Disney Hotel Advice Needed !!!!

[spendleb]

Hi all, I have booked with TCD to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge in May 2008 for 5 days but have decided to change hotels due to the building work and they have said this is OK, the choices I have are as follows :

Wilderness Lodge - would be roughly the same price as AKL
Boardwalk - additional £175
Beach Club - additional £170

Has anyone stayed at these hotels and can make any suggestions? We will have two children aged 6 and 2 with us.

Cheers,
Simon

[Cannavar]

I've stayed at the AKL but only visited the others...however....out of the three I would choose the Beach Club. Superb hotel, superb location. On my list of places to stay. The boardwalk is nice too but can be noisy at night. The Wilderness lodge is lovely but its location lets it down for me. I know its nice to be secluded but its a Magic Kingdom resort without the luxury of the monorail. I know plenty of people who love it though.

[florifan]

Just to echo what has been said really, they are all nice hotels only visited not stayed in any, but the location of the beach club does it for me, you have a 2 min walk into Epcot and can pick up other parks from there, also it is lovely and peaceful there and the beach is nice to just chill for a while.

[spendleb]

So does the monorail go to the Boardwalk and Beach Club resorts?

[Sue]

Stayed at the Wilderness Lodge for the third time at Xmas and LOVE it, not being on the monorail is an advantage in my opinion. Less crowded and less noisy with very few non WDW resort guests just hanging around having a nosey lol!
There is a fantastic boat service to MK and buses everywhere else. Never had a transport issue there at all.

Also stayed at the Yacht Club, right next door to Beach Club and the location here is fantastic (one or two drawbacks on our trip though)

If you check put my trip reports (click on this in my signature) there are loads of pictures and comments on both hotels from Day 8 onwards.

[Sue]

So does the monorail go to the Boardwalk and Beach Club resorts?

No it doesn't
But it is sort of in between Epcot and MGM/Disney studios and opposite the Boardwalk - fabulous location

[deano1212]

Go to wilderness lodge. No contest. . .

[crux]

My personal choice would be Wilderness Lodge, the best themed hotel on-site and the one with the most repeat visitors - plus we own DVC points at VWL :D

However, with two young children I'd consider the Beach Club due to the Stormalong Bay small water park - plus you can't beat the location, only 5 minute walk from EPCOT. We also own DVC points at BCV too :pgig:

Which park will you be going to most often? If it's the Magic Kingdom, then choose Wilderness Lodge (a 10 minute boat ride away from the front gate) - Fort Wilderness (5 minutes by boat) also has some animals to go and see, plus a campfire and film in the early evening.

Ian

[Clare]

All 3 are lovely hotels but I would go for Beach Club with Boardwalk as a second choice. The location of both hotels is a big plus - you can walk to both Epcot and MGM (or get the boat), plus you've got lots of restaurants on your doorstep. Stormalong Bay is fantastic for kids but it is a sprawling pool with variable depths so might be offputting for you with your smallest child. You've also got the Cape May character breakfast at the Beach Club. The Beach Club is a very family friendly/orientated resort (although of course all Disney resorts are family friendly), but really you can't go wrong with any of those 3 hotels.

[may]

I've stayed at Beach Club villas and at The villas at Wilderness Lodge and they are both fabulous.

At first I thought I liked Wilderness Lodge best. The theming is superb , I love sitting for a quiet five minutes in one of the rocking chairs. The boat transportation is rapid and relaxing.

On arrival at Beach Club it seemed more ordinary somehow and perhaps even a little sterile but I was soon converted. Stormalong Bay was wonderful . The water slide is huge fun as is the lazy river.I saw a lot of tiny tots there digging in the sand in the very shallow sections ( it is a sand bottomed pool) and having a wonderful time. You are only minutes from the bars and restaurants of the Boardwalk. The ability to walk into EPCOT through the International Gateway is also a huge plus. Not only is it easy park access but all the restaurants of The World Showcase are so easily available. As has previously been mentioned you can also walk to MGM , or take the boat.

Boardwalk has the advantages of Beach Club but lacks Stormalong Bay, I don't find the Keister Coaster? there that appealing in comparison but I've never actually stayed there.

It would be hard to choose between WL and BC. DH and DD would choose WL. I think but I would probably plump for Beach Club. Having said that we are going to Pop in September and I expect to love that too . You'll have fun wherever you stay :-)

[Andrews Dad]

Hi all, I have booked with TCD to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge in May 2008 for 5 days but have decided to change hotels due to the building work and they have said this is OK, the choices I have are as follows :

Wilderness Lodge - would be roughly the same price as AKL
Boardwalk - additional £175
Beach Club - additional £170

Has anyone stayed at these hotels and can make any suggestions? We will have two children aged 6 and 2 with us.

Cheers,
Simon

Hi spendleb,

We've only stayed at the Wilderness Lodge from the resorts you ask about. The theming and atmosphere of this resort are probably the closest to what you had originally booked at AKL. We're going back for our seventh stay later this year.

Cheers

[suzybabe1]

wilderness lodge for me too, our third visit coming up. we have also stayed at the yacht club next door to beach club but found it a bit impersonal.

[spendleb]

Hi all, thanks for the advice, I have now booked the Disney Beach Club although with a Pool/Lake View it has cost me an additional £398!! I can't believe it's so much more expensive than a Savannah Room at AKL !!!

[Andre]

Both Animal Kingdom Lodge and Wilderness Lodge are kind of "mid-range deluxes" (I've heard of them being referred to as closer to very high-end moderates) whereas the Epcot resorts, partly because of their location, fall squarely into the Deluxe category. I've stayed at WL, and while it's nice and beautifully themed (and I do love visiting there for an hour or two for a nosey & a meal - sorry Sue!) it didn't feel quite as sumptuous as the Epcot or monorail resorts.

I'm booked for the Beach Club later this year. It's a lovely hotel, excellently located between Epcot and Studios, and the pool is far and away the best resort pool on property.

Andre

[Treacle44]

I would say the Beach Club because of the wonderful pool. :)

If not Wilderness Lodge as it's so near to MK.