Favorite & least favorite resorts...

[disneydiva72]

why and why?




Im looking for a change up for next year.

 

[goldenears]

Least Favorite: AllStar Sports (pool)
Most Favorite: POR Riverside

I'm sure my most favorite will change if I ever get to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge or Wilderness Lodge.

 

[ZambeziZelda]

My favity-fave is the Boardwalk-never stayed there, but it's absolutely gorgeous at night!

Least favorite is All Star Sports

 

[I.fikus]

The only resort (if you can call it that) I have stayed at is Fort Wilderness and I absolutely love it. The ability to get away from all the craziness of the parks and relax in an outdoor setting is great. I also enjoy being able to cook my own meals to save some money and I also like to cook. The transportation is great as well, with the ability to boat to the MK or bus to just about any of the other parks. If you prefer driving your car it is right there at your campsite. I will say that you have to be prepared, being outdoors presents a few challenges. I have only stayed here in the Fall/early Winter and have had a few cold nights/days. Rain is another factor, it is good to have a shelter for your dining area. We have had some very wet trips but preparation made these easy to deal with, almost fun in some ways. If you really want to try something different it is quite the experience.

 

[fmingo36]

Favorite-A toss up- WL for it's location. Love the boat ride over to MK. The decor is lovely. The lobby breathtaking.
POFQ-I just love the feeling of New Orleans. Cool water slide (my son LOVED it) It's smaller resort and it has a more intimate feel than the larger resorts.

Least-Caribbean Beach Club. Too spread out. Too many bus stops. Main pool and dining area get very crowed.

 

[dreamscometrue]

Favorite AKL I can't recommend this resort enough.

Least Favorite: SSR - Horrible service, Lousy bus service and poor food choices.

We bought into AKL Villas and I agree with your comment; it's our favorite too.

As for SSR, it's interesting how different the experiences can be. We just finished our 2nd stay at SSR since late April. That was the 6th resort we'd stayed at during the past 5 years, and it provided the best bus service and best overall service by far! The longest we waited for a bus at the resort during our 8 night stay was 20 min....once. Our average wait time was about 10 min.Calls to housekeeping for extra towels, etc. saw deliveries in less than an hour, bell services was to the minute, a call to deal with a slow draining tub resulted in a repair while we went out for the morning and on and on. Concierge, check in, bell services, housekeeping, spa staff, etc. were all better than anything we'd ever experienced on property! We've always had great experiences on site, but SSR has been exceptional now twice in a row.

 

[Tink423]

In order from most favorite to least, because I have to agree with the folks who have said that any place that is at WDW is better than not being there so here goes!

1. Port Orleans Riverside - Great Calming atmosphere!
2. Wilderness Lodge - Great location to MK, This was my first trip and I
was in commando Disney mode, so I really didn't get
enjoy it like I should have!
3. All Star Music - Kids loved it! We were in the way back and it took
forever to get everywhere!
I have now gotten smart enough to build a resort only day into my trips! I just hope one is enough for Fort Wilderness!


My son and I have a goal to stay at each by his graduation, thanks for the great thread, after reading this I have several I will probably be booking into one trip with one or two days each, just so we can say we have done them! Y&B, Contemporary, etc, that you all have kind of backed up what I thought of them when I saw them exploring on our last trip! Thanks again!

 

[Future Ape]

Favorites (in no particular order):

Pop Century - The theming is sweet and the lake is really nice. I especially love the 80s buildings. The food court is tops next to Riverside's. I only wish they'd finish Phase II.

Riverside - I love the backwoods feel in the bayou section + the food court has the make-your-own-pasta.

Fort Wilderness Cabins/Campgrounds - This is the stuff I grew up on. It was also nice to have the close proximity to River Country and the boat launch to Magic Kingdom. And Trails End Buffet is superb!

Wilderness Lodge - Humphrey! (the bear on the totem pole under Donald) + it shares so many similarites with the cabins/campgrounds.

Polynesian - Favorite monorail resort + it has Vault at its soda fountain.

Least Favorite:

Saratoga Springs - I don't care for the horse barn theming.

 

[dreamscometrue]

This is a great thread to highlight the reason that WDW has so many resorts. Even in 2 pages of posts, you'll see a very wide variation in faves and least faves. Disney knows that guests have such a wide variety of tastes as a result of personal interests, experiences, etc. I like reading the posts and I'll admit I find myself thinking "How could anyone love that resort?" or " How can that resort not be a favourite?" To each, his/her own. (That's a good thing )

 

[kitten2299]

I had never thought about it this way. It makes sense. Do any of the parents here have some eyewitness accounts of the popularity of the All Star resorts with (smaller) children?

Incidentally, last time I went budget, I stayed off-site. I am just not that hot about the Disney value resorts. For $40/$50 a night less, I'll choose a clean motel a few miles down the road. I should add 'dirt cheap off-property' to my list of favourite resorts.
Let's say that staying on-site is magic, but that $50 has it's own unique way of working magic for me as well. :lol:

Yes my DD 4yrs old picked All Star Movies out of all the hotels. We are going back in 2009 for her b-day and asked her to pick out another hotel and she wants to stay there again, she loved the toy story building walking thru Andy's room.

 

[NiarrNDisney]

Thus far I would have to say Disney's Coronado Springs, it was my most recent "real" on site resort stay and I just loved it.
(by "real" I am referring to my stay at the DoubleTree on Hotel Lane in Downtown Disney)

The All Star Resorts in general are just not appealing to my taste but if you stay in one I hear the All Star Movies is the best of the 3. I found my stay in May 06' at "Music" not so great, I had a walking boot on due to an accident, and I can tell you that pain, highschool bands and cheerleaders do not mix. I was not aware they were having some sort of competition during my stay (had I) I would have upgraded.

 

[Jekyll_Baker]

My favorite has to be WL, for the theming, food and proximity to MK.
Runners up would have to be POFQ and Pop.

Least favorite that I've stayed at would be Coronado Springs. Main thing I don't like about it is the food services there, just seems inconvenient and the automatic gratuity is a bad idea (for lack of more pleasant way to say what I'd rather say )

 

[DISMOM]

Love the Wilderness Lodge and French Quarter. We like the smaller resorts with a more friendly feel. The bus lines leaving Magic Kingdom are always shorter at smaller resorts. We are still looking forward to staying at a monorail resort someday.... fingers crossed.

 

[Mori Anne]

Favorites: Pop Century and... If allowed, the Swan. Loved everything about them. Pop had a good food court, the theming is a fun twist from Disney, and the bus system is pretty good. The Swan I loved the location to the boats, and the proximity to Epcot. I hate you have to pay for parking per night at the swan though.

Least Favorites: All Stars Movie. My family had an aweful aweful experience with one of the mousekeepers. The theming was nice, the pools are awesome, but the food court was not so great. The bus system was a little full most of the time too.

 

[PhilharMagician]

Favorite: AKL
The entrance into the main lobby is amazing and that is only the begining. This resort offers 2 increadible restaurants in Boma and Jiko, but the counter service The Mara needs to add more to their offerings. The pool is very nice with 2 hot tubs, pool bar, zero entry, slide and flamingo viewing area. Their are many savanna observation areas throughout the resort. The main area has a fire pit and story telling at night. The big thing here is to have a savanna view room to get the most out of your stay.

Least Favorite: Caribbean Beach Resort/Old Key West
This is a tie between resorts. mostly because of the problems we have had during our stays. Both have shown minimal concern of customer satisfaction. Another factor of botth are the food selections. OKW being a DVC resort has an extremely limited counter service offering. CBR's food court and table service restaurant need to also expand their offerings.

 

[palmage]

We love AKL for the theming and "feel", don't much care for the location.
We love Y&B and BW for the location.

Never stayed at a value, we'll have to try it sometime.

 

[ryguy]

Favorites: Polynesian because I love the theme and its the original hotel on property. Old Key West bedrooms are great for the size and the atmosphere is relaxed. Riverside has a great food court and love the southern theme. AKL is truly a unique experience. Not to many hotels in the world can you look out your window and see African animals. I know not a lot people like this resort but I do like the Caribbean Beach. I always rent a car so the size doesn't bother me. For the money I get a lot of what the Poly has to offer for half price. My kids like playing at a beach and now that they are renovating the rooms and the pool, I think this is a hidden gem.

Least Favorite: Hands down Coronado Springs, I hate the theme and the food. Location stinks too. Pop century has the smallest and loudest rooms I have ever stayed in anywhere in the world. (the whole world). Contemporary is such a waste of a great space. As soon as it became a convention hotel the place became mini manhattan. Nothing worse than being in a elevator with your swim trunks on standing next to some stiff in a business suit. (as a kid this was my favorite hotel, they had the biggest arcade, a shooting gallery, a movie theatre that played the Disney classics, I really miss the old contemporary resort.) The Grand Floridian I do like but the rooms are to noisy for the price being paid, so I avoid this hotel. Hope that helps. :wave:

 

[dazzer68]

from what little i know poly would be my best, its well themed and comfortable.(only visited havent stayed, only stayed at allstars, as coming from the uk it can cost alot of money so go budget) but would love to stay at poly.
worst would be caribbean, didnt like it on my visit, how can you have caribbean and no proper beach and sea to swim in?, just looked at bit messy to me.
when we go we always do a resort only day, and have alook around the other resorts,and dream!
not sure i like the contempary neither, feels very 'public' like a hospital or airport and not hotel like.

 

[PlutoFan4Ever]

Favorites:
Value-Pop Century
Moderate-Port-French Quarter
Deluxe-Contemporary

Least Favorites:
Value-All Star Music
Moderate-Coronado
Deluxe-Animal Kingdom Lodge

 

[krankenstein]

Favorite: The Poly wins hands down. I've never actually stayed there, but the feeling of the resort is awesome. I have spent many hours wondering around the place.

Least: The Grand Floridan! It is over the top for my taste.

 

[MattyFresh]

Of the ones that I have stayed in

Favorite would be pretty much a tie between Fort Wilderness cabins and Port Orleans (Dixie Landings when we stayed there)

Least favorite.......not sure I have one. I have enjoyed and had no complaints about any of the resorts I have stayed at.