We are an Australian Family who will be travelling and staying at WDW late September/early October this year. Our two boys are 13 and 10. We plan to stay 12 nights due to a knee problem I have so we can take our time seeing the theme parks etc. I am confused by the varying opinions in reviews I have read concerning the different types of accommodations available in WDW. I am not sure whether to stay in a moderate resort like the CBR or a deluxe resort like the Beach Club or AKL etc.. Are the deluxe resorts worth the extra $? Or, alternatively should I be looking at say 8 nights in a WDW resort hotel and 4 nights outside of WDW in a hotel?
I would appreciate receiving your comments as I need to book accommodation this week. Thanks.

We were just at Walt Disney World in June. If you have a knee problem I would definitely stay at a WDW resort since transportation between all the attractions is quite easy. We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was great for us. Our daughter is much younger than your boys so looking out the window at a zebra may not be so exciting to them. The animals, pool and playground were great for us and as I mentioned it is transportation is a breeze. The waiting area for buses is marked clearly and you simply hop a bus to any of the Disney Parks. Years ago we stayed at the Contemporary Hotel which is on the Monorail system so it's even easier to get around the Magic Kingdom. The Grand Floridian (also on the monorail) was not there on our previous visit, but looks exceptional! Hope that helped. Having recently planned our trip, I know, it's confusing.

Some of the resorts are so big and spread out that you have to do quite a bit of walking just to get to the monorails. We prefer staying outside the park in a smaller hotel that shuttles us right to the park entrance. The Sheraton Lakeside is very affordable and usually has some decent package rates going.

Why did you post this silly post again? Don't you like the responses you're already receiving? Get a life and stop beating those poor kids.

Dear Bubba,
Yes, I do appreciate the comments I have already received. Very much so. For your information I could not find my original message and thought I had done something wrong in posting it. Hence I posted another message. Sorry for the hassle to anyone. If anyone can advise me how to delete my message I will do so. Thanks Sue.

It's not a big deal Sue. Please do not feel the need to respond to anyone named Bubba.

I was recommend the French Quarters hotel on the WDW property. This hotel was formally named Port Orleans but now is known as French Quarter.
My family and I have stayed ther twice and really enjoyed this property and our complete stay. The cost is about $120-150 U.S..
The neat thing of this one proprty is you can take the bus to the parks, you can take a boat ride to Disney Marketplace. The marketplace is where many restaurants are located and shops as well.
So, you can take the bus anywhere within the park including the marketplace and the boat during set hours which extend into the mid evening.

I highly recommend staying in the park and staying at the French Quarters.
Unfortanetly, WDW dosen't allow early park admissions for their hotel guests anymore. This was a real advantage.

Hi, we traveled 5 times in the last 7 years to WDW...our boys are 9 & 12 now. We have'nt been back for a year(my husband and I are Disney-ed out!!!!) but our boys still talk about the BEST vacation they have ever had...Yacht Club...wonderful classic resort, we chose the concierge level as it provided breakfast,drinks,appetizers,deserts, etc...you can't even imagine how much money is spent on these things within the parks!!! We loved it, although we would prefer staying of site for the extra rooms...it was the perfect choice for our family for 3 years in a row...The pool area is to die for...water-slide off a pretend pirate ship, the winding forced current raft area...they even have a very shallow area with real sand!! Have fun...last year we stayed off site(again for the extra space) yet we did Universal & Islands of adventure instead of disney, then we headed to Cape Canaveral (absolutely fantastic!!!)where the next day we witnessed a shuttle launch....breathtaking moments! There is a whole lot more to Orlando than just Disney!! It very easy to travel from the parks to the Yacht club via the boat shuttle or the buses!

Sue,
Visit www.disboards.com
www.wdg.com
www.mousesavers.com
For great information.

Living in Florida, we get to Disney often. The greatest advantage of staying at the Disney resorts is convenience. The shuttles take you to and from the parks and you always feel a part of the resort. The main disadvantage of staying on the Disney property is cost. There are always specials being run at hotels near the parks (but not on the grounds) for $50-$60. We have stayed at a Comfort Inn, Sheraton and Ramada and they were all very nice. Having said that, we usually opt to stay on the grounds for $150-$175 and prefer the Port Orleans hotels or the Coronado for the price. I have stayed at the Grand Floridian and the Dolphin on business. Both were very nice, but for a family vacation not worth the money.

Sue,
Just recieved word that CBR was going to be under construction 08 September through 31 December. I too would recommend staying at a resort hotel for the convenience. Good luck!

The first time I went we didn't stay at a Disney hotel but at one that was affiliated (Ramada, Marriot). It was cheaper and we had the same type of bus transportation from the door.

This year we stayed at the Swan and enjoyed it too (though I thought the decor was a little dorky). This had buses to some of the parks and boat to some of the other. The buses were a little more direct than at the other resort. I remember riding both monorail and bus before and switching between, at the Swan there was no switching between.

One recommendation I would make is to do the Concierge upgrade if possible. They serve breakfast (cereal, fruit, muffins) and then an afternoon snack (cheese, crackers, fruit). It would limit the meals you have to pay for in the park which is expensive.

If I had my choice I would stay at the Floridian, I think it is soooo pretty but all the Resorts have things to recommend them. I say go for a Disney Resort if you can.

Have a great time!

Hi! I have two sons and a daughter and they loved staying at the Polynesian at Disney World. It was gorgeous-landscaped to make you feel like in Hawaii, the staff incredibly friendly, a marina with mini motor boats the boys could take out. The whole place is on the lake which means there is a beach, boating, and a ferry which takes you over to the theme park. The ferry is wonderful! no crowds! There are luaus at night which are amazing. Also, all you need to do is go out of the hotel and hop on the monorail and off you go! The thing your boys will love the most - so make sure you set aside time - are the water parks. My kids still talk about them. A lot of people never get to them but boy are they worth the trip! Slides,tidal wave pools, tubing, etc. Have fun!

I forgot something very important - if you bring a letter from your doctor on your doctor's official stationery regarding your medical condition and you bring it to the "Town Hall" in the Magic Kingdom, they will issue you a special pass which will permit you to go to the front of the lines! Otherwise the waiting can be terrible. We had to do this because my husband is ill. This will really really help. Good luck!

We had rented a car for our week (to visit more than WTW) and were staying in a Hilton property near Seaworld.

I was *very* glad to have the rental car. We did so much more in our week that just WTW and a car greatly facilitates this. We always parked (early!) in the WTW lots near the shuttle stops and these would drop us off right near each entrance.

My recommendation to you would be to stay off-site. Look for a hotel that would have a separate sleeping area for the boys, a kitchenette and a swimming pool. See if you can't get a package that would include the car rental.

Go to WTW early in the morning, in order to minimize at least your wait times in line. Make good use of the Fastrack passes. Then spend the afternoons outside of WTW.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to post a reply. We have decided to stay on site in a deluxe hotel as I feel staying on site will really make the Disney experience even more magical. Our boys are good swimmers so I think they will spend a lot of time at the water parks. We will also spend a few days at one of the hotels at Universal Studios. Many thanks to Kiki regarding getting a letter from my doctor. I will arrange this. Thank you all once again.

Sue:
We are frequent guests at Disney; we travel with our kids and find the Contemporary Tower has the largest on site rooms; also, if you stay at the Beach Club there is a mini water park, Stormalong Bay with a great water slide the kids will love. Be sure to check out: www.mousesavers.com and www.wdwig.com for great discounts and detailed information!!!

Polynesian and Comtemporary are my 2 favs for

mobility challenged monrail stops AT the hotels

easy to zip around to all tha parks from there.

www.wdwinfo.com better value hotels but lots more walking.

they do have carts etc for rent in the parks always wise

for folks with makor knee issues to use those

parks are pretty spread out lots of walking...

Happy Travels!

qwovadis, You do realize that this is a 9 year old posting!

I highly recommend the Yacht Club, Dolphin, or Swan. Great location with easy access to the boardwalk. Plus the amenities are located within the hotels. Stayed at Coronado Springs where the amenities are not convenient to most rooms. Plus the restaurant choices were limited. With the above recs. there are many options for dining, etc...