Which Disney Hotel do you recommend?

[couture1]

We are thinking of the carribean beach, but want to select the right one for a young family. Dont want long walks to the room, would like to be in the centre of everything and would like a superior room - has anyone any recommendations please?

me and my family arrived back from carribean beach 3 weeks ago and i would recommend it to anyone. i have a 5yr old. the resort is beautiful, and each area has its own swimming pool, beach and play area, about a minute walk from the rooms. The main area of the resort was also fantastic, my little one loved the swimming pools, to be honest you could be quite happy staying in the resort for a week without ever needing to visit any parks!! i also recommend using the disney transport- so much easier than driving to the parks etc.
hope u enjoy ur holiday- we've re-booked at carribean beach for next yr x

Thank you Natts - you get so much mixed reviews on the review sites - Im going to book it. Can you recommend which bit would be best to stay in there as I believe its split into different areas, we have a 1, 3 and 7 year old.

Any other tips will be happily recieved

we stayed at the dolphin.

It's signifficantly cheaper because it's not walt disney's hotel but is still on the resort and you have the same access etc.

Has good swimming pools, plus easy access to the boardwalk for restaurants/water transport to mgm/epcot and buss transport to the magic kingdom/animal kingdom/water parks.

This offers the meal deal packages which I believe would have significant savings for us. Im wondering do I need the 14 day passes but I dont think there is much difference in the price of the 7 day and 14 day disney park passes.

We stayed on Port Orleans, this was close to downtown disney.

Pros-
disney 'atmosphere' at hotel (staff dressed up etc)
transport to parks
pool on site was fab
extra disney hours

Cons
rooms not vey big (although, the beds were very comfy)
Our room was a fair distance from reception so would request closer room next time.

wouldnt hesitate to stay there again, in fact we are going back Aug 2010

Carribean beach was great for us, but apart from DH and DS swimming at 11pm we didn't really spend much time there and the only meal we ate there was breakfast.

We got fed up with lugging sleepy/asleep children and all associated junk on and off buses that we drove to the parks - so the opposite experience to natts.

If you really want to be in the centre there are closer (and more expensive) hotels.

Can anyone recommend a 'better' disney hotel that accomadate young children?

Its difficult to be in 'the centre of things' because Disney Resort is HUGE. The Polynesian resort is close to Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom Lodge is close to animal kingdom etc etc ( I think that you can get an online map which gives an idea)

We stayed at Port orleans and it still took approx 20 mins to get over to animal kingdom- I cannot begin to describe just how vast the resort is.

Just got a quote on the contemporary resort and it is £2000 more

Hmmm - that would be how we ended up at the Caribbean Beach. If you (like us) are going to spend pretty much every waking hour in the parks, then the higher grade hotels are really not worth the difference. You can always book things like character breakfasts in hotels other than the one you are staying in (we did).

Are the water view rooms better located than the non water view rooms - is it worth the extra money?

ok my viewpoint is about 20 years out of date but when I went as a kid we always used to stay in a cabin in Fort Wildness and it was fabulous, in fact I have just googled it to see how it has changed and they still do this
"free evening campfires with singalong, marshmallow roast, Disney movie, and Chip'n'Dale"
which was one of the highlights of the holiday.

Have done Fort Wilderness, Port Orleans and Wilderness Lodge and loved them all.

Wilderness Lodge was the most expensive but so lovely to hop on a boat and be at the entrance to the Magic Kingdom in a few minutes.

Oh no there is too many to choose from!!!

Which one is best value for money and young children will love?

Port Orleans Riverside was (relatively) good value for money (same category as Caribbean Beach IIRC) and had a fantastic pool. The food court also had a giant water wheel which my children thought was fantastic!!

I think whichever hotel you choose will be great- it depends on what exactly you want from your hol!
As for using the transport we found it easier, if you buy anything in a disney shop, souveniers etc- ask at the time and they will deliver it back to your hotel for you, and then to your room. it saves having to carry it back. i only have one child whos 5, so maybe a car would be easier if u need to take more things with you.
while we stayed we were in jamica- there is a short bridge over to the main area of the resort. we enjoyed it there, it was quiet in the mornings in the small pool, but onky about 2-3 mins walk over the bridge to the centre.
i think your children will love the holiday whichever hotel you choose, theres nothing more magical! if you have girls id advise meeting the princesses- the highlight of our hols!

Caribbean Beach was fab.
French Quarter of Port Orleans is more intimate
and has a nice shallow children's pool with slides into a bigger pool. It also has boats to Downtown Disney and very regular buses to the rest.
It's worth going 'moderate' rather than 'value' but 'deluxe ' not worth extra money imo.
Have a look
at this
for really good reliable info.

We considered Carribbean beach for this summer's holiday but the reviews online varied so much. We finally deided on Animal Kingdom folowing some fab reviews, plus recommendations on MN. We liked the fact that our room has a balcony so if DD wants to sleep a bit earlier Dh and I have somewhere to sit.

Myself and DC 4 and 9 stayed at Wilderness Lodge, really enjoyed the experience. Convenient but also tranquill like being in the Canadian outback. Great restaurant for kids lots of funny surprises. Also appreciated life guard on duty so I could relax and read my book whilst kids swam. Did have a great balcony too, some rooms can see the firework display.

Thanks everyone - Does anyone have any experience / tips on the free dining experience, I have been advised to upgrade to the seating plan. Does this save money over the holiday - I suppose its bound to but is the food of a decent quality / choice.

We stayed at the beach club and it was great!!! Would really recommend staying there or boardwalk or swan and dolphin as you can walk into epcot from all these hotels - we walked thru epcot and got monorail to magic kingdom so much easier than cars and buses.
Have you looked at the disney vaction club - you can have a studio apartment have have all the bonuses of disney hotels but can self cater...
I'm very . I lurve disney world

Thank you scrappy - where is the disney vaction club? can you get the dining passes if you stay here? I wonder how it compares in price?

hereIts the disney timeshare but you don't have to be an owner to use it. You have to book it separately so you couldn't do a package. Price wise I think its comparable to price to the resort they're in iyswim. Probably not cheaper cos nothing in disney is!!!
There is a cheaper way if you buy 'points' off an owner but that means you have to find an owner...
I don't think its included in the dining offer but as you can self cater you wouldn't need it anyway... but you still get the magic hours and use of the facilities.
Would also recommend The DIBB for useful disney info and reviews etc including advice on dining plan.
Have fun - I you can spend hours planning a disney holiday

I've stayed in a fair few of the resort hotels at WDW as I used to work for Walt Disney Co promoting WDW in Orlando, DL in Calif and the Disney cruise line.(some years ago mind you b4 kids!)

WDW in Orlando is 39 square miles and a huge place, the size of Greater Manchester. There are 4 theme parks and IMHO each is slightly age suited for kids eg Magic Kingdom for the younger ones, Epcot for older, Animal Kingdom for all and MGM for the older more thrill seeking type due to some of the rides.

I've stayed at the CB and PO and they are fine but if your budget can stretch I would prefer to go for one where you can walk into the parks. Eg Yacht and Beach for Epcot and Boardwalk night area (go Beach as cheaper than Yacht) - has a snad bottomed pool too! and you can boat into MGM. The value rooms are travelodge type spec, and usually miles from anywhere (though my info may be out of ddate). jmho

Sorry - when I say value I mean value resorts hotel eg Pop Century Resort. Moderate are perfectly good for everyone but the cheaper deluxe eg Wilderness Lodge and Polynesian are really lovely too. Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge is a cheaper deluxe too but more off the beaten track.

There are cheaper non Disney hotels at Downtown Disney ( a nighttime and shopping place)within WDW but longer transportation etc. You pay more to be closer and more convenient (of course!).

Need to warn you that because the place is sooo huge if you go for a spread out resort eg Caribbean Beach you may well find you do lots of walking to and from reception/dining/shop etc unless you specifically request a room nearer to facilities.

Hope you have great fun!