Tag: Resorts

Our Ideal Disney World "Resort Hopping" Day! 9 Resort Visits in One Day!

by Guide4WDW

by: guide4wdw – Collin

Our Ideal Disney World Resort Hopping Day! 9 Resort Visits in One Day! 

If you’re a Disney parks fan or even simply a casual traveler to Walt Disney World, you’ve likely heard of the term “resort hopping.” In essence, resort hopping is = going to resorts other than your home resort to visit, shop, dine, and ultimately explore a little piece of Disney that each resort offers in new and unique ways. It’s a great way to expand your horizons at WDW and an even better way to find resorts to stay at during your next trip or new places to dine that you never would have considered. 


However, at this point in the article, I feel somewhat obligated to mention that this is not a list of ways to work the system and visit other resort pools and the many other practices that Disney heavily frowns upon. Instead, this is a list of ways to explore the unique dining, hidden gems, gift shops, and unique theming of resorts, and it’s actually something Disney tends to encourage rather than the alternative. Leave the pools, guest rooms, and guest exclusive areas of the resorts to the guests staying at the resorts, but be sure to explore the theming and intricate details of these expertly designed resort common areas. 

Rather than repeating much of what we’ve shared in other articles, today we’re sharing what a typical resort hopping day looks like for us and how it is extremely possible and quite stress free to visit 9 resorts or more in one day outside of the parks. 

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It’s been a growing trend among our family to take the time out of each vacation to set aside one day (on week long trips) to step away from the parks to explore the resorts in more and more depth. Not only does it save a few dollars in the overall budget, but it also tends to be one of our most enjoyable days of the trip time and time again. 

Characteristically, a resort hopping day for us will begin at Wilderness Lodge’s Whispering Canyon for breakfast. It’s not unusual for us to be staying at the resort or its accompanying Boulder Ridge Villas, but even if you choose another resort, Wilderness Lodge is typically only a few minute Uber ride away (we shared a few tips on that service here). The breakfast is great and we even did a full review of it after the fact due to our multiple visits and even went as far as to call it a “hidden gem” breakfast on Disney property. If you know us, you know that is about as high of a rating as we could give any Disney dining location. It truly is one of the best values on property. 

Circling back to Uber, the service does play a role in our resort hopping plans but only a very slight role. In the past, I’ve been a critic of the service for various reasons but with the ever changing nature of the parking situation at Disney parks and resorts, it’s often easier to use Uber/Lyft/Minnie Vans and provided Disney transportation than trying to drive from place to place. It’s quick, it’s convenient, and ultimately is worth the money, especially if you use one of the referral codes both Uber and Lyft provided us with which will get you and us a discount on your ride(s). 

(Works anywhere in the country.) 

However, while Lyft and Uber are always quite convenient, don’t overlook Disney transportation and that’s ultimately how we get from place to place during the day as we move from resort to resort. Getting to the first resort of the day tends to be the problem when resort hopping. If you go to a resort for breakfast, it can be quite tricky to get to your destination without an Uber or Lyft. Typically we would catch a bus to the closest park from our home resort for the week and then catch a bus at the parks bus stop to the resort destination of our choice. Breakfast tends to be a tough timeframe for doing this because the parks aren’t always open early enough to get to your breakfast reservation by that particular route. As a result, ride sharing services due come into play. 

Wilderness Lodge

Once breakfast is over, consider taking a walk around Wilderness Lodge. The resort offers some of the most picturesque views on property. From the main lobby to the tucked away fireplaces, quiet overlooks, and tucked away spots, every where you turn there’s something unique to see and uncover in the vast details of the resort’s story. Additionally, the resort’s gift shop ‘Mercantile” is home to some of the more unique resort specific merchandise. If you really want to uncover some of the more overlooked details, make the short walk outside and down the covered path to the Boulder Ridge Villa lobby. It’s a tucked away spot but one of the greatest tributes to Walt Disney’s past you’ll find at Walt Disney World hiding in plain site. Look for the Carolwood Room sign and you know you’re in the right place. If you’re into Disney history, it will likely exceed your expectations. 



Once you wrap up your visit to Wilderness Lodge, head out to the boat dock to make your way to the next destination that always makes it on our list, the Contemporary.

To get to the Contemporary you’ll want to catch the resort loop boat. It’s a short trip, completely free, and gets you there in about 10-15 minutes (sometimes less). Simply use the signs at the dock and ask your captain to verify they are headed to your desired destination. The views from the boat are spectacular, and while the photo below was taken at sunset, picturesque views can be found throughout the year nearly every day! 


The Contemporary Resort    

The Contemporary is rather unique in that most of your entertainment and dining is no where near the lobby. Instead, as you arrive at the fourth floor, by means of elevators, staircases, and escalators, the atrium unfolds and showcases one of the more impressive buildings that can be found on Disney property. The wow factor for the contemporary isn’t in the lobby like Wilderness Lodge, but rather this grand atrium that constantly wows guests at first sight. 


In the main grand concourse itself you’ll find unique shopping and dining including Chef Mickey’s (a decent buffet offering – somewhat overpriced), The Contempo Cafe, the Fantasia gift shop, and Bayview Gifts. Each offer something unique and around the holidays you’ll find festive displays all around. As a partially unique part of the experience, consider stepping out onto the large balcony overlooking Magic Kingdom in the distance. It’s a spectacular view and perhaps one of the little overlooked “hidden gems” of the experience that many resort guests and visitors miss entirely.

Once you’ve had your fix of the Contemporary, hop on the monorail and ride two stops over to the Polynesian Village resort. 
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The Polynesian Village 

The Polynesian is always a guest favorite resort that makes you feel like you’ve stepped into a tropical hideaway perched on the sand with Cinderellas Castle off in the distance. The views are stunning, the smells put you in the story, and the sounds of the tropical music and subtle chatter of guests drifting in and out of the lobby make for an excellent multi-sensory experience. 

Inside the resort you’ll find four incredible dining options. The pinnacle of all the dining is the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show which brings a Polynesian Luau to the heart of central Florida. The experience is pricey ($66-$78 for adults) and only offered on select dates and select times. However, it is perhaps the most unique dining option for a day outside of the parks. 

Other dining options include Ohana (the family favorite meal for most guests), Kona, and Captain Cooks. Each have their strengths and weaknesses but each are well worth experiencing at least once and the vast array of options accommodate many different price points. 

The Polynesian also offers two uniquely themed gift shops with resort specific merchandise that is well worth checking out. Last but certainly not least, grab a Dole Whip at Pineapple Lanai and walk down to the beaches for a stroll in the sand to complete the Polynesian experience. 

The Grand Floridian 



When it’s all said and done, make your way back up to the monorail, ride one stop and explore all the Grand Floridian has to offer. Without repeating what’s already been mentioned above, the Grand Floridian offer it’s own array of wonderful dining and gift shops, but also has an array of high end merchandise in select stores ranging from Vineyard Vines to Lilly Pulitzer apparel and many others. 

The Grand Floridian is particularly wonderful around the holidays with Christmas music being played by a live band or piano and decor that looks like something out of a Hallmark movie complete with a larger than life gingerbread house that is always a pleasure to see in person. 

Port Orleans

As perhaps the greatest benefit of this resort hopping strategy, you can jump on the monorail one last time and head to Magic Kingdom. Without entering the park you can leave the monorail, head to the bus stop, and board a bus to your desired destination. One of my personal favorite spots to go at this point on our resort hopping days is Port Orleans French Quarter. The bus ride is only about 10 minutes long and once you arrive, having completed the other resorts on our list, it typically turns out to be around lunch time and Floatworks at French Quarter is a near perfect quick service lunch option. Once again, French Quarter offers a unique shopping experience and the theming really is one of the best resort themes anywhere on property regardless of resort tier. 


Disney Springs or Crescent Lake 

From that point, you have two great options. First, you could continue your day by heading over to Disney Springs for the night via a boat provided by the resort just steps from the lobby, or you can continue on your way to other resorts! Our next resort pick tends to be the  Crescent Lake resorts and Epcot resort area including the Yacht and Beach Club, Swan and Dolphin, and Boardwalk resorts. It is fairly difficult to get to these resorts from French Quarter but, as mentioned before, you can always hail an Uber or head to a park using the resorts busses and then switch busses to get to your end destination. 

In my opinion there is no better first stop than the Yacht Club. The little intricate details of the lobby and external resort grounds are wonderful to explore. As an added bonus, the spacious and comfortable lobby is a great place to relax and escape from the hustle and bustle of your Disney vacation. If you have a bit of extra time, a quick 10-15 minute walk along the lakes edge and through the Swan and Dolphin will lead you right over to Fantasia miniature golf. It’s a great way to spend some time with family, it’s fairly budget friendly, and it is truly unlike any miniature golf you’ve played before. When you’re finished, consider stopping by the Fountain’s walk up window on the bottom floor of the Dolphin for some of the best ice cream on property!


If it’s late enough in the day at this point, consider eating at Cape May Cafe. The tucked away seafood buffet dinner is one that we failed to eat at for years on end. It does require a reservation most of the time but reservations tend to be plentiful. The meal is incredible and is housed in Disney’s Beach Club Resort. It’s not necessarily the most budget friendly offering (more on that in our Cape May Cafe informational post), but it is truly one of my favorite meals anywhere on property and is one of the best kept WDW dining secrets.

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At the end of the night, after your meal, consider making the short walk over to Disney’s Boardwalk resort to enjoy the glistening lights of the real boardwalk experience on the edge of Crescent Lake, potentially a movie on the village green, or even some live entertainment by incredibly talented street performers. The sights, the sounds, and the overall environment is well worth your time. As day turns into night and the nightly performance of Illuminations takes to the sky at Epcot nearby, the view from the boardwalk (while partially obstructed) is one of the most picturesque views you’ll find anywhere on property. The reflections off of the water create a show stopping experience for guests and it’s something you won’t want to miss. 

At the end of the night hail an Uber and head back to your home resort for the week and you may very well have experienced a fun filled day with very little expense and uncovered hundreds of things you never would have gotten the chance to explore on a typical Disney vacation! Enjoy every moment, try something new, and you’ll never be disappointed with resort hopping! Use our plan or create your own plan with resorts you’ve always wanted to visit. This post only scratches the surface of all there is to see and do, but we hope that this at least gives you the motivation to try this vastly important part of our Disney vacations.   

Your Thoughts
As always, if you have thoughts, concerns, questions, or even some tips of your own to share, don’t hesitate to reach out to us on Facebook or your favorite social media platform. Give us a follow while you’re there, and we’ll keep the conversation going in the future. We’re not the largest Disney community, but we’re one that’s there and one that listens. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day wherever you are! 

Ready to Plan?
Need help planning your vacation? Let our friends over at Destinations to Travel (FREE – no obligation quote request form below) help you out at no additional cost to you! Their services are free and a great way for you to help out the site at no extra cost to you! Here’s a closer look at why I recommend an Authorized Disney Travel Planner!
Last but certainly not least, if you’re starting the planning process, a great place to start are with some of our top planning articles! Looking for dining? Check out Disney World Dining Tips For 2018. Want to start with some more tips? 44 Excellent Disney World Tips for 2018 or Disney World Planning Guide and Tips For 2018 are a great place to begin! Looking to save money on tickets? Check out our friends over at The Official Ticket Center for great deals that even made it into our 2018 Discount Disney World Ticket selections and another great way to help us create more content through your contributions at no additional cost to you! You’ll probably even save money along the way.
                   

The Forgotten Walt Disney World Resorts That Could Have Changed Everything

by Guide4WDW

by: guide4wdw – Collin

Disney has had great success over the years with their vast hotel empire at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland. However, there are a few plans that didn’t quite become a reality for a variety of reasons. They never left the drawing board, never broke ground (well most of them), and never truly became a reality beyond their concept art. Many Disney enthusiasts believe these plans could be carried out some day in the future while others believe they are a thing of the past and nothing more. 
Nobody knows for sure, but we can always dream of what these “forgotten” resorts could have been like. However, you can’t help but wonder how different today’s Disney experience would be if those designs would have become a reality. We can never know for sure, but we can always enjoy the ideas of the past and learn something new through Walt Disney World’s history. The history is what made today’s parks a place that has created memories for your family as well as mine for generations. There’s nothing quite like it, but there’s always something new to learn about it and with that we’ll take a look at the forgotten resorts.

Disney’s Persian Resort
In the early days of the Disney resorts, 3 hotels were planned in quick succession to open in the years following the debut of the Magic Kingdom. Unfortunately, the resorts were never fully developed. However, the plans for the resorts were grand and many just steps away from being constructed. The Persian Resort was no different.

The resort was going to be to located on the east side of the Magic Kingdom along the edge of Bay Lake. Many versions of the renderings even proposed a second monorail loop which would connect the resort directly into Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom! The resort plans were incredibly developed and would feature an enormous domed common area where guests could relax, shop, and be entertained in a variety of unique ways in the “theme” of the Persian culture. Unfortunately, the resort and two others were all but forgotten when the 1973 Oil Embargo halted tourism across the nation. Disney no longer had a need for new and elaborate resorts, and the plans, no matter how elaborate and innovative, were completely forgotten by the company. 

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Fortunately, this is the one of the of three proposed designs that could actually still become a reality, no matter how unlikely that may be. The other proposed resort locations have been filled or reevaluated, but the area where the Persian development would have been located is still a largely undeveloped area. However, if the resort was built today, it would be located very close to the recently built Bay Lake Tower. A very unlikely build decision for the Walt Disney Company. 

Disney’s Asian Resort 
Just like the Persian Resort, Disney had great plans for the Asian Resort Concept and had even gone as far as to clear land for the new development in the process of building the Seven Seas Lagoon! Later on, as many of you may recognize, the Grand Floridian Resort was built in its place which ultimately led to a reconstruction and development of the designated land. 
The resort was going to be a very unique concept that fit not only a cultural mold that would entertain as well as educate, but also invent new experiences along the way. It was to be a location that sat on a unique square peninsula jutting out into the Seven Seas Lagoon, a design that many have never experienced before. It was one of those ideas that only Disney could truly accomplish and do so in a way that would set a standard in design and guest expectations for years to come.

Just like the Persian Resort, Disney’s Asian resort suffered the same fate and disappeared shortly after it was planned. Tourism dropped off and the need no longer met the ambitions Disney had for the resorts. The attendance numbers, according to Disney rumors over the years, could not support the new resorts.      
Disney’s Venetian Resort
The Venetian Resort has a unique history and has actually been “forgotten” twice rather than once. That just goes to show that a good idea never truly fades away with time! Imagineering is always planning the next step even though we may or may not know what’s next as the consumer. 
The resort was originally planned to be located on the area of land between the contemporary and what is now known as the Transportation and Ticket Center. While the resort was grand in scale and had plans for a gondola ride through canals, shopping for all kinds of merchandise, and a multitude of resort rooms. Unfortunately, it was also abandoned as the oil crisis struck the tourism industry across the nation. However, this time it was not forgotten completely. 
During Eisner’s time as the CEO at Disney the idea almost resurfaced but as the land was cleared, it became obvious that the foundation that would need to be build would not be cost affective to build. Once again, the idea faded away.   

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Disney’s Legendary Years Resort 
The story of the Legendary Years Resort was one that actually ended in great success that developed out of utter failure in many ways. However, it is a fairly unfortunate story that ended in fortunate success. As many of you may know, in the Value tier of resorts at Disney, you have the All Stars, Pop Century, and Art of Animation. Pop Century was originally designed to be a sort of companion resort across the lake from a second resort called The Legendary Years. Unfortunately, Pop Century was built first and the Legendary Years began construction and met an interesting road block.

The timing of construction happened to fall directly in line with the somber events of 9/11. After the attacks, Disney faced one of their greatest challenges, a tourism industry that was stagnant as a result of the state of the nation and travel concerns. So, as the costs and struggles of building the resort were dealt with, the project was ultimately abandoned (quite literally). In the years that followed, Pop Century remained open and The Legendary Years, across the water, remained untouched. Strangely, Disney never made a serious effort to cover up the abandoned resort or alter the look of the buildings until years later.  
Thankfully, this isn’t where the story ends. In May of 2012 Disney officially opened the Art of Animation Resort and, you guessed it, it is what replaced the Legendary Years. Interestingly, many of the buildings created originally were updated and developed into what became many of the rooms at the Art of Animation. So, you may not remember the Legendary Years, but many of you may have stayed in the very same room that was designed to be a part of the original resort and never knew it!  
Thankfully, the crisis that caused these resorts to be forgotten played a role in what the parks and resorts would later become. Tragedy is never a good thing, but through unfortunate events, opportunity often results. The worst of situations can create the most incredible developments.

These resorts may be “forgotten”, but with Disney’s recent push towards expanding the Disney Vacation Club to new properties and new locations, we might just have a chance to experience a variation of one of these proposed ideas in the years to come. It may not be likely, but at the same time rumors have been spreading like wildfire through the Disney community recently, so you never know what’s coming next!      
As Walt Disney once said, the parks will never be complete!  
The Walt Disney Parks and Resort are changing and adapting as the world around them changes each and every day. New ideas develop and some older ideas get left behind, but Walt Disney World may have never been the resort we know today if it weren’t for the little changes along way.

Unfortunately, some copyright laws prohibit us from sharing the original concept art legally here on the site, but if you want to check out what any of these resorts original designs looked like, hop on over to google images and type in the resort name for a closer look!


Your Thoughts

As always, if you have thoughts, concerns, questions, or even some tips of your own to share, don’t hesitate to reach out to us on Facebook or your favorite social media platform. Give us a follow while you’re there and we’ll keep the conversation going in the future. We’re not the largest Disney community, but we’re one that’s there and one that listens. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day wherever you are! 

Ready to Plan?
Need help planning your vacation? Let our friends over at Destinations to Travel (FREE – no obligation quote request form below) help you out at no additional cost to you! Their services are free and a great way for you to help out the site at no extra cost to you! 
Last but certainly not least, if you’re starting the planning process, a great place to start are with some of our top planning articles! Looking for dining? Check out Disney World Dining Tips For 2018. Want to start with some more tips, 44 Excellent Disney World Tips for 2018 or Disney World Planning Guide and Tips For 2018 are a great place to begin! Looking to save money on tickets, check out our friends over at The Official Ticket Center for great deals that even made it into our 2018 Discount Disney World Ticket selections!
Thanks for reading, and until next time, have a wonderful rest of your day! 

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Disney’s Boardwalk Resort – An Excellent Resort Theme and Location

by Guide4WDW

by: guide4wdw – Collin

Disney’s Boardwalk Resort – An Excellent Resort for Theming and Location 

Walt Disney World’s Boardwalk Resort is what I would consider one of the more unexpected stand out offerings in the world of Disney Deluxe Resorts. The Boardwalk is a unique blend of luxury, location, and amenities that is fairly hard to beat in regard to Disney’s Deluxe tier properties. Unfortunately, as always, the Boardwalk and other Deluxe tier resorts tend to accompany a fairly high nightly price tag, but at the same time the cost put in tends to play a role in the overall vacation experience. Some guests may find that a necessary expense for their vacation style while others may prefer more budget friendly accommodations on property (or off – before considering off-property there’s a few things you’ll want to consider – Off-Property At Disney World: What to Consider and Why). 
Just last week (March 2018), we had the opportunity to stay at the Boardwalk Resort with some friends and family. Honestly, it was a wonderful vacation, and the resort certainly played a big role in that experience. We were not payed by Disney to make this review (even though I wish we could make that happen lol), but in all reality it was a very expensive out of pocket stay. Thankfully, we used a technique we have in the past to minimize the cost of deluxe resort accommodations by booking a 2 bedroom villa. I know that sounds like the opposite of saving money but we also traveled with a fairly large group so the cost was split among two families, making the overall cost per group far more manageable. It’s not the ideal tactic to save money and book deluxe for every situation, but it’s worked out wonderfully for us and we get to travel with some great friends along the way. 
But, with all that being said, this resort isn’t perfect and we’ll gladly share that information as well in today’s article. In the big picture, this is an outstanding place to stay, but it’s different in a few ways than what you may expect from the typical deluxe tier resorts at Walt Disney World. However, it is pretty high on our list of resorts, but it’s hard to beat our top pick of Club Level at Wilderness Lodge. Long story short, we admittedly have high expectations.
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The Backstory  

At Walt Disney World, as many of you know quite well, everything has a story and while many stories are more elaborate than others you may be surprised at the level of detail built into the Boardwalk experience. 

As you walk into the lobby, you’re surrounded by a bit of real life history. From the scale model Illions Carousel (which comes to life each hour), or the Lucy the Elephant Scale Model, to the Luna Park Pool area, to the picturesque views over charming, yet active Crescent Lake, the Boardwalk harkens back to the days of old school Boardwalks readily overlooked in today’s fast paced world. 

Based on an elaboration of turn-of-the-century Atlantic City blended with the subtle yet memorable touches of iconic Coney Island, the Boardwalk welcomes a good time while remaining family friendly nearly all hours of the day. As the days turn into nights, the Boardwalk comes alive a few feet above the glistening water of Crescent Lake. Live acts share their talents and tricks, and carnival games allow guests to test their skills and enjoy a piece of the classic boardwalk experience in the heart of central Florida. It’s a surprisingly simple concept, but one that is accomplished so tastefully and in such a unique way that it creates a truly memorable experience. Some day we’ll have to share a closer look at some of the hidden details in the history of the experience, but we’ll save that for another day. Nevertheless, be on the look out for a few hidden details hiding in plain site that really develop the theming to an entirely shocking level.                    

Disney's Boardwalk Resort

The Check In Experience at the Boardwalk 

When we arrived at the resort, we were greeted quite pleasantly by the staff and bell service, and while we decided to deal with our own bags before heading to the parks, they made every effort to help. Once inside the main entrance of the resort, the lobby is a few short steps away in the heart of the grand atrium featuring fleeting and subtle views of the picturesque boardwalk one floor below the lobby. We intentionally avoided online check in to explore the in person check in experience. Upon arriving at the desk, we were pleasantly informed that we had been given an upgraded view. It was a great touch and a great start to a Walt Disney World vacation. It wasn’t something we asked for, but certainly a wonderful surprise. We did arrive fairly early on in the day (around 12:45), and as a result our room was not quite ready. Given the time of day and typical 4pm check in time for the resort, it was a situation we entirely expected. Instead of waiting around for the room, we made the decision to head to the Magic Kingdom. In order to do so, the staff of the resort stored our luggage (a great option for early arrivals) and we headed to the parks. Everyone was quite helpful and a few short minutes later we were on the bus to Magic Kingdom.

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A Closer Look at the Villas 

Late that night we returned to the resort and picked up our luggage (a very easy process) on the way to the room, instead of having it brought to us, and were pleasantly surprised by our room placement. We managed to get a room location on the main floor, less than a two minute walk from the lobby, a short distance down the hall. 
The room itself was a bit oddly set up, but a great set of accommodations for our situation. At the entrance to the room there were two doors. A typical room or studio room would not feature this same set up but with the two bedroom villa it was designed as what Disney called a “lock off.” Essentially the first room was a one bedroom villa with a king bed and a rollout sofa bed with a kitchen and living area. The other room (the second door also opening to the hallway) featured a queen bed and a queen size sleeper sofa in addition to a twin size trundle bed cleverly tucked away under the television.
In theory, Disney splits up these two bedroom villas in the case that it would need to be booked as a studio room and a 1 bedroom villa independently. So, when you book a two bedroom villa of the type you essentially get two adjoining rooms and two doors to the hallway as well. It’s a clever concept and likely makes it easier for Disney to fill resort rooms and accommodate a variety of party sizes. 
As for the theming itself, it’s fairly simple. The paint scheme of the room is accented heavily in white but also draws from a fairly bright color pattern and features artwork picturing carnival rides and special Boardwalk-esque experiences. During our stay, the room remained impeccably clean and housekeeping did a wonderful job promptly cleaning the room and replenishing towels and other needed items. 
Our upgraded view (as mentioned above) landed us three balconies overlooking the “DVC” pool area and resort recreation section. We mostly faced the smaller of the pools on the property, a select few guests playing ping pong or playing billiards poolside, and a picturesque view of the waterway to Hollywood Studios and the Swan and Dolphin a short piece away. It wasn’t the best view but it was far form the worst! We really enjoyed the few minutes we got to sit back and take it in from the balcony.              


A Quick Comparison to Other Disney World Deluxe Resorts

I’ve been fortunate enough over the years to have had the opportunity to stay at quite a few resorts on property. I haven’t stayed a them all but I have visited nearly every resort on property at least once and have stayed at many of them at least once. By comparison to the others, I would put the Boardwalk firmly in the above average to excellent category. It’s not going to beat the iconic Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon Resorts overlooking Magic Kingdom in my opinion, but at the same time this is a wonderful resort and located in one of the best locations on property. You’re a 10 minute walk to Epcot, and 15 minute walk to Hollywood Studios and boat transportation is also provided to each of those locations. On top of that you have typical Disney busses to Disney Springs, Magic Kingdom, and Animal Kingdom. During this trip we only had one issue with bus transportation and that was for an early entry day to Magic Kingdom.
All things consider the trapsorstiaotn is excellent here and provides a great alternative to busses for those who may get carsick (like me) or simply prefer alternate transportation. 
From a theming perspective this resort is only rivaled by a select few properties. To me, Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and the Polynesian are the ultimate standard in well themed accommodations. Of course, your opinion will very, but the level of detail at the Boardwalk is something very difficult to overlook and true impressive to see and experience first hand. As you can see in the images in this post, the area is spectacular at night and nearly as beautiful during the day. What you may not be be able to tell in pictures is that this place is covered in little details that make a huge difference in the broader resort look and feel. It’s impressive to say the least and something you should definitely check out even if you don’t plan on staying there during your vacation.           
Disney's Boardwalk Villas

The Ideal Epcot Resort 

As a result of the proximity to the park and the transportation options, I see Disney’s Boardwalk as the ideal Epcot resort. Not only is it close to the park and allows access into Epcot’s back International Gateway entrance, but allows you to avoid the crowds to a certain extent during the opening of the park in the mornings. Additionally, with the opening of Toy Story Land and Star Wars on the horizon over at Hollywood Studios, the ease of transportation to that park could be a life saver as those projects draw to completion in the coming year(s) and the heaviest of crowds file into the park. 
Given the proximity to these parks, it’s easy to leave the park in the heat of the day, run back to the resort and hit the pool to cool off or freshen up a bit in the room without wasting too much time in the realm of transportation and moving from location to location. Convenient is the ideal way to describe the location and that short amount of saved time each day can add up to a noticeable time savings at the end of your Disney vacation. 
The other Epcot resort area accommodations are excellent as well and while the Swan and Dolphin leaves a bit to be desired in the realm of theming, their teacher discounts are a great way to save some money if it applies to your situation. With that being said, the Boardwalk is our top pick of the Epcot area resorts. It’s centrally located, convenient, and in my opinion offers the best bang for your buck out of all the Crescent Lake area properties.      

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The Boardwalk’s Pool and Recreation 

The Boardwalk Resort’s pool is one of the most iconic WDW pools you’ll find on Disney property. As you round the corner to the main pool you’re greeted by a massive waterslide reminiscent of the classic wooden rollercoaster of legendary picturesque boardwalks. Beyond the slide, the pool itself is quite impressive and even features a bar within the pool area itself. The atmosphere is quite pleasant and excellently themed to the resort in what Disney calls Luna Park. 
In the realm of recreation, guests and visitors alike can jump on a Surrey bike and tour the entire Crescent Lake area. Tennis courts are available just steps from the main lobby, and a marked running trail borders Crescent Lake for those looking to get a bit of extra exercise in during their stay. Last, but certainly not least, about a 15-20 minute walk away you have the Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf course! It’s an impressive course and even made it onto our list of  The “Little Things” We Do At Disney That Can Make All the Difference! 
Unfortunately, some of these experiences are not entirely free of charge, but are excellent things to enjoy while visiting the resort nonetheless. Also worth mentioning is that these offerings only scratch the surface of all that is available for you to enjoy at the Boardwalk resort and surrounding area.

Incredible Views From the Boardwalk Itself

Without a doubt, I truly believe the Boardwalk is one of the most picturesque resorts, if not the most picturesque resort, I’ve ever been to. From the morning sunrises walking to the parks or waiting for boat transportation, to the incredible reflections off of the water after the sun sets and the lights of the boardwalk light the night, the experience is near impossible to do full justice to in words. In this case, seeing is believing and while I hope our photos from our stay do it justice, there’s nothing quite like being there! It will, without a doubt, exceed your expectations.     

Epcot International Gateway - Back Entrance

WDW Boardwalk Restaurants 

For those looking to visit or even stay at the Boardwalk, the dining offerings are quite impressive and expansive to say the least. Unfortunately, if you’re looking for quick service meals, you’re wont find to many options on the Boardwalk itself. While the Boardwalk Bakery and a few of the smaller stands on the boardwalk do offer some unique snack offerings, and a select few meal items, there’s only a select few options in the realm of quick service meals. Thankfully, you’re only a few steps away from Epcot and Hollywood Studios which both offer a large variety of quick service meals of all types. Additionally, while not on the dinning plan, the Dolphin resort is home to Picabu which is a great quick dining offering with a changing menu and daily offerings which make each visit unique. Personally, I highly recommend their breakfast omelettes!  
If you’re looking for table service dining you have a ton of options. The property is home to each of the following: 

-ESPN Club

-Flying Fish 

-Big River Grill and Brewing Works 

-Trattoria Al Forno

ESPN Club is a great place to catch a sporting event with a vast array of TVs and a fairly impressive menu that features some more unique items while still offering classic cheeseburgers and other items kids and adults alike will enjoy. 
Flying Fish is the high end dining establishment of the group and welcomes guests to a menu of a variety of fish and steak offerings in addition to other high end dining staples. For the full menu click here. However, you’ll want to be aware before making your reservation that the dining offerings are seasonal and are subject to change over time.
Trattoria Al Forno is unique in that it offers guests the opportunity to enjoy a character breakfast with Ariel, Prince Eric, Rapunzel, and Flynn Rider or a variation of the group. The meal is quite simple, viewable here, and late in the day the breakfast location transforms the menu and offers up a truly “Italian” dinner in an elegant but not to overly stuffy environment.  
With all of those offerings for consideration, it’s a bit tough to pick the select few you’ll get to enjoy during your stay. If you need help narrowing it down or booking any aspect of your vacation, contact our friends at Destinations to Travel (clickable quote request form) for free planning help. Booking with them through our form helps us out here on the site and we appreciate your support.           

Our Boardwalk Resort Overview – Our Thoughts

Without a doubt, this is one of the top resorts we’ve experienced first hand on Disney property. The theming is unbelievable and the level of service matches or exceeds the top tier theming. While all of that is true, the best way to describe this experience isn’t through my own experience but rather through the story of a guest I stumbled into on social media a few days ago. 

During their stay, the particular guests young child lost a toy they had bought in the parks. The simple purchase was a slinky dog figure, but was somehow lost along the way. Upon returning home, the guests discovered the toy was missing and contacted the resort. The staff of the Boardwalk went above and beyond and not only found a slinky dog, but informed the guests that slinky would be sent to them in the coming weeks. While that’s great on it’s own the cast went beyond expectations and created a photo memoir of Slinky Dogs journey before returning home to the guests. There were pictures of his activities and shared experiences that unveiled a backstory that Slinky wasn’t quite ready to come home. It was a small gesture but one that set the Disney experience apart and made that lasting impression on the guests that will stick with them for years to come. It had to be a magical moment and that story is the only true way to do justice to this resort and it’s incredible staff. (If that guest happens to be reading this, shoot me a message on Facebook or email and I’d be happy to give you credit for the story and would love to add in a few photos if you’re interested!)   
        
Before we completely wrap up for the day, if you or anyone you know would be interested in partnering with us to sponsor a post, feel free to email me at guide4wdw@gmail.com. Right now, we have a Travel Agency affiliate that were happy with, but all other offers we’d be happy to look into. Companies of all sizes will gladly be considered. 

Your Thoughts
As always, if you have thoughts, concerns, questions, or even some tips of your own to share, don’t hesitate to reach out to us on Facebook or your favorite social media platform. Give us a follow while you’re there, and we’ll keep the conversation going in the future. We’re not the largest Disney community, but we’re one that’s there and one that listens. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day wherever you are!

Disney's Boardwalk Inn

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Need help planning your vacation? Let our friends over at Destinations to Travel (FREE – no obligation quote request form below) help you out at no additional cost to you! Their services are free and a great way for you to help out the site at no extra cost to you! Here’s a closer look at why I recommend an Authorized Disney Travel Planner!

Last but certainly not least, if you’re starting the planning process, a great place to start are with some of our top planning articles! Looking for dining? Check out Disney World Dining Tips For 2018. Want to start with some more tips? 44 Excellent Disney World Tips for 2018 or Disney World Planning Guide and Tips For 2018 are a great place to begin! Looking to save money on tickets? Check out our friends over at The Official Ticket Center for great deals that even made it into our 2018 Discount Disney World Ticket selections and another great way to help us create more content through your contributions at no additional cost to you! You’ll probably even save money along the way.

DoubleTree Suites by Hilton – Disney Springs Area – Resort Review

by Guide4WDW

by: guide4wdw – Collin

DoubleTree Suites by Hilton – Disney Springs Area – Resort Review 

Every once in a while we do something a little out of the ordinary compared to our typical Disney vacations for a variety of reasons. On our last trip to the parks, we decided to re-visist a hotel we’d stayed at a few times many years ago, long before this site was a reality. First and foremost, notice how I don’t call this particular property a resort, but rather a hotel. The DoubleTree Suites in the Disney Springs Resort area isn’t really designed to be anything more than a hotel “plus.” It’s not a sprawling resort with a grand theme or amazing pools like you may find at a Disney resort or even neighboring Waldorf Astoria, Marriott, and even other Hilton owned properties (the parent company of the Double Tree). However, while it does lack a certain resort quality it functions largely as what I called a hotel “plus” above. It’s not a Hilton Garden type hotel designed for short stays and simply a nice clean place to stay, but rather it shares a lot of qualities of that resort style draw. The Double Tree offers an above average pool (nothing super special but it works), a great location, large rooms, and an extremely friendly staff. If I had to describe it in a sentence, it is the resort I check when I want to book a budget friendly vacation when even the value tier resorts on property are a bit more than we’re interested in paying. 


Dont get me wrong, I am and always will be a firm proponent of guests staying on property and do so almost exclusively myself. However, if your dates are at just the right time and you want a little extra space compared to a value resort run by Disney this is and has always been our go to pick. If you catch it on the right dates, the prices can be incredibly low  and on our most recent stay we spent less than $700 for a four night stay. Couple that with the Hilton Honors points we had saved up from other non-Disney vacations and using the Hilton Honors card itself and our costs continued to drop below that original number. It’s not the ideal Disney accommodation but it’s far better than hundreds of other options in the Orlando area. 

Location, Location, Location! 

This single factor alone is one of the very best aspects of this resort. Disney does not own the resort, but the resort is technically still within “Disney Property” and sits less than 2 miles from Disney Springs. An Uber ride will cost you about $5 to ride to Disney Springs but you can easily make the walk at night in around 15 minutes. It’s a tough walk in the heat of the day in the summer but there’s a second added benefit of being “on property” while still being “off property” in a  elative sense. Due to its location and relationship with Disney the Double Tree, along with other properties in the vicinity, fall into with Disney terms Good Neighbor hotels. 

The title they give these resorts is a little misleading, but functions similarly to how the Anaheim Disneyland resort refers to hotels. As a perk of staying in one of these select hotels, you get the added benefit of 60 day fastpass+ booking and extra magic hours (you pick up cards for extra magic hour verification purposes at the front desk). The downside is the transportation. The resort does provide transportation to the parks, but it is not run by Disney and as a result the transportation is pretty lack luster. So much so that we opted for Uber and Lyft to get us from place to place instead. We’ve attempted to use the transportation in the past, but it was not the best scenario. The buses tend to be extremely crowded, run fairly inconsistently, and service multiple resorts before heading to the final destination. In all honesty this was and is the biggest downside to this resort for a variety of reasons, but something worth noting for anyone planning to use the buses as their sole source of transportation. 

From a Cost Perspective 

An additional strongpoint and real strength of this particular property is the cost. Inevitably if you’re a Hilton Honors member or staying on a discounted rate, you can save some money staying here if you’re careful about transportation costs and parking fees. If you’re driving, you’re almost better off staying on property because the nightly parking fee is $22 per night. Plus, if you opt for using your own transportation you will still have to pay parking fees at the parks on top of that unless you’re an annual passholder (assuming you don’y fly in and use a service like Uber or Lyft – here are our thoughts on that). 

If you plan your stay carefully, you can save a little money when comparing accommodation prices to those found on property. When you add in the greater room size, even in standard suite rooms, the benefits can occasionally outweigh some of the downsides of not being in a Disney owned and operated resort. You are going to lose a certain element of being in that “Disney bubble” and to me that’s a huge part of the Disney experience overall for many first time and returning Disney guests. It’s not something I can fault the Double Tree for but there’s just an added piece to the vacation puzzle when you can see and do everything you want without the worries of any transportation concerns or hidden costs during your stay. When Disney provides everything it’s just “easy” and a adds a little something to the feel of your vacation.           

The Standard Rooms 

A standard room at this particular DoubleTree property isn’t entirely standard. The hotel features suites offering guests a living area and a separate room with either two queen beds or 1 king bed separated by a sliding door. Additionally, each room comes with a miniature refrigerator, a small sink in the living room style area, and a fairly good size table. The extra space in the room is a huge bonus for those with larger families or who just want a little extra space without having to pay the Deluxe Villa price of similar Disney accommodations.

Sure, there are sacrifices when staying off property and I talk about them heavily in our Disney World Budget Tips – How to Plan a Budget Friendly Disney Vacation article. I even went as far as to recommend not staying off property if you can absolutely avoid it. While that may be seemingly contradictory, at the same time if you’re not an Annual Passholder or coming to the parks multiple times during the year like some guests are, I still don’t recommend staying off property. If you are like us and headed to the parks multiple times throughout the same year, it can be a good option, but if you’re a first time guest or planning your one big vacation for the year just stay on property. I don’t say that in any way to discredit the great value you can find at the Double Tree (it truly is a great hotel), but it’s all about convenience and making the absolute most of every minute of time you have with friends and family.        

Breakfast Offerings 

Breakfast tends to be a big benefit here if you are a Hilton Honors card holder. If you are not a card holder, you can buy a breakfast package to get a really good breakfast for each day of your stay added to the cost of your room. As a Hilton Honors card holder you are automatically given a a breakfast for each guest in your party each night of your stay depending on your cardholder status. The complimentary offering is pretty good but you can upgrade your breakfast to include bacon, sausage, omelettes, and a few other add ons for $5 per guest. Truthfully, it’s a really poor system and one that I literally saw two different guests get irritated with the front desk about upon check in. $5 obviously isn’t the end of the world for a great breakfast with a ton of offerings but if you’re Hilton I don’t see why you’d try to pull $5 more dollars out of your guests pockets and risk them being irritated about it as soon as they check in. Sure, it makes financial sense but if you read any reviews on Trip Advisor or other online sites that’s the number one thing guests complain about. 

With all of that being said, it’s not really a complaint I had with our stay. We gladly payed the $5 a couple days of our trip to start the day off right with a good breakfast and the staff at the dining location is exceptional. It’s the same group of servers that have been there for years (select servers literally 20+ years) and they treat you like part of the family. Many guests know them by name from repeat visits to the property and the servers know them just as well.      

Overall Experience 

Long story made short, this is and always likely will be a great place to stay if the rates are cheap or at least more budget friendly than Disney resorts. However, its not going to be an ideal solution for so many different reasons. Would I stay here again, absolutely. Would I rather stay on Disney property? Without a doubt. Not everyone is like me though and some prefer a classic hotel style accommodation over a heavily themed experience for any number of different reasons. The Double Tree is a great hotel and an even better location. It’s far better than other non-Disney resorts in the area and the added advantage of being in the Disney Springs resort area makes it a far better option than so many other resorts that are truly “off-property” a and down the road from Disney. If you’re booking a trip, it’s certainly worth a look. If you want to do some comparisons completely free of charge, let our friends over at Destinations to Travel help you out in the booking process. It really helps us out when you book through them! 

Your Thoughts


As always, if you have thoughts, concerns, questions, or even some tips of your own to share, don’t hesitate to reach out to us on Facebook or your favorite social media platform. Give us a follow while you’re there, and we’ll keep the conversation going in the future. We’re not the largest Disney community, but we’re one that’s there and one that listens. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day wherever you are!


Need a Travel Planner?


If you want or simply need a little bit of planning help to make your Disney vacation dream a reality, check out the quote request form below this article for our friends over at Destinations to Travel. They’ll let you do as much or as little of the planning as you’d like and may even save you some money along the way! As always, thanks for supporting those who support us.


Ready to Plan?


Last but certainly not least, if you’re starting the planning process, a great place to start are with some of our top planning articles! Looking for dining? Check out Disney World Dining Tips For 2018. Want to start with some more tips? 44 Excellent Disney World Tips for 2018 or Disney World Planning Guide and Tips For 2018 are a great place to begin! Looking to save money on tickets? Check out our friends over at The Official Ticket Center for great deals that even made it into our 2018 Discount Disney World Ticket selections and another great way to help us create more content through your contributions at no additional cost to you! You’ll probably even save money along the way.

                  
    

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Disney’s Boulder Ridge Villas at Wilderness Lodge – An Excellent Villa Option

by Guide4WDW

by: guide4wdw – Collin

Disney’s Boulder Ridge Villas at Wilderness Lodge – An Excellent Villa Option 

Wilderness Lodge has been and likely always will be one of our favorite resorts in all of Walt Disney World. So, when a great deal presented itself, as you can read about in our article we called Disney World Discount – How We Saved 27% With One Phone Call, we had to take it and check out these deluxe villas for ourselves. While we have stayed at Wilderness Lodge many times over the years, this was our first time staying in the Boulder Ridge Villas. 


Interestingly, as we checked into the resort, and I shared a few quick photos of the area, questions and requests to review the property started rolling in. So, before we jump a little deeper into the details and events of our trip, I thought I’d start here with one of the more requested articles. 

(Boulder Ridge Cove Pool) 


Quite honestly, this has been a “wish list” resort for me personally for quite some time. The kind of tucked away nature and depth of the theming found at the Boulder Ridge Villas has always captured my interest and truly felt welcoming in a unique way. This stay met any and all expectations I had for a vacation here. I know that may “spoil” the review but at the same time, it only touches the surface of what this resort has to offer. 

For those of you who may not know, the Boulder Ridge Villas are a portion of Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Resort. These particular villas are not housed in the main building but rather remain tucked away on the right hand side of the resort in a separate building with a slightly different theme. Some guests may dislike not being in the main lodge but to me the proximity is so incredibly close that it was nice to be near the amenities the main lodge offers while enjoying the slightly quieter and more reserved atmosphere of the villa wing. The theming is also slightly different. In the villas, there’s a subtle push away from the outdoorsy nature of Wilderness Lodge as a whole and more of an influence on early railroads and the surrounding nature of that earlier era of history. At the same time, there’s an even more subtle nod to Walt Disney through the Carolwood Room of the Boulder Ridge lobby that really brings things full circle in the realm of theming. Overall, the combination is incredibly welcoming and hopefully that “feel” manifests itself in the photos of this article. 

The villa lobby really sets the stage for the villa section experience. The high vaulted ceilings, boardgames set up in the surrounding seating areas, large fireplaces add a spectacular warmth to the building and even the smell (which is so incredibly hard to convey) welcomes you into the heart of the resort. It’s similar yet different to the larger iconic Wilderness Lodge lobby but no less spectacular in the level of detail maintained. 

Our Boulder Ridge Stay

We arrived at Wilderness Lodge on a Saturday afternoon and were immediately checked in at the main Wilderness Lodge lobby without any form of wait and very few questions asked of us. As always, I opted to avoid online check in because I like to see how the resorts each handle the check-in experience. To me, it is a memorable part of the experience and one aspect that really sets the stage for your stay. In this case, everything went quite flawlessly, but interesting to note is that the new parking fees were not mentioned to us at check in, but rather were added without notice to what we payed at check out. It was a little frustrating even though we fully expected to have to pay the fees. Other guests may not ever consider it if they do not follow Disney news and it could be an unwelcome surprise at the end of the stay. Also worth noting is that we were required to pay taxes on the parking fees for each individual day. 


Our actual stay at the resort lasted 6 nights and on this particular stay we decided to spend more time a the resort and surrounding areas rather than going to the parks every day of our stay. We did go to the parks two days, but spent a good deal of time exploring our resort, hanging out by the pool, doing some resort hopping and dining elsewhere, all while remaining mostly in the “Disney bubble.” It was an excellent trip and a style of touring Disney that I highly recommend if you’re looking for a less hectic Disney vacation. Plus, the savings of cutting out a couple park days in favor of exploring other aspects of Disney property can save you a lot of money in the long run. For us, it was more about trying new things and enjoying a few of the more overlooked aspects of Disney property this trip and it  played out quite nicely in the end. 


The One Bedroom Villa

Truth be told, we kind of lucked out on our room. On top of securing a discount we didn’t expect, upon checking into the resort and finding our room we walked into a spectacular view. Our specific villa was on the 2nd floor of the building facing out towards the Boulder Ridge Cove pool and Bay Lake. The view was a touch surprising because we didn’t remember booking a preferred room, but it certainly felt like a room that would have fallen in that category. 

The layout of the villa was quite nice. As with other villas on property, the kitchen is a huge bonus and offers up a greater variety of dining options for many guests. We only really used the kitchen for breakfast and a few snacks throughout the week but it was nice to have a larger refrigerator and freezer along with a full oven and normal size microwave. Glassware, plates, and other necessities were also provided. 

                  
The theming of the room was quite pleasant. It had a subtle woodsy nature but to me felt a bit more upscale than the standard rooms of Wilderness Lodge (which are also quite nice). The living room area featured a roll out couch (a nice one, not the ridiculously thin ones), a very nice television which we hardly even turned on, and a nice little table in addition to a counter area with stools to sit at. Four of us (all adults) stayed in this villa and it was quite comfortable and we all had a little bit of personal space to spread out. As a result, this would be excellent for a family with small children that need that little bit of extra space to spread out and enjoy the added bonuses of the villas accommodations. 

     
The bedroom is also quite nice with plenty of room surrounding the King size bed. Given that we were traveling with four adults in our group, we did decide to bring an additional air mattress so that no-one would have to share a rollout and because a member of our family snores terribly (lol). The bedroom was so large that the twin size inflatable mattress easily fit between the window and the bed and was easily stored away during the day. For many, that wouldn’t be necessary but is good to know if you’re traveling with a group and want to try something similar. The bedroom was also home to an unexpected detail that many hotels overlook, outlets. I know that sounds ridiculous but when you travel with a computer (or two), three camera batteries to charge, a phone, and still have everyone else in your family to contend with, it makes a huge difference. This villa had tons of power outlets! 

The bathroom was typical of what you would find in most Disney villas. There was one room with a sink and a large tub. A second small room housed a stand up shower, sink, and toilet. All of the above were quite nice and very clean which is what we’ve grown to expect from Disney resorts. Just outside the bathroom there is a relatively full size washer and dryer stacked in a small closet which is great to have if you plan on doing any laundry during your stay or happen to get soaked in a rain storm and need to dry out a few things.       

The Resort Pools 

Without question, the pool here and in particular the Boulder Ridge Cove pool is one of my favorite resort pools on property. We were lucky enough to experience it many months ago about a week before the resorts updates officially debut and loved it then. This trip was no different. We spent a few hours here most days that we weren’t in the parks and the zero entry style design is excellent for both kids and adults. It is a quieter pool and does not have lifeguards on hand, but couple that with the food and drink service from geyser point that will  be brought right to your pool chair and you’ve got a winning combination. On top of that, we never had to look for a pool chair. Between the two resort pools, there were always a few available without having to look long. The second and main pool called the Copper Creek Springs pool is the better pool for children. That particular area features a slide and activities in the afternoon like bingo and music to entertain guests which is a nice addition. 

  (Copper Creek Springs Pool)

Transportation

As many of you may know from previous articles, transportation tends to be a big deal for me because I tend to get carsick in a variety of situations. Boat transportation is always a bonus for me over bus transportation because of the smooth nature of the ride to the parks. At this particular resort, you can catch a boat directly to Magic Kingdom and if you really dislike bus transport you can even catch a boat to the Contemporary and ride the monorails to Epcot as well. Every other location requires you to catch a bus, but our experience with bus transportation was quite positive on this particular trip. 

Resort Dining 

Dining, in my opinion, is one of the many strong points of this resort. During our stay we tried three of the four restaurants housed on the property and were quite impressed with all of them. Whispering Canyon is what I would consider the “main” family dining option for a table service meal. We caught breakfast there and it was great and has been great nearly every time we’ve eaten there over the years (more on that in an upcoming article). Additionally, we ate at Roaring Fork (the counter service location) and Geyser Point (a new concept). They were both excellent but we did face a rather long wait for food at Roaring Fork later at night. Roaring Fork is one of the better resort dining counter service locations and offers food that is recognizable like cheeseburgers and chicken but also manages to incorporate more unique offerings such as chicken and waffles. This is also your refillable mug refill location and an excellent place to pick up a cupcake or pastry during your stay. 

Geyser Point is probably the most unexpected favorite of the group for a few reasons. First, it’s a mixed concept. You can sit down and dine similar to table service accommodations near the bar area and surrounding seating or you can walk up to a counter and get an excellent meal from the counter service window to take with you. The seating area here is a huge bonus. If you can get there when there isn’t a wait, you can sit around in big comfy chairs and enjoy the sunset. It’s perfect for those fall or summer nights with the open air environment and the views are simply spectacular. If you’re just looking for a good place to hang out, especially in the morning before they officially open, this is your spot. We met up with a friend here and the warm morning air and the shade of the seating area provided a great spot to just sit back and talk for a bit before the hottest temperatures of the day rolled in. The slight breeze off of the water is exceptionally hard to beat!  


Overall Experience

All things considered, I would be beside myself if I didn’t recommend this resort to guests traveling to the parks. It is one of my favorite resorts overall and the villas have been and likely always will be near the top of my list of favorite resorts rivaled closely by the Boardwalk Villas for entirely different reasons. It’s a spectacular resort without a doubt and perhaps is one of the most welcoming resorts I’ve ever stayed at. I do not know if it’s just a style of resort I like do to my somewhat southern roots in Kentucky, but it’s near impossible not to be overwhelmed by the shocking “wow factor” of Wilderness Lodge as a whole. 

Truthfully, this is not necessarily a budget friendly resort, but at the same time isn’t entirely in the same league (in regard to price) as the most expensive resorts on property. I see it more as a hidden gem deluxe resort. The villas are rarely talked about and are likely one of the better kept “secrets” of Walt Disney World. The location is excellent, the price is a bit more manageable than other Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon properties, and it has a way of transporting you to a different place in a way that is very difficult to put into words. So, do I recommend this resort and who do I recommend it to? If you can make the finances of it work, I say go for it! If you’ve never stayed in deluxe accommodations, the property as a whole is a great place to try as your first “step up.”                            
  


Your Thoughts

As always, if you have thoughts, concerns, questions, or even some tips of your own to share, don’t hesitate to reach out to us on Facebook or your favorite social media platform. Give us a follow while you’re there, and we’ll keep the conversation going in the future. We’re not the largest Disney community, but we’re one that’s here and one that listens. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day wherever you are! My email is always open, so don’t hesitate to send a question or feedback my way! – guide4wdw@gmail.com 

Ready to Plan?


Last but certainly not least, if you’re starting the planning process, a great place to start are with some of our top planning articles! Looking for dining? Check out Disney World Dining Tips For 2018. Want to start with some more tips? 44 Excellent Disney World Tips for 2018 or Disney World Planning Guide and Tips For 2018 are a great place to begin! Looking to save money on tickets? Check out our friends over at The Official Ticket Center for great deals that even made it into our 2018 Discount Disney World Ticket selections and another great way to help us create more content through your contributions at no additional cost to you! You’ll probably even save money along the way.

New Discounts are Out! – Save Up to 25% on Rooms at Select Disney Resort Hotels This Summer

by Guide4WDW

by: guide4wdw – Collin

New Discounts are Out! – Save Up to 25% on Rooms at Select Disney Resort Hotels This Summer

As Summer draws closer, a new Disney discount for the summer months has officially been unveiled for bookings most night June 11 through August 1st of 2018. The offer comes in a bit better than I anticipated and can save guests up to 25% on resort accommodation when you book before May 22nd or 20% when you book before August 1st. 


Here’s a closer look at the breakdown of costs and discounts associated with the new discount rates on a resort by resort basis. This summer will be a huge time for Walt Disney World with a massive amount of new things and special events coming to the parks. Highlighting the special events is the grand debut of Toy Story Land to guests on June 30th. As a result, on property resort rooms will likely fill up quite quickly around those dates, but summer has always been and likely always will be a peak booking season for the company. 

What Kind of Disney World Summer Discounts Are Out For 2018? 


As always, these special rates can be booked by your travel agent, through Disney directly, or through our recommended travel agency Destinations to Travel (clickable link to free quote form). Of course, we recommend booking in whatever way works best for you and your given situation. So without further ado, here’s a breakdown of the discounts:  

 Select Disney Deluxe Villas: Book now through 5/22/18 Book 5/23/18 to 8/1/18
Disney’s BoardWalk Villas 25% 20%
Disney’s Old Key West Resort
Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village
Disney’s Beach Club Villas 15%  10% 
Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Copper Creek Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows – Studios only
 Select Disney Deluxe Resorts  Book now through 5/22/18 Book 5/23/18 to 8/1/18
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge 25% 20%
Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
Disney’s Beach Club Resort 15%  10% 
Disney’s Contemporary Resort
Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
 Select Disney Moderate Resorts  Book now through 5/22/18 Book 5/23/18 to 8/1/18
Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort 20% 15%
Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter 10%  10% 
Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort 20%  20% 
 Select Disney Moderate Resorts  Book now through 5/22/18 Book 5/23/18 to 8/1/18
Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort 20% 15%
Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
Disney’s Art of Animation Resort – Family Suites only
Disney’s Pop Century Resort
As always, only a select amount of rooms are available for this offer and those select rooms will be sold quickly. If you’re looking to book at these rates, be aware that the costs could change or rooms could sell out as your selected dates draw closer.

Last but not least, if you’re traveling with children ages 3 to 9, and purchase a 3 night, 3 day Magic Your Way Package with a resort hotel, tickets, and the Disney dining plan, your children will get the children’s dining plan free of charge most nights May 28th through August 30th (booked by August 1st). This is a separate offer than the above percentage discounts and cannot be coming with any other offer according to Disney.     

(Source: Rates and Discounts – Disney) 

Your Thoughts

As always, if you have thoughts, concerns, questions, or even some tips of your own to share, don’t hesitate to reach out to us on Facebook or your favorite social media platform. Give us a follow while you’re there, and we’ll keep the conversation going in the future. We’re not the largest Disney community, but we’re one that’s there and one that listens. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day wherever you are!

As always, when you book with our affiliates (mentioned above) it helps us out in return, and we truly appreciate it!

Ready to Plan?

Last but certainly not least, if you’re starting the planning process, a great place to start are with some of our top planning articles! Looking for dining? Check out Disney World Dining Tips For 2018. Want to start with some more tips? 44 Excellent Disney World Tips for 2018 or Disney World Planning Guide and Tips For 2018 are a great place to begin! Looking to save money on tickets? Check out our friends over at The Official Ticket Center for great deals that even made it into our 2018 Discount Disney World Ticket selections and another great way to help us create more content through your contributions at no additional cost to you! You’ll probably even save money along the way.

Saratoga Springs at Disney: An Underrated Disney World Resort

by Guide4WDW

by: guide4wdw – Collin

The Saratoga Springs Resort at Walt Disney World is one of the best resorts on Disney property for the money. It features a great location, fairly effective transportation, and retains the perks of being a Deluxe tier resort while avoiding some of the costs of other deluxe tier offerings. In short, I put Saratoga Springs at Disney right next to Old Key West in regards to the best overall value for your money on property, especially when booking with larger groups (we’ll get to more on that later).

While it may not be the ultimate “sought after” destination featured in the Disney TV ads or even the resort your friends and family tell you you have to at least go and visit, but it’s debatably a hidden gem of a well planned Disney vacation. As one of the largest Deluxe resorts geographically, Saratoga Springs offers legitimately a room type for any type of group or party size. On top of that, it features multiple pools, and activities for guests of all ages. Without spoiling all the details in the introduction, we’ll jump right into it and share a bit more below on why this has been a top pick for our vacations.

As always our preferences and yours may differ. We tend to travel in somewhat larger groups, and typically stay in villa style resort rooms or deluxe resorts, but that’s just what works for us. If you fall into that same vacation style category, or even if you may not, I’d give this place a second look before booking anything else.   

(Photo: Jason Pratt – Flickr) 

Resort Accommodations
The Saratoga Springs resort offers a diverse lineup of lodging accommodations. From the typical and rather spacious deluxe studio rooms featuring 1 queen bed and one double size sleeper sofa to massive Treehouse Villa accommodations that can comfortably accommodate 9 guests, there’s a little something for everyone. It’s not the perfect resort, but one where no matter what your party size is, you can almost always find something that suits your needs. 

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Personally, I recommend a preferred two bedroom villa here for a few select reasons. First, when you purchase a preferred room you are essentially guaranteed one of the better building locations on the property. What that means is that not only will you walk shorter distances to the main area, dining, and pools, but also remain close to transportation via bus or boat (boat to Disney Springs). Second, two bedroom villas are ideal if you can find another family or group of friends to travel with you and split up the costs. If you can work it out, typically you can put 7 guests into that particular villa comfortably (8 by capacity standards), and if you can split the costs you can occasionally catch a room at this particular resort for relatively close to moderate tier resort prices where you would have to book two or more rooms for larger parties. It sounds crazy, but I’ve done it on multiple occasions and it works out great if you can find the accommodations you’re looking for available for your given dates. Villas tend to go quickly, so be sure to book early or book with our preferred travel agent or another group that can continually check for resort room openings for you. Here’s why I recommend an Authorized Disney Travel Planner!

If you can find the accommodations you need, this can be a pretty significantly overlooked offering for those of us who are not DVC members, despite it technically being a DVC resort. DVC members tend to love the place and I can’t say that I blame them, but many first time and retiring guests completely overlook this potentially perfect offering. Of course, as with any resort, it has its flaws and if you want to hear our largest concerns jump down to transportation.         

(Pictured: Treehouse Villas – Photo: Disney)

Resort Activities
At the resort, you do have a few huge bonuses. First, you have two pools which are both excellent “resort style” themed pools in addition to smaller pools throughout the property. The two main pools are excellent and with one of them only steps form the main quick service location, it’s easy to take your refillable mug inside for a refill without having to pack up all your stuff and make the hike across property as you do at some select resorts. 

Additionally, scattered around the pool deck you’ll find ping pong and other games to enjoy. Of course, they’re not quite as enjoyable in the heat of the day as a dip in the pool, but nonetheless an excellent offering and a perk for those spring trips or a night off from the parks to relax and enjoy the resort. 

Last but certainly not least, the resort is home to Disney’s Lake Buena Vista golf course. Personally, I see this as the better of Disney’s golf facilities. The driving range is iconic and features a unique water element utilizing aqua balls that float in the case of an errant shot. Plus, opposed to hitting off of more typical mats, players utilize real turf on the range and are even provided a golf cart just to drive out to the range with your clubs even if you don’t plan on playing the course. As an added bonus, as you hit golf balls, you can peer through the trees over at Disney Springs from a rather unique angle that many guests will completely overlook. It’s a great facility and a great way to convince a non-Disney fan to join you on a Disney vacation in order to play an excellent golf course. The golf offering even made our 4 Unconventional Ways to Enjoy Disney That You May Have Never Considered list. 


Excellent Quick Service Offerings
As mentioned, just steps away from the main pool and check-in area you’ll find The Artist’s Palette. As one of my favorite quick service offerings at any resort location, The Artist’s Palette is one of the best locations for variety you’ll find at a resort hotel quick service location. Everything is made to order and hot and ready at basically any time of day. The location even stays open until late at night for those guests returning from the parks. It’s a great first meal or last meal at Walt Disney World and a great place to grab a quick bite to eat before heading to the parks. 

If you’re looking for something a little more upscale, take a few steps down the hall to The Turf Club for a Table service meal with a classic view of the on-property Lake Buena Vista Golf Course (which starts at the clubhouse downstairs) in addition to the boat launch over to Disney Springs.     

Proximity to Disney Springs
The proximity to Disney Springs is something that I see as increasingly valuable as time goes on and the transformation of Disney Springs continues to develop and change in the coming months and years. The offerings at the Springs are vast and the dining opportunities are some of the best you’ll find. It’s a largely varied shopping and dining experience with a little bit for everyone to enjoy with dining and shopping options for all price points. 

The quick boat ride over only takes around 10 minutes and is incredibly picturesque as the sun starts to fade over the horizon and the colors of those classic Florida sunsets reflect off the water. It’s a view of the Springs that gets vastly overlooked but one of the most iconic views you’ll ever experience from the little pontoon-esque boats that ferry gets back and forth from this resort, Old Key West, and Port Orleans. As the shortest of the three boat rides, it’s truly hard to beat the convenience and the multitude of entertainment options just a few short minutes from your resort.        

(Pictured: Homecomin’ Kitchen at Disney Springs: AKA – Our New “Must-Do” Disney Dining Location!)


Transportation… The Good and the Bad
The entire Saratoga Springs Resorts utilizes Disney’s bus theme park transportation. They don’t have any monorail, or boats to the parks, but for many the cost savings more than makes up for the transportation limitations. Of course, as mentioned, you do still retain the boat transportation to Disney Springs, but the transportation to any other park requires the use of multiple bus stops within the resort (similar to Caribbean Beach or other more spread out resorts) and the ride through the property can be fairly time consuming. It’s certainly not the ideal situation for someone who gets carsick (like me) easily with the multiple stop and go segments, but you can always hop in your car and drive to the parks as an alternative. Also, the parking is typically only a few steps from your resort room, so it’s easy to access a vehicle or rental car if you have one for your vacation.         
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Wrapping Up
With all of this being shared, it’s easy to see how the resort can be viewed as a “diamond in the rough” by our standards. It’s not the perfect resort but one with some of the most varied options on all of property accompanying a price tag that isn’t all that unreasonable. The amenities are excellent, the rooms are incredibly classy and nicely laid out, and the staff (as with any Disney resort) is truly excellent. If you’re like many guests and have overlooked this property, I certainly recommend you bring it into consideration in a future vacation planning process. It even made our Three Vastly Underrated Walt Disney World Resorts You May Want to Consider for Your Next Vacation – A Few Thoughts post. 

Your Thoughts

As always, if you have thoughts, concerns, questions, or even some tips of your own to share, don’t hesitate to reach out to us on Facebook or your favorite social media platform. Give us a follow while you’re there, and we’ll keep the conversation going in the future. We’re not the largest Disney community, but we’re one that’s there and one that listens. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day wherever you are! 


Ready to Plan?

Need help planning your vacation? Let our friends over at Destinations to Travel (FREE – no obligation quote request form below) help you out at no additional cost to you! Their services are free and a great way for you to help out the site at no extra cost to you! Here’s a closer look at why I recommend an Authorized Disney Travel Planner!

Last but certainly not least, if you’re starting the planning process, a great place to start are with some of our top planning articles! Looking for dining? Check out Disney World Dining Tips For 2018. Want to start with some more tips? 44 Excellent Disney World Tips for 2018 or Disney World Planning Guide and Tips For 2018 are a great place to begin! Looking to save money on tickets? Check out our friends over at The Official Ticket Center for great deals that even made it into our 2018 Discount Disney World Ticket selections!

Our Top Disney World Resorts For Adults

by Guide4WDW

by: guide4wdw – Collin

Picking a Disney resort is a huge part of the Disney vacation planning experience, especially for those of us who are not local. However, the planning process shouldn’t be dominated by a set “must do everything” mentality, but rather a more relaxed journey planning your way through the parks. I understand that statement in itself sounds contradictory to just about everything on this site, but the best way to describe my frame of thought is to recommend that you plan only what’s absolutely necessary. Plan your resort accommodations, buy your tickets well in advance, and make your dining reservations. With the exception of the last one of the pieces of the puzzle listed, these things are pieces of the vacation that you really can’t do at the last minute. Dining is an exception if you’re willing to be a little less stringent about where you want to eat and when. If you’re not looking to catch Be Our Guest or Cinderellas Royal Table (and even sometimes if you are), dont worry about booking them at the beginning of the 180 day reservation window. For many, that type of planning gets them excited for their vacation and I can appreciate that, but it’s not always necessary. 

I’ve personally seen reservations for Be Our Guest and many other hard to get reservations pop up on the dining app the day before, or even the day of, your planned time in the parks. However, Disney resorts aren’t quite that way. Last minute reservations are certainly doable at times in regards to resorts, but it’s not the ideal way to plan your accommodations. Personally, I don’t recommend trying to book a stay (without flexible dates) less than 2 months out. The suggested booking window will vary for peak seasons and special events but if you’re looking for a particular resort, the earlier you book, the better off you’ll be. (If you are booking last minute, I highly recommend an authorized Disney travel planner to help you find any last minute possibilities)

So, to get to what you probably came for in the first place, we’re taking a look at the resorts as a whole and diving into what we see as the very best resorts for adult trips. Of course, kids and adults are welcome at any and all resorts on property at any time but a few select options stand out to me as the best case scenario for an adult getaway. 

We’ll start out with our suggestions at the value tier and work up from there to the deluxe category of resort accommodations. Honestly, we tend to stay deluxe simply because that’s what works for us, but we also tend to avoid the dining plan because that also works for us. There’s no perfect way to do Disney, and I’m sure many opinions will differ from mine, but we’ll jump right into it and see what we come up with!

Values

1. Pop Century
The value tier is a bit unique in the world of Disney accommodations. The hotels are great and remain incredibly clean, but many guests down play them simply because of the other top tier options on property. Personally, I don’t see why. A value resort is every bit as “Magical” as any other Disney resort and I’d go as far as to say that any Disney value resort would stack up to any major hotel chains typical accommodations anywhere in the country. The values are great for what they are. They’re not going to have the most elaborate theming thats deep with little hidden details like the Wilderness Lodge, but you still get that Disney flair that sets them apart from all other vacation destinations. 

If you’re taking that into consideration, I recommend Pop Century as the best value resort. Not only does it feature a more “Disney” inspired theme in a round about way, but it’s also separated from the hustle and bustle of the dance teams, cheerleaders, and sports teams which typically reside at the three All-Star resorts. For adults in particular, it features a great food court, an excellent pool, and some of the better transportation options of it’s tier. 

Last, but certainly not least, you have the fact of it’s price point. Pop Century, while typically a touch more expensive than the All-Stars remains quite budget friendly throughout the year, and even at peak times. For adult only trips, it’s probably your best option of the value tier. 

Moderates

1. Caribbean Beach 
The moderate resorts are a unique blend of deluxe theming combined with value transportation. For years, we vacationed almost exclusively at Caribbean Beach. We loved the resort (especially when we scored a great room location) and the pool area and all encompassing theming gave us an experience we couldn’t get anywhere else. The bus situation isn’t perfect, and the pool can be a bit of a walk from your resort room, depending on where you get placed, but the little communities allow you to spread out more and avoid a cramped feeling some guests experinece when staying in the value tier.

For adults in particular, the pool area is excellent, the youngest children have their own area to play in, the food and drinks are a few steps away from the pool, and the theming of the rooms is more subtle in regards to the character presence. I’ll readily admit I’m a bit nostalgic about Caribbean Beach, and while it is an excellent resort if you can handle a resort with multiple bus stops, it’s not my top pick for a moderate resort, but Port Orleans is!  

2. Port Orleans French Quarter
Port Orleans French Quarter has earned an impressive place in the realm of Disney resorts for me and I even went as far as to call it “One of the Best Moderate Resorts” in a recent article here on the site. In my humble opinion, it’s the best bang for your buck on property. Now, that stament may change over the next few years as changes develop at Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs so we’ll have to wait and see how that plays out in the end, but at the time being I’d recommend Port Orleans to any guest headed to the parks. 

To me, this resort is the ultimate hidden gem. The resort is small, and rooms are never a far walk from the main lobby area, food court, or pool area. The main refillable mug station is just steps away from the main pool and the guest rooms vastly out rank their price level. The counter service food here is some of the best on property. The main dining location is called Floatworks and not only can you purchase the typical cheeseburger and fries, but you can get a little adventurous and try a Po’ Boy Sandwich or even a piece of prime rib! For me, it’s a highlight of any trip and a place we typically stop in even if we’re not staying at that particular resort. We even added it to Our Top 5 Quick Service Dining Options at Walt Disney World!

Another bright spot for French Quarter is it’s transportation. Featuring an easily accessible bus stop that only stops at that particular resort rather than making multiple stops to pick up additional guests at other resorts or at four or five additional stops within your resort. I completely understand that seems trivial but after a long day in the park, the last thing you want to do is stop multiple times before arriving at your destination.     

Deluxe


1. Wilderness Lodge 
Inevitably, deluxe resorts come with a higher price tag than all of the aforementioned resorts, but that price comes with some impressive benefits, especially for an adults only adventure. Wilderness Lodge is a prime example of a resort that offers more than you may expect going in. From the moment you walk in the lobby, the inevitable “wow factor” pops out to you. The large, vastly encompassing high ceilings welcome you from the moment you walk in the door. The level of theming is beyond what you may expect. Not only in the realm of theming but also in the realm of dining. At Wilderness Lodge, you have a few excellent dining opportunities including one of the latest and greatest counter service locations on property in my opinion, Geyser Point. The food is excellent and one of the best Disney cheeseburgers I’ve ever had (even though they offer other items). While providing great food, it also provides an excellent outdoor seating environment that welcomes a casual get together with friends or a simple place to hang out after many hours in the park to unwind and share some stories with friends. 

In a similar yet different way, you have the Carolwood Room which is an impressively themed and historically accurate representation of a passion of the man who started it all. For more on that, feel free to check out in our Outstanding Disney History Hiding in Plain Sight: The Carolwood Room post. 

I could go on and share any number of deluxe accommodations that are truly wonderful places to stay and unlike anything you’ll experience anywhere else in the world. They honestly can be that impressive, but all things considered, you cannot go wrong in the deluxe tier of resorts. For a typical guest though, they may not be the best option for you. They’re very expensive, even on discounted rates (Disney Discounts Are Here For Spring and Early Summer – Up To 20%), and are far from the most economical way to travel in the long run, but do certainly have their perks. It’s all about what works for you and what you want out of a resort stay.  

Resort Review: Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter – One of the Best Moderate Resorts!

by Guide4WDW

by: guide4wdw – Collin

Every Walt Disney World resort has it’s strengths and weaknesses, but there’s always been and there will likely always be something special about staying on property during your Walt Disney World vacation. While many believe staying off property may save you money, often times the costs associated with the experience, which Disney provides free of charge, more than offset the cost difference. 


However, a few Disney resorts have always stood above the rest in regards to value for your hard earned dollars. Personally, one resort has always held the title of best “bang for your buck” in my humble opinion. As you may have guessed, that same resort is the one I’m sharing with you tonight, Port Orleans – French Quarter. 

Before I really dive into the benefits of this location’s vast accommodations, I should preface this article with the fact that I have not stayed here in about 3 years. As a result, a few things may have changed along the way. Taking that fact into consideration, here’s a closer look at our experience. 

On this particularly trip to Walt Disney World we intended to do things a little bit differently. A majority of the time when we travel to Disney, we do so with a vast layout of what we’re going to do on each day, what parks are open the longest, and a plan for every little detail of our week on property. That plan has always proven incredibly productive for us, but on this particular trip we had very few plans and did so completely intentionally. Our goal was to simply enjoy the resort and experience Disney in an entirely different way. We did go to the parks for a couple days of the trip, but spent a majority of our time at the resort, playing miniature golf, resort hopping, and resort dining. It was an outstanding trip and one that really allowed for a change of pace that proved incredibly enjoyable. However, as you can likely imagine, the resort accommodations could have made or broke our vacation experience. 


I’m happy to report that this was an excellent resort for this scenario. For those of you who may not know, Port Orleans is divided into two different sections, Riverside and French Quarter. We chose to stay in French Quarter largely because of it’s smaller size and much less scattered layout. Upon arrival, we entered the spectacular glass walled lobby area and headed over to the check-in counter. To our surprise, there was no line to check in (which can often happen at Walt Disney World resorts) and we were even upgraded to a garden view room as a result of a request to be near the pool if at all possible (since we would be spending a good amount of time there). 

The resort layout really lends itself to a great guest experience. The parking lots are spread across the resort and offer a great way to unload luggage and transport it to the room without any unnecessary hassle. Upon entering the room, the decor was classy and upscale in a way that made it feel much more luxurious than what you would expect to find in the moderate tier. Every little element of the room debuted dark wood accents and it even featured a decent sized window looking out to the courtyard (or in our case a view of the pool area). We were located on the first floor, and were only a short minute or two walk from the excellent Floatworks dining location which recently made Our Top 5 Quick Service Dining Options at Walt Disney World! To be quite honest with you, after walking a majority of the resort grounds, there really are no “bad” room locations. Everything is very quaint and compact which makes the resort feel very comfortable. 


Beyond the room and other typical accommodations, Port Orleans offers a fairly unique transportation option which transports guest via boat to Disney Springs. The journey from the resort dock takes around 20 minutes but is a great alternative to the typical bus rides that carry guests around property. Along the way, you get the opportunity to catch a brief view of Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort and may even catch a glimpse of boats making their way over to Old Key West. The journey transports guest along the Sassagoula River surrounded by large trees and picturesque views of the Lake Buena Vista Golf Course and perhaps one of the most unique views of Disney Springs from water as you traverse your way to the docking location. The incredible view of the Boathouse, House of Blues, and other Disney Springs icons are truly impressive from this unique viewpoint. 

Overall, this is one of the best moderate resorts for your money on Disney property. While the cost does tend to be a touch higher than Caribbean Beach or Coronado Springs, the added transportation benefits of fewer bus stops, optional boat transportation, and a much more compact layout are often well worth the additional cost. The cost also tends to be a result of the fact that Port Orleans French Quarter is often excluded from many of Disney’s discounts. It may cost more, but it often also increases availability for last minute reservations.   

If you’re looking to book a Disney resort in the near (or distant) future, be sure to look into the services of our friends over at Destinations to Travel. They’re not only who we recommend but also who we use for our vacation planning process. If you’d like to use this service and help support the site along the way, be sure to check out our quote request form below. Thanks!   

Legendary Cast of the Disney Parks – "Sunshine" From Whispering Canyon

by Guide4WDW

by: guide4wdw – Collin

If you’ve read this site for any amount of time, you’ve likely noticed that I’m a huge fan of the “little things” of any Walt Disney World experience. To me, the smallest details accumulate and really help develop those life long memories a Disney vacation can readily develop. So, today, as we continue our Legendary Cast of the Disney Parks series, we’re sharing a closer look at an incredible cast member that left a mark on our Disney vacation experience. 

This particular cast member isn’t readily known (at least to my knowledge) by many guests, but rather simply played a predominant role in creating a memory our family continues to talk about to this day. It wasn’t a planned experience, it didn’t cost anything extra, but it was a cast member interaction that truly exemplified Disney quality service. 


On this particular day of our vacation, many years ago, we had planned advanced dining reservations for Whispering Canyon over at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. The dining location has been a part of our Disney vacation experiences for as long as I can remember. While I was very young on our first visits, I can recall staring off into the woods out the window, waiting in the lobby of the resort, riding the stick horses around the restaurant, and some other little details of the experience growing up. Today, the location has become a bit of a tradition. The food is outstanding, the environment is second to none, and the cast (as we’re mentioning in detail today) is some of the very best on Disney property. 

However, on this particular occasion, we went into the restaurant in a rather bad mood. I’m not exactly sure why, but it just wasn’t the best day we had on our vacation by any stretch of the imagination (at least not yet). Of course, we knew we were in for a good meal, but we didn’t quite expect the experience we received from our server, known as “Sunshine.” Now, that wasn’t her real name and I don’t entirely remember her real name even though we did ask at one point throughout the meal. Either way, the meal unfolded in a way that we never would have expected. 

As soon as she arrived at our table, you could tell it was going to be a fun experience. The trend at Wilderness Lodge is that the servers can be a little over the top and tend to joke with the guests as a portion of the location’s theming. ‘Sunshine” was no different and in many ways went above and beyond to make the experience memorable for not just us but each of her many tables. 


As the meal went on, we got to know our server a little better and ironically found out that a friend of ours worked with her at a different location on Disney property in the the not-so-distant past. It was one of those weird “small world” (no un intended) moments that really felt like you were in the right place at the right time. After that connection was made, the meal continued on and she made a special effort to learn about where we were from and even went as far as to share some of her personal stories of time spent near our home town. It was great to be thought of as not just another table, but rather as a new story to unravel. 

Perhaps the most impressive part of the whole “scene” was that when we mentioned a table near by that seemed a bit “less fun,” for lack of a better term, she cordially mentioned that they were a bit irritated by the theming and (as we posed a few more questions) she revealed that not only had they left without any form of tip but also managed to steal the salt and pepper shakers off of the table. I don’t add this to the story to make it seem like a complaint but rather to recognize how she made a special effort to continue making our experience better while her own situation was not entirely pleasant at the time. Come to find out, after we talked to another server at the restaurant, she was recovering from being sick that day as well but made light of it in order to better our experience once again. 


A the end of the day, this was an Disney dining moment my family will talk about for many years, and one that really created a memory for us that we’ll never forget. You see, “Sunshine” may not be a name as recognizable as Richard Sherman, Bob Iger, Richard Gerth, or even Jack Olsen, but I can guarantee you that each individual on that list would say that her role is one of the single most important roles on Disney property despite what the title of her position may be. Honestly, after that one experience we haven’t seen that particular server on later trips to Whispering Canyon, but be sure to ask for her if you ever find yourself at this particulate dining location.

Thanks for reading and have a great rest of the day. Have a cast member story you want us to share? Share it with us on your favorite social media site!  

If you don’t quite know where to start as a first time guest, or even if you’re a returning guest looking to grow an already amazing Disney experience, be sure to check out our friends at Destinations to Travel (clickable link). Just tell them Guide4WDW sent you! Not only are they one of a select group of Authorized Disney Vacation Planners, but this also gives you the opportunity to support the site at no cost to you over Disney’s pricing! Their services truly build on an already wonderful Disney vacation experience.