What’s your favorite/least favorite Disney resort(s) and why?

[JennaMcClain]

I’ve only stayed in a handful of them, so I’m curious to see what everyone has to say. Which ones are your favorite and which ones do you hate? Why?

 

[nkereina]

There's none that I hate. I would stay in any of them really, but there's ones where I prefer the theme over another. The All Star resorts would be a last option for me. Of the resorts I've stayed at, Animal Kingdom Lodge was our least favorite. Beautiful property and the animals are very cool making it unique, but one thing we've learned we value is location to make for shorter/easier commutes to the parks so its easier to go back and forth for breaks. AKL was not conducive to this.

My favorite resort is Beach Club. The whole area, look, and feel of the resort is very vacation-y to me, so it instantly puts me in a good mood. The pool complex is great, walking distance to Epcot, DHS, other resorts, and the Skyliner makes it a great location, and the on-site TS restaurants are among my favorites.

 

[JPM4]

Was always boardwalk or beach/yacht club for us. Now our new go to is Caribbean Beach. The new refurb is awesome as well as it just feels quieter. Least favorite is probably OKW. Very pretty but just way too big for us.

 

[Dis_Millennial]

When it comes to my least favorite resorts the two that I can think of is All Star Sports and Port Orleans Riverside. All Star Sports has never met the mark of even a value resort for me with a subpar room and food court, plus it is always the resort that large groups book which means there is more of a chance that people are going to be loud at all hours of the night. I had a very bad experience with PORS, where our first room was destroyed from the previous people that stayed there and the next room they moved us too was a non-smoking that smelled horrible of cigarettes and the toilet bowl was shattered in the bathroom and my fiance cut her foot on the glass many years ago which ultimately ended with Disney upgrading my room to the Poly for no additional charge.

With that being said my absolute favorite resort is actually AKL. We love the animals and the restaurants there. The drive is a lot getting to the parks but sometimes I like being that far away from everything.

 

[Schneewittchen37]

I'm really fond of the all of the deluxe/DVC resorts I've stayed at so far - Boardwalk, (even) Swan, Boulder Ridge at Wilderness Lodge and Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary. A comfortable room with extra space, good dining options, better beds, nicer pools, a calmer atmosphere, less reliance on the dreaded Disney bus with a walk or boat ride. All of that makes for a good vacation.

I'm still kind of in love with Fort Wilderness too. Being able to bring your own RV to Disney is special. It's probably one of the best campgrounds I've ever stayed at. Love Hoop Dee Doo. Love riding my bicycle all over the grounds. So peaceful, but fun!

I kind of have negative feels about All Star Movies and Pop Century. You get what you pay for I guess. I'm not feeling the new refurbished rooms. They aren't comfy to me. Those new vinyl floors are for people with too many large unhousebroken dogs peeing everywhere. I don't care if they get dirty, I want carpet in my hotel room. Buy a freakin carpet shampooer and use it. The bathrooms - stupid vessel sinks, no room on the counters. Just a pain in the butt for all of the toiletry bags in my household. Metal strips along the top of the tubs for the shower doors - great for bashing my knees.... White barren decor, what's not to love? Oh, and the mattresses are still rock hard garbage..... Can I complain about the pools too? Lameness. Why can't they be at least as much fun as the standard uninspired pool at the local Holiday Inn? And the food courts are a mess. I need to stop.

 

[mickeynut1]

I've stayed at all of the deluxes and one mod (CBR) and while I've loved all of them, the Poly is my favorite overall. The rooms are large/spacious, the tropical grounds are beautiful, the beach is a great place to watch the fireworks and Captain Cooks is great for CS meals/snacks. I wouldn't hesitate to stay at any of those resorts again, but the Poly will always be my favorite.

 

[jpakstis]

We've stayed at POR (back when it was Dixie Landings), All Star Sports, WL, BLT, and Poly. We stayed at POR and All Star Sports back in the mid-to-late 90s and WL in 2013, BLT in 2015, and Poly in 2018. Of those, my two favorites were Poly and WL. Its just so hard to beat location but what set both of those apart from BLT was the theming. WL was gorgeous and the main lobby is just incredible. I still remember walking to our room (we were staying in the BRV) at twilight and the flickering lights along the walkway was just perfect. It was also nice to have a dedicated boat to/from MK, although needing to take buses everywhere else was a bit of a drag. Poly has that combination of theming and history that is just impossible to beat. I also felt that it had the most varied transportation options to/from MK and to/from Epcot.

POR always holds a place in my heart because it was our family's first on-site stay. We had been going when I was younger, but we either camped or stayed at a hotel off-site. So to be in WDW with all of the extra touches that Disney does so well, its always great. But I cannot say whether I'd recommend it now or not because its been 25 years since we stayed there. I can definitely say that All Star Sports was our least favorite and I doubt that has changed much. It was like staying in an economy hotel. Nothing against those types of hotels, but it lacked any sort of special feeling.

BLT is the like/dislike place we stayed at. It lacked theming and some areas felt pretty worn down. Its big and blocky and a lot of concrete without much shade or vegetation. Honestly the ability to walk to MK didn't do much for us since our kids were littler then. The elevator we had to take our kids' stroller in to get to the monorail was a bottleneck. On the other side, its a pretty iconic place to stay in, it had the most dining options, and we could easily watch the fireworks from multiple locations at the hotel.

So in short my rankings would be:

1. Poly
2. WL
3. BLT
4. POR
....
5. All Star Sports

 

[Deb & Bill]

Our favorite is OKW because the villas are so big, lots of space. Full sized kitchen and full sized washer and dryer in the one bedroom or larger. I enjoyed the decor more in the past than I do now. Not enough Key West in it. Olivia's is a good place for a meal and easy to get an ADR just walking up. Least favorite is the BWV. Parking is a pain there and we always drive. The villa just seems crowded. And I hate the uphill walk to Epcot from the BW. We've stayed at OKW at least 20-30 times, BWV only twice, but have another short stay coming up in January to give it another try. Kidani Village was our least favorite until the landscaping grew up and made it look a lot less prison-like. We stayed at the Polynesian and that was pretty much one and done. Not a fan of staying in a studio (why not just book at hotel room and get two real beds?) with the one queen and one convertible bed.

We haven't stayed in any value resort, but we have stayed in all the moderates. All the moderates were pretty nice, too.

No matter what, we enjoy any of the places we have stayed at WDW. Even the offsite locations (Parc Soliel and Tuscany Village).

 

[Dug720]

Favorite is a tie between CBR (my first and I still consider it my Disney Home) and AKL (my second Disney Home).

Least favorite is also a tie between POR (too stuffy, not into Old South or Junky Bayou) and POFQ (don’t like New Orleans or themeing to it).

 

[nkereina]

Those new vinyl floors are for people with too many large unhousebroken dogs peeing everywhere. I don't care if they get dirty, I want carpet in my hotel room. Buy a freakin carpet shampooer and use it.

Hate to break it to you, but the vinyl/hard hotel floors are the way of the future. Both at WDW and in the hotel industry in general. Even in the real estate industry. For lodging, they are easier to clean, maintain, and replace. And cleaning is of the utmost importance in the current environment. You mentioned the All Stars and Pop, but the refurbished rooms at AOA and Coronado Springs have them too. There may be others by now, and I would expect them to move to hard flooring whenever full resort room refurbs are due. Personally, I could take or leave them, but its more noticeable to me when they are not swept compared to how the floors appeared when they were not vacuumed when there was carpet, which was less noticeable.

 

[Schneewittchen37]

Hate to break it to you, but the vinyl/hard hotel floors are the way of the future. Both at WDW and in the hotel industry in general. Even in the real estate industry. For lodging, they are easier to clean, maintain, and replace. And cleaning is of the utmost importance in the current environment. You mentioned the All Stars and Pop, but the refurbished rooms at AOA and Coronado Springs have them too. There may be others by now, and I would expect them to move to hard flooring whenever full resort room refurbs are due. Personally, I could take or leave them, but its more noticeable to me when they are not swept compared to how the floors appeared when they were not vacuumed when there was carpet, which was less noticeable.

All True. Doesn't mean I won't complain about it.

A lot of current trends ignore comfort over cost/hygiene theatre. Don't get me started on HGTV remodels.

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

Least favorite...GF, 2 bad stays, walls are too thin. CBR...used to be a favorite, last 2 visits were bad due to smokers and the smoke getting into the room.

Favorites...Poly, first stay was in '72. We went back after the refurb and it did not have the same feel. Also love BC/YC. Our new favorite is AKL Jambo ( 5 stays)...it is beautiful, quiet, and love sitting on the balcony watching the animals. Jiko and Boma are some of the best restaurants at WDW.

 

[Kae]

Least a favorite was AS Sports- let me say it was a great stay but that would be at the bottom of my list, a lot of teams kids were great parents not so much. WL is our Favorite we have stayed there twice and we Love the location, boat to MK and CR, the lobby so beautiful, everything in one building.

 

[NC State]

The Resorts we didn't like in our 15 trips:
Value = All Star Music (the only AS hotel we have stayed at)
Mod = CSR (we are giving this one more try in Oct)
Deluxe = BLT (it felt unDisney for us)

 

[JennaMcClain]

I must admit, GF being anyone’s least fav

Least favorite...GF, 2 bad stays, walls are too thin. CBR...used to be a favorite, last 2 visits were bad due to smokers and the smoke getting into the room.

Favorites...Poly, first stay was in '72. We went back after the refurb and it did not have the same feel. Also love BC/YC. Our new favorite is AKL Jambo ( 5 stays)...it is beautiful, quiet, and love sitting on the balcony watching the animals. Jiko and Boma are some of the best restaurants at WDW.

I must admit, GF being anyone’s least favorite surprises me. I definitely understand how thin walls could make or break a trip though

 

[thanxfornoticin]

We're not fans of the GF either. Actually had purchased a small DVC contract there and sold it - just didn't like the feel there. But we don't hate it! Our favorite is easily the Animal Kingdom Lodge - and as you can tell from other posts, that is not a favorite of others.

I think the system is working if everyone has different favorites! It makes it easier for us to get our reservations at AKL when we want them!

 

[Ahealey42777]

We stayed just before the pandemic at Walt Disney Dolphin resort. We loved it. The room had a balcony overlooking the swan paddle board and it was fantastic. Plenty of restaurants and quick service at the Dolphin and Swan resort next door. The location was a walk or short boat ride to the Boardwalk, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios. You w we oils use the free buses for Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Disney Springs. There is a $30 daily resort fee but room prices are less than other moderate hotels. There might be a parking fee also, but we did not have a car. A big thumbs up!

 

[thanxfornoticin]

We stayed just before the pandemic at Walt Disney Dolphin resort. We loved it. The room had a balcony overlooking the swan paddle board and it was fantastic. Plenty of restaurants and quick service at the Dolphin and Swan resort next door. The location was a walk or short boat ride to the Boardwalk, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios. You w we oils use the free buses for Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Disney Springs. There is a $30 daily resort fee but room prices are less than other moderate hotels. There might be a parking fee also, but we did not have a car. A big thumbs up!

Actually, now all non-DVC stays charge for parking, so Dolphin/Swan is no longer the odd-ball with that fee.

 

[MomOTwins]

Ranking favorite to least out of the resorts we have stayed at:
Wilderness Lodge: This was the resort I never wanted to leave and was happy to get back to from the parks. It is so beautiful, good food options, nice pools, and convenient boat to MK. The them-ing is absolutely immersive, transporting and gorgeous. When I want to feel zen, I daydream about sitting in the lobby by the little waterfall feature with a glass of wine in hand, reading my book.
Poly: Close second: also beautiful and amazingly-themed with a great pool and convenient transportation--only reason it is second is because we found it was always so crowded with day guests, which made it a bit less relaxing, especially when people would sneak into the pool who were not resort guests and overcrowd it.
Grand Floridian: Admittedly, when we stayed were spoiled with a club level, theme park view room, but even setting that aside this ranks pretty highly. The resort is breathtaking (my kids call it the "castle hotel," superb dining, monorail transportation, nice rooms, and a nice pool (if not quite as nice as the Poly's). This is a pretty close third but the Poly tiki theme has a fun factor that slightly edged it out.
Beach Club/Yacht Club: We prefer the decor of the beach club side, but both are perfectly "fine" in terms of decor--not breathtaking, not bad. Lots of nice TS but CS dining is lacking. Location is convenient to Epcot and HS but AWFUL to MK and AK since many times of year you have to share buses with YC/BC, BWI, and Swolphin. Obviously an incredible pool complex, though in some ways it was a bit too big (hard to keep an eye on kids).
Animal Kingdom Lodge: Savannah view and hotel design was awesome, although many rooms are a VERY long walk from the lobby. Good dining. Bus-only transportation to all four parks puts this resort near the bottom though.
Boardwalk Inn: I kept hearing this resort had a great theme, but it felt like every other east coast resort I've ever been to--just no "wow" factor. Maybe more fun if you don't live on the east coast. Hated that you had to go outside onto the boardwalk to eat since we usually travel in the stormy season. Transportation identical to Yacht/Beach club--i.e., a mixed bag. But the worst offense was the creepy clown pool

 

[JennaMcClain]

We're not fans of the GF either. Actually had purchased a small DVC contract there and sold it - just didn't like the feel there. But we don't hate it! Our favorite is easily the Animal Kingdom Lodge - and as you can tell from other posts, that is not a favorite of others.

I think the system is working if everyone has different favorites! It makes it easier for us to get our reservations at AKL when we want them!

Very true! A wide variety of resort feels and themes helps spread the masses amongst them and keeps anything from getting too busy