What Are Your Three Favorite Hotels?

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Kristen K.'s picture
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What Are Your Three Favorite Hotels?

What are you three favorite Walt Disney World Resort hotels? What makes them your favorite?

Mine Are:

1) The Polynesian for its theme, location, and food
2) Animal Kingdom for its theme, and it's my DVC Home
3) Bay Lake Tower, location, location, and Top of the World

RobynPrincess's picture
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So far my favs are;

Akl, our DVC original home. Animals are amazing

GF, wow. There are just no words to describe the beauty! Our second DVC home

BW. Only stayed 1 night here and countless days around the resort. I really like the feel of it and LOVE the new DVC rooms, we are lucky enough to be spending a whole week there in May.

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crazycatperson's picture
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There are a lot of places we haven't stayed yet, but likely will now that we're DVC.

I love Animal Kingdom Lodge. It's awesome. Same with Wilderness Lodge. I'll refrain from choosing a third favorite; we own at the Boardwalk and I'm sure once we stay there this October it will jump into the top three due to the proximity to Epcot during Food and Wine if nothing else.

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Of the 3 we've stayed in so far I'd only rank 2 in my favorite.

1.) Caribbean Beach - I just love that beachy, vacation feel.
2.) POFQ - For its small size alone.

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alicemouse's picture
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1. Wilderness Lodge - I feel the most "transported" to another place here. I'm not an outdoorsy person at all, but this sanitized version of the Pacific Northwest is so beautiful. I just fell in love with the lobby, pool, and grounds the first time I saw it. And the DVC building is beautiful.

2. Bay Lake Tower - I love the easy access to Top of the World and the Lake View rooms are so gorgeous. I also love that you can boat or monorail without a transfer to any other MK area resort, including Fort Wilderness.

3. Port Orleans Riverside - It's not as flashy or as stunning as Poly of GF, which also rank very high for me, but it was the first place that we ever stayed onsite and our trip to POR was really the start of all things Disney in my adult life. I love having boat transportation at a moderate resort.

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NikkiMouse's picture
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1) Pop Century- I love the theme of it and how I truly feel like I am still in the parks almost when I am there. So far I have loved the buses from there also.
2)Art of Animation (Lion King Suite)- Again I love the theme of the place and the pool is one of my favorite places. The suites were so roomy and my daughter loved having her own area.

I really have not stayed anywhere else. We stayed at the Contemporary when I was 10, but I do not remember much about it. AKL is on my short list for the upcoming trip in October. I am just trying to navigate the rental of DVC points to make that happen.

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LouisianaMike's picture
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For me, it's gotta be

1. Boardwalk Villas.. The location to EPCOT is really what sells it for me alone. Of course, I love the theming, the pool, and the rooms (with boardwalk view)...

2. Shades of Green - We stay here more than any other place. It's affordable, close to MK, huge rooms (400+ sq. ft.), has it's own shuttle service to the parks, 2-very nice pools, meals at their restaurants are 30-50% cheaper than at the parks or other WDW resorts.. A convenient store (not Disney prices, either awesome ), and a STARBUCKS clapping !!!

3. banana yeah banana I Hope to fill this spot sometime soon.. (We stay off site if we're not at the two already mentioned)

Allie's picture
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If we're going solely off of places we've stayed then:

1) Saratoga Springs - this is my only deluxe and the service was leaps and bounds above anywhere else we stayed. Plus we could walk to Disney Springs and see Fulton's from our room so that was a plus. We also loved our 2 bedroom suite. And Turf Club?! Truly amazing.

2) Coronado Springs - LOVE the food court here. Bus service sucked but the room at the atmosphere were decent and I don't remember any major issues.

3) Caribbean Beach - this one was just OK to us but we certainly liked it better then the alternative (All Star Sports is the only other one we've stayed at and we did NOT have a great experience).

If we can pick from any of the resorts regardless of whether we've stayed there:

1) Polynesian for the atmosphere, the food, Trader Sam's, the proximity to MK, and all the transportation options

2) Boardwalk for the proximity to Epcot and I LOVE the Boardwalk out front, from the margaritas to the entertainment to the food

3) Animal Kingdom just because I love this resort. It's breathtakingly gorgeous and the food is all incredible

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Beach Club - SAB best pool, B&C, Yachtsman, Jelly Rolls, Epcot and DHS in walking distance, F&W, ...fuggedaboudit- not even close

Boardwalk OK for most of the reasons above

BLT for walking to MK and TOWL

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kormelmer's picture
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POFQ - love the ambiance and the quietness of the resort. It's such a change from the parks.

Wilderness Lodge - the wife and I have been to Glacier National Park and Disney has done an amazing job of recreating it (also Artist Point is one of our faves).

Animal Kingdom Lodge - The animal view is amazing and the restaurants are excellent

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We've stayed at:
Grand Floridian, Wilderness Lodge, Beach/Yacht Club, Old Key West Resort, Port Orleans (Riverside & French Quarter), Coronado Springs, Boardwalk Inn, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Caribbean Beach, Pop Century, All Star (Music & Sports).

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1.Wilderness Lodge- our home away from home. Love the whole feel of the place. Seems small and intimate.
2.Boardwalk- stayed here for last trip and fell in love. Location is perfect and great food choices. Loved walking around the Boardwalk at night.
3. Port Orleans French Quarter- great value and wonderful theme. Love the boat ride to Disney Springs.

Animal Kingdom is the next resort to try in April. So excited. May bump Port Orleans off the list! biggrin

JMed's picture
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Animal Kingdom Lodge - Our DVC home resort - what's not to love? animals, Sanaa, quiet, Sanaa, Beautiful, Sanaa. Did I mention Sanaa and the Sanaa Lounge? Bread service is top also.

Pop Century -(the first resort Joe and I stayed at together, I still consider it "our" resort even with DVC, Themes of all the sections, Everything Pop

Art of Animation - The feeling of being immersed in the movies, Big Blue Pool

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BarbaraB's picture
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1. Wilderness Lodge- I love, love, love the lobby of this place! And Artist Pointe! Plus, boating to MK is great!
2. Animal Kingdom Lodge- See first sentence of #1 above. Plus, animals! A Savannah view room is a must.
3. Port Orleans Riverside- quaint, cozy, quiet, beautiful.

The only other places I've stayed are Coronado Springs (not a fan, too big, too spread out, didn't like the food court) and the Contemporary (stayed there on my very first trip when I was 8, don't remember much other than the monorail going right through the hotel).

Places I want to stay- Grand Floridian, the Polynesian, Pop Century, Port Orleans French Quarter.

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Only stayed at two
1st would be Art Of Animation( Finding Nemo)- Amazing pools, awesome suite, wonderful memories from my 21st Birthday.

2nd would be All Star Music- Stayed here in 2009 and I don't know if I don't remember the hotel because I was so tired I just slept every night or if I just remember the park more.

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I've only stayed at Pop and All-Star Sports but there's definitely others I want to stay in.

1.) Animal Kingdom Lodge. Never stayed there but it looks amazing. The lobby is just magnificent and there are a lot of different rooms to choose from. A savannah view room is the most coveted. Heard generally good reviews about the unique food and restaurants.

2.) Pop Century. The larger than life decor, love having its own resort buses. Not as pricey compared to Art of Animation but Art of Animation is a short walk away so that's nice.

3.) Wilderness Lodge. Great location, not as pricey as other deluxe resorts. Love the northwest forest theme and atmosphere.

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My favourite is definitely The Poly - great location, great theming and great restaurants. Tied for second is The Yacht Club and The Baordwalk. Love being close to Epcot. Third is our favourite moderate - Port Orleans Riverside. Good location, access to Disney Springs via the boat and has a great food court.

Honourable mention to The Contemporary resort - we have not stayed here yet, but it's on our bucket list.

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My three favorites (all based on theme) are Port Orleans French Quarter, Port Orleans Riverside and Pop Century.

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Belinda's picture
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Port Orleans Riverside is my fave. Love the boat to Disney Springs and Yee Haw Bob!

Second choice is The Dolphin. Terrific location, but just not "Disney" enough for me.

All Star Movies is third. It is the first resort we ever stayed at and our kids were little. Good memories!

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1. Wilderness Lodge, love this Resort! The lobby is beautiful the restaurants are great, its always nice and quiet. I love everything there. And its also cool to be so close to MK. It was my home DVC when we had it.

2. Boardwalk, the theme is cool, I love the Horse Chandelier in the Lobby. LOVE the boardwalk itself with the restaurants and the bakery. The small shows that go on and the little places like the one that sells chicken and fries and fried dough. And if you are lucky enough to get a boardwalk view watching Illuminations and seeing Spaceship Earth from your room is AMAZING! I also really enjoy the clown water slide here.

3. Polynesian, while I only stayed here twice for a total of 4 nights, I LOVE THIS RESORT! I love the theming and you get "laid" when you check in. I also enjoyed the beach and the views of the MK and also you can not beat having the Monorail right there! I really wish we could afford to stay here for our honeymoon, its just very pricey! sad

Included are pictures of my last stay at the Poly in 2009 for New Years. Second is our hotel room from the boat.
And a picture of the Boardwalk from our last stay in 2013. I haven't stayed at the Wilderness since 2006? I really can't believe its has been that long! I am wanting to go back majorly but it is pretty pricey. Our other option is Port Orleans Riverside, which I have never stayed at before.

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Mcheal's picture
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Grand Floridian, Wilderness, Poly

Ronniekees's picture
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1. Animal Kingdom Lodge

2. Broadwalk

3. Poly

Honorable Mention: Pop Century

BoBo713's picture
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1. Saratoga Springs - love it there, peaceful, easy going atmosphere and walking distance to DS, nice walk home after a nice meal out.
2. Animal Kingdom Lodge - the sheer size and scale of the place is amazing. I also like the night vision viewing of the animals.

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I would have to say The Poly, The Poly and last but not least.........................................drum roll.....................The Contemporary.

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MrHub wrote:
I would have to say The Poly, The Poly and last but not least.........................................drum roll.....................The Contemporary. The Poly.

There I fixed it for you MrHub!! laugh laugh laugh

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Kristen K.'s picture
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rolling

Kris1971's picture
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For me its:

POFQ for its small size, quaint atmosphere, great value and one bus stop

The Contemporary for its decor, Walt's involvement in its design, and you can walk to the Magic Kingdom

The Beach Club for its proximity to Epcot and Beaches & Cream

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93boomer's picture
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For me it is:
1. Port Orleans Riverside-the location, food court and ambiance
2. POFQ- love the quietness of this place, own busses, and pool
3. Beach Club Villas-huge room, proximity to Epcot, and the walking trail to other resorts

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Vettelover wrote:
MrHub wrote:
I would have to say The Poly, The Poly and last but not least.........................................drum roll.....................The Contemporary. The Poly.

There I fixed it for you MrHub!! laugh laugh laugh

awesome

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Been a while since I checked in. . . Both here and in WDW. . . laugh

We love:
AKL - Hands down our favorite. Theming, the restaurants, the animals. . . Love the campfire smell. . . awesome

Caribbean Beach - Our first resort experience still has a place in our hearts.

Port Orleans - Homey and beautiful

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