Deluxe Resorts?

[Tinkerbella16]

We go for a full week, this year for 9 days and we are staying at Beach Club. Every afternoon of our trip, is spent at the amazing pool at YC/BC, so resort time is a lot more important to us than it used to be. We get a good rate for Labor Day week, otherwise we'd be staying at a moderate. There is nothing like the deluxe resort experience.. it is hard to go back to the value/mods once you've done it.

 

[WildernessMan83]

5 or 6 nights, usually, at a monorail loop resort. We typically spend several hours per day enjoying the grounds and pool and take one day off per vacation, and feel that we get our money's worth. We usually have a car, so even when we stay at the Animal Kingdom, getting back to the resort to rest and recharge is quick and easy.

Typically, we hit a park early and head back to the resort around 1 PM, then head back to the parks after dinner. Those hours of down time spent back at the resort swimming, boating, at the gym, or simply sitting somewhere on the grounds reading and soaking in the atmosphere are critical for us.

Same here. We usually stay at either Polynesian or Wilderness Lodge. There is a limit I'm willing to pay for the Poly so when deals don't get us under that number, we stay at the Wilderness Lodge. It's a toss-up for which is our favorite but we love them both.

We go early, head back around 1-2 and go back after dinner. This seems the best way to avoid crowds, and heat if you're going in the warmer months. It allows us to take advantage of the great pools and lounges and the kids (almost 5 and 3) can nap if need be. This helps in preventing burnout with the kids at their young ages.

If we were going to be a park commando and be there for 12 hours, I'm not sure we'd pay the extra money to stay at a Deluxe. We'd probably do Coronado Springs because of the food selection. We once stayed at Port Orleans Riverside when we wanted to extend our stay at the Poly but they couldn't keep us there and were disappointed by the food selection.

You're definitely paying for convenience when staying at a deluxe.

 

[21stamps]

Same here. We usually stay at either Polynesian or Wilderness Lodge. There is a price ceiling I'm willing to pay for the Poly so when deals don't get us under that number, we stay at the Wilderness Lodge. It's a toss-up for which is our favorite but we love them both.

We go early, head back around 1-2 and go back after dinner. This seems the best way to avoid crowds, and heat if you're going in the warmer months. It allows us to take advantage of the great pools and lounges and the kids (almost 5 and 3) can nap if need be.

If we were going to be a park commando and be there for 12 hours, I'm not sure we'd pay the extra money to stay at a Deluxe. We'd probably do Coronado Springs because of the food selection. We once stayed at Port Orleans Riverside when we wanted to extend our stay at the Poly but they couldn't keep us there and were disappointed by the food selection.

You're definitely paying for convenience when staying at a deluxe.

The same thing happened to me at Poly. We were there 9 nights, I tried to extend 1, no availability, so we switched to POFQ. Had we done POFQ first then I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more. The grounds were pretty, we took the boat to DS which was great, and I loved the size of the resort. However, when we first arrived my kid said "There's only a kiddie slide here!". After going down the slide one time he didn't complain again though.lol

 

[DisneyDaver]

For work reasons, I have been limited to 4-5 nights the past 10 years or so. In that period of time, I have always stayed at a deluxe. With a limited number of days, the convenience of the deluxe is worth a lot.

 

[thomas998]

Used to use them on short and long stays because they were convenient when you had a stroller bound kid... We might use them again on a short trip because they can save time if you do the monorail resorts... But I don't think we could justify them for week or longer stays anymore because the prices have gotten too high for a long stay.

 

[jimbojones]

For those that stay at the Deluxe resorts on property, how long do you typically stay? I've always wanted to stay at one, but find it hard to justify the cost for the room when the family is barely there. I always thought that if I was staying 2 weeks and was spending more time at the hotel it could be fun. Interested to get everyone's thoughts.

We almost always stay in deluxe s and typically do a 5-6 day trip. The proximity to the parks and higher level amenities makes it worth it in my opinion. I'd rather stay at a deluxe for a 3 day trip than a value resort for a week, quality over quantity I guess. Some of the most fun trips have been 2 nights at a deluxe with a three day park hopper. This is particularly true of Contemporary stays when you can just walk out the door and on over to MK. But I can't imagine staying 2 weeks at WDW. On a few occasions we stayed a week and we had enough after 6 days. 6+ days is when it stops being fun for me, I think 5 is perfect for a visit with no water park visits and 6 if we are going to the waterparks too. At the 6 day mark I get really tired of the crowds, theme park food, and the Disney "magic" just starts feeling too fake and I start to miss unplanned reality "magic and memories".

 

[jimbojones]

The same thing happened to me at Poly. We were there 9 nights, I tried to extend 1, no availability, so we switched to POFQ. Had we done POFQ first then I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more. The grounds were pretty, we took the boat to DS which was great, and I loved the size of the resort. However, when we first arrived my kid said "There's only a kiddie slide here!". After going down the slide one time he didn't complain again though.lol

This! If you are ever considering a split stay with a deluxe and value or moderate end with the deluxe or you will feel like you have downgraded

edited to clean up double quote

 

[21stamps]

yeah if you do a split stay ne

This! If you are ever considering a split stay with a deluxe and value or moderate end with the deluxe or you will feel like you have downgraded

I wasn't planning a split stay, but I did choose POFQ over a few others for convenience. We were only doing Disney Springs that day so it made sense. But yeah, I agree that if someone plans ahead of time for an intentional split stay- book the Deluxe last.
I did like POFQ though.

 

[contrariwise]

On a few occasions we stayed a week and we had enough after 6 days. 6+ days is when it stops being fun for me, I think 5 is perfect for a visit with no water park visits and 6 if we are going to the waterparks too. At the 6 day mark I get really tired of the crowds, theme park food, and the Disney "magic" just starts feeling too fake and I start to miss unplanned reality "magic and memories".

I agree so much with the above. I particularly have had my fill of crowds and crowd behavior by that point. Enough people have walked into me or stood in my way like a bump on a log, and my patience level has dropped. The grumpy factor goes up the more days you deal with park crowds.

 

[MickeyMomV]

The last time we stayed deluxe we stayed a week at AKL about 5 or 6 years ago. At the time we were going every 5 years so we didn't mind spending the extra. Since then we have been going at least once a year so we have been staying a mix of Mods and Values.

 

[38053WDW]

Usually we stay at Contmep/Bay Lake 5 days .. Yes it is expensive.. sometimes it's the highest cost of the trip. We try our best to make it every 3/4 yrs so we just save and splurge. This is "our place" to go. We don't need ski trips/Paris/mexico. Some of our friends think we're nuts because we always go here but his is what we like and so do our kids which are now getting older. Split the trip up .. start at Value resort for part then say the last two nights hit up monorail loop resort. We did stay at the cabins in Ft Wilderness once and it was great.. so so quiet.....

 

[Missymoe4]

I stay 10 - 12 nights. It depends on the discount I can get. BTW, I love the resorts, but would rather have 'free' nights at the Dolphin

 

[Missymoe4]

I stay 10 - 12 nights. It depends on the discount I can get. BTW, I love the resorts, but would rather have 'free' nights at the Dolphin

Note, we go for the hotels now. We're in the parks, but as Chicagoans, we love lounging by the pool midday. Also (this makes a huge difference) we don't have children.

 

[RyPat]

We usually stay 5 nights and have found it's reasonable to rent DVC points and stay in the deluxe villas. It only ends up being about $50 more per night than staying in a moderate resort. With 2 little ones, it's worth a little extra to have a bigger room and balcony.

This! The one time we rented points (before buying DVC ourselves) we stayed at AKL for a week and saved about $1000 vs going thru Disney

 

[Jo DeVil]

We stay for 14 nights at least (max has been 21), our go to resort was Dixie Landings and when it changed to PORS, but we had a chance of 14 nights at BC and loved it we ended up buying DVC at the BWV and don't regret it for a moment. We did however have an extra trip last year and stayed at POP for 14 nights and hated every minute of it, I know 14 night at Disney is better than none, but it just wasn't for us and we have as a family vowed never to stay at Value again. The waiting for buses was a night mare, we like to walk to EPCOT and DHS and nip back to the resort when we want for a chill out. The food court at POP is chaos and loud which is no good for some one with ASD, and we normally have a 1 bedroom for the 3 of us, so going back to a small room was not good either. But like everything each to there own. We tried it, didn't like it so won't do it again.

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

In 2014, my family and I stayed 5 nights at Bay Lake Tower.

 

[drwadadli]

For those that stay at the Deluxe resorts on property, how long do you typically stay? I've always wanted to stay at one, but find it hard to justify the cost for the room when the family is barely there. I always thought that if I was staying 2 weeks and was spending more time at the hotel it could be fun. Interested to get everyone's thoughts.

We typically stay a week. We stayed at the Poly for my 40th birthday and at the GF for my wife's 40th birthday. In both cases, it was just my wife and I and we loved it. We did park things and resort things. At our GF stay, we took advantage of the spa and spent most of the day there before heading to Victoria & Albert's for dinner. In between the two birthdays, we went down for a family gathering and spent a week at CR and loved it as well. Our room was across and 1 floor up form the monorail so it was great being that close to transportation.

 

[nickys]

Coming from the UK we stay for longer. Our first onsite stay was Beach Club for 10 days. Joined DVC and since then 21 days split stay BCV & BLT, but usually 14 days split stays BLT (home resort) and another.

 

[DiSnEyF@n]

@G8rchamps - That's awesome! My bucket list for resorts is the Polynesian, Grand Floridian and Yacht Club. I travel a lot for work, so we tend to always stay at the Dolphin because I can use points. Thinking off throwing caution to the wind for our September trip and trying something new.

I love the Swan... But if I could stay at the Yacht Club (like I used to when I was a kid) then I would do it in a heartbeat!

 

[DiSnEyF@n]

We go for a full week, this year for 9 days and we are staying at Beach Club. Every afternoon of our trip, is spent at the amazing pool at YC/BC, so resort time is a lot more important to us than it used to be. We get a good rate for Labor Day week, otherwise we'd be staying at a moderate. There is nothing like the deluxe resort experience.. it is hard to go back to the value/mods once you've done it.

This is so true... About it being hard to go back to the value/mods...