Hey there travelers-just returned from a wk in Disney. We stayed at the Grand Floridian and dined in fantastic places. But.... we were disappointed at all the hype GF got and it totally fizzed us out. We've stayed in better places and the GF doesn't deserve the hype it gets. i was totally disappointed after spending all that money. The rooms were average, the service was mediocore, and the housekeeping was down right dreadful. Next trip, we're booking Wilderness Lodge. The restaurants we patroned were all fabulous though, including some of the character breakfasts too. (Especially since we were travelling with a 2 yr. old.) I have tons of tips, so feel free to ask away.

The WL is a great choice- just make sure your room is not open to the atrium- the restaurant on the ground floor gets REALLY noisy!!

Did you happen to dine at the Cinderella lunch? We've got reservations for October...

Were you able to take advantage of the free dining promotion? We went at the end of August and the free dining was great. We ate more table service restaurants than we ever had before and enjoyed them all.

Did you get a chance to ride on Soarin' - it was our favorite ride of the trip. At the end of the ride everyone spontaneously burst into applause.

I totally agree with you about the Grand Floridian - way overrated. Though being on the monrail with a 2 year old is certainly a good thing. The WL will be somewhat less convenient.

The Beach Club/Yacht Club are also very nice as is the Boardwalk. But they work best if you are playing lots of time at Epcot and MGM. After staying in nearly all of the deluxe hotels we've now opted to stick with the moderates - Coronado Springs in particular. Very pretty grounds, good food options, rooms are comparable to deluxes except a tad smaller, terrific pool and a more reasonable price.

Glad you had a great trip and thank you for posting. Too many people on this board poo-poo a trip to WDW but I have never had a bad time there.

Hmmm,you're the umpeenth person I've heard slam the GF. With the costs of everything down there, there are lots of other choices that make more sense. For luxury, I prefer the Hyatt Grand Cypress. We have 2 timeshares now and usually stay there. yep, Soarin was an absolute blast- my husband and I are going next month to the Food and Wine Fest and I can't wait to ride it again. Probably twice! Get your fastpasses early!!

We stayed at the Contemporary Resort. My husband picked that one because it was the cheapest of their resort hotels, it is located in closest proximity to the Magic Kingdom, there's the character breakfast, and it has the monorail stop inside the building. It was one of the first main hotels built so it has these features. The decor needs some updating, but the character breakfast there is great. The hotel was convenient since our kids were younger and we brought them back to the hotel for mid day naps.