the resorts! Only 3! And they're like really out of the way, too, so that's a plus.

 

[tinkerbellblondie19]

Yes, SSR is beautiful, and I'm sure it would be good large groups.

 

[KidGoofy]

I am nervous about being bored at the cabins. For those of you who have stayed in the cabins, was the walking situation horrible? I mean we will be walking all day in the parks, will I hate having to walk to my cabin? And how are the boats to the MK? Are they reliable?

The walking isn't really that bad and if you are that scared of the walk I would say get a golf cart so then you can drive them to the depot's(not sure what they are called) instead of taking a bus to a depot. They have parking for golf carts and they had a bunch of space. You would probably be at the parks most of the time so you wouldn't be bored but for me when I was there I would always watch those Top Ten rides channel because it is the only time you can watch those. We also brought games. The boats were fine. They have a boat that looked like an old boat made of wood and it would take you to WL. I am not sure if there was a direct line to Magic Kingdom because we had family over in WL when we were there. The boats are also very reliable but I would say if you get one of the colorful boats to stay inside because it gets really windy because of the speed of the boat and because there is less bugs.


Sorry if it was too long.

 

[KidGoofy]

I also forgot that WL and FW also have the water show come by. If you have stayed at GF you probably have seen it. It is good for the little kids.

 

[Babyjustrun]

I also forgot that WL and FW also have the water show come by. If you have stayed at GF you probably have seen it. It is good for the little kids.

There's a better view at the Poly.

 

[KidGoofy]

I have never seen it from the Polynesian but at FW the beach is really nice and they also have a tetherball court.