Resort Advice (trying to avoid large July tour groups)

[Disneymom418]

We are traveling to WDW July 25th. We typically stay at moderate resorts and have been to POR, Carrribean Beach & Coronado Springs.
However, we have heard about the massive tour groups during the month of July and with having little one, I am trying to avoid the loud masses of teens. We have considered spending the extra money and staying at a deluxe resort. The cheaper of them, I have found, is Animal Kingdom Lodge and Wilderness Lodge. Any thoughts on either of those??? Is it worth it?

While I would be totally fine staying at a moderate, as we have in the past, I have heard that besides the value resorts, many of these teen groups have been staying at POR and Carribean Beach. I have read lots of horror stories of the pools becoming chaos and I just want to avoid that with my 5 year old.
Any info would be great, thanks!

 

[westie55]

Whether it is worth it is very subjective. Price out both options and see if the price difference makes sense to your family. I have stayed at both AKL and WL and have had great experiences at both. I think all the Disney resorts are terrific in their own way. If you feel that a tour group would take away your ability to enjoy the resort I'd advise avoiding moderates, although I have no personal experience with tour groups being at moderates any time I have stayed at one. I've done POR and CBR with no issues. I also stayed at AoA and was not impacted by any tour groups.

If you can afford to stay deluxe, try it! If cost is a major concern, perhaps consider renting DVC points. Your resort choice may be limited since you are only 6 months away from your trip, but renting points makes staying deluxe about the same price as a moderate. Granted, you cannot cancel and you do not get daily mousekeeping, but these things don't make a huge difference to my family and we have saved a ton of money since we discovered renting DVC points. I recently stayed at Saratoga Springs which is allegedly very easy to get even last minute. My stay there was wonderful.

 

[WEDWDW]

It just depends on how much you feel "living" with the SATGs will hinder you.

If it is a major concern I would definitely bite the bullet and go Deluxe.

POFQ would probably be the best Mod selection.

(I will add this-last July an ATG got off a SSR bus at Disney Springs-I don't know if they were actually coming from SSR or if the bus had already changed its sign for a pick-up.)

 

[ChasingLeslie]

I've stayed at CSR twice in July (including this past summer) and have never seen a SATG there. We're staying again this coming July.

I've also stayed at CBR and POR in the summer and don't remember tour groups (although those trips are a bit less recent).

 

[mouseketeerwannabe]

As Westie55 mentioned, I would highly recommend renting DVC points. There are reputable brokers who handle it all for you. Look in the Disney Vacation Club forum on this board. For example, you can stay 5 nights beginning July 25 at Boardwalk Villas for $1200. Wilderness Lodge Villas would be $1395 for 5 nights. That is the same price as the moderates once you add tax. The rental points don't add tax. We have rented points twice and had great trips. We do buy trip insurance since the rental points are non refundable. One broker does offer point protection insurance. As Westie55 said, you also don't get mousekeeping everyday. For us, the value of staying at a deluxe property for the price of a moderate was a no brainer. We have always gotten our points at the 9 or 10 month mark, so you may have limited choices.

If you aren't comfortable renting points, I would highly recommend the Wilderness Lodge. It's a short boat ride or bus ride away from Magic Kingdom. It makes it easy with a little one to go back to the room for a nap or a swim. WL is my absolute favorite. When we aren't staying there, we go over to eat at Whispering Canyon and then just sit in the lobby soaking up the atmosphere!

 

[Beer Me]

There was a large tour group at cbr during our stay. The only way I knew was that a bunch of girls wore the same t-shirt. They didn't congregate in large groups or make a lot of noise. It had no impact on my stay.

 

[jlnten17]

WL all the way! Worth every penny. Just stayed last week and construction did not bother us in the least.

 

[disnut8]

There was a large tour group at cbr during our stay. The only way I knew was that a bunch of girls wore the same t-shirt. They didn't congregate in large groups or make a lot of noise. It had no impact on my stay.

I was going to say the same thing. The "horror stories" for tour groups tend to be slightly out of balance with reality and I'm sure someone will post soon that they had a terrible experience a few years ago or last year or whatever. But, keep in mind that things have calmed down in the past few years, pools have been fenced in and more regulated, hours are being enforced.

Personally, if you go into a trip thinking the worst, you will find the worst. Even a large family group with similar T shirts at a pool might be considered a "tour group".

 

[Mainemama]

I have no input re tour groups, but wanted to say the WL might be a great match for your family for other reasons, if within your budget. Hearing "littles" and the desire for a calm pool makes me think you would love it! We have only stayed there once (right before my 3rd kid aged into counting as a guest in a resort room), and it was wonderful. The boat to MK is fantastic, the pool, though small, is relatively calm feeling compared to other resort pools, and the resort amenities are wonderful. We loved having the fort right nearby for biking, pony rides, and restaurants.