Need Help in choosing Hotel/Resort

Monorail resorts are nice. There is also Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness that are also close to MK but not on the monorail. Most of those resorts, Fort Wilderness is the only none deluxe resort near MK, are deluxe or deluxe Villas. Since you are planning a proposal, I think Grand Flo or Poly would be nice. These resorts also have nice table service restaurants as well.

Do we have a price limit??

I would recommend the Polynesian for a Deluxe or Port Orleans French Quarter for a moderate. Poly is on the monorail and the theme is very romantic, in my opinion. Grand Floridian is also romantic. I think the contemporary is kind of boring. Great views of the MK for sure, but still eh.

I like the idea of moving hotels, but then you will have the hassle of packing up and schlepping over to a new hotel. Worth it?? Depends on how much you "nest" once you get to a hotel. If I had to move and I was still looking at the Deluxe category, I'd move to Boardwalk or Beach Club!! Then you do a week close to the MK and a week close to Epcot!!

Good luck and congrats on the proposal!

Wilderness Lodge is great! They have a boat that goes from the resort to Magic Kingdom which we LOVED using. Grand Floridian is beautiful and has the boat AND the monorail. My third choice would be the Polynesian. If I could do 2 in one trip it would be Grand Floridian and Polynesian. All the resorts close to MK are amazing but the Contemporary is a little too modern for my taste.

I think that if you can stay on the monorail then you should totally do it!

The other great location hotels are the ones on Crescent Lake that have boat service to Epcot. Those are Beach Club, Yacht Club, and Boardwalk. Those not only have direct access to Epcot, but the boat also goes right to Hollywood Studios, putting them super closer to not only one park but two.

I'm a deluxe resort kind of gal and think that they are all fantastic. The most romantic of them to me is the Polynesian, followed by the Grand Floridian.

Agreed! I'd do one week at an MK monorail resort and one week at an Epcot resort to be within walking distance of Epcot and DHS!

This is such a smart idea!!

I, for one, would LOVE to have a Polynesian Proposal Story! But, no matter where you propose, if it's in Disney World, it's a story she's going to relish telling forever!

Good Luck!!

I love PORS..Stayed three times now..POFQ is also nice ( one stay ) I'am hoping to stay at AKL on my next visit..Three awesome restaurants..

Hi! mittens and welcome to WDWFG. Why don't you head over to the introductions thread and introduce yourself and tell us all about your Disney likes and past and future Disney experiences.

Will do...Just getting used to the site...Cheers..

If you're after a good location that's reasonably cheap, I'd suggest the Wilderness Lodge, it's close to the MK and the cheapest of the Deluxes, it's my favourite resort!

Hi Jezza, always check here first. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/special-offers/ Its the Disney page with all the special offers that are going on at the moment. You can find it by going to the first Disney,com page and down at the bottom click on special offers. You're not gonna get any better deal than the 35% off Disney offers or the free meal plan, but it all depends on how you vacation. I really don't know what they offer out of country though. You may get a different deal like the do in the UK.

Hi Jezza,

I agree with Karlipants that the Wilderness Lodge is a great option. This is one of the lower priced deluxe resorts, so especially if you can get in during one of the 30-35% off deluxe periods, this is a win! It's not quite as convenient as the monorail resorts, but you can still get to MK and EPCOT (and technically Hollywood Studios) without ever boarding a Disney bus. I've never stayed here, but I love to visit and Wilderness consistently wins guest surveys for best Christmas hotel.

Like mrhub said, I'm not sure what deals might be available to you in Australia, but three things to explore that may help save you some money and thus take a more luxurious vacation than you otherwise would are --

1.) depending on the length of your stay, check UndercoverTourist.com for tickets. You can often save a few dollars off the gate price and the more day you play, the more you save. If you're going to do this, wait until after you book your room because sometime you can get a better deal on a package directly from Disney that includes tickets;

2.) check into renting DVC points to stay at a deluxe for a lower price than booking directly through Disney;

3.) If it is available/usable in your area, consider getting a Disney Visa. They have an annual fee version and a free version. This is only a good deal if you pay off the card every month. Otherwise you pay more in fees than you save in points, but we've started charging everything to our Disney cards--gas, groceries, utilities, business expenses, you name it! I wish I could charge the mortgage payment! In 18 months, I've racked up nearly $500 in disney rewards that can be applied to just about everything in the parks, including food!!

Have you considered staying at a hotel that is off property but still w/in the Disney resort area? My husband and I have annual passes and we stay in Orlando at least 30 nights a year. We just can't afford to stay at a Disney resort and go as often as we do. So we have found several 4 star and up hotels, that are very close to one or more of the Disney parks, and most offer a free shuttle to the parks.

These hotels are:(in no particular order)
1.The Gaylord Palms & Convention center(4 star about 1/2 mile from WDW resort)
2. The Omni Orlando Resort at Championsgate( 4 1/2 star VERY nice hotel)
3.Reunion Resort & club(absolutely stunning 5star resort)
4. The Waldorf Astoria(also a stunning 5 star)

These hotels are very close to one or more of the Disney parks, they are beautiful hotels, and they cost a fraction of a deluxe Disney resort. For example, you may spend $500-$600 a night for the Grand Floridian(depending on dates and whether or not you rent DVC) and you could get a great deal on one of these hotels for as low at $85/night(we paid $85/night for the Omni just a few weeks ago.) Even the Waldorf is under $200/nt. most of the time.

You won't get the free dining plan from Disney if you don't stay on site of course, but you could save hundreds(or thousands) of dollars over the course of two weeks, if you stay at a hotel off site. You could buy your food out of pocket and still save hundreds by staying off site.
There are several other 4 star and up hotels that are very close to WDW and VERY nice. These hotels are beautiful too, neither of you would feel like you are settling at all. Every time I walk into the Waldorf, I feel like a princess!!!

Just think of the engagement ring you could buy her if you saved thousands on a room

We are staying at the Wilderness Lodge for our upcoming trip in January. LOVE THIS RESORT! It is gorgeous! We stayed here before about 4 years ago. Amazing! So many interesting things to see inside the lobby itself. Our rooms were very nice and clean. You feel like you've been transported to Montana or Wyoming. We took the boat over to Magic Kingdom. It's great. Being that WL is one of the least expensive deluxe resorts to stay is a major plus!

I'd rent you mine, but I need them for this year & next! We've never rented, but I understand from multiple sources that I consider reliable that David's Vacation Rentals is a reputable site:

http://www.dvcrequest.com/

The current fee at David's is $14/point. December 1-15 is one of the "least expensive" times to do DVC rental because it requires the fewest points. Unfortunately, it is also a very popular time for DVC members to vacation because cheap stay + awesome Christmas activities = DVC member magnet! So, if you rent points, you should easily be able to get two weeks at the large, less popular resorts like Saratoga Springs, Old Key West, or Animal Kingdom Lodge

The least expensive option for December 1-14 is an AKL studio is $1806 or less than $140/night for a deluxe resort .
A studio at Wilderness Lodge would run you $2786 or $214/night. Deluxe resorts start at $279/night from WDW.
Sometimes you can pick up last minute specials for $7-10 per point, but on such a long reservation, you may not want to do that! You can also try to find a DVC member who is not in need of their points for next year and rent them directly for less. David's pays members $11 per point to get the points, so you could probably find someone willing to split the difference and rent points to you for $12.50 per point, which would save you $200 or more than renting through David's, but would offer no protection.

You can definitely stay offsite at a really nice resort for less money, but you will not be eligible for extra magic hours or the DDP or Magical Express service from the airport. You can even stay on property for less, but if you were going to stay in a deluxe resort anyway, points rental is an awesome option. There are also 1-bedroom or 2-bedroom suites available if you want to have a little extra room and I *think* all of the 1-BR + come with an in-room jetted bathtub.

Port Orleans French Quarter. Its small and cute, has delightful Beignets! Great theming. It shares a bus with Port Orleans Riverside for some of the parks (it appears that usually Epcot and MK have their own buses) but FQ gets dropped off/picked up first. You can take a boat to DTD and btwn the two PO resorts.

I just got back from a trip where I rented points from David's (dvcrequest.com). It worked out perfectly. We got a deluxe resort for only about $10 more than I was going to pay to stay at POR. I highly recommend it, if the price works out. Ping me if you have questions!!

"Best" is a very subjective word, especially when it comes to Disney.

I would go with the Wilderness Lodge, but I get cranky when I'm not at a deluxe resort. I really enjoy having all the extra amenities.