Posts from — April 2008

The thumbnail focuses on what price categories have in common among resorts in the category and how resorts differ between price categories.

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Numbers refer to rank on overall list. Numbers 1-3 are very convenient; 4-9 are convenient; 10 and up less convenient. See this for what you get by price category.

VALUE RESORTS

9. Disney’s Pop Century Resort. Somewhat distant, but only resort with no shared buses, and only one stop. (~2900 rooms served/bus)

14. Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort. Somewhat distant. Except for Magic Kingdom, shares buses with other All-Stars. Longest ride of three All-Stars to parks other than Magic Kingdom; shortest ride back. (~3500 rooms served/bus)

15. Disney’s All-Star Music Resort. Somewhat distant. Other than Magic Kingdom, shares buses with other All-Stars. Recently I have seen an inconsistent trend where it has its own buses to and from Epcot and Hollywood Studios—which, if consistent, would make it the most convenient of the All-Stars. (~3500 rooms served/bus)

16. Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort. Somewhat distant. Other than Magic Kingdom, shares buses with other All- Stars. Shortest ride of three All-Stars to parks other than Magic Kingdom; longest ride back. (~3500 rooms served/bus)

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The resorts below are ranked by convenience (as defined here) in carrying out the Basic Itinerary. I code them by price category (see this for what you get by price category): D for Deluxe, M for Moderate, V for Value, and DVC for the stand-alone DVC properties. (The DVC properties that are not stand-alone, but rather are associated with another resort (the “Villas”) have the same convenience as that resort.)

VERY CONVENIENT

1. Disney’s Polynesian Resort (D): Far and away the most convenient resort, especially if you get a room in Rapa Nui or Tahiti. The resort monorail to the Magic Kingdom makes only one additional stop before getting there; to return, you can take the express monorail to TTC, get off at TTC—the first stop—and walk from TTC back to your room–saving up to 20 minutes compared to the Grand Floridian. Moreover, the Epcot monorail is also in walking distance, saving even more time. Shares buses to other destinations with other Magic Kingdom resorts. (~2000 rooms served/bus).

2. Disney’s Contemporary Resort (D). As convenient as the Polynesian for the Magic Kingdom, as you can walk to the Magic Kingdom, and be the first stop on the resort monorail trip from the Magic Kingdom back to the resort. Less convenient for Epcot than the Polynesian, as you must first take the resort monorail to TTC, get off, change platforms, and wait for the Epcot monorail. Shares buses to other destinations with other Magic Kingdom resorts. (~2000 rooms served/bus)

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OVERVIEW

This site recommends Disney’s Polynesian and Pop Century Resorts based on their combination of convenience and kid-appeal. If you need to pick a different resort, this material addresses the convenience of all resorts.

The same material is organized in two different ways.

• One list ranks all resorts in order of convenience. You’ll find it here.
• Another list groups the resorts by price category (see this for what you get by price category), and then by convenience, so you can see the most convenient resorts within a price level, and can be found here.

The rest of this page gives the basis for these lists, and ends with a note on future visits.

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OVERVIEW

You and your kids can have a wonderful vacation at any Walt Disney World resort. However, you will have the best first family Disney World trip if you go to a distinctively kid-appealing resort. Because of this, and travel convenience, I recommend Disney’s Polynesian Resort for those who can afford it, and Disney’s Pop Century Resort for those who can’t.

However, on your trip, you may however not be able to follow this direction. For such families, I have listed below the Disney resorts ranked in order of their kid appeal. I have coded them by price category as D for Deluxe, M for Moderate, V for Value, and DVC for Disney Vacation Club Resorts. (See this for details on what you get by price category.)

GREAT KID APPEAL

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OVERVIEW

This site recommends the Polynesian for those who can afford it, and Pop Century for those who can’t.

For those who can’t, or won’t, stay at one of these two resorts, here are the next best options, in order, by price category.

SUMMARY: BEST RESORT CHOICES IN ORDER

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