Favorite Deluxe When Not Going to a Park

MomofPrincessGrace

MomofPrincessGrace

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Hello Everyone!

What is your favorite deluxe to stay in if you don't include easy park access. We will be doing 2 nights in a deluxe renting DVC points for the tail end of our next trip. We are going to use these days as "rest" days before we head back home we will not be going to any of the parks, so park accessibility isn't a factor. Which deluxe is our favorite for just enjoying amenities around the resort? 2 adults and an 8 year old.

Thanks!
 
nickys

nickys

Premium Member
MomofPrincessGrace said:
Hello Everyone!

What is your favorite deluxe to stay in if you don't include easy park access. We will be doing 2 nights in a deluxe renting DVC points for the tail end of our next trip. We are going to use these days as "rest" days before we head back home we will not be going to any of the parks, so park accessibility isn't a factor. Which deluxe is our favorite for just enjoying amenities around the resort? 2 adults and an 8 year old.

Thanks!
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AKL for all the activities. Kitchen tours (bookable but reasonable cost), CM cultural,talks, a tour of the art around AKL, lots of activities for kids. Drumming classes, and the parade early evening. Animal watching - obviously - and two great pools (you can use Kidani and AKL).

BC - stormalong bay

WL - great theming but might be too close to MK for 8 year old to not want to be at MK.

I would go for AKL. There's no park nearby to tempt you.
 
Skibum1970

Skibum1970

Well-Known Member
For us, it would be the Wilderness Lodge. We find it very relaxing and it isn't as expensive as some of the other deluxes. The lodge feel and surrounding woods makes one forget that he/she is in the middle of Disney. Then, if you get bored, you can take the boat to the Contemporary and then monorail it to the Poly or Grand Floridian. Thus, we can really decompress here.

This fall, we're trying Old Key West. It also looks relaxing with a nice walking path and surrounding woods and a golf course.
 
ParentsOf4

ParentsOf4

Well-Known Member
I've been fortunate to stay at all the Deluxe Resorts and agree with @nickys. As a hotel-only experience, Animal Kingdom Lodge (Jambo House) is probably the best.

It's a (to use Disney terminology) "plussed" version of the Wilderness Lodge (both resorts were designed by the same person) with a better main pool, restaurants, stores, and bar. Plus Animal Kingdom Lodge offers animal viewing, unique at WDW's hotels.

Many love the Yacht and Beach Club's main pool (Stormalong Bay). I like them but chairs are hard to get on warm days, and their lobbies don't come close to Wilderness Lodge or Animal Kingdom Lodge. They are incredibly convenient to Epcot but you explicitly wrote "don't include easy park access." They also have easy access to Disney's Boardwalk, a nice place to spend an hour or two in the evening.

The three Monorail Resorts are nice, but you're mostly paying for convenience to the Magic Kingdom. Still, being on the Monorail makes it easy to resort hop, giving you a chance to explore Disney's other hotels on your "rest" days. This is a nice option if you don't plan to spend most of the day sitting poolside.

Since you are renting points, Saratoga Springs is an easy boat ride to Disney Springs, which is a nice place to spend several hours on your down day, but suggest one of the preferred rooms.

Overall, I suggest Jambo House if you don't want to leave the hotel at all, or the Beach Club or Boardwalk Villas (you mention you will be renting points) if you want to do a little exploring.

But strongly consider Saratoga Springs if you'd like to spend time at Disney Springs.
 
slappy magoo

slappy magoo

Well-Known Member
nickys said:
AKL for all the activities. Kitchen tours (bookable but reasonable cost), CM cultural,talks, a tour of the art around AKL, lots of activities for kids. Drumming classes, and the parade early evening. Animal watching - obviously - and two great pools (you can use Kidani and AKL).

BC - stormalong bay

WL - great theming but might be too close to MK for 8 year old to not want to be at MK.

I would go for AKL. There's no park nearby to tempt you.
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A lot there that makes sense. It's not easy to see MK from WL so that might not drive a kid nuts being that close, he or she might not even know except for the sound of the fireworks.

To that end the monorail resorts might not be a good choice.

Beach Club gets you that great pool and proximity to other resorts and their amenities/restaurants, plus whatever nightlife there still is at the Boardwalk, karaoke at Kimono's...

Old Key West & Saratoga Springs - both are close to Disney Springs, Saratoga is closer and it has more to do, and OKW has larger rooms.

But Animal Kingdom Lodge is truly a unique experience with plenty to do and see and learn on site. It's hard to beat.
 
M

Mickey5150

Well-Known Member
One of the nice things about the MK resorts is the ability to rent a boat and have a very large lake to go out on. The Epcot resorts offer this as well just in a much smaller body of water.
 
nickys

nickys

Premium Member
Mickey5150 said:
One of the nice things about the MK resorts is the ability to rent a boat and have a very large lake to go out on. The Epcot resorts offer this as well just in a much smaller body of water.
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That's a good point, and brings up another. WL would be easy access to FW, where you could do stuff like kayaking, archery etc, if the 8 year old would enjoy that kind of thing.
 
correcaminos

correcaminos

Well-Known Member
Akl is top on my list for all the activities that you can do between Jambo and kidani. Old Key West is another great Resort for non Park days. We actually skipped a day in the park just to hang out at Old Key West on our last trip there. Lastly I would throw in Wilderness Lodge. There is a lot to do with the expansion now as well as being able to easily go to Fort Wilderness for more things to do.
 
MomofPrincessGrace

MomofPrincessGrace

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Thanks everyone! We are leaving Thursday to head to Orlando for a Disney Cruise. We are going to try and check out a few of the resorts when we get back (made lunch reservations at GF Cafe) to see if one stands out to us more than another. I didn't think about the activities at Fort Wilderness!

To add, we will be there in November when the Christmas decorations are up. Which resorts have your favorite Christmas decorations?
 
DisDadWoz

DisDadWoz

Well-Known Member
AKL is great for all around atmosphere and things to do. Since you are going in November pools don't really matter so Yacht/Beach pool is not a factor. Still any of the Epcot resorts have walks that are great and you can likely see some sort of fireworks show from them depending on the angle. Monorail resorts provide travel around the area and can have views from the beaches of MK fireworks. Wilderness is gorgeous at Christmas so that would get my vote for your trip. Tough choosing just one.
 
Amos1784

Amos1784

Well-Known Member
Unpopular opinion but I will say Old Key West. The resort is just so relaxing and quiet, away from all the hustle and bustle but just as much Disney charm. There is a main pool that does have all the activities for kids that all the other resorts have. You can rent a 2 or 4 person bike and ride around the resort. Olivia's(restaurant on site) is a complete hidden gem for breakfast as well as dinner. You have boat access to Disney Springs should you want to make that stop as well. And nothing is better then a night swim and a night cap at Gurgling Suitcase (resort bar) but can be taken to go.
 
nickys

nickys

Premium Member
CaptainAmerica said:
AKL is right next to AK and it's faster to Epcot and Hollywood Studios than if you were coming from the Contemporary.

Just sayin'. :cool:
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You can't see AK from AKL. You can see the AKL savannahs. The 8 year old won't look out the window and see fireworks, like he would at WL.
 
DarthVader

DarthVader

Sith Lord
MomofPrincessGrace said:
Poly our plan for the moment. We watched fireworks and the EWP from the beach at our last trip which was pretty awesome.
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That's what we did, we just returned from a week there and it was great. I think this vacation had us spend the most time at the resort then any other disney vacation. I understand the logic, that the room/resort you stay at is just for sleeping, but that just wasn't the case for us this past time.
 

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