Which one to choose?

[momslave3599]

Hi Everyone,

New here, and just getting started. Want to plan a trip to Disneyworld for August of 2009. I know that's way out, but I like to start getting this together early. When we can make reservations, how do you choose a resort to stay at?

Our boys will be 6 and 7. I have heard staying at a resort w/monorail access is the way to go, but I don't know how you'd get to the parks any other way. Bus? Quick park access is really something high on our list.

Hoping to get a relaxed environment. Nothing fussy or stuffy!! Looking at the Poly as a possibility.

We are blessed that our budget will be generous... don't want club level or anything. Guessing we will do Dining Plan?

We have only done Disneyland. Last time I was at Disneyworld, I was a girl. Jumped out of Pirates when I got scared and they had to stop the ride and pull me out of the water!!! LOL!

Anyway, thanks for all your help, and the help yet to come!

Sara

 

[Ashmanarion]

Welcome to the boards! You will find so much information here, you'll almost wish you hadn't thought of planning this early It's never too early in my opinion though. I'm not a veteran of the boards but I can answer a couple of your questions.

1. Where you want to stay depends on how you and your family are. I'm staying on site for the first time in a couple weeks so I'm new to it as well.

2. Make sure your order the vacation planning dvd from Disney. This will give you a cute dvd to watch as well as put your name down for mailers that could contain deals/codes/PINs and what have you.

3. As far as I know, only 3 resorts have monorail access: Grand Floridian, Polynesian, and Contemporary. They are all in Disney's Deluxe price range. Those resorts also have buses to Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom as well. All the resorts use buses for transportation to the parks. Some resorts are located within walking distance of parks as well. Boardwalk Inn is located within walking distance of Epcot, and I believe you can walk to the Studios from there too, but not sure. Someone will correct me on this undoubtedly.

I haven't used the Dining Plan so I can't comment on that, sorry I don't know too much but I can just welcome you to the Wonderful World of Disney Vacation Planning

 

[GoofyFairie]

You have come to the right place! Where you stay is a very personal choice and easy/quick access to a park just depends on which resort you pick. The best way to make your decision is to research each resorts themes and amentities. You can do this by reading the threads on this board for each resort, in the travel section on the Disney website, and by ordering and viewing the DVD from Disney also available on the Disney site in the travel section. Some resorts offer monorail, some a boat and all offer bus. Some offer a combination of the three, it just depends on where you stay. And it is never too early to start planning a trip to Disney! It is a good idea to know what you want when you call to make your reservation. I hope your vacation is filled with pixie dust!

 

[gamamalovesdisney]

Hi,

If you can afford it, I would recommend either the Poly or Wilderness Lodge Villas. They are both beautiful resorts with easy access to the Magic Kingdom. You would take the monorail from the Poly and a 15 minute boat ride from the Wilderness Lodge.

You can catch the monorail from the Magic Kingdom or a bus to the other parks.

As far as the dining plan, if you think you would like to eat at mostly sit down table restaurants or character dining, it is well worth it.

Have a good time!

 

[GoofyKidd]

Keep in mind, too, that the monorail might not be as quick as you'd think. Especially if you are at Poly, CR or GF going to Epcot-you need to switch from the monorail you boarded at your hotel to another one at the TTC. This is a little bit of a walk and wait time for another monorail. Still our kids like the monorail. Just something to consider.

 

[catne]

Welcome...and be warned this forum is addictive!

Reading these boards will give you an enormous amount of info. I also recommend the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World so you'll have a clue what you're getting in to, and to give you an idea what a difference a touring plan can make on your enjoyment level. (personal favorite, have used it for years.) There are several others which are also popular including S. Biernbaum (think that's the Official Guide)

The deluxe resorts are very convenient to Magic Kingdom & Epcot with the monorail. We've stayed at both deluxe (Poly) and moderate (Port Orleans French Quarter.) We liked both. With small children, would probably prefer the Poly for convenience. With teens, we preferred getting the space of 2 rooms at POFQ (for less than the cost of one room at the Poly! )

The bus system is fairly efficient everywhere (from resorts to parks, some rides as little as 5-10 minutes depending.) Not so efficient from resort to resort, or to Downtown Disney (you usually have to transfer, or the bus makes many stops, which can make the trip take as long as an hour.) However, by planning ahead, you can get by without a rental car if you want.

People either love the DDP or they hate it...we love it. Check the menues, add up the cost of what you'd eat and see which would cost less, buying the DDP or paying out of pocket. Typically, if you would like to eat at least one table service a day, you will be able to save a small amount by purchasing the DDP, unless you'd tend to buy the cheaper things on the menu no matter what.

Whether you choose to do DDP or not, plan way ahead, especially if you want specific restaurants like character meals. You can make restaurant reservations up to 180 days in advance. You can check the calendars on the Walt Disney website to see which parks have early & late EMH and pick which days you want to be in which parks, then try to match up your restaurant ADR's. For example, if your vacation was going to be over Labor Day weekend, and you check the calendar to see that Sunday 8/31 is late EMH in the Magic Kingdom, you might want to get a character dinner reservation at Liberty Tree Tavern in the Magic Kingdom that night.

Have fun!

 

[mickeynut1]

to the DIS!!!!! You will get LOTS of info from the boards that will help with all your planning . As a pp mentioned, you might want to look at all the resorts to see which theming/location appeals to you the most and go from there . And by the way....it's NEVER too early to plan. You mentioned you're looking at the Poly......GREAT CHOICE (IMO).....we love the Poly as it's our #1 choice with the Wilderness Lodge running a close second . The Poly (along with the Contemporary and Grand Floridian), will give you all 3 types of transportation (monorail, boat, & bus), depending on which park you're going to. The Poly is nice as it has a tropical atmosphere and the beach where you can sit and watch the fireworks and have a constant view of the castle . As far as the dining plan......that comes down to personal preference....some people love it, some people hate it. WE love it....we can't go to Disney without it. That's something you would have to look at as far as what it offers as opposed to how/where you like to eat on vacation. So starting early has it's advantages since there's so much info to gather and so many decisions to make . But you've come to the right place as the DIS will give you just what you need . So good luck with your planning and have a great time her on the DIS .

 

[jimmiej]

Keep in mind, too, that the monorail might not be as quick as you'd think. Especially if you are at Poly, CR or GF going to Epcot-you need to switch from the monorail you boarded at your hotel to another one at the TTC. This is a little bit of a walk and wait time for another monorail. Still our kids like the monorail. Just something to consider.

Isn't it true that you can walk from the Poly directly to the Transportation & Ticket Center, & in doing so bypass the monorail switch?

We stayed at CR & switching monorails was a royal pain, especially at the end of a hot summer day.

Something else to keep in mind. You can walk directly from CR to MK (maybe 10 minutes). Now that was cool-we really enjoyed that.

http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/cont51.jpg

If $$$ is not an issue, consider staying at CR with a MK view. You could watch Wishes from your balcony! Plus, the rooms have recently been refurbished.

http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/contnew4.jpg

BTW, welcome to the DIS!

 

[Aliceacc]

Hi and welcome!

This may help with your planning: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1715551

And I vote for either the Poly or the Contemporary-- that monorail access sold me!!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Welcome to the boards,Sara!!! First, you need to learn the layout so you can relate to what is where as you plan. Guide books are a must! They have great park maps in them. Also, the break down the resort categories for you:deluxe, moderate, value, and give you room rates that were current at the time of publication. You will get lots of opinions as to the favorite ones, but my favorites for people getting aquainted with Disney: Birnbaum's (08-I don't think any09's are out till the end of the year); Passporter, and the Unofficial guide. Birnbaum's is a good one to start with-lots of pictures and I think it's cheapest---for a first guide.
Deluxe rooms are great-we have never stayed club level-don't want to spend quite that much $$$$!! August is a month I have never been to Disney---I am from Texas, so we have pretty much the same weather and I don't like the heat & humidity!! It is a pretty slow time I think,most kids are going back to school.
I say go for the dining plan-it allows you to eat at some really great places, you may otherwise have passed on due to $.
Room rates for 09 aren't out yet, but once you look through all the websites and read the guides, if you are dead set on a resort,or resort view--BOOK IT!! you can always change it around later, this just secures what you are leaning toward for the one night fee. I didn't do this once and waited to long and missed out on the resort we wanted.

These boards are great-u will glean so much knowledge from all the Disney vets!!!!!Happy planning(that's almost as fun as the trip!!).

 

[TJA]

Welcome!
By your description of looking to find a relaxed environment and also showing interest in a monorail resort, that describes Poly very well. It is themed like the tropics (Hawaii) and is indeed relaxing. It is connected to the TTC, so you can have direct monorail access to both MK and Epcot. If you stay at a different monorail resort, you have to make a stop at the TTC and change monorails to get to Epcot. This is where Poly has an advantage. As far as HS and AK parks, you'd take buses there from all 3 monorail resorts.

You should also take a look at the Epcot resorts -- BC, YC, BWI. BC is our favorite and very family-friendly as it has a character breakfast so the lobby is normally enriched with kids. The pool is one the best in disney -- one entire section has a sandy bottom and also mounds of sand to play in. My twin 5-year-olds ask me all the time when we can go back to the Beach Club. You can also walk right to Epcot in about 5 minutes (you enter the countries). You can walk to the boardwalk in 5 minutes as well. And you can also walk or boat to HS. The Epcot resorts are in a wonderful location and my family loves this area! To get to MK, you can take a bus or else if you are already inside Epcot then just hop on the monorail. To get to AK, the water parks, and DTD, take a bus.

The moderate and value level resorts offer bus transportation to the parks.

Feel free to post additional questions!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

3. As far as I know, only 3 resorts have monorail access: Grand Floridian, Polynesian, and Contemporary. They are all in Disney's Deluxe price range. Those resorts also have buses to Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom as well.

Actually the Monorail Resorts don't have bus service to Epcot. To get there you can take the Resort Monorail to the TTC and then transfer to the Epcot Monorail. Also guests at the Polynesian can walk to the TTC, since it's faster then taking the Resort Monorail all around the track. Plus those Resorts also have bus service to Downtown Disney.