Which deluxe resort?

[captainkidd]

We have it narrowed down to the following 5 resorts for next summer. I booked Grand Floridian, but I'm not 100% sure about it. Never stayed at any of the following. We just stayed at the Polynesian. We loved being on the monorail having 2 toddlers. We want to stay someplace different. I'm really torn. I like the look of the rooms at Boardwalk. I like the exterior of the Yacht Club. I like the interior of the Beach Club. I like the idea of impeccable service at the Grand Floridan as well as being 1 monorail stop from the Magic Kingdom. My wife is curious to stay at the Contemporary, though it doesn't appeal to me at all.

Help!!!

 

[poohbr2015]

Personally, I am a Contemporary girl. I remember staying there as kids and it was fun. We split our honeymoon between contemporary and WL and I have to say I was very upset after we made the switch. WL is nice but the rooms are darker, we had a balcony that overlooked the stream and pool area but it just felt like we were sitting in the woods, very buggy and humid. There is just something about sitting on your balcony or even in your bed at the contemorary and being able to see the castle change colors at night or watch the fireworks. I also love that its the first stop on the return monorail. Personally now that we have a son, who will be almost 8 months old for his first visit, I would choose contemporary just for that reason, at the end of the night, you are the first stop to get back to your room for bedtime! We enjoy the monorail ride to MK from contemporary but we really enjoy getting back to the hotel fast at night. Another thing is the walk to MK, that is very enjoyable. I also love hearing all of the activity in the morning down at chef mickey's, just puts you right in the middle of everything.

I love the look of AKL but its so far away from everything. We would really like to stay at Saratoga Springs, we walked around there the last time we were down and really liked the atmosphere.

Does anyone know if the garden wing rooms at the Contemporary were refurbed the same as the tower rooms. We have never stayed in the wing, but noticed that the price is dramatically cheaper, just wondering if the rooms are the same?

 

[captainkidd]

I think the Grand Floridian is overrated. My absolute favorite is the Polynesian, followed by the Wilderness Loadge and then the Contemporary.

Having never stayed there, I used to think so to, based on visits. This past trip, we really looked around a lot more and found it to be very nice and relaxing. Plus, the location can't be beat.

I was so excited about staying at the Polynesian. I was pretty disappointed. The rooms were very bland. The grounds at night were lovely, but during the day, the buildings looked worn down. The elevators were small and falling apart. Lots of unsightly construction going on.

 

[disneychic71]

We are thinking of booking WL for next year and have a question; is it worth the extra money to book the villas or are the rooms sufficient? I know it's a matter of opinion...but while I like more space, I am having trouble justifying the extra money. Any opinions would be welcome. Oh, and woods view, standard view or courtyard view if staying in the regular rooms?

I can only speak for the non-villa rooms, but my family of four had plenty of space (we had the bunk beds which the kids enjoyed). As for view, "courtyard" includes the area between the villas and the main building, and does not necessarily mean the pool area, according to our last stay there. Save your $ and get woods view!

 

[Mrs.Toad]

It can totally get pricey but I love the Grand Floridian. I have also stayed at the Beach Club villas which is very nice and if you love Epcot you can walk from the Yacht and Beach Club right into France/World Showcase.

As for the Floridian, I have been lucky enough to stay there 13 times. The lobby, grounds, rooms are lovely as are the staff. The bath products get me every time. :kiss:

As for convenience, a stroll to the main house will take you on a monorail to the Magic Kingom, Poly., Cont., and TTC. Also, there was a little boat that the staff called, the "put-put" that can also take you to Magic Kingdom and makes other stops.

As for my favorite topic food, I love the Grand Floridian Cafe. The menu changes each time but it's great. One year they had a cajun theme and I still tear when I think of the deep-fried pickles and cajun cheeseburger. Great for dinner or a long, leisurely lunch. Also, the room service is great.

The other restaurants haven't disappinted yet. I remember when Flagler's was there. I love Narcoosee's. Which had excellent food and sold yards of beer the last time I went. The gator dip was a nice surprise but I'm not sure if they still serve that with the bread.

It was amazing but Victoria and Albert's isn't my thing either. When you go with a party that are over 6 feet tall and have huge appetites and like simpler food, they did leave hungry and just aren't into the formality after a long day in the parks. It was something nice to do for a once in a life time birthday celebration, but we'd like to leave it at that.

Actually, we stayed at the Caribbean Beach that year and transportation was slow so we had a late reservation and showed up late. The staff still accepted us and took their time. We felt terrible about being the last diners in Victoria's. When dinner ended, there was no way to get back so we asked the front desk if they could hail us a cab. All of a sudden a staff member of the Floridian pointed to a white van and said he'd drive us to our rooms at the Caribbean Beach; there was no reason to hail or pay for a cab. We were flabbergasted. I've always had superior service and a great time at the Floridian.

Hope this helps! I can ramble all day about Disney.:sohappy:

 

[MouseWorshipper]

I wish the Polynesian, Wilderness Lodge, and AK Lodge were options. Those are my top three. I picked Beach of those, but I'd prefer the other 3.