Most Centrally Located Resort

[Pr1nce55]

Hello everyone. I am a new member. Next spring, my husband and I with our two kids (preschoolers) are planning a trip to WDW. We would like to stay at a Disney resort. I was wondering what is the most centrally located resort to the 4 major theme parks? Also, how would you rate the resort?

 

[WDWCPF98]

You may want to consider the Yacht and Beach Club or the Boardwalk. Both are deluxe resorts and in walking distance to both Epcot and The Studios. Otherwise plan on a 1/2 hr. bus ride to any park from any other resort hotel.

 

[MouseMadness]

Or, the Polynesian is a Monorail ride to MK or Epcot (From the TTC, which is easily walked to), as well. That's where we stay, and since those two parks are where we pretty much spend the whole trip :lol: it works out quite nicely.

 

[tikiman]

I have stayed at the Polynesian (Monorail resort) the Yacht Club (Epcot resort) and the Animal Kingdom Lodge (bus service not shared with any other reosorts).

My opinion is that getting to locations was the easiest (over all) from the Polyensian.

The Animal Kingdom was not very good for me because we don’t like to use the busses but for bus transpiration it is one of the better if not the best since it does not share with any other resorts. That being said we felt it took a while to get to the locations and the busses did not come as frequent as I thought. We watched busses for other resorts come 2 or 3 times before an AKL bus picked us up.

The Epcot resorts (YC/BC and Boardwalk) are nice to get to Epcot and MGM but the busses were even worst with the stops at the Swan and Dolphin first. Now the walk into Epcot and MGM from these resorts are nice and there are other great things surrounding these resorts, I found on days were I was tired or it was raining hard that the walk was very long. Also taking the boats was fun but not efficient use of time. You get on the boat and it makes stops at the Swan and Dolphin, Yacht Club, Boardwalk and than the International Gateway. You could have walked that distance almost twice for the time it takes. Also in the morning going to Epcot the World Showcase is not even open yet so to get to anything open you have to walk to Future World. This takes about 20-30 minutes from the Yacht Club.

When staying at the Polynesian you have many different options.
To get to the MK you can take a boat from the Polynesian dock directly to the park entrance. This is a fun ride of its own. You can also take the large ferry next door at the TTC. This is a good option for people with wheel chairs. You can also take the monorail over to the park.
To get to Epcot you walk to the TTC and get right on the monorail direct to Epcot and it takes about 15-20 minutes to get from your room at the Polynesian to future world. Not only faster but most of the time you are sitting in the monorail and not walking in the heat or the rain.
To Get to MGM you can either take the bus from the front of the Polynesian or go to Epcot and walk through Epcot to the boats at the International Gateway.

AK park is from a bus also. To get to other destinations you would walk over to the TTC and get a bus. No other resort has walking access to the TTC other than the Polynesian.

We love trying other parts of WDW and other resorts but every time we stay in a different area we find we don’t venture very far. When we are at the Polynesian we feel free to come and go to the parks easily. For us the monorail resorts give us the most central feeling even if they are not in the middle of the map of WDW.

 

[Teddy1]

I agree with tikiman. Since our children are young (10 and 12 now) we have stayed on the monorail. It is easy to get to and from parks and back to the hotel in afternoon for a rest and/or naps. The Polyenisan is a great choice for young kids.

 

[wannabeBelle]

Which park do you feel will be your primary focus?? If it is MK then yes I agree the Polynesian or one of the Monorail resorts for MK is the way to go.
Epcot or MGM Id go with the EPCOT resort area Beach Club or Yacht Club. Also is price a factor?? The resorts we have listed are among the most expensive on property. A less expensive resort on Disney property that would get my vote would be PO Riverside, but any of the Moderates and Value level resorts are only serviced by the bus system. Belle

 

[Pr1nce55]

Having two preschoolers, I will most likely be spending a majority of my time at MK. Money is not really a factor. I just want to spend it wisely and get the most for my buck. Time is more of a factor.

 

[shopsuzy-q]

Hello- I love all the tips, but please give me your vote for best location of a lower priced resort. We loved the port orleans...the boat options to downtown disney were nice. Carribean was to large lot's of walking just to eat/swim and it had a bus sytem of its own.....We are headed to Animal Kingdom Lodge again and kids couldn't be happier. the wonderful hotel features/animals alone made us not worry about the extra 5 minutes on the bus.....
This will be our 4th trip and kids begged for the Animal lodge...

 

[ConstanceIrene]

Because your children are young, I vote for the resorts on the monorail. The Magic Kingdom is the place they'll want to be and the monorail is a treat in itself. When my girls were younger, we spent more time at MK and it's so nice at the end of the day to just hop on the monorail and be "home" in a flash. The monorail ride to Epcot is also a lot of fun.
We used to stay at the Contemporary and always had a MK view so we could get a snack and watch the fireworks from our terrace at night. Whatever resort suits your fancy, you'll want to be close to MK on your first trip to WDW.

 

[shopsuzy-q]

hi again-
with preschoolers..stay close to MK....deluxe resorts have best options. Animal Kingdom is great if your kids are into animals is wonderful, my11 and 12 year old still love it. MGM has the wonderful shows with characters they may like, but no ride options really.....epcot is huge, my older kids get tired of the distance at epcot.......
wow.... I think I have become a Disney fanatic ......
be careful.....it happens...

 

[col]

i would say any epcot resort including WDW swan and dolphin; if you stay at these resorts they are between MGM and epcot. you can walk to epcot or MGM or take the friendships between resorts and parks.

 

[MouseMadness]

Having two preschoolers, I will most likely be spending a majority of my time at MK. Money is not really a factor. I just want to spend it wisely and get the most for my buck. Time is more of a factor.

Cool! Then I'd have to reiterate my choice of the Polynesian. The pool area is awesome for that aged kids, should you choose to use it, and you can't beat that access to the Magic Kingdom!!

 

[Pioneer Hall]

I think getting to and from anywhere was easiest at the Polynesian, but it isn't hard at any of the other resorts either. Nothing is too far away by bus, and all of the bus only resorts don't share with any other resort so it isn't a problem. Also, as opposed to being centrally located, you should think about what park you are going to visit most often. This way you are closer to that park since you are going there the most and a little farther away from the parks that you won't be visiting as much.

 

[Pr1nce55]

What would be a realistice average commute between most resorts and theme parks...30 minutes? Does anyone have an opinion about staying at the Wilderness Lodge?

 

[tigsmom]

We've stayed at the Contemporary, the Polynesian , Wilderness Lodge (8 times there) and the Boardwalk Inn. I'd have to say the WL is by far our favorite. You can take a boat to the MK or one to the Contemporary to hit the monorail. When our kids were very small we stayed at a monorail resort because it was easiest for us. The kids are tired at the end of the day and they really don't want to wait for a bus, but had no trouble waiting for the monorail...guess its just more fun. :lol: I know a lot of people don't like the bus system at the WL, but we have never had a problem with it.

The Boardwalk is great if you spend a lot of time at EPCOT or MGM, but the bus to the MK and AK are packed because they are shared by 5 resorts.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

What would be a realistice average commute between most resorts and theme parks...30 minutes? Does anyone have an opinion about staying at the Wilderness Lodge?

I think 30 minutes would pretty much cover the time of waiting and getting off the bus. Once you are on the bus, the rides are usually no longer than 15 minutes to and from where ever you might be going.

 

[maelstrom]

If you spend a lot of time at the MK: Contemp, Poly, Grand Floridian, Wildy, Ft. Wildy. The monorail resorts are good for getting to Epcot quick too because of the monorail.

Boardwalk, Yacht & Beach, and Swan & Dolphin are good if you spend a lot of time at Epcot and MGM.

 

[ClemsonTigger]

Focusing on your young kids, I would definitely say Poly or Contemporary. As others have said, you will probably spend a lot of time in MK, and to be able to easily get back to your room for an afternoon nap or a decompress swim is great. I prefer Poly cause you also have walking access to the Epcot monorail. Contemporary had the advantage of walking to MK. Bus service is fine from monorail resorts to MGM or AK.

Also note, when you talk "centrally" located, MK is farthest away from all other parks, so takes the longest to get to MGM, AK and Epcot. Most other resorts are between Epcot, MGM and AK, so travel time is shorter.

For older kids, families, the Epcot resorts are great giving walking access to Epcot and MGM, monorail or bus to MK and bus to AK.

 

[MouseMadness]

We've stayed at the Contemporary, the Polynesian , Wilderness Lodge (8 times there) and the Boardwalk Inn. I'd have to say the WL is by far our favorite. You can take a boat to the MK or one to the Contemporary to hit the monorail. When our kids were very small we stayed at a monorail resort because it was easiest for us. The kids are tired at the end of the day and they really don't want to wait for a bus, but had no trouble waiting for the monorail...guess its just more fun. :lol: I know a lot of people don't like the bus system at the WL, but we have never had a problem with it.

The Boardwalk is great if you spend a lot of time at EPCOT or MGM, but the bus to the MK and AK are packed because they are shared by 5 resorts.

Okay, this brings up a question I have. Andy thinks he'd like to spend part of the next trip at WL, (and we do what we can to keep the man happy at Disney :lookaroun ) but the only reason I'm hesitant is because one afternoon, we left the MK to go have lunch at Whispering Canyon, and seriously, we thought we'd be better off jumping out of that damn boat and swimming the rest of the way. It. Was. So. SLOWWWWWWWW!! Did we just catch it on a bad day, or is it like that always? However, I must add that Whispering Canyon was worth it. :slurp:

 

[tigsmom]

Okay, this brings up a question I have. Andy thinks he'd like to spend part of the next trip at WL, (and we do what we can to keep the man happy at Disney :lookaroun ) but the only reason I'm hesitant is because one afternoon, we left the MK to go have lunch at Whispering Canyon, and seriously, we thought we'd be better off jumping out of that damn boat and swimming the rest of the way. It. Was. So. SLOWWWWWWWW!! Did we just catch it on a bad day, or is it like that always? However, I must add that Whispering Canyon was worth it. :slurp:

Slow picking you up outside of the MK or slow as in speed? Yeah its not a fast trip and if they go to Ft Wilderness first its even longer, but still not that bad considering. It seems to me at mid day there are less boats so sometimes you do have to wait (less bus availability too). On night we decided not to wait and went to the Contemporary and took the smaller launch over to the WL, we were the only people on that trip.