Walt Disney World Trip Planning
Topic: Best Moderate Resort, and when to go?

#	Author	Message
1	tinkerbell77 Thu 8/3/2006 12:15p	Aloha folks, Well I am fairly new to the WDW side of this. But I am thinking about taking my family from Hawaii to Orlando. I am thinking about Dec 3 to the 17, yes 2 whole weeks in WDW. Not to sure if that is to long or not long enough. We probably wont get back to that area any time soon. So my question to you is if you could stay pretty much anywhere then where would it be? It will be 4 of us DH, DS(12), DD(9), and myself. We want to do it all!!! But not to sure where to stay and what usually goes on that time of the year. I know Christmas stuff, but not to sure of details. So any and all help is very much appeciated. I havent been to WDW since I was 11, so that is a long time ago!! Please help a mom in need! Thanks again.
2	Kennesaw Tom Thu 8/3/2006 1:27p	OK, first off a few questions. How many rooms are you going to have in your party? Are you planning on spending a lot of time in your room? Or are you the type that gets up first thing in the AM and won't be back to your room till midnight? If your not going to be spending a lot of time in your room then go for one of the Value Resorts. You also want to keep in mind that if you can always split up your stay at WDW at different resorts. For example stay a few nights at one resort, then stay a while at another resort. You have a lot of choices of accomidations on property some are closer and therefor much more convient to certain parks than others. Each resort is themed very differently. Generally speaking you are going to find the same quality accomidations and cast member service in any of the resorts. Sure you should expect more Magical Disney service at any of the Deluxe Resorts. I would first recommend that you familurize yourself with the different resorts. If your absolutely going to stay at a moderate then on the highend of the scale is going to be The Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge ( in that order ). If they are outside your budget then next I would choose Port Orleans Riverside and Caribean Beach Resort ( in that order ). Oh course with all the Pirates stuff going on CBR might be a fun choice. POR and CBR are going to offer lots of things in the resort to teenagers as well as adults to do, when not in the park. Each of those resorts are pretty centrally located and are very close to Downtown Disney for shopping and nightlife when the parks close. CBR and Coronado Springs are pretty large and spread out. (They have their own internal bus service ). To me this is a draw back.
3	tinkerbell77 Thu 8/3/2006 1:55p	WOW thanks, well we will only need one room. I was looking at the animal kingdom, it looked neat with the savannah view rooms. We wouldnt spend to much time in the room, but DH is the type to stay in a "nice" resort. Also I am thinking of Dec in 07. We are going to DL in Dec of this year and staying at the Grand Californian Hotel. Also we liked the idea of some of the activies on the water. There are so many different resorts that I dont know which to pick. So if it could be your ultimate vacation, then what would it include? We plan on trying to do everything, but we dont know what everything is. LOL, sorry so many questions, but Im a planner. Thanks again
4	Kennesaw Tom Thu 8/3/2006 3:40p	OK one room, that narrows it down. I would recommend a Deluxe Resort as they have queen size beds and the moderates have full size beds. Also more room for four adults to move around. As I stated in a different thread I really enjoy POR. Its definately the WL on a budget. However since your going in a "colder" month I would recommend a resort with inside corridors, again a Deluxe. So that points towards Animal Kingdom Lodge or Wilderness Lodge. If you decide on AKL definately opt for a Savana view room as high up in the hotel as possible. You also want to keep in mind that the WL, AKL as well as GC in DLR were all designed by Peter Dominic of Urban Design Group. So there are going to be a lot of simularities. Personally I enjoy EPCOT and Disney/ MGM Studios the most so I would choose a resort in between those two parks. So my ultimate would be Boardwalk. Beach Club or Yacht Club, Swan or Dolphin would work for me as well ( sorry you asked ). For you I would probably choose AKL or WL.... OR BOTH!!!!! Of course I am perfectly content with good ol POR. But your party is definately going to need a much larger room than a moderate can offer.
5	tinkerbell77 Thu 8/3/2006 4:26p	Great just what I needed. I would hate to get there and be stuffed into a room. There are shuttles that run between the parks right? Or a monorail? Sorry I dont know to much about the park anymore. The last time I went there MGM wasnt even there. So this is a while ago! Thanks again.
6	Kennesaw Tom Thu 8/3/2006 8:46p	The hotels on the monorail loop are Contemporary, Grand Floridian and Polonesian. The Wilderness Lodge and FT Wilderness Campground have boat access to/ from the Magic Kingdom. ALL the resorts have bus access to ALL the parks ( well probably except for the Contemporary, Grand Floridian and Poly probably have no bus transportation to the MK). That means if you think its too cold and your staying at the Wilderness Lodge you can always opt to take the bus instead of the boat. Definately go for a Deluxe Resort. Bigger rooms, queeen size beds. If you or any member of your party is feeling kinda stir crazy, each resort offers plenty of grounds to walk around. Oh and the Wilderness Lodge keeps their pool in the winter time so hot you can boil a potato in it ( definatley bring your bathing suits ). I have stayed at the Wilderness Lodge. I like the accomidations but I found the food choices limited. The resort is great if you like sit down meals ALL the time. But has a very limited food court. Fortunatley, they have a small grocery store in the lobby ( for the Villas ) so you can get little things like muffins and keep those in your room for late night snacks. PLEASE BE ADVISED, that EVERY RESORT does not have food available late night! So if you flight is getting in late ( after midnight ). I would highly recommend getting something to eat at the Orlando airport! Or perhaps on your way between the airport and your resort. The most late night food in WDW is going to be in Downtown Disney ( I think most of the restaurants don't close till 2 AM ). Just some advise, I found it helpful to purchase some muffins and just keep them in the room. OK, so the above post probably sounds weird and picky. All I can say is that during my last trip to WDW. My party would be up everyday and out of our rooms by 7 AM ( at the latest ). And would not return to our rooms till 1-2 AM. We did that for five days! We would do the parks and when the parks closed head over to DTD each night. There is nothing like Ghiridelli Chocolate fudge brownie sundaes at midnight!
7	MinnieSummer Fri 8/4/2006 8:07a	AKL is an excellent choice, especially during the holidays as the decorations there are breathtaking. WL decorations are also awesome in a very traditional way. I've stayed at both during the holidays and we prefer AKL. To KennesawToms post, I know a lot of people change resorts mid stay but I can't imagine packing everything up in the middle of a vacation only to move hotels. You can always visit the other hotels for meals, shopping and sight seeing. It just seems like too much of a hassle - but that's me. There are many things going on during your time frame. Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, a hard ticket event at Magic Kingdom, is a lot of fun and offers some extras that you won't get during the regular park hours. Epcot has some incredible things going on from the Holiday Storytellers to the Candlelight Processional, both of which are included in your park admission. Over at The Studios the Osborne Family Light Spectacular is also a not to be missed event. And at Animal Kingdom, you have Mickey's Jingle Jammin Parade and Camp-Minnie-Mickey all decked out in it's holiday finery with entertainment as well. Each delux resort also offers special entertainment open to anyone visiting, even if you are not staying there. This entertainment is usually in the form of Choirs or orchestras and is really quite enjoyable. OK, that's enough for now. Hope you enjoy the planning stages.
8	tinkerbell77 Fri 8/4/2006 10:38a	Ok wow, thanks. Sounds like I should stay at AKL. And I think that we will try and stay there the whole 2 weeks. Also do all of the holiday activities. I really cant wait. Is there a specific view or room I should get? And what about the bus service to and from the park, is it good? Also can you rent a car at the resort? What are some must do's outside of the park? The kids will be 12 and 9. Thanks, sorry for all of the questions.
9	davewasbaloo Fri 8/4/2006 10:59a	Hi Tink, and welcome. I am staying with my family at AKL 27 Nov - 7 Dec and can't wait. If money is not s huge issue, I recommend a Savannah View room overlooking Arusha Rock. Otherwise, there are public Animal Viewing Areas in the hotel. Remember that WDW is twice the size of Manhattan, or the size of San Francisco, there is a lot to do. There are 4 parks, 2 water parks, 2 entertainment districts and lot's of sport and recreation opportunities. The resort has over 100 attractions and 300 restaurants and shows, so set your expectation that you will not be able to do it all. Though 2 weeks gives you a pretty good experience. I find the Disney transport is fine, but allow yourself between 30 - 60 mins to move around using it. You can rent a car at the resort, and if you want to buzz around, it may be worth it, but if you are happy to take your time and want to just stay on site, I wouldn't bother wasting my money on a car. Different strokes. If you do wish to venture off site, then Sea World, Busch Gardens, Universal Studios, Universal's Islands of Adventures and Kennedy Space Center are all excellent. When I took my wife on her 1st trip in 2000, we spent 15 days at Port Orleans Riverside and rented a convertable. We spent a day at Universal, a day at Islands of Adventure, a day at Sea World, a day at Kennedy Space Center, a couple of days at the Magic Kingdom (WDW) a day at Animal Kingdom (WDW), a day at Disney MGM Studios (WDW), 3 days at Epcot (WDW), and a day at Blizzard Beach Water Park, Fantasia GArdens Mini Golf and Pleasure Island. We also spent a good 7 hours at Disneyquest - indoor theme park (an amazing arcade). We were exhausted by the end of it and really enjoyed our week long cruise afterwards to recouperate, but we found we diod so much that we really got a great flavour, but we didn't quite get to do everything we wanted. Have a great time!
10	tinkerbell77 Fri 8/4/2006 11:19a	Thanks davewasbaloo!!! Just what I needed. Now I can plan everything to the tee! I know they do Fantasmic! in WDW. Is it good? Or should I say different then DL? Thanks for all the info!

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