Disney World Vacation Package

Disney World Resorts?

am going to Disney World next month with my husband and children, ages 10 and 8. What, if any, resort have you stayed at inside Disney World and what did you think of it? We are planning on staying inside and would love to get your insight. Thanks and Blessings!

Public Comments

1. It really depends on your spending limits. The Lower range resorts are much more colorful and save money - think of what you plan on doing while there - spending time in the parks or spending time in the hotel. All the resorts have multiple pools, cafeteria-style restaurants, and shopping. Best lower range - grab a cabin at the Camp Wilderness campground - there are tons of extra fun activities when you aren't at the parks, including campfires, hiking trails, biking trails, etc. Best Mid-range - we love the Port Orleans French Quarter - it was just fun. Higher range - you can't beat the Animal Kingdom Lodge. So much for the kids to see, including animals from the balcony. Really think of when you are going. Keep in mind that summer months in Florida are HOT and wet and very crowded. Best times are late fall, early spring and off holiday. Most all "school holiday" times are busy. Have fun
2. You mention you're going next month? Disney tends to book pretty quickly, so a better question might to see which resorts have availability. That said, it depends a lot on what you can spend, and what's important to you. The value resorts (All Stars, and Pop Century) are least expensive, offer two double beds per room, don't include a refrigerator in the room. They have expansive food courts, and a basic or poolside type bar area. Pop is the newest, and includes frozen coke slushies in the food court (which are not at the others) Moderate resorts (Port Orleans, Caribbean Beach, Corinado Springs) are a little more expensive, have slightly larger rooms that include two sinks each, a refrigerator and coffee pot. There will be a hot tub in addition to the pool, and a sit down restaurant in addition to the food court area. Personally I would recommend against Corinado Springs, as it's a convention hotel, and a bit too spread out for my taste. Deluxe resorts are the most expensive category, and include queen beds in the rooms, and usually feature multiple dining options, including some of the more upscale locations. You'll see the richest theming here, and the option of booking a room on concierge level. Prices vary quite a bit by resort, and can be pretty expensive. Of this category, Animal Kingdom Lodge is the least expensive, and a favorite of mine. Good luck!
3. Hello! I have stayed at many Disney Resorts, so I hope I can help! First of all, what is your budget like? Can you afford to stay at a value, moderate, or deluxe resort? Will you be spending a lot of time at the pool, or at the parks? I have starred all of my favorite resorts! If you were to stay at a value resort, here are your options: All Stars Music Resort All Stars Movies Resort All Stars Sports Resort **The Pop Century Resort I have never stayed at any of the All Stars resorts, but I have stayed at the Pop Century. It is the newest, and according to many the “nicest” value resort on property. Each value resort offers a counter service dining option, have an arcade, and themed pools and sections. Each room is about 260 square feet, with a single sink, and two double beds unless you request a king size bed. They sleep 4 people. There are also “family suites” that sleep more people and cost extra. The value resorts are a good option if you are not planning on spending a lot of time in the room and just want a place to sleep, but they are very nice resorts. If you were to stay at a moderate resort, here are your options: Caribbean Beach Resort Coronado Springs Resort **Port Orleans French Quarter **Port Orleans Riverside I have stayed at all of these resorts, except Coronado Springs, and they are all great. They all have about 314 square feet; have double sinks, 2 double beds or a king, and some have a trundle under one bed so that you may sleep 5 people in the room. Depending on the size of the resort (French Quarter is the smallest) there are multiple pools: one main themed pool, and other “quiet” pools throughout the resort. This is offered at value resorts as well. Caribbean Beach offers new “pirate themed” rooms. They also have a white sand beach, and a counter service dining option as well as Shutters, a table service dining option. This resort is very big, and offers an internal bus system. This can be a pain sometimes when you are trying to go to the “customs house” (the lobby) because it is not attached to the main resort area. Port Orleans French Quarter is a great option if you don’t want to do a lot of walking, especially when going to get food or at the end of the day. Everything is very close together, and it is themed like Mardi Gras in New Orleans. You can take the boat to Downtown Disney, or to the other resort (which you can also walk to in about 10 minutes). They have a counter service, but no table service dining option. I am staying here for the first half of my trip in March, and then transferring to Port Orleans Riverside for the other half because I love both resorts so much! Riverside is on the “other side” of French Quarter, and is themed as the Old South. You can stay in a southern mansion styled room, or the “Alligator Bayou” themed rooms. These offer trundles to sleep an extra person. There is a table and counter service dining option at this hotel. The table service restaurant is called “Boatwright’s Dining Hall”. I have never stayed at Coronado Springs, but it is used for business conferences and I have heard that there is a lot of wear and tear on this resort as a result of this. If you would like to know more about Coronado Springs, please let me know and I will elaborate, or check out the Walt Disney World website for more information! If you were to stay at a deluxe resort, here are you options: (I have only elaborated on my favorites-if you would like to know more, please feel free to e-mail me at gorgalonius@yahoo.com and I will be happy to help!) **Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge-This resort offers savannah views (of course you have to pay extra!) from your balcony-which is a 24 hour view of giraffes, zebras, kudu, ankole cattle, and many other African wildlife animals. This is the newest and “cheapest” deluxe resort. They have a counter service dining option called, “The Mara” and 2 table service dining options. “Boma” and “Jiko”. This is one of my favorites because of the animals! I have paid for a standard view a few times when I have stayed here and gotten upgraded to a savannah view free of charge! But, this usually only happens during the value or regular season. **Disney’s Beach Club Resort-This is my absolute favorite resort on Disney property! Why? Because I love the old time new England Beach theme, and the fact that I can walk to Epcot in 5 minutes, or Hollywood Studios in 15! You can also take the boat to DHS. This resort gives you a break from taking the WDW buses which can sometimes be very crowded. You can also walk through Epcot and take the monorail to Magic Kingdom. There is a buffet style table dining service called Cape May, open for breakfast and dinner. It is a “clambake” offering seafood as well as many other things. Depending on where your room is, you can also watch the Illuminations fireworks at Epcot from your balcony! You can usually hear the music from any balcony. There is also a white sand beach that offers movies on the beach and s’mores! The pool has a sand bottom pool and a pirate ship water slide, as well as a current pool. You can also walk to the Yacht Club from here to eat at their restaurant. There is an ice cream/diner style restaurant called Beaches n Cream at the Beach Club and it is delicious! There is also food poolside. You can also get a manicure/pedicure or haircut at the salon there! Disney’s Yacht Club Resort Disney’s Boardwalk Inn Disney’s Contemporary Resort Disney’s Polynesian Resort Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Walt Disney World Swan Hotel Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel The Polynesian, Grand Floridian and Contemporary offer monorail service to magic Kingdom, but these resorts are the priciest and can get very crowded. All of the deluxe resorts offer world class dining experiences, have great elaborately themed pools, larger rooms, and concierge level options. They also have fitness centers, and prime locations. You can take the Walt Disney World transportation system buses from any resort to any park or Downtown Disney free of charge. If you are flying into Orlando, you should also take advantage of Disney’ Magical Express, which is also free. Disney buses will pick you up from the airport when you arrive, and you have the option to have them deliver your luggage to your room later that day. They will also bring you back to the airport when it is time to leave if you wish. When you make your reservation mention this service. If this is your first time to the Walt Disney World Resort, here is a very important piece of information! Use your park ticket to get a Fast Pass for the rides. It does not cost anything extra. All you do is go to a kiosk outside of the ride, slide your ticket in, and it gives you a small piece of paper telling you when to come back to the ride. You can get on it with little or no wait. It holds your place in line while you can go and enjoy other things in the park. It is available at all 4 theme parks, and you can use it anytime after the start time printed on the ticket. A lot of people don't realize they can do this, and feel overwhelmed by the lines, and end up leaving the park. If you would like to know anything else, about dining, attractions, or have any other questions, please feel free to e-mail me or ask another question!!! You can also check out my other answers to see if I have covered something in there that I have not here! Have a magical trip!!
4. If on tight budget: Pop Century! stayed there 3 times and loved every minute of it! Cool themed pools, nice rooms (though very small, but who spends a ton of time in there anyhow?) Great food court and excellent bus service. Also love Wilderness Lodge if not on tight budget, the surroundings are amazing, and excellent restaurants. If you like animals, the Animal Kingdom Lodge cant be beat, again expensive but awesome to sit on your balcony and watch the animals. Also, consider where you plan to spend most of your time. If at the Magic Kingdom, consider the resorts connected to the Magic Kingdom by monorail: The Contemporary, the Polynesian & The Grand Floridian (all expensive), but all have very easy access to the MK, bus service to the other parks and Downtown Disney, and excellent dining options. Staying at one of the Epcot resorts is also a good thing - walking distance to Epcot, boat service to Hollywood Studios, bus service everywhere else, and each one has good restaurants and is within walking distance of the others so plenty of dining options within a 10 min. walk - The Yacht Club, The Beach Club, The Boardwalk, Swan & Dolphin - all expensive, and the Swan and Dolphin are not owned by Disney though they do have Disney transportation. I'm not a huge fan of the moderate resorts (The Carribbean, Port Orleans, Riverside & Coronado)- the rooms are only a small amt bigger than those at the Value resorts, and they dont offer much more except for the fact they do have table service dining, none of which was anything to get too excited over, and the resorts are HUGE and involve a ton of walking, you're better off either saving money and staying at the Value resorts or spending extra and going for a deluxe.
5. We have stayed at Polynesian Wilderness Lodge Cabins Saratoga Springs Villas Animal Kingdom Lodge. Poly has rooms for 5. that extra small bed comes in handy. Has a beach to play in and a night time parade on the water that goes by the beach. Beautiful decor inside and out. Close to TTC. Great boat ride to the MK . WLC- Have a separate bedroom and a kitchen. Great if you need extra room. Didn't like the transportation. There are bus routes inside the resort to you have to take to the main building, where you wait for another bus to take you to the disney parks. Saratoga S. We had a one bedroom villa. Wonderful sunken tub, worth the price of the villa alone. Great to have a fridge and washer and dryer. Very clean and quite, not very "disney" in decor. Easy walk to downtown Disney. AKL-Our favorite. We had a savannah view, which has animals right outside your balcony. I can't believe how much everyone in the family enjoyed it. Great activities for kids. Big firepit outside to sit around. Place to watch the animals if you don't have a view from your room. Great counter service restaurant by pool. Transportation was all buses, but we had no trouble or long waits at all. we were there in June.
6. I go to Disney every year but I have never stayed in a Disney Resort, one reason being that unless you stay in one of the expensive ones then you are not near to the theme parks. Another reason is I prefer to stay in a villa and have lots of room as well as a private pool and spa. If you would consider a villa check out; www.orlandovillas-florida.com
7. Their are many nice resorts at disney world I have stayed at Coronado Springs, this one is very nice rooms are very nicer and has an excellent pool. The all star resort are good if you want to save money. They are like typical hotel rooms and each one has a theme and themed pools also they have a food court.