“Resort Recon” Strategies and tips?

[Pickles516]

Hey y’all!

So my family and I are planning a trip for 2023. Right now we’re torn between a few different choices and I’ve been having a really hard time deciding. Luckily, a buddy of mine is getting married at GF in March, so I’m going to head down to attend the wedding and do a little recon to help me make up my mind. I’ll be arriving in the late evening on Friday, the 11th, the wedding will be Saturday evening (about 5), and I’ll be flying out Sunday morning or early afternoon. I’ll be staying at CBR. The resorts I’m considering for our upcoming trip are(in current order of preference) Poly,BCV,BWV,CBR, and AoA.Now for the questions: which resort should I try to eat at on my arrival night? What’s a good route to take to get around to these resorts efficiently?I have to at least ride the skyliner once to see if my kids and I will be comfortable using it as a primary form of transportation. What will I be able to see and do as a guest of a different resort? Can I wander the grounds?Enter common areas like the lobby?Will I even be able to get around to all of these resorts before the wedding Saturday? I haven’t been to WDW since I was a wee lad, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

from the CBR you can take the skyliner to AoA, as well as to the Epcot rear entrance, from which you can walk to BCV and BWV.
You can walk between Poly and GF also, but wouldn't recommend this in a suit right before a wedding.
It doesn't sound like you will have a lot free time as currently planned. Don't underestimate the travel times and visit times for these places. Will it be possible for you to come in earlier on Friday, or stay later on Sunday?

 

[Pickles516]

from the CBR you can take the skyliner to AoA, as well as to the Epcot rear entrance, from which you can walk to BCV and BWV.
You can walk between Poly and GF also, but wouldn't recommend this in a suit right before a wedding.
It doesn't sound like you will have a lot free time as currently planned. Don't underestimate the travel times and visit times for these places. Will it be possible for you to come in earlier on Friday, or stay later on Sunday?

I may be able to delay my departure a bit on Sunday.

 

[Dis Dragon]

That's a lot of real estate to cover in a day. You might be able to do CBR and AoA on Sunday morning since they're so close and not really that much to see.

BWV & BCV Saturday morning (via Skyliner), go early to GF and do Poly/GF - are you taking your tux with you or will it be waiting?

You can wander the grounds and look around all you want, you just can't park at the resorts. You said you're arriving late into the evening? Are you going to have time to make a dinner reservation or is this just quick? You know thinking about it, if you could get Ohana or even Kona and check out Poly on Friday night that would probably serve your plan well. And the Poly shines at night, you can see the fireworks from the beach.

There's not really special things per say being the guest of these resorts, it really comes down to layout, transportation and your personal taste. Don't know how old your kids are, but the splash area at Poly is amazing, the pool at BCV is pretty amazing.

 

[Babsy]

If you are arriving late, you may need to eat at CBR. But, if there is time that evening, I would take the skyliner to Epcot and eat at the BW (perhaps the Flying Fish?) or any restaurant that appeals to you at any of the Epcot resorts. There are several nice restaurants in the Epcot resort area. The BW is nice in the evening and it is an easy walk around the resort loop to check out the area including both the BWV and BCV.
Will you have a car? If so, that may help you get around a bit more quickly. You have a challenging number of resorts to visit in a very short period of time.
All the public areas of the different resorts will be available to you, except the enclosed pools. You will be able to wander the grounds and check out the hotel lobbies.
Saturday morning you could go to AoA, then back to CBR to get ready for the wedding at the GF. If possible, I would also try to see the Poly briefly before or after the wedding on Saturday (nice to see it at night). It is quite close to the GF. Of course, you could also check out the Poly on Sunday Morning prior to departure.
Delay your departure on Sunday as much as possible to give yourself some time. Use that time to check out whichever resort you may have missed due to time constraints. Perhaps you weren't able to get to the Epcot area on Friday night, for example. Remember, it takes more time than you expect to travel around WDW from resort to resort, especially if you do not have your own vehicle. Taxis are a good option in some cases.
Good luck!

 

[Dis Dragon]

If you are arriving late, you may need to eat at CBR. But, if there is time that evening, I would take the skyliner to Epcot and eat at the BW (perhaps the Flying Fish?)

Flying Fish still hasn't reopened fyi

 

[gottalovepluto]

Hey y’all!

So my family and I are planning a trip for 2023. Right now we’re torn between a few different choices and I’ve been having a really hard time deciding. Luckily, a buddy of mine is getting married at GF in March, so I’m going to head down to attend the wedding and do a little recon to help me make up my mind. I’ll be arriving in the late evening on Friday, the 11th, the wedding will be Saturday evening (about 5), and I’ll be flying out Sunday morning or early afternoon. I’ll be staying at CBR. The resorts I’m considering for our upcoming trip are(in current order of preference) Poly,BCV,BWV,CBR, and AoA.Now for the questions: which resort should I try to eat at on my arrival night? What’s a good route to take to get around to these resorts efficiently?I have to at least ride the skyliner once to see if my kids and I will be comfortable using it as a primary form of transportation. What will I be able to see and do as a guest of a different resort? Can I wander the grounds?Enter common areas like the lobby?Will I even be able to get around to all of these resorts before the wedding Saturday? I haven’t been to WDW since I was a wee lad, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

If your budget allows deluxe do it. Nicer rooms, more park convenience. As for Poly vs EP area- where will you spend more time? MK or EP+HS. Poly for MK. BCV/BWV for EP+HS. (BCV vs BWV I can’t help with )

Don’t forget the Skyliner is shutdown during inclement weather and buses are used for transport instead.

 

[_19disnA]

Where you choose to stay for your family vacation is mostly a matter of budget, which park(s) you plan to visit and personal preference. Many older threads talk about each of the resorts. No one resort is closest to every park.

You can use Disney transportation to visit any other resort. No one cares if you are there to walk around, shop or eat.
You generally can't park your car at a resort near one of the parks without having a meal reservation, since Disney is wise to people who do that as a way to avoid paying for parking.

I would check the menus to see which restaurants have the food your family prefers and are priced within your budget. There is quite a price difference between many of the restaurants and some have a fixed menu/price. The Disney property is HUGE so good idea to review a map of the layout ahead of time so you have some sense of how to get around. It is really only practical to walk to resorts that are near where you are staying. You will need a car or use of Disney transportation to get to the other locations.

The monorail makes it practical to get between the 3 monorail resorts (Polynesian, Contemporary & Floridian). Your itinerary sounds like you will only have time to look around on Saturday before the 5 pm wedding. You will probably have to pick and choose how to use your available time since travel by bus can take up a lot of time.

I would check the hours various restaurants operate since if arriving late your first night, you want to choose from things that will still be open. Depending how late that is, it might make the most sense to eat where you are staying.

 

[Pickles516]

My budget is going to be roughly 5k for the room when my family visits, but that’s somewhat flexible. I’m either going to rent DVC points at a deluxe or get two rooms at CBR, or do a family suite at AoA(we’re a family of 6, 1 being a baby). I won’t have a car when I go scouting, and we don’t plan to have one when the family goes either.

I kinda just want to get a vibe check on each of the resorts I’m considering, and ride as much of the Disney transportation as I can to get a feel for what it would be like to move my family around using each option. If possible, I’d like to check out the lobbies of each because the “wow factor” is something that will play a role in my decision as I want the kids to feel like they’re walking into someplace special.

I honestly don’t know which park we’d spend the most time in, but with young children I want to make sure transportation isn’t awful, and that we enjoy our resort(a toddler meltdown in the Florida heat can call for an extended break mid-day at the resort without warning). If I have to drop one off of my recon it’ll probably be AoA as I’d really like a resort with a water slide, even though I love the AoA theming. Worst case scenario, I can just stroll over to Poly after the wedding and before heading back to CBR.

 

[rlk]

Sounds like all your children are pretty young, so I imagine you would benefit from being close to MK. The Wilderness Lodge lobby has that wow factor and is a boat ride away from MK. AKL, in my opinion, has the biggest wow factor, but it isn't as conveniently located to the parks.

 

[Pickles516]

Sounds like all your children are pretty young, so I imagine you would benefit from being close to MK. The Wilderness Lodge lobby has that wow factor and is a boat ride away from MK. AKL, in my opinion, has the biggest wow factor, but it isn't as conveniently located to the parks.

I want so badly for AKL to make sense for us lol. Just the thought of dealing with the bus-only transportation with 4 kids under ten makes me want to cry though. Wilderness lodge is an option I probably haven’t given enough thought though, so thank you for that.

 

[Dis Dragon]

I want so badly for AKL to make sense for us lol. Just the thought of dealing with the bus-only transportation with 4 kids under ten makes me want to cry though. Wilderness lodge is an option I probably haven’t given enough thought though, so thank you for that.

What's the concern with 10 year olds from AKL? That was our first resort, it's amazing for kids. There's resort specific activities there (like the string of memories beads) that are really fun. I only had 2 under 10 at the time but...

 

[Pickles516]

What's the concern with 10 year olds from AKL? That was our first resort, it's amazing for kids. There's resort specific activities there (like the string of memories beads) that are really fun. I only had 2 under 10 at the time but...

It’s not the oldest (who will be 9 at time of travel), but rather the 6, 3 and 2(at time of travel) that I don’t really fancy herding on and off the busses for 20+ minutes of travel each way to and from the parks. Maybe I’m wrong about this?

 

[rlk]

What's the concern with 10 year olds from AKL? That was our first resort, it's amazing for kids. There's resort specific activities there (like the string of memories beads) that are really fun. I only had 2 under 10 at the time but...

We've stayed at AKL and agree with it having a lot of activities for young children.

It’s not the oldest (who will be 9 at time of travel), but rather the 6, 3 and 2(at time of travel) that I don’t really fancy herding on and off the busses for 20+ minutes of travel each way to and from the parks. Maybe I’m wrong about this?

On our first trip to Disney when our oldest was 4 and the youngest was just turning 3, we stayed at AKL and loved it so much that we stayed there the next time too. I think it was our fourth trip when we did a split stay between Poly and Beach Club and discovered the ease of returning to our room with the kids without having to wait for a bus. There is something to be said for that convenience.

 

[_19disnA]

AKL is only near one park. To go to any of the other parks you will need to drive or take a Disney bus. Epcot area resorts are near to two parks. If you stay on the monorail loop, you can easily get to MK (and Epcot via monorail transfer) as well as two other Disney resorts without having to use a bus.

 

[Dis Dragon]

I know the bus times are elevated for some places from AKL, and we try to maximize nearby park time when we're doing splits - but buses are buses, they're all kind of annoying if you're on it for 10 minutes or 20 minutes. The waiting and watching the estimated arrival time keep rolling back is worse than a long bus ride.

It sounds like you'll spend most of your time at MK based on your age range. I would suggest doing Poly or GF on convenience, but if you have animal lovers AKL might have some extra magic for you - none of the resorts can replicate what the animals add at AKL.

 

[bear_mom]

We have spent a day resort hopping on one of our trips when our daughter was recovering from a stomach bug, we had a great time. It was around the holidays and we wondered around the lobby and the grounds - in the deluxe resorts we did stay out of the room hallways, but there is a lot you can see even if you aren't staying there. In one day we visited the three monorail resorts (GF, Poly, Contemporary), the Epcot resorts (BC/YC, BW), AKL, and Coronado.

If it were me: I would get up early Sat morning and take the Skyliner to the Epcot resort area and explore BCV and BWV. Depending on your attire, you could either head back to CBR to change and then head over the MK resorts by taking a bus to MK and then get on the resort monorail and you can check out Poly before the wedding or take one of the BW/BC buses to MK and then take the resort monorail to the Poly.

Sunday am, head over to AoA before you leave.

CBR - you will be staying there and will get a feel for the resort.

 

[Pickles516]

So, plans changed. We’ll be getting in Friday morning or early afternoon. Now I’m thinking I’ll hit the CBR pool(for research purposes of course), then explore the are until my buddy is done golfing at which point we’ll take the skyliner over for a meal in the Epcot area before the Epcot dessert party the newlyweds are hosting. That should leave me time to check out AoA first thing Saturday and then head to Poly a couple hours before the wedding at GF. Does this sound reasonable?