Is staying on the monorail worth the $???

[persimmondeb]

None of the on-site rooms are worth it to me. We just got back from 7 nights at Wyndham Bonnet Creek in a 2 br deluxe condo, paid a bit over $600 for the week. It was amazing. They have like 4 pools, a lazy river, putt putt, playground, and daily activities. I will never understand why anyone pays the disney hotel prices.

Convenience and immersion, in a nutshell. The first is subjective, the second more of an advantage for some people than others.

 

[buzznina]

None of the on-site rooms are worth it to me. We just got back from 7 nights at Wyndham Bonnet Creek in a 2 br deluxe condo, paid a bit over $600 for the week. It was amazing. They have like 4 pools, a lazy river, putt putt, playground, and daily activities. I will never understand why anyone pays the disney hotel prices.

It depends on what is important to the family. For us, I drive to WDW and the last thing I want to do is drive to and from the parks every day with a bunch of tourists not knowing where they are going, paying for parking and taking a parking tram. We love PM EMHs and using WDW transportation and being dropped off close to the gates. Plus, we have been getting some very good TA exclusive deals. I have checked WBC many times and their rates have been higher then what i paid for a Mod. Our next trip, we are paying $165 and WBC came in at $219 per night with AAA discount.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

It depends on what is important to the family. For us, I drive to WDW and the last thing I want to do is drive to and from the parks every day with a bunch of tourists not knowing where they are going, paying for parking and taking a parking tram. We love PM EMHs and using WDW transportation and being dropped off close to the gates. Plus, we have been getting some very good TA exclusive deals. I have checked WBC many times and their rates have been higher then what i paid for a Mod. Our next trip, we are paying $165 and WBC came in at $219 per night with AAA discount.

If you rent WBC through a third party it is much cheaper than that.

Disney transportation is abysmal. Slow, crowded, and inefficient. I'd much rather drive 15 minutes in my car to a park or TTC than spend 45 minutes or more on parks transit. I'll also take my savings to the bank. To each his own though.

 

[dansdad]

If you rent WBC through a third party it is much cheaper than that.

Disney transportation is abysmal. Slow, crowded, and inefficient. I'd much rather drive 15 minutes in my car to a park or TTC than spend 45 minutes or more on parks transit. I'll also take my savings to the bank. To each his own though.

Funny how people's perceptions can vary so much. We feel WDW transportation is quick and efficient especially with how crowded it gets. Some large cities I've lived in should take lessons from WDW. Unless our bus or monorail broke down the longest I've spent on one is 20 minutes.

But that's why it's great that there's so many choices. Something for everyone.

 

[Shellyred8]

If you are going to be spending lots of time at MK, a monorail resort can be nice. However, I would go for either Poly or CR because they have alternative methods of transportation to get to MK if the monorail is down. We liked being at the Poly so we could take the boat. At CR we can walk.

Have a great trip!

 

[JessicaW1234]

we have stayed at the GF and really enjoyed traveling to MK and Epcot on the monorail. We didn't experience breakdowns and it was available at the times we wanted to take it. If you have a reasonable deal for your budget, it is a beautiful place to stay.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

If you are going to be spending lots of time at MK, a monorail resort can be nice. However, I would go for either Poly or CR because they have alternative methods of transportation to get to MK if the monorail is down. We liked being at the Poly so we could take the boat. At CR we can walk.

Have a great trip!

GF has the same alternate as Poly: same boat.

 

[Disneyhenry]

We have stayed at GF and loves it! I feel it's worth if for everything it offers, we will stay there again for sure - have fun

 

[buzznina]

If you rent WBC through a third party it is much cheaper than that.

Disney transportation is abysmal. Slow, crowded, and inefficient. I'd much rather drive 15 minutes in my car to a park or TTC than spend 45 minutes or more on parks transit. I'll also take my savings to the bank. To each his own though.

I have to totally disagree about the transportation, like I said we drive and our first couple of trips we drove to the parks and realized we did not save that much time at all. We have been using it for over 25 trips now and are very pleased.

 

[gillep]

Worth is very subjective, as is perspective and preference. Personally, I prefer Epcot resorts, however, I also prefer Epcot to MK. If you are planning on a trip that involves a lot of time in MK, and you enjoy the monorail, then a monorail resort may be worth it for you. I personally find the buses to be more enjoyable and efficient than the monorail, but that is my experience and perspective, there are certainly others that will disagree with me, that's why there are so many great options!

 

[crazytoshop]

For us, the answer is yes. Not necessarily for the monorail, but for several other reasons. We actually used the boat as much or more than the monorail and it was GREAT! To be able to see the MK from your room, or even your resort is incredible (especially night time fireworks)! The monorail resorts dining options are some of our favorites. Don't get me wrong, when the monorail is running correctly, it is nice to hop on and be at the MK or Epcot in minutes. Hope you have a great trip!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I find Disney transportation pretty good. But I live close to two major cities with tons of public transportation. Waiting 10-15 minutes for a bus or train is nothing compared to some waits I've had.

 

[eyeshadow]

I agree, this is entirely subjective. I think to know for sure you need to stay once and find out. We were moderate people for years, but stayed at the Poly and now we cannot imagine staying anywhere else. However, it was not just for the monorail. We felt completely immersed there. It was a feeling I cannot explain, but purely subjective. We've also stayed at WBC, and while it's nice and affordable, it is not for us. We are MK and EP people. We enjoyed taking the boat to MK and using the TTC for EP.

 

[LMO429]

We have stayed at the GF 3 times. This upcoming trip we decided to stay at copper creek at the Wilderness Lodge. While the GF is super close to the MK, the monorail we found to be very unreliable. There is nothing more frustrating to us then being able to see your resort and not having an easy way to get back to it.

More than once on our way back from epcot the resort loop monorail was not working and we had to wait forever for a bus back to the grand. which is very frustrating

The boats to and from the GF are very small as well and do not fit many people when the monorail was down this was another inconvenience.

We decided to stay at the wilderness lodge this time so we do not have to deal with the monorail and can boat or bus it back from the MK the more options the better another options is walk to contemporyar boat or cab it back etc.

That being said other than our frustrations with transportation at that resort we love it at the Grand.

 

[IrishNYC]

Unless we had a much bigger vacation budget, I would not stay at a monorail resort. Two weeks ago we took the monorail from the TTC one morning and only the resorts monorail was running. Boats weren't running either. It took us 45 minutes, and 4 "full" monorails to leave the station before we were packed on like sardines. I say "full" because they left half the cars empty to accommodate riders at Poly and GF. We left POR via Uber at 7, and didn't get to our PPO (8:05) ADR at BOG until 8:45. That experience alone turned us off to spending monorail resort prices. The boat experience from WL is much nicer.

None of the on-site rooms are worth it to me. We just got back from 7 nights at Wyndham Bonnet Creek in a 2 br deluxe condo, paid a bit over $600 for the week. It was amazing. They have like 4 pools, a lazy river, putt putt, playground, and daily activities. I will never understand why anyone pays the disney hotel prices.

If you rent WBC through a third party it is much cheaper than that.

Disney transportation is abysmal. Slow, crowded, and inefficient. I'd much rather drive 15 minutes in my car to a park or TTC than spend 45 minutes or more on parks transit. I'll also take my savings to the bank. To each his own though.

Except for the monorail, and for waiting after fireworks 2 nights, we never waited more than 5 minutes for any bus or boat, and on previous trips we never waited for buses. None were ever crowded, either, and it doesn't take 45 minutes to get anywhere. I enjoy not needing to spend more to rent a car, or to drive my car there, not having to wait for trams to the parking lot, FP at 60 days, and after our experience at TTC, I never want to do that again, either.

 

[JerseyJanice]

For OP, OP would need to rent a 1BR at BLT, as they have a party of 5. Garden Wing would be a LOT cheaper.

I would totally agree with you since I loved our Garden Wing stay, but we were there before they tore down the north wing to build BLT. Anytime I have looked for Garden Wing rooms in recent years, they not available. They sell out very quickly, it seems, because there are relatively few of them.

 

[cgh]

If it is worth it to you is so incredibly subjective. Our big splurge in our family is our vacations. The monorail can be unreliable but my kids love riding it. That's one of their 'must dos' when we visit. I like that there's a boat option as well and we've had some really nice boat rides back to the result that seems nicer.

I've only stayed at monorail resorts (contemporary 2 times, GF 1, and poly 1). The Grand Floridian what we like is it seems so peaceful around the resort, the multiple ways to get places, the variety of restaurants, and the pool. (I think the pools at deluxe resorts just seem nicer-again, I haven't been). I also like the proximity to the magic kingdom.

One day, when the kids are older, we will branch out. However, right now, we really like the monorail resorts.

 

[DIS_MIKE]

The GF is my favorite resort but that doesn’t mean I stay each and every time I visit WDW. It comes down to personal preference and obviously how much you’re willing to spend. The location and convenience factor make it well worth it though.

 

[melana]

I think if a trip is to celebrate something special or some other grand event in your life, staying at a monorail resort would be good.

I am staying at BLT at the end of this month to celebrate my 40th birthday. I saved my $$ and was able to rent points. I like the idea of being able to walk to and from MK, especially after a party night and not have to wait on buses. I am hoping to convince my sister to do GF if we go next December. I have always wanted to stay there.

But whether something is worth it, is totally subjective. If it is something you want to do and can afford it, go for it. I did. Even though I had people try to talk me out of it.

 

[ols386]

I think having young children, it would be convenient staying on the monorail. You can walk back and forth to MK, or hop on the monorail and transfer to Epcot monorail on to Epcot.

And it's real easy to leave MK or Epcot to go back to your room for an afternoon break.

GF is so beautiful. You're surrounded by water, and the pools are so much fun.

Heck yes, I'd say it's worth the cost.