first trip...deluxe resorts!

[FunkyTyger]

Hi guys!

Preparing for first trip ever...please help

Q1. Can I please have a list of all the deluxe WDW resorts? I can only find a list of ALLL the resorts, then I have to click into them to find out if they're value, deluxe etc...

Q2. If we stay in one resort for a week then another for a week, will they move our stuff from one resort to the other for us? Both for stuff in the rooms and stuff that we buy in gift shops and then get sent back to the resort (or should we get stuff we buy in gift shops sent to the last resort we're going to stay at...or just pick it up and take it to our rooms...etc?)

Q3. I read some reviews of Polynesian because I thought it sounded like one I'd love, but the general consensus was a bit more gloomy? Any thoughts? People seemed to say the foodcourt was a bit dismal and also it doesn't have it's own spa.

Thanks chickadees,
Funky.

[mxrapu]

Go to www.disneyworld.com, click on "Places to Stay" and select "Deluxe Resorts" from the drop-down menu.

Yes, bell services will move your luggage from one hotel to another.

I have not stayed at the Polynesian in about 8 years, so I cannot comment on it's current condition. However, we loved it at the time.

[GusMan]

Never stayed at the poly but I will say that the food court is rather small, but good. We went there during a recent trip and liked the options.

[DisneyFunFamily4]

Yes, they will move all your belongings. They make it very easy, we've done it a few times before, they pick it up in the morning and have it to you by early afternoon. you can have your purchases sent back to what ever resort you are at, I believe the general rule is they will have it at your resort by 3pm the next day. the only exception would be if you are checking in to a different resort the next day they can not send it to that resort until you have physically checked in.

We have not stayed at the Poly, but we have spent alot of time there since we've stayed across the street at Shades of Green and it's very easy to to walk across the street to the poly. it is a great location and we LOVE Kona Cafe and Ohana's. We are DVC members so we wont be staying at the poly anytime soon unless they have plans for a new DVC resort at the poly. or they have a smoking hot cash deal. People love it and rave about. Like I said for us it's all about location. we love Bay Lake Towers for the location. we have also stayed at the boardwalk which is very convenient to DHS and Epoct. We loved wilderness lodge and we are getting ready to stay there again. And we have also stayed to the AKL. I think AKL and WL are the two 'least expensive" of the Deluxe resorts.

[mkraemer]

Hi guys!

Preparing for first trip ever...please help

Q1. Can I please have a list of all the deluxe WDW resorts? I can only find a list of ALLL the resorts, then I have to click into them to find out if they're value, deluxe etc...

Q2. If we stay in one resort for a week then another for a week, will they move our stuff from one resort to the other for us? Both for stuff in the rooms and stuff that we buy in gift shops and then get sent back to the resort (or should we get stuff we buy in gift shops sent to the last resort we're going to stay at...or just pick it up and take it to our rooms...etc?)

Q3. I read some reviews of Polynesian because I thought it sounded like one I'd love, but the general consensus was a bit more gloomy? Any thoughts? People seemed to say the foodcourt was a bit dismal and also it doesn't have it's own spa.

Thanks chickadees,
Funky.

Hello, Funky, and welcome to the wonderful world of WDW travel planning!

Here's some answers to your questions, and maybe more info than you even wanted...

1) Animal Kingdom Lodge, Beach Club Resort, Boardwalk Inn, Contemporary Resoort, Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Polynesian Resort, Wilderness Lodge, Yacht Club Resort.

The 'monorail resorts' are the Grand Floridian, Polynesian, and Contemporary. The Wilderness Lodge is boat ride away from the Magic Kingdom. The Epcot area resorts are the Beach Club (awesome pool!), Yacht Club, and Boardwalk Inn. Animal Kingdom Lodge is close to the Animal Kingdom theme park.

2) Yes, bell services will move your belongings from one resort to another. You will, of course, need to pack everything up and give it all to bell services at the first resort, so they can transport your things to the new resort. If you buy items in the parks, you have to have it sent to the resort where you're staying, not a future resort.

3) I'm an unashamed fan of the Polynesian. I stayed there last January, and it was lovely. It had been remodeled since my previous stay, and was beautiful. As a deluxe resort, it does not have a food court in the sense that value or moderate resorts do. It has a quick service restaurant, Capt. Cooks, which has the singular claim to fame of having self-serve Dole Whip (and that outshines pretty much anything, in my opinion). The Kona Cafe is a great restaurant and breakfast there, with Tonga Toast, is an amazing experience. The Ohana character breakfast is hugely popular. The property is beautifully themed and lush with tropical plants. It has a monorail stop and is an easy walk to the Ticketing and Transportation Center. You can take a boat to the Magic Kingdom. You can watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the beach. It is my ideal WDW resort.

[currence]

To add more to the answer to 3) If you want a spa/massage, I highly recommend using Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa. It's just a boat ride away from Downtown Disney so it's pretty easy to get to from any resort with the boat ride and then a bus transfer. It was beautiful. We also got massages at the Beach club but that seemed much more a massage room that they added after-the-fact to a fitness center than a spa.

The Grand Floridian also has a spa and if you stay at the Polynesian you can either take the monorail or walk there.

I'm not for or against the Polynesian, I just want you to make an informed decision for the issues that matter most to you. I remember our first trip to WDW, on our honeymoon. We were doing a land/sea package and had to choose our hotel room based on our cruise ship category. I was using the Disney Magazine to compare the various rooms and we chose the Dolphin because it had a sushi restaurant not even knowing at the time that it wasn't a full WDW hotel. Fortunately, we now have wider access to the internet and these types of forums that we can make much more informed decisions.

[UsBurchs]

Granted, I've only walked through these lovely resorts, but they all looked wonderful! If I had my pick, I would stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. WOW! Was that amazing! They activities in the lobby were WOW enough on their own, but then there are tours of the animals, WONDERFUL restaurants (we ate at Boma - SO good!) and it's just VERY cool! Staying at one of the "monorail" resorts might be nice, because you have access to so much. The Grand Floridian was stunning. We enjoyed the Dole Whips at Captain Cooks at the Polynesian. We ate at Chef Mickey's one morning and poked around the Contemporary - kind of fun history there, being one of the very first resorts at WDW!

I'm a Best Western type of girl and usually stay at one of the Downtown Disney hotels, so take what I say with that in mind. I go for inexpensive and spend my WHOLE time at the parks. If I had the time and money, ANY of those Deluxe resorts would be amazing in my book!

[scoobydooby]

Hi, UK person here. If you want to compare the prices for deluxe resorts that Disney offers, as a starting point, go to www.disney.co.uk and use the filter to get rid of the value and moderate resorts. It's not always exactly like this and the room category you choose changes the price bracket, but if you choose standard room for everything the room pricing for Deluxes tends to go in this order, from cheapest to most expensive.

Wilderness Lodge

Animal Kingdom (standard view almost same as WL, safari view considerably more)

Beach Club and Yacht Club

Boardwalk Inn

Polynesian

Contemporary

(these two are the most likely to be variable regarding which is cheaper and which is more expensive. I have tracked this for 8 years and there is no rhyme nor reason to it)

Grand Floridian

Add to this the UK WDW site also sometimes offers DVC rooms. The best UK offers on DVC property are for Old Key West and Saratoga Springs. If they have a 40 per cent
Off deal on one of these with free dining, a studio comes in cheaper than a moderate hotel usually if free dining is included. This is because from the UK free dining at a moderate is quick service and free dining at a deluxe or DVC is the regular dining plan. Private e mail me if you have any UK specific pricing queries.

[FunkyTyger]

Thanks heaps for the replies everyone. I'm reading through full info and reviews for each resort so I'm sure I'll be back with more questions soon! I really appreciate the support and fun of this community, you obviously all love WDW! By the way, scoobydooby, I'm not in the Uk anymore...I moved back to Australia. Thanks though. Do you know any Australia specific sites?

Oh, another question...sorry if I wasn't clear about getting gifts etc that I buy in the parks sent back to the hotel. I'll try and rephrase...

If I buy a gift in the parks...then I send it to the hotel I'm staying at, I was guess it wouldn't go to my room, but it would go to the front desk or some sort of holding area for me to get it from. Is this right?

if that is correct, my question was: If I buy an item in a park and have it sent to the holiding area of hotel A, then I move to hotel B a few days later without having picked it up, will it be moved to the holiding area of hotel B? i.e would it just follow me around...or would I have to pick it up at hotel A, pack it into my luggage, give the luggage to the desk of hotel A - so they can move all my stuff to hotel B?

Thanks!

[Drince88]

I have to pick it up at hotel A, pack it into my luggage, give the luggage to the desk of hotel A - so they can move all my stuff to hotel B?

Thanks!

This scenario.

[scoobydooby]

I think they 'expect' you to collect packages delivered to the resort the same day. I say this because we once left a package 2 days through disorganisation and had a heap of messages on our room 'phone by the end of day 2 of the package been held for us by POFQ.

Sorry no, I don't know any Australian specific sites. Bet there is one though if you google hard enough! There is a UK one.

[stan4d_steph]

Q3. I read some reviews of Polynesian because I thought it sounded like one I'd love, but the general consensus was a bit more gloomy? Any thoughts? People seemed to say the foodcourt was a bit dismal and also it doesn't have it's own spa.

The rooms can be a bit dark depending on where you are, but that I found that to be true for the Animal Kingdom Lodge also. I wouldn't really call them "gloomy." There isn't a food court at the Polynesian; Captain Cook's is a quick service dining location. If it's busy, you might have to wait for your food and the traffic flow is a bit strange due to the ordering kiosks, cashier stand and pickup window.

I love the beach there. You can sit out on a lounge chair and watch the ferry with the castle in the distance. There are hammocks too.

I haven't stayed at the Grand Floridian or the Contemporary. I'm not that interested in their theming.

[pamickeys]

All of the deluxes are great, you just have to decide which park you'd like to be closest to.

[cbarry]

I would never call the Polynesian gloomy. The rooms are a bit darker, but gloomy is a bit of a stretch. The Poly is awesome.

We've stayed at The Poly, Wilderness Lodge and Yacht Club and that would be my order. The Wilderness Lodge is amazing. Beautiful grounds. Fantastic building. Great views across Bay Lake at forest land. We can't stay there as a family really, due to the whole 5 people thing, so the Poly is the way to go. It's awesome.

Loved the pool complex at the Yacht Club and walking home from Epcot, but all things said and done, we all loved the Poly a whole lot more. Can't be beat in our eyes. I'm not even sure if I would go back to the Beach and Yacht after two trips at the Polynesian. The rooms are much bigger and once again...I bring it up here on MP...A Fiji building room facing the marina with a view of the Contemporary off in the distance is considered a Garden View room. This amazing view in the Fiji building, was the same price as a view of the parking lot at the Yacht Club in a much smaller room. No choice there for me.

[tappenfeat]

Of the Deluxe resorts, I have stayed at the Grand Floridian...my impression of it is romantic and we went there on our Honeymoon, I still feel it's not too kid oriented...but that's MHO.

The Poly, we did go with our kids and we loved it 100%. We did have some problems with our room, but they were fixed asap. The pool is great!!!

Wilderness Lodge, we loved the bunk beds for the kids and the Lobby is just plain "fun"! It's so busy and the Whispering Canyon Cafe' is a great place to dine.

Animal Kingdom Lodge is my all time favorite Deluxe. We've stayed there 2x with our kids with the bunk bed room. The pool is amazing and we just loved watching the animals from our balcony. The Boma is the best buffet in WDW...IMO, again.

In 2006, we switched from the Poly to the Wilderness Lodge and it was no problem at all. Bell services took care of everything and we made sure to tip them nicely.

I'm not sure how many in your group are, so that's why I mentioned kid friendly tips.