disney hotels in florida, anybody stayed in one?

[tiredemma]

i work for thomas cook and once a year get a huge family discount of a holiday, we are considering using our concession next year to go to florida and to stay in a hotel that we would never normally be able to afford. we really want one of the disney hotels, either animal kingdom lodge, carribean beach or port orleans, i have researched them at work but really want to know if anybody has been there and can tell me if they really are all they are cracked up to be, if not then we will just save ourselves that extra bit of money and stay in a villa, but ds1 (age4) is DESPERATE to stay in a disney hotel ( he says he wants to have breakfast with rafiki from lion king!) thanks in advance!

we stayed in the wilderness lodge and it was fab! we want to go again when the children are a bit older and hope to stay in the animal kingdom one.
The rooms weren't outstanding - pretty basic really, but the rest of the hotel was very impressive looking, with lots of facilities, good restaurants etc.

IMO the only good thing about staying on site is that you get to go in the parks an hour early on certain days.

The rooms are never very big, you don't tend to get a fridge, you do get Disney toiletries though.

We have stayed at the campground in a wooden hut thing (thinly disguised caravan). We did have more room than a hotel and a deck area and we could park outside the door but we also had to hire a golf cart (£150) to get around as you're not allowed to take the car around the resort.

It was nice to get on a boat to go over to Magic Kingdom and it stopped right at the main entrance so very handy.

We have also stayed at the Polynesian and the Contemporary both we thought were overpriced. I would recommend the Disney breakfast at the Contemporary as it is buffet style. At the Polynesian they just dump a bowl of everything in front of you.

I would also recommend the Cinderella Dinner at The Grand Floridian. The food was excellent (buffet again but very good). Cinderella characters come to the table. No others though (we were hoping for other princesses).

HTH

Not stayed in a Disney hotel - we had a villa 2 miles away BUT re: character meals:

We had breakfast at Chef Mickeys, at the Contempory. It was excellent. Hige buffet meal, lots of choice. We ate plenty. DD (age 2) ate hardly anything as she was so excited about the characters. Chef Mickeys is "hosted" by Mickey and friends. Whilst we were there we saw: Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale. All came to the tables - they have a set pattern so no one is missed. Lots of photos and cuddles.

We also had a character lunch at the Crystal Palace inside Magic Kingdom. This is hosted by innie the Pooh and freinds and we spent ages with Pooh Bear, Piglet, Tigger and Eyore. Tigger was lovely with DD and he was laid down as she tickled his tummy, and was giggling with her lots. Again the food was very very good - hot buffet. Price includes all food and all drinks.

When we were the there (August) the place in Animal Kingdon doing character breakfasts was being hosted by Donald Duck and friends, although apparantly Mickey is often around too.

I have stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, Port Orleans and the Wilderness Lodge.

The rooms are your basic hotel roms. Clean and comfortable, but nothing special. You can get a fridge if you request it but there is an extra charge. No coffee makers in the room, which to me is a big drawback.

Advantages, of course, are being able to get into the parks an hour early (only certain ones on certaon days though) and the Disney transportation which makes life much easier. Also, they have really really nice pools with pool bars. Nothing like sipping a cocktail while your little ones splash in the shallow water!

Also you have to remember that there are different levels of Disney hotels. Animal Kingdom Lodge, Wilderness Lodge, the Contemporary and Polynesian are all the high end hotels (there may be more). Port Orleans, I think is a mid-range hotel.

If you go to the Animal Kingdom Lodge, try to get a room with a view of the Savannah, then you can see giraffes etc. from your room. That's pretty cool. We didn't, but we had a nice view of the pool which I have a photo of that I can email me if you want to CAT me.

Hi tiredemma. We stayed at The Contemporary and I loved the fact that it was a short hop on the monorail to the Magic Kingdom (it comes right through the foyer of the hotel) It is a very impressive spectacle and the rooms were fine. We had a nice balcony-could see the fireworks. Chef Mickeys breakfast was lovely but BOOK EARLY!! We were staying there and could only get the 7am slot. DH was not impressed. I would love to stay at the Animal Kingdom

Noy stayed in 1, but the dolphin hotel in board walk is superb.
We often take a walk around it when we r in Florida & would love 2 stay there sometime.
Not sure how expensive it is though!

I would recommend 'The Unofficial Guide to WDW' published by Bob Sehlinger. Brilliant advice, hotel room layouts. Phone numbers so you can pre-book everything months before you go.

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thanks everyone, think we have decided on the caribbean beach hotel, eeek cant wait now!

We stayed in the Grand Floridian over the summer and it is only about 3 minutes on the monorail to get to Magic Kingdom. Coming back at night we took the boat which was lovely and were back in about 5 minutes. We could see the fireworks from our hotel room which overlooked the main pool. We were on the concierge level in the main building. We had breakfast with Mary Poppins. A huge selection at the buffet with things I'd never imagine at breakfast. Characters there were Winnie, Tigger, Alice, Mad Hatter who all took loads of time with the children and were happy to pose for photos and autographs.
It was a beautiful place with all the Disney details you'd expect. Chocolates on the pillows, towels folded into Mickey Mouse aahhh, back to reality!