It really depends on your vacation style and plans. Do you do more than one day at MK? Do you spend a lot of time at the resort? Do you spend more time at Epcot/HS? Do you want in your face Disney or less? Each deluxe resort has their own style and advantage, I've stayed at all except WL and SSS and all the moderates except POFQ, only two values Pop and ASSp (discovered I'm not a value gal). I do split stays, just because I can since I drive down and it doesn't make sense to me to spend deluxe prices for that first night when I'm not going to arrive until around 2:30 and go directly to the park that day.
So once you've answered a few of those questions here are my thoughts:
If you are a MK person and spend most of your time there, go with a monorail resort or WL. Of the monorail resorts I rate mine #1 GF, #2 Poly and only if there is absolutely nowhere else on the entire property available CR. Over all I'm not fond of the monorail resorts because they force you to depend on the monorail (or boats) to get to both MK and Epcot and I can't tell you how much times I've been stuck on the darn thing because of delays between MK and Epcot. If they let you take a bus to Epcot, my opinion might change. Because of that, I'd probably go WL before any of them because you can bus if you want to.
GF is an elegant property, while some will say it's stuffy, I've never found it to be so. It is a beautiful resort, the rooms are comfortable and there are plenty of options for food and entertainment. There is a walking path between it and Poly. I did stay there when my son was around 9 or 10 and he had a blast but I don't know if I'd stay there with a smaller child.
Poly has the island theme, true story - the first time I stayed at a resort in Palau (an island in the South Pacific) the first thing I told my honey was "this reminds me of the Poly at WDW". He, of course, being cynical and having no sense of child in him, replied "possibly the Poly reminds you of this". Either way, they were very similar. The poly is very kid friendly and because of this, was my son's favorite MK resort when he was small. Without a small child, I wouldn't stay there as it can get loud in the public areas and busy.
WL is very close to AKL in is looks and feel. Very big and expansive and woodsy, it reminds me of the lodges in the mountains of north Georgia. Very kid friendly but not too over the top with noise and kids running around.
CR is very, well, contemporary. It has plenty of food options and great views of MK and a walking trail to MK, giving you one more option of getting there. For me, that is it's only advantage, the views and the walking trail. It is kid friendly and because the common areas are pretty open with high, high, high, high ceilings it can get very noisy. It's style is just to sterile and contemporary for me, it reminds me of a little more upscale Hampton Inn with good views.
If you are going to spend more time at Epcot/HS you can not beat the Epcot resorts. All three - BW, YC and BC are within walking distance of both. You have the option of the monorail to MK or the bus, there is a bus to HS and to AK. There are boats that take you to Epcot, the other resorts, Swan/Dolphin (which are also good options) and HS. My order of preference for those would be YC, BC, BW. I also enjoy Swan/Dolphin but if you are driving, sometimes it's can actually be less to stay at one of the Disney Epcot resorts since S/D charge a nightly resort fee and a nightly parking fee.
Yacht Club/Beach Club are for all practical purposes, one big resort but each has it's own facilities and own lobbies and a different feel. YC is darker and more adult feeling. There are kids there but it seems to be a little quieter and a tad more upscale than BC. All rooms at YC except for first floor ones will have a full balcony (I think there may be 2 or 3 that don't but those are the exception). It is due for an upgrade within a few months so if construction is a problem, it would be wise to stay away from there until well into 2017. It is my #1 favorite resort of all of them I've ever stayed at on Disney property.
Bach Club is done in lighter colors, the rooms mostly have the little Juliet balconies, there are some with the larger balconies but it's a crap shoot if you are going to get one. It is more kid friendly, thus it tends to be a little noisier in the lobby and has a more relaxed beachy feel to it. Both YC and BC share what is one of the arguably most kid friendly pools on property. All deluxe resorts have at least one quiet pool (I think AKL may not have one at Jambo house though)
Boardwalk has a sort of New England boardwalk vibe to it, I've found the front desk CMs can be the least friendly of the bunch, it's hit or miss. The rooms are a little lighter feeling than YC, it has the famous clown pool which will either freak you out or you will love it. There are no restaurants within the resort itself but a number of them along the boardwalk.
Honorable mention to Swan/Dolphin. These are not Disney owned properties but are on Disney property and do share some perks. You don't get MBs and can't charge back to your room and don't get ME but you can have your packages sent back to the resort and can book ADRs and FPs within the same time frame as a Disney resort and do get EMHs. They can be a great rate, similar to a moderate if you are diligent in your searches, take advantage of their discounts and aren't driving a car. They are convention resorts so tend to have adults dressed in business attire walking around and can have a more business feel to them but the rooms are good sized, well maintained, both resort share a main pool and both have their own smaller pools. The have some great food options.
If you like a little adventure and tend to spend more time in the resort than in the parks and love animals, AKL is the way to go. Arguably one of the most stunning resorts on property, it's big and airy and full of African themes. The food there is pretty good and there are loads of areas to view the animals throughout the resort. If you want to pay a little more you can get a Savannah view but frankly there are so many places to see the animals I don't know that I would. You do have to ride the bus to all the parks, including AK but it's actually closer to the parks than any of the moderate or value resorts so don't be fooled into thinking it's too far away. I would say if you plan on driving to the parks, AKL is the way to go. It is very kid friendly yet also has a great adult vibe to it.
Old Key West and Saratoga Springs are both DVC resorts but you can rent rooms through Disney at them. They don't have rooms, they have studios, 1,2 and 3 bedroom suites. Both are pretty large resorts and you can spend a lot of time on buses if you are in one of the farther away buildings. OKW is the oldest Disney DVC resort and feels like it. The rooms are huge and very homey feeling. There are a couple of smaller pools in the different villages and a big one at the main building. I haven't stayed at SS, I did visit it but I can comment to the rooms or the feel of the place.
Hope that helps.
) we did a split stay at Poly and BCVs because I was determined not to have to lug our stroller onto too many buses. Poly was great for the theming and for getting on the monorail to MK and walking to the TCC to get to Epcot. BCVs were great for the pool (BCV guests can access SAB as well), and because we could walk to Epcot and the Studios. We skipped Animal Kingdom that year, so the only bus we had to take was to Disney Springs (DTD back then). Both places were great with a small kid, especially the Boardwalk area, because we walked over to Epcot every night for a nice meal.
