What is your favorite WDW Resort?

[mjaclyn]

I love staying on property at WDW. It's an experience in and of itself. I haven't been able to stay in every resort yet, but it is definitely a goal of mine!

My personal favorite is the Polynesian resort. There is something so magical about walking into the Great Ceremonial House to the familiar sounds and smells of the lobby. I LOVE the volcano pool, the view to the Magic Kingdom, the beach, the Kona Cafe and the Monorail. *Sigh* I can't wait to go back!

VERY Close to being my favorites:
Animal Kingdom Lodge
Beach Club

What is your favorite resort? (I could only include 10 on the poll, sorry to those I had to leave out!)

[tikiman]

Well for me the Polynesian is just perfect for me since I love traveling to Hawaii and Disney so I get both in one place. I also don’t feel like I am just in a Hotel but I feel like I am staying in Adventureland. I also cannot beat the location and view. I love Epcot and we have tried the Epcot resorts many times (and are going to try the Boardwalk next) but every time I stay at the YC or Swan or Dolphin I feel I can access Epcot faster from the monorail (8 minute ride) than walking from the resorts over there (10 minute walk from YC or 18 minute walk from Swan and Dolphin). I much rather take the monorail than walk in the heat or rain especially with a stroller now. We still enjoy all the things over near the Boardwalk but than getting to other parks is not as fast from there as it is from the Polynesian. The bus to MGM is faster than the boat from the YC or walking and I did not like sharing a bus with 5 resorts. We also never seem to get over to the MK when at the Epcot resorts. We also tried AKL and liked the resort and loved the food but it was much too isolated for us. We like to be able to hop on the monorail to the other monorail resorts also to eat or shop. That and having the largest standard rooms on property and all the new things they have done in the last few years makes the Polynesian our favorite.

[CanadianWDWFan]

While our family favourite is POFQ, but we like the BWI as well. The proximity to Epcot it the big plus of BWI.

[Goofy Pilot]

It's hard to pick just one, but I chose Wilderness Lodge. It's just given us more family memories than any other resort. We love the theming, the great boat ride to MK, the pool, the restaurants. Polynesian is a very, very close second place for us, mostly because of the unmatched transportation options available there.

[tikiman]

It's hard to pick just one, but I chose Wilderness Lodge. It's just given us more family memories than any other resort. We love the theming, the great boat ride to MK, the pool, the restaurants. Polynesian is a very, very close second place for us, mostly because of the unmatched transportation options available there.

Hey Goofy Pilot. How did you like the Grand Californian? We stayed there in 2005 and I think we liked the Disneyland Hotel better but it was a nice place. The rooms were a little small for us. I saw it in your signature so I was just curious of your impression.

[Goofy Pilot]

Hey Goofy Pilot. How did you like the Grand Californian? We stayed there in 2005 and I think we liked the Disneyland Hotel better but it was a nice place. The rooms were a little small for us. I saw it in your signature so I was just curious of your impression.

We loved it. Speaking of transportation options, it was hard to beat being able to literally walk out of the hotel and right into the middle of California Adventure. Or you could walk a little further and be in Disneyland. The ability to walk everywhere within Disney's California property was quite nice.

We found the room, the shape of the resort, and just about everything else to be very similar to Wilderness Lodge, albeit with slightly more of an "Arts and Crafts" decorative flair to it. Unfortunately, one of the other similar aspects was a somewhat small room size, at least when you compare it to the Polynesian, for instance.

We didn't get to eat much in the restaurants. We only ate in the main one once, during a Character Breakfast. However, I must say that is the best character breakfast, both in terms of the awesome breakfast buffet, and in character interaction, we've ever had. Usually, the character breakfasts at WDW seem to feature stale pancakes & waffles, cold eggs, etc., (no offense, but this has been our experience with about 5 or 6 different ones at WDW) but this breakfast was superb, with all sorts of different meats, eggs, fruits, and all sorts of characters spending quality time with my kids. I wish we had made time to eat dinner in there.

The pool was nice. I loved the fact that there was a "feature" slide and a "kiddie" slide. My oldest DD, then 6, would not do the feature slide, but must have gone on the kiddie slide about 200 times. Even our youngest DD, then not quite 3, rode that. I wish WDW resorts had that option.

Another thing the Grand Californian did that I wish WDW resorts would implement more is simply install a locked fence around the pool. Generally, we needed a room key to open the gates to the fence. Now, you could always just wait for another guest to come by and open it, and sneak in, but I found that there seemed to be zero problems with anyone "pool hopping" here that wasn't a paid guest. I realize it might be difficult to install at some resorts (for both aestetic and logistical reasons), but it sure made things nice for the paying guests, and for the lifeguard CM's who only had to focus on safety, and not on who may or may not be paying for a room there.

The poolside drink/food service was pretty convenient too.

We'd stay there again, but going to DL was probably a once-in-a-lifetime thing for us. If we go back to SoCal, we'll probably stay in San Diego, rather than the LA area, and we'll probably do Legoland more than DL. Legoland is worthy of an entire message board all its own.

[BrerSchultzy]

my favorite USED to be the Contemporary...but they're ripping it to shreds and selling it off for timeshares...so, until they do that to the Poly, I'm votin' for Poly.

was that bitter?

[Goofy Pilot]

my favorite USED to be the Contemporary...but they're ripping it to shreds and selling it off for timeshares...so, until they do that to the Poly, I'm votin' for Poly.

was that bitter?

Maybe slightly bitter.

I don't blame you one bit, though. I personally have never been a big fan of CR, but I certainly understand its sentimental value to those who do appreciate it. Fortunately, my favorite - WL - had DVC pretty much built into it from almost the beginning. But if they started ripping into the Poly for DVC, I think some people might revolt. To say I would be bitter about it would be an understatement.

[tikiman]

We loved it. Speaking of transportation options, it was hard to beat being able to literally walk out of the hotel and right into the middle of California Adventure. Or you could walk a little further and be in Disneyland. The ability to walk everywhere within Disney's California property was quite nice.

We found the room, the shape of the resort, and just about everything else to be very similar to Wilderness Lodge, albeit with slightly more of an "Arts and Crafts" decorative flair to it. Unfortunately, one of the other similar aspects was a somewhat small room size, at least when you compare it to the Polynesian, for instance.

We didn't get to eat much in the restaurants. We only ate in the main one once, during a Character Breakfast. However, I must say that is the best character breakfast, both in terms of the awesome breakfast buffet, and in character interaction, we've ever had. Usually, the character breakfasts at WDW seem to feature stale pancakes & waffles, cold eggs, etc., (no offense, but this has been our experience with about 5 or 6 different ones at WDW) but this breakfast was superb, with all sorts of different meats, eggs, fruits, and all sorts of characters spending quality time with my kids. I wish we had made time to eat dinner in there.

The pool was nice. I loved the fact that there was a "feature" slide and a "kiddie" slide. My oldest DD, then 6, would not do the feature slide, but must have gone on the kiddie slide about 200 times. Even our youngest DD, then not quite 3, rode that. I wish WDW resorts had that option.

Another thing the Grand Californian did that I wish WDW resorts would implement more is simply install a locked fence around the pool. Generally, we needed a room key to open the gates to the fence. Now, you could always just wait for another guest to come by and open it, and sneak in, but I found that there seemed to be zero problems with anyone "pool hopping" here that wasn't a paid guest. I realize it might be difficult to install at some resorts (for both aestetic and logistical reasons), but it sure made things nice for the paying guests, and for the lifeguard CM's who only had to focus on safety, and not on who may or may not be paying for a room there.

The poolside drink/food service was pretty convenient too.

We'd stay there again, but going to DL was probably a once-in-a-lifetime thing for us. If we go back to SoCal, we'll probably stay in San Diego, rather than the LA area, and we'll probably do Legoland more than DL. Legoland is worthy of an entire message board all its own.

We did like being close to the parks and the food was great at the GC but they always made the entrance to the CA park seem like it was exclusive to GC guests but anyone who knew the entrance was there could walk right through the resort and use it. We also found that there were a lot of long corridors to get out of the hotel. The walk from the Disneyland Hotel was not much farther and the rooms are much larger and recently redone. I guess they just built them bigger back then. There was no discount at the time available for the GC so we paid about twice as much as we would have for an AAA room at the Disneyland Hotel (that was available for the same dates) but we are glad we tried the hotel.

The whole place is an improvement over the old Disneyland and waiting for the tram or the huge line for the monorail just to get over to the parks. I like that you can walk now.

Yeah both resorts were smart and made access to the pools require a key but than they have people wandering in from off property very easily.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

If you do make it back try the Disneyland Hotel.

Legoland??? Really?? I have lived in California my whole life and never met a Californian that said Legoland was worth going to. Maybe we will check it out.

Aloha

Steve

[tikiman]

my favorite USED to be the Contemporary...but they're ripping it to shreds and selling it off for timeshares...so, until they do that to the Poly, I'm votin' for Poly.

was that bitter?

I can tell you that everyone I have spoken to tells me that the Polynesian will never get a DVC as part of it.

[Catzle]

I chose the Poly, it's pretty much the only resort we have stayed at as a family. My husband and I did stay at the old dixie landings about 10 years ago but only for one night.
Poly has everything we could possibly want from a resort, just love the place!

[WVParkfan]

You left out "Coronado Springs Resort!" It is our favorite - by far.

We would love to try the Animal Kindgom Lodge, but it is too far outside of our budget. We've stayed at the All-Stars, POP, Caribbean Beach and Coronado. Of those, Coronado Springs is our absolute favorite!

[Goofy Pilot]

Legoland??? Really?? I have lived in California my whole life and never met a Californian that said Legoland was worth going to. Maybe we will check it out.

Yes. Really. It is simply a fantastic park. It looks as though it has been greatly improved recently, or it must not be a very old park overall. Everything in it just seemed new and sparkling, like the parks in WDW. It doesn't have a huge number of rides, but it's got just enough good ones to kill a lot of time. Many of the ride queues, especially for the more family-oriented rides, had little areas set aside for kids to play legos in. That is a simple, but brilliant idea. No whining, tired kids. They play legos while the adults wind their way through the line. Then right before you board the ride, you pick your kids up and get on. Simply marvelous.

Part of my attraction to Legoland may also have been the weather. The day we went the high was about 73 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, and there was a really nice breeze blowing in from ocean, about 2 miles away or so. There are some points in Legoland (it's hilly) where you can reach the apex of the ride, and see for miles around, including the ocean. Breathtaking.

Also, many of the rides there are quite innovative. One of the rides is sort of a bungee-type lift 'em/drop 'em ride, except that you control the drops and rises, using pulleys, etc. So you can get a thrill, but if you know the G's are coming and can control them, it's much more fun than scary. It's a ride that even small children can ride. Many rides there are innovative in such ways. The Volvo driving school is a blast for kids.

The Lego dioramas there are simply unbelievable, as in moving Lego marching bands, moving Lego buses, whole city skylines, etc. My descriptions don't do them justice, and never could. You just have to see them.

My only beef with Legoland was that it closed at, like, 5 or 6 PM, and didn't open until 10 AM. We really had to rush through some rides. I guess that's their way of getting people to come for a second day. They will probably have me back for multiple days someday.

IMHO, it is more than worth a trip to Carlsbad, which I think is only about 15 miles or so north of San Diego. We didn't hit any of that famous traffic on the way from Anaheim down to Carlsbad, and never saw much of an increase in traffic as we neared S.D. I'm wanting my office to find some excuse to build a probably way overpriced branch in Carlsbad, and I've volunteered my services to run it. Then they just have to pay me some king's ransom salary to afford the housing in that area. I don't even want to know the median home cost there.

Sorry I'm so off-topic, but I could go on about Legoland all day.

[tikiman]

I don't even want to know the median home cost there.

Sorry I'm so off-topic, but I could go on about Legoland all day.

The Median home price ($500K-$800K depending on the area) is not the killer, it is the property and sales tax.

By the way back on topic.

My second choice vote would have been a tie with AKL and YC but I might change my mind after my May visit to Boardwalk.

[Goofy Pilot]

I realize I forgot to mention another reason why WL is my favorite: cost. It generally costs the same as AKL, and these two are the least expensive of all the Deluxe resorts. For that lesser amount, though, I don't feel I am lacking for quality service or amenities compared to the more expensive Deluxes.

[Lehman Family]

My wife and I are partial to the Caribbean Beach Resort. We've both stayed there multiple times and love it. In the future we want to start staying at other resorts, but until we find one we like better, CBR is our favorite.

[Jimenyfan]

Mine would definetly be a toss up between the Yacht Club and Polynesian. They are 2 such different resorts but I love each of them. This year we are trying WL again and I really hope its better than our last stay. WL is such a beautiful resort I really want to like it.

[4ubie1]

Polynesian

[RedSoxFan]

I've only stayed at POFQ and AKL. I voted for AKL -- thought it was amazing.

[DisneyorBust]

As you can tell by my signature the POLY is our favorite. We've stayed at the Grand Floridian, nice but not our style. We toured the Yacht and Beach Club and left with no desire to stay at either. I intend to check out Carribean Beach, it looks like a great resort. Contemporary, what can I say? A very bad experience coupled with never having much of a desire to stay there will keep us away.
The POLY has us spoiled, location & convenience to both MK and Epcot keeps us going back.
You ever notice that the POLY lovers come out in force when there is a resort question!!