We rented DVC points and are staying in a 2 BR value villa in Jambo House for 7 nights for $3000. I didn’t think that was bad at all. You wouldn’t need a 2 BR villa, so I’m sure a studio would be a lot cheaper than that.
My favorites are Boardwalk, Bay Lake, and Poly (especially because of the monorail ease on this one)
I’ve never had a problem with transportation to/from AKL to anywhere.
I spend very little time at the resort, so POP really works well for me. No frills, but nice, clean, rooms, a decent food court (although I rarely eat at the resort), and dedicated bus service. When Cindy and I want to do a “special” trip, AKL is where we stay, renting DVC points from a friend. Granted, she gave me a really good deal on points, but I stayed at AKL, savanna view, for under $200/night. Even at “standard” point prices, it should be considerably less than $600/night. I don’t think I would ever pay “rack rate” for a deluxe.
Why AKL? Because it is a unique “exotic” resort that is unlike anything I can find anywhere else in the US. All of the other deluxes are modeled after resort archetypes that can be found at other locations. The Poly may be the other exception, but the faux island decor has just never been my thing. And as I don’t spend a lot of time at the MK, being on the mono loop doesn’t really have that much of a draw for me.
If I didn’t stay at AKL it would chose either WL for the theming or one of the Boardwalk area resorts for the proximity to EP.
We rent DVC points and have been spoiled by Deluxe living. I’m big on the concept that “time is money” so I don’t want to spend precious minutes traveling to/from the resort and parks, etc. We have stayed at BLT a few times - walking distance to MK and a short boat or rail ride to the other things we have wanted to explore on those particular trips (Hoop Dee Doo, Wilderness Lodge, Ohana, Chip-n-Dale’s Campfire, etc.). Our next trip is next month and we are staying at Boardwalk as we want to spend more time at Epcot this trip.
It might be helpful for some to visualize your must-dos and pick a resort that is closest to the majority of those things.
Ugh. Why does everything to do with WDW have to be so complicated?
I guess this is naive, but I’ve been pretty shocked by the prices. I had no idea that staying at my friend’s house had saved me so much money. I may ask her if I can do so again.
I do have a tendency for analysis paralysis in my search for the perfect option (for me) I’ll admit, but right now, none of the options is really speaking to me.
I’m most drawn to the Boardwalk area (including Swan, Dolphin, Beach, Yacht) as I like the idea of walking to Epcot and DHS. Wherever I stay I’d have to have transportation to AK, so that’s not a factor. MK is my least favourite park (sorry!) so I’m not bothered about being close to it.
Swan and Dolphin seem to get such mixed reviews, and you don’t get all the perks of being at a Disney property. Beach and Yacht seem OK, but are expensive. I lost the will to keep going after that, so I don’t know much about Boardwalk.
Thinking about my priorities, a view is always nice, but they seem not at all guaranteed and previous experience suggests you get excited for the first five minutes of being in the room, then you never look out of the window again. A fun pool area seems more important. Not bothered about restaurants — there are many options elsewhere. Decent breakfast would be nice.
I guess I’m talking myself into the cheapest Beach/Yacht room I can find and then hope I might get a decent room despite paying bottom dollar. (And not being too bitter if the room’s not great, because I didn’t pay top dollar — so no scope for disappointment after high expectations.)
Besides price, one of my main factors is beds. With a boy and girl who won’t share a bed, and a tall DH, I need a room with a queen bed and at least 2 other beds. So we ended up getting a bunk bed room at WL. The sticker shock was rough (never stayed onsite before) but ended up with free dining. So I figured out how much the plan would’ve cost per day for 3 adults & 1 child, and it was worth it. Going again in Dec 2018.
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Good point. Same for us. We need a room that either has bunks or accommodates 5 even though we are only 4.
We are staying at the Swan in December (and we’ve never been to WDW before), so for now I’ll just say that we are paying for 2 nights and staying 3 nights for free because of our Starwood Points that we’ve earned by using the Marriott Visa card for all major purchases over several years. Also, I made our ADR’s at 180 days out (but that’s just because we bought tickets at that point, yes?) and just today got all of my 60-day FPP’s that I had wanted to get! (Very excited about that one!). We get access to Extra Magic Hours as well. We don’t get the Magical Express transportation, but I am pretty pleased so far with what I’ve been able to do ahead of time. I’ve talked with their employees a number of times on the phone and they’ve been very helpful (the Unofficial Guide says they don’t have to be “relentlessly cheerful” since they’re not Disney employees but so far, they’ve been great!). The Swan was also supposed to have just renovated their rooms within the last year or so. Not sure about the Dolphin on that one, but I’d be surprised if it wasn’t also renovating. I’m looking forward to being so close to Epcot, too! I will definitely report back after our trip about our hotel stay, though, in case anyone is considering this place.
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I agree with OBNurseNH and egkleinmann - rent DVC points and stay in a studio rather than a standard Disney hotel room. The cost is often about half, and you get a small kitchenette which is handy for quick breakfasts in the mornings. If you don’t spend much time in the room I doubt a 1 bedroom villa would be worth the money. To get an idea of prices, go to DVC Cost & Points Calculator | David's Vacation Club Rentals and plug in some dates - you can then see the cost in USD for each resort and accommodation type. Other rental companies are of course available. 
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Look at renting points. I plan to do that for next year. It makes the resorts more affordable.
There’s also the Magical Vacations Travel website that gets “convention rates” at the Beach Club at set times of the year
With BIG discounts against normal advertsied rates at Beach Club
There’s a thread about them on here
August was one of the times they can do it
And reminder to UK guests that you can spend avios point at the Univeral hotels and swan or dolphin
I paid for all of my accommodation in July at these resorts with avios (albeit I collected loads of points to do so!)
I also paid for renaissance seaworld with avios points in full and tickets to gatorland with the points