I have an upcoming stay at the beach club in August. I’ve gone twice with the kids, once 2&4, next trip 5&7
First trip (BC) we had a high floor with balcony. It was nice for watching HS fireworks after the kids fell asleep. Seemed like we spent a lot of time taking elevators and walking halls because we were over Cape Mays. Touring plans lists it as a 7 minute walk to the room from the lobby but it seemed longer when we were tired.
Second trip I asked for another high floor room but ended up with a ground floor room (Poly). I was surprised by how nice it was not to wait for elevators and how much time we saved when we had to run between the pool and the room. We spent little non-sleep time in the room on that trip. Not sure we would have used a balcony even if we had one.
This trip the boys are just short of 8 & 10. I was leaning towards asking for a ground floor room, because it seemed to save time. Yet for some reason I think that in the back of my mind, asking for a high floor room helps my chances of a club upgrade.
We are sound sleepers. Noise doesn’t bather us.
What do your guys ask for?
Ask for a ground floor
Ask for a top floor
Getting the right building or location in the building is more important that the floor
As a stroller pusher at a moderate for our upcoming trip I’ve prioritized ground floor in my room request.
But in a deluxe with good sightlines I’m more apt to request a high floor. With the exception of a resort like the Poly with multiple buildings, you’re most likely walking a distance through the hotel and have multiple elevators to choose from so I don’t find the ground floor convenience as being such a priority and might request a higher floor if the view is better.
I voted top floor, but my family’s priorities are different than yours. A quiet location is our #1 request, which usually means top floor and back of the building (non-pool side). But since there are 5 of us we’ve only stayed in the value family suites, which are in preferred buildings and low enough to take the stairs if an elevator is taking too long.
We loved our top floor on our last stay. I never heard or saw another vacationer while we were there! With little kids (2 &4 at the time), it was awesome.
I tend to book a non-ground floor because I have this theory that there are more pests closer to the ground. Whether my theory is true or not, psychologically, I feel better being on a higher floor (I have had incidents with pests that have scarred me for life - I won’t tell those stories here because they did not occur in a hotel much less Disney). Also, ground floor is where you get more people walking around and potentially peering into your window. Kinda creepy all around.
The stroller situation is important, but I usually stay in a hotel with an elevator anyway.
We always request high floor. I like sitting outside with a glass of wine in the evening, but I’m also allergic to bee stings. Less risk of getting stung higher up.
Quiet is most important to me - far from elevators. Ground floors tend to be too noisy for me. If you’re not on ground, it doesn’t matter if you’re on floor 2 or the top obviously. Taking the elevator with a stroller didn’t bother me b/c I’d be taking the stroller anyway. Ask for a close building.
We ask for the top floor for quiet. Last trip DH was with us in an ECV so we did have to use the elevators but having a quiet room for him was more important than saving a couple of minutes. We were at POFQ and never encountered another person using the elevator in the full 2 weeks!
I request the highest floor possible (usually top since I do Value or Mod resorts) - I don’t mind climbing stairs, and I would rather leave the ground floor for people who legit need it.
I like ground floor, personally. In 2016, my dad needed an accessible room at POFQ, which do exist on all 3 floors, but we requested ground so we wouldn’t have to deal with elevators with his ecv (2 rooms next to each other, one ADA, one not). It worked out so well for us. My sister and I are requesting ground again this year. If we were in a different resort, we likely wouldn’t care, and would just want to close to an elevator or the lobby.
I guess I’m in the minority, but I don’t like being on the ground floor of any hotel because it creeps me out thinking that someone could break in through the patio door. I was ground floor at Beach Club villas once and it was totally unnerving. Then, it’s Florida so there’s also the chance of opening the blinds to find something bigger than a gecko chilling on my patio.
Even when there’s no patio and windows that don’t open I still don’t like being eye-level. Being on the second floor of the Garden wing at Contemporary was not my cup of tea either… the windows are huge and I felt exposed all the time.
I haven’t voted, but in my situation it depends. In our last trip my girls were 6 and we stayed at AoA on the ground floor. We are going in November and they are 9. We are staying in Wilderness Lodge BR, and I requested to stay high. I think it depends for me what the view will be like. If it is a good view, I like the height (and the quiet it gives is good, but not a deal breaker. I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow). If it isn’t a good view, I would rather stay low for convenience.
I request ground floor for Pop to avoid stairs and elevators. I always request higher floor when we stay at WL because of view. So I guess it depends on where I’m staying.
