Where do I begin?

tinkerbelt

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 16, 2007
Messages
765
Hello :)

I'm a seasoned DL vet, but I've yet to visit WDW, and we're starting to look into planning a trip next year. A friend did a big WDW trip last year, and said that it's really important to stay in a hotel with monorail access. Is this a necessity? I'm guessing that monorail = a lot more money, and we're trying to save everywhere that we can.

What are the best places to stay for a family of 3? Is the dining plan worth it? We have Disneyland AP's, and are considering just upgrading to the Premier AP's instead of buying tickets, is that worth it?

WDW seems so huge and confusing to me, so I would really love the advice of some more seasoned WDW people!
 
I guess it depends on your budget. The monorail resorts are significantly more expensive than some of the other categories. I have been to WDW 10 times, going on my 11th trip in December. I have never stayed at a monorail resort. The closest I've come is Wilderness Lodge, which was a relaxing boat ride away from MK. I don't think the increased cost justifies the convenience of a monorail resort. There is only 1 park you can get to from the monorail, unless you count going to TTC and walking over to the Epcot monorail. You still have to take a bus to Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. The Wilderness Lodge was nice for its convenience to MK, but we still had to take a bus to the other 3 parks. I've stayed a Pop Century 9 times, and although its a Value resort, I absolutely love the fun whimsical theming. I consider it my second home. It doe not have a cheap hotel feel to it at all. In December we're trying out Port Orleans Riverside. I love the laid back feel of it and can't wait to try it out.

When I'm trying to decide where to stay I google pictures of the resorts. The pictures helped me decide to try out Port Orleans Riverside. You can go to willcad's website and see all of the maps to all the resorts and parks.
 
There are a lot of people who swear by the monorail resorts and if you are going to be spending the majority of your time at MK I guess it does help. I on the other hand do not mind the bus transportation so a monorail resort is NOT a necessity. What is a necessity is a comfortable room, a pool that suits our needs, easy access to quick service food and a nice table service restaurant. You didn't say how the family of three was made up but if one of the three is a teen or younger the moderate resorts might be a more affordable option that will still give you some great options. From POFQ and POR you can take a bus to DTD or take a carriage ride around the resort. CSR is almost as good as a delux and it has the best pool area with a playground, lounge area, quick service food area, volleyball court and a hot tub. (Can you tell I love CSR?) CBR has the biggest rooms of all the mods but I don't love the food options there or the bus service.

You will get as many opinions as there are options as everyone has one, the only thing you can do is ask questions based on your needs and weigh the answers. The good thing is that regardless of where you stay you will have a great time.
 
Hello :)

I'm a seasoned DL vet, but I've yet to visit WDW, and we're starting to look into planning a trip next year. A friend did a big WDW trip last year, and said that it's really important to stay in a hotel with monorail access. Is this a necessity? I'm guessing that monorail = a lot more money, and we're trying to save everywhere that we can.

What are the best places to stay for a family of 3? Is the dining plan worth it? We have Disneyland AP's, and are considering just upgrading to the Premier AP's instead of buying tickets, is that worth it?

WDW seems so huge and confusing to me, so I would really love the advice of some more seasoned WDW people!

I hope you guys have an amazing trip! I'll try and answer a couple of your questions.

1) No, you do not need a monorail resort. They are the most expensive, and while very nice, it won't be a deal breaker if you don't stay there. If you want to stay at a deluxe right by magic kingdom, maybe look up the wilderness lodge? They have a boat to MK, and then you can just hop on the monorail to get to Epcot. If you are going to spend all day and night at the parks too, it may not be worth it to drop 400-500 bucks a night on a room. Maybe consider a split stay if you absolutly want to try out a monorail? Spend the first half of your vacation at a value or mod, hitting the parks hard every day. The 2nd half, switch to a monorail and relax and enjoy your resort more.

2)Another thing to think of though is that the buses are notorious at the deluxe hotels for taking forever! (Because they share the buses with other resorts) If you plan on going to the other parks, a moderate or a value has much better bus service. Plus they have actual food courts with a lot more options then deluxe.

3) Speaking of food, it's up to your family's eating styles if you need a dining plan or not. If you guys eat 3 meals a day, with desert, I would get it. However, keep in mind it is a LOT of food. My family is three just getting 2 adults meals at CS restaurants and splitting them, just because the portions are huge! A lot of people like the dining plans though because it is prepaid for, so you don't have to worry about budgeting that while you are down there. What we like to do instead is stick 500 on a disney gift card and that's our food for the week. If we have any money left over at the end, we get gifts.

4) Have fun planning! It is very overwhelming, but thank gosh for the DIS boards, you'll find tons of good advice here!
 

Katiekat brought up an excellent point. Bus service from the monorail resorts usually takes a long time. For as much money as the monorail resorts cost one would think Disney should be able to give them each their own buses, but no, you have to go around to all of them before going to AK, DHS, Epcot, or Downtown Disney.
 
Hello :)

I'm a seasoned DL vet, but I've yet to visit WDW, and we're starting to look into planning a trip next year. A friend did a big WDW trip last year, and said that it's really important to stay in a hotel with monorail access. Is this a necessity? I'm guessing that monorail = a lot more money, and we're trying to save everywhere that we can.

What are the best places to stay for a family of 3? Is the dining plan worth it? We have Disneyland AP's, and are considering just upgrading to the Premier AP's instead of buying tickets, is that worth it?

WDW seems so huge and confusing to me, so I would really love the advice of some more seasoned WDW people!

1) The bus system at WDW is fine, so it's not important that you stay at a monorail resort. As a PP said, find a resort that has the amenities and price point you want and stay there.

2) I always get the dining plan when I go to WDW because I find I eat better. I have gotten both the regular and deluxe dining plans. I now stick with the deluxe dining plan because I prefer to eat at the signature restaurants. Unlike DL, the WDW dining plans actually save you money(if you know how to use them)! Check out the WDW website under "where to eat" and click on dining plan to see the different restaurants you can choose on the plan. It is advisable that you make ADRs for all table service restaurants in advance.

3) To determine whether it is worth it for you to get the Premier AP, go to the WDW website and see how much it would cost you for a park hopper, water parks and more pass for the amount of days you will be at WDW. Right now that would run you $397 for 10 days per person). If you plan on going multiple times to DL or WDW later on(to the tune of about $350 worth--don't remember exact price of Premier AP), then it may be worth it.
 
I'm a DL Vet who has also done 23 WDW vacations, staying in almost every resort. MK is our least visited park at WDW because it's the most similar to DL. Although I have stayed at monorail resorts I certainly don't think it's necessary. It only saves you time getting to MK.

We prefer Epcot area resorts because it's easy access to 2 parks. Also, the food choices there are more varied as you can walk to 5 hotels plus Epcot's World Showcase. Still, it's not a deal breaker for me. My 25th visit will be in Dec and I'm staying at Pop!

I do not like the dining plan because I prefer more flexibility when vacationing. WDW dining is much more extensive than DL.
 
I personally have no interest in any of the monorail resorts, so there is no way i would go for the extra expense. You say family of 3---how old is the child? Girl or boy? Will you rent a car? Do you want a separate room from the child, or all in one room ok? How long will you be staying? What are you dates?? You can get tons of advise here, but a little more info is helpful. :thumbsup2
 
If you want to save, Old Key West is a good tradeoff if you can book near the hospitality house. It does not share buses with other resorts as far as I know, and if you are near the HH then you don't need to travel through the whole resort when you want to go somewhere else. With the AP discount it is not so expensive, or you can rent points from a DVC member. The villas are also much bigger than at other Deluxe. The monorail is overrated IMHO.
 
I'm a DL Vet who has also done 23 WDW vacations, staying in almost every resort. MK is our least visited park at WDW because it's the most similar to DL. Although I have stayed at monorail resorts I certainly don't think it's necessary. It only saves you time getting to MK.

We prefer Epcot area resorts because it's easy access to 2 parks. Also, the food choices there are more varied as you can walk to 5 hotels plus Epcot's World Showcase. Still, it's not a deal breaker for me. My 25th visit will be in Dec and I'm staying at Pop!

I do not like the dining plan because I prefer more flexibility when vacationing. WDW dining is much more extensive than DL.

This is what I was thinking, too. Since you have been to DL a lot, chances are you won't be spending most of your time at MK (honestly the rides that are the same are better at DL), so the monorail shouldn't be a deciding factor for you. Most likely you will spend more time at EP, so I'd consider staying near there. You might look into staying either in a hotel room or renting a DVC villa at Boardwalk or Beach Club.

Or if you think you'll enjoy Animal Kingdom, consider AKL. It's very unique, nothing like what you'd find at DLR. It will require more lengthy bus rides to MK and EP, but it might be worth it for the atmosphere.
 
Thank you all so much for the advice!! I like the idea of doing a giftcard for food instead of the meal plan. That gives us flexibility + the bonus of having our food already paid for before we go.

I'm glad to find out that the Monorail resorts aren't a necessity. They look nice, but I'd rather save money. We want to spend as much time in the parks as possible, and as long as our room is comfortable and there's a pool to relax by, then I'm ok.

I did the math on the Premier passes, and it's only $200 more for each of us to upgrade from our current passes, so that sounds like the way to go. Plus I'm assuming there is some kind of hotel/merchandise/food discount for having the passes like there is at DLR.

I'm starting to get really excited about this!!
 
Have a great time planning!:surfweb::)

I would agree that it isn't necessary to stay at a monorail resort - the transportation system works very well IMO - just make sure you know what to expect. Things are spread out and it takes a good 20-30 minutes to get where you are going - period and sometimes depending on traffic and conditions longer than that but Disney is I think pretty good at taking care of people. I actually find the buses a relaxing part of my Disney experience - happy, helpful bus drivers, icy cold air conditioning, ambiance music and tip information while someone else drives me around - :thumbsup2 :wizard:! Just know it will take some time getting to your destination and plan accordingly.

I also would recommend considering the Animal Kingdom Lodge - a very unique resort in my mind - if the theme at all appeals to you!:goodvibes

Also I have a WDW AP (not a premier) - I have found the room discounts to be very good, merchandise discounts good, free parking great, the food discounts not so much - but you can buy a Tables in Wonderland Card (I think the cost is 75$ for AP holders and the discount is 20% at 99 restaurants) to improve the food discounts.
 





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