Keep returning to the same resort

[100acreHiker]

Do you ever choose a resort you know isn't going to be convenient or doesn't have what you really need just because you want to change things up?

Not a complaint, I suppose, just trying to sort out a little bit of disappointment I have. We look forward to our Disney trips every year (or 6 months if we can swing it). For the last three years we've been staying at BWI. For a host of really good reasons, it's the resort that makes sense for us and we enjoy it very much: dedicated buses, boats, walking paths to HS and EP, the BoardWalk itself, access to good food, my kids like the pool and it's not as crowded as Stormalong Bay, etc. In the past we've stayed once at BC, twice at GF, once at CR. Every time I ask my kids and husband where we should stay, they all say BWI. At the very least they will not budge on staying at an EP resort. Fair enough: We love walking into and out of EP and we only go to MK maybe once per trip. But I've really been longing for a change: to try Wilderness Lodge or Poly, or return to GF or give the Swan a go. But there's always a really good reason to not go with those others: it would be super inconvenient for us to stay at an MK resort when we aren't MK people; Swan (with all of its fees and no ME shuttle) always costs more than our BWI deal, etc.

BWI really is the best place for us, and while I long to know what WL feels like to stay there, the bottom line is it's not right for my family and our touring style (no day bed for my son, isolated and only close to MK). But there's still disappointment in realizing that, I suppose.

Curious if any of you have knowingly chose to stay at a resort that didn't make "sense" for a bunch of reasons, solely for the change...

 

[JimmyBean42]

Yup, we've done that a few times. We are like you, we absolutely love BWI but we said we'd try something new next time. We've found that we liked something different at each resort we stayed at and while we feel that BWI is the one suited best to us, we haven't tried all the others so we change for the sake of change. Which I agree doesn't make that much sense when you think about it but hey we might find we love Poly more than BWI (doubtful...ha!).

 

[gillep]

Our January trip is always at AKL, usually CL, we love it, it is our longest trip so we really take time to relax and enjoy the resort.

Our F&W trip is always BC/YC/BCV now, as we love SAB and the access to Epcot and DHS.

Our F&G trip is a bit of a toss up, if it were up to DH it would be at BCV, but I really like to switch it up, so we compromise. This year we are doing a split stay between CCV and BLT, next year will likely be BCV because we really need to save some points, hopefully the following year we will be able do either Poly or VGF as a split stay.

Sometimes we add in an extra short trip, we live in CA so for instance we have a wedding in KY in July and are stopping at WDW while we are already on the East Coast and then we just pick something moderate or deluxe based on our budget.

If we only went once per year we would likely just trade off between our home resorts AKL and BCV and then maybe do a couple nights at a different resort as a split stay.

 

[Silvermist999]

Our last two trips, we did split stays. We stayed the first half at a new resort, and then ended the trip with a tried and true favourite. That way if the "new" resort isn't to our liking, at least we have something to look forward to!

 

[Mainemama]

Have you tried YC? In your position, I would book 2 nights at WL to try it. Pair it with your MK day. Then, stay at BWI!

 

[CogsworthTN]

We too have stayed at BWI the last three trips. We love everything it offers, but we wanted to try another deluxe resort. We decided to do a split stay for our upcoming May trip. We are staying at the Grand Floridian for the first part of our trip and BWI for the last part. While staying at the Grand we will focus on the Magic Kingdom and one full day at Animal Kingdom. When we are staying at BWI we get to enjoy not relying on any transportation and just walk to Epcot and Hollywood studios. Location location location...not to mention the beauty of the boardwalk at night.

I will say we are so excited about this trip. Experiencing a new hotel and view, but also ending with our perfect BWI.

 

[Sue M]

I think a split stay would be a great idea too. This way you can end your trip with your fav, and still be able to try something new. We enjoy all the parks, can’t say we aren’t a xyz park family so that’s not a problem and we love seeing the Castle from MK resort and fireworks. Electric Water Parade. The past few years our stays seem to be MK AREA!
We have been rotating between GF & Poly. It’s been a few years since I’ve stayed at WL so that’s where we booked this summer. I think it’s fun switching it up.

Our first stay at GF was a split because we weren’t sure we’d like it. So we booked first 3 nights at GF then rest of vacay at YC. Turns out we loved GF and has become our fav resort. I didn’t want to leave! So you never know
We have enjoyed YC/BC stays very much, but there’s something magical for us at MK resort area.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

My husband always wants to stay at the Poly. We are DVC Members and that's our home resort. So on my last trip, the part he wasn't with me for I stayed at Boulder Ridge and loved it. But then I had to move to the Poly for the part that he was with me. I don't like split stays at all. I also did the same thing when I tried Bay Lake Tower - didn't care for the room but loved the location and the TOW lounge.

I've got a Sept. trip booked for the Poly and am thinking of either going back to Boulder Ridge for the whole time or trying someplace else if I can move my reservation - seems like there is less and less availability to move at 7 months so I may just stay at the Poly. I don't know.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We always choose our resort based on what our goals our for a particular trip. We are avid EP resort lovers (BWI is my DS's favorite!), but we stayed at WL twice last year because we were focused on going to the MK hard-ticket parties and wanted convenience to MK. We also stayed there the week before Christmas because it was so beautiful. We visited BWI so DS could get his Boardwalk fix. We will be back at the EP resorts this year (have BWI and BC booked) because most of our park touring will be in that area. It's really all about convenience for us, so we go with whatever will work best for our touring plans. If you think a resort won't fit your needs, I wouldn't book it!

 

[Spencer Wright]

Ironically we love AKL, and considered BC or BWI for our trip in August.

We love everything about AKL, as do most who seem to be familiar with it. The only con is bus service can be variable, and it is a bit of a distance from MK (and somewhat from Epcot).

Therefore we wanted to stay somewhere new, and much closer to the action. For that purpose it does not get much better than the BC or BWI. However, the cost difference was far to high.

Also, our family and many others we know have had serious customer service issues at the BC, so we went back to AKL.

 

[Cotillard]

You gotta try some of those resorts on your wish list Maybe a villa at WL?

 

[LVSWL]

We have stayed at the BWV & BCV for all of our trips for the last 9 years because our visits centered around Food & Wine and Flower & Garden. We are heading back in early December and will be at the Wilderness Lodge. I am thrilled, and a little nervous. We love the lodge and are looking forward to how beautiful it is during the holidays. Also, we enjoy several of the restaurants there. For me, the convenience of staying at an Epcot resort is tough to give up, but we are looking forward to enjoying being at home at the lodge. Have you considered a split stay, say maybe 2 or three days at the lodge just to get the experience and then move to Boardwalk for the larger part of your trip? It's a nice way to dip your toes in without committing your entire stay at a new resort.

 

[DISNEY1975]

For many years we stayed on the monorail loop. I hopped off that train for many reasons, mostly the value just wasnt there anymore. Crowded resorts, monorail often delayed or broken and $$$$$$$. Last year I stayed at the YC w/ 30% discount. I had stayed there before, but it had been a LONG time (also stayed a POFQ on a business trip). I honestly felt so disconnected from the Disney I felt I knew. It was almost too quiet and I started thinking a delayed/broken monorail was better than no monorail. We had a great time, the room was lovely, the pool is amazing, restaurants/staff everything top notch. Oh...and beaches and cream cones all the time We ventured over the the boardwalk, rented surrey bikes, walked to Epcot, took a ferry to HS. But driving to MK and parking felt sooo bizarre, like I was a day guest! Cant describe it... I just missed MK area resorts.

 

[knkmom]

My goal is to stay at a different resort each time we go to WDW! May will be our 4th trip and we decided to go value and stay at Pop. We've stayed at POFQ, POR and WL so far!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I know what you mean. Our most "fulfilling" trips have consistently been at Poly. We've sprinkled in many of the other Deluxes just to try them out, and we've enjoyed them all. But we tend to have a "well that was fun, but we didn't like it as much as Poly" feeling every time. So again, we return!

 

[izzylovesmickey]

We do the same thing. We have found we're happiest at BC/YC. We really liked our stays at AKL, SSR and CSR (and would return to any of them) but we ultimately find we miss walking around the boardwalk area and going to Epcot any time. We're trying Poly this trip and really are hoping to love it, but we're doing the front end of the trip so we can end at YC.

 

[Ladyandthepuppies]

I wanted to stay at a different hotel for each trip, but the reasons we picked the Contemporary are still the most relevant when picking our next hotel. So we'll be at the Contemporary or Bay Lake Tower until our touring style changes. Oh well- can't complain about staying on site, anywhere you end up is awesome!

 

[Upatnoon]

Do you ever choose a resort you know isn't going to be convenient or doesn't have what you really need just because you want to change things up?

Not a complaint, I suppose, just trying to sort out a little bit of disappointment I have. We look forward to our Disney trips every year (or 6 months if we can swing it). For the last three years we've been staying at BWI. For a host of really good reasons, it's the resort that makes sense for us and we enjoy it very much: dedicated buses, boats, walking paths to HS and EP, the BoardWalk itself, access to good food, my kids like the pool and it's not as crowded as Stormalong Bay, etc. In the past we've stayed once at BC, twice at GF, once at CR. Every time I ask my kids and husband where we should stay, they all say BWI. At the very least they will not budge on staying at an EP resort. Fair enough: We love walking into and out of EP and we only go to MK maybe once per trip. But I've really been longing for a change: to try Wilderness Lodge or Poly, or return to GF or give the Swan a go. But there's always a really good reason to not go with those others: it would be super inconvenient for us to stay at an MK resort when we aren't MK people; Swan (with all of its fees and no ME shuttle) always costs more than our BWI deal, etc.

BWI really is the best place for us, and while I long to know what WL feels like to stay there, the bottom line is it's not right for my family and our touring style (no day bed for my son, isolated and only close to MK). But there's still disappointment in realizing that, I suppose.

Curious if any of you have knowingly chose to stay at a resort that didn't make "sense" for a bunch of reasons, solely for the change...

There's lots of great Disney resorts. Perhaps you should take a trip, stay where you want, and leave the kids at home. I don't find it that inconvenient to get around from any Disney resort. Some have better locations than others, but as an experienced WDW visitor, the resort you stay in and enjoy is no-doubt a big part of the trip instead of spending every minute rushing off to the parks.

I'd say the person paying for the trip gets to pick what resort.

 

[disneyvoice]

Honestly, I have never stayed any resort on WDW property and thought "This just isn't convenient" at any point during our trip. We choose a resort based upon a number of different things - where we think we will spend most of our time (for example during Food and Wine), where we can get the best room rate, whether we have our teenage son with us, if we are planning to spend more time enjoying the resort, etc. We find it pretty easy to get anywhere on WDW and, unless we are specifically going for Food and Wine we typically go to each park and at least water park on all of our trips so regardless of where we stay we will be "farther" away from some parks than others. We've never even noticed much difference between travel times to the parks so that isn't a big deal for us. Most of the "first time" resort stays for us have been specifically because we wanted to stay someplace new. We now have several favorites and would be happy to stay at any of those - or stay at other resorts if we were able to get a great rate.

 

[AllieBoo]

We love trying new resorts, and are working our way through staying at all of the deluxes. If I were you, I would do a couple of nights at WL, during the time you will be going to MK, and then swap over to BWI for the rest of your trip. We have found split stays to be a great way to try out new resorts without totally "committing" to them, lol!