Ranking the best soundproofing at the resorts

[Violet Parr]

We depart today after 11 nights. I have never noticed sound from the rooms next to us until this stay, but it ws hard to avoid this time. I'm curious to know your thoughts on soundproofing! (I know it varies and depends on neighbors, but still a good ask.)

Polynesian Villas (studio) - We found Tokelau at Polynesian to be fairly well soundproofed from the rooms next door. Hallway noise loud only during rope drop hours and after fireworks.

Boardwalk Villas (studio)- AWFUL. We could hear every neighbor's convo as if we were in the same room. To make matters worse, our neighbors were rather trashy and had a VERY loud argument that was crystal clear and involved a lot of f bombs. We were moved to a regular room at Boardwalk Inn because of them. Hallway noise was moderate at the peak hallway hours

Boardwalk Inn (garden view)- Pretty bad. We heard coughs and chatter, but our neighbors were delightfully cheerful, so it wasn't too bad. Hallway was fine.

Bay Lake Tower (studio) - Amazing. We know there are people next door, because we see them talking on the balcony, but we can't hear a thing when they are in the room. Hallway noise is also muffled pretty well.

Your thoughts?

 

[cvjw]

We have stayed at boardwalk villas too many times to count and never encountered noisy neighbors.

We have stayed at all the disney resorts except the all stars and riveria. Only at OKW did we have noise issues. Mainly hearing the buses constantly.

 

[Marthasor]

We’ve always had noise problems in BWI and avoid staying there now. If staying in a standard room, I always ask for a quiet room with no connecting door. AoA was the loudest resort I’ve ever stayed in and won’t be back. Not cheap, but we found the quietest rooms are dedicated 2-bedrooms with no connecting doors and only one entry door in the hallway.

 

[Happy_2_B]

What I have found is that noise is a relative thing. DW tolerates it well- I do not. Even at some of the best hotels in the world noise can be an issue if there is someone on your floor that mistakenly believes the hallway is an extension of their room- and this happens more often than you would think. Way back when we first took the kids and money was an issue- we stayed at the all stars a couple of times- was very loud. Port Orleans French Quarter was surprisingly quiet. Caribbean Beach was loud. As money became less of an issue- we switched to only stays at deluxe resorts. Poly was pretty quiet. AKL has also been pretty quiet for us- and this has become the place we stay almost every visit since DW needs her 'animal fix'. Other than the Contemporary, all the deluxe resorts have been pretty good.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Generally speaking, the outside-access rooms have better soundproofing than inside-access rooms, since those rooms also have to have weather proofing. You'll also have a quieter experience in resorts that have a larger number of smaller buildings rather than one or two large buildings with long hallways.

I always have a problem with hall noise at Animal Kingdom Lodge and Wilderness Lodge, since those long hallways encourage kids to race each other to and from the elevators. Old Key West is by far the most peaceful resort we've stayed at. Saratoga Springs' Congress Park area is disappointing because if there's live music at Disney Springs, it goes loud and late.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

The worst experiences for us have been BW. But I also agree with Happy_2_B. You can have noise issues or great experiences at any of the resorts. People are the ones creating it, and you cannot pick your temporary neighbors. Whenever we can, we like getting a top floor room - at least removes having neighbors above us. But you cannot account for families (adults and kids) being loud in the halls or their rooms.

 

[Disney.Dreamin.Dee]

I've stayed at all the values, CSR, POR, CR, and Poly.

The values have all been terrible for noise from neighbors. Especially when there's small children that throw tantrums getting them to go to bed or get up.

The best experience I had was at POR.
We had families with toddlers on either side of us and never heard a thing!

The past few trips I've brought a compact sound machine and it has worked wonders in helping us not be disturbed by noises while sleeping.

 

[Distriv]

I've found the sound-proofing at Polynesian and Boardwalk to be good. The only place I've had a real issue was Wilderness Lodge and that was because the person in the room next to me was live-streaming and I wanted to find a way to kill the internet to make him stop.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

The past few trips I've brought a compact sound machine and it has worked wonders in helping us not be disturbed by noises while sleeping.

Once you get used to the 'white' noise machines at night, it's tough to sleep without it, especially in a strange bed. It really does work!

 

[jennyq87]

The loudest rooms we've had seem to be at Yacht Club. We've stayed at all levels -- Value, Moderate, Deluxe hotel side, Deluxe DVC side. And Yacht has consistently been the loudest. Unfortunately it's also one of our favorites so we deal with it. I've had rather "noiseless" experiences at ALK, Poly and Riviera. I can't remember much about the moderates -- I think I'm more sensitive to sound when we're doing a Deluxe stay. I always travel with a fan to help drown out noise.

 

[Wood Nymph]

It really depends on the neighbors that you get but the noisiest rooms have been in the BC and YC. The quietest rooms have been at POR.

 

[tguz]

We have always had good luck at Pop. We do not use preferred rooms so maybe that helps.....families with kids wanting to be closer to the pools so they book the preferred rooms..

 

[ChanaC]

I was pleasantly surprised at how quiet All Star Sports was the last time I stayed there. As we were entering our room I saw the people next to us also entering with a baby. I thought the baby crying would keep us up all night but I don't think we heard a peep from them. We were also in a room that faced the parking lot and also overlooked a little "courtyard" of just trees and shrubs. This ended up being great because there wasn't anyone hanging out or playing in front of our room.

An odd thing happened the last time I stayed at Pop though. I was woken up around 2am by what sounded like chiming bells. Turns out it was our neighbor's alarm clock. I went outside and saw the curtains all pulled back which made it look like an unoccupied room. What I think happened was that the last people who stayed in there set that early alarm (I assume to catch a really early flight) but accidentally set a recurring alarm. I was surprised how clearly I could hear the alarm, and then annoyed by it just going on and on with no one there to turn it off. I ended up calling the front desk who sent someone up to go into the room and turn it off. I was probably a fluke but still, it wasn't a fun experience. And if we could hear the alarm so clearly that it woke me up, I wonder what talking, or just a moderately loud TV would have sounded like.

In general though, I really don't like hotels with open "motel" style hallways. I feel like you hear everyone walking by your room, and you can't really open your window much because people can just look inside of it.

 

[Spazz2k]

We have stayed at every resort on property and my wife and I think the quietest rooms we have stayed at are at the Riviera. I think it is just newer construction and really solid doors, windows and sliders. We always talk about how quiet it is when we are in our room.

I do agree that it really does have a lot to do with the people next door or above you. For the 50th we stayed at the Poly in Hawaii on the 1st floor and it sounded like elephants were staying above us....super loud at all hours of the day and night.

Now the next question....which is a big discussion in our house....which room is the darkest for sleeping. LOL

 

[kicker30]

Only have experience st Beach Club Villas and the Dolphin and I don't recall any noise issues or hearing neighbors at either.

 

[lampshadehead]

I was pleasantly surprised at how quiet All Star Sports was the last time I stayed there. As we were entering our room I saw the people next to us also entering with a baby. I thought the baby crying would keep us up all night but I don't think we heard a peep from them. We were also in a room that faced the parking lot and also overlooked a little "courtyard" of just trees and shrubs. This ended up being great because there wasn't anyone hanging out or playing in front of our room.

An odd thing happened the last time I stayed at Pop though. I was woken up around 2am by what sounded like chiming bells. Turns out it was our neighbor's alarm clock. I went outside and saw the curtains all pulled back which made it look like an unoccupied room. What I think happened was that the last people who stayed in there set that early alarm (I assume to catch a really early flight) but accidentally set a recurring alarm. I was surprised how clearly I could hear the alarm, and then annoyed by it just going on and on with no one there to turn it off. I ended up calling the front desk who sent someone up to go into the room and turn it off. I was probably a fluke but still, it wasn't a fun experience. And if we could hear the alarm so clearly that it woke me up, I wonder what talking, or just a moderately loud TV would have sounded like.

In general though, I really don't like hotels with open "motel" style hallways. I feel like you hear everyone walking by your room, and you can't really open your window much because people can just look inside of it.

Wow, I had the same thing happen at Pop. Room next to us was unoccupied, but around 7am if I remember correctly, the alarm went off. This was around the time that the clock radios were being removed. After it happening a few days in a row, I went to the front desk about it. They actually didn't believe me LOL. Told me that it couldn't be that, because those clock radios were removed (the one in our room was gone). I know what I heard though. The room must have been checked anyway, because it stopped after my visit to the desk.
If someone is very sensitive to deep noises, such as stomping, ask for a top floor. The stomping and heavy sounds are what I find hardest to ignore.

 

[CarolynFH]

We had to put pillows under the connecting door in our CCV studio to avoid hearing the family next door.

 

[jodybird511]

Once you get used to the 'white' noise machines at night, it's tough to sleep without it, especially in a strange bed. It really does work!

I was just going to say, we have had NO problems anywhere we travel--Disney or nah--since we started always brining a white noise machine. It's truly been a game-changer, and I recommend for anyone. It's cheap and easy to get on Amazon, and takes up very little room in the suitcase.

 

[ChanaC]

Wow, I had the same thing happen at Pop. Room next to us was unoccupied, but around 7am if I remember correctly, the alarm went off. This was around the time that the clock radios were being removed. After it happening a few days in a row, I went to the front desk about it. They actually didn't believe me LOL. Told me that it couldn't be that, because those clock radios were removed (the one in our room was gone). I know what I heard though. The room must have been checked anyway, because it stopped after my visit to the desk.
If someone is very sensitive to deep noises, such as stomping, ask for a top floor. The stomping and heavy sounds are what I find hardest to ignore.

Lol maybe we were neighbors and had that one room between us! They also didn't believe me at first when I called. I told them that the room was most like unoccupied (I mean, who else would have the curtains open at 2am? Plus from what I could tell looking into the dark room it looked like the bed was made and there were no personal items inside) but they initially seemed hesitant to do anything. At that point I didn't care if it was occupied or unoccupied, at that time it had been going off for a solid ten minutes and clearly it wasn't turning off on it's own so someone needed to turn it off. Even if it was an occupied room the front desk would have needed to tell the people inside to wake up or cut it off. Luckily a CM did come by a few minutes after I called. But it was SO loud! I seriously would not have been able to get back to sleep if that thing kept going off.

 

[_19disnA]

Haven't stayed at every Disney property, but in general anyplace we have ever traveled it seems to matter more how much noise the people in adjacent rooms makes vs. the quality of the construction. I honestly think some people purposely set the alarm clock to max volume as a joke when they are checking out so it disturbs as many people as possible or even startles the next room occupants when it goes off the next day. In any hotel that still has clock radio/alarm clocks, we make sure they are turned off when checking into our room. Some people on vacation don't seem to care who else is around that they might disturb by playing the TV very loudly at all hours of the day/night. Others walk down the hallway shouting to others in their party who also don't seem to care if they disturb others in their rooms. Not sure the specific choice of a Disney hotel will have any impact on those types of situations.