Best Deluxe for five

[Frog]

We hit POR on our last trip (since we are a fam of five) and are now wanting/dreaming of trying something new (we are both adventurous educators!) on our next trip (tbd later!!). If we could afford a deluxe, which one would you recommend? You need more info about us you ask? Well, we have three girls, 14, 12 and 6... We hang mostly at the parks during the day, with favorite rides at all four. If it is summer, we are hitting Blizzard Beach one morning for sure! We would want to get the dining plan, but don't like reservations to get in our way of fun. One of our favorites things about POR was the boat ride to DTD to hang out in the evening... So, what say you Intercot, Where should we go (after we win tonights lottery ;) )

[CaptSmee]

for 5? I think the poly is 1 of the only resorts to offer a daybed anymore

[SBETigg]

for 5? I think the poly is 1 of the only resorts to offer a daybed anymore

I think all of the deluxes with the exception of the AKL and WL have daybeds. But I do think the Polynesian is your best option. Large rooms, nicely appointed, great location- boat to the MK beats boat to Downtown Disney for me. Also, you have the monorail. Proximity to the TTC, and monorail to Epcot. Great pools. It's a winner all around. I prefer the GF, but my kids prefer the Poly. The Beach or Yacht Club might be a good choice if you spend a lot of time at Epcot/DHS though. I know the Yacht Club offers daybeds, not sure about Beach Club.

[javamama]

I like the Poly, pool is great for the kids, location is great as well as transportation. CR they say(we're trying it in May w/our kids) is good also, big rooms w/daybeds again, good transportation, food options are good, pool isn't the best, but they have a beach! GF I think has a daybed also, my g/f just had 6 in a room there(1 was a baby) so that would work also! MK resorts have great transportation options, good food options, and MK is your background, plus the water parade is great too!

[jmj18]

I will jump in and agree...the POLY is the place I would go! Enjoy!!

[TammiMcMan]

It sounds like you enjoy a good water park and having lots of options close by. With that in mind, I would suggest staying at either the Beach Club or Yacht Club. They have a great pool area for the kids, just like a mini water park and walking distance to both Epcot and DHS. The Boardwalk offers a lot of dining and some shopping.

[Dream'nDisney]

To answer the earlier post, yes, the Beach Club does have daybeds. :thumbsup:

[tinkerbelle75]

We had a daybed at the YC and loved it (we also had 5 in the room)! The boat ride to EPCOT is super-fast and you go in at the international gateway. Good luck deciding!:mickey:

[eandrsmom]

We are a family of six, and have stayed at all 3 monorail resorts. (The baby was in a crib.) They all offer two queen beds and a daybed. I think that they all offer great options. We got an awesome deal on a Garden Wing room at the CR one year. I liked the fact that the wing has a covered walkway to the main building, in case of rain. We also could walk to MK in the mornings. Plus, you're the first stop on the monorail in the evenings from MK. The pool at the CR was okay, it wasn't themed as well as the pool at the Poly.
The GF was really pretty, and the room was very nice. The kids liked the pool. You are the last stop on the monorail before you get to MK, so you don't have to stop at the other resorts on the way there. Also, you are the first stop via boat when returning from MK. There are great dining options at the GF, so you'll have a lot of variety. My only complaint was that when it rained, some of the walkways held water, so you had to be careful of puddles when walking to the main building. There are no covered walkways to the main building.
The Poly is awesome for kids. The dining choices are good, and the pool is fantastic. Last time, we asked for a room in the Rarotonga building, and were right next to the Great Ceremonial House. (The main building.) There is a very short sidewalk between the two buidings, which helped a lot when it rained. There are no covered walkways to the main building, but the way that the resort is laid out, you can walk through most of the buildings to get to the main building.
I hope this helps. It usually doesn't rain too much when we are there. I always like to be prepared, especially with a little one in a stroller. I think either of these choices would be good, I just always try and look for the best price. Good luck!

[Frog]

Cool info, Thanks!!!
Priced out Poly... Didnt have sticker shock, but probably still need the Lottery's help! lol When you guys say that you "get great deals", have you already made up your mind to go (and let magical journeys do the work ; ) or do you punch in the numbers at every resort on the disney web site until you see something that is just too good to resist????

[MarkC]

We've had 5 at both Beach Club and Port Orleans-Riverside. Some rooms at POR have a pull out bed under one of the regular beds. BC has a couch that we had a 15 year old sleep on with no problems. Either will work and both are great resorts, as is Poly. If you can afford it go Beach Club-- if you can't choose Port Orleans. You'll love either one, and Port Orleans even has a great food court.

[SBETigg]

Cool info, Thanks!!!
Priced out Poly... Didnt have sticker shock, but probably still need the Lottery's help! lol When you guys say that you "get great deals", have you already made up your mind to go (and let magical journeys do the work ; ) or do you punch in the numbers at every resort on the disney web site until you see something that is just too good to resist????

If it looks like a deluxe is out of your price range, it's not likely that a "great deal" will come along that will put it in range. You might find something to sweeten the deal, but not change the field. If that makes sense.

I usually decide where to stay and then hope for a slight break, but know that I will be spending a good amount anyway. This time, we looked for a deal and found a nicer price on a resort we haven't tried yet. It's somewhat lower than what we normally spend at our favorite deluxe, and enough of a cut in price that it was worth trying something new. But still in the range of what we've come to expect to spend for deluxe. I used to punch in numbers myself but now I use MJ, and they offer me a range of options.

[WelshieLover]

Hi Frog

Once we decide to go, we usually have MJ price out a bunch of options including 2 adjoining rooms at a Value. For our trip last month they priced about 6 different options. We decided to stay at the BWV which we loved. Since you love DTD OKW and SSR both have the boat to DTD. I think for 5 though you may need to have a 2 bedroom there, but it still may be less than PR or the other deluxe resorts.

[eandrsmom]

I actually have gotten deals by asking the Disney rep. on the phone. If you haven't been in a while, try asking if you have any offers associated with your name/phone number. They don't automatically volunteer any discounts available, but if you ask, it may work. We've gotten discounts for the GF and CR just by asking. It certainly can't hurt.

[finaldynasty]

Like you and your DW, my DW and I are educators and we have discussed this topic w/CMs and they advised us to stay at a moderate or value if we were going to be in the parks more then 50% of the time, because we are paying for a deluxe that we are not really enjoying. Ok, so that was a really long run-on sentence, but I digress. I agree that any of the Deluxes would be fine, but on our salaries I would rather have more souvenir dollars then spend more to sleep somewhere. Just my two cents from a dad of 3 kids as well....:mickey:

[TammiMcMan]

If the dining plan is important, then this wouldn't be an option, but you could look at the Dolphin. Teacher rates can be as low as $129 per night.

[BrerGnat]

As mentioned, all the deluxe resorts except for Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom lodge have rooms that easily accommodate 5, with a daybed. If you have five in your party, you will be given a room with a daybed.

With that said, I would also recommend either Beach or Yacht Club for your family. We love waterparks too, but honestly, liked Stormalong Bay better than Blizzard Beach on our trip last month with our boys. They enjoyed it more too. That pool is AMAZING!!! The whole resort was just so nice, and I loved it!

Plus, we loved being able to quickly walk into Epcot anytime, and the Boardwalk dining/nightlife is very good. Plus, you can also walk to the Swan and Dolphin resorts, which have excellent dining as well. And, DHS is a walk or boat ride away. Overall, I think the Epcot resort area is way better than the MK resort area. While it is nice to be close to the MK, when staying in that area, that is really the ONLY thing you're close to. At night, especially, it seems sort of like you're far removed from everything other than the MK and the two monorail resorts that you are not staying at, and then you're bound to the monorail operating hours when going between the resorts. We had a late dinner one night at 'Ohana during "value season" when the MK closed at 7pm, and by the time we were done (close to 11pm), the monorail was done for the night, and we had to cab it back to the Contemporary resort. Sort of annoying...

As for "deals", I have never paid rack rate for a room at a Disney resort. There are ALWAYS special offers that we take advantage of. On our last trip, we stayed at the BC with a 40% off room rate, due to a military discount, but in the past, we've taken advantage of public room discounts, or package discounts, that Disney offers at different times of year. With the deluxe resorts, especially, it helps if you are staying in value or regular season, because those are the cheapest times to go and Disney OFTEN extends deep discounts on those time periods, or offers "free" dining, or something along those lines.

I would price out the resort of your choice for your travel dates, and then price it imagining you might get anywhere from 25-40% off and see if that makes it more feasible. Then, you can wait to see if Disney offers a discount before booking, or you can book through Magical Journeys who will do that watching on your behalf, and will credit your reservation with any discounts that come along that you can use on your trip.