How so?
Well it can’t run in bad weather for a start.
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Or if there is lightning within 6 miles.
Or if there is too much humidity in the mornings.
When we stayed in Pop in August 2020, the Skyliner had a delayed opening about half of the days we were there.
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It’s funny because people talk about all these shut downs - and I do believe they happen I’m not saying that - but I’ve only ever experienced it being down once when I needed it
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You have the Midas touch!
Truthfully, MOST of the time it was running fine. But there were key moments that it wasn’t, and you really felt it then. Fortunately, on days with the delayed opening, they left a voicemail on our room phone letting us know, so we knew to head to the buses instead of the Skyliner.
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Now that we’ve stayed at BC/YC/ BCV, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to get my family to stay elsewhere. Our routine was to hit a park in the morning, come back to the hotel and rest and then walk over and close out the night at Epcot. My kids are not fireworks people, and so they would go ride rides in the last hour of the night. (I also really hated Illuminations and Epcot Forever was lame, so never saw a reason to see those. I do love Harmonious and I’m sad that my kids will never see it.)
So for us, it’s location, location, location.
I’ve also recently fallen in love with Pop. I stayed Pop with my mom last spring and AoA with my daughter in the summer and loved the Pop rooms. I really prefer the skyliner over buses. You can sit and rest and travel pretty quickly.
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Yes! What I love about Disney vacations is the fact that it is a little bit of everything - food, drinks, rides, shows, relaxation. The resort is super important to me and we just scheduled our 3rd visit to the YC in June. It’s my favorite because of the proximity to the parks, the pool, restaurants/bars, proximity to the boardwalk, and just overall vibe. It feels luxurious but still super Disney to me. I have a resort bucket list, but I keep booking at YC because I love it so much.
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It’s all a combination of who is going and where we are staying. With the kid, it eliminates anything that doesn’t have at least a queen size bed because Don and I are not fitting into double bed. We will also spend some time at the pool if she is with us.
When it’s just grown-ups, then we tend to go somewhere nicer. Swolphin is a nice compromise for us but I will always opt for AKL of WL if they fit into the budget. Swolphin gives us a great central location to jump back and forth so Don can nap. AKL means we’ll spend a little more time at the resort than we would if we were staying somewhere else.
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Slightly different perspective here. We did day trips to WDW starting in 1974, mostly just DH and me. Our first on site stay was 3 nights at the Poly in 1988. Me, DH, my sister and her 7 yo DD. We didn’t know any better and paid the rack rate of $188/nt. Other resort choices were Contemporary, Fort Wilderness or the Disney Inn. We chose the Poly because of the island theming, the pool slide and the proximity to the TTC. We walked there for the ferry to Magic Kingdom and the monorail to Epcot. I remember Capt Cooks as being a full service restaurant in a different location - closer to TTC. My sister and her daughter enjoyed the pool and slide in the afternoons, DH enjoyed ignoring the car in the parking lot and I loved the size of the room. My niece’s homework books took over the day bed. To us, the three days at the Poly were meant to be a resort stay in Disney World.
In 1990 we stayed 4 or 5 days at Caribbean Beach Resort because the photos in the planning magazine looked fun. I have no recollection of our room cost. We - same crew - were not amused with the tiny corner room, tho we did like the windows. The central area was a long walk. The main pool - one of the reasons for staying here - was not open. DS and DN did do some afternoon swimming and homework.
In 1994 (Beach Club), 1998 (Wilderness Lodge), 2001 (Yacht Club), 2004 (FtW - 2 campsites), 2006 (FtW - campsite & cabin), 2008 (OKW/Poly anniversary) we chose resorts based on ambiance, queen size beds, pools (except FtW), and restaurants, mostly. We were also no longer a group of 4, since most of our adult kids and their kids came along. In 1994 we enjoyed the dining plan, water skiing, fishing, horse back riding and mini golf as well as time in the parks, attractions and gift shops. We had time, in the 8 days we stayed, to do everything and eat three sit down meals a day. There were fewer parks and fewer attractions in the parks. And fewer folks.
Either I got smarter or Disney started offering discounts because we weren’t paying rack rate any more. Every trip there have been changes to get used to.
Over the next 14 years our touring group changed, adding various newbies here and there while adult kids stopped visiting the World. We did DVC in 2010 (WL) and some of us again in 2012 cuz the ambiance 
while others tried moderate again with the Riverside Royal Guest Rooms - cool but those small rooms and so much walking just to get to food 
, 2013 BW villas , mostly because of Epcot proximity, 2015 Saratoga mostly because of availability but I really like the resort, especially with the remodel, 2018 we were back at CBR because of a karate tournament, party of 5 and military rate - the murphy bed is inspired, 2020 and 2022 back at Saratoga . It’s a good fit. We tried a vrbo in 2017 because of a late decision to visit with 7 people - house was fine but the commute was not . We tried another timeshare in 2019 because of the kid’s big birthday bash. The 3 bedroom condos were spacious and the commute quick 
.
After so many years, it’s definitely Disney World, rather than Disney Parks. Short answer, it was never just a room. It was mostly a too short stay in neverland. Every time. 
Except that vrbo. 
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Most places I go except for Disney and the beach it’s a bed because we don’t spend time im the room. However with Disney a pool and other attractions are important. We’re doing FW this time for lots of recreation- we’re even doing a pool day. Plus, with 2 kids and 2 adults we want more space.
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This is my value of choice, even though its pricing is a bit insane
You will. I think ASMo is better. Unless I come into money, the next time I visit WDW I will stay at ASMo.
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I have DVC, which means if I am traveling and have already used up my points, I have to stay cheap. So nice that “cheapest” is still fun and immersive, with great room layouts and the best food courts.
Especially because I seem to be devloping a habit of using my DVC points on non-WDW properties.
If I was going to stay at a value ASMo would definitely be my choice.
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Transportation/ease of getting to the parks has become number one on my list. I’m staying at AKL next time and already know I will be using Uber a lot. It was the least expensive of the deluxe resorts - would not have chosen it otherwise. I love a nice room, but the way I tour dusk to dawn I’m hardly ever in it.
Edited to add - All Star Resorts are completely out if the question for me. 
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I’m with you. Public pools (and yes, even though they are theoretically limited to those at the resort, they are public) skeeve me out.
In terms of what I look for…
I definitely have my preferences of places to stay, but that has changed a bit…
- CBR used to be my go-to and my Disney home, but with the Skyliner being the only option to Epcot (and Studios, but I don’t go to Studios) it’s usually last on my list of Mods now.
- I am I think the only person in the world who is not charmed and in love with New Orleans, so POFQ is one of those “If nothing else is available” ones. POR is a NOPE. The mansions feel stuffy and the bayou looks trashy.
- I love the Deluxes I’ve stayed in (AKL, Poly, Contemporary), but I have no desire to stay at the Grand Floridian as it feels even stuffier than POR and I don’t feel fancy enough for there and the YC/BC/BW…I’m not a fan of entering Epcot through the IG.
- Values… I have stayed at all but Movies and have not had issues with any. Pop and AoA drop to the bottom of the list because of the Skyliner.
Honestly as the extra evening hours are, I’ve pretty much said “Deluxe or Value” as the Mods don’t really give you any park stuff extra than the Values. But with the dining card deal, I’m looking at Mods simply for the extra $50/night on the card as Deluxe is a smidge high on the budget. I’ll have to crunch numbers to see…maybe I can just put away extra on my own gift card to make up the difference in the Value card and the Mod card.
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I once stayed in a balcony room at the Hilton on Park Lane in London:
I was on a fairly high floor. And looking forward to seeing the view of the imaginatively named Green Park:
When I got to the room the balcony door was locked and I couldn’t find a key. So I called the front desk to ask for one. They said, “How many people are in the room?” I was travelling alone. “Then we can’t give you a key.”
It’s to stop you from killing yourself. Single travellers are obviously very depressed and at risk from self-harm.
I complained so hard they gave me a voucher for a free stay. When I checked in they upgraded me to a suite. Without a balcony.
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I’m probably in the minority here but for me I’ve never seen the allure of the Disney resort options. Sure some of them are nice and interesting but many are dated and IMHO reality don’t really offer much to justify the pricing.
Then again we usually travel as a couple and have hotel reward programs that we leverage for our stays. If I’m spending my Disney trip hanging out in the hotel instead of putting in my 11-15 miles each day at the parks then I’m doing something wrong.
Nooooooooooooooooooow if they offered complimentary foot massages as part of the stay then we might be talking about a potential game changer here. 
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I’ve heard this line of thinking before in a commercial liability insurance context.
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Correction to my above. I did the math…
I can do Preferred at any of the All Stars for just over $1000 less than CSR. And to match the gift card, I’d only have to pony up $250 - so that’s a net savings of just over $750 to stay Value!
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