Where would you stay for a resort-only trip?

[Sue M]

I would go to the Gulf Coast! For $400-$600/night you’d get a real deluxe stay.
I wouldn’t pay the crazy WDW room rates if I wasn’t going to the parks. They are hyper inflated because of the close proximity to the parks which you aren’t using.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

I would go to the Gulf Coast! For $400-$600/night you’d get a real deluxe stay.
I wouldn’t pay the crazy WDW room rates if I wasn’t going to the parks. They are hyper inflated because of the close proximity to the parks which you aren’t using.

Yep.

 

[Dsnygrl1205]

Another vote for Yacht/Beach Club. The pool is lovely and there are so many dining options near by. My second choice would be Port Orleans French Quarter. The resort is gorgeous and the boat to Disney Springs would be great if you're not dong parks. Hopefully they will open the PO resorts soon!

 

[SwanVT2]

Saratoga Springs. We love their pools and going to DS for all types of food!!

 

[disneyforsix]

We loved hanging out at Boardwalk pre-covid. Hopefully it will fully open by the time you get there.

 

[TaraWasHere]

My personal pick for a resort exclusive trip would be AKL. The grounds are just stunning, and the food is amazing. It's also a bit secluded which makes it a bit easier enjoy my suroundings. Most everything else that I like, I would pick for it's location more than the resort itself. Including my beloved Grand Floridian.

 

[bakerworld]

Our two favorites for resort only are Animal Kingdom and Saratoga. Both have nice pools. We tend to visit the pool by the day and Disney Springs at night. Disney Springs has lots of walk up and quick serve possibilities for eating. Plus the free entertainment at the outside theaters and various venues have live music. From the Springs you can take a bus to any resort to enjoy the surrounding area.

 

[Mango7100]

Our two favorites for resort only are Animal Kingdom and Saratoga. Both have nice pools. We tend to visit the pool by the day and Disney Springs at night. Disney Springs has lots of walk up and quick serve possibilities for eating. Plus the free entertainment at the outside theaters and various venues have live music. From the Springs you can take a bus to any resort to enjoy the surrounding area.

Agree. I don’t know why SSR is like the ugly stepsister of deluxes, but we stayed in May for the first time and really enjoyed it. Its not screaming “I’m in Disney World”, but the refurb rooms were great. And we loved having two different pools with water slides. That being said, AKL is hard to beat for a resort only—the pools, animal viewing, grounds, love it all

 

[ChanaC]

My first choice would be the Yacht and Beach Clubs, mostly for the large pool area. It's also easy to walk to the Boardwalk, Swan, and Dolphin and you can Skyline to other resorts.

Second choice would be Animal Kingdom Lodge. Obviously the animals are a huge factor. You could probably stay on your balcony (if you get a savannah room) or go to the lookout area and just spend a few hours watching the animals. The pool at Jambo is nice, and the resort has some activities that are unique to the resort. I think in the pre-Covid times they had employees from different African countries talk about their countries which always seemed interesting, and I think there are some tours you can sign up for as well. Obviously it's not connected to any of the other resorts but that isolation might be nice, it feels like you are in your own bubble. You can always drive or take buses to other hotels.

After that, I might try some of the MK area resorts. Maybe even Coronado Springs, with the new expansion there are a lot of new restaurants and bars, and since they have multiple pools you can try hopping around and exploring them, but once again you have the transportation problem.

Honestly anywhere is a good option except the value resorts. Nothing against them, but they are great if you are planning on spending a lot of time at the parks and just need a place to sleep. The pools are fun, but as an adult I think I would want something with a slightly more upscale theme and more dining options.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Saratoga Springs is our favorite resort only property(and probably one we'd never stay at IF visiting the parks). But with the new rooms. Disney Springs, short walk to your room, easy to pick up grocery deliveries, four pools, golf course, walkability to OKW and tons of outdoor space its a great resort to spend time at. I even bring my bicycle when we do a resort only stay here. And its far enough away from the parks I don't get the urge to go if. If Im at any monorail resort or BCV/BWV it would be pretty hard not to want to just pop in.

Animal Kingdom Lodge as a backup but theres not as much to do there outside of the resort itself.

 

[Ricguz]

Beach and Yacht Club. You have the best pool on Disney Property, Ale and Compress Restaurant and lounge, or Cape May. On the boardwalk for other restaurants plus you can see the fireworks at Epcot from the resort

 

[chimo2u]

Epcot area resorts for sure - you have access to Beach Club, Yacht Club, Boardwalk, and Swan/Dolphin. Gives you the entire Boardwalk area assuming it opens up soon, and the dining options at Swan/Dolphin are wildly underrated. Stormalong Bay at BC/YC is a great pool, they have a quiet pool as well. Boardwalk has a quiet pool along with the creepy clown pool. And Swan/Dolphin actually has a very nice pool, as well as paddle boats to rent, a decent gym if that's your thing and a much lower price point than WDW resorts.

Didn't Boardwalk do away with the clown pool? I heard it's moving to a Mickey Head?? is the clown pool still up??

 

[_19disnA]

Part of what you pay for to stay at a Disney property is proximity to the parks/transportation. If not planning to do any parks, I would stay somewhere else for a lot less money. Personally wouldn't choose Orlando as my vacation destination if not planning to visit Universal or one of the Disney parks.

 

[elsbit]

Riviera. The quick service is amazing and the pool area is lovely. You could take the skyliner to the Caribbean Resort to eat there too.

 

[Silvermist999]

I would choose to be on one of the monorail resorts, so of your choices, either Poly or Grand Floridian. I believe the monorail is not stopping at the Poly during construction, but you could easily take the walkway to the TTC to get on the monorail to go to the Contemporary, Grand Floridian and Wilderness Lodge (via boat from Contemporary or MK gates) for plenty of dining possibilities.

 

[NotTheBatesMotel]

Didn't Boardwalk do away with the clown pool? I heard it's moving to a Mickey Head?? is the clown pool still up??

We just got home today from Boardwalk and they removed the clown part of the slide. Right now it's just a bridge with the new Mickey shorts style cartoons of the characters lounging by a pool. Not sure if they will update it beyond this. The slide itself was great! (Image found via image search, not captured by me!)

 

[NotTheBatesMotel]

We just got back from what turned into a Contemporary/Boardwalk split stay after having issues with our room at Contemporary. We absolutely loved the Boardwalk resort. I mentioned to my husband how I'd be perfectly content there even without the parks. Hours are weird right now and not everything is open still due to Covid, but there were plenty of places within walking distance to grab a bite to eat or drink, the grounds were beautiful, pool was fun, and it definitely had a "resort feel."

 

[kylenne]

If you want multiple QS options stay on the Boardwalk.

If you want multiple good QS options then stay on the monorail. No offense but if you’re not going into the parks at all you’re basically paying for Stormalong Bay. Nothing else about BC/YC justifies the price if you’re not walking to parks imo.