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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.

The first-ever yourfirstvisit.net and MilitaryDisneyTips.com joint fan meet up is on!

It will be 4.30-5.30p on November 13th in the northeast corner of the Magic Kingdom’s Town Square, interrupted by the 5p Flag Retreat.

Steve Bell of MilitaryDisneyTips.com and I will be

• Meeting and greeting our fan(s)
• Giving away the new “Glow with the Show” mouse ear hats to the first five fans that show up (if we hit that many…), and
• Watching the Retreat together.

Steve will have a white shirt on, I’ll have a red shirt on, and we’ll likely both be wearing mouse ears and carrying a bag with more! Look for us between the candy (“Main Street Confectionery”) and hat (“The Chapeau”) shops!

Afterwards, Steve and I will be wandering around the Magic Kingdom, mostly together, and then having a nightcap, likely at the Wilderness Lodge. We will tweet and update on Facebook where we are, and we’d love to meet you later in the evening as well, if you can’t make the 4.30-5.30 meet up.

We’ll be also be giving “Glow with the Show” ears away to randomly selected people who join the meet-up virtually by re-tweeting our tweets or commenting on our Facebook posts.

(On Twitter, Steve is @MilitaryDisney and Dave is @yourfirstvisit. On Facebook, Dave is here and Steve here.)

To RSVP for the meet-up–not that you need to, we aren’t all that formal–click here. And for why I partner with Steve, see this.

Don’t miss it!  The first ever fan meet up for either of us! In the northeast corner of the Magic Kingdom’s Town Square, 4.30 to 5.30p, Wednesday November 13!

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There’s been speculation by all who can do math for years now that FastPass+ might need to be restricted to one “headliner” per day for everyone to get a chance at these most popular Walt Disney World rides.

See, for example, this.

Until lately, this has not been an issue among the Fastpass+ tests.

But while making FastPass+ for my December trip (yes, there’s a December trip coming up too) I noted that at Epcot I could only pick one from among Soarin, Test Track, Maelstrom, and the character greeting there.

See the image above for what I saw on MyDisneyExperience.com
Kenny the Pirate adds Illuminations to this list from which you must pick one, and says this applies to all new Fastpass+ selections at Epcot between now and December 29.

I’ve already given my advice here for how to handle Epcot with just one headliner, but here it is again:

Epcot: Plan to arrive early and see Test Track from the stand-by line.  Target for Fastpass+ first Soarin, then Turtle Talk with Crush,  and then Spaceship Earth (the last two aren’t that hard to get now, but I predict they’ll become tougher as Fastpass+ takes more of their capacity).

And the other options?

• No one should bother with a Fastpass+ for Maelstrom–just see it first thing after Word Showcase opens, or skip it
• Lines at the Epcot Character Spot will grow because it is the only FastPass+ option especially appropriate for little kids. FastPass+ it only if you plan to see nothing else on this list
• I can’t right now see a Fastpass+ for Illuminations as the highest priority for many, but will have a better sense next weekend, after I’ve seen if from the Fastpass+ location

You would think that this change should have no effect on those who made their Epcot Fastpass+ choices before it went into effect on Friday.

But you know what?  I wouldn’t change any prior Epcot Fastpass+ reservations until we hear from the field that people are able to do this and still keep the three headliners available before this new wrinkle to the Epcot test!

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DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: NOVEMBER 2 TO NOVEMBER 10, 2013

The material below details operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.

The same stuff is in the image, but organized by park, not by topic.

[Read more →]

Walt Disney World has released a new “families with little ones” Intro to Disney offer which–doubtless inspired by this site 🙂 –it’s aiming at first time visitors.

Here’s some of Disney’s language:

“[N]ow’s a terrific time to share Disney magic together for the first time—thanks to a special offer created for families with little ones.”

The deal packages together rooms, tickets, and dining plans, and looks to be a variant of the already-released “Stay Play and Dine” deal.

The example given includes three people–two ten and older and one aged 3-9. Three nights at Pop Century or one of the All-Stars, two ticket days, and the quick-service dining plan are priced at $999. By my math, that’s at least $150 off.

Deals for other family structures and trip lengths are available.

This deal covers most arrival dates January 5 through February 12, 2014, and needs to be booked by December 31.

See more on Disney’s page on this offer here.

–And thanks, Joe Black, for the heads-up on this deal!

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Storybook Dining in Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, a table-service restaurant in Epcot’s Norway Pavilion, is one of Disney World’s three “Princess Meals”—and arguably the best of the three.

• Cinderella’s Royal Table, in the castle in Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom, is the most iconic, sought after, and—by far—expensive of the three.  Cinderella and other princesses visit at breakfast, lunch and dinner
• 1900 Park Fare, in the Grand Floridian, offers dinner attended by Cinderella, Prince Charming, and Cinderella’s family. The setting is undistinguished, the food great, and the price is about half that of the Royal Table—exactly half if you are using the dining plan—one credit, rather than two.
• Like Cinderella’s Royal Table, Akershus Royal Banquet Hall has a bucket of princesses and is set in a castle, but is priced comparably to 1900 Park Fare—more than 1900 if cash (but still not as much more as Cindy), the same as 1900 if dining plan.

STORYBOOK DINING AT AKERSHUS ROYAL BANQUET HALL

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall is in the Norway Pavilion of the Epcot’s World Showcase. (From Epcot’s Future World, the second country going clockwise, right after Mexico.)

The Banquet Hall is inside Akershus Castle.

The castle,  in the less interesting Romanesque style rather than the frothier Gothic style of Cinderella’s Castle in the Magic Kingdom, is not so immediately appealing, but the interior is lovely.

Breakfast is typical of what is served elsewhere but the lunch and dinner menus have many Scandinavia highlights, starting with a buffet with range of appetizers and cold dishes—fresh foods, cheeses and preserved meats and fish.  Besides the buffet, one also orders an entrée…

…possibly a silly drink for dad and mom…

…and a dessert sampler.

Unadventurous eaters will find something to enjoy, but the adventurous, and/or lovers of preserved fish, will most enjoy the Akershus lunch and dinner menus.

Meals there include visits from several Disney princesses—on our visit, we were formally greeted by Belle…

…and also met Ariel…

…Cinderella…

…Aurora…

…Snow White, and others.

The best features of Akershus are the princesses, the castle setting, and then the food.  The food comes higher on the list for those interested in Scandinavian cuisine.

Being in Epcot is a mixed blessing.  Epcot most rewards older kids willing to accept its invitation to think and to be creative.  There’s not as much there for kids young enough to most enjoy a princess meal—and such kids may also not be adventurous enough to enjoy the full range of food on offer.

(On the other hand, I was eating pickled herring and smoked salmon at age three, so I love this place…I was not sophisticated…but my dad ate them, so so did I. )

A great day for younger kids at Epcot would start before park open and include Soarin (if they are mature enough and at least 38 inches), The Seas with Nemo and Friends, Spaceship Earth, Turtle Talk with Crush, and a character meet ‘n greeting.

An early breakfast—early enough that you are done by park open, so you can take advantage of the lower crowds then–at Akershus fits this well.

Lunch also works just fine with this kind of morning.

For younger kids not afraid of fireworks, a visit—or return–in the evening for dinner at Akershus and the fireworks show Illuminations also works.

Kids just old enough to enjoy everything at Epcot—both the princess meals and the challenge to their intellect and imagination—will enjoy the park, including Akershus, the best!

*   *   *

PICKING BETWEEN CINDERELLA’S ROYAL TABLE AND STORYBOOK DINING AT AKERSHUS

I’m often asked, since my itineraries include two princess meals, Cindy and Akershus, if a family can afford just one, which should they pick.

If the kids are old enough to enjoy Epcot fully, I’d go with Akershus hands down.  You get the same piles of princesses at a lower price, with a more interesting menu.

But there’s a lot to be said for the iconic appeal of dining in the castle at the Magic Kingdom, and the Magic Kingdom, of course, appeals to all ages.  So for younger kids, that’s the one I’d suggest.

My itineraries promise all the best of Walt Disney World—so in them you get both!

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