Need advice for upcoming Christmas trip

[Jimmy Mouse]

So I booked Christmas week, 12/22-12/28 at AoA Nemo Family Suite and my girls are really excited to say the least. Me and my wife, kinda sorta excited about the resort? Not sure yet. Now tonight, I found another Passholder offer that was not there before. Wilderness Lodge Club Level for about $1,100 more total stay. I know we will pay out of pocket at least that for breakfast, snacks and dinner that week and CL offers the lounge. We only have lunch ADR’s reserved and plan on resort time in the evening. I also heard that they decorate WL for Christmas and have not heard any bad reviews about the resort. So IF my girls are willing to change, what would you do?

 

[Gehrig1B]

Wilderness Lodge... No brainer. Fantastic at Christmas time. Proximity to MK huge plus with holiday crowds.

 

[hakepb]

Avoiding a bus to MK and Christmas extras that may include special character meets in the lobby may seem to be a nicer experience.

https://www.kennythepirate.com/2015/12/19/2015-christmas-disney-world-resort-character-meets/

I’m not sure if I would fully replace a dinner with CL snacks, so if the budget is that tight...

 

[DaisyDuck001]

If the extra money is not an issue for you, I think WL Club Level would be a better experience.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

I’m not sure if I would fully replace a dinner with CL snacks, so if the budget is that tight...

We have done CL before and the breakfast offerings are always more than enough because we don’t eat big at breakfast time anyway. Dinner I agree with as it’s hit or miss. Sometimes CL puts out great offerings but sometimes not. We would play dinner by ear and look at our options. The budget has some room

 

[mickeynut1]

Another vote for WL CL. The WL is one of our favorite resorts, especially at Christmas time. The lobby is beautifully decorated and having the lounge for extra space/somewhere to relax would come in handy during such a busy time. Whichever you decide, hope you have a great trip .

 

[Luvs Mickey]

WL without a doubt. When we stayed there our kids loved it. It’s a beautiful resort, and I’ve heard especially so at Christmas time. And you also get the deluxe amenities.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

WL CL hands-down for SO many reasons. WL CL, IMHO, is the best CL bang for your buck on property. It prices out less than the other CL's, you have great food/beverage options in the lounge and, you will, most likely, have a view of the MK fireworks from your room. WL is absolutely gorgeous at Christmas and you will have the boat to MK (and CR if you want to walk to MK). You will also have a great pool and splash pad for the kids, plus the ability to go over to Ft. W to play on the playground, visit the stables, etc. If it fits into your plans, you may want to consider HDDR during that week as they do special Christmas songs during the show. You can even book a sleigh ride or do a wagon ride to see the Ft. W decorations - just good evening alternatives if the parks get too crowded for you. WL also has character meet and greets at the hotel during the holidays and the Artist Point character meal will most likely be up and running by then. With a CL stay, you also have the option of purchasing 3 extra FP+ per day for your family which could be very beneficial that week. WL will make your life so much easier during a Christmas week trip. AoA, IMHO, will make your trip more difficult - loud, super chaotic, food court, buses, traffic, etc. Perhaps do WL this trip and save AoA for a less busy week.

 

[2hapykdz]

So I booked Christmas week, 12/22-12/28 at AoA Nemo Family Suite and my girls are really excited to say the least. Me and my wife, kinda sorta excited about the resort? Not sure yet. Now tonight, I found another Passholder offer that was not there before. Wilderness Lodge Club Level for about $1,100 more total stay. I know we will pay out of pocket at least that for breakfast, snacks and dinner that week and CL offers the lounge. We only have lunch ADR’s reserved and plan on resort time in the evening. I also heard that they decorate WL for Christmas and have not heard any bad reviews about the resort. So IF my girls are willing to change, what would you do?

Absolutely no brainer!

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

I appreciate all the feedback! So this morning I asked my girls and let them look at pictures of WL. DD7 said she wanted Beach Club and I asked how she knew about Beach Club and she said she was looking on her iPad lol. We did decide on WL but things totally fell apart! I show up at work, Go to my reservations, pull up the CL room and it was asking for an additional deposit. I already paid $2K so I called Disney. I get an agent within a few minutes. After I tell her what I want to do she says "No Availability" so I tell her I'm looking at it in my cart. She goes to My MDX and tells me its not in my cart. I decide to just book it and then cancel AOA so I click the "Next" button and Poof! It's gone!!!!! I'm beyond pissed at this moment! But I understand rooms are filling up quick. So she tells be there is NO availability and ANY Deluxe resort with Club Level service besides The Contemporary at over $2K a night! No Thank You!!! I do my own search and see Beach Club as a new Passholder rate and she can't see it. I finally ask her to escalate to someone that can help me. The woman I talked to told me the same thing. No more rooms at WL and someone must have booked the last CL room while I was on the phone. I didn't know that if it's in your cart, it's not held and someone else can book it. So at this point I'm kicking myself for not booking it last night. I ask about Beach Club and she tells me no availability! I tell her No, I'm looking at it under the Passholder deals. Finally she finds it and I ask one more time to re-check WL CL. Still nothing. So I said what the heck. Book BC. I ended up spending $400 more that I would have at WL but it is what it is and we still get a CL room! The one plus is Christmas Day is our Epcot day so we have that I really hope we like it!

 

[FSU Girl]

Definitely Wilderness Lodge. That resort is beyond beautiful during Christmas time. I loved staying there last December. It will also be easier for you to get to Magic Kingdom by the boat. It's a really busy time so having easier transportation options will be helpful. You can also take the boat from Wilderness Lodge over to Contemporary to walk to Magic Kingdom or hop on the monorail to get to Epcot to avoid taking the bus.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

Definitely Wilderness Lodge. That resort is beyond beautiful during Christmas time. I loved staying there last December. It will also be easier for you to get to Magic Kingdom by the boat. It's a really busy time so having easier transportation options will be helpful. You can also take the boat from Wilderness Lodge over to Contemporary to walk to Magic Kingdom or hop on the monorail to get to Epcot to avoid taking the bus.

I know and now it’s all booked up

 

[FSU Girl]

I know and now it’s all booked up

Oh no, I'm sorry I totally missed your update. Don't give up though! Resort reservations can pop back up into inventory all the time. I was hunting for one for a really long time, would just randomly refresh the page throughout the day while working and then one day it popped up. People can all the time, I just cancelled a trip in a few weeks.

 

[TJA]

I agree sometimes people hold onto reservations until the last minute. I myself am doing that for over Thanksgiving because we aren't 100% sure we need to cancel so I'm holding onto it until we're sure.

Although I'm glad you got the BC and I'm betting you'll enjoy it!!

 

[wmoon]

BC will be great. We are a bit like you in that for our Christmas trip we looked at the AOA suites then decided WL club level which was full when I tried to book. We now have a split stay booked at the contemporary for 5 nights and BC for 6 nights. Happy to be in walking distance of lots of parks during our stay.
BC is an amazing location, better location wise than WL.

 

[catfan98]

I appreciate all the feedback! So this morning I asked my girls and let them look at pictures of WL. DD7 said she wanted Beach Club and I asked how she knew about Beach Club and she said she was looking on her iPad lol. We did decide on WL but things totally fell apart! I show up at work, Go to my reservations, pull up the CL room and it was asking for an additional deposit. I already paid $2K so I called Disney. I get an agent within a few minutes. After I tell her what I want to do she says "No Availability" so I tell her I'm looking at it in my cart. She goes to My MDX and tells me its not in my cart. I decide to just book it and then cancel AOA so I click the "Next" button and Poof! It's gone!!!!! I'm beyond pissed at this moment! But I understand rooms are filling up quick. So she tells be there is NO availability and ANY Deluxe resort with Club Level service besides The Contemporary at over $2K a night! No Thank You!!! I do my own search and see Beach Club as a new Passholder rate and she can't see it. I finally ask her to escalate to someone that can help me. The woman I talked to told me the same thing. No more rooms at WL and someone must have booked the last CL room while I was on the phone. I didn't know that if it's in your cart, it's not held and someone else can book it. So at this point I'm kicking myself for not booking it last night. I ask about Beach Club and she tells me no availability! I tell her No, I'm looking at it under the Passholder deals. Finally she finds it and I ask one more time to re-check WL CL. Still nothing. So I said what the heck. Book BC. I ended up spending $400 more that I would have at WL but it is what it is and we still get a CL room! The one plus is Christmas Day is our Epcot day so we have that I really hope we like it!

We stayed at BC last year, not club level, but in the villas. We loved it! We love being able to walk or boat to EP and HS. Plus you can walk over to the Boardwalk. You will have a great time there, I think! We loved the area so much that we booked Boardwalk for this year. We are going the week before Christmas. Have a great trip!

 

[twodogs]

and BC has the gingerbread carousel in the lobby!! My daughters (and I, frankly) thought that was so cool! It is a great resort, our kids swam in SAB in the week before Christmas last year, no problem, so the pools are a big plus that can still be in play in December. You will love it!

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

I agree sometimes people hold onto reservations until the last minute. I myself am doing that for over Thanksgiving because we aren't 100% sure we need to cancel so I'm holding onto it until we're sure.

Although I'm glad you got the BC and I'm betting you'll enjoy it!!

yeah, that whole hindsight thing lol. I should have booked it and then cancelled the one I didn't want once we decided. I bet I won't make that mistake again!

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

and BC has the gingerbread carousel in the lobby!! My daughters (and I, frankly) thought that was so cool! It is a great resort, our kids swam in SAB in the week before Christmas last year, no problem, so the pools are a big plus that can still be in play in December. You will love it!

My girls will Love the gingerbread carousel! and they were already talking about Stormalong Bay before we ever thought about booking it.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

We stayed at BC last year, not club level, but in the villas. We loved it! We love being able to walk or boat to EP and HS. Plus you can walk over to the Boardwalk. You will have a great time there, I think! We loved the area so much that we booked Boardwalk for this year. We are going the week before Christmas. Have a great trip!

I'm pretty sure we will love it a little more than the Nemo Suites. Plenty of dining choices, CL food offerings, Epcot and HS so close, yeah I think it will be great! Also we have Yacht Club booked for spring break 2019. This will give us plenty of time to change to another resort if by chance we just don't love the area. Have a great trip too!