There are numerous reasons we love it (and now refuse to stay anywhere else). First, it is much smaller than the hotels we stayed at before (Pop, CS and the wing at the Contemp). It is so nice to have a short walk to your room at the end of a long day. Second, the crowd level is wonderful. It just never seems full or busy. The pool is never overcrowded and there is never more than a 2-3 kid wait for my kids on the slide. We also love it becuase of the Roaring Fork and the outdoor seating by the pool. It's so nice to go down there and grab breakfast by the pool before making your way to the dock to go to MK. And, the boat to and from MK can't be beat. I much prefer it to the monorail- you don't have to walk uphill, it's not crowded (i.e., you can sit), and it takes you straight to WL instead of stopping at other hotels. There is no comparison between the boat to MK and the buses. While you still hae to take the buses to the other parks, the difference is that they are never crowded (again, you can sit) and it never seems like you hae to wait for a bus for more than 5 minutues. When we stayed at the Pop and CS, we would literally wait in excess of 20 minutes for buses sometimes just to have to stand once we got on it because by that time the lines were long and they tried to cram everyone in. And, last but certainly not least, it is so serene. After hours of craziness (kids crying, yelling, screaming, fireworks, parades, etc.) it's nice to go back to a hotel where the only noise is the waterfall. It's just so calming. We loved the Comtemp, but when you get home from the park, all you hear is screaming from Chef Mickey's and monorails passing through every 10 minutes. Its just do nice to sit out on our balcony at WL overlooking the waterfall and just have a glass of wine to calm down from the day without any chaos. And, on the rare occasion I wake up before my kids, I love to have a cup of coffee out on the balcony in the morning and watch the ducks play in the stream.