I’m Baaack….torn choosing a resort

[loves to dive]

Tough decision but I'd actually look to see if anything was available at BWI or one of the moderates. Not a sky liner fan and Sept. would be challenging there. Not a fan of BC, a little too noisy and I hate that it's a deluxe with no full balconies. WL is one of the few resorts I've not stayed at (have stayed at the Fort in our RV) but because it's only close to MK it's never on our radar. Or, alternate suggestion. Price out Swan/Dolphin and the cost of tickets at the Frog and see if it doesn't come out less than your package. Best of both worlds, close to Epcot and HS, you get the deluxe perks of extra evening hours, sometimes if you look hard enough you can get it for around the price of a moderate.

 

[eticketplease]

Price out Swan/Dolphin and the cost of tickets at the Frog and see if it doesn't come out less than your package. Best of both worlds, close to Epcot and HS, you get the deluxe perks of extra evening hours, sometimes if you look hard enough you can get it for around the price of a moderate.

I second this!! Their bus situation will not drop you off at MK but at TTC instead. You could walk over to BC and take the bus from there.

Just remember when pricing it out to include resort and parking fees.

If you play the Credit Card game you might be able to earn a few free nights after a signup bonus.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

I would choose BC (even better would be YC). WHY? Because you are going the second week of September, not only do you need to be prepared for rain and hot, humid conditions but it is also hurricane season. This could mean being stuck in your hotel room for a day or two. With inclement weather, not only will you appreciate being closer to your hotel to escape both EP and DHS, but having a hotel with multiple dining locations and the sundry store all under the same roof as your hotel room is priceless.

 

[zdad59]

Thanks all. I get all the weather discussion. Fortunately we lived in Orlando for 3 years in the mid 90s so we're well schooled on Central Florida rain. We'll deal with as it occurs. When we lived there, when it rained we WENT to the park since it cleared out and ride wait times were very low.

We have a meeting with a AAA travel agent that booked our 2023 trip. We will discuss options and get her insights as a Disney specialist. I built the attached spreadsheet to help me think clearly and assess options. We added a day to the trip, and will maybe use the free water park perk the first day there.

We live in the Philly suburbs but prefer to fly out of Baltimore, especially when heading to Florida. It's a Southwest hub, with MANY more flights each day to Florida. Plus Philly airport is a royal PITA and BWI is so much more civilized. Only an hour further away. We'll head to BWI area the night before we fly and book the 6:15am flight out the next morning. (We also use the Sleep and Park at the hotel, leaving our car there. Saving good $$ on parking) That gets us to Orlando by 8:30-9:00am, and to the resort by 10. Also thinking about doing day 1 at Pop Century, then having Valet Services move our luggage to BC or WL while we hit the park early on Day 2.

A lot to digest there but we're getting close. Hope to report a decision tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[kylenne]

Thanks all. I get all the weather discussion. Fortunately we lived in Orlando for 3 years in the mid 90s so we're well schooled on Central Florida rain. We'll deal with as it occurs. When we lived there, when it rained we WENT to the park since it cleared out and ride wait times were very low.

I don't think you're quite understanding what people mean when they keep bringing up the weather. You will be fine at the park, but getting home from them is going to be very challenging if you decide to stay at a Skyliner resort during peak hurricane season.

I go in September pretty much every year, usually a Dolphin stay over Labor Day weekend, though last year we went in mid-September for a few days at the Grand before our cruise. I hit Epcot pretty hard on these trips. And it's not an exaggeration to say I see the Skyliner go down every single day. At HS, while inconvenient, it's not that big of a deal because there's only one possible contingency procedure and the bus depot is right next to the Skyliner station. At Epcot however it is always a cluster bleep. There is no set contingency procedure for Skyliner outages at Epcot--sometimes they send guests to Beach Club or BWI to get buses, but sometimes they send guests to the Epcot bus depot for them, which is clear across the park from the Skyliner station. There's no rhyme or reason to it and on the ground communication about what process the magic 8 ball picked that day is very poor. It's not uncommon to pass the IG and see a simple sandwich board telling you to go get a bus in the front of the park, nothing in the app and CMs are often clueless. Vaya con dios if it's still down after fireworks, which I saw one especially miserable Saturday night during F&W. I walked a family to BWI to get buses back to AoA and was very thankful I was staying at BC.

The transportation advantage is totally negated if you're having to take buses anyway. It was irritating enough staying at POFQ in August when I could only take the boat to DS once due to weather. I can't imagine relying on the Skyliner to get to and from actual parks during that time of year.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I don't think you're quite understanding what people mean when they keep bringing up the weather. You will be fine at the park, but getting home from them is going to be very challenging if you decide to stay at a Skyliner resort during peak hurricane season.

I go in September pretty much every year, usually a Dolphin stay over Labor Day weekend, though last year we went in mid-September for a few days at the Grand before our cruise. I hit Epcot pretty hard on these trips. And it's not an exaggeration to say I see the Skyliner go down every single day. At HS, while inconvenient, it's not that big of a deal because there's only one possible contingency procedure and the bus depot is right next to the Skyliner station. At Epcot however it is always a cluster bleep. There is no set contingency procedure for Skyliner outages at Epcot--sometimes they send guests to Beach Club or BWI to get buses, but sometimes they send guests to the Epcot bus depot for them, which is clear across the park from the Skyliner station. There's no rhyme or reason to it and on the ground communication about what process the magic 8 ball picked that day is very poor. It's not uncommon to pass the IG and see a simple sandwich board telling you to go get a bus in the front of the park, nothing in the app and CMs are often clueless. Vaya con dios if it's still down after fireworks, which I saw one especially miserable Saturday night during F&W. I walked a family to BWI to get buses back to AoA and was very thankful I was staying at BC.

The transportation advantage is totally negated if you're having to take buses anyway. It was irritating enough staying at POFQ in August when I could only take the boat to DS once due to weather. I can't imagine relying on the Skyliner to get to and from actual parks during that time of year.

Exactly! Disney has no proper procedure for this and it is a mess every single time! Absolute worst experience when I got caught in that disaster of their own making (it’s mind boggling they still have no set procedures, no well oiled process for it). And no app notice! You can look up to see if the buckets are moving yes- but fun fact- they have to run it for a while periodically to charge the line or something even when down for inclement weather (I stood in the station when they told us not to get excited because they had to run it for this process).

 

[kylenne]

Exactly! Disney has no proper procedure for this and it is a mess every single time! Absolute worst experience when I got caught in that disaster of their own making (it’s mind boggling they still have no set procedures, no well oiled process for it). And no app notice! You can look up to see if the buckets are moving yes- but fun fact- they have to run it for a while periodically to charge the line or something even when down for inclement weather (I stood in the station when they told us not to get excited because they had to run it for this process).

I don't get it at all. At minimum they should be able to send out push notifications to the app letting people know what the process is. We know they can limit notifs by geolocation to specific places on property because they send them when a ride has been down a long time (I've gotten them for Frozen when walking into Epcot). People are stuck flipping a coin to guess and if you choose poorly you're in for a crazy long walk.

The one time I got caught out trying to get home from a park during a storm related transportation outage I was stuck at HS waiting for a bus back to YC in an absolutely torrential downpour and it was super super frustrating. I would cry having to do that every day. And yes, the storms are clockwork in the sense that they're very predictable as far as when they'll hit, but the duration is so unpredictable. It's ok if it's one that blows in and out quick but if one lingers (and they often do), you're SOL...

 

[zdad59]

WE BOOKED A TRIP !

Sep 12-18
Beach Club - Resort View
We requested room 2585. Stayed in that room last time. Peaceful. Quick access to the back elevator leading to the quiet pool and path to EPCOT IG. It also has a massive balcony.

Now the planning starts.

 

[WDWOswald]

Wilderness Lodge has slowly but surely become the best overall resort on property. That's why it's almost always sold out and the DVC has the most difficult rooms to book. Disney will NEVER build anything anywhere close to as incredible as the wilderness lodge again.

 

[We’reAllMadHere]

WE BOOKED A TRIP !

Sep 12-18
Beach Club - Resort View
We requested room 2585. Stayed in that room last time. Peaceful. Quick access to the back elevator leading to the quiet pool and path to EPCOT IG. It also has a massive balcony.

Now the planning starts.

Congrats! I hope you have a great time and get the room you requested.

 

[zdad59]

Wilderness Lodge has slowly but surely become the best overall resort on property. That's why it's almost always sold out and the DVC has the most difficult rooms to book. Disney will NEVER build anything anywhere close to as incredible as the wilderness lodge again.

When we looked to actually do the booking, there were no discounted WL to be had. The site said that 55 people had booked in the last two hours.
Beach Club was slightly ahead in our minds with AKL a distant 3rd. So getting Beach Club at the price point we expected is just right for us. Now hoping the pool work is done and if possible we can get 2585

 

[Giraffe_Zen]

Congrats on booking a trip!

 

[Little E]

I've stayed at WL and Pop and they are awesome. We are staying at BC for the first time at the beginning of March, but I've stayed at both YC and BW before, so I know how great BC will be. You can't go wrong with whatever you choose. However WL, while lovely and peaceful, felt like planes, trains, and automobiles for us in terms of transportation when we were there. It felt like it took a long time to get anywhere, even to MK from the WL. We got frustrated enough that we wound up taking Ubers to parks halfway through our trip, which wasn't a big deal, but DH and I decided for that reason that WL was a one and done for us.

Pop is my favorite value resort, but the weather can be dicey in September (hurricane season, lots of potential for storms that take the Skyliner off line). So, I would pick BC. It's fabulous to be able to walk to both EP and HS. You might look at BW or YC, as sometimes they are slightly cheaper over BC? Same relative location to both EP and HS and same EEH deluxe perks.

I hope you have a magical trip whatever you decide!

 

[zdad59]

Disney rates are tough to follow.
We booked this trip (6 nts at BC with 6 day park hoppers) for $4715. I looked at it last night and it’s up to $5882 for the same room and tix type. I guess no more stay 5 days for a discount price ???
Wonder if another deal will come down the pile that will compete with what I booked.

 

[kevinnissen]

Art of Animation Suites are great too and right on the skyliner

 

[NJTOAD]

Hello all. Been using DisBoards for years. Love everyone’s insights. Our last trip was in spring 2023. We stayed at Pop and loved the Skyliner. Trip before that was at Beach Club. Loved the location, Skyliner and pool there.

This trip will be in September. 2nd week. We’ve narrowed to three locations. All using the 5 day price promotion.
— Beach Club. ~$3925.
— Wilderness Lodge ~$3620
— Pop Century ~$2260

All are standard location, 5 day park hopper, 5 nights in the hotel. We have stayed in all of them before and like all 3 for different reasons.

If we chose Pop, we could add an extra day.
Location of Beach Club is prime.
Wilderness Lodge is so peaceful.

We are torn.

WHAT WOULD YOU CHOOSE.

TIA for your thoughts.

We've stayed at all 3 of your options, but we would totally take WL over the other two, it is one of our favorites. WL is super easy access to MK, and the theming is beautiful.