Resort Location - Important Factor or Not?

[DisneyJunkie]

When you choose which resort to stay in at WDW - apart from price being a factor - is the location of importance to you at all? For example, my wife and I know we spend the bulk of our time at MK, so our on-going preference is to stay in that area (usually at WL, or if we're able to splurge a bit more, the Polynesian). We've stayed at the Boardwalk before, and even looked at AKL, but they just seemed (to us) so far out from where we really wanted to be.

 

[Scott10]

For our family, being on the moderate budget, location is of no concern. We base our stay more on resort theme and personal preference. However, if we could afford deluxe accommodations every trip, I believe we would opt to be on the monorail loop and in close proximity to the Magic Kingdom. We did a splurge stay at the Wilderness Lodge on year and loved it, but I would love to be on the monorail loop. We also splurged another year and stayed at AKL with a savanna view, and while it was nice and made for a great vacation, I did feel like we were very far from where we wanted to be.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Despite all of the horror stories that people tell, I've never experienced any exorbitant commuting times from one area of property to another. You would have to be VERY Magic Kingdom focused to see much of a total commute time benefit gained by staying at a Magic Kingdom resort, since those resorts are also the furthest from the other three parks. We stay at AKL and WL because we like them the best, transportation and location aside. The only impact they have on our planning is where we make dining reservations.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

If I can afford to get to WDW I don't care where I stay

 

[zurgandfriend]

Location is important to us, my DW & DS love being on the monorail. They like being able to visit the 3 monorail resorts for meals or shopping and being a quick ride away from the Magic Kingdom or Epcot and I'll admit to enjoying that as well. My seemingly never ending quest however is to get them to agree to stay at the Yacht Club so that I can explore World Showcase and the Boardwalk, as well as Storm Along Bay to my hearts content.

 

[ynahtebwdw]

We always stay at AKL and find that due to its distance from the other parks, transport compensates for that and there are more buses to/from than other parks/hotels, this has always been our experience

 

[daisyduckie]

Location is important, but cost is more important. I would love to stay near the Boardwalk, but paying around $300 a night for a room is not something I comfortable doing. I usually ping pong between values and moderates, depending on what kind of deal I can get.

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

@DisneyJunkie My husband and i are in the same boat as you and your wife. We spend a lot of time at MK so we like staying close to there, but are open to other rather close options. We stayed at AKL last trip and felt separated. For us, location is a huge factor in deciding where to stay as for us it makes the experience of our trip better. In fact it's our number one factor.

 

[polynesiangirl]

Yes, location is important to me. I felt that way before we had kids, because we would frequently go for short trips and wanted to maximize our time, but it's especially important now that we do have kids. They're both under 5 and so they don't always have a ton of stamina, so I like having options -- say, from the contemporary, that allows you to walk to the MK if you're so inclined (and given the ages of our kids, MK is where we log the most time these days.) Waiting for a bus in hot weather with crabby kids can be the worst for you and those around you, and I am SO paranoid about being That Parent with the Crabby Annoying Kids. (Incidentally, a CM once told me the fact that I actually worry about that inherently means that my kids will never be those kids, hahaha. But still! I worry about it!)

Being closer to the parks doesn't solve all the travel time issues, but it helps. And it doesn't hurt that all my favorite resorts tend to be located closer to the MK/on the loop anyways.

 

[epcotisbest]

We like trying different resorts and have now stayed at most of them. For us, location is not a factor in deciding where to stay, but we drive so not having to rely on transportation makes a difference.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

I think there's often a lot of trade offs with transportation times, but I do know that it takes forever to get from the Magic Kingdom resorts to Downtown Disney. If you go often to DtD, you might want to rethink staying near MK.

 

[mattdenine]

Location is never a factor for us, first time we stayed on property we stayed at POP, this year it will be AOA. Once my DD's get older we'll do a stay a AKL just because I think they will think its cool to wake up and see the animals.

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

Curious - how is the bus transportation from the monorail resorts to DAK and DHS? Are they shared busses with each other?

 

[CheshireCat12]

Theme and cost over location every time

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Curious - how is the bus transportation from the monorail resorts to DAK and DHS? Are they shared busses with each other?

Depends on the time of year. If it's busy season they might have their own buses but I think more often than not they share.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

Depends on the time of year. If it's busy season they might have their own buses but I think more often than not they share.

... which is really a crime, considering the amount of money those people pay.

 

[Minthorne]

Beach Club is my favorite due to its 1. location and then 2. Pool

 

[Tuvalu]

Curious - how is the bus transportation from the monorail resorts to DAK and DHS? Are they shared busses with each other?

Yes they share, doesn't matter what time of year.
DHS ~ (morning) CR & Poly; WL & GF
(day/eve) CR, Poly & GF
WL (sometimes shares with GF, sometimes has own bus)
AK ~ WL & CR
Poly & GF

Exceptions for a combo stop is when the bus is completely full at first load.

 

[JohnD]

Staying in the MK area pretty much dictates Deluxe resort which isn't an option for me on my salary. Might want to try a FW cabin one day, though.

All other resorts are pretty much the same when it comes to location--they're all in the vicinity of the other three parks, some more than others depending on which resort and which park is closest. After that, choose on cost, amenities, etc.

 

[Tom P.]

Generally speaking, we are going to be in the value or moderate resorts, since deluxe is just out of our budgetary reach. Amongst the value and moderates, we just look for what is the best price and the most appealing theming for our family. Last trip, we stayed at Port Orleans Riverside. Next trip, we're staying at Art of Animation.

While it would be nice to walk out after a busy day at Magic Kingdom and avoid the bus lines to just walk over to the Contemporary, for example, that minor extra convenience does not, in my mind, justify the significant extra cost. If we were going to save up and splurge on a deluxe, it would be just to experience that resort, not for the location. But, quite honestly, I'm not sure we'd ever do that anyway. We'd personally rather pay for two vacations at a value or moderate than one at a deluxe any day.