Help me pick please - going in 8 days for a week (no time to plan)

[Imaginette]

OMG, this is such a magical opportunity to go to Disney, but not having any time to plan plays on my inner fears... eeeek! The trip we planned for last year got nixed (CA/Disneyland, 1st visit), and our airline moved our tickets to go to Orlando instead... then cancelled more flights, giving us very different dates (in 8 days). This means I need to change our hotel too, and quickly.

• Two adults, going for a week, with my DH needing to connect to the wifi to work for (2) of those days.
• We upgraded to an AP on my birthday trip last September, and were trying to go again while it was still valid.
• Covid has us apartment bound and working from home in a TINY space with our adult son and three rescue furbots, and we just need to use our plane tickets... why not go to Disney, he says... like it's just click and go... lol.

These are the deciding factors:
1) The only thing that is important to him is comfort, and maybe a tub. We stayed at the GD tower last time, which was amazing, but that's not available. I could tell he liked the tech, and the nice, new factor... the shops, the food on property. We lucked into the club level, and he's now "hoping" something magical opens up. He drinks soda, the club really isn't for him ;-)

2) The parks close early... so we will probably have plenty of time to stay in the room, or maybe the lobby? I'm not fond of being cooped up, I need to interact with people... I need this, my friends...lol. Pool would be nice, but it's not as important as a quiet place to enjoy a lounge or comfy chair in the shade.

3) Me? I'm looking for magic, happy, lovely people in beautiful locations. Not computer screens, meetings, having to shop and cook every meal for every body, and worry about home and work for a week. I need to go "home"... I need this. I like bright, sparkly, magical, fun, relaxing, and surprise. And the down time we're going to inherently get away from our little apartment.

These are the resorts I need to choose from - but please, any help, advice, tips, or anything you think I should consider, please throw me a bone, a link, a smile... I'll take it with a happy, open heart

In no particular order...
1) $ 2,700 - Disney's Contemporary Resort - Garden Wing - Garden View
Looks like a pretty room, I think it has a tub/shower combo.

2) $ 1,900 - Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort - Preferred Room
We stayed here for a few days one year when a hurricane came through... so didn't really get to experience the resort, just the room. But they have the skyliner, that's neat, right?

3) $ 2,909 - Disney's Riviera Resort - Deluxe Studio - Standard View
This is a new property, looks very nice, seems like there's a lot to do on property. They have a restaurant on the roof, some shops too. I believe this type of room has a tub on one side, and a shower on the other, but their photos on the site for that room - only three. This is the most expensive option, so I'm not sure if it's the one... but I do like pretty art and grounds.

4) Yacht or Beach club - prices go up and up... people say they love storm along bay, but I don't see us hanging poolside very much. For that amount of money, I could get a 1-br villa somewhere (I saw Saratoga, OKW, and Boulder Ridge villas (off of Wilderness lodge) with much more room in them, albeit a series of dated rooms, kinda far away from people and the parks.

When you get into the $400+ a night, I am hard to part with our funds when we don't know what to expect, what is open being worth having access to whatever you liked before... I guess I don't want to waste our money, but I wanna get out of town and into Disney.

We've stayed at Pop several times, CBR during a hurricane, GDT for a quick weekend (amazing hotel and people), AKL-KV for my 50th birthday, and off property a couple of times.

We're both tired, he's having me pick, and I'm not wanting to bust the bank (what if someone in the family gets laid off and needs our help), or stay at Pop because we've done it so many times... we want something special and lovely, but not too expensive that we'll get back home and say OH NO, WHAT HAVE WE DONE! lol

I know that's a lot of information, but if anyone out there is willing to help, I would love to hear your opinion. Thanks for listening, and thanks for all you do for the boards. I have so much to read!

~ Imaginette ~

 

[Luvs Mickey]

CBR - it’s not too expensive and the skyline is pretty neat, from what I’ve heard.

 

[Tom_E_D]

You're asking about a bunch of resorts that I haven't stayed at, so I won't give a recommendation, but I've noticed a few things I'll point out.

The Beach Club is only open on the DVC villa side. The main building is not open. This might affect how much you want to be there, although it sounds like you're unenthusiastic anyway.

Have you considered the Swan? It's less expensive than the resorts you mentioned, $1200 or so even without a discount, and they're offering a discount for Disney annual passholders (promo code QWH), which you say you are. It may be worth considering.

 

[Imaginette]

The Beach Club is only open on the DVC villa side. The main building is not open. This might affect how much you want to be there

Wow, Thanks Tom, I had no idea about that... it is important information, thanks a bunch.

I tried looking at the SWAN, but it said something about a package. Is there a way to see the pricing you're referring to with the promo code you mentioned? I would love to figure that out, please... thanks so much

 

[crazylady]

Such a hard choice!

I think the studios at Riviera are supposed to be really small so I would take that off of the list.

I would prob choose CBR because I like that resort better than the garden wing at Contemporary but it is hard to pass up the walk to MK.

Have you thought about a DVC rental. There are some deals out there right now. I'd love to get one of those to stay at Poly or AKL.

 

[starry_solo]

Check dedicated reservations from the various timeshare brokers. You might be able to get a good deal for a nice room. What are your exact dates? I know I saw a FB as for one broker, advertising 7 or 8 nights in a Boardwalk Studio for $154/night!

 

[DL1WDW2]

I could tell you where to stay (Riviera) just do it... because I guarantee you will visit and wish that is where you were staying...
You will walk in and smell the air and immediately be relaxed... you will walk around the property and be surrounded with all new and clean and castmembers really make you feel welcome ... lots of places to discover a seating area that feels hidden . Since you mention bathtub the jacuzzi bathtub in master bedroom has a feature that self steams itself clean.
If you decide to stay elsewhere I recommend booking so you have preferred pool view or balcony or something special to treat yourself to feel deluxe cause it has been rough and a small luxury will feel like a million bucks. A person on another discussion board has described making her own Club Level experience in the room with gourmet cheeses and crackers every night and a small bottle of wine.
I think a lot of people have recommended the Swan because the beds are heavenly.
I hope you are able to visit and post a mini trip report .

 

[MulanMom]

Something to consider...there are a lot of dedicated DVC rentals up on the DVC rental sites. May want to check and see what is available and compare to the prices you are getting for on site rooms.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[starry_solo]

Also, how long are you staying?

 

[rstevens333]

Of this list, I'd probably do Contemporary. You can walk to the hardest park to get to, and there are loads of places in the floor under the big concourse to go hide if you need quiet time. Good internet, too. I watched an Apple keynote there once.

Personally - Copper Creek would be my choice. Still close to MK, the big Wilderness Lodge lobby is magical as heck (and has great hiding spaces above the entrance), and that resort has a lot of food open. We got stuck at the WL during the 2017 hurricane and I would still go back there in a heartbeat. Plenty of indoor spaces to walk, nice grounds, *2* good quick service locations.

 

[UA DVC Member]

Wow, Thanks Tom, I had no idea about that... it is important information, thanks a bunch.

I tried looking at the SWAN, but it said something about a package. Is there a way to see the pricing you're referring to with the promo code you mentioned? I would love to figure that out, please... thanks so much

That’s a really good option. We’ve stayed at the Swan several times and it is fabulous. I just went to the Marriott website and checked the rates. There’s a place to enter a corporate or promo code. Just enter QWH and the Disney Passholder rates show up. I was looking at the last week of September and the rooms ranged from $145 ton$185 per night. You can’t beat that!

 

[rstevens333]

Ooh, those are good for Swan. There should be an option to view it with all the resort fees and such, too. Usually still way cheaper than a Disney resort in that neighborhood.

 

[Tom_E_D]

Wow, Thanks Tom, I had no idea about that... it is important information, thanks a bunch.

I tried looking at the SWAN, but it said something about a package. Is there a way to see the pricing you're referring to with the promo code you mentioned? I would love to figure that out, please... thanks so much

UA DVC Member basically answered you, but here's a step-by-step:

1. Go to swandolphin.com (Marriott.com works too, once you find the Swan)
2. Enter your dates (Aug 18-25 if I read the title of this thread correctly), one room, two adults
3. Under Special Rates, choose Corporate/Promo/SET #
4. Type QWH in the box that appears and then click View Rates box

The Swan has a resort fee and doesn't participate in Disney's Magical Express (airport bus), but you would seem to be saving enough on the room rate to cover those added expenses.

 

[Dug720]

Since you mention bathtub the jacuzzi bathtub in master bedroom has a feature that self steams itself clean.

The OP is looking at the Deluxe Studio which does not have a "Master Bedroom" or a jacuzzi tub.

 

[Best Aunt]

Remember that the Skyliner is closed during bad weather and you have to take a bus. There's some rule about thunderstorms being within so many miles, I haven't paid attention to the specifics. But at this time of year, you can get a lot of thunderstorms. Some people who have been there lately have reported that they couldn't take the Skyliner most of the time when they wanted to due to weather. I vaguely recall (but again haven't paid attention) that if you wanted to board the Skyliner at Epcot's International Gateway but the Skyliner is closed, you walk to BoardWalk to get the bus there.

Staying at the Swan, YC or BCV would mean you could walk to Epcot and DHS. Staying at the Contemporary would mean you could walk to MK. If you're at Riviera or Caribbean Beach, you're not walking to a theme park.

Some YC rooms do not have tubs.

As PPs have said, the DVC rental agencies have confirmed reservations, meaning people made reservations and can't go, so the price may be marked down. But these are non-refundable, so proceed with caution.

 

[Imaginette]

Such a hard choice!

I think the studios at Riviera are supposed to be really small so I would take that off of the list.

I would prob choose CBR because I like that resort better than the garden wing at Contemporary but it is hard to pass up the walk to MK.

Have you thought about a DVC rental. There are some deals out there right now. I'd love to get one of those to stay at Poly or AKL.

Thanks @crazylady so much! The studio does look really small, especially since the DH will be working (2) days out of the week. I want him to be comfortable and happy.

The DVC rental situation is really confusing to me. I would love to take advantage of a great deal, but I don't think I have the time to figure it all out. Maybe next year... lol.

CBR might be a good choice. It's a bigger room, and it's within walking distance to the Rivera - so I could walk around there on the days that he's working (espresso time, anyone?)

Thanks for your reply, I truly appreciate it

 

[Imaginette]

Check dedicated reservations from the various timeshare brokers. You might be able to get a good deal for a nice room. What are your exact dates? I know I saw a FB as for one broker, advertising 7 or 8 nights in a Boardwalk Studio for $154/night!

Thanks @starry_solo - we're going 9/18 through 9/26. I heard that if you go via a broker, it might be challenging to get park reservations, etc. There's so much about DVC that I just don't know or understand.

Still, what a deal, right?!? Thanks so much for taking the time to reply to my post, I truly appreciate it and you too!

 

[Imaginette]

I could tell you where to stay (Riviera) just do it... because I guarantee you will visit and wish that is where you were staying...
You will walk in and smell the air and immediately be relaxed... you will walk around the property and be surrounded with all new and clean and castmembers really make you feel welcome ... lots of places to discover a seating area that feels hidden . Since you mention bathtub the jacuzzi bathtub in master bedroom has a feature that self steams itself clean.

First - wow, @DL1WDW2 - are you in my brain? Because I'm trying to justify the cost of a room with a tub, and you put what I was thinking about the Riviera into words... lol

Wait, what? That tub cleans itself? Can it come home with me, because I need that

If you decide to stay elsewhere I recommend booking so you have preferred pool view or balcony or something special to treat yourself to feel deluxe cause it has been rough and a small luxury will feel like a million bucks. A person on another discussion board has described making her own Club Level experience in the room with gourmet cheeses and crackers every night and a small bottle of wine.

Luxury sounds refreshing and heavenly. Me wanteeeee - lol. I love the idea of making your own club level experience! Box wine for me, cherry coke for DH, and all the cheeses, crackers, and hummus. I think that would be a home run for the DH. Hmm... maybe I could hook up a delivery from Publix or Walmart to the hotel.

I think a lot of people have recommended the Swan because the beds are heavenly.
I hope you are able to visit and post a mini trip report .

That sounds lovely - all the heat and walking would make you want to rest even deeper.


I've never done the mini trip report. That sounds like fun! I can't share this on FB (because my peeps would be like WHY ARE YOU TRAVELING DURING COVID? But we need to travel, very safely, but just too stressed and tired. Disney feels like home... it's time to go home.

I know the DIS peeps understand. Also, Halloween stuff! yay!

Thanks so much for your reply, I truly appreciate you!

 

[Rich M]

Thanks @crazylady so much! The studio does look really small, especially since the DH will be working (2) days out of the week. I want him to be comfortable and happy.

The DVC rental situation is really confusing to me. I would love to take advantage of a great deal, but I don't think I have the time to figure it all out. Maybe next year... lol.

CBR might be a good choice. It's a bigger room, and it's within walking distance to the Rivera - so I could walk around there on the days that he's working (espresso time, anyone?)

Thanks for your reply, I truly appreciate it

I can tell you from experience with the DVC rental sites that they are super easy. They do all the work for you. Maybe give them a call and at least see. You can get a places to stay and free parking for 1/3 of the cost. I have seen 2 bedrooms that normal cost over $10,000 for 8 days for really cheap. You get a full kitchen and plenty of space for your husband to work. I highly recommend trying it out. It can take all the planning right out of your hands. Stay somewhere luxury at the price of a moderate when you can.

 

[maryj11]

Thanks @crazylady so much! The studio does look really small, especially since the DH will be working (2) days out of the week. I want him to be comfortable and happy.

The DVC rental situation is really confusing to me. I would love to take advantage of a great deal, but I don't think I have the time to figure it all out. Maybe next year... lol.

CBR might be a good choice. It's a bigger room, and it's within walking distance to the Rivera - so I could walk around there on the days that he's working (espresso time, anyone?)

Thanks for your reply, I truly appreciate it

Instead of preferred at CBR I would go with water view and request Aruba 51. It’s like in the middle of the skyliner and Riviera. Plus a short walk across the bridge to the main building.