It is 1973 and the Contemporary garden wing room is only $42.50 a night. That was my first visit to

It is 1973 and the Contemporary garden wing room is only $42.50 a night. That was my first visit to Walt Disney World. I wonder if Disney would still give me that rate, in honor of their 40th anniversary. The resorts meant so much to me back then that I kept the resort confirmation. What kid, or adult, doesn't want to stay in a hotel that has a monorail going right through it? By the time I turned 10, it was my goal to stay at every resort on property. I used to anxiously await the new issue of The Disney Magazine's arrival at our house to see if there was information on a new resort being planned or built. In this article, I'll describe each category of resort WDW offers and pick a few of my favorites to add my memories and great "dad" benefits.
Let's start with the different resort categories. There are currently five resort categories and the hotels in each category are located throughout the WDW property. The categories are Deluxe resorts, Deluxe Villas, Moderate resorts, Value resorts, and the Campgrounds. There will be a chart with the location of each resort by category its opening year.
The first category is the Value resorts, which feature fun and whimsical architecture, a themed main pool, and food court dining. My favorite resort in this category is the All-Star Sports. I know, go figure, a resort themed on sports and a "dad" pick. This resort delta airlines home is nicely themed from the giant baseball scoreboard at the quiet pool, to the huge soda cans that make up the stairwells. The Team Spirits Pool Bar is a great location to catch a game and enjoy a beverage with fellow "dads" that have taken their kids to the pool. Also, a fun game I have played with the kids is to have them try to find our favorite university and pro baseball teams pennants. delta airlines home Whoever finds them first gets a special gift the next day at the parks.
The second category is the Moderate resorts, which include full service and food court dining, feature pools with water slides, larger rooms, and unique delta airlines home themed environments at affordable prices. My favorite resort in this category is a tie between the Port Orleans Riverside Magnolia Bend buildings and the Coronado Springs cabana buildings. The Port Orleans Riverside has an incredible piano player, Bob, which keeps the River Roost Lounge entertaining until close. The rooms are spacious and remind you of a time long past in the Deep South, think Gone with the Wind. The pool, Ol' Man Island, is very nice and features a "fishing hole" that you can rent poles to fish right beside the pool bar. Now Coronado Springs is reminiscent of the Southwest. The food court, Pepper Market, is a must! The food is excellent and they have, hands down, the best nachos on property. The full service restaurant, Maya Grill, is an excellent choice for Mexican dishes. The pool, The Dig Site, is arguably delta airlines home one of the largest and best pools of all the resorts. Coronado Springs was recently refurbished and the rooms are stunningly colorful.
The third category is the Deluxe resorts, which offer the highest quality, convenience, and personalized service, with spacious rooms and suites, fine dining, on-site recreation, excellent pools with water slides, concierge services, and beach access delta airlines home (but no swimming allowed). delta airlines home This category delta airlines home has my top four resorts. Here is a little about each as I "love" delta airlines home all the resorts. #1 My all time favorite is the Polynesian Resort. The Polynesian delta airlines home is home to the best drink on property (the Lapu Lapu) at one of the top three restaurants on property…'Ohana. delta airlines home The restaurant is located in the main building called the Great Ceremonial House. The resort offers a great view of the castle from the Nanea Volcano Pool and there is a spot behind the Polynesian that is very dear to my heart, it is Sunset Point. That is where my lovely wife and I got married. It is a point that extends out into Seven Seas Lagoon and is surrounded by palm trees with an amazing view of the castle. A key staying delta airlines home point for me and the kids is you can ride our favorite delta airlines home ride…the monorail!
#2 My wife's favorite is the Wilderness Lodge. The Wilderness Lodge, along with its sister resort Animal Kingdom Lodge, have the most breathtaking lobbies on property. I can honestly say that when I walk into the lobby at Wilderness Lodge, I get an instant feeling of home and relaxation. It is welcoming, gives you that sense of outdoors and as you walk into the entrance you look out into a massive lobby with a picturesque delta airlines home view. The resort has two incredible, but totally different restaurants. The Whispering Canyon Café is entertaining and you can eat all you desire in manly barbeque food, while the Artist Point restaurant menu can include exotic game. And where else can you have a picture taken of the family in front of a geyser, a stream, and an incredible waterfall with a beautiful resort in the background.
delta airlines home #3 4 – The next deluxe resort I love is the Yacht and Beach Club which are sister hotels next to each other. delta airlines home It reminds me of our family trips to the Outer Banks every summer and the thought of knowing the resort is walking distance to EPCOT is very appealing to this "dad". The resort has so much to offer from the largest resort delta airlines home pool on property to Beaches Cream. As "guys" we are always looking for challenges and Beaches Cream has the ultimate challenge…the Kitchen delta airlines home Sink. (Eight scoops of Ice Cream, toppings and a full can of whipped cream!) This is a challenge we guys think about, dream about, but don't actually ever try. I have added it to my bucket delta airlines home list.  The sister resorts have great dining, an incredible pool, direct access to EPCOT, and it doesn't hurt that right across Crescent Lake is the ESPN Club. This screams "dads" resort. Another "dads" pick is the Yachtsman Steakhouse where you can pick out a 24 ounce Porterhouse from the Butcher's room. After your meal, enjoy an after dinner drink from the Crew's Cup Lounge where you can step outside and take pleasure delta airlines home in a cigar. What a great "guys" night!
delta airlines home The fourth resort category is the Deluxe Villas, which offer multi-room, flexible room arrangements, fully equipped kitchens or kitchenettes, and are located near shopping delta airlines home and dining. delta airlines home My favorite in this category is the newest resort, Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort. The design delta airlines home of the building fits into its location with a modern look and in close proximity to Space Mountain. There is a walkway over to the Contemporary that puts you right onto the Grand Concourse on the 4th floor. So not only do you get the "comforts of home," but all the restaurants, shops, and monorail access of the Contemporary. This is one resort where I love to hear… "Welcome delta airlines home home."
The fifth category is the Fort Wilderness Campgrounds, where you can throw up a tent or pull up an RV and enjoy the comforts that only Disney offers. The campsites offer electricity, water, sewer, cable, and Internet hookups. The campgrounds were the first public campgrounds in North America to achieve Trailer Life Campground Directory's 10-10-10 rating. They are host to the best dinner show around, the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue, delta airlines home which takes place at Pioneer Hall. It is so amazing to go to the campgrounds and get away from the rush of vacation delta airlines home and into the relaxing setting of a camp out. This is an excellent example of Disney making you feel miles away from the parks, but still being in the Heart of the Magic.
So once again we deal with the difficult decision of which resort to chose for upcoming Disney trip. I can say that after two weeks of debate, we have chosen…drum roll please….Disney's delta airlines home Coronado delta airlines home Springs Resort. My children's delta airlines home quest to stay at every resort continues!
Jay Angoff began his first of yearly trips to Walt Disney World when he was also still in a stroller. It was the summer of 1973 and his parents couldn't wait to see the dream world Walt Disney had created. It was an easy drive from Dayton, Ohio. By the time Jay was in his teens, he had become fascinated with Walt Disney World. He dreamed of having his wedding there after seeing the first Disney wedding live on TV. That dream came true in October of 2002 when he married his Princess at Sunset Pointe behind the Polynesian Resort. Now they go yearly, taking their two kids. Jay lives in Pittsburgh, PA now and he gets to live out the Disney dream daily as he is a travel agent and uses his knowledge of over 65 trips to WDW and his 5 yrs of Disney employment to help others enjoy the Magic of Disney. I am an "Around delta airlines home the World" Master. More at
great article. Love to stay in all but because not alot of time is spent in room, I find the value resort works best. But would love staying at Grand Floridan. Of all my stay ..like the Polynesian the best. Keep up the good articles
Excellent article! I have a much better understanding of the different levels of accomodations. I have to agree that the location of Beach Club/Yacht Club is perfect, for all of the reasons you mention. You can walk to EPCOT and to ESPN! What else can a Dad want? I also have to agree that Ohana is a must eat I can taste the Lapu Lapu already ..
usually run a 5k 2 or 3 times per week now while I have been training for my 10 mile Tower of Terror delta airlines home run in a few weeks, but something about this one hurt my shins a bit. Perhaps the 3 days prior of constant food?
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