Hey all! My mom and I just got back from our first ever trip to Disney this March, and if you're wondering how much we enjoyed we were already discussing our next trip by day two. Although we probably won't be going again for minimum a year, probably more than that, I am an overplanner by nature and have already started considering where we're going to stay. This trip we stayed at Wilderness Lodge, which was beautiful. Good food, great rooms, great food, the whole shebang. Problem is for this next trip I would really like to dial down on the cost, so instead of WL I've been looking at moderate resorts. I've been having some trouble deciding though so I thought I would ask you guys, since when it comes to Disney World the people here tend to be experts. Here's what I'm looking for in a resort, in order of importance:
1. The size/how compact everything is. My mom has mobility issues. I know some of the resorts at DW can be really spread out, so staying somewhere where the walk from the bus to our rooms (and preferably anywhere else) is as short as possible. I know part of that equation is highly dependent on what room they happen to give you, but a smaller resort means we're relatively close to everything no matter where we end up so I consider this the most important factor.
2. Restaurants. For our first trip I scheduled a break day in the middle of our trip. We spent all day at the pool, ate breakfast and lunch at the resort, and only left to have dinner at Raglan Road in DS. We both agreed that this break was sorely needed and is a must do for our next trip, so for the next resort we stay at I would prefer if it had at least one, hopefully more restaurants for us to eat at. After all, the point of the break day is to minimize how much we're running around to different areas. Having to leave the resort whenever we want to eat kind of messes up that point. Note that the food doesn't have to be amazing. We're pretty easy to please when it comes to food.
3. Pool. This is the least important factor to me in that it doesn't have to be anything grand. A big part of our break day was spent lounging by the pool. WL had a lot of nice amenities, like jacuzzies, but those aren't a necessity. I know most if not all DW resorts have pools, but we would like something that is on the quiet side (AKA not a lot of kids). However, as I mentioned before this is of the lowest importance. If there's a resort that meets the first two requests and not this one, we're totally fine dealing with a loud pool.
Thanks so much to everyone who helps. I planned my first trip for five years and I fell like there's still so much I don't know haha. When it comes to deciding on things like these, nothing beats asking people who know the pros and cons from personal experience.
Edit: Just realized this probably would have fit better in trip planning. Sorrys guys!
1. The size/how compact everything is. My mom has mobility issues. I know some of the resorts at DW can be really spread out, so staying somewhere where the walk from the bus to our rooms (and preferably anywhere else) is as short as possible. I know part of that equation is highly dependent on what room they happen to give you, but a smaller resort means we're relatively close to everything no matter where we end up so I consider this the most important factor.
2. Restaurants. For our first trip I scheduled a break day in the middle of our trip. We spent all day at the pool, ate breakfast and lunch at the resort, and only left to have dinner at Raglan Road in DS. We both agreed that this break was sorely needed and is a must do for our next trip, so for the next resort we stay at I would prefer if it had at least one, hopefully more restaurants for us to eat at. After all, the point of the break day is to minimize how much we're running around to different areas. Having to leave the resort whenever we want to eat kind of messes up that point. Note that the food doesn't have to be amazing. We're pretty easy to please when it comes to food.
3. Pool. This is the least important factor to me in that it doesn't have to be anything grand. A big part of our break day was spent lounging by the pool. WL had a lot of nice amenities, like jacuzzies, but those aren't a necessity. I know most if not all DW resorts have pools, but we would like something that is on the quiet side (AKA not a lot of kids). However, as I mentioned before this is of the lowest importance. If there's a resort that meets the first two requests and not this one, we're totally fine dealing with a loud pool.
Thanks so much to everyone who helps. I planned my first trip for five years and I fell like there's still so much I don't know haha. When it comes to deciding on things like these, nothing beats asking people who know the pros and cons from personal experience.
Edit: Just realized this probably would have fit better in trip planning. Sorrys guys!
