While helping some friends plan their first trip to WDW last weekend, I was asked the ever-popular question, "Where would you stay?"
However, this question can be more difficult to answer than you think. I mean, I could ask myself this question on so many levels. For example:
Where would I stay if money was no object?
Where would I stay if I was on a tight budget?
Where would I stay if I wanted a really unique atmosphere?
Where would I stay if I wouldn't be in the room that much?
Where would I stay if I wanted to be closest to the Magic Kingdom?
Where would I stay if distance to the parks is not a factor?
So, as you can see, I could answer these questions any number of ways (and I will answer them at the end of the post cuz I know you are probably dying to know what I'd pick for each ?).
For those of you who aren't familiar with the categorization of the Disney properties, it is structured into Value, Moderate and Deluxe hotels.
The value hotels are just that...the cheapest hotels on Disney property. I say cheapest strictly from a money standpoint. These hotels still have a lot to offer and the themeing is some of the best on property. The room size is comparable to the size and layout of a Holiday Inn or Days Inn. The room access is from the outside with covered hallways. Rooms are in satellite buildings to the main building which houses the front desk/lobby, food court and gift shop. There is no table service restaurants at the value resorts and for the most part they are positioned on property the furthest from most of the theme parks. These hotels are fun, colorful, and unique in design/themes. The Value resorts are:
However, this question can be more difficult to answer than you think. I mean, I could ask myself this question on so many levels. For example:
Where would I stay if money was no object?
Where would I stay if I was on a tight budget?
Where would I stay if I wanted a really unique atmosphere?
Where would I stay if I wouldn't be in the room that much?
Where would I stay if I wanted to be closest to the Magic Kingdom?
Where would I stay if distance to the parks is not a factor?
So, as you can see, I could answer these questions any number of ways (and I will answer them at the end of the post cuz I know you are probably dying to know what I'd pick for each ?).
For those of you who aren't familiar with the categorization of the Disney properties, it is structured into Value, Moderate and Deluxe hotels.
The value hotels are just that...the cheapest hotels on Disney property. I say cheapest strictly from a money standpoint. These hotels still have a lot to offer and the themeing is some of the best on property. The room size is comparable to the size and layout of a Holiday Inn or Days Inn. The room access is from the outside with covered hallways. Rooms are in satellite buildings to the main building which houses the front desk/lobby, food court and gift shop. There is no table service restaurants at the value resorts and for the most part they are positioned on property the furthest from most of the theme parks. These hotels are fun, colorful, and unique in design/themes. The Value resorts are:
The next category up is the Moderate hotels. These resorts are a price-point increase to those in the Value category. However, you get a few more amenities/perks for this price. The room size and layout is just a tad larger if at all, however, each room comes with a small fridge (just a sidenote - you can get fridges for the value resorts, you just have to pay a rental fee for it). The rooms are also in satellite buildings to the main lobby building and have outside access with covered hallways. Unlike the Value resorts, there is a table service restaurant in each of these resorts as well as a food court (with the exception of Port Orleans French Quarter). The pools have water slides and a bit more themeing to them. Their proximity to the theme parks is also a bit closer than those of the Value resorts. The Moderate resorts are:
- Port Orleans Riverside (formerly Dixie Landings)
- Port Orleans French Quarter (formerly Port Orleans)
- Caribbean Beach Resort
- Coronado Springs Resort
- Cabins at Fort Wilderness Campground
The Deluxe category of hotels is those hotels with lots of bells and whistles. These hotels can often accomodate families of 5 or more. There are suites available (there are family suites in All-Star Music). The room size is larger, the closet is a bit more seperated from the bath and vanity area (which is also larger). These rooms also have fridges at no extra cost. The access to your rooms is from an interior hallway and most of the time in one main building with the lobby/restaurants or one or two very close satellite buildings. The pools are much larger and and offer more activities. There are often two or more restaurants to choose from. They even have children's programs to drop off eligible kids (potty trained and age 4-12) for supervised entertainment and crafts! Lastly, they are extremely close at least one of the theme parks (three even being on the monorail line directly to Magic Kingdom). The resorts in this category are:
- Grand Floridian Resort and Spa
- Wilderness Lodge
- Contemporary Resort
- Polynesian Resort
- Yacht Club
- Beach Club
- BoardWalk Inn
- Animal Kingdom Lodge
Some other great reasons to stay on property are the complimentary transportation service to and from the parks and Downtown Disney (bus, monorail, and boat), Disney's Magical Express (complimentary airport shuttle service), and Extra Magic Hours (entry into the parks on specified days 1 hour early or 1 hour later, those who do not stay on property do not have this privelege).
So, now that you know a little about what each has to offer, may I offer my choices for the above questions, with a brief description of why I would choose it.
Where would I stay if money was no object? - Beach Club in a suite (although I haven't stayed there, I love the theming and the pool is phenominal!)
Where would I stay if I was on a tight budget? - Pop Century (fantastic theming, great food court, and I love taking pictures with the giant Mr. Potato Head and Rubik's Cube)
Where would I stay if I wanted a really unique atmosphere? - Hands down, Animal Kingdom Lodge (the rooms with the Savannah view are awesome...watch giraffes and other animals grazing right outside of your balcony, where else could you stay somewhere like this without going all the way to Africa!)
Where would I stay if I wouldn't be in the room that much? All-Star Music (not really a fan of this hotel's theming, but if I wasn't going to be in the room a lot, but still wanted to be on property and save money, this is where I would choose)
Where would I stay if I wanted to be closest to the Magic Kingdom? Grand Floridian Resort (great theme and you can walk or take the monorail right to Magic Kingdom)
Where would I stay if distance to the parks is not a factor? Coronado Springs Resort (it isn't too far from the parks, but still further than some. We really enjoyed staying there Easter 2009)
And lastly, since I know most of you are thinking it...What is my favorite hotel? Of all the ones I have stayed in (Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Caribbean Beach Resort, Coronado Springs, Port Orleans French Quarter, and Pop Century), Wilderness Lodge is my personal favorite. It has a great location with just a boat ride from Magic Kingdom. The main lobby is gorgeous. I just love walking into it and hearing the grand music from old western movies such as "Magnificent Seven" or "How the West was Won"! The restaurants there (Artist Point and Whispering Canyon Cafe) are among my top 10 in the entire WDW property (one of which is in my top 2, but that is another post)! The rooms are very well themed (there I go using that word again, but that is what staying on property is all about) and can offer great views (if you choose to get an upgraded view)!
Disclaimer: These tips are soley based on my personal experience and opinion and are in no way endorsed by the Walt Disney Company!
For more tips, either click the button at the top or on the sidebar to the right!
So, now that you know a little about what each has to offer, may I offer my choices for the above questions, with a brief description of why I would choose it.
Where would I stay if money was no object? - Beach Club in a suite (although I haven't stayed there, I love the theming and the pool is phenominal!)
Where would I stay if I was on a tight budget? - Pop Century (fantastic theming, great food court, and I love taking pictures with the giant Mr. Potato Head and Rubik's Cube)
Where would I stay if I wanted a really unique atmosphere? - Hands down, Animal Kingdom Lodge (the rooms with the Savannah view are awesome...watch giraffes and other animals grazing right outside of your balcony, where else could you stay somewhere like this without going all the way to Africa!)
Where would I stay if I wouldn't be in the room that much? All-Star Music (not really a fan of this hotel's theming, but if I wasn't going to be in the room a lot, but still wanted to be on property and save money, this is where I would choose)
Where would I stay if I wanted to be closest to the Magic Kingdom? Grand Floridian Resort (great theme and you can walk or take the monorail right to Magic Kingdom)
Where would I stay if distance to the parks is not a factor? Coronado Springs Resort (it isn't too far from the parks, but still further than some. We really enjoyed staying there Easter 2009)
And lastly, since I know most of you are thinking it...What is my favorite hotel? Of all the ones I have stayed in (Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Caribbean Beach Resort, Coronado Springs, Port Orleans French Quarter, and Pop Century), Wilderness Lodge is my personal favorite. It has a great location with just a boat ride from Magic Kingdom. The main lobby is gorgeous. I just love walking into it and hearing the grand music from old western movies such as "Magnificent Seven" or "How the West was Won"! The restaurants there (Artist Point and Whispering Canyon Cafe) are among my top 10 in the entire WDW property (one of which is in my top 2, but that is another post)! The rooms are very well themed (there I go using that word again, but that is what staying on property is all about) and can offer great views (if you choose to get an upgraded view)!
For more tips, either click the button at the top or on the sidebar to the right!
6 comments:
Sorry I messed up my first comment. I meant to say, Great choices. I love love Pop Century. We've stayed there twice. I want to stay at the Polynesian someday.
We've tried most of them and I hope to complete the tour some day. Mainly values left - I don't like the values as much.
Beach Club, AKL, and WL are my 3 faves!
This info is FANTASTIC!
We love the Beach Club and the New Orleans one!!!
I will have to come back to this when we decide to go! A friend of mine also did the internship thing that you did. Fun!
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