Disney World Hotels
hktownie It really depends on how much you want to spend... if you've got $500 a night in your budget, you can't beat the Grand Floridian.
ianimal It does really depend; kids, etc. There's lots of rentals in the area, there's a row of hotels on "hotel lane" across from downtown, and Disney hotels and Disney resorts of all types and prices.
We stayed at a Disney townhome behind downtown across a beautiful lake; think they got plowed under by Disney's Saratoga Springs. Was great for entire family and had the space/amenities of a townhome while still being "on campus." I knew the area so we dined on and off campus (to save a little money), really didn't use the kitchen much.
Other times I have said at everything from Swan and Dolphin and the other resorts but never at the ones more prone to kiddie traffic. Not for me personally like the sports ones or cabin ones.
mistergoogle 
Philliesman When we take the G'kids, we stay at World Quest Resort , just off Osceola Pkwy and about 5 min from WDW - very quiet area and prices for a 3 bedroom unit are in the 150 range and, are quite nice. When we go by ourselves (we're big kids at heart), we stay at the Dolphin or Swan, they are reasonable, very nice and located right by the back entrance to Epcot with buses to MK. They're Westin properties without the usual Disney glitz. Our FL house been a bit less than 2 hrs away and we've been there 3 times this year.
OldSamGrand Floridian is not worth the money to me... If I had to pick my favorite it would be the Polynesian. They have an arcade, boat rentals, bike rentals, the best food at ohana.. Close to MK..
Booster90 I think the Polynesian is kind of cheesy. I would rather actually go to the South Pacific than stay there for the fake experience. And it's not much cheaper than GF... it might be 10% less, but it'll still cost you the better part of both arms and a leg and a half, lol.. and it's not nearly as classy.
GF also has an arcade and boat rentals and fantastic restaurants in Victoria and Albert's, Citrico's and Narcoossee's... although to be fair, I've never eaten at 'Ohana. I seriously doubt that it can hold a candle to V&A's though.
DiaHillRes2 the poly but its also a premium - you are better off doing an all star. My kid is an employee if you want assistance.
skippy I've stayed at the all stars and pop century only because they are cheap.. They really don't have much there to do other then sleep and swim. Would like to stay at port Orleans or the new bay lake one... What I really want to do is to buy one of those tree houses at disney
We stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter. It was very nice and I understand the rooms were remodeled a couple of years ago. It is smaller and quieter than Port Orleans Riverside.
Why spend a small fortune at the higher-priced places when you will be spending most of the time in Magic Kingdom / Epcot.
BTW the Disney shampoo in the room is fantastic!
maja I like the swan/dolphin because of it's location. You can walk to Epcot and there's a boat that comes right to the hotel to take you to MGM. I believe it's cheaper than the disney hotels on the monorail track, but still has quick and easy access to the parks I like. Not a big fan of animal kingdom - I think that one was a bus ride. I also thought the beds were beyond comfortable!
Now that I'm done fantasizing about where I would stay if money was no object, let me tell you where I actually HAVE stayed, lol.
We've gone down for a week four times in the last decade and always stay at a "moderate" resort. The first time we went, we stayed at Coronado Springs, the second time it was Port Orleans French Quarter and the third time we stayed at Caribbean Beach. When it was time to go down for the fourth time, we decided that we both liked Coronado Springs the best, so we stayed there a second time. There seemed to be less screaming kids and there was a cool outside bar that made great rum punches. It also had a large convention center so many of the people who were staying there weren't clogging up the buses to and from the park. The rides to each of the parks were relatively short as well. Overall, it just fit our needs a lot better.
It's funny... Like I said, we've been there four times, just the two of us. Now that we have kids, I can't envision anyone being able to drag me there, lol. That's what grandparents are for.
One thing I definitely recommend is (if you are kid free) to get the deluxe dining plan. It affords you three sit down meals per day, which is way too much food if you use them that way. But, the great part is that they don't distinguish between different meals. So, every day, we would either skip breakfast or use a "snack" voucher instead. Then, we would eat an early lunch around 11. For dinner, there are a multitude of fantastic restaurants in the parks and in the resorts themselves that require 2 meal vouchers instead of one. So, by skipping breakfast, you are able to indulge in some of the finest dining anywhere rather than getting mediocre food at the Hard Rock Cafe or somewhere like that.
With the deluxe dining, you also get a plastic travel mug with straw that you can refill unlimitedly with soda or juice for free at the store in your resort. So, smuggle a handle of your favorite booze down in your suitcase and every morning you get to start the day right with a nice stiff cocktail to hold you over until the beer stands in Epcot open up (-;
V&A is one of the top rated restaurants in Fl, if not the country. So yea, it will be tough to hold a candle to it. Ohana is excellent and fun. Le Cellier is also good in Epcot among others.
Le Cellier has a great beer selection. I think that's where I had my first Le Fin du Mond. I've always wondered if the Canadians who work in Epcot resent the fact that we apparently think of them as hicks in buffalo plaid, khakis and work boots, lol.
Kate S. I like the contemporary resort-great food and great for our family because we love magic kingdom and EPCOT so we can take the monorail right in.
Lngvly22 We went to Disney twice (the second time because my daughter won first prize in the H'town duck race contest.)
Once was almost enough, even though my kids were pretty young. We stayed at Port Orleans both times, since it seemed to offer the best balance.
Epcot was the most interesting. The Magic Kingdom was reminiscent of a run-down amusement park. The Animal whatever place was like a canned zoo tour....and I forget the other place.
Manufactured "magic" only goes so far, but YMMV. Some people love that stuff.
My kids much preferred their trip to Savannah, Georgia. That place was, at least, real.
jjmonth4 For my girls' first Disney trip this past summer, we stayed at Port Orleans Riverside. We were originally booked at Port Orleans French Quarter, but Disney came out with a 30% discount and I was able to switch hotels to Riverside, upgrade to a Royal Room (Disney Princess theme), and still save money! We loved PO Riverside! It was beautiful, convenient to all parks (by bus), and just a boat ride away to Downtown Disney. It's a moderate hotel, so not quite as expensive as a deluxe but a few more amenities than a value. We would definitely stay there again!
Jersey Girl I have stayed at all the Disney resorts, it really comes down to what your budget is.
Favorites in each resort class -
Deluxe - I am going to pick these by location
As far as hotels on the monorail - Grand Floridian is my favorite, just beautiful. Polynesian is nice too but under construction until sometime next year ( I was to say summer of 2015). Contemporary/Bay Lake I wasn't all too impressed. One down fall from these resorts is they share buses to Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom making the ride longer.
Epcot/Hollywood Studios area - Yacht and Beach Club would be my choice over Boardwalk. Love that all three are very close to Epcot and Hollywood studios, you can walk! I prefer the pool at Yacht and Beach Club better. Boardwalk does share a bus with Swan and Dolphin (which are nice too but you don't get all the on site disney perks)
Downtown Disney - Both Old Key West and Saratoga are HUGE resorts and take forever to navigate around and not ideal if you are traveling with small children and strollers. That said this are the cheaper of the Deluxe resorts. Old Key West rooms are bigger. Saratoga has a golf course.
Animal Kingdom Lodge - I prefer Kidani Village over Jambo house. Only mode of the transportation is bus from here though. Be able to see the animals is so relaxing. Very dark resort though.
Wilderness Lodge - Love the easy access to Magic Kingdom by boat from here.
Moderate Resorts - If you want a small resorts go with French Quarter since the other three are more spread out. Caribbean I felt is the most spread out and really needs an update. Coronado would win for my favorite moderate. Riverside is beautiful and upside to this resort is if you are a family of five you can still stay in one room here, where all the others are only hold 4 guests unless you have a 5th person under the age of 3.
Value - Not a fan of any of them to be honest but if I had to pick one I would say Pop is better the better for standard rooms. Art of Animation is newer (only been there about two years) and has a ton of suites (cars, nemo, and lion king) or standard Mermaid rooms. Theme of this resort is amazing but for the amount of money you pay to stay there you could stay in a deluxe basically.
Mommyof3 A most welcome thread since we'd like to take the kids (5 & 11) next year sometime for the first time. Thanks for all the info however there is so much information that it's soooooo overwhelming! I don't even know where to begin at this point. My aunt is a travel agent. It'll probably be best to consult with her and guide us??
Vic I love Animal Kingdom - make sure you get a room to wake up to the animals roaming in the morning. We sat on our deck in the morning and the giraffes would walk right underneath us - very nice!!
I like Coronado Springs also - mid-priced and a nice resort in general.
Saratoga Springs is a beautiful resort - higher priced, but it is definitely a very pretty place!!
Same as usual My hubby and I like the Boardwalk and Yacht Club - Walk to Epcot (can take monorail from there to Magic Kingdom) short boat ride to Hollywood Studios - Always wanted to spring for the Grand Floridian hear its wonderful!
trekster3- Vic...just one recommendation. Don't go in the summer for a first visit with kids. It won't be nearly as enjoyable.
Just a personal opinion but maybe consider Universal as a part of your trip, depending on the age of your kids. I lived in Florida and visited Disney and Universal quite frequently. My family and I continue to vacation there every year now that we live in Jersey. I tend to find Disney's prices on everything over inflated. I feel raped when I leave there. The hotel prices are crazy and if you staye at the Pop, just be aware that the rooms are tiny and the walls are paper thin. We heard our neighbors regular conversations and crying kids almost every night.
For the past 4 years, we now stay at the Hard Rock at Universal Studios. The rooms are great, the hotel is amazing and has the best poolside entertainment for kids and parents including dive-in movies every night. The perks are you can easily walk to the parks from the hotel and you also get VIP access to all of the rides (except Harry Potter, but you can get in an hour earlier to beat the main stream crowd). This surpasses the Disney fast pass system by far. You harldly wait for anything. We usually just take a day trip to Disney from Universal but only to visit Epcot now. My son is 9 and prefers the super heroes at Universal. He's not really into the princess thing too much.
Jazzykatt You can also catch a charter bus from any of the Disney resorts to Universal for about $25 per person round trip. It's a good midweek diversion. When we went, there was only the one Harry Potter area in Islands of Adventure and that was all we were really there for, so we only bought the one park pass.
The ticket girl was dumbfounded that I didn't want to pay an extra $80 for admission for both of us to the other park that I didn't want to go to. But now I see that they've put Harry Potter Diagon Alley in the OTHER park so you HAVE to buy the two-park ticket. Seems old Walt has taught them a thing or two, lol.
thanks all! We don't have any little littles going with us, older kids in our group. And I was interested to know more about Universal too, thanks! We love the look of the Wilderness Lodge but that's not in our budget, looking at the moderates.
botheredbyuu2 bby, that $500 only gets you the cheap room in the outer building with the view of the parking lot, lol. If you want to stay in the main building, it's over $800 a night.
We are considering a "last minute" trip to Disney over Valentine's Day weekend. We've never been there and will be bringing a 7 year old. The choices of where to stay and eat are endless and we have no idea where to start planning. I've read just about everything on the Disney threads - Mommyof3 has fabulous recos but how do we book our rooms? Do they come with park passes? We'd ideally like to fly out of Allentown on Thurs afternoon and come back on Monday - so 4 nights 3 full days. What itinerary would you suggest for that amount of time? Child isn't a huge rollercoaster lover and since he's a boy, the princess thing is definitely not for him.
I also remember seeing the name and number of a Disney Planner on the forum but cannot find it - are they just like regular travel agents you pay a fee to? Are they worth it?
3wbdwnj We go often, I do it all myself. We have stayed at lots of the resorts,and believe it or not we prefer the value resorts ....with our AAA membership we get a discount and end up paying $79 to $89 a night, We fly out of Allentown (amazing) and we wait till prices are low......the last round trip cost me $145 each.....the expensive thing is the park passes, but worth every penny....be sure to get Hopper Passes because you can go to One park in the morning and another in the evening....for fireworks and such.....they allow you the flexibility to (hop) back and forth....we go back to the resort mid day for a rest at the pool....and head out again for dinner and the evening......hope you have a great time.....
bowie 3wbdwnj - you could book it yourself on the disney website. Make sure you check out special offers sections on the website to see if you qualify for any during your trip. It's really easy to book a trip yourself, you can email me if you have specific questions. We pretty much go a few times a year.
You can book a package deal with your and park tickets. You can opt for dining plan too! As soon as you book (with park tickets) book fast passes!
What is your son into? Is there any characters he really likes?
What is the disney website you all like to use? I see disney.com, disneyworld.disney.go, wdwinfo.com, etc...plus booseter90's link above.
I think my head might explode. ;)
It's easy on the site I posted ... Pick your days, resort, dining plan, park hopper, and flight all right there... Then you can even download and app for the phone to pick your fast pass times for the rides and schedule your character sit down meals.... Before you do that stuff go in the website and request the DVD not sure what it's called but it's info on it all.. Only takes couple days to get and it free, but it will explain everything about planning a trip and what to do when you get there.
Remember that with value hotels you also get the clientele that comes with that price point, which can often be loud and obnoxious people. Last visit, we had an issue with a tour group (cheerleaders I think) being all around us and keeping us up late. After a few complaints, they moved us to a new hotel (Polynesian or Animal Kingdom Lodge - our choice) for the final night.
It's always worth paying a little bit more to get to the next level up.
btownguy Brownguy, trust me, it doesn't have to be a bargain hotel to have that happen. We've run into loud obnoxious people at very high end hotels, as well as on cruises. And they are not always young people. We've encountered many obnoxious adults. The price you pay is no guarantee of a quiet room, and switching is not always an option.
Tanya Oh I have encountered my fair share of jerks at variety of disney hotels. I remember the jerk I dealt with Grand Floridan who thought the world revolved around him. They are everywhere
Please strongly consider the better hotels - the Polynesian, or the Grand Floridian. It is well worth the few extra hundred dollars. The atmosphere, rooms and dining are better, and of course, there's the Monorail!
Reggie Voter The Boardwalk is nice too....and as a bonus you can walk to Epcot or Hollywood studio's instead of waiting for a bus.
NJSkyWatcher Thanks for your suggestions. I looked into booking and I am seeing rack rates. Is this what you really are paying? I've always thought those rates were for people who "walk in" and are looking for a room.
Are you checking under Disney's webpage under the section that says special offers?
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/special-offers/hotel-rooms-discount/
Most people don't just walk in ask for a room at Disney world. What month are you planning on going? Certain times cost more money. Like during major holidays or school breaks.
FYI, you can get special rate if anyone in your party is a veteran. There was a program called green something but you had to reserve way in advance.
Ras Ras- you are referring to Shades of Green resort. Yes military active and retired (some civilian positions too) can stay there (only open to them) but you do not get all the same perks as staying at actual Disney Resort. They do offer discount park tickets to military families but you must be able to show military id.
yes mommyof3. that special is good for dates after our stay. $359/night at a Moderate was the best I could find. :(
Bowie - I have AAA as well and am wondering if you would please pass along some of the value resort names that you like. Have you ever gone in November over the teachers convention weekend? Just curious if that's a "pricey" time to go.
Also do you have to rent a car or do the value resorts have shuttles to the parks?
Thank you :)
Hatcherymom This site should be helpful
http://yourfirstvisit.net/2015/01/05/walt-disney-world-in-2015/
And this one has some good advise too.
http://www.mousesavers.com/walt-disney-world-vacation-discounts-and-deals/disney-world-meal-snack-drink-discounts-coupons/#birnbaum
That's busy week because of President's day so the rates are higher. I believe disney is having a race that week too.
We are going to Disney since my son has never been.. but he's getting older. My son doesn't really care for the princesses!
If we go back again would consider staying at Universal and spending more time there, maybe visit Epcot for one day. If your kids are older, you may want to consider that option. There's Suess, Harry Potter and Super Heroes at Universal. My son doesn't really care for the princesses.
We've finally reserved our Disney meals but not quite sure now what to do about the fast pass or how that works. I hope all of this planning ahead means the actual trip is very easy.
Hatcherymom, we like the Pop Century,but we have stayed at All Star Music,All Star Movie and the All Star Sports....we like them because the rooms are nice, the pools are clean and big and we like the dining because in the morning we just want in and out.....check out the websites and see what they offer. We have gone in November actually for Thanksgiving, it was crowded....we have also gone in December ,to see the Christmas Decorations and lights at MGM....wonderful....and no you can get Mears shuttle service from the airport to any resort.....they make it easy for you.....trust me...we usually book dinners at the nice places before we go, and we meet friends (who live down there) for dinner most nights....Every hotel has bus service all day long right in front to take you to the different parks....so no need to rent a car......we have stayed at the best, and the cheapest, and really love em all.
hktownie
If you decide to visit Universal on your next trip, definitely consider staying at the Hard Rock Hotel. My son is 9 and we have gone for 4 years straight. That hotel is the best we have ever stayed at. We love the parks but the Hard Rock is a destination in itself. The rooms are spacious and quiet, the food is outstanding, the pool has constant entertainment including Dive-in movie nights and you can walk to all of the parks and City Walk. You never have to worry about cars or shuttles and the prices are more reasonable than disney. Also, if you stay at the hard rock, you get fast passes (which beat Disney's by a mile). We never waited for a thing. The only rides not included are Harry Potter but as a Hard Rock guest you get entry to the park 1-hour early and beat the main crowds.
Just my personal preference but highly recommended. I lived in Florida for 4 years and I always feel raped when leaving Disney.
It have a friend that can book everything for you as we'll as answer all your questions as she is a Disney travel agent. She lives here in Warren County. You pay nothing for this service, Disney pays her! Even though we had been there numerous tomes, we booked through her the last two times, as I like the idea of having someone to call if I have a problem. If you would like her info, let me know.
bac 3wb- When I planned my last Disney trip with my agent friend, I was online checking all the Disney prices and hers were all either the exact same or a few bucks cheaper. If you have never gone to Disney before, you can do it yourself, but I would highly suggest getting help from someone.
Bowie - many thanks for that info!
bac - please pm me your friend's info.....thanks!
If you want a use travel agent, I highly recommend Vicky Drakopoulos at Magic Of Mickey. She is a regular disney traveler and knows her stuff. Very helpful! her email is vicky@magicofmickey.com. Below is her FB page.
https://www.facebook.com/vickymagicofmickey?ref=br_rs
You all realize that for the prices you pay in the "land of make believe" you could actually go to South America - the land of reality - and have a huge time.
Stephan True Stephan! There are a number of beautiful natural places I would rather go myself.. but Disney is an iconic trip for the kids. What we do for our families.
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