Would You Pay to Upgrade Based on Location?

[brockash]

We have an upcoming stay (adults only) at Wilderness Lodge/Courtyard View the 2nd + 3rd week of January. We will be visiting MK, EPCOT, and 1 HS day this trip.

Researching these weeks further, our hope is that Festival of the Arts will begin Friday, January 7th. For an extra $450, we can switch resorts to BoardWalk Inn. I realize that "worth it" is very subjective, however, would you personally pay to change resorts to be closer to EPCOT during the festival? Is the convenience of walking to EPCOT in just a few minutes truly anything spectacular as opposed to just waiting for a bus from Wilderness Lodge?

We stayed at OKW in May, and the bus situation was absolutely horrendous (every bus stop at the resort packed with people, often having to wait 2-3 buses to get on), which is really making us second-guess staying at a resort with easier access to both parks.

Thanks, all!

Is 450 total? If so, yeah we'd probably switch.

 

[DJFan88]

In this case, yes. Our bussing from WL to both Epcot and HS was one of our worst. And we’ve ridden a lot. It’s almost like they have 1 bus that goes back and forth (and shared with contemporary for those parks) so if you miss it , your doomed to wait almost a half an hour. Loved the ease of walking from the boardwalk, quick and easy Disney springs bussing, and can’t remember any trouble with busses to MK or AK. We’ve stayed twice on the boardwalk. Also if your bus isn’t there yet, you can hop onto one of the other resorts busses, we’ve done that. Now you can also flit over to Riviera if you want. $450 is nothing in Disney dollars world. So yeah, Absolutely

 

[MissionMouse]

3 MK, 3 EPCOT, 1 HS. That's why we are torn... WL has the boat to MK, but BWI has the walk to EPCOT.

All adults, so the kids preferring MK over other parks is not a factor. We liked the BWI. It has a more connected feel than WL which feels a little disconnected. If you stay at MK until closing the boat back to WL can mean watching boat after boat until it becomes your turn many many minutes later. When you leave to return to BWI from Epcot, just walk back to your resort or something at one of the Epcot area resorts.

 

[LadyTramp94]

Is 450 total? If so, yeah we'd probably switch.

Without batting an eye!

We were once big believers in the split stays, but now we’re older and now do the one resort per trip. And with Disney not transferring luggage as before
(at least that’s what Ive read), we don't want that hassle either.

 

[Rory607]

I love doing Epcot at night for dinner and strolling WS. We like to hop over there after spending the day at other parks. It is so nice to be able walk back to your hotel in the evening. It will be more difficult to get to MK, so I guess it depends on how you want to structure your days. For me, personally, yes it would be worth it at that price.

 

[EpcotPhoenician]

Sadly, we just realized that the marathon runners use the EPCOT resort loop. We really don't want to be woken up at 6AM, repeatedly (even if we get a garden view room, we assume the noise could still be heard from there).

Based on the feedback in this thread, we would definitely have made the switch if not for this.

 

[loves to dive]

Except Swan & Dolphin no longer use Disney bus service. Their buses go to the TTC now & you transfer to ferry or monorail. Not necessarily a good trade off for someone who is looking for a better bus experience. I guess it depends how much time OP is planning at MK.

It's easy enough to walk over to BW or YC and catch their bus for MK. The bus to AK is fine, it lets you off where the other non-Disney transportation lets off, which is just a few steps past the Disney buses.

Curious what your cutoff for split stays are? We are considering 2 days and 2 days on a 4 day trip for this reason.

I've done a number of 1/3 and 2/3 splits and wouldn't hesitate to do a 2/2.

OP - I would look into Swan/Dolphin. No they do not use Disney buses, they use Mears. But it really isn't that big of a deal. If that bothers you, as others have suggested, think about a split. WL for a few days and then either a Disney Epcot resort or Swan/Dolphin. If you are doing the split, I'm assuming you would do at least your MK days from WL, possibly your AK. I don't know how the bus situation is at WL, the only deluxe I have not stayed at although I have stayed in a RV at the Fort. You should save a pretty decent amount of money splitting or doing your entire stay at Swan/Dolphin. We stay there all the time and really like it, and YC is my complete favorite resort of all on Disney property. To give that up is big but you can't beat the cost difference.

 

[NicoleLarson]

Sadly, we just realized that the marathon runners use the EPCOT resort loop. We really don't want to be woken up at 6AM, repeatedly (even if we get a garden view room, we assume the noise could still be heard from there).

Based on the feedback in this thread, we would definitely have made the switch if not for this.

The garden view rooms are really quite. They make a courtyard around the quite pool. We've stayed there during several of the runs and never heard anything.

 

[FinnFogg]

since we are from the west coast, we usually stay two weeks And split stay at three resorts

We are from the west coast as well! Doing a 2 week trip to WDW next March and booked: 4 nights BLT, 5 nights BWV and 5 nights AKL Jambo (our kids LOVE AKL, but we’ve only stayed at Kidani so thought we would mix it up at Jambo, especially since the Kidani pool is closed). This will be our first split stay, and not everyone (i.e. DH ) is convinced that itis a good idea. I’m super stoked to try three new resorts, though and think that 2 weeks is plenty of time to do so. Fingers crossed!!

 

[Julie Amber]

I love staying within walking distance of Epcot! In your situation, I would do a split stay. Stay the half you are doing Magic Kingdom at WL and then transfer to Boardwalk for your Epcot and Hollywood Studios time. Or, like other people have mentioned, stay at the Swan/Dolphin because you'll still have the walkability without having the extra cost.

 

[melissalovesfigment]

We hate the busses. We have 14 nights at Boardwalk starting on Monday. We would absolutely pay $450 to be walking distance to Epcot/HS. That said, WL is such a special resort. We have never had bus issues there but you are a little isolated when you get "home" at night whereas at Boardwalk, you have the whole Crescent Lake area to dine/drink. Plus, if you have park hopper, you can walk into the backside of Epcot if it is still open.