Your Resort Choice

[db57me]

As a newbie, visiting WDW for the first time in June, I've gained a wealth of information from these posts.

I thought people would appreciate hearing the why behind a specific Disney resort choice. Your resort choice adds another layer to your overall Disney experience. As a newbie, visiting WDW for the first time in June, I've gained a wealth of information from these posts.

My wife and I originally wanted to stay at the Grand Floridian, but the costs was way beyond our budget. After discussions with our TA, we chose the Beach Club Villas because of the proximity to Epcot, Stormalong Bay, the theming, and the type of room. We are going with a studio, which is a little larger, with a kitchenette and sitting area.

Which Disney resort have you booked for your next WDW vacation, and why?

 

[kP72]

We are staying at BC this time around. We prefer Epcot resorts for the proximity to our favorite park.

We have stayed twice at BWI and love it, however, we will be traveling with my cousins and DC Jenny (36) has a huge fear of clowns so we opted out due to the huge clown slide!

Our first choice for this upcoming trip would have been the Poly, but due to construction....

We choose Deluxe resorts mainly for proximity to parks and optional means of transportation.

 

[disneybliss2]

We were originally booked at POFQ. We love it's smaller size, the boat ride to DTD, and it's central proximity or a tad closer to Epcot location. When the summer discount came out, we switched to AKL which is where we hoped to stay when we initially booked but weren't willing to pay rack rate. Though we were happy to be at POFQ because we really like it there, we truly wanted to stay at AKL.

We love that AKL is so relaxing. It just has a neat vibe & ambience that we love. My oldest daughter is obsessed with animals & is very knowledgeable about wild animals, so staying there adds another element to our trip. We love viewing the animals; my girls loved viewing them using the night vision goggles. Staying at AKL is like having a vacation at WDW and a mini-vacation to Africa all in one. We love interacting with the cast members there too. My daughters and I learned so much from them last time. We love the activities they have for the kids: the animal trekking, cookie decorating, African story telling, African music session, etc. My girls loved doing the various activities on our last stay and adding the beads to a rope after each one to create a memory chain. We really like the zero entry pool there too. Great for my youngest who can't fully swim yet.

 

[mickeynut1]

As a newbie, visiting WDW for the first time in June, I've gained a wealth of information from these posts.

I thought people would appreciate hearing the why behind a specific Disney resort choice. Your resort choice adds another layer to your overall Disney experience. As a newbie, visiting WDW for the first time in June, I've gained a wealth of information from these posts.

My wife and I originally wanted to stay at the Grand Floridian, but the costs was way beyond our budget. After discussions with our TA, we chose the Beach Club Villas because of the proximity to Epcot, Stormalong Bay, the theming, and the type of room. We are going with a studio, which is a little larger, with a kitchenette and sitting area.

Which Disney resort have you booked for your next WDW vacation, and why?

We haven't booked yet, but we are considering the CR for our next stay. The theme/decor has never really appealed to us, but our next trip might be just a 3-4 night one, so that might be a good time to try it out. We've stayed at the GF and Poly and we love being on the monorail, so it would be nice to see the difference in stays among all 3 resorts.

 

[lizabean]

french quarter , stayed 8 times .love the river and the boat ride to downtown dis .smallest resort. hot tub always empty. just a great place.use to be best kept secret but cat got out of the bag

 

[OnceUponATime15]

We are doing a split stay on our next visit, 4 nights at The Yacht Club followed by 3 nights at the Polynesian (yes we are aware of the construction but we couldn't resist! lol) Looking forward to both! Pools, dining. relaxing.. sounds blissful after the winter we've had this year!

Having the 2 resorts makes planning so easy, EPCOT & The Studios while at the YC and the MK while at the Poly.. Skipping AK this visit - I think...

*****ETA****** We've stayed at all the Moderate resorts with the exception of the cabins & loved each of them! We will probably return to each at some point in the future. (Even CBR once the refurb is complete - queen beds are a must! lolz ) We've stayed at Pop Century too, enjoy it for short stays, rooms are a bit too compact for a longer stay

 

[jeffbear]

We booked Animal Kingdom Lodge this time for two reasons:

1. Our family's old standby, the Poly, is under going significant construction. I work in the commercial construction industry and while I know it's never as bad as people worry it will be to go to a resort under major renovation ... it's going to feel a lot like my work environment on vacation, so no thanks.

2. That decided, we looked for a significantly unique experience and chose between Wilderness Lodge and AKL. We decided to go for the AKL in large part because of the unique savannah experience, btu also because of the general theming of the resort. That was the big draw for the WL as well ... I adore that building ... but in the end the giraffes won the day.

We've done a couple of moderates in the past and really enjoy the Boardwalk area resorts, and I'm a real fan of what they've put together over at Art of Animation. But for the big theming you just can't beat the deluxes IMO.

 

[Babsy]

We haven't booked yet, but we are considering the CR for our next stay. The theme/decor has never really appealed to us, but our next trip might be just a 3-4 night one, so that might be a good time to try it out. We've stayed at the GF and Poly and we love being on the monorail, so it would be nice to see the difference in stays among all 3 resorts.

I felt the same way before I stayed there. The theming really didn't appeal to me.

Do you plan a TPV room? I found that to make a big difference. BLV is pleasant but doesn't have the same 'magic' as looking out over the entire MK area.

If you are going while the monorail is running on a limited schedule, then this is indeed a good time to try the CR!! Being able to walk to and fro is a big advantage at the moment.

I hope that you like it! We sure did!

 

[snorkelyn]

1. We chose POR- preferred. Mostly because we are a family of 5 on a budget for Spring Break. Preferred because we want to be near the amenities. Our last trip was at CSR (2 rooms) and we thought it was too spread out.

2. Boardwalk Villas for our anniversary trip in May (no kids) because we plan to spend most of our time at Epcot. Dining and Drinking around the world. Plus, jellyrolls and other Boardwalk stuff.

3. Swan for our 10 day trip in September. We chose it to be within walking distance to Epcot and HS. We fly down, and we don't rent a car. The buses are ok, but I hate waiting (Ironically, this is also why we go in September...less waiting in lines). We MAY switch to BC. But, it will be more money, even with a discount, so- it's up in the air.

 

[mickeynut1]

I felt the same way before I stayed there. The theming really didn't appeal to me.

Do you plan a TPV room? I found that to make a big difference. BLV is pleasant but doesn't have the same 'magic' as looking out over the entire MK area.

If you are going while the monorail is running on a limited schedule, then this is indeed a good time to try the CR!! Being able to walk to and fro is a big advantage at the moment.

I hope that you like it! We sure did!

Thanks for your input .

I never even entertained the thought of staying there before, but after my DH suggested it, I started looking into the resort and although my feelings haven't changed about the theme/decor, I think it would be nice to try it out. I felt sort of the same way about the GF (not about the decor, but the overall "feel"). I thought it felt "stuffy" just by visiting, but once I stayed there, I had a totally different perspective (and now the GF is one of my favorites). So after that experience, I am convinced that you don't really know if you will like a resort or not until you actually stay there. Visiting gives you one vibe, while actually staying there gives you another, IMO.

I would like to try CL, but if that isn't doable, I would book a regular TPV. I agree about being able to walk to MK as a huge plus. Even if you weren't going to MK, you could always walk there to catch a bus to another resort for breakfast, dinner, or whatever. So even though the theme/decor isn't my favorite, the CR does have a lot of perks .

 

[Sue M]

We've been at CBR, POR & POFQ and loved them all, but POR is our fav moderate.
For Deluxe we have stayed at all (not counting DVC) that appeal to us. GF, Poly, WL, AKL, BC & YC. It's hard to pic a fav, we liked all of them for different reasons.
Although with the crazy room rate increases, I won't stay at deluxe unless I can get a very good discount.

Because we tend to do longer trips, the resort choice is important to us. We aren't commando park people, so the room isn't just a place to sleep. We enjoy a mid day break back at our resort to have a swim, relax at pool, etc. For this reason I don't find the values very relaxing.

This Aug. we booked at Poly, with some hesitation. Our first time at Poly was January, and I always thought I'd love a summer stay. I get the sinking feeling that after the construction is finished Disney will raise already too high rates. So this may be our last chance to go back to Poly. We got a really good room rate.

Last August we stayed at GF (split stay) and now that the GFV construction is finished, GF room rates are around $50/night higher then last August deals
After WL refurbs their room rates went up too. See a trend here?

Good thing I enjoy the POR resorts!

 

[db57me]

We aren't commando park people, so the room isn't just a place to sleep. We enjoy a mid day break back at our resort to have a swim, relax at pool, etc.

This is another reason my wife and I chose BVC.

There's great information being shared here.

 

[Sue M]

This is another reason my wife and I chose BVC.

There's great information being shared here.

We loved BC! Floating around the lazy river on my pool noodle was so nice

 

[Aliceacc]

We're a family of 5, so that limits our choices a bit.

We originslly booked the Beach club. We stayed there in 2012 and adored it: Stormalong Bay, the proximity to Epcot and DHS, the whole vibe of the place. And the kindness shown by the BC staff when my husband faced a medical crisis will earn them my eternal gratitude.

But when the Summer Disney Visa deal came out, our travel agent was unable to get us a Garden View room there with the discount. So she very wisely got us a Garden View room at the Yacht Club

We get all the perks of the Beach Club but get to explore a different Disney Deluxe resort!

 

[karenklo]

Since my DH has a goal to stay at every mod and deluxe, we are doing the CSR this summer. I love the Poly, but construction has another stay on hold there. AKL is a family favorite! Looking CBR after the refurb.

 

[SandiR]

The first time we went, we stayed off-site at the Doubletree Suites. We chose it to save money and also because the rooms are suites - very large and comfortable. My mother came to Disney with us, but opted to stay on-site at All Star - Music. She showed us the resort and her room. It looked like a shoebox to me, definitely too small for my family of four. So, the next time we went, we decided to try a Disney resort, but knew the value wouldn't work. We did a moderate - POFQ - and loved it. We were set to do a moderate again this upcoming trip - Coronado Springs - but we got a really good deal on AKL and decided to go for it. We visited AKL last trip when we went to dinner at Boma and the kids are excited that we'll be staying there this trip.

 

[JillShari]

We just got back from a stay at Art of Animation in a Cars Suite.

#1 reason: 4yo DS is in LOVE with cars... and since WDW doesn't have all the cars stuff DL does, I wanted to give him something to love.

#2: We had a nice size suite with two bathrooms and 3 beds which was an amazing amount of space at a value resort which was also relatively new

#3: The bus stop is in one area and it only serves that specific resort.... that part was wonderful!

#4: Heard the food court was nice..... we didn't really find anything we really enjoyed to eat there though.

I would definitely recommend it.... lovely accommodations, great transportation, beautiful setting, and the pools were amazing!

 

[cleverclovers]

Stayed at POP the last two times. We are in the rooms just long enough to sleep and shower. So why spend mega $$$ on a pricey room?

 

[jvattes]

Which Disney resort have you booked for your next WDW vacation, and why?

For our next vacation, in July, we have AKL booked as our resort!

DH and I have long dreamed of AKL but never thought we'd be able to afford it. But, with the sale going on now, we were able to upgrade from Pop for very little money and so we get to have our dream stay on WDW property!

 

[jezebel73]

My last stay and most likely next stay will be at POR. Once we upgraded from Value to Moderate, it's been really tough to go back. Less crowded in the pools and food and this will sound snobby, but I SWEAR the children are better behaved at the moderates. Is that possible??
Also, we LOVED Yehaa Bob's show in the POR lounge and the made to order pasta in the food court. We go full force on park days, but always have 1-3 non-park days in the mix, so better amenities is a huge plus. Since the foursome now includes kids who are not so little anymore (now daughter, who'll be almost 10 and niece, who'll be 14), that extra 50 or so square feet of space is a Godsend.

I have my fingers crossed for a deluxe resort within the next few years and have started researching renting DVC points, too. Onward and upward!!