The One Resort You Wouldn't Stay At.

[real mad hatter]

Hi Folks,Having recently returned from 14 magic days at WDW staying at PORS. We always visit other resorts on our trip to have a wee nosey,usually deluxe,one day I'll save that extra dollar,anyway,this year we checked out Swan & Dolphin and also Contemporary.The Swan & Dolphin we did like with those waterfalls outside and the situation of it,however the Contemporary resort left us cold.It reminded us of a hotel built around a shopping complex,and didn't feel I was in Disneyworld.Now that's just my opinion so please don't jump on my back if your a Contemporary fan.So is there one resort that you've visited that you wouldn't like to stay at?

 

[bmarkelon]

Before we joined DVC we always talked about how fun it would be to just keep trying different resorts. I still feel that way to an extent but since we are BLT and have 3 young kiddos it's tough to leave that convenient location. We will be there for the third trip in a row in 10 days. I am hoping that I can convince my DH to check out the new DVC at GF next and then Beach Club.

Soooo....as far as where we won't ever stay from now on, I guess it's any of the Values and Moderates for us.

 

[Sharkreef11]

Does Fort Wilderness count? If it does that gets my vote.

 

[captainkidd]

The frustrating thing about the Contemporary is that the rooms, especially on the BLT side, are by far the nicest rooms on the property. They're just on the bland side.

That's definitely just an opinion. I don't just find the rooms to be bland. I find them set up oddly and, at BLT, completely ugly.

 

[slappy magoo]

Awesome. More potentially open rooms at BLT for me.

With the possible exception of a suite (or if I were traveling solo, or MAYBE a 1-night stay before or after a longer trip elsewhere on property), I wouldn't choose to stay in Value. I like larger rooms, I like larger beds, I like more onsite amenities, and being that these tend to be the resorts for larger tour groups of often-poorly-supervised children/teens, I can't ever see myself subjecting myself to them by choice. I think I'd prefer staying offsite, quite frankly, though some of the dessert offerings in the Pop's food court look very tasty.

Having said that, speaking of offsite, after our most recent trip (BLT), before starting the drive home, we opted to get a room for the day at the Doubletree Suites resort near DtD. We were out of park tickets and frankly exhausted. The idea was, we would check out of BLT in the morning, resort hop a bit, check in to the Doubletree for an extended afternoon nap (especially for me), go back to BLT, eat dinner at the Wave, pick up all our baggage we left with Bell Services and drive through the night. The Doubletree "suite" we got was two rooms separated by a flimsy sliding door. Thinking we would at least have a door we could close so I wouldn't hear TV or conversation, it wasn't so hot, I wound up sleeping while listening to music on headphones. The resort was nice enough, and like the values, it would not have been so bad if I were alone or not traveling with really little kids, who could perhaps go to a pool or an arcade and be trusted to not take candy with strangers. But for our purposes for now, I can't imagine going back, even for that afternoon nap before a drive home.

 

[popcenturylover]

I wouldn't stay at AoA. It looks way too loud for my tastes, and I am someone who likes the other value resorts.

Why couldn't they have made it just a tad less A 3yr old Designed This looking?

That's the point! They are submersing you into the resort to make you feel like you are a part of the movie! I think that it's great!!! Actually, staying there this September!

 

[steviej]

Boy, I can't believe the non love for contemporary, I think it's so cool to have the monorail right downstairs.

I am the son of DVC owners and stayed in a ton of the DVC resorts, but last January, I went down with a friend of mine, and we stayed at PC, now, if you're going with young kids, a moderate to deluxe makes sense, but, if you're just going to the world with a bunch of friends and you're just going to be using the room to sleep, then a value might be for you.

Gotta be honest, I don't have any desire to stay at Saratoga Springs.

 

[Mukta]

I'm not a fan of Old Key West or Saratoga only because I don't need the space and they seem far away from the action.

I stayed in Pop once and I found that the values don't really suit me. I don't think I would ever stay in one again.

Basically, I am an Epcot resort lover and I can't imagine leaving that area.

 

[twinnstar]

I have a feeling no one will agree with me on this, but I would not stay at Boardwalk, Beach Club or Yacht Club! I visited them a few trips ago, and while I do agree they were beautiful and the location was very convenient, they seemed very "stuffy" to me. I need a little more grit to my Disney resort hahaha. Its all good cause I could probably never afford to stay at one of them anyway!

 

[draybook]

I'd like to stay at the Contemporary one day, but only if it was an MK view room.

 

[captainkidd]

I have a feeling no one will agree with me on this, but I would not stay at Boardwalk, Beach Club or Yacht Club! I visited them a few trips ago, and while I do agree they were beautiful and the location was very convenient, they seemed very "stuffy" to me. I need a little more grit to my Disney resort hahaha. Its all good cause I could probably never afford to stay at one of them anyway!

Eh, don't say that. I remember about 8 years ago, my wife and I were staying at All Star Movies. We went to visit the Boardwalk 1 night and we were walking along looking at the Yacht and Beach all lit up and I said "Man, wouldn't it be great to be able to afford to stay there one day?" About 2 years later, I lost my job, found a new one, make twice as much money and we've been able to. Never say never.

As for the stuffiness, you are right about Yacht Club. We stayed there and I hated it. Very stuffy. Boardwalk wasn't like that at all. We're staying at the Beach Club for the 1st time next year, and from our visits there, I didn't get the same stuffiness vibe as the Yacht Club.

 

[captainkidd]

I'd like to stay at the Contemporary one day, but only if it was an MK view room.

Only way I'd do it as well.

Sadly, though my wife would like to stay there, she won't because there is no laundry facility in the Tower, and with 3 kids, we either do laundry or pack 7 suitcases. So we'd have to take our clothes from the room, down the elevator, through the back door, past all the business people, and into the Garden Wing to do laundry. Yeah, no thanks.

 

[luv]

Contemporary/BLT for me, too. I just don't like the place.

The Values are very garish and are not at the top of my list, but they're cheap. There is a trade-off there. The Contemporary has no redeeming quality that would make me select it over others.

 

[captainkidd]

The Contemporary has no redeeming quality that would make me select it over others.

Those are the exact words I always use when we're looking at staying at a Magic Kingdom Resort. Why stay there when for the same price, you can stay at the Polynesian or Grand Floridian?

But hey, it's all personal preference.

 

[bethymouse]

Well- I don't have any resorts that I wouldn't stay at! But, if I had to pick one, it'd be AllStar Resorts. We started out there in 2007 in the ASMusic Suites. It was nice & roomy, but the CM folks there were not quite as attentive as they are at the mods & deluxes!

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

Only place I wouldn't stay at is the Grand Floridian. I know alot of our members here love it. I stayed there 7 years ago, and NEVER again. Contemporary, we did once, just to say we did. That's where it all started, so when son was very young, decided it was a must do. Would I go back?? Yep but would have to be in a tower room, with a MK view.

 

[Ariel484]

We avoid the Value resorts...just not for us.
I'm pretty sure we'll never stay at Old Key West or Saratoga Springs either (decor isn't our taste and being right by Downtown Disney doesn't really do it for us).
I've looked into the Swan and Dolphin, but not having Magical Express is a big problem for us.
And like many others we'll never stay at the Contemporary (explored it on our last longer trip and were REALLY put off by the atmosphere) unless we get a great deal on an MK-view room!

 

[captainkidd]

I've looked into the Swan and Dolphin, but not having Magical Express is a big problem for us.

Same for us. It's too bad, because those are both beautiful resorts with great deals.

 

[Ariel484]

Same for us. It's too bad, because those are both beautiful resorts with great deals.

Yep. I look into it every 6 months or so because I remember that we can get a teacher discount...then I remember the Magical Express stuff. Taking a taxi/renting a car ups the cost, obviously, plus the extra "resort fee" they charge, and by the end it's not much better than renting points at a DVC resort. Oh well.

 

[rkelly42]

I do not think there is a resort that I wouldnt stay at in WDW, like others there are some at the bottom of my list, but I would stay at any one of them. Out of the hotels I have stayed at I am least likely to stay at the All Star, if I am going to do value I would choose Pop over AS.

 

[Britt]

I am NOT a hotel snob by any means, but I do NOT want to stay at a Value Resort. They look dark, they look small...they look "dirty". Im sure they aren't, but they look like those ones you find on the side of the road for $20 a night...lol.

It's not JUST the hotel, but the bus system was INSANE. The lines were always crazy. And just TONS of loud families.

We stayed at the Cabins and I was spoiled. I love having the extra room, I love having the kitchen. Any resort we stay at again, will have those. It's WORTH the cost for sure!

I wasn't a fan of the Contemporary either...I was a little taken aback by it actually when we went to Chef Mickeys!