Where to Stay - The Easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit 2015 - page 44

Caribbean Beach because of its better transportation and it beats out Coronado Springs be-
cause of its more family-friendly atmosphere and dining.
(The Cabins at Fort Wilderness are so different than any other moderate that we refer
you to the detailed review later in this chapter. However, we do not recommend them for
first-time visitors.)

Deluxe Resorts
The Grand Floridian, Wilderness Lodge, Contemporary, and Polynesian (after main pool
construction is completed in spring 2015) are the best choices.
Compared to other Walt Disney World options, the deluxe resorts are distinguished by hav-
ing the:
• Most amenities, with the Contemporary and Grand Floridian at the top of this list.

• Nicest views, especially at the Contemporary, Polynesian, Grand Floridian, and

Animal Kingdom Lodge.

• Best in-resort and nearby dining options, especially at the four Magic Kingdom-

area resorts—the Contemporary, Polynesian, Grand Floridian, and Wilderness
Lodge. The Epcot resorts—the BoardWalk Inn, Yacht Club, and Beach
Club—have access to many nearby restaurants, but most of them are undistin-
guished for either kids or parents. The restaurants in the Animal Kingdom Lodge
are marvelous, but there's no character dining, and no easy access to more dining
at other resorts.

• Best pools, especially at the Beach Club, Yacht Club, Wilderness Lodge, and An-

imal Kingdom Lodge.

• Best transportation, especially at the Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand Flor-

idian that share the resort monorail. The Polynesian is most convenient overall. It
has resort monorail and boat access to Magic Kingdom, and it's also possible to
walk from the Polynesian to the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC) to catch
the Epcot monorail, which eliminates the lengthy monorail ride to the TTC before
then having to switch monorails. The Contemporary is just a ten minute walk away
from the Magic Kingdom, making it most convenient for a Magic-Kingdom-cent-
ric vacation. The Beach Club, located just a five minute walk or boat ride away
from Epcot's International Gateway entrance, is the most convenient for an Epcot-
centric vacation, particularly during the Food and Wine Festival in the fall.

• Largest standard rooms, with those in the monorail resorts the largest, and those at

the Wilderness and Animal Kingdom Lodges the smallest.

• Highest prices for standard rooms, with the monorail resorts the highest, and Wil-

derness and Animal Kingdom Lodges the lowest.

• Mixed kid appeal, with the Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge the

highest, the Polynesian next (although its kid appeal will be greatly diminished un-
til its main pool re-opens in spring 2015), and the Yacht Club and BoardWalk Inn
the lowest.