How do you pick?

[LindyWebb]

I have been looking and looking but I still do not know what resort to pick to stay in. How did you decide for your vacation?

 

[Pakey]

I've done many WDW vacations, staying in different resorts.

First, I would decide the level/price point between deluxe, moderate and value. Then look at location. Theming also may make a difference.

I like Epcot more than the other parks so I have a tendency to pick the Epcot area resorts first. Theming isn't as important as location to me.

 

[dansdad]

We have a budget in mind. Then pick the resort who's theme is the most appealing to us within our budget.

 

[Kim1964]

The first couple of trips, budget was the main factor. We did as Pakey suggested and selected a resort with an appealing theme that fell within our budget. In our case, that was POR (Dixie Landings back then). The next trip was WL, when we had a more generous budget and another child.

Now I make sure my budget can handle a stay in the Epcot area, as that is our favorite park and we love being able to walk over to it.

 

[mickeynut1]

I have been looking and looking but I still do not know what resort to pick to stay in. How did you decide for your vacation?

We choose mostly by theme/decor and atmosphere. Transportation options are somewhat considered, but is not a major factor in our decision.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

I pick by first choosing my budget. Then who is traveling. Then what will we be doing. More time in the parks means less resort time so do not need too many resort perks such as a balcony and view.

For example: one trip with 6 of us and three children who wanted fun and a lot of park time we chose POP and had a blast.

Another example 10 family members on the dining plan and a few park days we chose POR and it was so relaxing.

For next year traveling with older children and a lot of resort time the Yacht club water view.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[JennyDrake]

We have a budget in mind. Then pick the resort who's theme is the most appealing to us within our budget.

Same here!!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

I have been looking and looking but I still do not know what resort to pick to stay in. How did you decide for your vacation?

I love a discount! I see what current discounts are running and I choose my resort from those that are available. If lots of different resorts are available with that particular discount then I just choose the one that appeals to us the most depending on what kind of mood we are in for a theme. Sometimes we really want something beachy, sometimes we really want to be near Epcot, just depends on what types of things we will be doing during that particular trip.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I'm always on a *very* tight budget, so I decide among the Value resorts mostly. They're pretty interchangeable, so I just rotate them. I couldn't care less about the theming-I just need a clean room, a shower, and a bed.

 

[toodycat]

We choose based on:

Consideration #1: who is in our party and their ages and mobility issues. When my son was little, we usually stayed on the monorail. With my arthritic parents, I chose to stay on the monorail. When it was just my sister and me, we stayed at a moderate with a lot more walking and waiting for buses. Now that my son is grown up, when it is DH, DS and I, we have more options.

Consideration #2: I think about my budget and try to get the best bang for my buck. For our upcoming trip, we were originally booked in a one bedroom at BLT. Disney came out with a 30% off discount, but, for BLT, it only applied to studios. (The discount was only 5% for BLT one bedrooms.) However, the 30% off did apply to BCV one bedrooms. Both BLT and BCV were on the family Disney bucket list, so why not save 30%? BCV, here we come.

Consideration #3: occasion. If it is a quick weekend trip, we will be more flexible about where we stay and what type of room we choose. If it is a celebration, we'll do deluxe CL.

Consideration #4: We prefer resorts where we already know we like the restaurants. This is part of the reason we love GF and AKL. Although we liked WL, none of the dining options tempt us, so we probably won't be back. BWI doesn't appeal to us because we're not that crazy about the idea of having to walk to the actual boardwalk to eat, nor do we like the boardwalk restaurants we've tried. (We are dining at Kouzzina this trip so that may change.)

Consideration #5: Crowd. I don't mean the demographic who book a certain resort. I'm not even sure that Disney resorts have specific demographics. I mean the number of people. In our view, the smaller, the better. So, Pop Century with its 2880 rooms has less appeal to us than, say, the Yacht Club with 621 rooms.

We don't think too hard about distance to theme parks because we usually rent a car.

Hope this helps...

 

[bennifer]

For us, the first few visits were done as cheaply as possible, so AllStars won. We loved ASMo, my son loved Buzz and Woody. As he got older, we decided to try the mods. DS was 9, so I let him help decide. Now, we decide our budget and look for the best value. Another thing to consider is who's all going. Back when it was just older DS and me, this wasn't anything to think about, but now that I'm married with a 4 yr old and an 18 yr old and a friend maybe, and possibly grandparents who want to come, it's a little different. My point is, first, look at the needs of your family, then choose the "level" of resort you need. Other than that, I can't help you! I've never stayed anywhere in Disney that I didn't like. Good luck deciding!

 

[GrumpyBelle]

We have a budget in mind. Then pick the resort who's theme is the most appealing to us within our budget.

That's also what we do

 

[TxRabbit]

Staying at all the different resorts is something that DH and I thought would be fun to do. We talked about doing this during our very first trip to WDW.

We don't really have a set process for deciding which resort to visit with each visit. It begins more with the idea of the overall vacation. For instance, we were finally able to do free dining one year. The promotion started before school started once, so that was the year we decided to go on the cheap. We didn't want to pay tips...so we went the value route. DS was really into tennis so we decided to stay at Sports and request the tennis section.

We've been going for shorter trips lately. The one park we haven't been back to is Epcot. For our next vacation, I know Epcot is going to play a large roll. I think I'd like to go during the Food and Wine festival. Since we have stayed at the Beach Club, and since I don't see the pool playing a large role in a fall vacation, I think I'd like to plan a vacation around the Boardwalk. I'd love to stay Club Level. It's going to be several years before we are able to go back, so I think we have enough time to save up for that trip.

 

[Desnik]

We pick our resort based on what our plans are for our trip.

If we are going to Disney and skipping the parks, we stay at AKV or SSR. AKV becaue there is so much to do there & it's so beautiful. SSR because it's close to DtD.

A weekend getaway with just my DH and I and no parks, we go with BWV or SSR. There are a lot of restaurant choices near both and nightlife options at the BW.

If we are going to the parks with our kids, we like to be close to the parks we plan to visit the most, so we go with either BLT, or WLV if we will be at MK the most. BWV if we will spend a lot of time at Epcot and DHS.

In all the above scenerios we choose between the 2 or 3 choices by which one we haven't visited in a while.

 

[Magic3forme]

since there are 5 of us, it really limited our choices.... we have done POR, CR and the Poly. after that we bought DVC for the extra space.

now it is about location... we love MK.. so we try to stay at BLT.

in April we wanted to do the sunrise safari..so we did Jambo and we tried Boardwalk. ( again with the location theme)

 

[Happyjen27]

We use disney transportation, so transportation is our #1 concern. Time is money, and if we can save 30 min each way to a park, we consider that hour worth the extra dollars.

My second consideration is number of beds, my kids sleep better when they are not cosleeping, so 3 beds (2 queens and a daybed) is key. I can't sleep with my husband in a double.

My third consideration is the quick serve at our resort. Travelling with young kids, I've found we eat at the resort quite a bit, and need a QS with good variety.

 

[princessap]

Our first stay we knew we wanted to stay at the poly so it was easy...our next trip is proving much more difficult!

For us, location is important as it takes up our time and time to us is money...we let our kids look at pictures and see what they like...for my DH he likes to have good dining options and bigger room size.

I think we spoiled ourselves by going poly first

 

[Princess Katherine]

We take into consideration where the resort is, what's the theme, how much does it cost, if it appeals to all family members, if it is a good proximity to MK our fave, food, atmosphere, rooms, does it even have a concierge? That sort of thing. Budget is important too but if we find the perfect Disney hotel that is just out our reach you bet your mouse we will book it.

Katie

 

[gillenkl]

We have a budget in mind. Then pick the resort who's theme is the most appealing to us within our budget.

this is what we do also - we also like to do split stays between 2 resorts to experience what the different resorts have to offer

 

[*Fantasia*]

Price.. price.. price I may want to stay at the Polynesian, but if I can't afford it, then it's no go.

I also look at the theme. I like the Island feel of the Polynesian, the WL, Mardi Gras of Port Orleans, the fun vibrant colors of the ASMovies.

Location doesn't play a big role in my decision. Disney provides transportation, and that's what matters.