Which resorts are worth visiting?

[Dramatic Muffin]

GF, WL, AKL, and the Poly would be the most fun to visit. The Boardwalk area is AWESOME but the hotel itself you can skip. Swan and Dolphin I would skip. Here's a bit of an overview:

GF: beautiful lobby, live music in the evenings (big band and/or pianist), nice shops (Basin!), great restaurants (love Narcoosee's & 1900 Park Fare also good), beautiful beach, nice views of MK, great place to watch EWP and Wishes.

WL: beautiful lobby, nice grounds with trails, geyser, fun restaurants (love Whispering Canyon), also view of EWP

AKL: beautiful lobby, tons of animal viewing areas, great restaurants (love Boma and Jiko)

Poly: awesome beach, Trader Sam's, live patio music, cute shop, great place for EWP and Wishes, Dole Whip, great restaurants (Ohana and Kona!) Great sushi!

These are the ones I would choose as well.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

FRANKLY all the Disney resorts are great/themed in there own way/magic and worth a visit.

AKK

 

[toodycat]

My sister and I spent some time visiting resorts on our last trip. i would say GF, Poly, WL, AKL, BC and YC are must-sees, but we also enjoyed POR and POFQ. The best lobbies are at GF, AkL and WL. At the BC, stop for a shake at Beaches and Cream. The Boardwalk area is very nice, but the BW resort is just a resort, unless you want to check out the clown pool! The Contemporary is not a resort I would visit for the decor, but you might want to have a drink at the California Grill Lounge around fireworks time to enjoy the view. Likewise, although the colorful landscaping of the grounds of the GF and Poly is best appreciated during the day, at night it's great to stand on the dock near Narcooosee's at the GF or the beach at the Poly to view the Electrical Water Pageant.

 

[kyleandconnorsmom]

We stayed at AKL last month and I really wanted to see the Boardwalk area, so I made my family take the boat from HS to check it out and we had ice cream at Beaches n Cream . They all thought it was a huge waste of time and incredibly boring. They all (husband and two oldest boys) said they would have rather just gone back to AKL for the afternoon because it's a really special place and the Boardwalk area was typical and boring. Personally, I thought it was kind of relaxing (or could have been if everyone else wasn't complaining), but there definitely wasn't much of a "wow" factor if that's what you're looking for. I also can't comment on how it is at night, because we went during the day. I just know that my DH was actually really angry with me for taking us away from our resort to go there. He was a bear for the rest of the evening and night.

 

[dashofsunshine]

AKL! It is my longtime dream to stay there one day (we generally just stay off property because we don't have a vacation budget that allows $300+ per night hotel rooms ). We had dinner at Jiko for our anniversary in May and when we came back up to the Lobby, there were some cast members playing African drums while families gathered around and danced. It was amazingly cool. The magic of Disney!

 

[jperrot1]

All. And I mean that. We normally stay at POR but have resort hopped to check out the sites. All Disney resorts are unique and have their own charm.

I agree. Plus, this will give you a better idea of where you want to stay for your next WDW trip. But, if you don't think you want to take the time for all resorts, get on the monorail for the monorail resorts. Next, I would suggest Beach Club, Yacht Club, Board Walk Inn, Swan and Dolphin (as these are all connected by walking paths and beautiful). If you still have time, I would tour the following in this order (for location purposes: Animal Kingdom Lodge, All Stars, Art Of Animation (and Pop Century which is connected by path/bridge), Caribbean Beach, Old Key West (if DVC interests you), Port Orleans French Quarters and Riverside, and last Saratoga Springs (if DVC interests you). Lastly, head over to Wilderness Lodge, and then Fort Wilderness Campground and Cabins.

 

[jperrot1]

We stayed at AKL last month and I really wanted to see the Boardwalk area, so I made my family take the boat from HS to check it out and we had ice cream at Beaches n Cream . They all thought it was a huge waste of time and incredibly boring. They all (husband and two oldest boys) said they would have rather just gone back to AKL for the afternoon because it's a really special place and the Boardwalk area was typical and boring. Personally, I thought it was kind of relaxing (or could have been if everyone else wasn't complaining), but there definitely wasn't much of a "wow" factor if that's what you're looking for. I also can't comment on how it is at night, because we went during the day. I just know that my DH was actually really angry with me for taking us away from our resort to go there. He was a bear for the rest of the evening and night.

No matter where we stay, I always bring up the idea of going over there just to get ice cream (banana split) from beaches and cream. That's my favorite ice cream place in the World. Usually I can pull this off as we are walking through Epcot World Showcase and the family is hungry for a snack. That's when I say, "Beaches and Cream is a 3 minute walk from here you know." You, know, pass Cananda, then United Kingdom, and that's where you bring up the idea of beaches and cream because you're just about there.

 

[DizDaD7]

My family and I are planning on taking some time to visit the other resorts (we are staying at Coronado Springs). We decided that the Animal Kingdom Lodge, Wilderness Lodge, Swan and Dolphin, and Boardwalk Inn are all possibly worth seeing. Are there any you would recommend? Also out of the ones we have chosen what would be your #1 choice? We have never visited any of these before as well.

1st off to the disboards.

2nd: AKL would be my choice....You can spend 1/2 day here for sure. Sooo much to do & see. It's a cultural experience/history lesson as well.

What we usually say is do the Monorail Loop tour:

Basically take a bus to MK. Hop on the monorail & take it over to CR, Explore, eat, shop.play & then board the monorail towards POLY. Do the same here, then finally board & head over to Grand Floridian to finish the cycle...A nice way to see how different/similar other resorts are.