Picking a Resort

[Once.Upon.A.Time]

Hi,

I am planning a trip for my fiancé and I to go to Disney World this coming February 2019. Most likely we will be going from February 12th to the 16th. I figured the first day we could go to Disney Springs, than the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday would be theme parks and Saturday head back. Possibly stay until Sunday. Anyhow, this is my second trip to Disney World, first planning it myself. This is my fiancée's first trip to Disney. We are in our 20's and 30's. Last time I stayed I stayed at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort. We drive, but we figured we would use Disney's transportation instead of renting a car. Have no idea on restaurants. It's been nine years since I've been to Disney. I'm trying to decide on a Resort. I've been thinking of CSR or Disney's Old Key West. If you had to choose between the two which would you pick? I am so so confused any input on my mock planning would be greatly appreciated. We also plan on doing the dining plan. So lost on planning. Any help is greatly appreciated. Price difference on the resorts would be about $400 (CSR would save me about $400 bucks but I don't mind if Key West is a lot nicer). Also silly question on dining, when it comes to dinner is it better to book restaurants in the theme parks on in your resort? I imagine it depends on how long we are at the parks.

Thanks so much and Happy New Year,

UPDATE:

We picked CSR. Any suggestions are welcome.

 

[hakepb]

OKW is much nicer if you are staying in a 1BR+. Otherwise, it’s a bit spacious room with a kitchenette and a balcony and a boat ride to DS.
Otherwise, OKW is more spread out with multiple bus stops, and the QS is just a service window with outdoor eating...you’d have better dining options at CSR. I’d use the extra money for a longer stay.

 

[Once.Upon.A.Time]

Thanks so much. I was also considering the cabins. So many options!

 

[VAfamily1998]

OKW: If you stay in a 1 bedroom villa you will have a King size bed and a full kitchen. If you are staying in a studio you will have 2 Queen size beds and a kitchenette. I have never stayed here but really want to some day!

CSR: I love this resort but it has a lot of construction right now.

Cabins at Fort Wilderness: I have stayed a couple times and love it! Your cabin will have a queen bed and a set of bunk beds in the bedroom, and an (almost) full kitchen. I say "almost" because there is not a true oven, but a convection oven in the kitchen.

If it were me, and I was going on a romantic, adults only trip, I would book OKW of the three (keep in mind, I haven't actually stayed there, this is just based on my perception.) OKW has boat transportation to Disney Springs, which is nice as well.

Have you checked out pricing at AKL? Sometimes you can get a great deal there, and it's a fabulous resort with several nice restaurant options. The lowest prices will be on standard view rooms (vs. the savanna view) but there are many different public areas of the resort where you can see the savannas and animals.

 

[Once.Upon.A.Time]

Thank you. I've looked into AKL, but it seems much more expensive the my other options.

 

[Once.Upon.A.Time]

Decided on CSR. Any suggestions? Thank you.

 

[Hopefully]

I have an observation. You said you were planning on getting the Dining Plan. You need to make your ADR's ASAP. You are very late to be making plans for this February. The window for ADR's opens 180 days in advance, so folks have been booking the popular places for months.
We like to eat in Epcot's WS in the various International restaurants. In general I think resort restaurants are better quality than park restaurants, but they are not all that easy to get to without a car. There are no resort to resort buses at WDW.
Now that you have decided on a resort, start to make your dining plans soon.

 

[Once.Upon.A.Time]

Thank you. Yes, we went with the Dining Plan. I know I am planning this all last minute, so I am overwhelmed. Makes sense. I can make dinner reservations right through the Disney website, is that correct? Thanks so much. So confused with the dining plan as well lol.

 

[focusondisney]

Yes, you can make ADRs on the Disney website. There is also a restaurant forum here on the Dis with a dining plan subforum for dining questions.

 

[EllNat11]

If you find that the ADRs you want aren't available, keep checking - I use MDE on my phone and check daily and have never not been able to adjust my ADRs and get what I want just by checking in each day for a minute on updated availability. Not a guarantee, but good luck!

 

[Babsy]

Good to see that you made your resort decision! CSR is a wonderful moderate resort. We have loved staying there!

As Hopefully pointed out, it is a good idea to book a few dining reservations, especially since you have the dining plan.

You may want to buy and link tickets to My Disney Experience (if you haven't already) and book FP+ soon as well. Depending upon when you are going in Feb, the 30 booking window will open soon for the general public not staying in WDW. You might want to book before that, if possible.

We usually eat in the theme parks, especially lunch and dinner. Breakfast might be at the resort, or might be in a theme park, whichever is more convenient. If your room is near the main building in CSR then breakfast might be quick to grab on your way. OTOH, Sometimes you can book breakfast in the theme park for before it opens and you are able to enter early. That can be quite nice.

 

[Once.Upon.A.Time]

Thanks so much. This site has been so helpful. We choose the Regular Dining Plan. I was looking into restaurants, like the Boathouse, it says (2) next to table service. Does that mean if we ate there it would be considered two meals out of our dining place?

 

[Hopefully]

Thanks so much. This site has been so helpful. We choose the Regular Dining Plan. I was looking into restaurants, like the Boathouse, it says (2) next to table service. Does that mean if we ate there it would be considered two meals out of our dining place?

Yes. There are the regular Table Service Restaurants that “cost “ 1 credit per person per meal.
Then there are Signature Restaurants, which are more upscale and more expensive. They cost 2 Table Service credits per person per meal. At the Boardwalk Flying Fish is a Signature Restaurant

 

[Once.Upon.A.Time]

Yes. There are the regular Table Service Restaurants that “cost “ 1 credit per person per meal.
Then there are Signature Restaurants, which are more upscale and more expensive. They cost 2 Table Service credits per person per meal. At the Boardwalk Flying Fish is a Signature Restaurant

Thanks so much.

 

[Disneyhenry]

I love CSR! Even with the construction I think it was a good choice, the food court is great and they have a nice bar too. Have fun

 

[Deb & Bill]

Maya Grill at Coronado Springs is very nice for dinner. There is a strolling guitarist and they have a nice menu. Check out the menus on Allears.net or at the Disney website.

 

[Once.Upon.A.Time]

Thanks so much. How are the Quick Service options?

 

[Deb & Bill]

Thanks so much. How are the Quick Service options?

They used to have a large food court called the Pepper Market and you would wander to different stations finding different options. It was recently redone and still has separate stations, but they are all in a row at the back of the food court. We were there recently and were in the mood for Tex-Mex that we thought we remembered being there years ago. There wasn't any. Sandwiches, "bowls", other items (check the menus there). So we just drove over to Chevy's and had Tex-Mex there (it's just offsite near Disney Springs, but you really need to drive there).

With Coronado Springs being a big convention center, they have multiple lounges, places where you can get grab and go stuff as well as the two locations I mentioned.