Help me decide where to stay for W&D (Nov)

[XoxoAmy]

I'm running the 10k and half during W&D 2022. My family, DH, DD13 and DD9, will be coming with me - we will arrive Friday morning and leave mid-day Monday (3 nights).

This will be my family's 4th WDW trip in an 18 month period, so this trip is less about jam packed park days and more about my race, enjoying a resort, and not rushing around. We will go to the parks on Fri & Sat, then have a pool day after my HM on Sunday, and then head to Epcot in the evening for the W&D post race party.

WHERE TO STAAAAY????

We are blessed to have a generous WDW trip budget, and we need room to spread out. We are not DVC members, but we typically rent DVC points and get 1 bed or 2 bed villas for our trips. Essential for this trip is that I need to go to sleep much earlier than them, so we need 2 connecting rooms, or a 1 bed villa.

NOTHING is available through DVC for 11/4-7. No option to rent points.

Here are our best options - I think:

2 rooms at Yacht Club. This is ideal, as we LOVE the pool, but man, it's $$$$$.

2 rooms at Coronado Springs. Probably in the tower. We've never stayed here before.

2 rooms at CBR. We love the skyliner. I'm scared about being far away from everything. Never stayed here.

1 bed villa at OKW. Thoughts?

Pool area and convenience to food (and good food) is important to us. And any elements I should consider for the races.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Naomeri]

I was at Coronado for Springtime Surprise, in the Casitas section, and I really loved it. I’ll be switching to there from Pop for W&D if Disney comes out with a discount. The Dig Site pool was nice, and while I didn’t use it, it does have the biggest hot tub on Disney property. I mostly don’t eat meals at my resorts, but I had a hot dog and fries at the poolside bar and it was good.

One thing to consider about staying in the tower at Coronado is that it’s the last stop for park buses, so they might be full/standing room only by the time they get there during busy times, whereas Casitas was the first stop. runDisney buses either went to the tower first, or to Casitas first, depending on the driver.

 

[striker1064]

If you're already paying a lot of money for 2x Yacht Club, you could try calling the Sawn/Dolphin reservations and checking on suites at S/D/SR. I have no idea if any are available because you have to call to book, but it might be a better deal. I like staying at S/D for race weekends, as it has the feel and proximity of a Deluxe for less money.

 

[The Expert]

Consider how much you might use the kitchen and laundry. The OKW villas are HUGE so that 1 bedroom would definitely be comfortable, and if you want the ability to cook some meals (or keep food in a full size fridge) it might be worth the villa over hotel rooms. There are multiple pools around the property. Note that the race buses pick up at hospitality house and while the internal bus does run on race mornings, it's a 15-20 minute loop and can be quite a walk if you miss it. "Near HH" is a bookable thing at OKW so check on that if it's important to you.

 

[camaker]

I'm running the 10k and half during W&D 2022. My family, DH, DD13 and DD9, will be coming with me - we will arrive Friday morning and leave mid-day Monday (3 nights).

This will be my family's 4th WDW trip in an 18 month period, so this trip is less about jam packed park days and more about my race, enjoying a resort, and not rushing around. We will go to the parks on Fri & Sat, then have a pool day after my HM on Sunday, and then head to Epcot in the evening for the W&D post race party.

WHERE TO STAAAAY????

We are blessed to have a generous WDW trip budget, and we need room to spread out. We are not DVC members, but we typically rent DVC points and get 1 bed or 2 bed villas for our trips. Essential for this trip is that I need to go to sleep much earlier than them, so we need 2 connecting rooms, or a 1 bed villa.

NOTHING is available through DVC for 11/4-7. No option to rent points.

Here are our best options - I think:

2 rooms at Yacht Club. This is ideal, as we LOVE the pool, but man, it's $$$$$.

2 rooms at Coronado Springs. Probably in the tower. We've never stayed here before.

2 rooms at CBR. We love the skyliner. I'm scared about being far away from everything. Never stayed here.

1 bed villa at OKW. Thoughts?

Pool area and convenience to food (and good food) is important to us. And any elements I should consider for the races.

Thanks in advance!

I love staying at CBR on race weekends because of the Skyliner access and will be there next January for my 3rd MW in a row at the resort. If cost wasn't a consideration, I'd love to stay at Yacht Club for IG access to Epcot. I've stayed at CSR for a race weekend before. Would not do it again. That was before the tower, though, so that might change things.

 

[Herding_Cats]

I vote OKW also. Especially if you can rent points or find a confirmed reservation. Easy boat ride to Disney Spings and allllll the food. And they’re huge.

 

[GreatLakes]

We are going with my mom for that weekend so needed either two rooms or a suite. We ended up going with a 2 bedroom / 2 bathroom townhouse at Sheraton Vistana for under $1,000. That is total including taxes for 5 nights. Couldn't beat it and I just can't justify staying on property for the price they would want for an All-Star suite or FW Cabin compared to the price I got at the Vistana.

 

[RuntheMouse]

We’re staying at CBR for Wine & Dine. Love having skyliner access. We also love the proximity to the Riveria for additional food options.

 

[DisneyParrothead]

If you're already paying a lot of money for 2x Yacht Club, you could try calling the Sawn/Dolphin reservations and checking on suites at S/D/SR. I have no idea if any are available because you have to book to call, but it might be a better deal. I like staying at S/D for race weekends, as it has the feel and proximity of a Deluxe for less money.

Another vote for Swan and Dolphin. I stayed there this past MW while my parents were at the Boardwalk. My room was bigger and I paid about half the cost of Boardwalk. It did mean I couldn't book Ratatouille until EPCOT opened, but I still got the same hour window. I love that resort area since there's so much to do, and S\D have good pools too.

 

[GollyGadget]

I stayed at CBR last January for a few nights and thought it was perfect for a relaxing race weekend. I requested a room near transportation and ended up in Jamaica which is right near the skyliner and the first runDisney bus stop. We walked to Riviera for lunch one day and didn't find it to be a far walk. I suppose I could have rode the skyliner if I was worried about putting in too many steps. Plus, the hammocks were a nice spot to relax in the afternoon.

 

[XoxoAmy]

I love staying at CBR on race weekends because of the Skyliner access and will be there next January for my 3rd MW in a row at the resort.

We’re staying at CBR for Wine & Dine. Love having skyliner access. We also love the proximity to the Riveria for additional food options.

I stayed at CBR last January for a few nights and thought it was perfect for a relaxing race weekend. I requested a room near transportation and ended up in Jamaica which is right near the skyliner and the first runDisney bus stop. We walked to Riviera for lunch one day and didn't find it to be a far walk. I suppose I could have rode the skyliner if I was worried about putting in too many steps. Plus, the hammocks were a nice spot to relax in the afternoon.

How were the beds in CBR? I've heard not great things. And did you find it was a long walk to the main area with the food, main pool etc? Would you recommend Jamaica for ease to food/pool/skyliner and also runD buses? Thanks for your help!

 

[camaker]

How were the beds in CBR? I've heard not great things. And did you find it was a long walk to the main area with the food, main pool etc? Would you recommend Jamaica for ease to food/pool/skyliner and also runD buses? Thanks for your help!

Honestly, I didn't really notice the beds one way or the other, so I guess they were ok. I stayed in the Jamaica and Aruba areas, so it was a pretty decent walk to the food court and main pool, although the central island in the lake cut down on a lot of the walking. I don't tend to use the resort food courts for much other than refillable drinks, preferring to eat in the parks. They have the refillable drink machines in about half the resort buildings now so that was super convenient. I don't use the pools at all, but they do have satellite pools in each "island" if you don't want to go all the way to the main pool.

Jamaica has its own bus stop that also served as the initial stop for the rD buses, which was a big plus. It was also very convenient to the main Skyliner stop.

Aruba had its own bus stop, too, 2nd on the rD circuit on race mornings. That area was more convenient to the Riviera Skyliner stop, so I ended up using it a lot. It was also pretty close to the Riviera food court and they have a flatbread I love as a pre-race dinner.

 

[GollyGadget]

How were the beds in CBR? I've heard not great things. And did you find it was a long walk to the main area with the food, main pool etc? Would you recommend Jamaica for ease to food/pool/skyliner and also runD buses? Thanks for your help!

I do remember the side of my bed was collapsed a bit. I didn’t notice it at all while sleeping but it was obvious when I sat on the edge.
I didn't find the walk long at all but that's a very subjective question. For me, anything under a mile would be a short walk but I know others may feel differently. You should look at a map to see if it would be long to you.
As @camaker mentioned, there are multiple pools. I can wholeheartedly recommend Jamaica for skyliner, bus, and pool access as long as that means any pool. The main pool isn't "far" but I prefer the seclusion and quiet of the other pools.
One thing to note about the rD busses is that once they're full, they don't go to other stops. I rode the buses on the morning of the 10K and half in January. One morning we left before stopping at Riviera and the other morning I think we made it to all the bus stops but I can't remember. I do remember us pulling up to one stop and it being very obvious that we were the first bus to make it that far. We could only let on a few people and I bet there were close to 100 waiting. My gut is telling me it was at the main area for CBR, but it's been a while so I'm not 100% sure. The moral of the story is that if you stay anywhere with multiple stops, I highly recommend walking to the first stop.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Re: CBR beds. When SIL and I stayed there in Feb of 2021, they beds were pretty soft. Which I loooooove. But if smooshy mattresses aren't your thing, then maybe don't stay there. We stayed in whatever the section is that's closest to Riviera and the skyliner station (but not on the side of the lake that the lobby/feature pool is on) and it definitely would have been a much shorter walk to just catch the bus at RR if we wanted to be at a "main/first" stop and not one of the last stops on the loop.

 

[XoxoAmy]

They have the refillable drink machines in about half the resort buildings now so that was super convenient.

So helpful, thanks. Do you recall if they have coffee at the sofa refill stations in the resort buildings? I assume no but that would be amazing. I hate the in room/k cup coffee machines, so I typically walk to the quick service each morning for coffee in whatever hotel we stay in (unless I have a 10 cup coffee machine in a villa....)

 

[XoxoAmy]

One thing to note about the rD busses is that once they're full, they don't go to other stops. I rode the buses on the morning of the 10K and half in January. One morning we left before stopping at Riviera and the other morning I think we made it to all the bus stops but I can't remember. I do remember us pulling up to one stop and it being very obvious that we were the first bus to make it that far. We could only let on a few people and I bet there were close to 100 waiting. My gut is telling me it was at the main area for CBR, but it's been a while so I'm not 100% sure. The moral of the story is that if you stay anywhere with multiple stops, I highly recommend walking to the first stop.

Super helpful. I will 100% walk to Jamaica for the RunD bus if we are not in that section - thinking of requesting Jamaica or Barbados.

 

[camaker]

So helpful, thanks. Do you recall if they have coffee at the sofa refill stations in the resort buildings? I assume no but that would be amazing. I hate the in room/k cup coffee machines, so I typically walk to the quick service each morning for coffee in whatever hotel we stay in (unless I have a 10 cup coffee machine in a villa....)

Unfortunately there's no coffee in the machine, just the normal Coke products, including Powerade and Powerade Zero.

 

[RuntheMouse]

How were the beds in CBR? I've heard not great things. And did you find it was a long walk to the main area with the food, main pool etc? Would you recommend Jamaica for ease to food/pool/skyliner and also runD buses? Thanks for your help!

I actually really like the beds at CBR. Soft and comfy but not fall in marshmallow soft.

 

[gosalyn_mallard]

I think trying new Disney resorts is so fun. And a shorter stay is perfect for that. So I say CBR or Coronado (tower). I've stayed in both for RunDisney weekends and would happily return to either. Have fun deciding!

 

[sandam1]

I was listening to a podcast and they brought up a very important (at least to me) consideration - not all hotels actually have bath tubs any more. For me, on a race weekend, a tub is a non-negotiable.