Ready to buy, push me over the edge

[havoc315]

The Caribbean Beach rooms are in rough shape right now. Maintenance problems all over the place, and it's not that far from their last refurb. The lobby, pools, and grounds are looking fantastic, but the guest buildings need work both interior and exterior.

On the plus side, management was very responsive when we raised some concerns and the place was absolutely flooded with landscaping and maintenance workers, so it's definitely getting some attention.

I'd say best cash room value is Animal Kingdom Lodge Standard View.

See.... all depends on what we are prioritizing. To me, AKL is worthless without a savanna view. The location is basically a "mod" location. At least with the savanna view, getting something unique and "deluxe."

I like Sebastian's at CBR, though I know it's closed right now. It's also my favorite mod pool and I like the grounds. But the real "value" is the skyliner hub -- That elevates it to "deluxe" level transportation/location.

Ranking park transportation/location:
Top tier: Poly, Grand Floridian, Contemporary/BLT, Boardwalk, Beach and Yacht Club
Second tier: Caribbean Beach, Riviera, maybe Wilderness Lodge
Third Tier: The skyliner values, SSR
Bottom tier: AKL, OKW and the remaining mods/values.

I didn't try, I had cancelled the reservation ahead of time because a cast member told me it wouldn't have worked. Maybe I should have given it a shot, but my understanding was that the International Gateway station wouldn't have even been staffed at that time.

 

[CastAStone]

The case for Beach Club:
You LOVE the location
You LOVE the pool
You only want to do DVC while your kids are technically still children
You really prefer to stay in 2 bedrooms

It’s easy to say “it’s cheaper to rent than buy” or “it’s cheaper to pay cash thru Disney” and the former is definitely true basically year round and the latter is true a lot, but availability for BCV stinks, and you really do need to own to guarantee yourself access to a room. If it’s worth it to you it’s still worth it. It’s just by far the worst if your only objective is value, just like GF is the worst cash stay in terms of maximizing value.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

See.... all depends on what we are prioritizing. To me, AKL is worthless without a savanna view. The location is basically a "mod" location. At least with the savanna view, getting something unique and "deluxe."

I like Sebastian's at CBR, though I know it's closed right now. It's also my favorite mod pool and I like the grounds. But the real "value" is the skyliner hub -- That elevates it to "deluxe" level transportation/location.

Ranking park transportation/location:
Top tier: Poly, Grand Floridian, Contemporary/BLT, Boardwalk, Beach and Yacht Club
Second tier: Caribbean Beach, Riviera, maybe Wilderness Lodge
Third Tier: The skyliner values, SSR
Bottom tier: AKL, OKW and the remaining mods/values.

The math doesn't back up your rankings.

Unless you spend a vastly disproportionate amount of time in Magic Kingdom (like half of your trip), you're going to spend less total time on Disney transportation staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge than you are staying at the Contemporary or Grand Floridian. The Poly might win out because you can walk to the TTC and don't have to transfer to the Epcot monorail line.

People talk like Animal Kingdom Lodge is in the middle of nowhere, but that's not the case geographically. The thing that's in the middle of nowhere is... Magic Kingdom. Being convenient to MK makes the monorail resorts significantly less convenient to the other three parks and Disney Springs.

Not to scale, obviously, but the major points of interest are arranged like an upside-down T, with everything pretty much in a straight line along the southern edge, Epcot in the middle, and Magic Kingdom off all by itself in the North.

Transportation aside, I think Animal Kingdom Lodge has the best lobby and best in-room theming of any of the resorts. It also has a great signature restaurant, two great standard table service, and a great quick service. That gives it better overall dining than any of the other resorts except for the Grand, if you're willing to pay signature prices for many meals.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

The case for Beach Club:
You LOVE the location
You LOVE the pool
You only want to do DVC while your kids are technically still children
You really prefer to stay in 2 bedrooms

It’s easy to say “it’s cheaper to rent than buy” or “it’s cheaper to pay cash thru Disney” and the former is definitely true basically year round and the latter is true a lot, but availability for BCV stinks, and you really do need to own to guarantee yourself access to a room. If it’s worth it to you it’s still worth it. It’s just by far the worst if your only objective is value, just like GF is the worst cash stay in terms of maximizing value.

I also think that Stormalong Bay is vastly overrated. *runs and hides*

 

[havoc315]

The math doesn't back up your rankings.

Unless you spend a vastly disproportionate amount of time in Magic Kingdom (like half of your trip),

Many people do spend half their trip at Magic Kingdom. When my kids were younger, we spent 75% of our time at Magic Kingdom.

you're going to spend less total time on Disney transportation staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge than you are staying at the Contemporary or Grand Floridian. The Poly might win out because you can walk to the TTC and don't have to transfer to the Epcot monorail line.

Not really. Depends where you're going to and from.
Example of my typical trip if I'm staying at a monorail resort:

Day 1: Morning at Magic Kingdom, then afternoon back to the hotel. Evening, back to Magic Kingdom.
Day 2: Morning bus to Animal Kingdom, then afternoon back to resort. Evening, back to Magic Kingdom.
Day 3: Morning bus to DHS, then park hop to Epcot for evening.
Day 4: Morning at Epcot, then back to hotel. Evening in Magic Kingdom.
Day 5: Morning at Magic Kingdom then back to resort, then back to Epcot.

Factor in time on the transportation, in addition to the time waiting for transportation, and even time to/from room from the transportation station.

People talk like Animal Kingdom Lodge is in the middle of nowhere, but that's not the case geographically. The thing that's in the middle of nowhere is... Magic Kingdom.

But that's the park where most guests spend most of their time. In a 1 week trip, Animal Kingdom is a 1 half-day park for me. DHS is maybe 1 day, the rest being either Magic Kingdom or Epcot.

Being convenient to MK makes the monorail resorts significantly less convenient to the other three parks and Disney Springs.

Not to scale, obviously, but the major points of interest are arranged like an upside-down T, with everything pretty much in a straight line along the southern edge, Epcot in the middle, and Magic Kingdom off all by itself in the North.

View attachment 550697

Basically, Animal Kingdom is 30-40 minutes, each way, from EVERY park.
So if you are hitting parks twice per day, so 4 trips per day... that's a minimum of 2 hours of transportation time, every day.
That's painful. With time waiting for the bus, the long walk to the bus stop from the AKL rooms... easily sometimes talking 3+ hours per day in commuting time. 2 hours is a best case scenario.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Basically, Animal Kingdom is 30-40 minutes, each way, from EVERY park.

That is nowhere near correct.

Contemporary to Magic Kingdom - 10 minutes
Contemporary to Epcot - 34 minutes
Contemporary to Hollywood Studios - 19 minutes
Contemporary to Animal Kingdom - 25 minutes

Animal Kingdom Lodge to Magic Kingdom - 21 minutes
Animal Kingdom Lodge to Epcot - 20 minutes
Animal Kingdom Lodge to Hollywood Studios - 19 minutes
Animal Kingdom Lodge to Animal Kingdom - 18 minutes

So the Contemporary wins on Magic Kingdom, they tie on Studios, and Animal Kingdom Lodge wins on Epcot (by a ton) and Animal Kingdom.

Day 1: Morning at Magic Kingdom, then afternoon back to the hotel. Evening, back to Magic Kingdom.
Day 2: Morning bus to Animal Kingdom, then afternoon back to resort. Evening, back to Magic Kingdom.
Day 3: Morning bus to DHS, then park hop to Epcot for evening.
Day 4: Morning at Epcot, then back to hotel. Evening in Magic Kingdom.
Day 5: Morning at Magic Kingdom then back to resort, then back to Epcot.

If that's your travel pattern, I guess it makes sense. But five half-days at Magic Kingdom on a seven day trip seems crazy high to me. I typically do 7 full park days.

4 half-days at MK
3 half-days at Epcot
3 half-days at Studios
3 half-days at Animal Kingdom
1 half-day off or Disney Springs

 

[havoc315]

That is nowhere near correct.

Contemporary to Magic Kingdom - 10 minutes
Contemporary to Epcot - 34 minutes
Contemporary to Hollywood Studios - 19 minutes
Contemporary to Animal Kingdom - 25 minutes

Animal Kingdom Lodge to Magic Kingdom - 21 minutes
Animal Kingdom Lodge to Epcot - 20 minutes
Animal Kingdom Lodge to Hollywood Studios - 19 minutes
Animal Kingdom Lodge to Animal Kingdom - 18 minutes

That's the length of the bus ride -- At least a 5-10 minute walk to the bus stop, and a wait of 0-30 minutes for an actual bus.

There is no way you're getting from your room at AKL to the front gate of Magic Kingdom in 21 minutes.

As I said -- It's a 30 minute minimum to get from AKL to the gate at Magic Kingdom, potentially longer.

So even using those numbers:
Ok, over a 5-6 night trip:
4 round trips to MK. 2 round trips to Epcot. 1 round trips to DHS and 1 round trip to AKL:
Using your numbers, from Contemporary: 304 minutes
From AKL: 322 minutes.

Now, factor in wait time for buses, etc-- From Contemporary, walk to MK, No waiting for a bus at all. It's truly just 10 minutes.
But for all bus rides, factor in another 15-30 minutes for getting to the bus stop, waiting for the bus, etc.

Adding in this time -- So adding an additional 20 minutes for each bus ride:
Contemporary: 464 minutes
AKL: 642 minutes.

So using this trip as an example, AKL adds an additional 3 hours of transit time.

[And that's why any resort from which you can walk to a park tops the list of transportation -- 0 wait time]

So the Contemporary wins on Magic Kingdom, they tie on Studios, and Animal Kingdom Lodge wins on Epcot (by a ton) and Animal Kingdom.

But that's what separates the transportation quality. If I'm planning a heavy MK trip, monorail resorts win by a landslide. If I'm planning a heavy Epcot trip, Boardwalk and Beach Club win by a landslide.

Animal Kingdom Lodge is ALWAYS a lot of commuting, regardless. And I don't know too many people that plan Animal Kingdom heavy trips. (I'm sure there are some).

If that's your travel pattern, I guess it makes sense. But five half-days at Magic Kingdom on a seven day trip seems crazy high to me. I typically do 7 full park days.

4 half-days at MK
3 half-days at Epcot
3 half-days at Studios
3 half-days at Animal Kingdom
1 half-day off or Disney Springs

I also didn't include resort hopping dinners. But put that aside..
Magic Kingdom has about 3x as many attractions as any other park, so makes sense to spend the time.
3 trips to AK seems crazy to me... There are only like 3-4 attractions that have any appeal to me. Easy to knock them all out. FOP, Safari and Everest... then done.
If they had night time entertainment at AK, I could see spending more time.

But honestly, 1 half day at Animal Kingdom is kinda max. Last time I did a 5 night trip, I skipped it entirely.
I went to Magic Kingdom 4 out of 5 nights. Sometimes just for 30 minutes.. just popping in to watching fireworks and then going back to the hotel.
You can't really do a 30-minute "pop in" visit while staying at AKL.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Did they actually refuse to let you board? Because I thought the Skyliner should have been running to get Riviera guests to CBR, and I understood they allowed people to use it if they had a reservation. I know some people have done so, which is why I’m surprised they didn’t let you through with an ADR.

I don’t get this either?

i took skyliner to eat there before Epcot hours. At 9...

and there’s no walk ups...no way...so it would have had to be prebooked.

And riviera is IN Caribbean. It’s built on the customs house and Barbados. If you’re in caribbean...you’re in riviera.
People seem to think I’m joking about that? There’s no restricted access. You can freely walk in during the day.

the riviera skyliner station is probably a few feet closer to an Aruba caribbean building than it is riviera.

 

[nickys]

I don’t get this either?

i took skyliner to eat there before Epcot hours. At 9...

and there’s no walk ups...no way...so it would have had to be prebooked.

And riviera is IN Caribbean. It’s built on the customs house and Barbados. If you’re in caribbean...you’re in riviera.
People seem to think I’m joking about that? There’s no restricted access. You can freely walk in during the day.

the riviera skyliner station is probably a few feet closer to an Aruba caribbean building than it is riviera.

Regardless, Riviera guests can take the Skyliner to CBR to change lines for POP or DHS.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Regardless, Riviera guests can take the Skyliner to CBR to change lines for POP or DHS.

yes...but the “I couldn’t take skyliner to riviera from Caribbean” is not an obstacle

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I don’t get this either?

i took skyliner to eat there before Epcot hours. At 9...

and there’s no walk ups...no way...so it would have had to be prebooked.

And riviera is IN Caribbean. It’s built on the customs house and Barbados. If you’re in caribbean...you’re in riviera.
People seem to think I’m joking about that? There’s no restricted access. You can freely walk in during the day.

the riviera skyliner station is probably a few feet closer to an Aruba caribbean building than it is riviera.

I'm not talking about restricted access to the Riviera station, we used the Riviera station more often than we used the CBR station. Officially, the Epcot-bound line doesn't open until one hour prior to Epcot. So you can board at Riviera and head towards CBR for a transfer to DHS, but (I was told) you can't board at Riviera and head towards Epcot, nor can you board at Epcot and head towards Riviera/CBR.

Sounds like you had some luck doing just this, though.

yes...but the “I couldn’t take skyliner to riviera from Caribbean” is not an obstacle

It's not Caribbean-to-Riviera I'm questioning, it's Riviera-to-Epcot.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I'm not talking about restricted access to the Riviera station, we used the Riviera station more often than we used the CBR station. Officially, the Epcot-bound line doesn't open until one hour prior to Epcot. So you can board at Riviera and head towards CBR for a transfer to DHS, but (I was told) you can't board at Riviera and head towards Epcot, nor can you board at Epcot and head towards Riviera/CBR.

Sounds like you had some luck doing just this, though.


It's not Caribbean-to-Riviera I'm questioning, it's Riviera-to-Epcot.

ok...but why were you trying to get to Epcot as it wasn’t open?

I do think that will get adjusted if more places open at boardwalk/beach club...however. They still are way lacking in the dining department.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

ok...but why were you trying to get to Epcot as it wasn’t open?

I wasn't trying to get to Epcot per se, I wanted to get to the IG so I could walk to breakfast at the Boardwalk.

 

[nickys]

yes...but the “I couldn’t take skyliner to riviera from Caribbean” is not an obstacle

No one mentioned taking the Sklyliner from CBR to the Riviera.

@CaptainAmerica wanted to go to Trattoria Al Forno on the Boardwalk. My point was that he should have been allowed to, and I know people have done so.

edit: beaten to it!

 

[CaptainAmerica]

No one mentioned taking the Sklyliner from CBR to the Riviera.

@CaptainAmerica wanted to go to Trattoria Al Forno on the Boardwalk. My point was that he should have been allowed to, and I know people have done so.

edit: beaten to it!

I'm wondering if @Sirwalterraleigh read "Trattoria al Forno" as "Topolino's".

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I'm wondering if @Sirwalterraleigh read "Trattoria al Forno" as "Topolino's".

lol...I totally did
I take it back...that was stupid

but you still need a reservation...trattoria was not taking walk ups

they would have let you go

 

[nickys]

lol...I totally did
I take it back...that was stupid

but you still need a reservation...trattoria was not taking walk ups

they would have let you go

The app says differently. A lot of restaurants are doing walk-ups now in the post-Covid era.

Here’s a snapshot from the app, showing locations...... with Trattoria shown.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

The app says differently. A lot of restaurants are doing walk-ups now in the post-Covid era.

Here’s a snapshot from the app, showing locations...... with Trattoria shown.

View attachment 550773View attachment 550773

in practice...they were not when I was there in a “prime” week a couple weeks ago.

turning away everyone...even early when I was running and there was no one in the place. Also when we are there.
They are definitely staffing to the tables and staffing...most Disney locations will be lazy and just say no to walk ups. Been that way for along time...actually.

that’s the only sit down breakfast serving two DVC blocks right now. I don’t blame them...I wouldn’t take walk ups either.

all the stateside vacation weeks are now over...they may be more open to it now.

always a difference between “supposed to” and “do”.

 

[i<3riviera]

well that was a fun read to catch-up; my main two takeaways ...

heading for that button under their avatar

1) I want a button

the riviera skyliner station is probably a few feet closer to an Aruba caribbean building than it is riviera.

2) I measured this and @Sirwalterraleigh is correct; I now regret buying RVA ... in fact, I'm in a spiral of despair and question all my life choices

 

[correcaminos]

That's how I feel about the Poly. That points chart is terrifying. Nobody has enough points for the Bungalows so everyone is competing for a single room type. And if Disney ever decided to attempt to balance the demand by shifting points around, those studio nights could end up even more expensive than they already are.

There isn't really a fight though. I'm convinced many PVB buyers don't stay there. The bungalows are worth every point though. This is an issue at CCV studios though. Cabins and GVs with less rooms makes a worse balance