Is it worth it to be at a monorail resort?

[kimberlym4]

For those of you that have stayed at a monorail resort and then at another onsite resort - Is it worth it to have such easy access to the monorail. I keeep thinking that if we are going to be onsite it should at a resort with the monorail (namely Contem or Poly) but they are so much more expensive than other onsite places. Is it worth it? My kids are 10 and 6.
Thanks.

Sorry - I see I posted this in the wrong area - I'll get the hang of this soon!

 

[Pryncess'mom]

It really depends on you. Will you be spending much time at either MK or EPCOT? If so, then yes, it's worth it. If you plan on spending more time at MGM or AK, then you still have to get a bus.

The beauty and ease of the monorail loop is the ease of getting to those two parks. Rarely to you have to wait long for a monorail. But at POR, I did wait 1/2 for a bus!

What time of year will you go? will you spend the day at the park, or take afternoon breaks for resting or pool time? Being close is definately an advantage. Have you ever had to stand on a crowded bus at the end of the day? Especially a really hot day??

As I said, it really is up to you and what you are looking for. But, I think you will find many who will agree with me (and probably many that don't !! )

Good luck with your decision!

deb

 

[brentalex]

I think it is worth it, but I would spend the extra money on the resort anyway. We would stay at a deluxe resort whether it was on the monorail or not, so since we spend the money, we like to be close to the MK. One thing the deluxe resorts offer us, is the extra bed (day bed ) in the room, which allows our kids to each have their own place to sleep, no bed sharing needed. Although some people really don't seem to like the contemporary, we like its convienience, can walk to and from the MK, we like the restaurants and my DD loves the pool.

 

[rcraw45425]

I agree that the monorail resorts are great if you plan most of your trip for MK, if, however, your kids are older, ( or getting tired of MK as ours are ) the EPCOT resorts are wonderful. Our November trip we were at the CR tower, usually one of our favorites for convenience. We found we spent most of our time on a bus going to MGM or doing the monorail swap for EPCOT. Our April trip is, for that reason, booked at the YC. There is sooooooo much going on at the BOardwalk, especially with kids that are at the 'tween age.

 

[AlexTina]

In my opinion it is absolutely worth it, however, we have two small children and spend a lot of time at MK, and like the convinience of being able to hop on the monorail and go back to the resort for a swim/nap and then go back to the parks. For us it's a lot easier than loading up on a bus or in the car.

Tina

 

[Selket]

We stayed at the CR last summer and the main benefit was being able to walk to the MK. My kids are little (3 and 7 yrs old at the time) and it was great to just pop over to the MK whenever. We generally walked over and took the monorail back (much quicker to walk than monorail over cause the CR is the 1st stop and you have to do the whole loop).

As the previous poster said to get to Epcot you have to change to a different train at the TTC which means getting off, walking down a long ramp, walking over to another train area and back up another long ramp then finally on your way. It still seemed to take awhile to get to Epcot!

I can't say I've been displeased with the bus service - the monorail is still crowded after Illumniations just like the busses and you could easily end up standing. However I would stay at the CR again just to be able to walk to the MK (because we spend most of our time at the MK). The other main benefit is more dining choices - you can easily monorail over to another resort to eat or take the boat to WL.

We got a great rate last summer for CR but otherwise I just pick a moderate and take the bus or we drive over ourselves.

Have fun!

 

[lovesdumbo]

As the previous poster said to get to Epcot you have to change to a different train at the TTC which means getting off, walking down a long ramp, walking over to another train area and back up another long ramp then finally on your way. It still seemed to take awhile to get to Epcot!

This shows the huge advantage the Poly has in that it is a relatively short walk from Poly to the TTC to catch the direct monorail to Epcot.

We really loved the Poly (my kids were 6, 4, and 2 on the last trip). The pool is really nice and the resort is wonderfully relaxing but the price keeps going up. I took a short trip with just my DS(4) in August and we had a great time at ASMo. I will admit that knowing I would be at the Poly in a few months helped me enjoy the ASMo. I don't think I'd want to spend a week at a value (if I had the resources to pay for another resort). I am taking a short 3 night trip to POFQ in May with 2 adult friends and I'll be touring a few resorts to pick one for my family August trip. I have decided that now that we'll be down to just 1 stroller that we just can afford the Poly anymore. And photos of CBR and CSR are lovely.