We just got back from 8 nights at Yacht Club for our 10 year anniversary (stayed there on our honeymoon). We noted anniversary when booking the trip and paid for the resort view. When we arrived, we were upgraded to an incredible water view that completely changed our entire trip. We watched epcot fireworks from our balcony at night and the view was even better than savannah at akl. We got to the hotel at 10am, so I don't know it that helped us to get upgraded.
You are so lucky! We just returned from ten days at OKW. We let them know in advance we were celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary and two birthdays. We got nothing😢 Was really hoping we would be surprised.
@@jayneestrycker7453OKW rarely does things special in my experience. It goes out of its way to be difficult and handing out buttons seems like more of a hassle/chore to them than anything else.
My own laundry bag hack: use an old pillowcase as your "hamper" for the trip, then just dump it straight into your actual hamper once you get home. Easy and uses stuff you already have on hand at home (and that can be folded down very small into your suitcase), so it doesn't cost you any additional money.
This is one of your best videos yet. You just refuse to gatekeep at all on this one! Myself and other viewers were having a discussion about DFB, at port Orleans Riverside in April. KEEP DOING THE EXTRAORDINARY WORK❤
10/10 recommend staying at the Swan! Being so close to Epcot and Hollywood studios (plus the skyliners from both parks), all the fun on the boardwalk, and extended evening hours can’t be beat.
My 79 year old mother and I did a little resort tour on our departure day (she ROCKED the parks btw, getting in 20,000 steps a day for 2 days!). We were staying at the Riviera, which was great for skyliner access and Topolinos etc. But we took an Uber to Sanaa for lunch, then took the bus to Magic Kingdom to hop on the monorail to check out all the hotels on that loop. Side note: I found the cutest little swim set for my baby grandson at the Poly. Side-side note: we used to stay at the Poly when I was a kid in the 70’s, so it was very nostalgic for my mother and I to visit again & we got the delicious Kona coffee while there to fuel our tour! After getting off the monorail at the TTC, we took an Uber to Wilderness Lodge. I absolutely LOVED the Wilderness lodge. The interior was super cool; grand, yet COZY, and the grounds and gardens were so incredibly beautiful and peaceful. We saw the cutest bunny, just hanging out in the gorgeous flower bed, about 15 steps out the back door of the lodge. We are going to Tokyo Disneyland in February (as a side step to a snowboarding trip), so I am LOVING your videos on the new Fantasy land!!!! BUT other than that, Wilderness Lodge is definitely on my plans for our next stay. A Bucket list stay would be those amazing cabins there on the water with the gorgeous sunset views overlooking the lake from the many windows. I’m brain-farting on the name, maybe copper creek? Idk, but they’re super expensive, so I’d have to use my Disney Rewards card for everything for about 5 years to make that happen, lol.
I personally wash all clothes when I come home from vacation and leave my bags in the garage for a few days. Don't want any surprise guests coming home with me 😅
I’ve been lucky enough to stay at all three of my bucket lists (Riviera, Poly, and Beach Club - club level for that one - what a treat!!) and Riviera and Poly are fighting for my heart. We’re headed back for a 2week split stay at POR, CBR, and finishing it out at Riviera in just a few weeks and I can’t wait!
If you stay at All Star Movies Resort in the Mighty Ducks section it is actually a shorter walk for you to head over to All Star Music to catch a bus or hit the food court.
We love the Beach club- it just feels like home to us. We love the proximity to Epcot- its easy to come back for a swim, the incredible pools, dining options, you can walk or boat to Hollywood Studios and the Boardwalk is close by
I own DVC at the Riviera and my favorite part of the trip is being able to watch nightly fireworks from the room. The best views are from the odd numbered rooms between 10 and 20 on the 4th floor or higher. So ask for one of these rooms when you book, if you like to do this as much as I do.
The Polynesian Village Resort is the only Walt Disney World hotel I've stayed at not once, not twice, but THREE times. And I can't wait for number four!
The Poly is my husbands favorite but mine is AKL! It really depends on your trip and your guests. We loved the Drury! Terrific food and all you can eat popcorn from 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. The bus transportation took a bit to get acquainted with but not bad at all once we got the hang of it. Our next favorite would be the Wilderness Lodge which was our first ever DVC stay for our 25th wedding anniversary.
One thing i love about you, AJ and DFB team, is how you tell us about all the extra costs like delivery fee and expected tip. Especially when i was younger, not getting whacked with unexpected fees and expenses was very important to me. Now that i am old and have specific needs, i have to swallow whatever things cost, so there’s no point in getting my knickers in a twist about a hidden $4.95 fee. You are wonderful in explaining ways to save money, especially those that aren’t commonly known.
We’re like you - we’ve been hit with those fees one too many times in the past 😅 Just gotta warn everyone so they don’t get hit with the sticker shock too!
Another thing: i did not know about the Port Orleans Mardi Gras activities and parade! This is so cool! Maybe next trip i can do a split stay and spend a few nights at my old favorite haunt, POR. You guys rock!
Leaving in just a few days for a Disney wedding. So excited! 20 of us. The bride is beautiful, her mom is one of my dearest friends. I can’t wait! Haven’t been to Disney in 30+ years! I remember going when Epcot was new! I’ve been binging videos! We are staying in the African Lodge…can’t remember what it is called lol! So many things I want to see and do and buy!
I got tickets for my mom and I for the Halloween party on august 13th. Hopefully it isn’t storming then. I surprised her with this trip for her birthday. We went over 10 years ago when I was 15, and we only saw animal kingdom and Hollywood Studios. We’re going to see all four parks this time. We’re also staying at art of animation.
Animal kingdom lodge is the hotel I dream about,lol. The balcony right there by the wild life. But in 2 days it will be my first time staying inside Disney and my granddaughters first time down there. We are very hyper for it. She looooves Mickie Mouse lol. It's in countdown mode tonight, going to get all packed and then for the 17 hour drive down. Funny, even after the drive,once we hit Disney, I'm good to go lol.
Oh, I TOTALLY get that. I grew up in the Midwest and my dad ALWAYS insisted we drive to the parks instead of fly - which was EXHAUSTING. But one we crossed into the Disney bubble, suddenly my energy would magically return 🤣
I loved Animal Kingdom Lodge-savannah, as I was there with my goddaughter who wanted to spend a lot of time watching the animals. She didn't need much time at the parks. I liked the Wilderness Lodge as well. But for me and a more modest budget, my absolute favorite is Caribbean Beach Resort. At least before the big renovation 5-10 years ago. Can't remember when, but pre COVID.
My favorite stay so far has been at Animal Kingdom Lodge I got the Arusha View and it was amazing. I one afternoon did room service and just watched the animals. It was the best!!! I also love the restaurants and lounges!!! Seriously best Resort ever!!!
Just got back from a stay at the Caribbean Beach Resort..stayed in Jamaica 42…the best stay for the sky Liner!!! Jamaica 41,42,43 are right at the main hub for the sky liner!! Two minutes of walking and you can pick Studios or Epcot!! The resort is great and definitely a great vibe of relaxation!! Movies on the beach and great food at their quick service and Sebastian’s. Plus ate at pool bar..it was awesome too! Dream resort would be the Polynesian Bungalows 🏝️.
My friend and I are planning for 2027, hopefully sooner. It takes time to save up. Anyway, we're looking at one of the All-Star resorts or possibly Shades of Green since I'm former military. I also want to say thank you so much for this channel. Planning for Disney has been overwhelming for me. This channel has been made the planning much easier with your tips and tricks, and what different snacks ans meals are and where to find them all. I have only been to Disney World once, in 2002 with my high school's marching band. Thank you again for making Disney World planning a lot easier to handle.
My best tip is to pack two pop up hampers to use in the room. Bring an empty duffel bag to throw all that dirty laundry into at the end. We also bring a third pop up hamper and full sized garbage bag to turn it into a big trash can. I never find those tiny provided trash cans sufficient.
@@dfbbreea Even better is the hot tub in the copper creek cabins. After a long day going back to your own hot tub is pure bliss. This is one of the advantages of owning DVC. You can stay in the better places for less money in the long run.
A relative booked our trip with a room in the Kidani Village without looking at how the hotel is set up. She was stunned by the walk we did every day to leave and return to our rooms.
If you want to stay at Art of Animation but can only afford the little mermaid rooms (ahem, like me), on a busy morning make sure you walk around the back of hourglass lake not through art of animation to the skyliner station. The line for the skyliner grows long down the pop century path side, so if you go up art’s side, you’ll only then have to track back the length of the line and have walked 3/4 of the way around the lake.
Love Wilderness Lodge! We stayed there for our honeymoon in 1995. 7 nights, park hopper tickets, food & fun card (which included the tips back then) all for just over $1900!
*Real question* I tried getting a quote with an agency for the Disney package but I crunched the numbers and I found it to be cheaper when I did it myself... Is it because I'm planning more than a year ahead? ... anyone any help?
I know DFB loves to push the Swan or Dolphin but you rarely highlight the big negative. I recently stayed in the Boardwalk Inn and walked over to these hotels. I was surrounded by hoards of business suit wearing folks. These hotels have lots of convention guests. Not family friendly. In addition I had a hard time finding hotel staff to answer questions. That never happens in a WDW hotel
I love DFB but I'm not sure why they are such fans of the Swan/Dolphin. I can always find better discounts at other Disney hotels and the resort fee is ridiculous.
Usually it is just US though I have heard some people get away with it. I would approach it as you are not getting it but it would be the cherry on top if you did.
I always carry a couple of trash bags with me. 1 keeps the dirty close seperate from the clean clothes. 2 jeeps thebwet clothes seperate from thebdry clothes. And they take up virtually no room at all.
It’s not as scientific as your methods, but for Old Key West you want to stay near the Peninsular Road bus stop. It’s close to the main area and it’s the first stop when you’re coming back from the parks.
Pop Century and Art of Animation art the best. Why stay at a Disney resort hotel that lacks any of the Disney characters. If want a hotel with absolutely no hint of Disney movies I'll stay off property for 1/3 the cost.
As far as Dolphin hotel all i can say is WOW>....we have stayed there for many trips for decent not cheap but cheaper that Disneys......BUT WHOA i have no idea what happend this year but their prices have gone sky high....as high as a Disney resort which is a bummer for us.....Times sure have changed in a year for sure......so its Disney hotels for us......
I would love to stay at Fort Wilderness and bring bikes/rent a golf cart. I love camping🏕 We usually tent camp but would consider a camper due to rain fall.
Disney park hotels are too expensive!!! Unless you book one of the Wyndham hotels on park property you do not earn rewards for free nights. I just booked 7 free nights at an off park Wyndham hotel redeeming rewards.
Trust me, DVC is the way to go to offset that. I bought 200 DVC points at the Riveira in March 2022 and never regretted it, it's enabled me to treat friends and family to the best luxury and most convenient hotel in the park. I got 2 studios for a week on October 2022, another 2 studios for a week in February 2024, and have already booked 2 more studios for a week in May 2025. Just those three stays have already netted me more value for the points purchase than what I would have paid for those stays out of pocket. And I still have 67 years left on the ownership use!
You know… Steps vary based on size of human and their gate. I suspect the mid to low 5ft range of human was well represented by the testers in these calculations. Which is fine, I guess. Maybe a measuring in standard feet would have been more empirical.
Yup! It’s gonna DEFINITELY be different for everyone! This is just our reporters going the extra mile to illustrate how much closer these rooms actually are to those main amenities!
This video was where I learned that extra magic hours is only for deluxe resorts, no longer moderates. That’s another loss of a perk compared to our last trip (Caribbean). That’s kinda raw :( Any hacks for that?
Moderate resorts still have PART of the old extra magic hours perk! While you won’t be able to use the extended evening hours (which are for deluxe resort guests only), you WILL be able to use early theme park entry (which allows you to enter any park on any day 30 minutes before the general public). This can still give you a nice head start to the day to get on your priority ride before the park opens!
@@dfbbreea thank you. We’ve done early rope drop. Frozen was a long sprint with a kid on my shoulders LOL. Our previous visits to Caribbean let us use the extended evening hours. We booked for Oct 24, assuming that was still the case. We have MNSSH tix, though!
