In a WL rut?

[Belle'sFan]

My Mom (78) and I (50..ish.) have a reservation at WL in early May. We have stayed before at AKL, POFQ, and WL. We like the serenity at WL, the theme, and location. We stayed at WL for our last trip in 2013, so booked it again. Now, of course, we are second guessing ourselves. As much as we love WL, we slightly feel like we should try someplace else. I'm happy to stay there, but not quite as excited as going something new to explore. The problem is everything else I look at seems not as nice as WL. Does anyone ever feel trapped to stay at your favorite resort?

 

[Monorail_Man_NJ]

I like to try new places everytime. Only hotel I go back to multiple times is POFQ. Been trying to stay POLY but it never seems to work out.

 

[tcufrog]

There have been some changes at WL so I think it'll be different from the last time you stayed there.

 

[need2travel]

We feel the same way about BWI. We have stayed there several times & LOVE it but whenever it comes time to book our next trip we feel like we should give another resort a try. But then we think maybe we won't like it as much so maybe we should keep the BWI & round & round we go while planning & then stay at BWI after all.

 

[raddisneyfan]

I've been trying to make my way through all of the moderates and deluxe resorts. I'm staying at the new Copper Creek at WL next month and then POFQ in December. That leaves me YC, CR, GF and CBR left to try out. That said, I will always go with what I feel is the best deal over staying at a new resort. I certainly wouldn't mind staying at AKL again, that's for sure. I'm sure you'll have a great time no matter what you decide.

 

[Hockeyfan17]

We have been three times and going very soon for our fourth. Each trip we have tried a new resort and are excited to try the Poly. In saying that, we really loved WL on our last trip and we had every intention on staying there until we found a great deal at the Poly. I would be just as torn as you, because I really like trying new resorts, but loved WL. We will definitely be back to WL in the future, but I am also keen on trying other resorts. I would also really like to try Beach Club, BWI, and AKL in the future as well. Tough call, but I say try somewhere new.

 

[Belle'sFan]

Hmmm. I like the look of many of the other deluxes, but they seem too "busy" instead of relaxed like WL. We ate at the Poly and honestly the main building was like a zoo. When we visited the BC it made me feel slightly claustrophobic. I was thinking abou Old Key West, supposed to be laid back with lovely grounds, but sounds like it's worn down ready for a rehab. Not sure.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

POR is our home resort. Give it a try!

 

[mickeynut1]

We have our favorites (with WL being one of them), but we also like trying different resorts. If there are any other resorts that appeal to you, it might worth a try as you never know if you'll like it until you stay there. In my experience, actually staying at a resort is different than visiting. I never thought I'd stay at the GF as I always felt it had a "stuffy" vibe, but once I did, I fell in love with it. It's not my favorite, but it runs a close second. Good luck .

 

[Deb & Bill]

Hmmm. I like the look of many of the other deluxes, but they seem too "busy" instead of relaxed like WL. We ate at the Poly and honestly the main building was like a zoo. When we visited the BC it made me feel slightly claustrophobic. I was thinking abou Old Key West, supposed to be laid back with lovely grounds, but sounds like it's worn down ready for a rehab. Not sure.

No, OKW isn't worn down and ready for rehab. There is one scheduled to begin for later on this year, but buildings will be closed off and done one or two at a time. It was the original DVC resort and opened in 1991 and it is really nice. The largest villas of all of the DVC resorts (DVC learned they had a good thing and scaled down in size everything since then). It's themed after Key West in the 1900's.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Hmmm. I like the look of many of the other deluxes, but they seem too "busy" instead of relaxed like WL. We ate at the Poly and honestly the main building was like a zoo. When we visited the BC it made me feel slightly claustrophobic. I was thinking abou Old Key West, supposed to be laid back with lovely grounds, but sounds like it's worn down ready for a rehab. Not sure.

I'm like you. BWV/BWI is definitely our Disney "home" and we go back to it again and again. We stayed at BC in January (because it was cheaper than BWI that trip) and have stayed there before, but both DS9 and I missed BWI the whole time we were there. I'm with you on the Poly. The main building is always busy and the set-up at Capt. Cook's and the gate around the pool have really made it feel very crowded, IMHO.

I don't know if I would give up your location at WL for OKW. Plus, as PP pointed out, they have made a lot of changes at WL which may make it feel a little different. We are finally going back to WL in just about a week after not staying there since 2011. We decided to spread our wings a little and try something besides BWI. I'm looking forward to seeing the amenities they've added.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

We feel the same way about BWI. We have stayed there several times & LOVE it but whenever it comes time to book our next trip we feel like we should give another resort a try. But then we think maybe we won't like it as much so maybe we should keep the BWI & round & round we go while planning & then stay at BWI after all.

Ha! This describes me, just with Poly. I've mixed in some others along the way, but Poly keeps calling us back, mainly because it's the "sure thing" for us....I know exactly what I'm getting and it works well with our style / needs for a fun Disney trip.

OP - I think with the recent changes/additions to WL, you might find it a different experience? Waterfront dining, a great looking new pool. WL is not my personal favorite place (due to room sizes more than anything else), but despite that I'm looking for a reason to go back now that everything is finished.

Have fun, whatever you decide!

 

[1GoldenSun]

I've been dying to try WL! So far it's just never worked out for us, for various reasons. It's the ONLY Disney resort I haven't at least gone to to take a look around; I'm saving my first sight of it to be when we can actually check in!

I'm glad to hear you like it so much! I usually prefer to try new things over sticking with the old, but if you've found something you love and that makes you happy I think it's fine to stick with it.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

I love the WL and my wife loves the Poly; but our goal is to try and stay at as many of the WDW resorts that we can while we can. The only resort that we have repeated staying at is POR, we were in the mansions the first time there but really wanted to try Alligator Bayou after we rode through it on the horse drawn carriage.
But I would love to make a return visit to either WL or the Poly, especially after the rehab of the two resorts. So I'm thinking the next time we do an all WDW visit (vs. WDW followed by DCL; which we usually do) I would like to do a split resort stay, try a new value or moderate resort followed by one of our favorites. But I understand why it's so hard to break from your favorite resort.

 

[TandLMommy28]

We try to stay somewhere new every time. I don't like to repeat when there are so many options. I've stayed at Riverside twice because once was as a child and we went back with our kids. Otherwise, no repeats. It's so much fun to see a new resort. That's usually the part I'm most excited about.

 

[Belle'sFan]

POR is our home resort. Give it a try!

Yes, POR was actually my 2nd choice after WL! It has that charming atmosphere. Never stayed here, but we did visit the food court when staying at POFQ. Loved the marina area, and the grounds in the AB section look beautiful. It would also save $, which is always nice! The biggest thing holding me back on this is the buses. I know it's hit or miss everywhere, but when we stayed at POFQ (granted, years ago), every timE we left POFQ we went to POR and the bus got filled at the first stop, leaving many POR guests waiting. If n to that, they always had to stand. We don't mid standing now and then, but it's not the best for my Mom.

 

[gillep]

WL is #1 on our must try list, but we never seem to get there. With the recent additions I think there may be enough new stuff for it to feel different to you, if you decide to stay there again.

I completely sympathize with you though, I love trying new resorts, but I feel like we are stuck in a rut recently, and our most recent 'branching out' experience wasn't great for us, so that makes us even more hesitant to branch out again.

 

[disneyseniors]

We have our home resort, POR, and love it. We really have never even looked at another resort after staying there. There is nothing that interests us right now other than POR. We look forward to coming "home" to our resort, all the same amenities are comforting. We love the atmosphere, and I guess, it just "fits" our style. I am someone who doesn't like to change things if I am comfortable with them, so that's just me

 

[CuteAsMinnie]

My Mom (78) and I (50..ish.) have a reservation at WL in early May. We have stayed before at AKL, POFQ, and WL. We like the serenity at WL, the theme, and location. We stayed at WL for our last trip in 2013, so booked it again. Now, of course, we are second guessing ourselves. As much as we love WL, we slightly feel like we should try someplace else. I'm happy to stay there, but not quite as excited as going something new to explore. The problem is everything else I look at seems not as nice as WL. Does anyone ever feel trapped to stay at your favorite resort?

We have always stayed at WL since our little guy was 2 1/2 (he is now 21! Lol) in part because the reasons you mentioned. We never wanted to stay anywhere else. It is not the same resort now as it was in 2013. Still beautiful but much less WILDERNESS.

This past May just DH travelled to WDW and we finally felt it was important to try someplace new. We just couldn't go back to WL because it was a special family place and we would miss the kids too much and we knew the resort itself would not be the same (plus it was still under construction then). We chose to stay at the Poly and we fell in love with the resort. Super relaxing, super quiet when we were there, beautiful grounds to roam.

Good luck and whatever you choose, it'll be magical for you and your Mom!

 

[Belle'sFan]

Well, thanks everyone for your input! I realize this boils down to personal preference. I am thinking about POR -the theming appeals to me and it is someplace new to us. Since we like the MK area, I would definitely switch to the Poly if a discount was offered. Wait and see -for now, it's WL.