Which is more important to you?

[jimbo mack]

Disney holidays are the only holidays where I don't fuss about the room too much as we're hardly in it! As long as it's clean and comfortable I don't care. Now if it was a relaxation holiday, say somewhere like Mauritius, then that's a different matter.

 

[jmargarone27]

I have to say the amenities and common areas are more important in my books. For example, the rooms at the Grand Floridian are nothing to write home about, but I love staying there so much because of the monorail, ambience, grounds, and pools!

 

[Matt]

As long as the A/C in the room works and there is a working bathroom and bed in the room, I'm set. So, the amenities mean more. Nice pool, restaurant, short bus waits/walks to bus stop

 

[Marijil]

Close but probably amenities

 

[HouCuseChickie]

What's so funny in all of this is that it's not a matter of value vs. mod vs. deluxe. It's just a matter of pitting one deluxe against another deluxe. i.e. while room sizes and amenities vary, they all have nicer rooms and amenities. It just comes down to us liking some deluxe rooms better than others and some deluxe amenities better than others. I know...what a horrible dilemma to have.

 

[mousefreak]

Definitely the common areas and amenities for us. We spend very little time in our room, just to sleep and shower. We usually stay at the values and the pools suit us just fine.

 

[acishere]

I will spend more time in the room than the common areas usually. So I like a nicely appointed room when I can relax with some TV and go through work emails.

The only common areas I really like to spend time in at a resort is a quiet pool and a bar.

That said, I love POR because the walks between the three places is usually extremely peaceful and beautiful.

 

[Jessica Meier]

After being spoiled on our last trip (hello upgrade) I would definitely have to say room. So much so that we are willing to go longer in between visits to stay longer and In nicer rooms.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

After being spoiled on our last trip (hello upgrade) I would definitely have to say room. So much so that we are willing to go longer in between visits to stay longer and In nicer rooms.

Yeah- you guys certainly had quite the upgrade last trip! As much as I enjoyed my savannah view that I wasn't expecting...it wasn't a suite in the Contemporary!

 

[Jessica Meier]

We are thinking about renting points at AKL and I just posted a thread. Give me your thoughts!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We are thinking about renting points at AKL and I just posted a thread. Give me your thoughts!

I would like to rent points as well. I don't think we're going to be able to do it for this upcoming trip unless I go for SSR or OKW...well, at least based on this...

http://www.dvcrequest.com/how_soon_should_i_reserve.htm

I'll have to go check out the thread. Is it in the hotels area or the DVC area?

 

[Jessica Meier]

I would like to rent points as well. I don't think we're going to be able to do it for this upcoming trip unless I go for SSR or OKW...well, at least based on this...

http://www.dvcrequest.com/how_soon_should_i_reserve.htm

I'll have to go check out the thread. Is it in the hotels area or the DVC area?

DVC area

 

[HouCuseChickie]

DVC area

Alrighty...I shall check it out.

 

[jw24]

In general, I value the amenities of the hotel more than the actual room. I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying the room should be untidy, messy, smelly or anything like that! That's not what I'm trying to say! If I got a bad room but loved the amenities, of course, I would request the issues be addressed and fixed right away and/or if applicable, moved to another vacant room. I think as long the room replicates your presumably healthy and neat home in having clean air, clean rooms, no horrid smells, AC, etc, I think the room doesn't matter too much. But I do think the type of trip you're taking in Disney also plays a part. If you have the rush mentality to do everything in the parks, hotel amenities may not mean much. But if you want to take rest days away from the parks, then you definitely want something to do in the hotel so that you're not stuck in your room watching TV all day..unless that's what you really want to do. (I know I would not want to miss out on relevant sporting events if I was in WDW!) Ultimately, I think both are important but I give the edge to amenities.

 

[Skibum1970]

We're amenities and common areas people as well. The room is great to relax in but we like walking about the resort and relaxing. That isn't fun to do inside of a hotel room.

 

[WDWoptmist]

Common area far and away...the actual room doesnt mean much just give me a good view while I wait for the lady to get ready

 

[WendyTinkerbell]

Ultimately, I would have to say amenities, but part of our resort decision has to do with what time of year or type of trip we are trying to experience. Like my husband works at a zoo and really likes animals, so if it is his birthday or something special for him, I will try to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge for the animal views.

If we are taking a quick trip and trying to be on the cheaper side, we will stay at POP. Last year for Christmas, we did a split between AOA (wanted to see it, but we didn't really like it all that much) and WL for all the Christmas atmosphere. We really enjoyed spending Christmas Eve and Christmas in the rocking chairs right outside the room overlooking the Christmas tree in the lobby. However, I agree with the room not being all that great. It felt very small and the bathroom was very dark. I could tell a huge difference between that room and the ones at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Last October for my birthday we stayed at the Boardwalk again. We didn't go to the pool or anything, but we really enjoyed the short walk to EPCOT. The buses can be a problem there, but for the F&W festival, we usually end up at EPCOT most nights and it was nice to walk or catch the boat back.

For out tenth year anniversary, we are staying at Grand Floridian this May (although I did add a night at the POP since we decided to arrive late the night before our anniversary). I look forward to seeing the resort after this past year's renovations and am hoping that the monorail is back to normal working hours. Now with most of the resorts going to just white sheets and foot runners, it may not seem as "old" in the rooms.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Ultimately, I would have to say amenities, but part of our resort decision has to do with what time of year or type of trip we are trying to experience. Like my husband works at a zoo and really likes animals, so if it is his birthday or something special for him, I will try to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge for the animal views.

If we are taking a quick trip and trying to be on the cheaper side, we will stay at POP. Last year for Christmas, we did a split between AOA (wanted to see it, but we didn't really like it all that much) and WL for all the Christmas atmosphere. We really enjoyed spending Christmas Eve and Christmas in the rocking chairs right outside the room overlooking the Christmas tree in the lobby. However, I agree with the room not being all that great. It felt very small and the bathroom was very dark. I could tell a huge difference between that room and the ones at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Last October for my birthday we stayed at the Boardwalk again. We didn't go to the pool or anything, but we really enjoyed the short walk to EPCOT. The buses can be a problem there, but for the F&W festival, we usually end up at EPCOT most nights and it was nice to walk or catch the boat back.

For out tenth year anniversary, we are staying at Grand Floridian this May (although I did add a night at the POP since we decided to arrive late the night before our anniversary). I look forward to seeing the resort after this past year's renovations and am hoping that the monorail is back to normal working hours. Now with most of the resorts going to just white sheets and foot runners, it may not seem as "old" in the rooms.

OK- I'm curious about the bus issues at BW. DH thinks I'm nuts, but I'm kind of scarred from the awful bus service we had at WL. While I didn't like our stay YC, the YC/BC buses were really good. Were the buses not coming as frequently as they did at other resorts? Or did they stop and Swan/Dolphin first and fill up?

It's funny with WL vs. AKL... I think the rooms are the same size, but the AKL room just was more inviting to me. It makes me feel so picky, but these kinds of things can influence the quality of my trip.

That's a great point about the GF's rooms and the change in bed décor/linens. The look may change drastically in my eyes with just that one tweak.

 

[WendyTinkerbell]

Hi!

Sometimes the bus service at Boardwalk would just take a long time, but I don't remember them ever being too full. We stood a few times, but I don't remember the order of the resort pick ups and drops off. I also don't remember there being a Disney Transportation person at the resort monitoring bus service. (But to be honest, we have had good and bad bus service at every resort we have stayed in at Disney World).

The nice thing about Boardwalk is you can walk to EPCOT and MGM (or take the boat) and if you really want to, some people walk through EPCOT and take the monorail to Magic Kingdom or the Magic Kingdom resorts. Also, the bus stop location is not too far from the main building at Boardwalk and never felt too crowded. I think we always had a seat available on bench while waiting.

I think the bedding at Boardwalk had already changed to just the white sheets and did make a difference in overall room atmosphere. It made the room feel bright and airy and we had a nice size balcony that faced the middle of the resort/lake (which was pretty quiet).

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Hi!

Sometimes the bus service at Boardwalk would just take a long time, but I don't remember them ever being too full. We stood a few times, but I don't remember the order of the resort pick ups and drops off. I also don't remember there being a Disney Transportation person at the resort monitoring bus service. (But to be honest, we have had good and bad bus service at every resort we have stayed in at Disney World).

The nice thing about Boardwalk is you can walk to EPCOT and MGM (or take the boat) and if you really want to, some people walk through EPCOT and take the monorail to Magic Kingdom or the Magic Kingdom resorts. Also, the bus stop location is not too far from the main building at Boardwalk and never felt too crowded. I think we always had a seat available on bench while waiting.

I think the bedding at Boardwalk had already changed to just the white sheets and did make a difference in overall room atmosphere. It made the room feel bright and airy and we had a nice size balcony that faced the middle of the resort/lake (which was pretty quiet).

I just get nervous since our stay at WL was the only time we had noticeably bad bus service for the bulk of our stay. The WL boat was always fine...when it was running...but I think our shortest wait for a bus was around 25 min...longest 47 ...well, minus the morning I got an ALK bus to take us to the GF for our breakfast ADR. The walk to Epcot and the boat to DHS in that area is great. Epcot was so easy when we stayed at YC...but I guess it's the same kind of MK convenience you get with walking from the Contemporary. Good point also about the BW bedding. Decisions-decisions!