Resorts worth staying at vs Visiting

[HairyChest]

Going on my frirst trip to the world and the toughest decision has been choosing the resort.

I went back and forth between the polynesian and the wilderness lodge (especially going during christmas) but ended up choosing polynesian because i realised everything great about the wilderness lodge can be expirienced by just visiting the resort (lobby, fireplace, tree) but the poly , staying in a room thats much larger and seeing the castle while in the pool can only be expirienced by staying at the poly.

What resorts can only truly be expirienced by STAYING there and not just visiting?

 

[Abby Wednesday]

Really, it depends on what you're after. For me it's not just the resort features, but the location of the resort as well. The benefits of staying at the Epcot resorts are being able to walk to Epcot, HS,and having the Boardwalk and all the resort restaurants nearby. Plus, at YC/BC a huge benefit for some people is SAB, if you're into pools. Or, you might want to eat at DTD every night so you would want SSR or POR for easy access. Or, it could be worth it to stay at a monorail resort because you want to spend a lot of time at the MK.

The only resort-specific features I can think of that you wouldn't be able to experience would be the pools, and almost everyone agrees that SAB is the nicest on property. But, you also have to think about whether you're willing to take the time to travel to a given resort to take advantage of its features that are open to the public.

 

[andrencau]

AKL. You can visit but if you don't stay there you can't truly appreciate waking up with the animals. Stay with a savannah view. You can waste away hours on your balcony watching the animals in "your backyard." There are also many opportunities to learn from native Africans about their culture. If it were not far away from MK (we have little kids and spend many days there), AKL would be our home resort.

 

[Karabee]

Stay, don't just Visit -
POLY - you can't beat the theme or the feeling you are somewhere tropical (even if it is a bit kitchy)
AKL - Like PP said, waking up and seeing animals, or getting to really explore and appreciate that resort is so worth it
GF - I only stayed here because of a huge discount and it was so worth it. The lobby is beautiful and all, but the rooms are nice and the whole feel is really fabulous. (However, if you don't have a price break I wouldn't say to stay here - no room is worth $450!)


Visit, don't bother staying -
WL - you hit the nail on the head. Lobby and boat to MK are great but that's about it. Rooms are really nothing special, and of all the Deluxe pools and pool areas, that is the worst.

 

[HairyChest]

Stay, don't just Visit -
POLY - you can't beat the theme or the feeling you are somewhere tropical (even if it is a bit kitchy)
AKL - Like PP said, waking up and seeing animals, or getting to really explore and appreciate that resort is so worth it
GF - I only stayed here because of a huge discount and it was so worth it. The lobby is beautiful and all, but the rooms are nice and the whole feel is really fabulous. (However, if you don't have a price break I wouldn't say to stay here - no room is worth $450!)


Visit, don't bother staying -
WL - you hit the nail on the head. Lobby and boat to MK are great but that's about it. Rooms are really nothing special, and of all the Deluxe pools and pool areas, that is the worst.

Thanks kara. You made me feel good about switching to poly from WL

 

[mickeynut1]

Visit, don't bother staying -
WL - you hit the nail on the head. Lobby and boat to MK are great but that's about it. Rooms are really nothing special, and of all the Deluxe pools and pool areas, that is the worst.

We don't feel this way at all about the WL. The Poly is our favorite resort, but the WL runs a very close second and while the volcano pool at the Poly is our favorite, we also love the pool/pool area at the WL over some of the others (and we've stayed at all but 3 of the deluxes). The Poly has an edge for us over the WL as we love the larger rooms and a daybed in every room, but the WL really is a beautiful resort and, IMO, has just as much to offer as any of the other deluxe resorts.

Thanks kara. You made me feel good about switching to poly from WL

I think you made a good choice going with the Poly if you're looking for a larger room and the ability to see the castle from the pool, but the WL is also an amazing resort for different reasons. IMO, just visiting a resort doesn't really give you the feel of that resort. We would visit the GF every trip and often had the feeling that it was "stuffy" and said we would never stay there. That all changed in 2010. After experiencing the GF, we had a great stay and didn't find it stuffy at all. So in our own personal experience, just visiting a resort doesn't give you the feel of the resort as a whole and without actually staying there, you might miss out on a great stay at a great resort.