The WORST Hotel Rooms in Disney World
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- Опубликовано: 16 июл 2024
- The hotel room you pay thousands of dollars for could end up being the WORST part of your Disney World experience. So which places should you and your group actively avoid? Let’s figure that out today - here on DFB Guide.
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It’s cheaper to fly to Tahiti for a bungalow, than to stay at Disney Polynesian bungalows.
It’s probably cheaper to fly anywhere else than it is to go to Disney period anymore even if you’re a fl resident
@@emilygeorge4586 If the borders weren't closed, I genuinely believe you could make a trip to Shanghai Disneyland for cheaper than Disney World, even with international flights and visas.
No joke!! I’ve said it before, for the same price, take your kids to Europe to see the real deal not replicas at Epcot.
There was a news report back in June that said that depending on the time, it was actually cheaper to fly to and visit Disney Paris than it was to stay at Disneyland and visit the parks in Anaheim. The difference was about $900. I said to my spouse, "Paris or Anaheim? Paris or Anaheim? Paris or Anaheim? This is so difficult."
Agreed. A couple years ago, my wife and I went to Tanzania, to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, and take a 3 day safari.... I'm pretty sure it was cheaper than a Disney vacation.
I completely agree about the Contemporary! A huge missed opportunity to play on a wonderful 70’s retro theme to honor the resort’s 50th Anniversary!
Agreed!!
is it just me or does the inside the Contemporary looking toward the rooms look similar to the Luxor in Las Vegas.
I agree 1000% with the contemporary revamp as being a bad thing. I think it cheapens the look and feel of what’s supposed to be a deluxe resort. Personally I think ANYTHING that was original to the WDW resort should NEVER be drastically changed. Updated a little, yes. But never completely overhauled.
I stayed at Contemporary right before they redid it and I felt the only thing that needed improvement was the slide at the pool and the hot tubs.
Ugly! Absolute disaster of a revamp
I feel some of the rooms should have it but the other could’ve been a light revamp it’s honestly fine how it was before.
I’ve stayed only at Poly, and even after the Moana theme, which some people don’t like, I love it. When I visit The Contemporary, mainly for breakfast at California Grill, it just looks depressing. Not sure if guests come here with the nostalgia of the past, but I wouldn’t pay nowhere near $700/night for this hotel.
Right. If they wanted to go the incredible route, they should have used the movie background and concept designs as their inspiration. The theming in the movie is classy and retro which would have been so perfect and so pretty.
Me and my husband stayed at the All Star Sports Resort in May for a week and LOVED it!! We actually had no issues with the buses at all. We were able to get to each park 30 minutes early every morning, and had no issues getting back at night. It's a fun, affordable place, and great for those who just want to be surrounded by Disney.
How early did you get to the bus stop before early entry? I’m going in August at All Star Movie Resort and was just curious how early I need to wake up 😅
@@ariel5061 we usually got there around 20 minutes before early entry and a bus came every time within a minute or two! It's a lot of early wake up times (especially for Animal Kingdom) but super worth it!! We took advantage of the refillable cups and stopped at the food court for our free coffee every morning 😂
We stayed at All Star Movies and had no issues with buses either.
I never, EVER had issues with the all star Buses either while staying at any all stars. I’m talking I have waited 10 min max. Maybe. I might just have put my foot in my mouth, for my trip in September… BUT! I really love all star hotels.
@@deo3367 I'm so glad to hear other people have had good experiences too!! I keep hearing negative things so I thought we maybe just got SUPER lucky that week haha.
I honestly think Port Orleans French Quarter is easily the BEST Disney hotel for the money. It’s a bit more than a value resort, but especially in the off-season, very affordable. It has a boat to Disney springs which was so fun. There’s one bus stop, and it’s not very crowded because the resort is so small. The rooms feel nice and not too cramped. It was perfect for us, and I recommend it to everyone!
We stayed there last week and agree - it was brilliant as it was so small we never had a crowded bus stop and the bus was never full. The rooms were very comfortable. We would definitely recommend.
We stayed there, I loved the boat. Hated the bus.
I haven’t been there since I was 7, so in 03, and this was before the updates, but I do remember thinking as a kid that it was nice and quiet, and that the bus stop wasn’t super stressful, which was nice. I’ve since found out I’m autistic, so it makes sense that those things would stick out to me as a child.
Thxs. Going in Dec and staying here
I love this resort. It’s small, quiet, and very pretty.
I wish they had dedicated the Contemporary to going all in on Mary Blair’s design work and history at Disney. Her mural work dominates the lobby, the hotel theme is already there, Disney keeps ignoring it.
The bird at 5:46 was outside our window in April at Kidani EVERYDAY, it’s gets points for devotion and consistency for its commitment to patrolling the same path ALL DAY LONG.
Stayed at Old Key West a few years ago--very quickly learned that the bus stop nearest to our rooms was the last of the 5 stops in the resort--so buses would show up full or almost full. A short walk away was the first stop--so we'd have first dibs on an empty bus. in such a large resort, little things like that can make a HUGE difference.
Yes, the Peninsular Road stop is where we went to catch a bus a lot, but also used Turtle Pond and never had an issue getting on a bus.
I’m so surprised by the Incredible’s theming at the Contemporary resort. It looks so plain. I can’t imagine paying all that money for a room that looks so bare. 🤷🏻♀️
I love what the Contemporary did with the lobby areas and I love the Monorail etched into the bathroom mirrors. I get Incredibles have a mid-century 60s type vibe, so maybe they were going for a mid-century modern look, but they should have gone all in on the monorail motif and the vibe the lobby has, with the vintage WDW pictures & Mary Blair imagery, for example
All the rooms at Saratoga have been refurbished for like a year already. The rooms are gorgeous and we had a great view of DS from Congress Park.
I was coming here to say this!!! I think y’all were a little misinformed. The redo has been uniformally loved and the Murphy bed upgrade is HUGE. Given its price point, the full renovation is a huge game changer. The only rooms that haven’t been redone is the Treehouse Villas.
You can actually tell that they’re totally done because Disneys system has finally updated the max occupancy in a 1 bed villa to 5. They waited a LONG time to do that!!!
Completely agree with the Contemporary re-theme. Even though I love The Incredibles, I don't want to pay top dollar to live in a cartoon room.
I would feel the same way . I really don't care for the newer Disney movies or Marvel movies that have come out i the last few years .
Gosh! Didn't Disney begin with animation? There is Disney/Pixar stuff in every hotel at WDW. Maybe go to Universal next time if you don't like Disney stuff? Even before their IP re-theming, Disney references were everywhere in every hotel that I can recall since I started going there in 1975.
I personally loved the rooms at the Contemporary… before the remodel. The incredibles theme is a bit overwhelming and reminds me of art of animation, however I still love the hotel. Once you move into the room and make it your own little space, the incredibles theme kinda goes away and is not as obvious compared to the minute you walk in the room.
Agreed. That design change was a mistake. I love the incredible movies but the design just looks cheap.
I love these videos, but one thing that never gets mentioned is the lack of organized lines when waiting for a bus at deluxe resorts. We stayed at Animal Kingdom lodge and Boardwalk Villas in June and it was frustrating each morning we needed to catch a bus for park opening because it was busy at the bus stops and there were people just showing up and cutting to get on the bus (sometimes intentionally and other times not). I liked how Art of Animation had line barriers to keep things fair and organized. 👍🏻
Yes! And when I stayed at Animal Kingdom there were multiple times a bus didn’t come at all both going to and leaving parks. Someone would have to go notify a cast member and they would have to figure out where the bus was. We waited over 45 minutes once and never saw a bus.
For some reason, people at higher end hotels feel more entitled. I will however, say the the bus lines at Old Key West we extremely polite.
they really need a bus stop attendant at each one to monitor lines and radio in a bus when lines are getting long. we've stayed at the all stars a few times, and besides the all stars pickups always the furthest away, they get very few busses- we've waited upwards of an hour one time when it was 90+ degrees, meanwhile bus after bus was seen coming through going just about everywhere to the all stars....super annoying.
We stayed in Animal Kingdom Lodge this May and did not experience this. People formed a line and bus kept making continous loops. The first bust started 90 minutes before Early Entry instead of the advertised 45 minutes and we never had to wait more than 20 minutes, the average was 8 minutes.
@@timeabarna6882 the more premium resorts def get way better bussing
WOW, AJ actually came out and said that something at Disney is a ripoff? I hurt my neck doing a double-take!
We had a standard two queen room at Wilderness Lodge, on the 6th floor, overlooking the waterfront cabins. And we had an AWESOME view of the Contemporary and Cinderella's Castle! Which of course translated into views of the fireworks shows every night.
Mickey coming out to dance and everyone just staring at him hurt my heart 🤣
Sheesh! If you really want a nice room and don't care too much about staying an exclusively Disney resort, book a vacation at the Swan and or Dolphin. It's in the EPCOT resort area and you still get the extended magic hours! Sometimes it's the same price as if you were going to stay at the budget friendly resorts. It's luxury coupled with convenience.
We are staying at Swan next week! So excited - never stayed there. Not looking forward to the 20 hour flight with a 2 year old tho! Only ever stayed at Fort WIlderness before so interested what the Swan is like.
@@tobinjc1 Yay!! Wow - 20 hour flight! I know it looks a little dated on the outside, but it was just remodeled on the inside. The coffee bar is a hot spot in the morning if you need your coffee. I think their coffee is better than anything else on property. The rooms are a better option than the all star resorts and sometimes for the same price as them! Hope you have a safe flight and you enjoy your time!! 😄
I agree with you on the Incredibles theme for the Contemporary rooms. It almost makes it feel like a value resort, not that theming in value resorts is bad, I would just expect characters to be plastered everywhere in the design for the price you pay for a deluxe resort. I think they could have refreshed it and given it a contemporary look without a character theme. I feel that the amount of huge Incredibles fans out there are not enough to justify every room being done in this fashion.
Yup, I'm with you. Contemporary would have been better just getting a bunch of IKEA furniture. Yeah, the rooms needed a remodel, but it DIDN'T need IP, and it CERTAINLY didn't need Incredibles, which, honestly, I don't remember being particularly futuristic.
POFQ is really the only on-site resort I willingly stay at. Not Riverside, French Quarter! Such a small resort footprint. You are never far from anything, the busses are about as good as they get and you only share buses at random times. The ferry to DS is So relaxing! It sold my 5 year old on the resort and he doesn’t want to stay anywhere else. Plus he loves he can take a ferry to the LEGO store.
The atmosphere of the resort is so lazy and slow, and not smacking you in the face with Disney theming. You’d never guess you were so close to amusement parks by how relaxed and quiet it is. We love it. I wish they offered POFQ as DVC, I would buy into it for sure!
My favorite Disney hotel rooms, hands down, are The Lion King suites at AoA. I just can't imagine going to WDW and staying at a hotel without intense, colorful, in-your-face theming (especially when many of the non-themed rooms come at higher costs). 😂 I'm at DISNEY! I want to be surrounded by my favorite characters and stories 24/7. Second favorite are the All-Star resorts, for the same reason. Gotta have whimsy at my WDW resort.
meanwhile we are over here, like give me Riviera, I've seen bright sights and characters all day, I need peace and tranquility lol. I suppose this is why they ALL exist, everyone likes a little something different. lol
I’d like to piggyback off of the first point! If convenience and ease of location is important to you, and you are able to, I recommend always splurging the extra ~$20-30/night to book a Preferred room vs. a Standard. This will ensure your room is closer to the main lobby, or central hub of the resort (ie closer to food, shopping, front desk, transportation, etc.). Especially at those larger resorts, this can be a huge make-or-break for your vacation, especially if you have little ones or others who may need a little less walking after a long day at the parks. Another factor to keep in mind is most of the resorts require walking on uncovered paths to get to the main lobby, transportation, etc., and with the (almost always promised) Florida rain, having to walk farther can put a huge damper on your day! I know this was mentioned in the video, but just wanted to emphasize this point because I used to work at one of these larger resorts and cannot stress how many guests were upset once they realized how far their room truly was from all the amenities
My problem with the modernization of the Contemporary is that The Incredibles originally was in the theaters
in 2004, (sequel in 2018)…that is not very contemporary! Disney needed to have more of a generic modern feel, as opposed to tying it to one, or two animated features. Their scope was too narrow! I will be watching this again before I book my trip next year. Thank you AJ.
The meaning of contemporary has changed over the years, and that's natural. Antique used to mean 'of this day'! Contemporary is now something between vintage and the present. In a weird place where it looks like it was once trendy but is just old enough to be cringe before becoming valued again.
It’s because the movie is set in the 70s and full of 70s modern aesthetics
They should just embrace the Mary Blair aesthetic for the tower rooms. So much material to pick from!
For our trip (we're 3 adults, in our 20s and early 30s, no kids), we opted to pay less by going with a good-neighbor hotel on property. Though the Swan Reserve likely won't blow us away with its theming, we'll be just a walk away from the Boardwalk area with tons of hotels that have great themed areas. Not to mention being walking distance from 2 parks at a great price for the area.
Oh wow which parks could you walk to from there?
@@asapflavaKEpcot and Hollywood Studios
I stayed in the Little Mermaid rooms thinking that it would be the same walk as the 1990's or 1950's sections of Pop Century. I was VERY wrong. The walk to the furthest rooms in Pop Century is so much easier. I have no idea why it was such an exhausting walk, but it was.
Stayed in a studio at Saratoga Springs in September and loved it. We were the absolute first room when you entered property. We used the Paddock pool a ton. The room was wonderful. We walked to Disney Springs almost every night and the walk was lovely. I highly recommend it. My least favorite stay was All-Star Movies. It was just a really bad check in (took longer than our flight from Rhode Island) , sent us to a room that was already occupied by children, and than took another half an hour to actually give us our hotel room. This was all done on a first trip to Disney. Not a great way to spend our first day.
This may be a hot-take, but this is how I came to book our upcoming hotel stay for our honeymoon:
A majority of Disney resort hotel rooms don’t have mini-fridges and/or microwaves in room. This was a deal breaker for us, so we ended up booking our upcoming week long stay at the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando - Disney Springs location. A king size bedroom with separate living/dining area and patio suite (with mini fridge and microwave!) within a 10 minute walk to Disney Springs, all for roughly the same price as a suite at the Disney's Port Orleans Resort - Riverside (which had a fridge but no microwave?) !!
Like I said, may be a “hot take” but, when traveling for a week long vacation, having the ability to easily refrigerate or heat up food, is very crucial for us. Just something for new comers to keep in mind.
We love that resort!
I agree I stayed at the grand Floridian I did not have a microwave I couldn’t believe it
I had to laugh when I read this, because we moved from that hotel to All-Star Music (first half of our trip was non-Disney, second half was 4 parks in a row, so we wanted to be in a Disney hotel for the second half). And the first thing we noticed was no microwave. Granted, there are ones in the cafeteria area we could have used, and it ended up not really being a big deal, but yeah, definite gap there.
I am constantly shocked that people are paying upwards of $300 for a room with no microwave/fridge. Every Hampton Inn I’ve stayed at has given me more room and amenities than I’ve seen at any Disney resort and I’ve never payed more than $200 for one.
I suppose it depends on what you are used to in hotels, in the U.K. it is extremely rare for a hotel room to have a microwave in it, maybe a fridge in the more expensive rooms but not in your average room.
I’ve never stayed at the Contemporary but have always admired it for its monolithic/brutalist look - even when I was a child.
But now, as an adult, I’m also confused by its identity and also not loving the Incredibles rooms. It feels like licensed home decor? Graphic/architectural design, iconography, and simplicity clearly played a part in the creation of the resort. I wish the entire would be re-visited through that original lens and refurbed in one pass rather than fragmenting.
If you had showed me the footage of The Incredibles rooms and said it was a Super 8, I would have totally believed you.
The decor is bad enough but the cost on those room is absolutely batshit crazy insane. Like a couple of nights would get me a balcony cabin on a seven night cruise from most non Disney cruise lines....
I also agree with you about the Contemporary. It’s awful, there’s too much re-theming to IP going on. It’s a convention hotel, I’d never book my group there because of the theme. Like you said, there’s way too much going on, decide on one theme and stick with it. I love the Mary Blair in the lobby, would have liked to see more of that. It’s sad because the Contemporary was the first Disney hotel we stayed at as a kid, it’s a no for me now.
I stayed at the Wilderness lodge 25 years ago. My view was of the dumpster for a deluxe price. I have not stayed there since.
The family suite at all star music was worth dealing with everything else at that resort. Seriously. Having a private bedroom, 2nd barroom, and real fridge was amazing.
Thank you. I 100% agree on the contemporary. I adored the old design. The new one looks cheap.
Agree with the Bungalow review. The same floor plan is available at the Wilderness Lodge with an actual hot tub. My family loved the cabin and had an amazing fireworks show from the hot tub on our last night! That being said, the Bungalow is my wife's favorite and we will definitely stay there again, I'll just bring a noise cancelling headset for the Coast Guard required horns!
Saratoga Springs has had every room refurbed, and it was all complete almost a year ago (September 2021).
Husband and I stayed at Pop last September, and loved the rooms! Classy and relaxing! Loved the table/murphey bed and the clean/simplistic style.
I wish the Riviera studio rooms were not DVC - really wanted to stay there.
you can rent dvc, far cheaper than paying cash. anyone can stay there. it's an amazing resort, I didn't want to love, but do...moreso than my precious grand floridian (shhhh don't tell my husband) LMAO
I’ve never wanted to stay at Contemporary. When I was a child we stayed there in 1980 and it was super cool and modern, but as an adult the rooms remind me of a Courtyard Marriot.
😅What I love about Saratoga springs is that it’s really quiet. If I just wanna relax and sleep it is the place to be😂 plus walking to Disney springs is great
I do like the new Contemporary rooms, but I do agree that it should've been done differently. I think they shouldve done a more Mary Blair style modernism rooms. Treat the rooms like Steakhouse 71 with history nods, but modern still again. I think the Polynesian and Grand Floridian did it right wit the IP, but Contemporary didn't need IP IMO
Totally agree with your Contemporary refurb comments. Underwhelming changes make the rooms feel stark and forgettable.
I was lucky at Caribbean beach and stayed in Aruba, not too far from the bridge that would take you to the main lobby and I did in fact use the Riveria skyline for Epcot as it was closer. In fact when waiting to get the bus back from parks I would often take the Riveria bus as it usually came before the Caribbean one and also had less people waiting so could always get a seat. I would definitely recommend doing this if you stay in either the Aruba or Martinique sections as it’s only a short walk away from those parts of Caribbean beach.
14:19 it makes sense but it’s sad that there’s not Lilo & Stitch rooms as well.
Totally agree on The Contemporary. Used to be a good place for an adult stay. At that price, the forced Incredibles theme is tacky and not worth the money. Fortunately, we are DVC owners and Bay Lake Tower is great with huge one bedroom rooms with subtle Disney touches in the decor.
I stayed at Coronado Springs in May in the tower...I had a great time & yes having the bus stop right there next to the resort tower was nice!
These videos are so helpful and have made planning my girls trip to Disney so much easier! Thank you for what you do! 😊
We stayed at Cabins at Fort Wilderness last December and loved it. So quiet and peaceful.
Was there a specific loop you asked for? How convenient did you find it to MK? We will be traveling with a 4 yo and a 7 mth old in Nov.
I personally don’t like the IP integration in the Contemporary and Polynesian and have made them place lower among my favorites.
Transportation wise, I truly feel that Pop and AoA are the best options on property (when considering access to ALL parks). First, Skyliner makes transit to HS and Epcot super fast and convenient. With regards to AK and MK, they are among the few resorts that can handle the double buses (which means that buses are rarely full)... plus, with how close the resorts are (and the fact that their bus pickup locations at the parks are usually next to each other) if you are leaving the park and there is a bus for the opposite resort waiting, you can just hop on that bus and your walk to your room isn't significantly longer than the walk from the Skyliner drop off to your room.
Why so expensive Disney !!!! You don’t even enjoy the rooms sometimes because of the parks
Just stayed at Art of Animation this past week in the mermaid building.. very tiny rooms with an awkward door placement. I could barely fit our double stroller in there..
I will say, we were evacuated one morning. You could hear the smoke alarm going off from Animation Hall. We were impressed when we came back to our room to 2 Mickey rice krispy suckers, 2 bottles of water, and a $50 credit.. we did like the resort but the room was extremely small and awkward.. oh and there were only 3 drawers for clothes!!
Ah man, I’m booked there with my husband and 4 YO this October but I go back a forth about changing the resort. We stayed at POP preferred last year. Small room but lots of shelf space and close to transportation. Only reason I didn’t pick POP again was bc I didn’t want to do the same thing again. Wanted to experience something different.
@@christinanewman1542 I’ve got a 5 and 3 yr old. Yes, the room was small but we only used it for sleeping and mid day naps. The issue was storage space. There were only 3 drawers and a hanging rack too.. there was also room under the beds but we didn’t find a purpose for that other than storing our suitcases.. the kids loved the pools. We liked the food options/quick service options and it was great taking skyliner rides too.. our only negative was room space but it’s easy to work around. We just got home yesterday. I hope you enjoy your trip!
I agree. Not someplace if you have any accruements.
@@christinanewman1542 if you don’t have a stroller or ECV involved you’ll be ok. Just be careful when you open the door, LOL.
@@Bur6212 you didn’t say anything about the king walk from the mermaid room…was that not as bad maybe? 😅
Grand Floridian needs an update really badly for regular rooms, not just DVC!
Stayed there a year ago. Room was awful. Mold all over our patio, and in our bathroom. Couch was ripped like someone took a knife to it. My daughters socks were black from the dirty carpet. Mattresses were lumpy. Bathroom drained clogged. First night stood in ankle deep dirty water. I called to complain and change our room and talked to someone and they were very combative and said we could not change our and that they were full. Never again.
I always like the Club Level at The Boardwalk Hotel. Great food, and drinks covered in the price, you can easily skip at least one meal a day, or two in the parks. It's my favourite place to stay at Disney. The Cabana Bay at Universal is my second favourite, I love the art deco designs.
We stayed at All Star Music the first week of April and never had trouble with the buses! The bus drivers were so kind! They were great with my sons wheelchair as well!
Its a reason why i rather rent a big villa instead of a hotel when my family and i visit Orlando from Norway
We stayed at casitas in Coronado springs April 2022. It’s a gorgeous and fun resort but the walking situation is so true. After a week of doing all that walking in the parks plus all the walking to and from grand destino tower for everything, my feet were a mess for weeks afterward.
We love Saratoga. As DVC members, we could stay anywhere but we always choose Saratoga. Love the peacefulness and classical music. Love the way it's spread out and taking a ferry ride to the other hotels along the back is very relaxing. Of course having large sea turtles and otters there is an added bonus.
Thank you. This video has been very informative and helpful.👍
I stayed in the casitas at Coronado springs two weeks ago and it was legit a 2 minute walk to the dig site and a 5 minute walk to gran destino. My gf and I LOVED the resort, it’s beautiful.
We just recently stayed at Gran Destino Tower! We had a king size, water view room. It was GORGEOUS! Absolutely blew us away when we opened the door! And our view was stunning! We could see the lake AND Everest!
Also, Contemporary was my fave deluxe resort but I have no interest now. It’s the perfect location and food and stuff! But I don’t want a bunch of theming in my rooms
My partner has stayed at the Coronado Springs a couple of times and she loves it. She likes the more adult contemporary feel and the more subtle theming. And she has said she doesn't have that much problem with the transportation, you just need to build the time into you calculations. To each their own!
I personally love Saratoga Springs. When we stay there (SS is one of our DVC homes), we always request the rooms right next to Disney Springs. If you love Disney Springs (and I do!), and go there many times during your visit, this is the perfect place to stay. Lovely views of the aerophile and shops and restaurants from SS/Congress area, and you can hear the music from the Springs. It's a beautiful, peaceful view. The one time I drove and had to use the parking garage to get to Disney Springs, I was shocked at the hassle. Totally spoiled to walk through a charming little woods and over a quiet bridge to enter DS from SS.
Honesty haven’t stayed on property since 2017. With all the disappearing perks I’m not sure it’s worth the cost anymore. Even with extra 30 min in the morning, and only the deuce resorts having night time hours. Sure location is everything and there’s the transportation but does it really save that much time. We just planned our first big family trip with 2 kids. We looked at the cost and pros and cons and decided staying off property saves us money to spend on more things we want to do and let our kids have more spending money.
Good choice. You’ll get better accomodations, more space, for less cost - enjoy your trip! Like you said, perks are basically 100% gone at this point. Not worth it
What hotel did you stay at if I may ask? How was transportation? I’d like to know for my future planning lol
All-Star Sports has been undergoing remodeling over the past few months. Was there in May, and the touchdown section was completely closed off for renovations. CM said they are going to close two buildings at a time to complete the remodel while the hotel is still open. During the pandemic, they focused more on exterior work, mostly painting, and boy did it need it. Stayed at All Star Music in 2020 - with a view into All Star Sports, and saw two of the large Coke cup stairwells - one before paint and one that was just finished being painted - HUGE difference. Painted exteriors with the remodeled rooms will truly be an improvement.
I will continue to stay at Pop Century. We love this hotel. Close to HS, Epcot and AK. We have the skyliner which is a game changer. Plus, since we're hardly in the room other than to sleep, I'm happy w/this hotel.
Contemporary defetly miss mark on referb I feel the same feelings you felt and described
We love Saratoga for all the reasons others hate it. It’s quiet. Not major Mickey Mouse in your face. Great for as relaxing a trip as Disney can be. Beautiful walks around the grounds. Never had a bad stay there and the new rooms are lovely. You always say it looks like any Florida apartment building. But I dont live in Fla and they arent like anything near my home so I really like the way it all looks with the convenience of being near Disney Springs. And if people hate it that makes getting a room there easier for me. Win!!
I haven't yet stayed at Saratoga yet, but I want to. I am from about 1 1/2 hours from there, and have made multiple trips to the tracks with my family, in part because my grandfather used to harness race with his own horses. My grandmother passed a few years ago and I think walking around will get me right in the feels!
We loved the studio room at the Riviera! The size never bothered us since we really only used the room at night. We spend all the waking hours in the parks. We loved being able to fold the bed out of the way when we didn't need it. And maybe my wife and I are the weird ones, but we brush our teeth while the other is doing their "business" at home so it's no problem in a hotel. Plus the Riviera is a great location for the Skyliner.
All the rooms at SSR have been renovated and were finished in 2021. The Tree House Villas are set for a renovation in 2023.
We were lucky enough to stay at the Yacht club. Our company had a convention there. The rooms, the decor, sand bottom pools, the access to all the shopping g, boardwalk , even the parks was amazing. It’s my favorite place but pretty pricey .
100% agree with the disappointment over Contemporary retheme. I would have loved to see them go all in on a cohesive retro space age vibe - Tomorrowland meets Shag art by Josh Agle!
i loved the wilderness lodge, was good value and there was a ferry which came on time.
my biggest complaint was the bus drive who picked us up from the airport sounded bitter
OMG, I had no idea that the Contemporary changed the rooms to Incredibles decor. I am so glad I was able to visit before that happened. I first visited WDW and The Contemporary with my parents waaaaaayyyy back in 1980. Back then there was just Magic Kingdom to explore and The Contemporary and Polynesian to stay at. I loved the feel of The Contemporary and having the Monorail come right in the hotel to pick you up and drop you off. When I visited many years later with my husband and daughter in 2012, there had been many changes, mostly the addition of the souvenir boutiques on the main level, but the main feel remained the same including the huge wall mural. I loved the nostalgia of it. Now the Contemporary is not overtly "Disney Themed" but I liked it, in that you could spend the day at Disney, but come back to a subtle version at your hotel. A Mickey shaped pool, Disney character towels on your bed, Disney music played through the resort. The rooms were tasteful with dark wood and white bedding. Made you feel like you got something grand for your extra money staying at a deluxe resort. Next trip I think I would like to explore another hotel.
The incredible theme reminds me of the super budget hotels we have here in the UK, it doesn’t look superheroes! It looks more like a budget contemporary theme
We returned from Disney a week ago... stayed in at the all star music resort. We loved it. We will be going back!!
I love POFQ! Occasionally you have to ride through Riverside's bus stops to pick them up as well, but out of three trips (about 21 days riding) I've only seen their stops twice.
I've had preferred rooms at value resorts that were longer walks to buses/food/front desk than any room at POFQ.
I also love Port Orleans French Quarter. It is very easy and convenient to busses and I love the French Quarter theme of the motel. I also love taking the boat to Disney Springs.
I absolutely agree with you on the Contemporary renovation. We stayed there (had 3 Garden View rooms) in June, 2022. It looks like a room you would find at a much cheaper resort. The carpet in the hallways was already filthy and the furniture in the rooms was already showing wear after only being 3 months old. I don't know who was behind this change, but it's awful. So, not worth the money!
The Aruba section at Caribbean Beach Resort is sooo far from the main hub that walking that stretch in the middle of summer can be so painful. I mean it's great transportation wise because it's right next to the Riviera Skyliner station but that walk to everything else is just horrible.
We had three rooms at the grand Floridian in May and it was wonderful. Our only complaint was the lack of storage space, very few tiny drawers, it was difficult for even two of us. Families of 5 had to live out of suitcases, but they loved the resort so much they didn’t care. Access to monorail, great pools, easy walk to MK. Poly rooms look great, but the Contemporary? Being older, I don’t even know what the Incredibles theming is. 😂. The new rooms just look industrial and cold. I would never stay there.
I love these videos! Could you do one of allergy friendly restaurants?
Having to walk to see a Savannah is well worth it to me. 🦒 We stay at Kidani for that extra bath. Where I stay is important to me. Some say you're not in the room that long. Yes you are! Sleep, shower and maybe eat. DVC is definitely for me. Old Key West our home. All that space. Boat ride to Disney Springs.
I love the video too
If you stay at the Caribbean Beach resort, I suggest requesting the Aruba section. We stayed there this past January, and it was 100% worth it! Its close enough to the Rivera Resort's Skyliner port, and it is the last stop for the bus pick ups, for Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom. Since we are older, we aren't too concerned about swimming in the pool, but it is away from the main lobby. However, since it was January, it wasn't too hot, and we enjoyed a simple walk to and from the main building.
Much preferred the 1986 version of the Contemporary. Had suites on top floor with breakfast and Happy Hour in elevator area. Huge living / dining area and adjoining bedroom. 2 balconies on living area and another on bedroom. HUGE area. Main lobby was gorgeous.
Stayed in the Casitas in May, it was a great location to food, and to our bus stop.
We're all blessed just to see DISNey open after covid again and were all still alive it took 5 years for some of us to return and everyone of us lost family to covid so we're very Lucky to even go back!!! So all the parks are busy now!!!
Omg that contemporary resort with the incredibles looks so so tacky! And that’s one of the most expensive?? After watching some of the videos on Aulani and the cruises, I feel like there are people who have devoted their vacations to Disney properties and don’t realize how tacky and underwhelming the hotels are compared to comparably priced luxury hotels elsewhere in the world.
I totally agree about the contemporary… this was one of my favorite resorts but now it’s one of my least favorite.
I found years ago while staying in the All Stars during the May period that there was almost no problem with buses at all. There was very nearly always a seat to sit on, and i think after a week of staying there I only ever had to stand 3 times in total. Two of those were from coming back from Disney Springs, and the other was coming back from Animal Kingdom at midday because it was a wash out from a rainstorm. I had never seen them move that many people ever in my life so quickly, thousands in just a mere 30 minutes.
I suppose buss services really do depend on time of year that one visits.
However my one gripe was the lack of shade at the bus stops on hot days at the All Stars Resorts.
Just my personal opinion......CBR really isn't that big. It was a very short walk from the room to anywhere to me. Especially from Jamaica. After all the walking around the parks the walking at the resort was a breeze to me.
Having just stayed at the Coronado, yes it is spaced out but we figured out early on to just walk from Casitas to the last bus stop near the Mercado area. We took the stop next to our Casita and then stopped like 5x lol.
It seems like Disney remodeled resort rooms are missing color. They are beginning to look like dorm rooms.
Most hotels these days seem to be designing white rooms. Yes, you can see that the bedding is clean, but without colors, the rooms are boring.
I cannot believe the boardwalk resorts weren’t mentioned! I kept waiting for it haha
I’m going to Disney world on Saturday, so excited!
Yeah, probably the most annoying thing about room upgrades seems to be their 8 year old's version of a "well, technically" you do get that feature. We added 2 upgrades to the Caribbean Beach Resort rooms one year. The Pirate Theme upgrade was great. The second upgrade was a "water view". The only way you could see "water" was by pressing the side of our face to the glass to see a portion of the rain retention pond about 800 yards from our room. Seems very much in line with your point of some rooms having a fireworks view may only include the top portion of the show.
All stars is great value, however the Dolphin is where it is at! I stayed years ago and they had a free buffet it was fantastic!!!!! Wilderness Lodge is really great inside décor and the restaurant is one of the best at Disney World.
Going in September and staying at Art of Animation. I didn't even know the different levels, I based our stay on theme alone. I cannot wait! I don't need huge room with lots of space, not going to spend much time there!
We were recently put in the dvc tower at animal kingdom lodge after they canceled our room at port Orleans, and on top of bad transportation, the beds are extremely uncomfortable so laying down after a long day at the parks weren’t super enjoyable, although it is a beautiful resort
I often hear about the walking in the big resorts in these videos and I always wonder if it's just because you're not used to walking in America? We're staying in Caribbean Beach and I'm interested to see if it'll actually be as bad as it's always suggested in these videos! Haha. I did stay at Port Orleans Riverside 10 years ago and we were quite a trek but it never bothered me because the walk was so beautiful! But then I had just completed my ICP so maybe I was just glad to see something other than Patterson Court.
It was a longer walk than we expected from our room to the bus area (All Star Music), but honestly, given the fact that we spent most of the day walking around Disney parks anyway, or standing in a line (even with judicious usage of LL), that didn't add much.
The funny thing is that our daughter regularly goes out and walks around for hours, and our state often comes close to Orlando in terms of heat/humidity, but she always tired out first (I expected it to be me, with the desk job - and shorter legs!)
On our 1st family Disney Vacay, we stayed at Pop Century, and although we enjoyed out time, it was more expensive than it should be for what you're getting. I was lucky enough to learn about renting DVC points and we got a way better room at OKW than at POP for less $. We rented points for 5 yrs until we could afford to buy a couple of contracts and it was the best decision. If you're planning on spending rack room prices, I'd suggest looking into renting DVC points first.
We recently went on our first Disney vacation (myself, my partner, and our 6'+ teenager). Granted, we barely spent any time in our room, preferring to stay in each park from open to close. That said, the All-Star Music hotel was fine for us, and that's the smaller room. It had the split bathroom, and we mostly needed a place to collapse at night and get ready each morning. It was a bit of a hike to the bus stops, but transportation waits were short and the restaurant was not bad at all. On top of that, there was a discount for Disney+ members.
Now if they could work on the door entry feature of the app...
Because of all the park pass stuff rather than spend most of our days in the parks we decided to splurge on a poly bungalow and just have mostly a lazy vacation (with only 2 park days instead of almost every day of our trip like usual). We loved it more than our normal dvc stays.