How do you decide where to stay?

[Eeyoreloverforever]

I think this will be our 5th trip. We have always stayed at All Star Movies because it is cheap and we use two rooms so our kids can go to sleep without us disturbing them and so we can watch TV after they go to bed.

We are thinking of splitting our stay up this time and upgrading. How do you chose? The rooms basically all look the same. I am so confused!

 

[Laurajean1014]

DH and I have a 5 minute conversation about it and we always pick OKW, and agree that its the best place for us.

 

[TLinden16]

I really enjoy trying all of the different resorts. I usually decide which level of resort I want to stay in, and then pick the one that appeals to me most at the time. Some resorts are more "me" than others. Like, I'm not an animal person, so the Animal Kingdom Lodge doesn't really have that much of an appeal to me.

Just decide what level of resort you want, look at the pictures of the resort, the rooms, and the pool. One of them will probably jump out as being the right choice for your family

Karen

 

[jacksmom]

I agonize over it for months! Then change my mind at least twice!

 

[WDWDennis]

It is best to try them all out! This way, you'll be able to pick a favorite like we do. I have not tried all of them YET, but most of them. Overall, the WL Villas are my favorite, so we normally stay there. Other than that, we just go with what we can afford. We have wanted to stay at the Poly for years now, but have never been able to afford it. Finally, this coming January, were going to stay there. We just decided that we want to try it this time.

I say, if you have a little more money this time around, maybe upgrade to another favorite of mine, PORS Mansions. Who knows, maybe you'll love it there. Maybe you will decided that its not worth the extra money. You'll never know until you try it. You can't always go by what everyone else thinks b/c everyone has a different experience, even if they stay at the same resort!!

 

[Minerva]

It was easy for me I fell in love with the pictures of the WL the first time I saw them and since we'll be going close to Christmas it was even more perfect since the resort just seems Christmasy to me.

 

[brentalex]

my DD and DS are old enough that they need their own beds. I like a certain amount of service and amenites when I am on vacation. So that leads us to the various deluxe hotels that have either bunk beds, or a day bed. Last visit was the AKL, the upcoming visit the kids picked the contemporary, so there we will be.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

It usually depends on how much we have to budget for the trip. Last Jan. we didn't have a whole lot of extra money so we stayed offsite(will never do that again). This time with the September dining special, we have a little more so we are staying deluxe. DH wanted the BC. DS wanted the CR tower, so we're staying at the CR Tower.

 

[AJKMOM]

If you will have a car on vacation, check out the Fort Wilderness cabins, they have a comfy Murphy bed in the living room with the TV for adults to sleep on. Only problem was transportation, in my opinion.

 

[Nik's Mom]

I agonize over the decision for months, then make my ressies. But the madness doesn't end there. I usually change my mind over and over again. On our last trip, I think I changed my mind 5 times. In the end, we go with the theme of the resort. Just read every thread on the different resorts, and look at all of the pictures on Deb Will's site. Good luck on what ever you decide!

 

[TwingleMum]

First thing I ask myself is where will I be spending the most time?? MK? MGM? AK? EPCOT?? Then I look at the resorts near that park. We really like to split stay so usually we pick a MK resort and a resort closer to one of the other parks. I also have twins that are small so I also look at transportation convenience ~ like picking a monorail resort so I don't have to fold up the stroller or some resorts (WL,BC,YC,BW,SW/D) have boats that strollers roll on. This last trip my 4 yr old wanted to go to Buzz's house (ASMO~Toy Story) so we stayed there 3 days out of a 14 day trip. Whatever your decision its fun to try new resorts!

 

[grimley1968]

- How important is direct, non-bus transportation to you? If it's not that important, a Deluxe is probably not necessary, since that is the biggest selling point of most Deluxes compared to Moderates

- How important is theming? All the resorts are well themed, but the Deluxes might have just a tad more immersive theming.

- Do you need a patio or deck on your room? Only Deluxes have these, as far as I know.

- What are you willing to budget for your vacation?

To be honest, these things are all fairly important to my family, which is why we have always chosen Deluxe resorts. We have 2 young girls who need regular naps and quiet time, so quick non-bus transportation is a key for us from MK and/or EPCOT. We have always stayed at resorts that have quick access to one or both of those 2 parks. When our girls get older and we can be more relaxed about our transportation, we may well choose to stay at a Moderate or Value, and stay longer. I don't feel it would be a "downgrade" to do this, except for the lack of non-bus options. It's a financial crunch for us to stay in Deluxe every year, but we feel it's worth it now for the transportation.

 

[sugermouse]

We use a three factor system to decide where to stay, first we consider the room price, second we consider the room price and lastly we consider the room price..........

 

[septbride2002]

Usually it is based on the rate we can get the room for. When we went for our honeymoon we were booked for CBR. I wanted a tropical vacation and DH wanted Disney World - the room was only $79 per night. By pure pixie dust we were upgraded to the Poly since the CBR closed for rehab a week before we arrived. The second time they released great rates for deluxes and I had seen the AKL on our honeymoon and really wanted to stay there. We got a standard room for $110 per night - sign me up! Our Christmas trip we planned in 20 days. And I just went for whatever was open on and around $100 per night. We got POR-FQ for $80 per night with our AP.

~Amanda

 

[CuteKatCar]

We were spoiled with the monorail and have not been able to go back to an "all-bus" vacation. So, I would say I pick my hotel based on which parks I can get to without having to ride a bus.

The CR is great for walking to MK. That is the ultimate. Poly and GF are also great because of proximity to MK and at all three you take the monorail over to Epcot.

I've always wanted to try an Epcot resort but couldn't pull myself away from the monorail. We are trying the Beach Club this year because it's August and we want to use SAB and be able to walk to Epcot and take the boat and/or walk to MGM.

Anna

 

[grimley1968]

Poly and GF are also great because of proximity to MK and at all three you take the monorail over to Epcot.

This isn't exactly true. True, you can take the resort loop of the monorail around to MK from Poly, GF and CR. But you cannot take a direct monorail from any of these resorts to EPCOT. You have to get to the TTC first. One great thing about Poly is that it's next door to the TTC, so you can effectively walk from your Poly room to the TTC and catch the direct EPCOT monorail with no transfers. From any other monorail resort, walking to the TTC is not a realistic option, and would require a transfer at the TTC to get the EPCOT monorail, which can take quite a while, depending on how slow the resort monorail loop is when you ride it.

The status of being the only resort you can easily walk to the TTC from is the biggest single reason we chose Poly for our upcoming vacation.

 

[*Fantasia*]

It depends on the time of the year. If it's during winter, I try to avoid the value resorts. They do not have a hot tub. And this is a must for me. If I can't get in the pool because it's cold, at least I have the hot tub to enjoy.

I would prefer to stay at the WL during the Holiday. It is a perfect resort to stay during winter and it has the Holiday spirit with all the Christmas decorations up.

Summer time, I am trying the Polynesian. This would be perfect during a hot summer trip. There is no hot tub there, but that's fine. It will be in the 90s and what a perfect way to relax and get cool off by swimming at the Poly. South Pacific is always warm, so this is a good themeing on a hot summer days. Summer is very crowded, so what a better way to get to MK and Epcot by riding the monorail. It's faster and what a convinient!

 

[grimley1968]

Summer time, I am trying the Polynesian. This would be perfect during a hot summer trip. There is no hot tub there, but that's fine.

Not that you'd need it in summer, but I believe there is a hot tub at the Poly. Or, at least there was one in 2001 when we last stayed there.

 

[*Fantasia*]

Not that you'd need it in summer, but I believe there is a hot tub at the Poly. Or, at least there was one in 2001 when we last stayed there.

Unfortunately, this is the only deluxe resort that does not have a hot tub. And that is why I don't mind staying here during summer because I wouldn't need it.

 

[grimley1968]

Okay, this has been bugging me, since I KNOW I sat in something LIKE a hot tub in 2001 at the Poly. I actually sent an email to Magical Journeys about it.

Here is my response from MJ: "No, there is no hot tub, however, the volcano pool has a hot water area in the deep end, near the slide. It has an underwater seating area where the hot jets feed into the pool."

That makes sense to me, since I know I'd sat in something with hot jets in it, but couldn't remember ever actually seeing a separate hot tub. So it's sort of like a hot tub within the Volcano pool.