The Pros and Cons of Disney World’s Deluxe Resorts–By Someone Who’s Stayed in Them All!
By Dave Shute
This review of the pros and cons of the Disney Deluxe Resorts is the third entry in a new series highlighting the pros and cons of every Walt Disney World resort.
(The first entry, which explains the background, is here; the second, with the pros and cons of the Disney Vacation Club resorts, is here.)
The deluxe resorts are Disney flagship resorts, with–usually–nicer and larger rooms, more amenities, better service, much better dining, and more fun transportation than other resort classes.
Normal people consider that there are eight such resorts. But I’ve also included, at the end, pros and cons of studios in two more–Saratoga Springs and Old Key West. Between them, these two Disney Vacation Club/”Disney Deluxe Villa” resorts have almost seven hundred studio rooms, and are legit alternatives to consider for some–but study the cons of these two carefully.
The material that follows covers only standard rooms–it excludes variants such as suites, deluxe rooms, Garden Cottages, Garden Wing rooms, dormer rooms, etc. See the individual hotel reviews for more on these variants.
Because I’ve stayed in every single Disney World resort hotel for multiple nights in the past four years, usually more than once, you will find fewer errors of fact, and far fewer questionable judgments, here than you’ll see in other sources written by people who have not actually stayed in the hotels…
…But I’m sure there are errors, omissions and points of disagreement here anyway! So leave your thoughts/corrections/disagreements in the comment section below!
PROS AND CONS OF DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE
Pros
- Spectacular theming with great kid appeal
- Unique views of animals
- Great dining options, running the gamut from exotic to cheeseburgers
- Spa services
- Among the lower-cost deluxe resorts
- No convention center
- Full-width balconies
- Bunk-bed rooms available
- DVC studios available
Cons
- Among the least convenient of the deluxe resorts
- Among the smallest deluxe rooms
- Poor access to off-grounds dining unless you have a car
- No character meals or distinctively fun dining offerings
- Only deluxe resort with buses as sole transport option
- No marina
- Rooms fit only 4
- Only deluxe other than Old Key West not on a lake
PROS AND CONS OF DISNEY’S BEACH CLUB RESORT
Pros
- Very easy access to Epcot via walking; Hollywood Studios accessible through a longer boat ride or walk
- Access to many nearby table service restaurants, even more if you have tickets for Epcot
- Character breakfast
- Shares great pool with Yacht Club
- DVC studios available
Cons
- No distinctive theming or particular kid appeal—though lovely to the eyes of adults
- Many rooms have tiny, near-worthless balconies (others have full balconies)
- No real counter-service offering
- No spa services
PROS AND CONS OF DISNEY’S BOARDWALK INN
Pros
- Easy access to Epcot via boat or walking; Hollywood Studios accessible through a longer boat ride or walk
- Access to many nearby table service restaurants, even more if you have tickets for Epcot
- The BoardWalk itself is kinda fun
- Unique among deluxes for bustle of Boardwalk and quiet of inner courtyards
- Some rooms can see bits of Illuminations
- DVC studios available
- Spa services
Cons
- No distinctive theming or particular kid appeal
- Inconvenient parking
- No real counter-service offering
- No character meals or other fun dining. Closest restaurants not really aimed at kids
- BoardWalk-view rooms can be noisy
- No marina
- Some rooms require walking outdoors to get to lobby
PROS AND CONS OF DISNEY’S CONTEMPORARY RESORT
Pros
- Second-most convenient of the Disney resorts—only one from which you can walk to the Magic Kingdom
- Monorail resort
- Monorail running through Tower a thrill to many kids
- Among the largest deluxe rooms
- Great and wide-ranging dining; easy access to even more dining options via boat and monorail
- Character meals
- High-rise architecture makes it more compact than other deluxe options
- DVC studios available
- Spa services
- Full-width balconies
- Widest range of water-sports
- Views of Wishes from many rooms, restaurant, 4th floor deck
Cons
- No real theming or distinctive kid appeal
- Among the highest-cost deluxe resorts
- Dull pool
- While baths are split, the split is not best arranged for families
PROS AND CONS OF DISNEY’S GRAND FLORIDIAN RESORT AND SPA
Pros
- Monorail resort
- Wonderful dining for adults, and easy access via monorail to more great choices for both adults and kids
- Largest standard deluxe rooms (at the Polynesian, Tokelau rooms are larger)
- Character meals
- Good convenience for Magic Kingdom
- Lovely to adults
- Great spa
- Full-width balconies
- Distant views of Wishes from some rooms, waterfront
- DVC studios available
Cons
- Limited distinctive kid appeal—though lovely to adults
- The best dining options aren’t really aimed at kids
- Highest prices
- Distant parking
- Most rooms require walking outdoors to get to lobby
PROS AND CONS OF DISNEY’S POLYNESIAN RESORT
Pros
- Among the highest in kid appeal
- Monorail resort
- Most convenient resort for trips focused on Magic Kingdom and Epcot
- Among the largest deluxe rooms
- Well-loved dining, with easy access to more options via the monorail
- Character meals
- No convention center
- Distant view of Wishes from some rooms, waterfront
Cons
- Second floor rooms in most longhouses have no balcony
- Among the highest-cost deluxe resorts
- Baths are one space–not split into two
- Rooms require walking outdoors to get to lobby/central services
- Some rooms quite distant from lobby
- No spa services (can walk to spa at Grand Floridian)
- No hot tub
- Construction from 2013 on may include closure of main pool for refurb
- Construction from 2013 on may restrict access to path to TTC
PROS AND CONS OF DISNEY’S WILDERNESS LODGE
Pros
- Most spectacular and kid-appealing theming of all the Disney World resorts
- Reasonably convenient for the Magic Kingdom
- Great and fun on-site dining, and easy boat access to more great dining at the Contemporary and Fort Wilderness.
- Spa services
- Among the lowest-cost deluxe resorts
- No convention center
- Full-width balconies
- DVC studios available
Cons
- No character meals
- Among the smallest deluxe rooms
- Rooms fit only 4
PROS AND CONS OF DISNEY’S YACHT CLUB RESORT
Pros
- Easy access to Epcot via boat; Hollywood Studios accessible through a longer boat ride or walk
- Access to many nearby table service restaurants, even more if you have tickets for Epcot
- Shares great pool with Beach Club
- Full-width balconies
Cons
- No distinctive theming or particular kid appeal—after Contemporary, dullest of the deluxes
- No real counter-service offering
- No spa services
PROS AND CONS OF STUDIO ROOMS IN DISNEY’S OLD KEY WEST RESORT
Pros
- Among the largest deluxe rooms
- Easy parking
- Reliably good views from rooms
- On-site marina
- Among the lowest-cost deluxe rooms–even better if you rent points
- No convention center
Cons
- Sprawling and distinctly inconvenient if you don’t have a car
- Theming, for kids, is unremarkable
- Weak and limited on-resort dining, with no great access to alternatives unless you have a car
- Rooms fit only 4
- No character meals or other distinctly fun dining
- Most buildings have no elevators—only buildings 62, 63 and 64 have elevators
- No spa services
- Requires outdoor walks to get to lobby/central services
- Many rooms quite distant from lobby
- With Animal Kingdom Lodge, only deluxe not on a lake
PROS AND CONS OF STUDIO ROOMS IN DISNEY’S SARATOGA SPRINGS RESORT AND SPA, MAIN RESORT
Pros
- Easy parking
- Consistently good view from rooms
- Some areas have easy access to Downtown Disney
- Great spa
- Great pool
- Among the lowest-cost deluxe rooms–even better if you rent points
- Not popular, so easy to reserve
- No convention center
Cons
- Rooms among the smallest deluxe options
- Sprawling and distinctly inconvenient if you don’t have a car
- Theming, for kids, is unremarkable
- Weak and limited on-resort dining, with no great access to alternatives (other than Downtown Disney) unless you have a car
- Rooms fit only 4
- No character meals or other distinctly fun dining
- No marina
- Outdoor walks to get to lobby/central services
- Many rooms quite distant from lobby
MY TOP DELUXE RESORTS FOR FIRST TIME FAMILY VISITORS
The top deluxes for first-time family visitors are, in order, Disney’s Polynesian Resort, Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. Returning visitors often like the convenience of the Epcot resorts, of which Disney’s Beach Club Resort is the best choice.
5 comments
After a 2night stay at Bay Lake Towers in 2010, I’m at the point of considering a Monorail hotel to be a liability. Both mornings the monorail wasn’t working for early access to MK, so the only alternative was to walk or wait for the boats that don’t operate early in the morning. There were also other times throughout our short stay that the monorail was not operational.
I also found that the bus transportation from the Monorail resorts to be the worst at WDW. The waits were long and buses were shared between The Contemporary, Poly, and Grand Floridian.
For the price you pay to stay at those resorts, I think at a minimum there should be dedicated bus service.
When you say Boardwalk does not have a marina … does that not include the boat dock you can use to travel to Beach Club, Swan/Dolphin, Epcot and Hollywood studios? Because that service is available at Boardwalk.
Kuleen the monorail outages are infrequent. I get you on the buses, a common complaint…but the incremental effect of the extra stops (the average for an out and back trip is one extra stop) isn’t huge (to me–many disagree.)
Mike, a marina is an extra amenity at most–but not all!–the deluxes, where you can rent watercraft for family use. E.g. this at the Poly:
I think the combination of monorail outages, long waits for the bus, and then bus stops was enough to put me over the edge. That stay at the Contemporary had the worst transportation I have ever encountered at WDW. Good to know that it was an anomaly.
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