Questions about deluxe hotels and AK Lodge...

[qandk]

I've always wondered what the pros were for staying at a deluxe hotel... (except the obviously luxurious atmosphere and environment) <is that it?

Okay, so the service might be better(?), but don't you pay extra for services anyway? ;p

And about the animal kingdom lodge...
1) are there points in the hotel where you can view the savanna?
2) can you pet the animals? (is that a stupid question? ;p)
3) how does the morning safari thing work? (do you pay extra?)

I appreciate any help I can get
Thank you! :sohappy:

 

[dreamfinder]

You mean like the obnoxious guy from NYC at the Beach Club who loudly demanded a table for breakfast with no ADRs, because "come on, for the amount of money I paid to stay here, I should be able to eat breakfast for ____ sake", and GOT IN AHEAD OF ME, who had to wait 20 minutes past the ADR time I had had for two months, even though I complained "why should they be treated better than everyone else"?

Yes, I agree with you there. The quality of other guests is much higher at the values. Everyone there has the Disney magic, and there are almost no obnoxious snobs.

Large groups is another story, and yes there are more of those at values.

Notice I never said which way the quality went? ; ) The lack of groups should mean more adults, which tend to be quieter than children. Adults may sadly be lacking manners anywhere you go, but you should enjoy all the sites, it really depends on what you yourself are looking for.

 

[dizzney]

When we go to Disney, we're not looking to spend 24/7 in the parks, we want to stay in a resort that is enjoyable and convienent. I woudldrather spend the extra money and go less frequently to the world and have the additional amenities available at a Deluxe Resort. We have stayed at two moderates in the past and not enjoyed our visits as much.

These reasons factored into our buying into DVC for Boardwalk in '99 and we have never looked back. That gave us the deluxe resort at an affordable price (we recouped our investment within the first 5 years and have added on to our points three times) We walk to Epcot (love dinner at Canada!) and to MGM its fabulous!

This being said, there's a reason there are different types of resorts as people vacation differently from others.

Bottomline is that WHEREVER you are and WHOEVER you are, you need to be polite and kind to those you meet as everyone is on vacation not just you!

:sohappy:

 

[figment3258]

I think the advantage of the deluxe resorts are the location. We have only stayed at the Beach club for deluxe but we wouldn't stay anywhere else. The location is great. We walk to epcot and mgm. Also if we are heading for the magic kingdom we actually walk through epcot and hope on the monorail. Its great. We see fireworks every night. Also the room service is out of this world. I also find that when we would check into the Caribbean beach resort you would stand in line for about an hour while we check in but at the beach club 5 minutes and we are in. Our room is always ready early. Its great we would never go back to moderate.

 

[KingStefan]

Notice I never said which way the quality went? ; ) The lack of groups should mean more adults, which tend to be quieter than children. Adults may sadly be lacking manners anywhere you go, but you should enjoy all the sites, it really depends on what you yourself are looking for.

Thanks for picking up that I was being facetious. When I re-read my post I was hoping nobody would be offended.

I agree with you that the lack of groups should mean more adults. Actually, what I think you mean (correct me if I am wrong) is that a lack of groups means fewer rowdy teenagers and more adults and families with smaller children. That is probably true. However, I have heard that in the high-crowd times of the summer season, tour groups of adults can be as bad as the teens (or worse). And they're generally at the values, too. I've never been to WDW at that time, but I think I am going to try to avoid it in the future based on what I've heard.

I would say that I'd just stay in a mod or deluxe if I went at that time, but I've heard there are problems in the parks as well. So that time is probably not happening for me.

 

[tigsmom]

Unfortunately a-holeism is a disease that has no economic or social boundaries.

I totally agree and I do hope he wasn't insinuating that everyone from NYC is obnoxious...and how does he know thats where he is from? :lookaroun

Thanks for picking up that I was being facetious. When I re-read my post I was hoping nobody would be offended.

:lookaroun

you need to be careful when you post things like that.

 

[KingStefan]

I totally agree and I do hope he wasn't insinuating that everyone from NYC is obnoxious...

I was not. In fact I'm from that area (I thought you knew that, Mad? I know - you can't remember everyone! )

...and how does he know thats where he is from?

Because first of all it was Passover week (in a year it didn't coincide with Easter), and like 90% of the folks there were from the NYC Met. area, because lots of schools are closed.

And second of all, it was pretty obvious by his accent (see my previous post).

It was so funny - when they found him a table he said "'dere ya's go! Zippidy do da and all o' dat!"

And third of all, because I asked his wife!:lol:

 

[tigsmom]

I was not. In fact I'm from that area (I thought you knew that, Mad? I know - you can't remember everyone! )



Because first of all it was Passover week (in a year it didn't coincide with Easter), and like 90% of the folks there were from the NYC Met. area, because lots of schools are closed.

And second of all, it was pretty obvious by his accent (see my previous post).


And third of all, because I asked his wife!:lol:

:lol:

You mean you can tell where I'm from by my accent?! Believe me, when I open my mouth nobody has any doubt I'm from NYC originally. :zipit:

 

[Deadmanwalking]

I've always wondered what the pros were for staying at a deluxe hotel... (except the obviously luxurious atmosphere and environment) <is that it?

Okay, so the service might be better(?), but don't you pay extra for services anyway? ;p

And about the animal kingdom lodge...
1) are there points in the hotel where you can view the savanna?
2) can you pet the animals? (is that a stupid question? ;p)
3) how does the morning safari thing work? (do you pay extra?)

I appreciate any help I can get
Thank you! :sohappy:

Animal Kingdom lodge is really no better than a moderate when it comes to room space and beds. I have to admit that the Contemporary has great beds lots of space and lots of extra pillows. I didn't get any of that at the AKL, only a higher price for a room that was on par with the CBR. And you can see just as many animals by simply going to the AKL to eat and using the public viewing places as you can by staying in one of the rooms (for me there wasn't much to see, animals are allowed to roam freely and seem to prefer roaming away from where you can easily see them).

You do get a nicer swimming pool with towels provided at the pool... other than the pool everything else is available without actually staying there.... do yourself a favor and stay somewhere else, its a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to stay there (did it once and never again).

 

[sweetpee_1993]

:lol:

You mean you can tell where I'm from by my accent?! Believe me, when I open my mouth nobody has any doubt I'm from NYC originally. :zipit:

Those from NYC can also be mistaken for peeps from 'da Pah-rish' in the Greater New Orleans area. I know and love lots of those folks that live in or are from St.Bernard/Chalmette/Arabi/etc. I love 'em! You won't find better folks. :animwink:

 

[scorp111]

The beds are nicer in deluxes as well. At least in my opinion.

 

[surfsupdon]

We cannot stand taking busses everywhere. Walking to Epcot and MGM is worth the extra bucks to stay at Yacht/ Beach Club and BoardWalk.

Time is money, so time spent not waiting for busses is nice.

 

[PeterPan1985]

Well said.

One of the things we noticed was that when you leave the parks it seems like all the deluxe resorts are the first bus stops you walk past. We've only stayed at Pop. I guess because it's the newest of the values plus the fact that it is a value resort, we inevitably were always the farthest stop all the way out in Timbuktu. Lol! We used to make lots of jokes about hanging our head as we passed the big boys at the deluxe resorts on our way to the scraps down on the end. Lol! We had fun with it.

We noticed this, too. It's hard to find any fun in the long walk back to the bus berths when THE SKIES OPEN UP AND YOU HAVE TO WALK TO THE FARTHEST BERTH (sorry rant over).

The lines for the deluxe resorts' buses always seem to be MUCH SHORTER.

 

[CatherineL]

For me I think it comes down to the following:

Internal corridors
More transportation options
Luxury surroundings
Bigger rooms
Better service
More sit down meal options (I'm not a huge counter service fan)

All that said - it grieves me to pay rack rate. I really think the deluxe resorts are becoming way over priced and I wouldn't stay at them without a discount for more than 2 or three days.