Choosing Your Resort?

[real mad hatter]

What a lovely Sunday it is here in Bonnie Scotland.Having just returned from a walk ( exercise for a week ) along by our loch,we bumped into friends who are planning a WDW vacation for the first time.They are taking their 2 children,both girls aged 4 & 7, but also her mother is going ( baby sitter ) So they have looked at the resorts on site but asked me how do we choose which resort to stay at. Now we all have our favourites just like your favourite car.So my question to all of you is.How do you choose which resort to stay at.? Do you first decide on how much $$$$$ you want to spend.After that,what is your priority? Is it location ? Is it the theme of the resort ? Curious on how do you choose your resort.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

While budget has to come into play at some point...convenience, room size, larger beds, and restaurants help guide me. I also really like trying new things, but I think we're going to involve split stays next time we deviate from either my fave (Contemporary) or DH's fave (Wilderness Lodge). This way we at least know we'll be spending a part of our trip at a place one of us really likes.

 

[disney magic 06]

It's a combination of things for us. The composition of our group varies, sometimes we need bunk beds so we are limited to WL or AKL - and as WL is my favourite the decision is easy, although we may try AKL one day. Other than that, we have a look at any offers and work it out from there. We don't worry at all about dining options, my daughter doesn't like eating at our hotel as she doesn't feel she's been out!

 

[Stu bailey]

Which Monorail resort and which Epcot resort for each 2 week trip. Sometimes we skip an Epcot resort but not usually. We like the Epcot and Monorail resorts due to park proximity/amenities and the extended use of the monorail.

 

[disneygirl76]

What a lovely Sunday it is here in Bonnie Scotland.Having just returned from a walk ( exercise for a week ) along by our loch,we bumped into friends who are planning a WDW vacation for the first time.They are taking their 2 children,both girls aged 4 & 7, but also her mother is going ( baby sitter ) So they have looked at the resorts on site but asked me how do we choose which resort to stay at. Now we all have our favourites just like your favourite car.So my question to all of you is.How do you choose which resort to stay at.? Do you first decide on how much $$$$$ you want to spend.After that,what is your priority? Is it location ? Is it the theme of the resort ? Curious on how do you choose your resort.

First we look at what kind of trip are we doing. Is it a short stay or a long stay? And simultaneously, we need to see if there are any specials going on...like free dining. And then we finalize the budget. We always try Deluxe first. We think about where haven't we stayed yet, do we want to try some place new? And we just narrow it down from there.

 

[Disney memories]

We chose Contemporary since I have a two year and my parents are coming along. Location is key to us and worth the extra money to be able to walk back for naps (if he takes one).

 

[Tomi-Rocket]

We follow our hearts....

Lmao, just kidding, finances are usually the biggest factor. Then which property do we want to try next?

 

[JIMINYCR]

What a lovely Sunday it is here in Bonnie Scotland.Having just returned from a walk ( exercise for a week ) along by our loch.

How do you choose which resort to stay at.? Do you first decide on how much $$$$$ you want to spend.After that,what is your priority? Is it location ? Is it the theme of the resort ? Curious on how do you choose your resort.

Your beginning comment got me thinking....Ever see the

Or know someone whose claimed to?

Decisions of resort is made by past experiences. We will stay now at POFQ until we have a bad experience or we decide to change due to winning the lottery... or inherit a bundle of cash....

Until then the $$$$ is constantly being saved. Saving never stops until the day we leave. The amount we spend is different every trip depending on our wish lists and on the spur of the moment desires. Always within budget though.

 

[disneygirl1]

In all honesty, I am happy to stay at any Disney resort! As long as I have a Disney trip to look forward to, I'm one happy gal... But, to answer your question pretty much what I do is price out a few different resort categories to get an idea of what the trip will cost and go from there. Ideally I prefer to book a Moderate or Deluxe resort, but if $$$ is an issue I have no problem staying at a value, in which case All Star Sports is our go to resort. Love the theming! As for a moderate resort, CSR is our go to! Love this place, it is just absolutely beautiful! It's in a great location too! As for deluxes... We love AKL! My DS is 11 and he just thinks its the best resort ever! Can't wait for June, we have always stayed at Jambo House in the past, and this year we are trying Kidani Village!!! I will say, as much as I love AKL, I am praying that our waitlist comes thru for BWV!!! I just love having the ability to walk to DHS and Epcot from there!

 

[jmorri26]

For my family, nostalgia usually is the frontrunning reason we pick where we pick. Then that meets money and we meet somewhere in the middle sometimes
That said, most of the non-monorail hotels weren't around when my parents and our family first went to WDW so now that everyone is grown, we're branching out and choosing more for location. EPCOT hotels allow family members to crawl back to the hotel after a few too many in WS! But we now have a small son and the monorail is mighty enticing.,,

 

[lunchbox1175]

We did a split stay last week at the Contemporary Theme Park View and Boardwalk (got upgraded to a two bedroom suite on club level) was very nice, the one complaint that i had about the Contemporary was that our room was down on the Chef Mickey's end, and they start the music pretty loudly at 7am, and also it runs until 10pm, so if you want to sleep in or go to bed early, it can be pretty loud. Otherwise, it was great, loved just being able to hop on the monorail to the resorts and hardly use the bus system.

 

[WDW 3]

We always stay at Shades of Green if we can. Price is right. Rooms are huge. Escape the Disney overload at the end of the day. It's pretty quiet surrounded by just the golf courses. And it is a small resort. Holy moly the sizes of most of the resorts are crazy!

 

[Skibum1970]

What a lovely Sunday it is here in Bonnie Scotland.Having just returned from a walk ( exercise for a week ) along by our loch,we bumped into friends who are planning a WDW vacation for the first time.They are taking their 2 children,both girls aged 4 & 7, but also her mother is going ( baby sitter ) So they have looked at the resorts on site but asked me how do we choose which resort to stay at. Now we all have our favourites just like your favourite car.So my question to all of you is.How do you choose which resort to stay at.? Do you first decide on how much $$$$$ you want to spend.After that,what is your priority? Is it location ? Is it the theme of the resort ? Curious on how do you choose your resort.

First off, as mentioned by another poster, I love it when I go onto this website and see a new thread by the Hatter. Always fun and brings up good memories.

Second, we're budget first. I try to balance the number of days with amount available to spend. Since we don't want to stay at the Values (personal preference), I try to decide where to throw the money and how much the deluxe is worth. After that, it really comes down to wanting to stay somewhere relatively quiet and laid back.

 

[real mad hatter]

Your beginning comment got me thinking....Ever see the

Or know someone whose claimed to?

Decisions of resort is made by past experiences. We will stay now at POFQ until we have a bad experience or we decide to change due to winning the lottery... or inherit a bundle of cash....

Until then the $$$$ is constantly being saved. Saving never stops until the day we leave. The amount we spend is different every trip depending on our wish lists and on the spur of the moment desires. Always within budget though.

. Only saw the big beastie once.Came out of a bar in Inverness at 1.00am in the morning.Swore I saw two of them.