I simply cant pick..Help!

[beautybelle]

Well here I am again trying to pick and choose where to stay for our May 2005 trip. We have never stayed onsite because we've always had friends or family go with us. Well this time we are going by ourselves and we are gonna stay onsite this time. We have always wanted to. Now heres the situation...We dont know where to stay. We have the money to stay onsite (thinking AKL, WL or BC) dont really want to stay at a moderate, and son would probably like ASMO and I wouldnt mind saving the money. OK so what should I do? ASMO does look like a lot of fun but it would be nice to stay at a Deluxe (but which one?., I ask myself) Decisions, Decisions.............Help............

 

[las3888]

Having stayed at the various ranges of hotels at Disney, I definitely feel that deluxe is better, so in that line of thinking, I would say to go for deluxe if you can afford it. The downside is, once you go deluxe, it is hard to go down to moderate or lower. What is your 'dream' resort at Disney? Is there a resort that you have ALWAYS wanted to stay at, seeing that you have been to WDW before?

I just feel most deluxes (with the exception of WL and AKL) offer great locations - either being on the monorail which is truly magical, or at the boardwalk location which is our favorite - walking distance (or boat) to EPCOT and MGM, so many restaurants at your fingertips - such a great location!!! To us, they are definitely worth the extra $!

 

[Autumngirl]

See, now I've done Deluxe and home-away from home (DVC) and one of my favorite place is still the moderate...Port Orleans Riverside. I love that place and wouldn't hesitate to stay there again for a long weekend. We usually stay at OKW, BWV or BCV for 5 days or longer, but I really love POR.

 

[TJA]

As long as you have the $, I'd definitely choose a deluxe.

In choosing a resort, the most important thing to us is location -- which park does your family frequent the most often. Our park is MK, so we prefer to stay at an MK resort. If EPCOT and MGM are your parks, then an EPCOT resort would be a great choice because you can walk to EPCOT and boat to MGM.

The next thing to consider is transportation -- would buses suffice or would a monorail work better. Buses were fine with us until we had twins. Now we need the monorail so we can just roll our double stroller right on. So we tend to look at the MK monorail resorts (plus, at CR you can walk to MK!).

Just some ideas to consider. Good luck!

 

[bumcat]

We fell in love with WL but also liked AKL.

 

[beautybelle]

Well thats just it, I cant decide which Deluxe I would prefer between WL, AKL, or BC, my hubby doesnt really care which one I pick but my son on the other hand wants ASMO. Here is my line of thinking.....WL is cool because of the Lincoln Log look. LOL AKL because of the animals and the Africa theme, and BC because of the pool area. Cant pick, cant pick I concider ASMO because I only have one son and he's only little one time and I know in later years me and hubby can go alone to any one WE want to. So what do I do? I know that whatever one will be fun but which one?

 

[Donalds_Vacation]

Are you going for long enough to resort hop?

Stay a few days at ASMO to satisfy your DS, then move to one of the others. That way all parties are happy....

 

[Wild4WDW]

If you decide to stay at ASMO be sure to do a little research on building locations. Make sure & request one close to the main building. The All Star complexes are very large & you could end up with quite a hike to the buses. I think you will very much enjoy staying on-site. I would love to stay at a Deluxe resort but will probably have to wait until the kid's are grown.

 

[princess lovers mom]

I say go deluxe.....

the theming of ASMO may look better in the brochure, but the rooms are smaller, walls thinner, hassel bigger (all my opinion for sure)...the deluxe is more of a vacation. . .

we stayed at BC with our 4 yo DD and she loved the pool, beach, boat ride to MGM, little walk to EPCOT at night for the fireworks...and Mom and Dad had a deluxe resort....

you will not regret a stay at the BC!!

 

[HopperFan]

Any of those three would be nice....................

WL - beautiful hotel, smaller in size so I felt it more intimate, nice pool area and great proximity to MK. We loved it there.

AKL - beautiful hotel, much larger but then they provide many activities for the kids and even some entertainment. Of course, you have the animals. Great bus service so location is not an issue. If you have the ability to do concierge here, I hear it is a treat. I would go here while your child is young, mine at 9 & 13 loved the experience. This trip at 11 & 15 were bored. So while we love it there it is time to move on....

BC - have not stayed here but have visited a few times and have family who stayed. SAB is awesome, and if your son loves the pool area you can't go wrong. Walk to EPCOT or boardwalk which gives you lots of dining options. Boat to MGM. Good central location.

AS - have stayed and would never go back unless it was greatly discounted and I had no plans at all to be there except to sleep (if you can sleep). Pools are nothing and food court was like a school cafeteria. All our meals had to be offsite, which I found very inconvenient. AND you may get stuck with school groups. We went there in May and it was overrun with cheerleaders for a competition. They cheered outside into the wee hours, hard to sleep.

I think your son will have such an awesome time at one of the other hotels that it won't matter in the end. While he may not have the silly decor, he will have great pools, activities, good eats, and happy parents

 

[puffkin]

I would pick to BC with your son, especially if he loves to swim. That pool is so neat. Also, either stay at ASMO for a night or two for him, or stop by the resort and visit. Hopefully that will satisfy everyone.

 

[swilphil]

I would pick BC because of the pool and the LOCATION. We have stayed next door at the Swan/Dolphin and love being in the Epcot area. We had dinner at WL on our last trip, and it did not feel like a deluxe to me. I did also visit the Boardwalk Inn lobby and was very impressed by that.

 

[Noah122898]

We stayed at AllStar Movies in 2002 when my son was 4. He loved the atmosphere, the pool was just ok and the food court only option gets old real fast. You are near nothing except the AK which we only spent one day at. Definately go with BC or WL or AKL you kid will love any of them. You will ALL be happy with any of those choices. Have fun!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Nolcrest]

Okay, well I vote for WL. not sure how old your son is but my kids loved the WL. The nice thing about WL is that you can walk/boat over to Fort Wilderness, as well as MK. Fort Wilderness has a petting zoo and a nice buffet and a campfire show. The whole camping aura is cool for kids.

I don't think it would be overstimulating - seems more relaxing to me than other deluxes. Plus You can catch the evening electrical parade on the lake.

That said - if you can't decide between a value and a deluxe you just might want to consider a moderate. We have stayed at deluxes but our family does prefer the moderate resorts. PO is great for kids. You can go fishing there, take a boat to DTD or a carriage ride. The food court is a nice option with kids.

Planning is half the fun. Enjoy!

 

[F1Julie]

How much time do you plan on spending at your resort? If you plan to be at the parks all day and pretty much just use your resort to sleep, I'd do ASMo. It will make your son happy and save you a lot of money. If you plan on having a few non-park days or plan to use more amenities at your resort, then I'd go deluxe. No matter what you decide, you can't beat staying on site.

 

[beautybelle]

Thanks guys for all the input. OK so far i have ruled out ASMO, I am convinced that he will have a great time at any of the deluxe resorts so with the reassurance that he will have fun that leaves me guilt free to decide which of the 3 "I" would like and hubby of course. LOL I think Im starting to lean towards BC then WL then AKL in that order, although I'd admit Im about to rule out AKL too. So that leaves me with BC and WL. Now those 2 are gonna be hard to choose from. I may just threaten hubby and son to pick between the two and save myself some sanity. Ya think? Its such a pleasurable misery though isnt it?

 

[Exp626]

Since you have it narrowed down, I'd recommend BC. Although I am a WL fan, I also enjoy the BC. Because you are going in May, the BC offers you walk in access to the Flower and Garden Festival and if you are going in the later part of May direct access to the Studios for Star Wars Weekends. Not to mention, the 'mini' water park of Storm Along Bay is always a blast.

Although WL has the wilderness theme that I prefer and boat access to MK and Whispering Canyon Cafe (oopps that's how I usually talk myself out of staying somewhere other than WL).

 

[beautybelle]

Exp626:
LOL yea boy that was a huge help. LOL

 

[clutter]

Well, I've never been a WL fan. Like to visit, but didn't like staying there. We just got back from the Dolphin, and you can't beat the location. And the bus trip to MK isn't that long. However, I also love AKL (and ASMo and ASMU and CBR, so go figure) because we had a couple of giraffes sleepiong under our window every night. That's something you can't get anywhere else. Can't pay that price every trip, but it is a treat when we go that route.

 

[TJA]

Since both BC and WL are beautiful deluxe hotels with great pools and theming, why don't you base your decision on which park(s) you will frequent the most often? Big difference in location of these 2 resorts.