Someone just stage an intervention, please.

[EmilyS90]

Previously I made a post asking which moderate resort would be best for our honeymoon in October. Well, the fiance and I got to thinking "Hey, why not check out the deluxes with our bounceback offer and see what's out there?"

So now we're back to the drawing board. Kinda? Some info:
We're going to be staying 4 nights, and we'll have 2 park days with hoppers (we mainly want to be at Epcot but I just couldn't live with myself if I didn't swing by MK).

I really don't know if a deluxe resort is "worth" such a short stay. But we do plan on being at the resort a lot, and being pretty lazy about going to the parks. We're mostly interested in Epcot Food and Wine.

(this is all including our ticket prices, btw)
For moderate resorts, CSR and CBR are about $1400-1500 with the discount
POFQ and POR are around $1500 as well, no discounted room available but still a good price.

For the deluxes, we've narrowed it down to Animal Kingdom (~$1700) or Wilderness Lodge (~$1800). It's worth noting, probably, that we do have a reservation at Artist Point on our first day, so Wilderness lodge would be more convenient just for that one thing.

And BONUS ROUND, I priced a couple of studio villas. the AK Kidani Village studio would be around $2000, and Saratoga Springs studio would be around $2200.

I know everyone is different and has different preferences and we'll talk about it way more this week, but just for the heck of it, if you were in our shoes, what would your choice be?

 

[ToddyLu]

I would go with the most I could afford. it is a special occasion and hopefully you will have a life of "regular vacations". DH and I did not have a Honeymoon and he always promised that we would go to Disney one day. Well, I had my first trip for our 8th anniversary in 2002. It was magical. we stayed at ASMo and I can still remember the way it felt to see the "real" castle for the first time. DH had been once in 1976 for his 12th birthday so he just smiled as I yanked on his arm screaming about seeing the castle. It is our special place and no matter where you stay it will be magical. But over the years we have slowed down and the parks, while fun for a small part of the day, just don't matter quite as much. I love the pool environments at AKL, plus you get the interaction with the CMs from Africa. The artwork is beautiful and while there it really feels like you have left central Florida. So for us it is a vacation within a vacation. You can try to rent a DVC villa with David's for your dates. Congratulations!! Marriage is awesome when you marry your friend. We just celebrated our 20th this past Oct and where did we go...you guessed it, a 9 night stay at Jambo.

 

[DetroitDisney]

1500 vs 1800?

Go for it. I give you permission to justify this, and I'm extremely cheap, haha.

 

[pamkat1820]

We got suckered into the same thing our first visit lol I started at CBR then switched to CsR and ended at AKL as our final choice lol. It was a great trip. If it's only $300 difference I would do it. U cant go wrong wit either resort. It's your honeymoon go for it! Lol

 

[nonnydd]

You have my permission to go for it, too . But if wedding budgets get super stressful, Coronado can have a nice honeymoon vibe. Good food, great bars, hammocks, and a really nice pool. Our family of 5 usually stays deluxe to fit us, but Coronado was a nice surprise. Buses were very reliable and not shared with other resorts. Best wishes!

 

[Lillian Gracey]

Go for it! It's a special occasion! DH and I stayed at ASSp for our Disney wedding/Disneymoon and this year for our one year anniversary we decided to stay at WL. We're only paying $950 for 5 nights and this is probably our only opportunity to stay at a deluxe for a while so we're going for it!

 

[Hi Pluto]

WL would be a great choice, especially if you want to just hang around the resort. You can also walk over to the campgrounds and there's a lot over there to see (like horses and what-not). Although, since AKL is pretty isolated anyway it would be nice to stay there too. I would definitely upgrade to whatever you can afford, especially if it's not that much more to go deluxe.

~Cari~

 

[AriesAriel]

My vote would be for WL!

 

[AllieBoo]

If you are mostly going to be Epcot, I highly recommend the Yacht Club. You can walk to Epcot, and it is a super nice, quiet resort with an awesome pool! You also have the Boardwalk area that you can walk meander around at night.

 

[bookgirl]

Of those two Wilderness lodge, but if you plan to be at Epcot and plan on lots of resort time I'd go for Beach Club.

Walk to Epcot, Boardwalk area at night, SAB, and great restaurants between the 5 resorts and the World showcase.

 

[Nancyg56]

A honeymoon? Relaxing at the resort? Animal Kingdom Lodge!!! It is a stunning resort that sweeps you away from the hustle and bustle that is Disney. You walk into a cool lobby, that is absolutely gorgeous, and for as long as you are there, the outside world is nowhere to be found.

This resort gets a bad rap in regards to location, but I never have understood that. The bus transportation is efficient, and given that you are planning on being "lazy" there is no harm no foul if you spend a little time on the bus. I never reccommend AKL for people who are using the resort as a place to sleep becuasae there is a lot to see here, from the artwork that you can explore, the chef's tours of Boma and Jiko, the CM's who will tell you all abaout their homelands, to the animals meandering all over the savannahs.

If I was looking for a respite from wedding planning and stress, and wanted to relax and enjoy WDW and still honeymoon....AKL for sure!

 

[Minniesgal]

For a honeymoon deluxe all the way

 

[gatormom2tots]

Absolutely!!!!

Enjoy the deluxes while you still can...once kids get into the mix, those deluxe days will end! Speaking from experience with 4 kids...

 

[Lucius Best]

We've stayed at both AKL and WL, would definitely upgrade to either if it was only an extra $300. AKL also has good restaurants, you already have Artist Point ADR, you could also make an ADR for AKL resort, then whichever one you stay at, you can visit the other.

 

[Disney_Fanatic]

We are getting married around the same time as you but our honeymoon trip is a week after yours.

We are not allowed to post information for specific agencies on the DIS but I will refer you to a closed thread with some information. They might have deals on other resorts on dates around the time of your travel so this may help.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/magical-deal-at-the-poly-for-2015.3340695/

 

[MinnieMeep]

A honeymoon? Relaxing at the resort? Animal Kingdom Lodge!!! It is a stunning resort that sweeps you away from the hustle and bustle that is Disney. You walk into a cool lobby, that is absolutely gorgeous, and for as long as you are there, the outside world is nowhere to be found.

This resort gets a bad rap in regards to location, but I never have understood that. The bus transportation is efficient, and given that you are planning on being "lazy" there is no harm no foul if you spend a little time on the bus. I never reccommend AKL for people who are using the resort as a place to sleep becuasae there is a lot to see here, from the artwork that you can explore, the chef's tours of Boma and Jiko, the CM's who will tell you all abaout their homelands, to the animals meandering all over the savannahs.

If I was looking for a respite from wedding planning and stress, and wanted to relax and enjoy WDW and still honeymoon....AKL for sure!

THIS, x100. I previously discounted ever staying at AKL due to its location. We ended up there on our Feb 2015 trip as we were staying at Poly for our 2nd "honeymoon" (we were married at Disney in Nov 2014 but didn't get to relax and do everything we had wanted). For multiple reasons, we requested to move resorts and the only one that had availability during our Feb vacation was AKL. We had to discuss amongst ourselves for 15 minutes to determine if we really wanted to try it; but ended up saying what the heck, give it a shot! I am so thankful we did, staying AKL CL is right up there with GF RPC for me. The ambiance, theming, dining, people were all wonderful. We ended up spending a lot of time at the resort. The buses were kind of annoying at times, I'll be honest. I LOVED AKL so so so much, and can't wait to go back! We're staying at BWI CL & CR CL in September, and I'm getting sad that we wont be staying at AKL this time around. I totally recommend AKL.

 

[Ewoks]

I'd suggest WL, personally. My husband and I stayed there back in January for our first anniversary and really enjoyed the atmosphere. It's just secluded enough without being far away from everything (i.e. requiring taking a bus EVERYWHERE, like you'd have to do at AKL). You have boat transportation to both MK and to the Contemporary, where you can easily hop on the monorail and go anywhere, including EPCOT. We spent most of our park time at EPCOT and found the boat to CR monorail to EPCOT routine really efficient and fun. WL has a lot to offer for a couple, too, since it's such a beautiful resort with gorgeous grounds.

 

[Starshine]

Another vote for the Epcot Resorts (BC/YC or Boardwalk) if you're planning to spend most of time in Epcot. Nothing beats the easy walk over to the International Gateway for me!

 

[Babsy]

I would stay at the WL!! For four days it is definitely worth the additional $$ and it is such a special occasion I believe that you should treat yourself if at all possible. The only thing is, I would go with a courtyard view because of the possible construction at the WL. If the Courtyard view id more than the rate you quoted, then I would go with the AKL. At the AKL, the savannah view is worth the extra, BUT the pool view is very little more than the standard view and is quite lovely. I would go with the AKL if you are looking at standard view, even, be cause even some standard view rooms here have partial savannah views.

Check out the Swan and Dolphin resorts as well. The prices here are often much less than WDW prices and you can have truly deluxe rooms at close to moderate prices. You can walk to Epcot and DHS from here as well as having a really nice pool and great dining options nearby in the Epcot area resorts and in World Showcase.

Good luck!

 

[terri33inne]

If it were me, splurging for deluxe for my honeymoon & planning to spend the most time at Epcot I would stay at Boardwalk, YC, or BC. If I was REALLY splurging I would get one of the little cottage rooms at BW... so charming with their own picket fence.

Honestly, if EP is your main park you can't beat the convenience of the Epcot area resorts. Great dining for your non-park days, great quiet pools. BW has all these lovely knooks & porches to just pull up a chair & relax.