Please Help Us Choose a Resort!!!

[scrappinstevie]

Our family is planning a trip to Disney World in late November/early December. This biggest challenge is which resort to stay at! Here's a little background on our family: Mom, Dad, and Son age 8. We have been to WDW 5 times staying at Vistana, Holiday Inn Kids Suites, All Star Movies, Wilderness Lodge, and Carribbean Beach Resort. I like staying at a different resort each trip. My husband is always $$$ conscious so that will make a difference in where we stay. We are not fancy people and we like a laid back, slow paced vacation. We usually rent a car as well as use the WDW transportation. My son loves the arcades so a good arcade is a must. We also eat a lot of CS meals so a hotel with a good food court is a plus too. Our favorite parks or where we spend the most time are Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Magic Kingdom. Here are some of my top resort choices: Pop Century: for the price, food courts, and kid friendliness but I worry about the noise and chaos of the transportation? Animal Kingdom Lodge: would love to be able to view animals from our room! And the food sounds wonderful there. Poly and Contemporary: monorail!!! Is the monorail worth the price of these resorts? Also is the Contemporary noisy/busy all the time with all the restaraunts and people coming and going? Our favorite resort has been the Caribbean Beach Resort-we really felt at home there and everything was perfect...we may just stay there again. Would anyone suggest a better moderate resort? POR sounds very interesting but I don't know if we'd like the theme as much and do they have a large arcade there? Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

 

[unixadm]

We love the Polynesian as far as a hotel goes...monorail, beautiful views, etc. Didn't like the Contemporary....was a very basic, older room (it was one that hadn't been renovated yet), and the resort was just not worth the $$$ in my opinion.

If you are looking at spending the $$ for Polynesian or similiar, why not look at renting DVC points and getting Beach Club Villas?

The pool is great, you can walk to Epcot and MGM (or take boat to MGM), you can even get a room that overlooks the Illuminations fireworks (if available)

Beach Club Villas Studio for December 1-14:

Sun-Thu is 12 points/night and 22 pionts per night for Fri/Sat. A full week is 104 points. You can rent points for about $10/pp, so figure about $1040 for 7 nights.

A 1BR for December 1-14th is 22 points per night for weeknights and 45 points for Fri/Sat. A full week is 200 points, so $2000 for the week. If you drop a Friday or Saturday off of that, and stay 6 nights, it goes down to $1550.

That is going to be similiar in price to the Deluxe resorts (maybe slightly higher, but not by much)

 

[spiceycat]

you don't know unless you try it - but I would go for POR.

their arcade is pretty wonderful. the boat ride to DD is very nice. the bus transportation use to be great, now I heard that it is only good.

don't drive your car to the MK - only take the bus service no matter where you stay.

I would also recommend OKW - however it does not have a great arcade.

Pop century has a nice one. But if your husband wants a quieter place.

 

[Goofy4WDW1964]

If you looking at a moderate, POR would be my choice. Similar in size to CBR. Has the best food court on property, but that is just my opinion. They do have an arcade but I don't know anything about it. The themeing is fantastic. It is very peaceful and relaxing.

We have also rented DVC points and stayed at OKW and Saratoga Springs. Loved both resorts. Both were very quiet and relaxing. The food choices at both may be a concern for you. OKW only has a sit down restaurant, Olivias. Saratoga Springs only has a scaled down version of a food court. But, it is right across the lake from DTD and the restaurants there.

 

[Mama Twinkles]

Of the options you mentioned, I would definitely choose a standard room at AKL. IMO it is much nicer than POR (which has great rooms and pretty grounds, but a kind of cheap, overpopulated, smoky feel in the common areas) and the Contemp., and much cheaper than the Poly. You will love the food court there, and the pool area is extremely nice. I wouldn't choose a resort based on whether it had the monorail, esp. because you are renting a car. Maybe you could schedule meals at, say, 'Ohana and Chef Mickey's to enjoy the boats and monorail in the MK area. I really love AKL and it is so much more affordable than most deluxes. Even though a view of the animals appeals to you, you could really save money by choosing a standard-view room and checking out the animals from other parts of the resort. It is a lovely resort regardless of view, and you might get upgraded anyway.

 

[dizluvr71]

I've only been to WDW once this past May, but I wanted to recommend POFQ. This is where we stayed with my DS8. He absolutely loved the pool and enjoyed the arcade. It was nice to have someplace that wasn't so big that you are completely overwhelmed and that my son didn't get tired from just walking thru the resort. POFQ is smaller than the other resorts which made it easy to get where you needed to go. There is a boat to POR and to DTD which is really nice also.

We also didn't mind the food court and ordered pizza to our room on the first night since we arrived so late.

 

[NYRN]

We got a great rate at the WL in December for $204 a night the first week in December with a view of the Courtyard. The decorations should be outstanding for that time period! I have heard wonderful things too about the Port Orleans Resorts too...

 

[jacksmom]

The Poly is our favorite resort! But, the wing rooms at the Contemporary aren't as pricey and the arcade and food court area there are great! And, you would be able to walk into MK plus have monorail acsess! Also, a character meal at Chef Mickeys is nice!

 

[indigoxtreme]

Sounds to me that you would like Port Orleans Riverside or FQ. The grounds are great and relaxing. Riverside has several quiet pools and 1 large Old Man Island. The have Horse buggy rides, the boat to DTD and bicycle rentals, with many quiet walkways. FQ is smaller than Riverside, since they are sister resorts you can use the facilities at both. I understand that Bob the piano man at Riverside is great entertainment. I haven't seen him yet.