narrowed it down to AKL, Boardwalk or staying put at CSR. need final opinions, please

[mtquinn]

After more consideration, and help from you all, we will put off the Grand Floridian for a few years and either upgrade to AKL with SV, maybe do the BH or stay where we are at CSR. I really need your honest critique on each hotel so I can make a final decision and stop driving my DH crazy.

What I need are criticisms about the transportation, or maybe the food on site, or views. Things like that will make or break our decision to upgrade and whether it's worth the $. This is mainly for the kids, but us parents need easy transport. Yes, I know the monorail is the best but we will wait for the GF when we go back in four years.

Thoughts? We will be going to each park during our week from Feb 6-13, but more likely to visit Animal Kingdom and Epcot twice. Thanks everyone! Sure hope it isn't 50-something degrees when we visit. Pretty cold for FLA. Brrr.

 

[4forthemouse]

Animal Kingdom is our favorite resort - it has a lot of unique activities - mainly to do with learning about animals, but also African storytelling, cookie decorating at Boma..., it has a food court and child care. As far as restaurants, you can't go wrong with Jiko - it's fabulous! We haven't eaten at Boma or the new restaurant, but have heard they are good too. The pool isn't huge, but that helps keep an eye on your kids, and it's 0 depth entry which I like. My oldest is an animal fanatic and would live here if we could. We haven't had any problems with the buses.

That being said, my favorite place to stay is Boardwalk because of the convenience - walk to Epcot, walk to Disney Studios. We love just buzzing over to grab a bite to eat or watch Illuminations at Epcot.
I like the surrey bikes, and walking to the bakery early in the morning to get goodies at the Boardwalk Bakery. The Boardwalk performers arefun evening entertainment. There is no food court, and the bakery is the only counter service I can think of, but Big River Grille is good and Cat Kourzinnas (sp?) new restaurant is there, though I have never been. For the sports person I should also mention ESPN is right there. The pool isn't big, and you should check - I know it's going to be closed for awhile this winter.

I've never stayed at CSR, so can not offer an opinion.

Good luck!
p.s. - you might want to ask this on the resort board, you'll probably get a wealth of knowledge.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I would prefer BWI to AKL.

Both Epcot and DHS are within walking distance. As far as eating, there is not only everything at the Boardwalk available, but both Y&B and Swolphin are also within walking distance.

From AKL everything (including AK) requires a bus and there are limited choices for eating.

 

[Vickie46]

we love csr! Think about that extra spending money you will have for not upgrading!

 

[piglet33]

From AKL everything (including AK) requires a bus and there are limited choices for eating.

Yes, and bus service isn't the greatest at AKL. We stayed there for 2 weeks in August/September and had the longest wait times of any of the resorts we stayed at. I wasn't impressed with the bus service especially since this is a deluxe resort.

 

[Dancemom03]

CSR is our favorite moderate. I don't have anything bad to say about CSR but the location of the BW area can't be beat and the rooms are much nicer and more spacious. There's just something about walking down the sidewalk and being in Epcot that, for me, is priceless - just so much more magical.

That said, IMO the pool at CSR is better for children under 50 inches than BWI and has been less crowded every time I've been to it. Since the entry level at BWI is 40 inches, it's over many children's noses, especially once it gets busy with bigger kids splashing around. DD9 is petite and had issues with the entry depth and activity level at BWI that limited our pool time.
I'm also not as thrilled with the concierge set-up at BWI b/c it's all spread out randomly, instead of all concierge guests being assigned to certain rooms/floors near the lounge like the other deluxe resorts do, but that's only an issue if you're paying for CL.

I know this is an option you didn't mention but, usually for the same money, you could move across the lake to the YC/BC. There's no better pool than SAB on property for any age and you'd still have the location of BWI & all the convienences of not needing busses for Epcot & DS, along with a multitude of dining choices.

 

[Nicolepa]

My absolute favorite hotel is the Boardwalk. You can walk or take the boat to Epcot & HS. We stayed at AKL once and loved it but there are two big problems with it. It is the farthest out so unless you are going to AK for the day it is a long bus ride. The other issue we had was from the bus to our room we figured it was close to a mile walk. We had 2 very small kids so by the end of the day we were carrying them an additional mile after we got off the bus. That being said, we LOVED seeing the animal from our room.

 

[3boymthr]

I cannot comment on the Boardwalk specifically as we stayed at the YC. I will say that we LOVED being walking distance to Epcot and an easy boat ride or walk to DHS. Sooo sooo easy. The area is really beautiful. You're also really close to Fantasia Gardens Mini-Golf

That said the busses to MK and AK can be a PAIN. The YC bus is the same bus as the BWI bus. It starts at the BWI and then hits the Swan/Dolphin then the YC then BC. There seemed to be 10x as many busses to Downtown Disney as there were to these parks (not really, it just seemed like it). AK shares a bus with Blizzard Beach. The good news for you is that BWI is the first stop so you are 10x more likely to get a seat than someone at BC. The bad news is the bus stops at all these other places before it finally gets to the MK or AK.

There are tons of food options in the area, but if you don't have Park Hoppers the QS options are really limited. No food court at either the BWI/V or BC/BCV/YC. BC/BCV/YC are about a 10 minute or less walk from the BWI/V. There are some quick service options at the Swan and Dolphin which are also a short walk from the BWI but they are not covered under the DDP if you have elected this option.

 

[Dancemom03]

That said the busses to MK and AK can be a PAIN. The YC bus is the same bus as the BWI bus. It starts at the BWI and then hits the Swan/Dolphin then the YC then BC. ....
The good news for you is that BWI is the first stop so you are 10x more likely to get a seat than someone at BC. The bad news is the bus stops at all these other places before it finally gets to the MK or AK.

It depends on the time of year. During busier times, BC/YC typically have a bus and BWI shares with Swolphin. Other times... occassionally... I've seen Swolphin get their own bus. From what I can tell, wdw seems to leave that all in the hands of the bus fairy...

 

[antmaril]

Boardwalk Inn is my favorite Disney resort. I love being able to walk to Epcot and DHS.

 

[Disneys#1fan]

We stayed at CSR in September and loved it! Great resort for a great price. IMO I would stay there and use the extra $ for fun... you only sleep there anyway.. No, really... we loved CSR!!!

 

[QVCshopper]

If you want to save $ but still enjoy yourself, go with Coronado Springs. Bus service is pretty good, Pepper Market is a good value for the quick service dining plan, but expensive OOP. Most rooms are now upgraded and have 2 queens.

If you want to walk to Epcot and DS, go with Boardwalk. It's nice, but the buses can be a pain, especially because some buses run around Swan, Dolphin, Yacht, Beach, and Boardwalk. That's my biggest pet peeve about those deluxes.

If you want ambience, go for Animal Kingdom. It's just lovely.

I stayed at Boardwalk about 10 years ago, CS about 4 times now (mostly to save $ and because it's a very nice moderate), and Animal 5 years ago--we're returning with our animal loving children in a few weeks. Hope that helps. Feel free to ask any more questions.

 

[mjkacmom]

IThere are tons of food options in the area, but if you don't have Park Hoppers the QS options are really limited. No food court at either the BWI/V or BC/BCV/YC. BC/BCV/YC are about a 10 minute or less walk from the BWI/V. There are some quick service options at the Swan and Dolphin which are also a short walk from the BWI but they are not covered under the DDP if you have elected this option.

I found the shop at the BC to have plenty of choices - bagels, sandwiches made to order - I could always find something I liked to eat.

 

[robinb]

Hmmm ... how old are the kids?

 

[lisaross]

If u have kids, they will LOVE the slide at CSR!

After more consideration, and help from you all, we will put off the Grand Floridian for a few years and either upgrade to AKL with SV, maybe do the BH or stay where we are at CSR. I really need your honest critique on each hotel so I can make a final decision and stop driving my DH crazy.

What I need are criticisms about the transportation, or maybe the food on site, or views. Things like that will make or break our decision to upgrade and whether it's worth the $. This is mainly for the kids, but us parents need easy transport. Yes, I know the monorail is the best but we will wait for the GF when we go back in four years.

Thoughts? We will be going to each park during our week from Feb 6-13, but more likely to visit Animal Kingdom and Epcot twice. Thanks everyone! Sure hope it isn't 50-something degrees when we visit. Pretty cold for FLA. Brrr.