Trying to decide on which resort

[FSU Girl]

I would love to hear people's opinions on where they think I should stay for my birthday trip in May with my boyfriend. I keep going back and forth on what's practical and what I really want. I have a couple months to finalize everything, but wanted to hear what people on here thought.

So a little background info. I really really want a king bed. It's my only request. From talking to people on here and doing some research it seems my best bet at getting one is either booking a one bedroom villa or a king bed room from a moderate or the very expensive one at Grand Floridian.

I'm not opposed to staying in a villa. I stayed at Bay Lake Towers for two days before and thought it was really nice. I want to try somewhere new so I wouldn't stay there again. I'm also not sure if it'll detract from the overall deluxe stay feel. When at BLT I didn't like how far it was from the main hotel and all the restaurants and shops.

My dream hotel is Grand Floridian, I've always wanted to stay there. It's just incredibly expensive and the slightly cheaper rooms are all separate from the main building. I'm not sure if the weather at the end of May will be a lot of rain which would make getting to the monorail in a downpour unpleasant.

The majority first two days of my trip are going to be spent at restaurants at Grand Floridian and Magic Kingdom, then the remainder of the trip is Epcot and Hollywood Studios (Mostly Epcot). Would it make sense to stay at the Grand Floridian for the first two nights and then switch to an Epcot resort? The whole trip is only 5 nights. Or should I just pick one of the Epcot resorts? I've never stayed at any of them, is there one that is the best for couples? If I picked one of the villas there would it be a really far walk from everything?

This has gotten really long I apologize and would love to hear what people think!

 

[Pmlocke]

My wife and I stay at the All Star Music every year and we always get a King mattress. They are available at every resort. You just need to request a room with a king.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I would book a king room at a moderate for 5 nights or all 5 nights at the GF. I wouldn't do a split stay with only 5 nights.

 

[FSU Girl]

There are one bedroom villas available for 2 nights in the middle of my vacation at the Villas at Grand Floridian. Would it be crazy to do three different hotels so I could stay there? I'm thinking my boyfriend would never go for it, I wish that hotel had availability the entire time of my vacation. I'm guessing that place books up really fast at the 11 month marker.

 

[ncc1701]

If you decide to go the moderate route POR and POFQ , are a resonably distance by bus to MK, Epcot and DHS. They also offer the boat service to Disney Springs. If you do a split stay I would keep it to 2 hotels .

 

[KonaKaiTom]

Stay at the GF -- you will love it. I've always gotten a King when I've requested one. Regarding getting to Epcot, we usually either walk over to the Poly for breakfast at Kona's Café (Tonga Toast is a must) and then walk around the corner to the TTC for the Epcot monorail. If it is raining, I'd just get on the monorail at the GF, ride it to the MK, the CR and then get off at the TTC and take the Epcot monorail from there.

Tom

 

[FSU Girl]

Stay at the GF -- you will love it. I've always gotten a King when I've requested one. Regarding getting to Epcot, we usually either walk over to the Poly for breakfast at Kona's Café (Tonga Toast is a must) and then walk around the corner to the TTC for the Epcot monorail. If it is raining, I'd just get on the monorail at the GF, ride it to the MK, the CR and then get off at the TTC and take the Epcot monorail from there.

Tom

Which view do you normally request there? Standard?

 

[KonaKaiTom]

Which view do you normally request there? Standard?

It varies depending on the travel companions......I've stayed in all the views and all the buildings except of the RPC. For Garden View I request Sago and ask for the Marina view - which is in that category -- you get a beautiful view of the marina and the courtyard. For Lagoon View we usually request Big Pine Key and have had views of both the Poly and the Contemporary and Ferry Dock, for TPV we've been in Boca Chica. I try very hard not to book Big Pine Key if I can help it, because, for Garden View, there is that view of the back of the poolhouse bar building -- not exactly scenic. BTW -- I hope you booked my favorite restaurant at the GF- Narcossees!!!!!!

Tom

 

[FSU Girl]

It varies depending on the travel companions......I've stayed in all the views and all the buildings except of the RPC. For Garden View I request Sago and ask for the Marina view - which is in that category -- you get a beautiful view of the marina and the courtyard. For Lagoon View we usually request Big Pine Key and have had views of both the Poly and the Contemporary and Ferry Dock, for TPV we've been in Boca Chica. I try very hard not to book Big Pine Key if I can help it, because, for Garden View, there is that view of the back of the poolhouse bar building -- not exactly scenic. BTW -- I hope you booked my favorite restaurant at the GF- Narcossees!!!!!!

Tom

I've never eaten at Narcossees before. I have one night where I'm undecided of where to go and was thinking of Citricos or Yachtsman Steakhouse, should I change it to Narcossees?

All the rooms above were they king rooms?

 

[fla4fun]

If my stay was an even mix of MK and Epcot, I would probably pick Poly for a deluxe, or Port Orleans for a moderate. Poly is good because of the easy access to the TTC, and of all the Mods, I have had the best results with transportation to/from Port Orleans.

 

[Owl X]

You can book a room with a King at the Swan and Dolphin Hotels from their website:
http://www.swandolphin.com

You can walk to either Epcot or Hollywood Studios from the Hotels.

Guests at the Swan and Dolphin get some Disney benefits such as 60 day Fastpass+ reservations, Extra Magic Hours and Disney transportation to/from the Parks.
They do not get Magical Express transportation to/from the Airport.

 

[Hopefully]

There are one bedroom villas available for 2 nights in the middle of my vacation at the Villas at Grand Floridian. Would it be crazy to do three different hotels so I could stay there? I'm thinking my boyfriend would never go for it, I wish that hotel had availability the entire time of my vacation. I'm guessing that place books up really fast at the 11 month marker.

TOTALLY Crazy. I would never go again if you did that to me.
I would definitely recommend the PO Resort king rooms.
Regarding whether you should eat at Narcoossee's or not, what foods do you enjoy? What is your budget? Have you reviewed the menu? What does your BF like? Have you reviewed the menus for other restaurants? Answering these questions will frame your decision.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If you are spending 3 days in EP/DHS, I would book an EP resort. For an adults-only trip, we prefer BWI or BWV. The villas are very much a part of the overall resort at BWI. They aren't in a building that is completely separate from the main lobby and recreation areas. In fact BWV is closer to the main Boardwalk pool than BWI is.

You can walk to both EP and DHS from the Boardwalk. The food is great, there is evening entertainment (jugglers and magicians) and even two clubs just for guests 21 and older (Atlantic Dance Hall and Jellyrolls). The theming is very romantic IMHO. If you want a guaranteed king, you could book a one bedroom at BWV or splurge a little and book an outer building - garden room - it's like a little cottage with a living room downstairs and a king bed and jacuzzi bath on the upper level. The garden room guests have access to the club lounge and the cottages are next to a lovely quiet pool.

GF is lovely, but BWI/BWV are quieter and more romantic IMHO.

 

[FSU Girl]

I mentioned the three hotel spilt to my boyfriend he said absolutely not lol. I had looked at the Swan, but they seem to have a lot of hidden fees. There's a $25 daily resort fee and a $20 daily parking fee so the hotel actually seems more expensive than a Florida Resident Disney discount.

For the Boardwalk, if your room is near the restaurants or clubs is it really noisy? I don't think we'll want to stay up to 2am every night.

I looked into the French Quarter and Riverside hotel, but I think it's just too far from the parks for this trip. It'll be the first time we have an annual pass so we are planning on eating dinner at Epcot most nights of the trip and I don't want to rely on the bus transportation.

 

[FSU Girl]

We like the more upscale dining at Disney and trying to eat at places we haven't been to before. We are splurging the first night on Victoria and Albert's for my birthday dinner. Most of the money is going to dinner, probably will skip lunch and have a quick cheap breakfast. I think my undecided day will probably depend on which hotel I pick, I have three in mind and they are in different hotels. I've been reading trip advisor reviews on the places, but a lot of places have some stellar reviews and some horrible ones so it's hard to decide.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I mentioned the three hotel spilt to my boyfriend he said absolutely not lol. I had looked at the Swan, but they seem to have a lot of hidden fees. There's a $25 daily resort fee and a $20 daily parking fee so the hotel actually seems more expensive than a Florida Resident Disney discount.

For the Boardwalk, if your room is near the restaurants or clubs is it really noisy? I don't think we'll want to stay up to 2am every night.

I looked into the French Quarter and Riverside hotel, but I think it's just too far from the parks for this trip. It'll be the first time we have an annual pass so we are planning on eating dinner at Epcot most nights of the trip and I don't want to rely on the bus transportation.

I think a 3 resort split is insane but there are people who will say go for it.

If you plan on doing Epcot most nights I would do the Beach Club. We stayed there last year and absolutely loved it. And their pool is amazing.

 

[FSU Girl]

I think a 3 resort split is insane but there are people who will say go for it.

If you plan on doing Epcot most nights I would do the Beach Club. We stayed there last year and absolutely loved it. And their pool is amazing.

I was looking at that one, I think I like the decorations the best of the three Epcot resorts. The sand bottom pool looks great, do you know if the tubes for the lazy river are free or cost money to rent? I'm planning a day off from the parks to be spent at the pool so a hotel with a good pool is a big factor.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I was looking at that one, I think I like the decorations the best of the three Epcot resorts. The sand bottom pool looks great, do you know if the tubes for the lazy river are free or cost money to rent? I'm planning a day off from the parks to be spent at the pool so a hotel with a good pool is a big factor.

The tubes are free. They just float by in the lazy river.

 

[Shellyred8]

We love BWV. We love being able to walk to both EP and HS. And the atmosphere in the Boardwalk area is fantastic. I love just walking around the lake at night. We have also stayed at Yacht Club and Beach Club and BWV is still our favorite (nothing wrong with YC and BC, we just prefer BWV).

 

[FSU Girl]

I noticed on the Disney site for the Epcot resorts they have construction warnings. I think Yacht Club is having their rooms redone and Boardwalk mentioned touch ups and parking might be an issue. Has anyone noticed any of this would it be a huge inconvenience to pick a resort going through refurbishment?