Does it really matter where you stay?

[Regan117]

The resort is the most important part of our trips, so yes...it definitely matters.

 

[jsmla]

I've discovered that my resort isn't as important as I thought it was. We stayed Deluxe fairly often in the early 2000s but not since (I think) 2010. IMHO, the Deluxe resorts are nice but are in no way worth the prices Disney is charging these days.


I've come to realize that the onsite perks most important to me (60 day FP window, DME and 180 + 10 ADRs) are exactly the same whether I'm staying at Pop or the Grand Flo. I did enjoy walking to a park but for an average $300/night price difference I can sit on a Disney bus for half an hour or so.

I do miss the nicer pools in swimming weather but that's pretty much it. The parks are far and away the most important part of a Disney trip for me.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

if you couldn't have your chosen resort-would you still go on vacation?

Would you/do you have a backup resort?

For those who simply the resort is a place for sleeping; how do you select your resort?

Yes, the resort matters, but to me it's a fluid answer in how it matters. I consider the type of trip I am taking and choose a resort accordingly. I keep saying I won't stay at a Value again because I substantially prefer the moderates (decor, ambiance, amenities, room size, bed size, etc....) but on my next trip I'm staying at All Star Sports again. It's a two-night RunDisney trip and I will barely be in the room, so it didn't make sense to upgrade. I actually considered booking a nicer resort and foregoing park tickets, but I ended up needing to book through a TA and park tickets are a requirement, so Value it is! Additionally, two of the moderates are undergoing heavy construction and I'd rather not deal with that.

I'd like to stay at all the on-site Disney resorts at some point, so if I can't get my first choice, I'll pick something else if my dates are non-negotiable. If my dates are flexible, I might change those instead of the resort. You can see in my signature that I have several repeat stays at resorts (esp the Value & Moderate level) while still not having stayed at most of the Deluxe level. I have a hard time paying the Deluxe prices. Stays at those resorts will likely end up being part of a split stay trip where I pay less for part of the trip and splurge for a night or two at a Deluxe and enjoy the resort on a non-park day.

I stay at a Value when my trip is going to very busy and I won't be at the resort much at all. I actually prefer All Star Sports to Pop. I haven't stayed at All Star Movies or Art of Animation yet, but I dislike the layout of Music. Pop by itself is actually much larger than each individual All Star and Pop felt much more busy to me. I found Everything Pop to be overwhelming. I do like the new room layout, so maybe one day I'll try Pop again if I don't plan to be at the resort except to sleep.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I've come to realize that the onsite perks most important to me-60 day FP window, DME and 180 + 10 ADRs are exactly the same whether I'm staying at Pop or the Grand Flo. I did enjoy walking to a park but for an average $300/night price difference I can sit on a Disney bus for half an hour or so.

This is very true. I have not yet stayed off-site at WDW because the on-site perks (especially transit and extra magic hours) are very important to me. However, at Disneyland, the on-site perks are not as substantial and the price difference between on-site and off-site is tremendous. Additionally, at Disneyland, even off-site hotels/motels are in a prime location, so I usually stay off-site but within walking distance at Disneyland.

 

[helenm29]

Yes, it matters where we stay! a big part of our trip is just that. My DH and I like the smaller, quieter resorts just because we've done the big ones with our kids and we're done with that..lol If we can't get a particular resort we just move dates around until we can!

 

[bettybooplove]

Yes it does matter. And not because I have to stay in deluxe rooms.

For example I'd rather stay in a one bedroom villa at Saratoga Springs than any room at Grand Floridian. I'd rather stay at a moderate than the Ft. Wilderness cabins. I'd rather stay in a club level room at Polynesian than a bungalow.

So no it's never just a room to me. It's all about location, comfort and customer service.

 

[isabellea]

if you couldn't have your chosen resort-would you still go on vacation? Yes! In the past I had to change our resort from a moderate to a value for us to afford our stay at WDW. I would even stay at my least favourite resort (Pop) again if I had to in order of visiting WDW.

Would you/do you have a backup resort? I always do.

For those who simply the resort is a place for sleeping; how do you select your resort? If I use the resort only to sleep (park intensive vacation), I go with price. If we stay longer and plan resort days or a resort-only stay, I choose the resort based on price and amenities and I will be willing to pay more.

One of my lifetime goal is to visit every Disney park in the world AND to stay at every resort on property at WDW. Hopefully our budget (and exchange rate) will soon allow us to stay at deluxe but for now I am going through the list of value and moderate resorts.

 

[catfan98]

After this year's trip, yes, it does for us. We stayed onsite for the first time this year (stayed offsite last time), and we spent quite a bit of time at the resort. We stayed at BC, it was comfortable, beautiful, fun, and we really enjoyed our surroundings. We really liked the option of having an onsite TS restaurant and loved having the option of more than one transportation mode to the parks. We did a considerable amount of research before booking and combining that and our stay at BC, we decided that for us, the following applies: We don't have any interest in the Values as we don't want full beds or smaller rooms. We will stay Moderate when cost is a factor. Deluxe is preferred due to inside hallways, amenities, theme, and location. Between Moderate and Deluxe, it will really depend on our budget for the trip, with Deluxe being the preference, but Moderate being just fine if need be.

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

So far we've only stayed at deluxe resorts, but we would be willing to stay anywhere but All Star Sports (the theme is not at all appealing to us) if it meant we would be at WDW. We do have back up resorts when we book. This time I had 5 resorts on our list. We ended up with number 2. Because we're flexible with where we stay, I don't see a scenario where we would postpone a trip due to a resort not being available. We do spend most of our time in the parks, but resorts are also part of the fun for us, so I wouldn't say they are just a place to sleep.

 

[manicstreet]

Does it matter where I stay? Yes. In my old age I like the deluxe resorts the best. Specifically the poly. However, if money was tight and it was stay at an all star or not go at all, I would stay at an all star.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We have our favorites, but as long as we can get a standard room at a moderate or value (except AoA), we are fine. I don't care for CSR, but it wouldn't ruin a trip to stay there. We can't afford deluxe or DVC resorts.

 

[Cguiffreda]

We would still go if we didn't have the ability to choose our resort. We have stayed at locations close in and far away and whereas the ones closer to parks are ideal, we enjoyed the amenities that the resorts further away had to offer.
We always have a back up resort in mind.

 

[bryanb]

A group of friends is planning to go AirBnB to Disney World. They found a cheap guesthouse that sleeps 6 people for about $100-$150 a night. It's about 20 minutes away from the edge of Disney World. So I'm thinking that's 30-35 minutes away from the theme parks -- not even counting additional time to park, walk/tram across the lot, etc.

They've asked me if I wanted to go. AirBnB is absolutely not my first choice, nor my second or third. I like a nice hotel/resort for the reasons people mentioned here. But would I give up a trip to Disney World just for that reason? I think it could be fun to go either way, even without the resort of my choice, as long as the company is good.

 

[Simba's Girl]

Yes it matters. We've done lots of different types of resorts and are former DVC members. We've stayed at ASSp, Dixie Landings (POR now), CBR, SSR, WL, VWL, OKW, BWV, YC, Poly and the campground as kids. I much prefer the deluxe resorts (not the villas) now. I think it's probably due to my age and the amount of times we've been as well as our family size (5). We just don't spend as much time in the parks as we've done in the past and much prefer a home-base that is comfortable and convenient and we prefer CL when we can justify the added expense. To us the resort is just as much the vacation as the parks are.

 

[jockey]

We have stayed at a lot of disney resorts ....mostly deluxe but the kids love a few nights at some value resorts too for the theming. We don't spend a lot of time in the room and to be honest ..as long as we stay on site we are happy! We love doing split stays ..for us its the Cm's who make it ..not the actual resort!

 

[married2mm]

for us its the Cm's who make it ..not the actual resort!

I think you're the first to mention this~I know exactly what you mean.
It definitely makes a big impact.

 

[DrunkJam]

When I first went to WDW it was for my wedding, and I picked the resort I liked the look of the most, which was WL. Which we loved.
This time, we have slightly different needs.
We were hoping to stay at the Poly, but had to cancel.
When we could rebook, we got an awesome deal on GF. It still meets our criteria, I worry a little it might be too formal for us, but, it has everything we need so...

 

[Parker Clan]

It's important to us... We've stayed at CBR many times and loved hanging by the quiet, smaller pools away from the main pools. It was very important to us during our summer trips. Now after staying at the GF on our Honeymoon, we are staying there again because we ended up spending a lot of time at the resort!! We loved watching the fireworks from the pool at night, shopping & sitting in the lobby several times a day listening to the Grand Orchestra and pianist. If we were going to be in the parks all day & night it probably wouldn't be very important where we stay but since that is not the case, it's very important to us

 

[Parker Clan]

When I first went to WDW it was for my wedding, and I picked the resort I liked the look of the most, which was WL. Which we loved.
This time, we have slightly different needs.
We were hoping to stay at the Poly, but had to cancel.
When we could rebook, we got an awesome deal on GF. It still meets our criteria, I worry a little it might be too formal for us, but, it has everything we need so...

We were worried about that too last year, but I can assure you it's so not!! It's such a relaxing, inviting hotel. It's now our "home" resort for sure

 

[rebelbuddhist]

Unlike some other replies, I have to say that we would only stay at a value resort. To us, rides, experiences, and food are far more important than where we stay so that is where our $ go. We would not pay the very high room rates at the deluxe resorts since we are not at WDW to hang in a hotel or swim. We can do that for a lot less $ lots of other places. But that's what is so good about WDW- to each his/her own.