Our 1st "resort only" trip - any thoughts or suggestions?

[SL6827]

And does anyone have any suggestions for new things to do during the day? (we can finally spend some serious time walking around Disney Springs now)

Tried to do this one day on our trip a couple weeks ago and the heat was just to much for me, had to go at night. The heat was horrific.

 

[Seabean]

Thanks for all the good replies so far. I understand the idea of going to a 4/5 star resort, but we actually had looked at lots of options including Clearwater Beach, Marathon Key, OBX, Cape May, Poconos, & Lake Pacid. To be honest the prices were not all that much less than WDW Deluxe, especially considering that they didn't include food like club level does. The last week of July was surprisingly busy/booked/expensive at those other places. And there really wasn't as much to do as what the entire WDW complex has to offer.

When it really came down to it, what our kids really wanted most of all was the Disney feel. For them, it was better to have a WDW trip with no park days than to have a trip to anywhere else. And the prospect of sleeping in late and taking it VERY easy is appealing.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

Not sure if someone mentioned but we love Yehaa Bob at Port Orleans.

Didn't he get fired???

 

[Magical2017]

OP, anywhere your family wants to go will make the vacation special. Enjoy!

 

[Moliphino]

If I wasn't going to the parks I wouldn't go to Disney World at all. It just sounds like torture to be so close to the parks and unable to go in. But I'm a value/moderate hotel staying park commando.

 

[evilqueenmindy]

I got an insanely low rate at Poly one year during our AP blackout and we went anyway. I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again! Pool days, check out resort restaurants for breakfast you never had time for, mini golf is close by the boardwalk resort, monorail resort pub crawl, Disney Springs time, movies with dinner, it’s still a very fun time. You can even check out fireworks from Poly or just outside Epcot

 

[pd1138]

Thanks for all the good replies so far. I understand the idea of going to a 4/5 star resort, but we actually had looked at lots of options including Clearwater Beach, Marathon Key, OBX, Cape May, Poconos, & Lake Pacid. To be honest the prices were not all that much less than WDW Deluxe, especially considering that they didn't include food like club level does. The last week of July was surprisingly busy/booked/expensive at those other places. And there really wasn't as much to do as what the entire WDW complex has to offer.

When it really came down to it, what our kids really wanted most of all was the Disney feel. For them, it was better to have a WDW trip with no park days than to have a trip to anywhere else. And the prospect of sleeping in late and taking it VERY easy is appealing.

This is totally our family....we priced out other resorts too and my kiddos were totally on board with going and enjoying the atmosphere and not rushing! We spent several hours at AKL talking with the different guides about Africa while wandering around. There was some badge collection thing we could have done too. My kids were young enough that we did a “playground crawl”! They played at AKL, BW, AOA. We were just happy to be in the Disney bubble!!

 

[sjs314]

THIS! I too would love to stay 4-5 days at AKL and explore the hotel and all of its offerings to my heart's content.

We are planning a resort only 4 night CL stay at AKL in October. Last time we stayed at AKL we found ourselves leaving fhe parks early to spend time back at the resort so we decided to do a no parks trip this year putting the cost of park tickets towards our first CL stay
We were just there last November stayed at the YC and visited Pandora and all the other parks.
I’m excited to have a relaxing trip for a change at one of my favorite resorts

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

We ended up doing a resort only stay the one year that we were moving our DD into the DCP. We didn't know how long it would take to get her moved in and didn't think she would have time to go to the parks. We were there for 4 days and we managed to do many things without going to the parks. There were 7 of us since her friend came with us and we ended up having a great time. We loved visiting the GF listening to the music. But our two favorite times - were the walking around the Boardwalk and walking around the AKL. We just loved it all. We did do a few dinners and a breakfast - Ohana and HDDR so we felt like we were at DW. Have fun and enjoy!

 

[AnnaS]

We are DVC Members since 2000. I have done Disney twice no parks. Once I was with my dd and her friend and the second time with hubby. It's nice to hop/browse the resorts and try new places to eat. It's not about saving money for the tickets but taking a break from the parks (we usually go twice a year). We love to take our time and walk in the morning. Spend time by the pool. We have lunch at the resort we are staying in or hop to another resort. Evening is usually one or a combination of two - dinner at a different resort, Boardwalk Area, TOWL for drinks and fireworks, Disney Springs, Ft. Wilderness. We took a ride to Vero for the day. It is so relaxing for us. We usually have APs (used to get hoppers) and we don't spend that much time in the parks anyway.

 

[HopperFan]

I know there are already threads on this, but I'll ask: anyone else here do a resorts only stay?

No

For us the whole point of going is to enjoy the parks. If I wanted a resort only then I would go to a destination where I would get a nicer resort and more bang for my buck ... including more relaxing resorts not full of park guests. Somewhere with excellent and reasonable dining options. But I do get the desire for more time to do the non-park things .... just think I'd add more time and keep my park time.

Hope you have a great trip!

Didn't he get fired???

No

 

[chloelovesdisney]

A deluxe club level resort stay sounds fantastic! I'd love some relaxing pool time and snacks at the club lounge. I'd do an evening at the Chip and Dale campfire sing-along at Fort Wilderness, a round of mini-golf, see the water pageant, watch a poolside movie, hang out around the Boardwalk and get sundaes at Ghiradelli's.

 

[starry_solo]

We did a 14 night trip to WDW last year and 4 nights were not spent at parks. Three of those nights were at AKV - Jambo Concierge (yay for the waitlist coming through). It was doable. We had fun exploring Disney Springs and the various other resorts. POFQ was really nice - we ate at their food court for lunch twice (cuz there really isn't that great stuff at the concierge lounge for lunch)! We hopped on buses, boats, and monorails too.

Pools were great to relax at too!

 

[OneinThree]

. . .I can't see paying the price for a Disney resort and not go to the parks.

In a nutshell, this. Given the sizable premium you pay to be on Disney Property (for proximity to the parks), there's no justifying the cost. Far better accommodations and amenities are available at other destinations for less money.

 

[4Hawks]

We did a no-park trip 2 years ago. We spent lots of time at the pool, spent time at Disney Springs, visited several resorts, did 2 character meals, watched the fireworks from the beach at the Poly, visited the stables at Fort Wilderness, etc. It was one of the most relaxing vacations we have ever had.

 

[JerseyJanice]

In the days before Magic Your Way tickets when all multi-day tickets were non-expiring and included hopping, we would buy 8-day tickets and use 4 days over two week-long trips. (Or something like that—I don’t recall the exact numbers.)

Anyway on non-park days, we really enjoyed hanging out at the pool and hot tub. We would dine at restaurants that can take a long time, dining on QS while in the parks, then splurging at resort restaurants on non-park days.

I think your choice of resorts is excellent for what you want to do. Both have nice boats to ride. At WL, I would boat to Fort Wilderness, visit the animals, and dine at Trail’s End or Hoop Dee Doo. Or boat to the Contemporary and dine at California Grill or Ohana after a monorail ride. At BW, I enjoy the boat ride around Crescent Lake. The scenery is so beautiful IMO.

Have a great time!

 

[MomOTwins]

Surprised nobody has mentioned the disney cruise option yet. Factoring in the cost of dining to a resort-only stay, I would much rather get my Disney fix on a cruise ship than just a hotel without parks. Much more in the way of activities on the cruise.

 

[pd1138]

Surprised nobody has mentioned the disney cruise option yet. Factoring in the cost of dining to a resort-only stay, I would much rather get my Disney fix on a cruise ship than just a hotel without parks. Much more in the way of activities on the cruise.

I priced out a cruise when we were thinking about a resort trip for our family of six and the cruise was A LOT more money. Heck, the cruise is still more money then our current trip (deluxe hotel with 8 day tickets) coming up in August!