Favorite Resort

We really , really enjoyed our stay at the Poly Villas on our last trip (May 2016), but the one that feels like home and provides the fondest memories is the Wilderness Lodge. This is where we stayed on our first official family trip back in 2009. That trip was magical in every way, and a big part of why it was so wonderful was our stay at the Lodge. While it is a Magic Kingdom resort, it is nestled in an area that provides an element of serene tranquility.

I have only been to the all stars and the wilderness lodge. So, from experience, the Lodge, mainly because of the numerous transportation options.

If I had to choose between all resorts, the Poly. Just looks like it has everything I would value in a resort.

I haven’t stayed at that many resorts, just Port Orleans Riverside, Boardwalk, Coronado Springs, Wilderness Lodge and Old Key West. My favorite so far is a tie between WL and OKW. Wilderness Lodge has an incredible atmosphere, you feel like you’re in Yellowstone, not Central Florida. The pool is fun, there’s trails to walk/run/cycle, there’s a beach, it’s not far to Ft. Wilderness and Tri-Circle D Ranch. Artist Point is one of my favorite restaurants on property, and of course you’re close to the Magic Kingdom. It’s so magical at Christmastime too! Like @ABeach said, sitting by the fireplace in a rocking chair listening to the epic music is very calming and relaxing.

OKW is also a favorite because I think it’s like no other resort on property. We’ve never felt like we were at a hotel like some other resorts have felt like to us. You can park your car right outside your room, which if you drive/rent a car is super convenient. It’s the ultimate relaxation resort to me. I love how you hear Jimmy Buffett and the Beach Boys playing, there’s palm trees everywhere, each section of the resort has it’s own pool which means it’s rarely crowded (Spring Break is always a different story). I love eating at Olivia’s Cafe and Good’s Food to Go. There’s Community Hall with great daily activities and Hank’s Rent and Return if you want to grab a movie or board game. And I love taking the boat across to Downtown Disney Springs and watching Illuminations from my balcony

There are so many places I want to stay, and I think about it, but then it comes down to it and I’m like “But I love OKW!” so I go back there if I took more frequent trips, I wouldn’t miss OKW so much, and then I could try somewhere new

Okay, yes it’s further away from MK, but it’s actually super close to Epcot. It’s considered a DTD resort but I disagree, I would consider it an Epcot resort. The bus to Epcot takes less than 10 minutes. That’s the irony about getting the bus back after Illuminations, you wait 30-40 minutes for a bus, and then you’re back in about 5 minutes. No joke.

We have never had to wait for more than one bus getting to any park in the morning. We always get there for Rope Drop. Leaving has been the same, we haven’t had to wait for more than one bus and they’re not usually crowded. The exceptions: every time we watch Illuminations we’ve had to wait for the second or even third bus, which is so frustrating because you’re almost there. The only time I’ve found a bus crowded was when we had 2 people in scooters. That meant all of the seating at the front of the bus was used for them and we were all squashed standing at the back. But that was one time, and it could happen at any resort.

Good thing about OKW is there are several different bus stops and it’s not far to walk between them. So if you want to get on the last stop so you don’t have to drive around the resort, you can do that easily, and the same in reverse if you don’t want to be the last person to get off on your way back. Problems we’ve had with buses have been the usual: they don’t always run every 20 minutes like they say they do. The worst we had was one night when me and my brother wanted to go to DTD. We had just missed a boat, so we went to the bus stop. 40 minutes passed, no DTD bus. So we gave up on that and went back to the boat dock where we had to wait 20 minutes for the next boat. Not cool.

That brings me to the boat (this is a novel, I bet you wish you hadn’t asked now :P) sometimes we’ve had to wait for the next boat over to DTD. That’s really only an issue if you’re going at a busy time (like trying to get the last one back to OKW) or if you show up 5-10 minutes before the boat leaves. They run every 20 minutes and are more consistent it seems than the buses

It’s difficult to decide because each has such unique character and different pros/cons. However, we find ourselves staying at Beach Club most often. It’s hard to beat the pool, short walk to EPCOT, the boat ride or walk to HS, the proximity to the boardwalk area and we like the general theme/environment all around Crescent Lake. Wilderness Lodge is a close second though, especially around Christmas time.