Rate Your Resorts

[toodycat]

GF 5/5 We love the gracious atmosphere, beautiful lobby, amazing dining choices, large, comfortable rooms and the feeling of being right in the midst of the magic with the monorail and boat service to MK and great views of the fireworks and the ERP I could write pages on the times GF CMs have gone above and beyond for us whether we were staying RPC TPV CL or in a garden view room at 35% off or not even at the GF, but just dining there. On the subject of dining, whether you're getting QS at Gasparilla's, the character buffet at 1900 Park Fare or signature dining at Narcoosee's, nothing can beat the GF for food. We especially love the lobster salad at Gasparilla's and the scallops at Narcoosee's . For us, the GF is our dream come true. When we were a young couple, we visited WDW and saw he brand new GF. We said,"That's where we'll stay when we bring our child to WDW for the first time." And it was.

AKL 5/5 How can you not love a resort where you can look out from your balcony and see a giraffe? AKL gets theming exactly right with its African lobby and grounds. Just walking around the resort and stopping to sit by the firepit is a great experience. We love Boma and Jiko where we celebrated DH's 50th birthday. If you stay CL, the Sunrise Safari is well worth it.

WL 4/5 We've only stayed here once because our son has an ASD and super sensitivity to loud noises, so the din from theWhispering Canyon Cafe and the boat launch to MK were too much for him. If the noise were not an issue, there's a lot to like about the WL with its amazing landscaping---what other resort has a geyser--and great pool. Rooms are not spectacular, but they are certainly comfortable enough. We didn't dine here, so I can't speak to the dining options.

CSR 3/5 This is the only moderate we've stayed at, so I may be a little spoiled. We liked the grounds and our son loved the feature pool. The rooms were fine. CMs were all very nice. What we didn't like was how spread out everything was and that the theming just made us feel like we were at a Hilton in Phoenix. Also, we found the food court pricey and felt that there was better value at the QS at GF.

Poly 2/5 The first we stayed at the Poly, we loved it. We were in a lagoon view room in Samoa and it was great---total Disney magic. On our second stay, we ran the gamut from surly cast members, bad food, a volcano pool so dirty that we emerged from it covered in dead bugs and a crowded and noisy lobby. The only thing I liked was the monorail.

Our next stop is BCV this summer.

 

[HairyChest]

Wow this is great. Some of the responses are suprising. Love reading these.
When i read resort reviews the problem is i dont know where the people have stayed and are comparing them to. This way i can tell what theyve expirienced and then make a better decision on where to stay next.

 

[bowbat]

My personal preference, from best to, well, not "worst" but least favorite :

1. BWI -- I love the location, the look of the rooms, the CMs, the dining options

2. WL -- Gorgeous resort, immersive theme, lots to do

3. Contemporary -- classic Disney, all under one roof, walk to MK, big rooms

4. GF -- This might be my favorite if we had stayed in the main building, but we stayed in Sugar Loaf & I don't like the whole "out-building" thing. That said, lovely, large rooms, super-friendly CMs, best dining & shopping options.

5. Poly -- Meh. Dark, run-down (obvs the room reno changes this), CMs were so-so at best, had to walk outside to get anywhere, super-crowded pool area.

We stayed at CBR, too, but it was YEARS ago so I don't think it's fair to rate it against our other more recent stays.

 

[shell8558]

Wilderness lodge 4/5
All star movies 3/5
POR 5/5
All star sports 4/5
CBR 2/5

 

[gtpoohbear]

Poly -5/5, can't say enough good about it- truly perfect in every way! It felt like an authentic tropical paradise, and the location can't be beat.

CBR -3/5, way to spread out for my taste, and transportation was very slow and tedious. Outside entry bugs me considering the price. It's pretty though, and has a nice food court and pool.

ASMo -4/5, for a Value it really exceeded my expectations. Nicely themed and maintained, just a little more cramped rooms and no alternate transportation.

 

[Shell54]

Poly we stayed CL 5/5 our favorite resort and CL was the best..watching fireworks in the lounge was heavenly

AKL 5/5 dining choices and animal views fabulous

DH has stayed at CSR for business several times and gives it a 4/5

 

[lady_hlh]

Here is our ratings but we still haven't found the elusive 5/5 rating:

YC - 4.75/5 loved everything except the lack of good CS options and the shared buses when not walking to HS or Epcot

BCV - 4.5/5 didn't love the villa room set-up with the sofa bed or the BC lobby

AKL - 4.5/5 loved the dining, atmosphere and the animals. Wasn't thrilled with the hike from our room which was at end of the hotel and not walking to any parks.

OKW - 4/5 loved the atmosphere, the pool and the huge bathroom but wasn't thrilled with the lack of much CS

POR - 3.5/5 the food court and the atmosphere were great but the pools were boring and the buses were always an issue.

POP - 3/5 when our DD was little we loved this but not sure we are value resort people now.

CSR - 2.5/5 the pool was very nice but atmosphere was just not appealing to us

This year we are staying at CR, I'm excited to walk to MK and to have a big room but I don't know if this will be 5/5 either. The Poly is my dream resort and we still haven't made it there yet.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

Poly: 5/5 (love everything about it)
OKW: 5/5 (love everything about it)
AKV Kidani: 5/5 (wish it was closer to MK/Epcot, but the themeing is so well-done here)
WL: 4/5 (I feel like the mountain lodge décor in the rooms could be better implemented and Roaring Forks could have more options and a better indoor seating area, but I love the resort and location)
POR: 4/5 (I loathe the bus system here. It seems to always have the longest line to return to the resort. Love the landscaping, food court and eating area, and boat to DTD)
CSR: 3/5 (We only stayed here two nights, but I didn't like how close the parking lots were to our room [and opening the door to our room with no trees/shrubs buffering the parking lot view])
ASMusic: 4/5 (We only stayed here one night and maybe my expectations were low, but I really liked the layout and size of the room. The lobby and food court was insanely crowded, though)

 

[RocketEAR99]

I've stayed at:

VWL (5/5): Stayed there for the first time in October and loved it more than any place I've stayed previous! I enjoyed the ambiance and the offerings there (The Carolwood Pacific Room). Boating to MK was a plus too! Also it's hard to get a bad view because most of the views are all trees.
AKV-Kidani (4/5): Like VWL, I really enjoyed the ambiance and the offerings. The ONLY reason I don't like it as much as VWL is because it's so far away from almost everything.
BLT (4/5): I wasn't much for the ambiance here, but location, location, location! Being able to spend time at the Top of the World Lounge was a plus too. And the only thing better than boating to MK is walking there!
OKW (3/5): It's theme isn't spectacular, but there's really no such thing as a bad view and the rooms are more spacious. I liked its central location on property and I REALLY liked the dinner I had at Olivia's.
BWV (3/5): I enjoyed the night atmosphere on the actual Boardwalk and being able to walk to 2 of the theme parks without too much stress (or boat if I preferred). It was a short trip, so I didn't get to really enjoy the resort, but I will when I go in May for a week!
SSR (2/5): I don't have anything bad to say about this resort, but I don't have anything great to say about it either. It was pleasant, even nice, but nothing sticks out to me about it except that it was my FIRST resort to stay at as a DVC member.
POP (5/5): It's a Value resort, so I won't even try to compare it to Deluxe Villas. As your basic hotel on property, it was great to be independent from other resorts to bus to the parks. I was impressed by the offerings at the food court too! Having seen the other Value resorts (besides AoA), this one was definitely the best at the time.

 

[DianaPrince]

Best-worst for us would be
1-GF (ah-may-zing, we had such a magical time here for my bday last year)
2-AoA ( really has become our new home for a while since we have the 4 younglings)
3-Poly(holds a special place dh and I married and honeymooned here,but,our visit last year left us sadly disappointed)
4-POFQ (my oldest sons fav before we did AoA, its a nice quant resort)
5-WL( great resort,felt the room was a bit too small for a dlx)
6-CR (before removations,would love to go back and do tower room)
7-CBR (cute but way to spread out,imho)
8-Swan (yeah non disney but Im sorry its was nice,just a pain no ddp thats why so low here)
9-Shades of green (agian non disney,the transportation sucks but still a pretty hotel)
10-AsMu
11-the other 2 allstars tie

 

[66Tink]

Also doing best to worst:

YC: LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this resort. SAB is a huge hit with our family as is
the location of the YC and our favorite restaurant is the Captain's
Grille. Staying here for second time in August

AKV: A very close second to the YC, but a very different experience. A
one bedroom savannah view is amazing. The pool is great and the
distance from other parks does not bother us because we always
rent a car. Only draw back is lack of counter service, but Jambo
is close by. Would stay here again.

WL: Third on the list really only because the room felt small. Location
was great for MK, only a boat ride away. Food options were good
and of course the Christmas decorations were beautiful. Can't
comment on the pool because it was too cold out! Would stay
again at the holidays!

BCV: Fourth on our list...just not thrilled with the overall experience at
BCV...nothing bad, just eh. IMO not worth the money for us, but
glad we were able to try it.

SSR: Really a tie with BCV, just did not find SSR very appealing.
Grounds were beautiful and walk to DTD a plus, but would not
stay here again.

OKW: Last on our list...while a beautiful resort with big rooms, we
found the staff was the least helpful here. Must say you get
a lot of room for your money here, but we would not stay again.

CBR: Will always hold a special place in my heart because it was our
first on-site stay as a family. Would like to stay here again for
a night or two.

We have been very fortunate to be able stay on site for so many years and hope to try out POLY after the renovations are done...it is my DD's dream resort!

 

[LeahA]

AKV
WL
POLY
SSR
POP
OKW

Staying at Beach Club soon, we'll have to see where they fall in after we stay there!

 

[amberpi]

Here is the list for which we look at availablity:

Swolphin (semi-Disney I know, but still our fave)
CR
YC/BC
GF

We spent 1 night at All Star Music when we moved a flight up day of - not for us, ever, ever, ever again.

Enjoyed Poly and AKL ok. AKL is beautiful, but the location is bad and its a bit overly themey for my and DH's tastes. Poly has a great location, but again, we're not big "theme" people so I don't feel compelled to go back - and I don't like the doors on the outside thing. No interest in WL after staying at Grand Californian in DLR, again, just not for us, I really don't even know why I booked there, we're not lodge people.

That said, those deluxes (Poly and AKL) were perfectly fine and I can see why people like them, for us, we're more Swolphin/CR people than Poly, if that makes sense. One of the things that appeals to me so much about WDW though is that it has something for every taste! And I do enjoy occassionally grabbing a drink at the Poly to experience it, just don't want it 24/7. The only place we wouldn't go again is a value; I'm glad we tried it though so we can know for sure its not for us.