Hi Everybody! My family and I will be at the parks the week before Thanksgiving. We are booked at:
Port Orleans Riverside: 5 nights, then…
Wilderness Lodge (courtyard view, bunks): 3 nights, the weekend before Thanksgiving
I can switch the WL stay to a 1br villa at Boardwalk for about $60 more (including tax). I know the BW location is great and we will have way more space, but I was really looking forward to WL decor and I don’t know if BW is spiffy or dated nowadays.
For reference: my sons are 8 and 6 and we are local to DL and frequent visitors. This will not be our only Disney touchpoint this year or even that month. We will have come off of 2 days at UOR and 5 park days at WDW. Crowds will be bad due to the holiday week, so we may just want to sit and relax these last few days. The room will be more than just a place to sleep. We like nice hotels but are value and budget conscious.
Our FP+ bookings for adjacent days are for EP, AK, HS, AK and include all the musts like Frozen, Passage, Slinky, etc. We may not use these if we are too exhausted.
Is there any reason I should keep the WL booking? I would appreciate feedback. I haven’t been to WDW in almost 15 years!
I’m on the verge of making the switch but if any of you experts had a compelling reason why I shouldn’t then I’m still open to hearing it.
For example: I was wondering if someone would comment: BW service is awful, the resort is dated and needs improvements whereas WL is sparkling, logistically it makes sense to stay at WL because… etc. I might be a little paranoid because of all the intricate advance planning we’ve done so far for this trip. I’m looking over my shoulder, wondering if there’s an unwritten strategic reasoning to everything that I’m not privy to!
If I wasn’t planning to go to a park, I’d rather be in the boardwalk area. It might be too cold for swimming, but the grotto pool at the Dolphin is awesome! It’s just a short walk from boardwalk.
Thanks for the feedback! If you were going to the parks those days, then you would prefer WL? Why?
As a BW guest, would I be allowed to access the Dolphin’s pools? I just looked it up on YouTube, and the grotto pool does look very cool!
I meant to say if I was going to MK. I think for the others I’d also prefer BW.
I’m guessing officially the pool is for guests only, but it’s wide open with no fence or anything so I think it would be difficult to enforce even if they wanted to.
If you would be spending time at MK I think it would shift the balance some toward WL. Since you’ll be able to walk to 2 parks from BW and you’ve got those planned 2 out of your 4 days, I think that is worth $60.
Only other consideration IMO is that WL is beautifully decorated at Christmas!
Our last trip (just after Thanksgiving), we stayed at BW, and visited WL. Personally, I liked WL much better. If I were planning to just hang around the hotel, the pool is prettier (Anything is better than that scary clown, honestly), the internal areas are cozy, the Christmas decorations are the best on property, and I’ve heard good things about their bar.
BW beds were uncomfortable. The BW area was nice - Ample Hills, the bakery, etc. However, it just wasn’t my favorite style-wise.
For me, even if we’re just around the resort, the extra space in a 1BR doesn’t make up for the sleeping arrangement and theme. We’d never be in our room anyway!
I’m glad I’m not the only one that finds that clown terrifying. And it’s very true that the reason we are paying more for the last few nights of our stay is so we can really enjoy whatever resort we’re at, and not just the room. Thanks for the perspective!
If you are going to be visiting MK, I’d go with WL. If you will be at Epcot and DHS do BWV. I love WL and it’s my favorite resort. I’ve never stayed at BW though.