What is the Best WDW Resort?

[blue15os2004]

When going to disney which resort would you say is the best? Why?

[Len90]

When going to disney which resort would you say is the best? Why?

This is really one of the toughest questions to ever answer. Almost everybody asks this and and everybody that answers will have a different answer. I will be unable to give you just one resort since I honestly like every resort that I stayed at for different reasons. There are so many factors to think about: resort classes, resort locations, and resort amenities.

However, I will share my opinions based on where I have stayed.

Beach Club: Great resort but seemed a bit noisy in the morning when people were heading out for park opening. Not great if you plan on sleeping a bit later. Amazing pool though.
Boardwalk: It has a great night life but in my opinion it dies down a bit too early. By 11:00 there is very little left to do and that is usually when you first get back to the resort if you stay until park closing in EPCOT or DHS during EMH or MK during a normal summer day. It has a nice lobby and offers a great view. There is a plethora of dining options available
Contemporary: Not worth the money in my opinion. You are paying A LOT for the monorail. We were in the old wing that got demolished for the Bay Lake Tower. It was a big room, but cleanliness was an issue. The grand canyon concourse is really nice with shopping and dining.
Wilderness Lodge: Very secluded and quiet which I really like a lot. Along with Animal Kingdom lodge, it is a cheaper Deluxe. The rooms are slightly smaller, but still decent sized. It will save you a couple of hundred dollars. The lobby is amazing with the 6 story ceiling. It has a great dining selections and recreation possibilities but lacks A LOT in the pool size. Very disappointing for a deluxe resort.
Yacht Club: It is pretty much my favorite since it meets my criteria for a great resort. It has an amazing view of the Boardwalk and shares in the best pool on WDW property besides the Water Parks. The rooms are nice and it is very quiet. There is some good dining around it and the Beach Club.

As you can see, it is really centered upon what each individual prefers. For me, Wilderness Lodge and Yacht Club are my favorites with Boardwalk and Beach coming in second and third. Everybody on this board will offer you a different opinion.

[blue15os2004]

Hey thank you! We are going on the honeymoon and I really have only stayed in Sports, French Quarters and Caribbean resorts....Just needed to get an idea of pros and cons of each resort.

[kcarts]

Len's right. It'll depend on who you ask. For me it's the Boardwalk. But I would say that the Beach and Yacht clubs would be right there with it. My reasoning is location. I love Epcot. And I like the variety of options to eat in that area as well. Being a sports fan I like having ESPN right there to have a couple of beers and watch the Boston teams play.

[elizabethswann]

It's good that this thread is here so I can take notes for whenever my friend and I are able to go to WDW. We've been talking about it for weeks/a few months.

[Polynesian Princess]

Here's what I consider the best of each category:

Deluxe - Polynesian
I think everything about the Polynesian is perfect (hence the name )! I love everything - the location, the themeing, the food, the pool. I can hardly put in words how nice I think it is. Only thing that I would change if I could is to add a hot tub.

Moderate - Coronado Springs
Again, the themeing here is gorgeous! It's also located in pretty much the center of the parks, so nothing was a long bus ride away. It was probably the best bus service we've ever experienced at Disney. We really felt right in the middle of the magic. The pool is also one of the best on property - love the pyramid, hot tub, and how huge the pool is.

Runner Up Moderate - Caribbean Beach
While I think Coronado Springs has the edge, I have to mention Caribbean Beach. In some ways it's better than Coronado, in other ways not quite as good. I love the layout here - having the buildings grouped into small islands and the layout of the parking lots made it so that you were always close to a bus stop. Some people think it has too many stops, but we thought this was perfect. This is also one of my favorite food courts on property. I love how the check in is in a separate building from the food court and gift shop - it helps keep those areas less crowded and makes the check in really calm and serene. Love the pool here too. One thing I don't like as much is the themeing. Don't get me wrong, it's gorgeous and looks like beach houses, but I'd love it more if it had a few more things to make it distinctly "Caribbean" and if it didn't have Nemo all over the rooms.

Value - All Star Music
The theme here interests me more than the others. But what I really love is the chicken quesadillas from the food court. I wish they had them at more places! However, the buses here are a disadvantage since the All Stars share.

The two I haven't liked as much are Port Orleans Riverside and Pop Century.

Port Orleans just lacked the "wow" factor for me. It was nice, but too much of it seemed generic. Our room looked like a room in any nice hotel. It was really hard for us to find because they don't have enough signs up for it. There's one direction you can come in from where it tells you to turn onto a road and then there aren't anymore directions. Because there's no sign, you drive past the next road you need to turn on (can't see the hotel from there, so you can't tell you need to turn there unless you know where it is already) and you keep driving straight off property. It literally took us over 20 minutes driving around before we finally found it. I thought surely we must have been crazy and just missed a sign, but later in the trip we specifically looked and verified that there is no sign for Port Orleans if you come from that direction.

Pop Century wasn't bad, it's really equal to any other value. Having its own buses is definitely a plus. What makes me rank it as not good is the unfinished Legendary Years sitting there in plain sight and the food court - it has nothing interesting, just the same burgers and pizzas you can get everywhere.

[Amy]

One thing I don't like as much is the themeing. Don't get me wrong, it's gorgeous and looks like beach houses, but I'd love it more if it had a few more things to make it distinctly "Caribbean" and if it didn't have Nemo all over the rooms.

That would kind of ruin the theming for me too - they didn't have Nemo in the rooms when we stayed there.

[Polynesian Princess]

One thing I don't like as much is the themeing. Don't get me wrong, it's gorgeous and looks like beach houses, but I'd love it more if it had a few more things to make it distinctly "Caribbean" and if it didn't have Nemo all over the rooms.

That would kind of ruin the theming for me too - they didn't have Nemo in the rooms when we stayed there.

Yes, we stayed there for the first night of our honeymoon in August 2008. There was Nemo on the border around the ceiling, but the beds looked like this: http://allears.net/acc/cbr34.jpg I honestly loved that, I thought the border was cute and gave it a little flair of Disney to it. However, we just got back from staying there in the Jamaica section and our bedspread looked like this: http://allears.net/acc/cbr211.jpg I'm not sure if they've changed every island to this now or if each island's rooms are a little different. However, that bedspread plus the border was a little bit too much over the top Nemo, imo. It's not a deal breaker from me, but is a serious negative. It would have been better balanced out perhaps if they had also used some of their other sea characters, like Ariel.

[boilerbabe]

I agree, this question would be based on what people like. I would say, if you can afford a deluxe resort, I recommend staying there. The theming is a bit more detailed and tasteful and there is a hug difference in rooms and what you get. For example in the deluxe resorts, the bedding is alot better, towels, the pools, locations etc...but the deluxe resorts can be pricey. We can't always swing them.

As far as the deluxe goes...the Poly wins hands down in my opinion. This is my most fav. resort. It's one of the originals so the grounds are lush and gorgeous. You can't beat the views from the beach, Cincerella's Castle, the light pageant and Wishes at night. The pools are awesome, although I prefer the quiet pool. And you are a short walk away from the GF spa. We love the theming and the rooms are huge. We also enjoy the restaurants and this is a monorail resort, you're just a short ride away from MK! Very easy to get to Epcot too. I love the lobby and the smells there bring back so many happy memories for me. You can also get a Dole Whip at Capt. Cook's!

Our second choice with Deluxe resorts would be the Yacht Club (we've stayed at the Boardwalk too) but we took Len's advice on our last trip and tried the YC and we fell in love! It is quiet, beautifully themed, you can't beat the location (short walk to Epcot and walking distance to DHS) and the pool is fantastic!

As far as moderates go...we've stayed at the Caribbean, Coronado, POFQ and PORS. We really loved Coronado, nice theming, pool and food court area. But our fav. was POFQ, it's small, quant and nicely themed. You can take a boad ride to DTD.

I cannot comment on the Value Resorts since we've never stayed at any of them.

I think it just depends on what people's tastes are, how much you have to spend on your vacation and what's important to you.

[NaCler]

This is always an interesting topic for me. I guess you have to answer this with another question: What type of experience are you looking for?

Me personally, when I'm vacationing with my kids, we want to spend as little time possible in the resort (except for the pool area). So, we opt for the Value Resorts, mostly Pop Century since it has only one bus stop. The kids love the over-sized characters and decorations all over the resort. Plus we like to go during the off-season dates so you can get rates as low as $60/night to stay on Disney property! This is very important when you know you're going to be shelling out $$ for souvenirs/snacks for the kids all day.

Me personally, I don't see much difference between the moderate and value resorts except for maybe space and the moderates seem to be quieter.

If I am going with the wife by ourselves for a romantic getaway then I would definitely want to do the Polynesian. I don't mind spending more on the room since I know we wouldn't be buying the autograph books, hats... etc.

So, ask yourself what type of an experience are you looking for, then go from there.

[Akyriel]

Polynesian. Hawaii or Fiji longhouse. /thread

Heheh just kidding.

I kinda like Grand Floridian too... just one stop to MK from there

[horizons1]

Moved this topic to the WDW Resort forum since this thread is only about Florida.

[WVParkfan]

I think we all have our own ideas about what the "ideal" resort would be. For our family, it would be either the Beach Club or the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Most others would tell you that the "best" resorts would be on the MK Monorail Line. If that is true, then the Grand Floridian is probably the most-fancy.

[wewantsdaredhead]

Wow--this topic will get some opinions!

I agree with everyone---there is no one "right" answer. It's all about what you prefer and what you are wanting to experience.

Don't like the beach? Then don't go to a beach-themed resort.
Don't like the "Old South?" Dont stay at POFQ or POR.
Are you on a budget? Don't stay at a Deluxe Resort.
etc, etc...

My favorite resort is POR...I love that river-atmosphere and the kids LOVE the pool.
But I can't always stay there because of cost.

They all have plusses and minuses. Do your research and analyze your budget and you can't go wrong.
You might run across a grumpy CM or a bland meal, but the resorts stay open for a reason--they (mostly) know what they are doing. 9 times out of 10 you will have a pleasant experience at any Disney Resort

That's my opinion anyway...

[horizons1]

Len, I have stayed at all the ones you list except Wilderness Lodge and I agree with your assessment. While I love Beach Club, my one experience at Yacht Club does suggest that it is quieter and you still get all the benefits of convenience, pool, etc.

For Moderates, I have only stayed at POFQ, but it was really nice. Quiet, nice theme, and I didn't feel crammed in among all the neighbors.

Under Value, I have stayed at All Star Music. Never again! Thin walls, tiny room, noisy, inconvenient location.