Which resort for family of 4?

[Starport Seven-Five]

Another vote for split stay between CR/CBR. GDT transportation just seems painful relative to the other two. Skyliner/monorail give you a bunch of food options along with quicker transport to the parks.

Renting DVC is its own process, and is not for everyone.

I would not do business with several DVC rental companies, on either side of the transaction. You can read lengthy threads about their business practices here.

March 2021 might be too late anyway to rent DVC points, especially with so many extra points around. This requires more planning.

Yep. To add on: with COVID cases ramping up I’m staying away from anything that isn’t fully refundable until right before my trip. DVC rentals have shown themselves to be a pain in that area.

 

[DeutscherDon]

We have stayed at all three and if money is not an issue that the contemporary is it. But we have stayed at CBR numerous times and really enjoy it. Great places to eat around plus the skyliner. For my family we say CBR!

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

Trying to decide between CBR, GDT or a splurge on the Contemporary for an 8 night trip March 2021. We’re a family of four, including a 16 and 17 year old. CBR has the Skyliner but that seems to get mixed reviews. GDT has larger rooms than CBR and my daughter loves the design elements. Contemporary of course has the perk of proximity to MK and the rooms are the largest of the three choices. We haven’t visited since 2012 and not sure what resort transportation is like these days. We are not planning on renting a car while we’re there, so we’re either relying on Disney transportation or rideshare.

I know this wasn't one of your choices but have you considered an Epcot resort like the Boardwalk? It's nice because it is within walking distance of 2 parks and hopefully by then there will be more open there. I think it's a great resort for teens.

 

[JayMass]

I'm going to stretch it and offer a different solution that we are going with in Feb 2021- book 2 rooms at a value- put the teens in one and mom and dad have their own room- More space for us with two teens makes for a much better vacation experience- especially bathroom situation. And 2 rooms at Pop was cheaper than one deluxe room

I think this is a really interesting idea. I have two very tall teens (14 year old twins. Sadly, due to COVID, we won't be back to the parks until they are 16!!! ) and I think this might be the route we try. We planned on CBR but then had to cancel a few times because of COVID. We stayed there a few years ago and I don't remember the room being that small but the kids were also 10 years old. We also stayed at CR but lucked out when they upgraded us to a HUGE suite in the garden wing. The room there included a regular size room plus a huge living room, kitchen, etc. It was amazing. Do that if you can!

As I think toward planning 2022 with my 6ft+ tall teens who will be 16 by then, I am thinking either CR or two rooms at POP or AoA. I am not a fan of split stays. Sure they move your luggage, but I don't like packing up to move. I like the idea of having a resort home for the whole stay.

Please update as you make your decision, it certainly will influence my planning!

 

[cgattis]

I’m gonna jump in and just tell you MY choice with DH, DD19, and DD16. For a full week stay, we choose AoA. We like the Cars theming, but three beds and two full bathrooms puts it above any other resort for us. We’ve rented DVC twice and really liked it, and had planned Beach Club or Boardwalk for our upcoming stay. However, after the while Covid DVC mess, I’m not considering it again until some things change. But we looked into the suites at the Dolphin and found it would save us $1100, so we’ve switched! We’ve spent a week in a regular hotel room on some trips, but it’s always way harder, so we just don’t do it if we have the choice. Just something else for you to consider.

 

[Shellyred8]

Unless it is raining or there is lightning in the area, when it shuts down and they have ONE bus to serve every skyliner resort. We stayed 9 nights at Riviera and literally every day the skyliner was down all afternoon and evening due to lightning.

I would vote for CR. Having a nice resort with good food options is very important now with earlier park close and limited dining. And a bigger room is nice with teens especially with a daybed to allow them to have separate beds so they aren’t fighting over blanket hogging and kicking in the night.

Ugh!!! This would be horrible!!!

 

[sponica]

Yeah. It just seems the most commonly sung song around here is "OMG, how could you have more than 2 people in a room????" regardless of the category - outside of multi-bedroom villas.

Maybe it's that I shared a bedroom for years with 2 sisters? And most hotel rooms are the same size (or bigger) as that old bedroom.

I only look at cost and what my plans are. I LOVE Pop but I'm not staying there for a trip that is resort centered or with reduced hours.

OP: I might splurge on contemporary (even though it's the lowest on the list of places I want to stay). If things were back to pre covid, I'd say Gran Destino. But I also have this opinion right now of when I get to go on vacation, f it, I'm spending all the money and doing all the things.