Resorts! Resorts! Resorts!

[real mad hatter]

Good Morning Everyone. Last night in my local with the lads. The subject of WDW popped up..I was asked about how does one go about choosing which Disney resort to stay at.? Well for me it's all about the mighty dollar.How much am I willing to spend on a 14 night vacation.Once I get that target in my mind,I then look at the resorts which are in my price range.But I'am interested in how other people choose their resort.? Now if this has been discussed by me or anyone recently on here,I do apologise. So over to you Disney fans.

 

[mrdisman]

Go Deluxe, Go Wilderness lodge!

Yea!

 

[s&k'smom]

Deluxe family here, we love our conveniences they offer plus we feel like it's the only time we spoil ourselves.

 

[Cindee75]

For us being a family of 5 I look first at what rooms will accomidate the family. To tell you the truth PORS is the most affordable and it looks really great. Looking forward to our first stay there. We have done SSR 2 bedroom on rented points but even still it was pricey. It all comes down to $ and what I can get for the longest time on vacation.

 

[taz0162]

We try to stay at different places each time. This last 14 day trip was CSR. My fav so far was Dixie Landings (PO-RiverSide) but will continue to visit the other resorts as they each have their own charm in theming.

 

[HollyAD]

Its all about the deals going on when I book a resort. If my mother in law is going she will try to book us a room with her Florida resident discount. If not then we try and wait it out for a percent off deal. Sometimes it makes a moderate close in price to a value resort and justifies spending a little extra.I am a Pop Century fan and love how much it saves me and allows us to do more while on vacation. On my next trip we are doing one night at ASM then heading to Animal Kingdom Lodge because we are looking to relax and not hit the parks everyday. Now if I saw a great price on WL then I probably couldn't help myself

 

[pixiesteno]

For us a lot of the decision depends on lenght of stay. If we are going for vacation that is over 4 -5 days and it is not in the dead of winter then we can be found at FWC with our travel trailer. If we go for a short trip or when I go with a girlfriend or my SIL then it is usually a value resort. Yes, I would like to stay at all of the resorts at least once. Somehow I can't bring myself to stay at a resort for two hundred dollars and higher a night when that can get me extra days at a value or the campground. We actually postponed our 25th Anniversary trip from Jan to Sept so we could take the RV and stay longer.

 

[jazznrachie]

Location, amenities, and affordability. Luckily my in-law's are DVC members and hook us up in the Villas every few years, so when price doesn't matter, we choose based upon location. Otherwise if we're paying for it ourselves, we stick with the moderates.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Location and room size are the biggest driving force for us, but I like a pretty hotel too with nice table service options and other amenities

 

[Unomas]

Being a couple without children yet, we are perfectly happy at Riverside. It really is beautiful there. Proximity to the parks isn't a concern for us. It's all just a bus ride away. We do really want to stay at Boardwalk someday. It's gorgeous and the walk to Epcot is awesome.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

DVC. We usually stay at our home resorts, BLT, BCV, or BWV. In the winter, we prefer BWV and in the summer a combination of BLT and BCV. But then sometimes we'll stay someplace else just to spice it up. Though I prefer BLT.

 

[WellFedDave]

Excellent topic. A few factors at play here. Time of year,length of stay, and cost.
Say you're going in the fall during F&W and MNSSHP. You're simply not going to be spending a whole lot of time in the resort itself. You might also be dropping some serious cash to go to the hard ticketed events and attempting to eat your way around World Showcase lagoon. That alone can drop you from Deluxe to Moderate or Moderate to Value. If you have the luxury of staying 8+ days, while the cost of the room and park passes will go down, is it enough to make enough of a difference in jumping up a resort category?

Not sure if anyone else does this, but once we decide on time of year we're going and extras (MNSSHP, F & W, MVMCP, Flower and Garden, etc), we break out the Excel spreadsheet and build out base vacation costs for each resort we'd considering. Including ticket costs, over-estimation of food costs and merchandise, and a buffer for emergencies.

After that, its a numbers game. For instance; when planning for our last trip, WL & POFQ were approximately $400 apart for an 8 day trip, but because we were wanting to hit a lot of hard ticketed events, it made more sense to put the money towards those expenses over staying at WL. In hindsight,if it were a different time of year, there's no question that we would have gone with the WL option.

As always, excellent topic Hatter.

 

[Evil Genius]

We're easy to please.

I've stayed at POR on a number of occassions and enjoy it, but we view the resort as a place to sleep and shower so POP works for us. The busses don't bother us...the distance doesn't...the price is good and the room is clean. It's all we need!

 

[SAV]

It's all price for us. I'm not in the room much at all, so we go value.

 

[KCheatle]

It's about convenience for us. Yes, price matters, but I've decided that the conveniences of a deluxe resort make my trip much more enjoyable, so it's really about the price-point within that category. For example, I probably will never stay at the GF because IMO it's simply too expensive for a room that I don't intend to spend a lot of time in. However, I've tried the value and moderate, and while I can't say I had a "bad" experience, I just feel like my trip while staying at WL was significantly less stressful because of the conveniences. It just took the trip to another level. The consequence of my choice falls on my shoulders as it means that I have to work a lot harder to pay for it. But, I'd rather do that and have a vacation I really enjoy instead of staying somewhere else wishing the entire time that I had just put the effort in to stay at WL.

 

[Violet]

I love being walking distance to the parks. I really can't spend hours and hours there, so it's important that we can break it up easily. Plus, we spend a lot of time at the resort, so it's nice being close by.

 

[Weather_Lady]

We're primarily influenced by the cost, size of beds (tall DH needs queen-size or his feet hang off the end), atmosphere, and proximity to the parks. Of course, "who is going" and our desire to try new places are also factors. When it was just the two of us and there was a good discount at Coronado Springs (bringing it down to the equivalent of a value resort rack rate), we stayed there and enjoyed the queen-size beds and beautifully-themed main pool, and strolling hand-in-hand around the expansive resort.

When bringing the kids for the first time (and also planning to visit Downtown Disney for the first time), the Alligator Bayou section of PORS, with its Murphy beds and subtle "Princess and the Frog" theming, and the Sassagoula River cruise to DTD, beckoned. We also traveled during a lower pricing season and there was a discount offered (15%, but not available for standard rooms - we had to upgrade to garden view to get it and thus only saved about $120, but as I said to our travel agent, "$120 is better than a stick in the eye").

On our next trip, we'll be traveling with the kids, and also my father and my aunt, who has never been to Disney World (or even to Florida) before, and likely won't ever get the chance to come back. We also learned from our last trip that proximity to the Magic Kingdom is #1 on the kids' list of priorities (and, frankly, ours too). As such, we'll be renting DVC points and staying in a 2-bedroom villa at Wilderness Lodge (the points rental translates to over 40% off of rack rate for the same villa). It's a splurge, but we want to stay together and be able to spend lots of quality family time, and we know we won't get a chance to do this one again.

Next on our "resort hit list" for the next several years: driving to WDW and staying in FW in our own secondhand pop-up camper (which we have yet to purchase, LOL!); renting DVC points and staying in a studio at Bay Lake Tower, Boardwalk or Beach Club, and staying at CBR (if they ever refurbish and upgrade to queen beds). It's certainly exciting to ponder the options!

 

[disneygirl1]

It's all about the price. I always have an idea in my head of what I want to spend total for a Disney vacation, so once I start the research and see what the might $$$ will get me. I then go from there. Ideally I like to stay away from the values if I can especially if we are going for more then a week. This is just a personal preference. We have stayed at all the value resorts numerous times, but I like to stay somewhere that has a few more amenities. We usually stay at moderates and opt for CS b/c its our favorite resort. When we do stay deluxe, we like AKL or WL for the theming. My hope is to one day stay at an Epcot resort b/c of its close proximity to EP and DHS.

 

[jw24]

For me, it's price first and foremost. As tempting as it is to fork over money for the deluxe or moderate, it's not worth paying for more just for hotels and not having enough for other necessities like park tickets, food and souvenirs and transportation to WDW (i.e. airline tickets, train tickets, gas money for the long car trip, etc). I mean, if I could afford a moderate or deluxe without having to worry about the costs of the other necessities, then I would book a deluxe or moderate hotel in a heartbeat. Then, it's amenities second. Being a solo traveler myelf, amenities are necessary but not the end all be all. All I really want is a place to sleep, a place to shower and a place to rest. Worse case scenario if I don't like my room, I can always ask to be moved. Third would be transportation as the next important factor since I will be spending most of my time away from the room being at the theme parks or Downtown Disney most of the time and I want to have the most convenient option without problems like not having to share buses or having to wait multiple times for a bus. Of course, those problems can be avoided if you plan your schedule properly to avoid times when bus lines are packed. But everyone is different. Normally, I would say if price was not a problem or a concern, evaluate your choice based what you prioritize the most.

 

[danpam1024]

For us it's money as well. We used to go to BWI or BC period, but I no longer work, so that's no longer an option if we want the longest vacation possible . So it's mods for us- we've always stayed at POFQ- I'd LOVE to try something new, but DH is a creature of habit and likes things just as they are. I always keep my eye out for Swan/dolphin discounts just in case- I love being near the BW

 

[Doofenshmirtz]

For us its price and size of the room. This next trip means AoA for us with those ideas in mind.