Resort Criteria: your top five

[ChasingLeslie]

What are the top five most important aspects to you when choosing a resort, and which resort(s) do you lean towards?

For me:
1. Price
2. Rooms (beds + comfort)
3. Bus service/transportation
4. Food options/menus
5. Grounds (pool and theme)

We are a mods family and most likely going with CSR for our next trip. I love POR for the food court and CBR for the pools, but I think CSR might be the most well rounded choice for us. (Although I keep reconsidering, ahh!)

 

[DizDaD7]

CSR is definitely our favorite non deluxe/villa for sure..

We call it our Deluxe-Lite...

When we first started staying, It was Values..Not necessarily (Which one )but for our biggest factor being PRICE.

As we had kids ( getting older ) we then started leaning towards the mods. And this was for more amenities , for a slight increase in PRICE.

Then we discovered/and bought into DVC.

Honestly now There is No factor determining where we stay...We'd like to just try out as many/ if not, all that we can.
For each one has it's ups & downs, or ( Pros n Cons ). It'll be kinda interesting to compare them as well.

 

[JennyDrake]

1. Price.
2. Quiet (at night and for daily nap!)
3. Food options

 

[midnightlouise]

For us, the theme and price are really tied. We do have a budget, but I won't stay somewhere just because of price. Conversely, I won't stay somewhere that looks amazing if it'll be more than I want to spend. So...

1. Price relative to Theme
2. Atmosphere of Resort (is it quiet, are there a lot of tour groups that typically stay here, etc.)
3. Rooms
4. Transportation/Proximity to Specific Park(s)
5. Food Options

 

[Aurora0427]

1. Location
Prior to kids, we stayed at the Epcot resorts because we love eating at WS. Now we stay at the Magic Kingdom resorts because that's where we spend most of our park time.

2. Food/ room condition/ price
These all tie in together for me. My husband eats really healthy and has lost 40 pounds, so we really look at the dining options at the resort. I also look at the last room refurbishment because I know how bad some of these older rooms can get. Then we look at price- we've been able to stay at the GF the past two trips, but only because of bounce back. Not sure how I'll plan our trips going forward since we are skipping 2016, the room discounts are getting worse and worse, and the dining has become so hard to get, it's difficult to plan last minute. And when I say last minute, I mean less than 6 months in advance!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Location and transportation
Room size (can fit 5 easily)
Themeing
Pool
Amenities (such as room service)

 

[OurLaughingPlace]

Theme/Feel/Quiet retreat from park
Transportation
Price
Pool

 

[bookgirl]

Mine are:

Type/theme (does it fit the type of vacation ie commando, relaxing, solo, family and does it appeal to me)

Price (does it fit in my budget for the trip)

Room configuration (beds, space, etc)

Food (will I need a convienent food source or am I not planning any resort meals)

Theme/transportation ( I can work around both of these but if I have a choice I take it into consideration)

PO resorts are my favorites overall with POFQ edging out POR

Music is my favorite Value

I think BC may still be my favorite Deluxe based only on location but WL was pretty awesome as well and much better priced.

 

[Disneylover99]

1. Price
2. Bus service
3. Getting a room with close proximity to pool, buses and food court
4. Overall vibe/atmosphere
5. Food options

 

[RustManFan]

Price
Landscaping/atmosphere
Quiet
Food Options
Room

POR (AB) is our favorite

 

[Sue M]

Price
Theming/Landcaping
Amenities
Transportation options

My fav moderate is POR. I think IMO it's the most beautifully landscaped, and has extras you don't find at the other mods. Boat to DTD, evening entertainment in the lounge, carriage rides, and a good food court.

 

[TeamSy]

1. Transportation - this is usually the number one thing we ask ourselves before booking each trip because it will depend on if we want to stay a) offsite completely (if we're okay with renting a car and having better accommodations), b) if we don't feel like renting a car and want to utilize Disney transportation then we'll stay onsite, OR c) if we want to split the time, stay on Disney for a week and do the parks and then stay offsite to relax.
2. Amenities - Rooms - Bed, Bathroom. Room Service/Restaurants, concierge, spa, etc.
3. Pool - How many, how relaxing, size, is there poolside service, etc.
4. Park Proximity - Which park do we want to be closest to either via monorail, boat, walking.... and if it's a hotel we can't be any of those then what's the point? Do we want to sit on a bus, pay for a car service, or rent a car? We may then go back and re-evaluate #1 or decide to bite the bullet and every few years test out a new Disney hotel (like we're doing with AKL this year and its bus-only transportation option).
5. Price - I don't mind spending the money, but I still need to see some sort of value in it. WHY it's worth whatever the cost it may be.

 

[pooh2001]

#1 = price - no WDW unless we can afford it
#2 = location,DH hates the buses - so at least one other form to somewhere must be available
#3 = size of the room
#4 = beds and amenities
#5 = the pool

 

[Disneytam]

#1= Location- we don't rent a car and try to stay away from the buses
#2= Amenities
#3= Cast members friendliness level at the hotels is a big deal for us. I don't ever want to have the feeling that I am putting them out. It makes my family happy if they really seem to love being and working at Disney.
#4= Pools- We like to have a choice between a quiet pool or a themed pool with drink service depending on our moods.
#5= Price- Like someone else stated I don't mind spending the money but I want to at least feel like I'm getting something for the cost.

Years ago we would stay at the Grand Floridian but our last 4 trips have been the Boardwalk. Part of that is because the children are grown up now so we spend more time at EPCOT and part because of the poor service we received at the GF on two separate trips. The GF price tag is just crazy now (we stay CL at both places) and I really did not feel welcome at all by many of the cast members at the GF CL on our last trip there. Love the BWI location and the concierge cast members are so kind and helpful that you can't help to feel like family!

 

[buzznina]

1- Price - Having a harder time justifying Deluxes
2- Bed size - Do not want full size if we can help it.
3- Theme - I think WDW does a very good job at all levels
4- Amenitiies options - Bike rental etc.

Transportation does not even enter into our decision. Yes we like different transportation options, but we have no issues with buses and found out years ago that all resorts get you to the parks. Saving 10 minutes here or there is not worth the $$$$ increase.

 

[gluestickgirl]

1. Can fit 5 in a room.
2. Price
3. Theme
4. Location / Transportation
5. Restaurants

 

[toodycat]

1.Theme, architecture, landscaping and atmosphere---what are we in the mood for?
2. amenities and activities--Do we like the pool, spa, restaurants, events specific to that resort?
3. Price---what offers the most for a fair price?
4. Location---Is the theme park we plan to focus on easily accessible? Are the transportation options viable if we are traveling
5. Room features---we prefer queen or larger beds, balconies---ideally with views--and indoor corridors.

 

[DisneyGuy]

Location/Transportation is first and foremost
Past experience (whether visiting a resort or having stayed there in the past)
Price - what discount is available and for what resort
Theme
Amenities

 

[PirateD]

Good question to think about.

In making our decision for this trip, we identified several factors and would probably rank them as follows:

1. Price
2. Atmosphere/Disney Feel
3. Transportation/Location
4. Theme
5. Layout

 

[BabyFu18]

For me:
1. Location/View/Balcony
2. Grounds and Amenities
3. Price
4. Transportation
5. Theme

We've only ever stayed deluxe at WDW, but I'm not opposed to trying others as long as the whole family can agree!