Yacht Club beauty
It’s amazing to us how many Florida residents don’t know very much about Disney World[DW], let alone the rest of the country. We moved to Palm Beach County Florida from VA 10 years ago so we would be close to DW and be able to go there at least one weekend every month. The kids still think we are nuts. We think it’s a great investment in our marriage and the best relaxation anywhere, except maybe the Disney Cruise Line. Resort hopping is what we do best.
Disney has Value resorts, Moderates, Deluxe, and Vacation Villas. Each group has their own distinctives. When our children were young, they loved the All-Stars: Sports, Music, and Movies. They were drawn to the larger-than-life icons, the colors, the pools, the food courts, and just the running around room with lots of other children. Pop Century is the newest value resort. It is family friendly as well and probably has the best valuefood court. The chicken alfredo, stir-fry, and taco salads are highly recommended. Value resorts run $80-145 per night depending on the time of year and give you the Disney magic without breaking the budget.
The moderates: Coronado Springs, Port Orleans~Riverside and French Quarter, and Caribbean Beach have bigger rooms, ceiling fans, coffee pots, small refrigerators and feel very comfortable. These all have food courts, but some also have sit down restaurants, Riverside and Coronado. The grounds of these resorts are incredibly well landscaped. Riverside is downright lush. The pools have slides and are superb destinations themselves. Both Port Orleans resorts have boat rides to Downtown Disney. All the moderates have regular bike and surrey-bike rentals. The moderates run $125-205 again depending on the time of year.
The deluxe resorts are hotels with themed lobby areas, more dining options, and a pampered, real luxury feel: Animal Kingdom Lodge, Wilderness Lodge, Yacht Club, Beach Club, Boardwalk Inn, Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian. They are expensive running from $210-600 and even more for suites or concierge level. These resorts are destinations. You could spend your entire vacation at the resort and not be unhappy.
Fort Wilderness cabins and the Vacation Club resorts are in the vacation villa category. They have the home-away-from-home feel, more like a neighborhood than a resort. Prices run from $265-900 because there are studio rooms, one bedroom, two bedroom, and grand villas that sleep up to 12. We joined the Disney Vacation Club in 2000 right after our move to FL just to stay in these wonderful accommodations. Will be writing more on these later.
It’s free to travel around DW and visit the resorts. You really should if you’re not totally rushed for time. Pick at least one new resort to visit every time you are at DW. We promise you won’t be sorry!
