Which Deluxe Resort Would You Recommend?

[Englands Disney Gang]

HI All

Last year we stayed at Pop Century and have been home a few days from our Caribbean Beach holiday which was brilliant. So we have done a Value and Moderate resort. Now want to really save hard for next year and maybe stay at a deluxe. Just been on Allears and had a good look but not one resort has shined out to me like POP and CBR did....so need lots of advice, tips and help!!. We would be going back in September.
Thanks

 

[lenny l]

deleted

 

[Frances999]

The Polynesian Resort, without a doubt in my opinion!! If you liked the CBR, I think you would love the Polynesian.

Reasons?

1. The best transportation out of all of the WDW resorts. Direct monorail access to Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Also, boat transportation (shared only with the Grand Floridian) to the MK.
2. Wonderful theming - lots of beaches, a wonderful volcano pool and beautiful landscaping.
3. Largest rooms on Disney property. In the newer longhouses, the rooms are huge - the largest onsite.
4. Great dining - 'Ohana and Kona Cafe are brilliant places to eat.
5. Amazing MK views. The Polynesian looks directly at the MK - WISHES from the beach is magical.

I could go on and on, but I will just stick a link in for Tikiman's website. It is the best Polynesian website around. Tikiman

We have also stayed at the Grand Floridian and Animal Kingdom Lodge. I enjoyed both of our stays there, but neither even compare with The Polynesian in my opinion. For our latest Polynesia trip, I did a trip report with photo's and the link is in my signature.

 

[Amyrlin]

I would say AKL or Poly, they are both great, perhaps split the stay between the two?

 

[allie5]

We have chosen a split stay between AKL and the Poly this year.

I think it depends on your needs. If we were a couple, I may have chosen a split stay with the Yacht & Beach Club and the Grand Floridian. As we have two small children we chose AKL for the animals and theming and the Poly as my son is monorail mad (plus we liked the pool area, restaurants and beach!).

If you want a "bargain" then Ive been told you can get excellent rates on the Contemporary (which is , allegedly) Disney's least popular deluxe these days). Wilderness Lodge is also great for theming, and if you were going between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I would definately consider this one as an option - the decorations are stunning!

I dont think there is a "bad choice", you need to fit the resort with your families needs. If you have older kids who love to swim, then the Yacht & Beach Club has an amazing pool area (Stormalong Bay) which is almost like a mini waterpark in itself!!

Have fun deciding!

 

[trudster]

I would have to say YC. Without a doubt it's the best resort we've stayed at. But as PPs have said it depends on what you want. YC is quiet, calm, relaxed IMO and we loved the handiness to Epcot and BW. We also loved the pool.

 

[KayleeUK]

Have stayed at the Villa's at Wilderness Lodge and I really enjoyed the lodge a lovely rustic resort with boat access to MK also stayed at the Villas at the Beach Club which i adore love the proximity to Epcot and MGM, same goes with the Boardwalk

Have you looked HERE for info on Deluxe Resorts? There are video tours and pictures on some of the individual resort pages

 

[Englands Disney Gang]

I missed the Poly in my first searach as I though it was a moderate!!....Just looked at the Tikiman website and this resort is certainly the place for us!!. I do like the look at AKL but to be honest Animal Kingdom is our least favourite park and we only spent one afternoon there this year. We also have a huge animal/nature reserve near us aswell as a zoo and I know its nothing like AKL but my boys are use to seeing animals. They are also huge swimming fans and loved CBR so I think I will be saving for the Poly!!

 

[Frances999]

I missed the Poly in my first searach as I though it was a moderate!!....Just looked at the Tikiman website and this resort is certainly the place for us!!. I do like the look at AKL but to be honest Animal Kingdom is our least favourite park and we only spent one afternoon there this year. We also have a huge animal/nature reserve near us aswell as a zoo and I know its nothing like AKL but my boys are use to seeing animals. They are also huge swimming fans and loved CBR so I think I will be saving for the Poly!!

LOL!

I think you made the right choice You will love it!

PS - They are renovating all of the rooms and the new design (which is absolutely incredible) will be complete next year.

 

[Chris17uk]

We stayed at POFQ in August and went round all the delux resorts for a nosey. We liked the Polynesian the best.

 

[Laurajean1014]

Wow.

I've stayed at WL, OKW, BC, BWV and AKL. I have not stayed at a monorail hotel. My favorites are OKW, BWV and AKL - why?

OKW has a charm unlike any of the other places. It is also very different from the others. It is lower (more like town houses than hotel rooms), hence is larger than any hotel room. The pool is great, food is excellent and it is a very quite place. It does not abutt any park.

BWV has a great boardwalk. It is very big, and you may have to walk far to get to bus, boat, parks. The pool is good and the food is great. (Flying Fish and Spoodles are wonderful.) It butts upto WS at EPCOT and is a 10 minute walk to MGM or a 20 minute boat ride on SS Friendship.

AKL - ahhhh! Very relaxed and down to earth surroundings... If you get a room with a savannah view - great. If not, there are plenty of outposts to view. The food is fantastic there. Boma and Jiko are two of the finest that I've visited in WDW and elsewhere (yeah, there up there on quality). The pool is very nice and the general store is my favorite out of all the resorts.

I hope this helps you regarding your quest for the perfect deluxe for you.....

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

If you must stay at one of the Disney hotels, than i would say Wilderness Lodge, but whilst the theaming in all disney hotels in the public areas are great, the rooms are no better standard than any other hotel chain, small, with minimum facilities.

 

[lucy_love_]

AKL. the kids loved it

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

We've stayed at both AKL and Poly. AKL was voted this family's favourite.

Whilst we enjoyed the Poly, I had specifically chosen this hotel due to the monorail and our only Disney parks we'd be visiting that trip were MK for MNSSHP and Epcot. We tend to drive everywhere rather than using the transportation, but we only spend a few days onsite at Disney since we prefer Universal (both hotels and the perks associated with them, and their parks are our favourites ).

I paid $388 for a standard room in October 2003 (and that was with 15% discount ) - and I'm sorry to all the Poly fans out there, but in no way could I justify spending that money on the Poly again. We paid $280 for a Savannah view room at AKL the year before a loved every minute of it.

Even if you've got a wildlife park near you, nothing IMHO compared to walking on to your balcony (no matter was time of the day or night) to see a whole array animals directly outside.

I thought the theming in both AKL and the Poly were great - the AKL pool was better though.

If I got a reasonable rate to stay at the Poly again, no problem.

 

[edenlee]

I would recommend the Beach Club (adjacent to the Yacht Club) an Epcot resort. The pool - Stromalong Bay - is superbe. There is access to Epcot via the International Gateway - 5 minutes walk, access to the Boardwalk - something goin gon most evenings and days - 5 minutes walk. You can boats to MGM or walk about 15 minutes. The resort is beautiful, the room sspacious, clean and fabulous. Plus there is Cape May Cafe - a fabulous buffett restaurant (character breakfasts) and the famous Beaches and Cream Ice Cream parlour. 50's themeing and the "kitchen sink" which has to be seen to be belived. Ther choice of eateris is good as the Swan and Dolphin are next door with all their restaurents too. All in all the best!!!!!

 

[Edie]

We've just returned from a stay at AKL. Whilst we had a great time I don't think we would stay there again. We paid for Savanna view and it was fantastic. However, we were near the end of the Zebra trail and had a massive walk to the lobby. This is okay in the morning but not in the evening when you're on your last legs! The pool is excellent with lovely landscaping and the restaurants are also very good.

We have previously stayed at ASMo and I'm not sure that AKL is worth the extra amount that you have to pay given that we always found the staff and the transportation at ASMo to be excellent.

I would imagine that the Epcot area resorts have the best location but WL and AKL have the best theming so I suppose it depends upon what your highest priority is.

Edie

 

[carolfoy]

Unfortunately I haven't stayed at any on site at all but if I could choose I'd go one week AKL and one week POLY, the reasons? you get two totally different themed areas and the poly has the best transportation, also being right on the lagoon would be great to see wishes at night and the AKL would be a total change, more of a in-resort experience, I can see why people stay there and don't even venture into the parks

 

[Frances999]

I paid $388 for a standard room in October 2003 (and that was with 15% discount ) - and I'm sorry to all the Poly fans out there, but in no way could I justify spending that money on the Poly again. We paid $280 for a Savannah view room at AKL the year before a loved every minute of it.

I guess we all have different opinions, but for many the cost of The Polynesian is easily justified by its exceptional location and the size of the rooms. Compared to the AKL, the rooms are huge and the location is much better for easy access to the parks. Just my opinion.

 

[Queenie]

Has anyone stayed at the Grand Floridian? I was just wondering as I thought at least one person on this thread would have recommended it? I would like to stay there one day (honeymoon maybe???) and want to know if it's as good as it's supossed to be.

 

[allie5]

Has anyone stayed at the Grand Floridian? I was just wondering as I thought at least one person on this thread would have recommended it? I would like to stay there one day (honeymoon maybe???) and want to know if it's as good as it's supossed to be.

The reason we didnt choose it (we wanted a monorail resort and they are all priced within $20-40 per night of each other, so not really a cost issue) was we felt the Poly had more to offer for a family.

Ive visited the GF many times, and its a lovely resort, but the pool area is a little disappointing. We wouldnt make use of the spa facilities or use any of the restaurants (except 1900 Pk Fare possibly) so the Poly made more sense for us.

Had we been a couple, we probably would have chosen the GF as (in my mind) its more "couples" orientated than some of the other resorts - though I know many families do stay there - thats just my personal "feel" of the place!