What are your all-time top favorite Disney resorts?

[matt and beth]

Having stayed at about half of the resorts Boardwalk wins hands down. The location and nightlife are awesome

 

[Boopuff]

BW - we had a balcony and water view room. It was wonderful walking back from Epcot each day.
Contemporary - always wanted to stay in there, we had a garden room and loved it.
POR/PORFQ - My dear Dad loved FQ so I always had a soft spot for that resort. Stayed at Riverside during my DD's time as a CP (she booked it as a surprise for us)
Honestly, loved all the resorts... after all I'm at Disney!
Honorable mention: Fort Wilderness campground: loved the extra wide, paved sites, full hookup.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Honestly, loved all the resorts... after all I'm at Disney!

My thoughts exactly!

 

[Annabell]

For us, it is AKL.

 

[raddisneyfan]

Since my 1st visit in 1978, I've been going off and on for the past 44 years....and a lot more in the last 10 years when finances allowed multiple visits per year. Over the years, I've stayed at many disney and offsite hotels. I pretty much have liked all of my stays. Would be hard to say really what my favorites are, but I'll try.

1. WL/CC/BRV....I just love staying here; eating at Geyser Point relaxing by the water; taking a leisurely boat ride to Fort Wilderness, or the Contemporary, or the MK. However, don't stay there as much as I like since reservations are hard to get and rooms are almost never discounted.

2. AKL...so relaxing sitting on the balcony and watching the world's animals go by....and, of course, the great restaurants.

3. BWI....walking to HS and EP. Rooms are nice and this resort tends to get more discounts than the other 2 EP resorts. Not really a pool person, so no need to push for those other 2. Decor at any of the EP resorts don't match WL or AKL, but walking to the 2 parks sometimes takes precedence...and the extra expense.

All 3 of the above are expensive by any standard and I find I stay a lot at the moderates if I want multiple visits in a year. Personally, I like all of the mods, but find myself staying at POFQ and CSR most often...I think to date I've stayed at both 4 times and will be staying at both for a 5th time each later this year. I have not stayed at CBR ever...I've been waiting for them to get rid of the carpeting and replace with the laminate like the others, which I greatly prefer...seems so much cleaner IMO.

 

[Jacq7414]

I loved the Polynesian. We had a 2 night stay before our 7 night Beach Club stay. Ended up getting upgraded to club level at the Poly. It was so nice! Seeing the fireworks from there was amazing.

Beach Club was ok in comparison

 

[Ladcassidy]

WL/CCV/BRV fans here. We've tried many resorts, but keep coming "home" to the place we brought our little girl for her first visit many years ago. BRV is our favorite part of the Lodge. Can't wait for the upgrades, hopefully later this year. Then WL club level, then CCV (rooms are lovely, but smaller than BRV and wedged into space left over from converted hotel rooms, so some strange layouts). By the way, have you noticed that if you pull up one of these locations in a room search the Disney website now shows you available rooms in all three parts? Recent change, but helpful for those of us looking for WL accommodations.

Easy access to MK by boat or bus, easy access to other parks by bus or our own car, Geyser Point, fun pool, Roaring Fork (miss the "s" these days).

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Bump. Would love to hear from others about their favorite resorts!

 

[csmom]

Animal Kingdom Lodge for the atmosphere and Boardwalk for its proximity to Epcot and Studios.

 

[TJA]

Vibe, views, and location/ability to walk to parks are important to us.

Love GF in November/December and also around Easter.

Love Poly in the summer.

Love YC/BC anytime.

Like WL and BWI.

Like AKL for its uniqueness, but don't like taking a bus/car everywhere.

 

[Stratman50th]

My favorite is Ft. Wilderness. We have a motor home that we call our condo on wheels, bringing our second home with us. Large outside footprint that is yours as long as you're there. There's enough activities at the Fort you can stay occupied your entire visit.
Next would be POFQ. Love the size of the resort and themeing.
Enjoyed the Poly for theme and room size.
Last but not least, Old Key West. Love the size of the rooms and full kitchen. Washer and dryer in room, and since we stay on Turtle Pond, the short walk across the parking lot to the pool.

 

[disneyseniors]

I have only stayed at 3 resorts, also.

My #1 is POR. I love the ambience and easy going feeling while there. We stay in the Bayou section and I like the little bridges and tropical plantings plus the great quiet pools. The boat to DS is nice too.

#2 POFQ: We stay there now because of mobility issues and it's smaller footprint. It's nice but I personally don't like the Mardi Gras vibe, but the food court is good and the rooms are always clean and nice.

#3 CSR: This was our first resort to stay in at WDW. I think the rooms felt bigger than the other moderates. We stayed in Bldg 3 and were close to a bus stop. We thought it was nice, but too big for us. We never made it to the feature pool because we couldn't make the hike over there after a full day at WDW, LOL. I would stay there again if we couldn't get POR or POFQ.

 

[Lovetherodent]

The Grand Floridian, baby! It smells so nice, and it's a very relaxing place for the afternoon break. Great dining options, zero entry pool (that's away from the kid zone).

Up until last week, I'd have said the Boardwalk because of that location and a lower sticker price, but the new park hopping restrictions have bumped it to spot #2.

 

[chocolateMinnie]

8 so far
1 CSR
2 BC
3 OKW

Worst stay was POR closely followed by GF.

I think they’re all beautiful resorts but the level of care and service (whether you’re lucky and having a perfect trip or unlucky and things are going wrong) is the game changer.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

8 so far
1 CSR
2 BC
3 OKW

Worst stay was POR closely followed by GF.

I think they’re all beautiful resorts but the level of care and service (whether you’re lucky and having a perfect trip or unlucky and things are going wrong) is the game changer.

High praise for CSR to be above BC!

 

[maryj11]

Wilderness Lodge because I love the theming, the rooms are really nice after the revocation, boat ride to MK,and the Whispering Canyon Cafe.
The Polynesian because I love the theming, the monorail, watching fireworks from the beach and Ohana.
Grand Floridian because some of the same reason as the Polynesian. The monorail, boat transportation and theming. Comfy rooms and beds. It’s so elegant and fancy.
I like all 3 because their size is more compact. I hate the long walks we had at some of the other resorts.

 

[R&RsMom]

Mine are:
CSR - our go-to for close-to-deluxe amenities, gorgeous resort at mod prices. Boardwalk- location, food choices, vibe (fond memories of sitting on balcony overlooking the pool on a gorgeous day)
Poly - first time stay last December renting points. Loved tropical feel, food options, walking to TTC to grab the monorail.
Beach Club with a question mark. Loved walking to Epcot and easy transport to HS. Not as fond of the food choices at the hotel.
Honorable mention: Swan - lovely room, great Epcot location, most Disney perks, price similar to moderate.

 

[maryblanchard49]

My Favorite Resort is AKL for the beautiful animal views. I've always loved animals so, it's very much up my alley. lol

 

[shawy1269]

All this talk on other threads about resorts that people never want to come back to got me wanting to hear, on a more positive note, what the top favorite resorts are. I thought about asking for top 3, but only you should choose how many favorites you have

I appreciate something about every resort I visit and I've been to nearly all of them now. But my top favorites, in no particular order, are:

• Contemporary/Bay Lake Tower - I just love the history of the CR building, the architecture, the restaurants, the wow factor from the monorail going through it, the great fireworks views, and that proximity to the one and only MK
• The Disneyland Hotel - it's the OG! Again with the history... and the musical headboards are so lovely!
• Riviera Resort - after staying to try it out, the spacious and well-appointed rooms and dining really won us over! Also, DH loves the Skyliner. This has become our go-to for EPCOT/DHS area stays.

Honorable mentions: Coronado Springs - I already liked the themeing, but Gran Destino Tower really wowed us! Also, Yach Club for the nautical lobby and walk-ability, POP Century for the fun theme and unbeatable value, and Hilton Head for the kayaking and other activities

This was hard! I honestly like all of them for different reasons and I appreciate the imagineers' work all around, but these are the ones that work best for our travel patterns and purposes. So what are your favorites?

1. Poly (vibe and location)
2. Coronado (tower has a deluxe feel at moderate rates)
3. Boardwalk (amenities, proximity to Epcot snd skyliner)
4. Wilderness Lodge (vibe)

 

[Disneykingofkings]

BWI CL - location
GF CL Main Building - total luxury
WL - Bears Face Room - ideal living
AKL CL Savannah View - action