so fun to read everyone's rankings - even resorts I haven't been super excited to try, I now see a reason to try!
I think my list is not only informed by "buy where you want to stay" but also - we fly, never rent a car, and really enjoy many of the sit-down and signature restaurants. We haven't been to Disney Springs in years. And we love fireworks, E ticket rides, and theming.
1.
RIV (own) (s, 1, 2LO): most recent trip confirmed that DH and I like RIV best of all. The "backyard" with the pools, gardens, views is just so peaceful and pretty and compact. I love arriving to the upscale and pretty lobby and port-cochere and seeing the "backyard" through the windows. My kid love the feature pool, DH and I love the "quiet" pool which is long enough and empty enough to swim laps. The rooms are well-designed (love the outlets at all the beds, for example) and feel spacious, even the studios. Most recently we stayed in a 2br LO with another family of 4 and again - it felt like enough room for all of us. And we love Topolino's (may be our favorite restaurant not called Victoria & Albert's). The skyliner is it's own attraction. (We almost never take buses because we often do a split stay and visit MK/AK from the other resort.
2.
VGF (own) (s, 1, 2LO): This is my kids' favorite and my favorite over Easter and Christmas. DH and I flip flop between VGF and RIV as #1 and 2, and sometimes it comes down to which parks we are visiting and whether we want a visit. We love everything about this resort - we've only stayed in the villas building and watching MK fireworks from our standard view villa is amazing. My kids are usually sleeping in the LR so it's nice to a) have the space and b) have the murphy beds. (same for Riv) Have I stayed in the resort studios? No. Do I plan to? No. I have stayed at the hotel rooms as well, and the villas building is the best. It's more peaceful and close enough to the restaurants and shops, but then we go back to our villa and it's so relaxing. And mostly great views. We love all the signature restaurants, Victoria and Albert's is not only our favorite restaurant on property but one of our favorite restaurants anywhere, and we live in NYC.
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Aulani (1br OV) might be in here: we've only stayed once and had the most spectacular 1br OV. Another one where we spent a lot of time just sitting on the balcony and relaxing. The spa was amazing. We've been to Hawaii a number of times though, and this trip was a split with Royal Hawaiian on points, and ... there are a lot of spectacular resorts in Hawaii, and I actually prefer Kauai or the Big Island, and would spend more time off-resort at one of the resorts that's not Aulani. Not a knock on Aulani at all, just that our non-theme park vacations are not usually so resort heavy.)
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Grand Californian (studio; 2br Dec 2024) might fall in here also. We are east coasters, so WDW is just so much easier for us to get to, and for short trips. The rooms could use at least refresh, if not a refurb. We really enjoyed our stay in the studio and we're looking forward to our upcoming stay. We've really enjoyed
Disneyland and the different vibe from WDW, but practically speaking we aren't going to go every year or even every other year, so we are ok with waitlisting and trying at 8am at 7 mo)
3.TIE: BLT (own)/BWV (s, 1, 2): BLT was our first home resort, Lots of nostalgia for the Contemporary and "the monorail runs through the building!" BLT would be #3 on its own but it desperately needs the refurb and some murphy beds in the living rooms. I love the n+1 bathrooms (this is a thing with me), the low point costs and low dues, the views, and the muted sort of midcentury theming. I like that it's close but not too close to the hubbub of the Contemporary and the stores there. I love being a points cheapskate and seeing fireworks either at TOTWL or from a standard view room with the right request. Lake views are also gorgeous. But: NEEDS REFURB...
3. (TIE) BWV (s, 1, 2LO): we almost bought here, but I am glad we didn't. We've managed to stay in all 3 room views (standard, pool, BW view) using 7mo points, and we definitely like the BW view the best (fireworks view! Boardwalk view!) I'm glad we didn't buy points here because: 2042 expiration, all 2br are LOs and I don't like the layout, the kitchen has crummy counter space, and we've been able to book here at/near 7mo. whenever we've tried, and only once using the WL for BW and standard views. Walk to 2 parks, we love the BW area, and Flying Fish is one of my favorite restaurants. The kids love the surrey bikes, I love the vibe of the whole area. I'm not in love with the villa layouts (other than the studios) - not only is the connecting door of the LO in a strange place, there are too many doors swinging every which way in the main bathroom. That said, it's a great deal on points, so this is where we sleep around most. If I ask the kids where we want to switch, or recommendations for other families, BWV is the first resort they name.
5.
BCV (s, 1, 2ded) - I almost put this 6th. But: our first stay at BCV was on rented points shortly after we'd bought BLT points, and DH saw Stormalong Bay and wanted to sell our BLT points. At the time DD2 was a toddler and DD1 could not swim well. I maintain that SAB and BCV are most fun when everyone is a stronger swimmer, which has now happened. Same as BWV though, we've never had trouble getting a room at 7mo, and we don't *have* to be there every time. Balance that with - no views, long-ish walk to SAB, food, main entrance, mostly tiny balconies, weirdly large master bath layout (like BWV), I'm ok not owning points here and staying here every once in a while. The walk to Epcot and the skyliner, though ... awesome!
6.
AKV (hotel room (J), 1(J), 2ded(K)) - It has a freakin' savanna! I love the theming in the main building and the shops and the restaurants. We didn't stay here until the kids were out of strollers, and then we've come multiple times. Our 7mo points have had no problem getting savanna view rooms and we are happy paying for that view. We did stay in a value 1br in 2021 and I found it a bit small. On the whole (thanks to room recommendations here), we liked the pool, lobby restaurants and amenities at Jambo, but preferred the space and n+1 baths in the larger units at Kidani, so near the Zazu elevators was perfect for us: the space of Kidani with a short walk to Jambo. All of that said, I am not a huge fan of the dark wood in the rooms, so I don't think I'd do more than 3-5 days at a time. But it was so peaceful and beautiful from our balcony on the savanna. (but also needs some refurb...)
As written, it looks like AKV comes in "last place", but these are the DVCs where we've stayed. BRV and CCV and Poly are on our list, especially now that Poly has larger units coming online. We are always there for dinner and resort-hopping. CFW - might try on a later trip if we bring some of DDs' friends without additional grownups - then we'd stick the kids in the bedroom. But not a ton of interest until there are more resort amenities easily accessible.
SSR and OKW ... my kids are still park commandos and aren't really interested in DS - maybe more now that their stamina is outpacing mine. We now go til park close and so ease of travel between the park and the resort is a much bigger factor, but buses are now also WAY easier with 4 people who can carry their own stuff and get on and off a bus on their own 2 feet. We did once have a short-notice trip (opening of Toy Story Land, still had stroller) where we could have used
DVC points to stay at SSR or Marriott points to stay at Swan. We stayed at the Swan that time, and we haven't had occasion to consider staying at SSR or OKW since.
Funny - I think VGF and RIV have a similar feel (especially the original villa building at VGF which feels a little more intimate). But I agree, sometimes it just depends on your first encounters with CMs and when you first get in. I love Topolino's but I had one time this year where I felt ... overlooked/ignored. I'm glad I went back more recently.
We try too, but recently failed to consider renovation timeline delays - we stayed at BWV last summer just days before they started closing wings for refurb, and at BLT last month just before refurb also (booked at 11 months when they had suggested renovation would start in January 2024 ... d'oh!) Then again, we lucked into a VGF 1br that had recently had a soft goods refurb with new murphy beds (when the building was still getting the refurb/refresh) - top floor AND new room.
Wow, Easter and Christmas are my favorite seasons there! Yes it's hectic, but the whole place smells like either chocolate or gingerbread.
I think
@AstroBlasters may have multiple wives ...
(except I may be the Evelyn who likes the Skyliner) #iykyk #eeaao
