Worst resort experience and best resort experience

[argue]

Thought this thread might help people out when booking. Share your favorite resort, and the best and worst experience there.

 

[argue]

The only time ive been to Disney before was in 2004 @ ASMo.

The Bad: As soon as I arrived, (I was with my brother, SIL, and their 2 kids) we all had rooms next to each other. (1 room for them, 2 adjoining rooms for me.) They were given their room key. We were right next door to them and our room was not ready. We went into their room, dumped all our luggage (it was tight) and left for the parks. Finally, we got into our room. I was just not that happy that our room was not ready. (we arrived after check in time)

The Good: Food Court
Pools, Arcade, Service, the busses were great.
Nice grounds.

 

[stitchfan18]

I've only stayed at the 3 mods, and the all-stars, so I can't account for the deluxes.

My Favorite has been POR, it was really nicely themed and I loved the rooms, pool, and food court. There was a little mess up with our rooms, but that was just because of the booking through AAA.

My least favorite was All-Star Sports. It was the only one that was available at the time we booked, so we didn't have much choice. It wasn't really bad, we just didn't like the theming and all the kids running around. It's definitely a kid friendly resort.

 

[ADisneygirl]

Worst: CBR trip during Thanksgiving week 2 years ago. Booked a preferred room so we'd be close to OPR for food. Had my elderly Mom along and knew she'd need that peace of mind that it wasn't a long walk. Called CRO to shorten our trip by 2 days. Instead of modifying my existing ressie and taking off 2 days, the CM cancelled my ressie and rebooked it. I guess he got the credit for the booking then --- BUT he made a mistake and entered preferred view, not preferred location. So, we paid for a water view when we were expecting a close room. Then to to top that offense off, the front desk girl at check in couldn't give me a first floor room and CBR has no elevators! So there was my poor 75 year old mother trudging up and down the staircases every time we went in and out. I was livid. The room was not up to my standards either -- having chipped walls in some spots near the door and a table covered in crayon scribblings. We tried to make the best of it, and my mom was a real trooper.

Best: Our first stay at BWI. It was a magical week of luxury. The room was so pretty, the resort so elegant and relaxing. We loved the area and loved walking around the Boardwalk, riding the surrey bikes and walking into the Epcot WS gateway. The pool slide - the keister coaster slide -- was such fun. Everything about that resort was lovely, and I compare all my stays to the happiness we had there. If only I could afford to go there all the time!

 

[Juliet25]

TBH, I don't have a favorite resort. I had a really nice stay at the BC, the WL, PO-FQ...it's so hard to pick one. I didn't enjoy the AS-Mu resort, but it was a quick trip in the hot, hot month of August, I was 6 weeks pregnant, and our room was wwwwaaaaayyyyy far from the food court area. If I had stayed in a preferred room, I probably would have considered it a fine experience.

Really, you can't go wrong with a Disney resort stay.

 

[kkmauch]

Ok...I should preface this by saying that even my WORST experience at Disney was still a wonderful experience overall and I would not hesitate to stay there again in the future.

WORST: AllStar Music. Spring 2000. I stayed in a room with two high school friends for just one night. We were in southern Florida for the rest of the trip, but I insisted we spend at least one night at Disney. So, we opted for the cheapest available room.
The bad parts about this resort: bus service was slow to MK and back from MK and packed each time we used it (4 imtes total). The food court was ok, but the food wasn't really all that great. I felt like the CS meals in the parks were better than the options there. The pool was really far from our room and was under construction as well. And finally, the resort was very noisy.
Really though, the experience was not bad. I would stay there again. I've had family stay at other Values and have a great vacation.

BEST: The best resort experience I ever had was at POR (read: Dixie Landings). THis was back in the day when it was still called by it's proper name. We were staying with two rooms and they were very close together. We didn't request connecting rooms and were pleased to be close together. Loved the food court, the pool, and the theme. We had no problems with the bus and never felt like the resort was too big. We've stayed at everything from Value ro Deluxe and DVC. This was by far the best stay we ever had. Great CMs and wonderful experience overall.

 

[skipperkim]

BestOFQ!!!!! I could go on and on about what I love about this place, but I'll spare you all.

Worstop. Bus service here is bad. Not to mention one must wait in the rain or heat to que for a bus. We waited an hour one night to catch a bus to MGM to see the Osborne Lights. Rather than wait over an hour to catch one back, we walked to the Boardwalk and caught the bus to DTD from there and then got a bus back to Pop. It was noisy and crowded. I guess I'm not a value girl.

 

[CanadianGuy]

BestOFQ!!!!! I could go on and on about what I love about this place, but I'll spare you all.

Worstop. Bus service here is bad. Not to mention one must wait in the rain or heat to que for a bus. We waited an hour one night to catch a bus to MGM to see the Osborne Lights. Rather than wait over an hour to catch one back, we walked to the Boardwalk and caught the bus to DTD from there and then got a bus back to Pop. It was noisy and crowded. I guess I'm not a value girl.

Pop now has a shelter area behind the main queue area. I just assumed it always did. If it's raining, most people wait under that. It's shaded and for some strange reason, has fans overhead.

Knox

 

[clownfish1452]

I have only been to POP.

Good: The food court, the pools and everything really seem close inside the resort.

Bad: The walk to the bus stop at the parks.

Sarah

 

[marianleah]

Worst - POFQ We had a room over the air compressor, the a/c never worked right and I kept finding spiders in the room. (I HATE SPIDERS!) Loved the grounds though and the boat ride to DTD.

Best - BWI We were upgraded to a garden suite! It was just me and DH, so very romantic and loved the watching the TV in the bathroom while relaxing in the jacuzzi tub! Having a midnite wine in our garden was pretty darn cool too!

 

[Kata]

I stayed onsite for the 1st time in 2005. I couldn't decide where to stay so I resort hopped to 5 different resorts (1 unplanned).
My least favorite was BWI- I had issues ranging from a toliet that didn't work to black mold over my bed, to spending the entire night listening to the man in the next room snoring. I know this resort has alot of fans but I am not one of them. The location is great but next time I will stay at YC
Best resort- I really enjoyed both AKL and WL they are both awesome resorts and I will be staying at both of them again in December. When I walked into my room at the Poly I thought I had died and went to heaven.I also enjoyed Kona Cafe and will be trying Ohana for the 1st time in December. Also you can't beat the convenience of a monorail resort .I just loved this resort. I was so sorry I only had 2 nights there. I will be staying there again for 3 nights in December. The only thing I don't like about the Poly is the separate longhouses.I found myself getting lost in the dark. I do have a very bad sense of direction but I really think the longhouses could be signed better.

 

[Disney Planner Mama]

I really had to think hard to come up with a bad experience at a resort.

The only one I could come up with was when we stayed at Port Orleans we had requested non-smoking rooms and ended up with smoking rooms. One phone call and we were switched.

The good: When we stayed at Yacht Club during DD's birthday Captain Bob arranged for a birthday card from her favorite character and balloons and chocolate covered strawberries and a white chocolate Mickey for her. This was in addition to the balloons and card that the hotel sent. She has been a YC afficianado ever since.

 

[epcotfan]

Best: Tied Between: Contemporary and Coronado Springs.

Good: Beach Club, Caribbean Beach, All Star Music, Beach Club Villas

OK, But unlikely To Return: Port Orleans, Old Key West

Worst: Animal Kingdom Lodge

 

[3PRINCESSMOM]

Best: Poly Dec '01
Post 9/11 we were POR refugees. Reserved GV, was upgraded to a LV, all at a great rate. However, it was Mother Nature that made the stay even better. Parks closed quite early since the crowds were non-existant. With daytime temps in the 80's and evening only going down to high 70's, we did all our parks hopping by day and relaxed poolside into the night. We watched the EWP almost every night from the zero depth entry end of the volcano pool.

Worst: CBR Mar '98
We got a rotten location (this was before I knew anything about anything re:WDW). Transportation was unreliable. This was pre-renovations, so the resort was looking really run-down. The restaurant was closed. CM attentiveness was lacking all around. There was trash left on a staircase leading to our room for 2 days; I finally called about it.

 

[sfbank]

Our best of course have been our stays at the Boardwalk Inn and especially our last two stays on the concierge level. The service is above and beyond. The resort is beautiful and fun at the same time. We love the Boardwalk at night, watching the entertainers, riding the surrey bikes, strolling the boardwalk listening to the piano man and just taking in all the sights.

I can't say we had a bad stay at the Wilderness Lodge in 04. It was a nice resort but it was just not for us. The staff was not as friendly. They did not go out of their way to make us feel welcome like everyone does at the Boardwalk. That is what is great about Disney--there is something for everyone!!

 

[Kimberly815]

I have only stayed at AKL, WL, and ASMo onsite.

BEST: AKL- I just loved it and am dying to go back. We just loved the theming, and the pool, the restuarantes, and not to mention the savannahs!

GREAT: WL- Honeymooned here and really enjoyed the resort, it was beautiful. The transportation to the MK was just great too.

GOOD: ASMo- Went for a quick trip during free dining last year and enjoyed it. Grounds were fun to explore and accomodations were basic but clean.

BAD: Nothing Yet!! And I hope to keep it that way!!

We are trying out CBR this Sept, and I hope we like it!

 

[TheLastPrincess]

The BEST 2 stays we have had were at the Grand Floridian (first when I was 5, then again when I was 14). I even distinctly remember the CMs being "so sweet" when I was 5 years old! I thought it was the best place on earth (still do). It's funny to think we only spent 4 days there...it seemed like MONTHS, the way my brain remembers it.

The WL places a close second. What a beautiful, peaceful resort! POFQ is the best of the mods in my opinion. But we stayed there during off-season and we didn't have a problem at all with anything.

The WORST experience (and by worst I mean, at most, slightly irritating) was CSR. It was our first time in a moderate (aren't we spoiled!) and we weren't very impressed. There were some nice things about it, like the lake and the hammocks and the pool. But there must have been construction going on or something because the rooms weren't very clean and looked like they really needed an update. Also the resort was HUGE and we had to walk 10 minutes just to get to the restaurant. The buses were a pain. But like I said, it was still Disney and still better than staying off-site!!!!!

 

[Alicnwondrln]

Best BWI concierge and WL concierge

Worst GF concierge
we are trying it again, the service is already better this time from the IPO

 

[Disflyer]

We have stayed at most resorts with the exception of a few of the Delux (BC, BWI, and both AKL and WL)

Best, this really was difficult, there are so many good things about all the resorts although I would have to say SSR was the best, we loved the walk to DtD in the evenings along the trails and water, the pool was great and so was the food court. This was a pretty close tie with the old Disney Inn (now Shades of Green) we loved the location!

Worst would have to be hands down Sports, I think we had a bad time there primarily due to when we went, we were there during the National Cheerleading comp, there were unsupervised teens EVERYWHERE loud and obnoxious! I expected kids but when you see kids in the bushes doing not so family friendly acts it is just something you don't expect to see anywhere let alone Disney! In fact the second time I was so disgusted I walked over by them and had a nice chat, the mouths on these kids... Now I am not one to cause a stir but people let's get real! A far second would have been the cabins at FW, not because we hated the room but we were stuck so far away from the bus stops but that is the only neg I have ever had with them and we have styed there since this experience.

 

[BillyRayJimBob]

Best would have been poly right after 9/11. There wasn't enough that they could do for us. It was the best customer service I've ever seen.

Worst was contemporary about a year ago. They put us in a smoking room which wreaked horribly. We called to be changed to a non smoking room (which we had booked) and got told to come back to the loby and wait in line. Told them "I don't think so" and got hung up on. Finally, after another call and being on hold, got the manager and we got switched two doors down. This was the garden wing closest to the MK. The place was beat. The hallway carpet was dirty, the hallway walls were dinged and scuffed all over the place and the celing tiles were loose. Really it looked more like a Motel 6 than a delux Disney result. This was the second or third floor. We had stayed on the ground level a year or so before that and it was much nicer. I understand that they've torn down that wing. They must not have put any effort into upkeep going into the demolition. It was awfully disappointing, though the rest of the trip was fine.

On the issue of upgrades... I don't think its unreasonable to ask for a free upgrade upon checking in. If its available and the room is not otherwise booked, I would hope that disney would give the upgrade. If nothing is available, fine, but if it is available it is a nice touch. I think the only upgrade we ever got was to a slightly better view -- and I mean slightly.