Marathon Weekend 2021

SAFD: hard to pick! Loved contemporary for the walk to MK. Loved BC because walk to Epcot. We enjoyed Poly but for some reason we ended up a bit underwhelmed. It was really cold on the trip when we stayed there so we didn't get to enjoy the pool or grounds much. A warmer stay might make me feel differently. It's not really a Disney property but we have decided Shades of Green really wins overall for us. It's a beautiful resort but I will say to completely enjoy it we feel like you need a car.

I'd like to try AKL sometime with a savannah view.
 
SAFD:
We have not stayed at many different resorts, but have stayed at Pop 15-20 times. For us, it's the best cost/benefit relationship. We have considered Beach Club several times but have always decided to use the "savings" from staying at Pop to schedule another Disney trip. Every family decides how to allocate their vacation dollars differently, and we choose to buy APs and go to Disney 3-4 times a year, but spend a bit frugally when we are there. Someday a big splurge.....
 
SAFD:

Ive enjoyed every stay I’ve had at Disney resorts. Part of it, I’m sure, is that I’m at Disney and having a great time. Part is each resort I’ve stayed at does a really good job at keeping me in the magic with their cleanliness and amenities.

So far I’ve stayed at POR, Coronado Springs, Art of Animation, AKL, and Pop. I’ve loved them all and would gladly go back to any of them; i would rank them in this order for favorite:

1. AKL 2. Pop 3. POR 4. Coronado 5. AoA

My one observation for putting AoA last is that I’ve stayed there twice in the family suites and those buildings have very poor ventilation and have been Used. Even though they were arguably the most themed rooms I’ve been in they were definitely the ones in which I wanted to spend the least amount of time. Rest of the resort was very nice and I’m sure only augmented by the Skyliner.

Stayed at Pop last January for Marathon Weekend and loved the renovated rooms and the Skyliner access is amazing. I really hope they expand the Skyliner to other areas in the future.

I loved everything about our stay at AKL. It had always been my dream resort and serendipitously we had somewhat of the dream stay. I don’t know if it was luck or the hurricane, but our standard room last September turned into a “I’ll try to get you an obstructed savannah view” which ended up being this
BA9695DB-DC83-4B26-8D71-B989EEC59BB9.jpeg
Every animal in the savannah passed less than 20 feet from us regularly over the course of the stay. Add in proximity to some of my favorite restaurants on property and I never wanted to leave.

As for where I’d like to stay in the future? Well, most of them are outside of my price range (I was shocked at the price I was able to find for AKL that made it a viable option). I think Polynesian would be fun and Contemporary as well. I’m sure the Epcot/DHS walking resorts would be great as well.
 
SAFD:

Former favorite for race weekends: POFQ because we could walk to the start line (walking to start is no longer permitted).

Current favorite for race weekends: YC or BC because we can walk back from finish area once Epcot opens.

Favorite for extended family trips: Wilderness Lodge as we love the boat ride to MK.

Favorite for “just the two of us” trips: YC or BC if I can find a good discount; POFQ if I can’t.

Always wanted to stay at, but haven’t yet: Poly and AKL
 


SAFD

On property favorite:

496697

When staying with the whole family, I guess I would have to say Port Orleans Riverside, since we have stayed their multiple times. Love being able to take the boat ride to Disney Springs for supper, shopping and entertainment. It is a way to unwind from a sometimes chaotic day in the parks. Who does not love YeHaa Bob at the River Roost Lounge. We also love having a room that is off in the woods with our own little pool, but also the ability to get the the main pool as well.

When it is a boy's trip where we are on a mission, the room is not that important to us. We only ever see the room after park close to pass out. Therefore we tend to go value. Our favorite is Pop.

On property wish-list:

We have stayed at Contemporary and Bay Lake Towers, I guess it would be nice to hear what all the fuss is about for Polynesian and Grand Flo. It would also be nice to check all the monorail resorts off the bucket list. The problem is I cannot justify the extra cost of staying at these places.

I have also wanted to stay a Beach Club. I think it would be pretty cool to be in close proximity to my favorite ice cream spot (beaches&cream) and close to HS and Epcot.
 
lhermiston said:
For this week’s Sundays are for Disney, where is your favorite place you’ve stayed on property and where haven’t you stayed that you’re eager to check out?
For resorts I’ve never stayed at, my Top 3 are:

- Boardwalk - Or really any Epcot area resort. I like that area more than the MK area and would love to stay that close to Epcot once
- Poly - For Ohana, watching HEA from the beach and just the proximity to MK. I would love to wake up, look out my window and see the castle at sunrise
- AKL - Animals, Boma and maybe I’d finally try bread service at Sanaa
Click to expand...

Favorites so far:
Beach Club - great for easy walks to parks, easy drive to the start on race morning
Poly - great atmosphere, Trader Sam's, monorail to parks & the start
CBR - quiet, easy bus access, good value for the money
Contemporary - location, location, location

Least favorite:
Grand Floridian - wonderful grounds & atmosphere, meh rooms

Want to try:
AKL - animals, Jiko, park access
 
SAFD:
This one is hard to answer. No matter the resort, we feel immersed in the magic, and it feels just right for that trip. That said, we’ve spent a lot of race trips at CB, and had great experiences, especially 2019 MW, when the race bus stop was right outside our door. Having the Skyliner there now is a big bonus, too. We also love POR, and it’s very convenient to Best Friends Pet Resort, so it’s very easy to pop over and check on our dog. MW 2020, we were upgraded from Pop to Gran Destino Tower at Coronado, and loved it. It felt a bit like the cruise ships to me, especially the lobby area. Also, DH booked a massage for me at the spa the day after the marathon, which was a wonderful splurge! That said, we moved over to Pop for a bonus day (we weren’t ready to go home—it’s so hard to leave Disney!), and loved the new rooms and the Skyliner. Basically, it’s like you’re asking me to choose my favorite child, and I just can’t do it! I could just keep listing every resort we’ve ever stayed in at Disney. Back when DH was Army, we had many nice trips to SoG, too.

As for part two of the question, DH has always wanted to stay at the Contemporary. I’d like to try Poly or Wilderness Lodge. Truly, I’d like to try them all. As long as I’m in a Disney resort, I’ll be happy!
 


SAFD
Value: POP or AOA. Running around Hourglass Lake (did my unofficial Half there), and Skyliner!!! Also SOG has big rooms and a great price if you qualify.

Moderate: POR or POFQ. Running around the lake, size or resorts, Yeehaw Bob, boat to DS

Expensive,uh, I mean Deluxe: GF. DS and DIL married at the wedding pavilion, fond memories, restaurants are magnificent, monorail to MK.

AKL Savannah view. Animals, restaurants, animals. I only want to pay that much when I am planning to spend time at the resort to watch.

Oh, oh, and my favorite area: all the Boardwalk resorts. Stayed at Boardwalk just above Flying Fish once and just above Ample Hills Creamery once, just at the top of the fountain at the Dolphin for my first Disney race, TOT, and around in several great rooms at Swan, and Yacht and Beach Clubs.

Having been on a mission to stay at every resort at least once, there are few I haven’t tried yet but would love to. Bay Lake Towers, Riveria, Saratoga Springs Treehouses are still on my list.

edited because I wasn’t finished and posted by accident!
 
Last edited:
SAFD: Well, I've only stayed at two on repeat visits: Pop and Art of Animation. I love them both! They are convenient, clean, and fun. I'll give the edge to AoA, because my kids were in awe of the character immersion. I keep saying I would love to stay Deluxe sometime, but to be honest, I don't mind vacationing on the cheap. I'd rather have more experiences and vacations throughout the year for less.
 
Favorite so far is AoA, where I stayed this past January. Before that I would have said POFQ, which was the first non-All Star WDW resort I stayed at and opened my eyes to how good theming could be at a WDW resort. POFQ is still the prettier resort, but I was continually impressed by the little touches around AoA--the individual theming of each section is phenomenal. It's not just the paint jobs on the buildings and the giant figures selected for each section; the landscaping is completely different in each section (notice how the shrubs chosen for Finding Nemo and Little Mermaid look like underwater plants? Or how Cars is wide-open and desert-like?) and they even textured the pavement differently in each section to match the theme. Great attention to detail. I also absolutely adored the Skyliner; it was extremely convenient and I always enjoyed the ride. The only downside was the walking distance to Little Mermaid, but even that meant I got to see two of the other sections every day. I've told my housemate (and meant it!) that if money were no object at all I would strongly consider booking a family suite at AoA over booking a regular room at a deluxe even as a party of one or two.

Places I'd like to try:

AKL, where we'll (knock on wood!) be staying for Marathon Weekend! I am a little less excited about Kidani Village than I would have been about Jambo House (gonna miss out on coming "home" to that incredible Jambo House lobby), but it's still a new experience and a resort I've always liked visiting. I know from experience, too, that despite my best intentions I'm unlikely to take time away from the parks to eat at resort restaurants the majority of the time, and AKL has some great restaurants I'd love to try and that will be downright convenient on this trip. The plan right now is to book Boma for breakfast the day after the marathon (so...the only one of the three I've already tried, but oh well, I haven't had breakfast there and it's all new to my housemate). Hopefully we'll make time for Sanaa as well; Jiko's unlikely because we'll be on the dining plan and it's hard to justify paying double credits for anything.

The others on my list are unfortunately unlikely to happen...we only got into AKL because I rented DVC points, and after getting locked into a nonrefundable reservation in the midst of a pandemic this year I'm more than a little leery of doing that again. And, too, DVC on the cheaper end is hard to get even 11 months out. I'm basically able to set aside enough money each year to do a value resort stay, so when we decided to rent DVC I did the math in terms of what we could get within $200-400 of what it likely would have cost to do a Little Mermaid room at AoA. I can't bring myself to go less frequently in order to splurge on a deluxe...as much as I love the resorts, they're not the reason I go to WDW.

But I'll put down my preferences here anyway. Boardwalk was actually our first choice for the upcoming trip and I'd still love to stay there someday. The location is fantastic, I like the theming, and I think the clown slide is hilarious (also, love that it looks like a wooden roller coaster). I'd also like to stay at Wilderness Lodge, both because the area looks great and because it'd mean I'd actually eat at the restaurants there. But when I look at the prices...ouch. Can't bring myself to do it, not when I like AoA so much and a Little Mermaid room leaves so much more money in the budget for other things.
 
SAFD:
Moderate: POFQ has far and away been my favorite. The small size of the resort limits the amount of walking between room and buses and food court It‘s especially nice for race weekends. I enjoy the food court offerings and POR is a short walk away for expanded options, if needed. The boat To DS is a very pleasant ride and the landscaping along the river is beautiful. I’m looking forward to (hopefully) being back there for W&D.

I will say, though, that after MW this year, CBR is shooting up the list quickly based on the sheer convenience of the Skyliner system alone. It hasn’t caught up with POFQ yet, but...

Deluxe: This is a tougher choice. Wilderness Lodge has long been our favorite Deluxe. We love the theming and the boat to the MK gate is one of our preferred transportation options. We went to AKL a couple of years ago, though, and loved it! The less conventional food options and the animals in the courtyards were big pluses. The only downside is that it’s a long trip to everything not named AK.

Wishlist: We’ve always wanted to try out the Polynesian. Unfortunately, I’ve just never been able to justify the additional cost. One day, perhaps.
 
My favorite has been POFQ. I have so many great memories there. It was the first Disney hotel I stayed at, I love the atmosphere there, it's half the size of other moderates so it has never felt crowded, no multiple bus stops, I love the dragon pool slide, the boat to Disney Springs and the beignet dash. I also loved the Beach Club and Boardwalk because of walking distance to both EPCOT and DHS, great pools and always good food, shops and entertainment at night.

The ones I"d like to stay at are AKL, Wilderness Lodge and Grand Floridian. And Grand Californian at Disneyland.
 
SAFD:
Every time I try out a new hotel, it becomes my favorite.

For Marathon Weekend, I prefer a DVC room. Even if you are in a studio, just having the tiny kitchenette is really convenient for Dopey. You have a place to make food in the morning before everything else is up and running. I had a great room once at Boardwalk. It was a "standard view" but I had a view of the water and I could watch fireworks every night from bed. I was never blown away with Boardwalk Villas from the pictures, but I was surprised at how much at home I felt. This was nice because on Dopey Weekends, I tend to go to bed earlier and spend more downtime at the hotel. So being a little more homey was nice.

Another I liked was Riviera. A little more sterile than Boardwalk, but beautiful bathroom, great kitchenette, and great rooms. I hope to stay at one of these two for this coming marathon weekend.

As far as other hotels...I loved staying at PORS. Very laid back, but it is so spread out that you are going to do a ton of extra walking. I would love to stay there again, but the size makes me think twice if I was doing a challenge race.

Probably one of my favorites was Grand Floridian. Years ago I got my room for hundreds less per night—think more of the range of Wilderness lodge at the lowest rates you would be lucky to get there. I have never seen it that low again and got it through RunDisney, which, as far as I can tell, now only gives you the same prices as the website. The rooms were nice and big, but I really liked being so close to Magic Kingdom, the grounds were beautiful, and on my downtime, I would go listen to the jazz band play in the lobby. I would stay there again if I got a really good deal on a room.

As far as value resorts, I stayed at Pop Century, which Iiked a lot. I like the new remodel and the over the top grounds, as well as the big food court. But, I am not sure it is really the best value anymore. The cost of the rooms has crept up and often I can rarely find a room for less than $175, whereas I can still sometimes find a moderate resort for $215 with a discount. For the extra $40, which is not negligible, the moderates tend to be a fair amount bigger, much nicer decor, and overall better food options.
 
SAFD
I’ve stayed at Poly, BC, POR, AoA, Pop, AKL, Coronado. My fave is Poly. I also love AoA and Pop especially since the Skyliner. BC was also great. I wasn’t as fond of the others on my list but nothing bad in particular.

I’d like to stay at WL, Boardwalk, POFQ and Contemporary. I’m booked at ASMo for W&D this year so I’m hoping the trip will happen and I’ll get to experience the all stars.

Last weeks SAFD
I’m not really that into racing anymore unless it’s at Disney. Other than that I do a handful of local short races. I will never run another standalone marathon again. I hate them too much. But I am hoping to do dopey again. The national park half series sounds intriguing.
 
I've been very fortunate that I've stayed at almost every resort but the newest ones. I do not enjoy value resorts anymore but if its a choice between staying there and no Disney...I'll put up with it. I'm glad we bought DVC 8 years ago as now I don't really worry about the rising hotel costs.

Favorite of where I've stayed...

Polynesian & Boardwalk

Where I want to try:
The new tower at CSR
Rivera
Bring the Dogs & rent a Fort Wilderness Cabin
 
I didn’t include DL because I’ve only been twice, but I also loved Grand Californian. We stayed club level there for the next to last Super Heroes race (whatever year that was) and ate breakfast with Jeff Galloway in the mornings. He is such a great person! And he would get coffee to take back to the room for Barb every day. More great memories!

Maybe that’s the deal: Every resort where I stay is great because of the fun times and memories.

BTW We have a two night reservation at Grand Floridian at the end of June as an add on to our beach vacation. We thought all would be canceled, but got a call about a week ago that Gov. DeSantis opened up condo rentals. We have decided to go. We can socially distance there as well as at home and will have a change in scenery when we run on the beach! Now we are waiting for the Disney plan to be presented and an opening date announced to see if that’s a “go.”
 
I make it a point to rotate throughout the resorts for my Disney trips. So, I've done All-Star Sports, OKW, POR, AKL, and Poly.

I REALLY LOVED the Poly. It was SOOOOO convenient for MW. I walked to the TTC, hopped on the monorail, and was there in no time at all.

I also really loved AKL. It was also convenient for race morning, though with buses instead of the monorail. And Jambo House is beautiful, and super convenient to eat a big brunch at Boma afterward!

All-Star Sports was an easy walk to the buses, though a bit longer.

I hated POR for race morning because full buses kept passing us by. But my experience doesn't seem normal (and this was way back in 2013).

My plan had been to do Boardwalk for 2021, but I'm not going next year. But I'm thinking Boardwalk or Beach Club for my next trip.

I would also really love to try the Riviera.

My hope is to stay at all of them at least once!
 
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