Best/favorite Christmas resort?

We stayed at AKL last Christmas season and it was beautiful. My favorite decorated resort is for sure the Grand Floridian, it is just beautiful. We ate there 3x during our trip, so we were able to take it all in without staying there. The tree is so impressive as is the gingerbread house, and just the overall look. I've seen photos of WL and people say it's amazing, but I've never been. I literally booked this morning for December 2020 and we're staying at Beach Club this time. There's a big gingerbread carousel

Seriously, everywhere is WDW is beautiful in Nov/Dec, you can't go too wrong.

That carousel is also made of chocolate. It is my favorite resort display.
 
We have stayed on site for 8 christmas holidays, but we visit most of them anyway to check out the trees, decor and christmas treats. My favourite is Grand Floridian as we eat at Grand Floridian Cafe on Christmas eve and Narcoosee's on Christmas day. WL has an amazing tree, and love to sit in front of the fire to admire it and soak up the atmosphere.

We always move to OKW by Christmas eve during split stays, so for us that has special memories but that's a personal thing. You don't have to stay at the deluxe to enjoy their decorations, we visit most of the moderate/deluxe resorts during our visits to dine or shop. It's our favourite activity when out of the parks.
 
We have been AFTER Christmas the last couple of years - I didn't love the decorations at the Contemporary but loved the location. We did love and adore the Grand, though, and are going back there this year.

Just so you know, though, DO make the reservations for the type of room and location you want EARLY. We reserved out Jan 2020 rooms in early January of 2019 (Theme Park View, Main Building at the GF). And ALL the suites in the main building were already booked even though it was a year out. When the discounts for 2020 came out, there were NO discounts. But constant monitoring and persistence allowed discounts on all 4 of our rooms as of today.
 
Like others have said I don't know if you have to stay to enjoy xmas at some of the resorts. I guess length of time would be a con$ideration of where to stay. I agree WL and GF are top notch especially GF with the smell of Gingerbread in the lobby.
 


We have stayed on site for 8 christmas holidays, but we visit most of them anyway to check out the trees, decor and christmas treats. My favourite is Grand Floridian as we eat at Grand Floridian Cafe on Christmas eve and Narcoosee's on Christmas day. WL has an amazing tree, and love to sit in front of the fire to admire it and soak up the atmosphere.

We always move to OKW by Christmas eve during split stays, so for us that has special memories but that's a personal thing. You don't have to stay at the deluxe to enjoy their decorations, we visit most of the moderate/deluxe resorts during our visits to dine or shop. It's our favourite activity when out of the parks.
Like others have said I don't know if you have to stay to enjoy xmas at some of the resorts. I guess length of time would be a con$ideration of where to stay. I agree WL and GF are top notch especially GF with the smell of Gingerbread in the lobby.
Reguardless where we stay, I think w might take one day to hit the Monorail resort (and WL & FW campgrounds) and another to hit the Board Walk and other EPCOT Center resorts.
 
...
Just so you know, though, DO make the reservations for the type of room and location you want EARLY.
...
Thank you, TexanInTheMidwest. We plan on having 3 resorts/rooms pick out (& prioritized) and getting prices on them the day dates open up, so we get the room we want (as long as the price is right). Then, if any discounts comes out, great! If no new disounts come out, it's ok because we will be ok with the original rate.
 


I had the idea of renting an RV and getting a site at Ft. Wilderness. We would basically be at WL, which come highly recommended by MANY. Plus, I hear there are lots of people that camp there and decorate the crap out of the place. Although not as professional looking as the resort (at least most), it will be cool to see what people do. Maybe rent a golf cart and drive around at nigh, even buy a tub of the little individually warped candy canes and give out to people while driving around! We might even do some decorating ourselves. Us all blue light just for Craig.

Thoughts/Opinions/Experiences?
 
Last edited:
I had the idea of renting an RV and getting a site at Ft. Wilderness. We would basically be at WL, which come highly recommended by MANY. Plus, I hear there are lots of people that camp there and decorate the crap out of the place. Although not as professional looking as the resort (at least most), it will be cool to see what people do. Maybe rent a golf cart and drive around at nigh, even buy a tub of the little individually warped candy canes and give out to people while driving around! We might even do some decorating ourselves. Us all blue light just for Craig.

Thoughts/Opinions/Experiences?

I have never stayed at Fort Wilderness, so I cannot comment on that. I do need to say that you will not be at Wilderness Lodge in any stretch of the imagination. This is not a bad thing because the Fort is lovely, but it shares nothing with Wilderness Lodge, which is it's own Deluxe resort.
 
We like to go to the Christmas party so we've only stayed at Grand Floridian and Poly during that time to be near MK. GF is by far my favorite resort since I love the Victorian theme a bit more than the island theme.
 
evaina,
Where did you eat? Any recommendations?
Grand Floridian Cafe for lunch (get the iced cappuccino and Eggs Benedict flight, OMG!), 1900 Park fare for dinner (just so the kids could meet the stepsisters, food isn't that fantastic in my opinion but it's fun), and Narcoossee's for my husband's birthday. We all loved everything there (I had a scallop dish that I don't believe is on the menu anymore, but everything was good). We could see the castle from our table, too, if you want to time it for fireworks!
 
... I do need to say that you will not be at Wilderness Lodge in any stretch of the imagination. ...
Ok, good to know. I thought they were connected in the back of FW with a road and also shared a bus system and boat route. Thank you, I will take that into consideration. Although not necessarily a deal breaker.
 
Last edited:
Ok, good to know. I thought they were connected in the back of FW with a road and also shared a bus system and boat route. Thank you, I till take that into consideration. Although not necessarily a deal breaker.
They do share the bus system I believe, and I think you can walk to WL from the Fort, however they really are two separate entities and do not share amenities, etc. I would not want anyone to believe they are one and the same because they truly are not.
 
They do share the bus system I believe, and I think you can walk to WL from the Fort, however they really are two separate entities and do not share amenities, etc. I would not want anyone to believe they are one and the same because they truly are not.
The walking path from WL to Fort Wilderness is closed off, due to pending construction of Reflections. You need to either boat, bus, or drive between the two.
Denise
 
I had the idea of renting an RV and getting a site at Ft. Wilderness. We would basically be at WL, which come highly recommended by MANY. Plus, I hear there are lots of people that camp there and decorate the crap out of the place. Although not as professional looking as the resort (at least most), it will be cool to see what people do. Maybe rent a golf cart and drive around at nigh, even buy a tub of the little individually warped candy canes and give out to people while driving around! We might even do some decorating ourselves. Us all blue light just for Craig.

Thoughts/Opinions/Experiences?
We stayed in a cabin and loved it! Brought our own little Christmas tree and everything! We also rented a golf cart (decorated it with lights), had dinner at Hoop-Dee-Doo, watched fireworks from the beach. Such a wonderful time!
 
WL for us! Have been there twice for the holidays and LOVED it! We were at BLT last year and the lobby is terrible. I am not a fan of the Contemporary either, in terms of Christmas decor. DH and I spent an afternoon bus hopping to different hotels to visit lobbies. The GF was the only one that came close for us for the Christmas feel, with AL in a close third.
 
The walking path from WL to Fort Wilderness is closed off,...
Ok, thank you! This is good to know. If we "Camp" we plan on definitely gong to WL to check it out, but also eat at Whispering Canyon Cafe. My son love ketchup...soooo, ya. (Well, we will be going to Whispering Canyon Cafe regardless where we stay, just for the ketchup.)
 
... Brought our own little Christmas tree and everything! We also rented a golf cart (decorated it with lights), had dinner at Hoop-Dee-Doo, watched fireworks from the beach. Such a wonderful time!
As my wife and I were talking about "camping" and how people decorate their sites. We are thinking about packing Christmas decorations and maybe a tree of some sort, albeit small, even if we stay in a hotel. It will be fun, and the kids will love it.

We have also thought about getting a golf cart. Do you have to rent them form WDW, or is there third parties you can rent from also?

We are making a list of all the things we would like to do, like Hoop-De-Doo Review. We will have to priorites everything because there is no way we will get it all done, but Hoop-De-Do is high on the list.
 
We have completed many Christmas stays at Disney over the years. Our Disney certiffied agent identified to us the deluxes in higher demand. WL and PR were always the top 2 in demand. I feel the more time you plan on being at the resort, the more the resort matters. We have stayed at most of the deluxes during this time period. Personally. I could make solid agruments for each resort. If you do MVMCP, we gound it easier to get back to the monorail resorts. Viewing fireworks PR and GF. Not a real fan of CR, but appreciate others love it. Gingerbread house and Afternoon Tea makes GF a nice choice. The BWI and BC for dining and Christmas Food booths, plus Candlelight Procession. Dont stress, relax and have fun, but have plans. Plans you are able to walk away from to adjust to things of interest, crowds, etc. to ensure everyone is having fun and making memories that matter.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top