WWYD: Bucket List Resort Stay

[PlutoTheDog89]

We visited Disney for Christmas every year from 09-18. Fellow Disney fans called us crazy for going during the most-crowded time of the year. What started as a one-time trip to "change things up" quickly turned into a tradition. By 2012 our family just stopped asking what we were doing for Christmas.

My dad passed in early 2019 and we couldn't bring ourselves to go back. We did California instead to escape all the holiday hoop-la and stopped by Disneyland for New Year's Eve. Had it not been for the pandemic, we would have celebrated Thanksgiving in Disney with our extended family. It would have been a nice "ease" back into Disney, being surrounded by my aunt and cousins. But... we had to cancel coming from NY and with so much uncertainty.

As of Christmas 2020, it'll have been 2 years since we've last been to Disney World. Don't get me wrong, I notice how "first world problems" that sounds....we've been very very fortunate to visit so often. Between not traveling during the pandemic and now not having been to WDW in 2 years... we're so ready to go back.

We've eased the time by starting to plan out next Christmas. I'm assuming that most will be back to normal with the vaccine in full swing, but really who knows. I'm trying to remain optimistic. We love Beach Club, but we're looking to change things up. Part of going to California was because my dad used to always say "we always do the same thing! We should go see new places!" So we honored dad with a trip to California last year. So we'd like to experience some new places and see new things this year.... so I'm looking for some advice.

For 2021 we're going BIG. Budget doesn't matter (I mean, it matters, but we're willing to splurge a bit to get a really nice experience. What would you do? Here's what we're been playing with:

Split Stay: Coronado Tower + Contemporary Theme Park View
Breakdown: Stay at Coronado 12/24 - 12/29; Contemporary Theme Park View 12/29 - 1/1
Est. Cost: ~$11,100/$3,700 per person
My thinking: We'd do a 5-day park hopper during the beginning of our stay (Coronado). We have unused 2-day park hoppers that we can use if need be for 12/29-1/1, but honestly, been there, done that. If we wanna get one park day in, great, but probably will do Disney Springs, hang by the pool if the weather is right, and (hopefully) watch the fireworks on 12/30 and 12/31 from our balcony at Contemporary. Now...all this changes if fireworks don't come return or they don't do a NYE show.

Split Stay: Beach Club + Grand Floridian
Breakdown: Stay at BC 12/24 - 12/30; GF 12/30 - 1/1
Est. Cost: ~$12,454.38/$4,151 per person
My thinking: Remember when I said budget doesn't matter? This one gave me pause. $4k per person seems to be our absolute ceiling with flights. I have enough points with Southwest to fly us there and back, but still... this one is a little out of our price range, and while GF is gorgeous, I'd much rather wait to stay there when there's a significant resort discount (such as the one being offered during Easter). Also, LOVE Beach Club. There's so many perks to staying there - proximity to Epcot, the pool, etc. The thing is, we stayed there so many times. It's time to see some new places. Plus, feel like staying at BC will bring up too many memories with dad. Too soon to be staying back there. BUT - my mom did say she prefers the area. She likes that she can go sit on the boardwalk if my sister and i decide to stay at the parks or go to Disney Springs. That probably won't happen, but worth mentioning. Maybe we do Yacht Club, since we've only stayed there once and it won't be quite as nostalgic. Also note that this is an estimate, as BC can't be booked right now.

Split Stay: Wilderness Lodge + Contemporary Theme Park View
Breakdown: Stay at Wilderness 12/24 - 12/30; Contemporary 12/30 - 1/1
Est. Cost: ~$11,927.33/$3,975.14 per person
My thinking: Noticing a trend yet? We really wanna stay at Contemporary with Theme Park View for New Year's Eve. That's at the top of our bucket list. Now we work in Wilderness Lodge, which IMO is the best resort during Christmas. Being a "seasoned Christmas pro" I can tell you - you wanna build the most efficient trip possible, and frankly, staying at Wilderness Lodge makes things a bit more difficult. Yes, you're in the Magic Kingdom area, but you need to take a boat over. And you feel a bit secluded, which adds to the allure of Wilderness Lodge...but you can't exactly walk over to Epcot or DHS. This can add a bit more stress. Would love to hear people who have stayed there.

Other possible stays we're considering:

Split Stay: Contemporary Garden Wing 12/24 - 12/30; Theme Park View 12/30 - 1/1
This would take some stress off the split stay. We wouldn't have to worry about changing resorts, just changing rooms.

Split Stay: Swan and Dolphin 12/24 - 12/30; Theme Park View 12/30 - 1/1
This one would be a bit too complicated, but we listed it since it would help us cut costs a bit.

Bay Lake Tower, Rent DVC Points 12/24 - 1/1
I have this listed as this would be the most cost efficient, but I also feel like it'd be near impossible to get, even 11 months out. I'm also hesitant to rent DVC points almost 1 year out. If things aren't back to normal or there's somehow (God forbid) another spike, canceling a DVC stay is going to be a lot more difficult than canceling a package reserved through Disney.

Resorts we'd be open to:

Contemporary - would love to stay there, as seen above, but staying there the entire trip would be very tight on budget. We're "okay" with a max of $4k budget for the trip, but we'd rather not go that high.

Beach/Yacht Club - Sticking with what we know. We can stay there the entire trip or a good portion of the trip. We'd probably stay YC to avoid the nostalgia and memories of years passed with dad.

Contemporary Tower - Seen pics of the lobby during Christmas and think this would be an awesome place to use for a split stay.

Saratoga - People overlook this hotel, but for an older family this could be a great stay. A lot of our favorite restaurants are in Disney Springs, so we'd either get a room or reserve through DVC if we have to. Feel like reserving Saratoga is a lot easier than, say, BLT.

Wilderness - Again, feel like it'd be magical during Christmas, but it being so secluded is keeping us from pulling the trigger. Any advice from past trips?

....We'd also love to check out Riviera, but we're grouping that with GF. Waiting for a steep discount before staying there.

 

[Dug720]

While I've not stayed there, I would personally go with BLT - or anything that was the same place the whole time. I realize I'm a unicorn on these boards for this, but the idea of packing up partway through a stay is just a big old nope sandwich. I like to stay put so I can fully settle in.

 

[CynBeth]

I would do the split stay betweenn WL and CR. We were at WL during Thanksgiving week one year as part of a split stay and loved it! WCC is one of our favorite breakfasts and the lobby is amazing! We did not feel secluded at all. The boat to MK and the resort boat to FW and CR was fine as were the buses to the other parks.

 

[DianaMB333]

I would go with your mom's desires at Boardwalk/Beach club... it will become nostalgic (my dad also passed), but in a way you will feel closer to the memories while also happy to have new ones.. don't know how to explain better..

 

[cgattis]

I would go with your mom's desires at Boardwalk/Beach club... it will become nostalgic (my dad also passed), but in a way you will feel closer to the memories while also happy to have new ones.. don't know how to explain better..

Aw, I think you said it great.

While we loved our holiday stay at WL, based on the quote above, I’d agree. I’d split Beach Club (HS and Epcot access) with Contemporary (MK access), with your choice on which one for NYE.

My dad has been gone since 2007 and mom since 2015, and I miss them both every day but especially at Christmas. Enjoy this trip with your mom!!

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

I may be biased because we just stayed at WL last Christmas, but that would be my pick if I had never stayed there over Xmas. Yes, the buses/boats were a pain, but it really was magical, and the food at all the restaurants was great. (Now, saying that, we’re looking at Yacht club for our next Xmas trip for convenience. But we have never stayed at the same place twice).

 

[VandVsmama]

I think you should do the option that has you staying at CR the entire time, but switching rooms.

 

[bakerworld]

My sympathies. My mother made it possible (she paid airfare) for us to take our kids to WDW when they were young. Eight years later she passed away on a Tuesday and we left for WDW on that Thursday - flying our eldest in from College to join us. It helped.

Not exactly sure why the split stay but maybe this is what you usually do so I'm gonna go with it. It sounds like you plan to visit parks on the front part of the vacation. Personally I'd do a Dolphin (walkable/boat/skyliner/monorail) - Saratoga split stay. The Dolphin gets you into the Beach Club/Boardwalk area without the price or memories. I would avoid the Dolphin shops, QS, although their eateries and bar are very good, and bus service (we used the BW service) - unless they are back into being included in the WDW transport system (currently they are not).

If cost is not so much a focus, I like the Theme Park View - Saratoga (maybe Port Orleans?).

 

[Blondie58]

While I've not stayed there, I would personally go with BLT - or anything that was the same place the whole time. I realize I'm a unicorn on these boards for this, but the idea of packing up partway through a stay is just a big old nope sandwich. I like to stay put so I can fully settle in.

Call us unicorns too! We are also not fans of split stays and packing and moving. To each his own. Merry Christmas to all.

 

[cutigerlady]

We went to Disney in the days leading up to Christmas for the last 6 years or so. Our favorite place to stay is the BC/YC because it is very easy to get to 2 parks and there are many things to do around the resorts. It was perfect for staying with our parents because they could opt out of the parks when they needed a break. Plus there are several sit down restaurants that didn't take reservations so we could easily pop in for a relaxing meal without having to think about it. We have stayed at the Dolphin/Swan several years to save money (and back in the day they had awesome discounts for government employees, no more now that Marriott owns them).

Generally we love the CR, but at Christmas I don't think it's very magical. It just seems so crowded and the decorations are just ok. The lines for the monorail can get crazy long. As for the GF, I love this resort if you are staying in the main building. I happened to be there the first year the gingerbread house was done and I love everything about this lobby. But, it is so busy that it loses some appeal now. I would only stay at the GF if I wasn't going to be spending much time in the parks. We were not impressed at all with the Poly (that year we were there right after Christmas for the marathon), but that wasn't on your list!

We have stayed at Saratoga Springs with my husband's parents and we liked having extra space (we had 2 1 BR units). We happened to be right by DS and had a great view. It can be alot of walking though to get around.

 

[Marthasor]

IMHO, time is money and when going during the most crowded holiday period, I like to keep using Disney transportation to an absolute minimum. We've stayed at BWV and BCV during Christmas and it saved our trips - it was so easy walking to EP and DHS. Taking the bus to MK was a nightmare. If I were you, I would do the BC/GF split (since the walking path from GF to MK is now open) or even consider a BC/CR split (tower or even garden wing to save some money). Maybe consider BC/WL, however, again, I'm not a fan of waiting on buses or boats over the holiday season. We've done Swan/Dolphin over Christmas as well and it was fine. I much prefer BC and BWI. I would take Coronado off the list for the holiday season - too much transportation hassle.

 

[NashvilleMama]

another vote for the WL + CR....yes, you're a bit "remote" at WL but it's one of my family's favorite resorts and would just be so magical at Christmastime.

 

[fla4fun]

My choice would be YC/CR. Or even BWI (if open) and CR. I love BWI and it feels more evenly spaced between DHS and Epcot if you want to walk to the parks. I have stayed at YC on Christmas, and it was great! I lost my mom the week before Thanksgiving ten years ago, and had a Disney trip planned for the second week of December. I know how it feels when the memories kick in. I think it is probably better, for this first trip, to stay at an Epcot resort other than BC. You will see BC and be able to make your peace with it without staying there, so maybe the next time you will be ready to go back.

You can’t really make a bad choice between them. I love WL, which is my favorite deluxe, and all your other choices (except S&D, because I haven’t stayed there yet) and have had fun trips at them. I personally prefer not to do split stays, as I feel I lose a lot of the fun time on the switch day.