Subsonic Radio

Hi!

We've been to Disney Paris many, many times and have stayed in most of the hotels, but have only been to WDW Florida once, and haven't stayed in any of their hotels.

We are on a moderate budget (so not the "All Star Resort" standard) but are able to stretch if necessary, which hotels do you guys recommend, and why? We are looking to go in August 09.

Many Thanks,
TOM

Coronado Springs by most accounts I've heard (I've never stayed myself at a moderate, sorry) is very nice for a moderate. I've gone through there on a walk and it seems very lovely and seemed like a lot to do for a moderate w/ a nice pool and a lake w/ boating etc.- the only drawback I could tell w/o staying there was that it's kinda far from everything other than Blizzard Beach. I have friends that stay at Carribbean Beach and love it as well.

I really don't think you can go wrong with any Disney hotel as long as it's in your budget. Ex. if you're willing/able of spending for moderates or deluxes and decide to go to an All Star you'll probably feel like you're just settling for less and enjoy it less. That happened to my family when we were going to try Coronado Springs and members of extended family insisted on All Star due to cost and we didn't wish to break up from them. On the other hand if you can't afford a higher tier resort and splurge you may very well feel the pinch later and wonder why you spent so much- particularly if you're very active and rarely in your hotel.

EDIT: Also helpful to know is the size of your party and ages of children (if any).

Thanks for the help so far!

2 Adults & 2 Teens (19 & 17)

TOM

I would look at which park(s) you think you'll spend the most time at and start from there.

Of the moderates, I'm not a big fan of Coronado because it's quite spread out, and over by Animal Kingdom (where I rarely go). That and the fact it's a convention hotel; kind of a mood-killer to me. The spread out thing may not matter as much since your kids are older and as Toad said there's a fair bit to do there.

Caribbean Beach is also fairly spread out, but they also have a lake for boating as well as a cool new 'theme' pool. It's close enough to Epcot that you can see some of Illuminations at night (from some locations). Travel time to Epcot and MGM is short.

My favorite mod is Port Orleans French Quarter, 'cause it's small and I like the theming there best. PO Riverside is larger (though not as large as CBR or CS, I don't -think-) and also beautifully themed. They have a boat to Downtown Disney that I also really enjoy. Travel time to Magic Kingdom is probably the shortest from here (of the mods).

The deluxe resorts are more plentiful (and wildly more expensive in some cases). It's a little easier to pick out which resorts are closest to which parks in their cases too (I mean, monorail resorts = closest to MK, Crescent Lake resorts are walking distance to Epcot and MGM, AKL is right over at AK, etc).

Anyway ... that's where I would start if I was picking a hotel 'from scratch'. If money was no object, I would stay at the Contemporary, Polynesian or Wilderness Lodge every time. Because, sadly, money is an object, we usually stay at French Quarter and have never been disappointed.

Edit to add: Since your kids are a bit older, and if you're not hung up on all-the-time Disney immersion in terms of theming, the Swan and Dolphin, in the Epcot resort areas, are good choices as well. They aren't owned by Disney but you get all the Disney resort benefits except that you can't charge back to your room. The hotels are still Disney deluxe 'quality', but the rates are more in line with the moderates (and they have some really good deals sometimes, too). The only thing I find them lacking is ... .I mean there are no hidden Mickeys and the feel of them is more 'nice hotel' than 'nice Disney hotel'. But being walking distance to MGM and Epcot makes up for it, for me. Okay, I'll stop babbling now.

I've only stayed at an All-Star, but since my wife and I will have a little more money when we go in January 2010, we're planning to stay at Caribbean Beach.

Be prepared for the heat when you go. I don't know if you've ever been to Florida, but August is one of the hottest, most humid months of the year. I'm a native Floridian, and I'm not used to it. Drink lots of water and don't let yourself get badly sunburned.

I hope you enjoy your trip.

Hmm you probably want to aim at the moderate resorts then which would rule out a lot of my favorites. IF you are willing to stretch your budget, you could do Wilderness Lodge, it is not much more than the moderates and costs a lot less than the other deluxes.

As for the moderates, pretty much all of them are going to be spread out, some more than others. The main decision maker should probably end up being your location. What theme parks would you like to be near?

My mom has stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and she really liked it. I agree with the other suggestions that if you can stretch to get up to the least expensive deluxe resort you will probably like it more.

You didn't say how long you were going to be in town but seeing as you're coming from the UK I am going to guess several days at least. That would mean at least part of your trip will probably be spent relaxing in and around your resort, so consider the ammenities your moderate would offer and then the extra options you would get if you upgraded to deluxe.

I would go with Port Orleans French Quarter. It's pretty centrally located to all of the parks and as previously mentioned, it's smaller than the rest of the moderates, which gives it a more intimate feel. The paths across the resort are paved in cobblestone, makes you feel like you're walking through the streets of New Orleans. You can also use Riverside's pools and can take a boat to DTD.

Try going on allears.net - they have descriptions of all of the resorts as well as a review section where people can post their experiences.

The only moderate I have stayed at was Caribbean beach. and it was OK. I don't really think I'll be back as I wasn't that fond of it. (Suppose that I may have been secretly expecting a Pirate of the Carribean theme... I actually preferred Pop Century over the Carribean Beach. (Why below...)

I steered a friend toward the Port Orleans and he was quite happy with it. The problem with Coronado is that it is used for business meetings as well, which can add some "interesting" moments to your trip...

OK I actually stayed at Carribean beach first and then Pop Century. And I enjoyed the Pop century better.

buses:
Caribbean Beach has many bus stops and depending on which stop you have you may always be faced with a full bus. It was very common to have to pass on the buses, or even to watch them just pass us up because they were already full. Plus the likely hood is you are going to have to hike to and from a stop from your room.

Pop has only one stop, which sounds bad, but you won't always have to watch the first three buses pass by because they are already full up. The bonus about that one stop is that it is right outside the main building and what we did was buy the resort mugs (refillable) go in fill up and wait for the next bus with a nice drink. Made the wait wayyy more enjoyable.

Theming...

Carribean Beach: For me the theming was all on the outside. The buildings looked like some island might have. Inside, the theming isn't as evident to me. The main building seemed well themed to the Caribbean. Certainly not more so enough to warrant extra money on my behalf.

Pop, I actually enjoyed the Icons of a Decade. We had a huge Roger Rabbit outside our building. The pool was a giant computer. In the Main lobby was a wall that displayed a lot of items from the 50's to the present. It was fun locating items that member of my family had owned or even I had played with as a child in the 1960's. theming wasn't so strong inside the room here either. But if there's no difference, why pay a difference?

Convenience

Carribean: One word. Stairs. Not fun at the end of a long day especially with smaller kids. I found things harder to get to than Pop was. And it was as much a walk there (if sometimes not more so) to get to things than at Pop.

Pop: Elevators. Can takes stairs if you want, but if you are loaded down with stuff, way more convenient to take elevators. Things are still a walk at Pop, but the walk is more fun, since there is just so much to look at, like giant big wheels, and Other over sized items. Not to mention that the music changes to play what was popular during the decade of the area.

Food:

Caribbean is nice don't get me wrong. However you have fewer choices. And a bonus for them? the lines are shorter here.

Pop The food court I've mentioned before is large, and offers a lot of different choices and gives you more options if you have a picky eater in your family, like we do. Lots of choices and we liked the food a bit better at Pop.

Last thought: If you are considering the Deluxe resorts, consider renting DVC points from a member instead. While I love a good tower room with a view of the Magic Kingdom, A DVC resort will absolutely spoil you, and it can cost less.

Those are my opinions, and they aren't meant to offend anyone. But I hope it helps. Enjoy your trip

Wow! Thanks for all your help and suggestions! I really appreciate your time...

I'll pass on all your pointers to the person who will be paying the bill!

TOM

only "hotel" I've stayed at is Ft. Wilderness, and that was in a tent. I find that I'm not in the room enough while in WDW to splurge on an expensive resort. I would rather use the money I save on the hotel for souvenirs and such...

but to each their own.

I thought you could not get the dining plan if you stayed at Swan and Dolphin. I have friends that just got back and she told me that they were not eligible.

Lots of fantastic tips here!

A word of advice if the kids don't want to share a bed - some of the deluxe resorts have two queen beds and a pull-down couch for extra sleeping space. If that's what you're looking for, I'd recommend the Polynesian!

If you don't mind a little smaller quarters, my favorite moderate (so far) is Port Orleans French Quarter for the fabulous theming!

My first choice is the Polynesian!!! There's no comparing the deluxe resorts, but if you're on a moderate budget, these resorts are themed nicely as well.

I've stayed at the Caribbean Beach 3 x's, I would say this is my least fav. of the moderates. It's too spread out! But, they new Pirates of the Caribbean rooms look pretty awesome. Those were supposed to be ready as of Jan. '09! Taking the bus from this resort is painful, you have to make too many stops.

I've stayeda at Coronado twice, this is the newest of the moderates and in my opinion has the best food court. It is rather spread out, but you can always try to request a room near the lobby area. It has it's own bus running from the parks so you don't share with other resorts, which is a nice perk!

Our most recent trip was Nov. '08, we divided up our stay between POFQ and the Poly. It had been many years since I stayed at POFQ and we really loved it! It's small and quiet. You can also stay on Riverside.

I don't know if that helped, you really can't go wrong with any of the resorts. I hope you have a wonderful trip!!!!

sherabby wrote:I thought you could not get the dining plan if you stayed at Swan and Dolphin. I have friends that just got back and she told me that they were not eligible.

Ooh, that's most likely correct. I never get the dining plan so I don't know for sure, but it certainly makes sense since they're different 'corporate entities'. Good catch.

The dining experience (now known as Tables In Wonderland) is different, though. That's only available to AP holders and Florida residents.