Which resort is a never or never again for you?

[Forevermarypoppins]

We have stayed at mostly values—All Star Music, All Star Movies, Pop, and Art of Animation. We also once got a good deal on Coronado Springs and stayed there. I’m good with all of those. I really enjoyed the ceiling fans and multiple bus stops at Coronado. Every bus I encountered was empty. My mom did NOT like Coronado and will never stay there again. She said it was too quiet, too boring, no theming. She said if we are going to Disney the resort NEEDS to be gaudy and busy with families. She calls Coronado the “nursing home”.

Just curious how long ago that Coronado stay was. I was just there in Sept 23 and I have to say, I LOVED it !!! I liked the deluxe feel without the deluxe cost. The only drawback is the distance between some of the buildings and the Gran Destino tower, so if you can deal with that, it's a beautiful resort!

 

[DizneyFamof4]

Just curious how long ago that Coronado stay was. I was just there in Sept 23 and I have to say, I LOVED it !!! I liked the deluxe feel without the deluxe cost. The only drawback is the distance between some of the buildings and the Gran Destino tower, so if you can deal with that, it's a beautiful resort!

I am going to guess that it will not make much of a difference to OP's mom. It sounds like she prefers a resort with brighter colors, more active with whimsical features and like you mentioned that CSR has a "deluxe feel" which is a lot more toned down and low keyed. I totally get it, we have done a lot of WDW trips and one of our favorite resorts is POP

 

[Oldie13]

Just curious how long ago that Coronado stay was. I was just there in Sept 23 and I have to say, I LOVED it !!! I liked the deluxe feel without the deluxe cost. The only drawback is the distance between some of the buildings and the Gran Destino tower, so if you can deal with that, it's a beautiful resort!

It doesn’t matter when it was. I know they haven’t added theming that matches the values. My mom doesn’t care how “beautiful” it is. It’s Disney, it needs to be over the top and fun. We are also there for the parks—open to close. We don’t do rest days or hotel days. Why waste all that money getting there and there to just lounge in a room/by a pool. We can take a day trip to San Antonio if we wanted to do that and save a TON of money.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

It doesn’t matter when it was. I know they haven’t added theming that matches the values. My mom doesn’t care how “beautiful” it is. It’s Disney, it needs to be over the top and fun. We are also there for the parks—open to close. We don’t do rest days or hotel days. Why waste all that money getting there and there to just lounge in a room/by a pool. We can take a day trip to San Antonio if we wanted to do that and save a TON of money.

oh yeah, I get that!!
I just thought maybe it was before the new Gran Destino tower. The 2 reasons I stayed at CSR over a vaule my last trip was #1, splitting the cost of the room with my sister and #2 discount.

 

[Oldie13]

oh yeah, I get that!!
I just thought maybe it was before the new Gran Destino tower. The 2 reasons I stayed at CSR over a vaule my last trip was #1, splitting the cost of the room with my sister and #2 discount.

It was before that.

 

[didilovesdisney]

A Never Resort for me are the Fort Wilderness Cabins. I am not a camper and although they look nice and liked by many I have no interest or desire to stay there. The camping atmosphere is not for me LOL. As for a Never Again Resort it's Art of Animation Resort Little Mermaid Room. I will say they are well themed but I kept looking across Hourglass Lake at my favorite resort Pop Century and wishing I was there instead. I was with other family members and this was their resort choice so I didn't want to be a Debbie Downer and gave it a try. But not again. I enjoyed my time with them at Disney but I will just walk over to AOA when staying at my favorite resort Pop Century.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Well, you won't have to worry about the Ft Wilderness Cabins in the future. They're being redone and will be DVC cabins.......! Sounds like they'll be fancy enough - more glamping than camping!

 

[didilovesdisney]

Well, you won't have to worry about the Ft Wilderness Cabins in the future. They're being redone and will be DVC cabins.......! Sounds like they'll be fancy enough - more glamping than camping!

Yeah I heard about the DVC cabin take over but it doesn't matter how nice they make them it's still a Never Resort. Can't even consider glamping.

 

[NYCgrrl]

We tend to stay at deluxes and there are two I won’t return to: the Contemporary and Poly CL. The rooms are too small at Contemporary as are the terraces which is probably why you never see anyone on them. I dislike the food offered on the CL level: too much processed food and not much thought put into the menu. The location looks great though and as is true for the rest of the resort it’s conveniently located.

 

[marielynn724]

For me it was Art of Animation. That walk from the bus stop all the way back to our Little Mermaid room after a long park day really did me in lol. Also the vibe wasn't really for me - too loud, too much hustle and bustle. Never really felt like I could properly decompress.

 

[Disneychick75]

Yacht Club for us - felt like we would run into our grandparents and their friends.

 

[Newsies]

Never again OKW. I did three nights at a standard studio for a quick solo trip and will never do it again, especially not with my family. Room was tiny, didn't like the grounds, hated the internal bus system. Hated having to take a bus to the main lobby for any type of dining, and especially hated that the quick service option was literally just one register at a window. I can see this being a great place to stay if you bring your own car everywhere at WDW and cook a few rooms in your villas -- just not how I like to vacation and not my cup of tea.

We probably also will not return to the Villas at the Grand Floridian. We loved the hotel side during our stay in 2014 and continue to love visiting the GF on every trip, but the DVC building was too far of a walk from the transportation and main building, especially Gasparilla's.

 

[radishtoaster]

Never again OKW. I did three nights at a standard studio for a quick solo trip and will never do it again, especially not with my family. Room was tiny, didn't like the grounds, hated the internal bus system. Hated having to take a bus to the main lobby for any type of dining, and especially hated that the quick service option was literally just one register at a window. I can see this being a great place to stay if you bring your own car everywhere at WDW and cook a few rooms in your villas -- just not how I like to vacation and not my cup of tea.

We probably also will not return to the Villas at the Grand Floridian. We loved the hotel side during our stay in 2014 and continue to love visiting the GF on every trip, but the DVC building was too far of a walk from the transportation and main building, especially Gasparilla's.

I agree here on OKW. We had a two bedroom but it was about as far away from everything as possible. We were traveling with toddlers and older adults, and it was a literal mile walk to the main building just for the really bad quick service; it was terrible for the adults and the kids.

The theming is on par with, if not even as good as, Margaritaville. The pools, food options, and bus services were just atrocious. The room was extremely outdated, and there was nothing our parents hated more than having to walk back to the room, up two flights of stairs, and into a stale, mildew-smelling room after having walked so much at the park.

I had been told the distances at Kidani were just as bad, but we didn't experience that at all. OKW is A big never again for us as a family. I might consider it if it was just me, for the right price, and had a preferred room.

 

[disneydreamer781]

Anything offsite and All Stars resorts.

 

[kittylady1972]

For me it was Art of Animation. That walk from the bus stop all the way back to our Little Mermaid room after a long park day really did me in lol. Also the vibe wasn't really for me - too loud, too much hustle and bustle. Never really felt like I could properly decompress.

Guess I should prepare for this, but thankfully our first stay (this week ) at AoA and in a Little Mermaid room is a very short trip. Let's hope that walk doesn't seem as long, and we have a car so we can drive to the parks if we want to do so.

We did Pop Century many years ago, and though we said never again (it was just two adults and the kids running down the outer walkway outside our doors and knocking on them late at night was a bit much) we have returned a few times, usually for very last minute one night stays.

This week is our return to a Value resort for the first time in many years and again first time at AoA so we'll see how it goes.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

Our first on-site stay was at All-Star Movies. It was a magical trip and we loved the giant kid-friendly icons located around the resort. Fast-forward 20+ years to the present and we’re now DVC owners. I’m not one to say “never” but, as much as we have a great fondness for that resort, I just can’t see us staying at the values again. If a DVC resort wasn’t an option, we’d be more likely to rent a 3BR house in Windsor Hills. We did that several times over the years and liked it a lot, especially the space.

To the point of “never say never,” when we first bought DVC, I was in the camp of SSR being the “resort of last resort” and had no plans to ever stay there. But I liked what I saw in videos of the refurbished rooms and we decided to try it out. We’ve now stayed there multiple times and like the rooms, resort, and ability to walk to Disney Springs a lot.

We stayed at CBR and POR one time each years ago and enjoyed our stays, but probably wouldn’t stay at either of those again (mainly because we primarily use our DVC points these days), but I do have some interest in maybe staying at CSR some time.

BLT has risen to the top of the list of DVC resorts that we’re least likely to stay at (after this fall, it will be the only one we haven’t stayed at… well, not including the two in CA and Aulani, which we had booked a few years ago but ended up having to cancel that Hawaii trip). Despite BLT’s proximity to MK, we would still be more likely to stay at GF or Poly. But I still wouldn’t rule out a stay at BLT, if even just for a few nights to try it out.

 

[kittylady1972]

Guess I should prepare for this, but thankfully our first stay (this week ) at AoA and in a Little Mermaid room is a very short trip. Let's hope that walk doesn't seem as long, and we have a car so we can drive to the parks if we want to do so.

We did Pop Century many years ago, and though we said never again (it was just two adults and the kids running down the outer walkway outside our doors and knocking on them late at night was a bit much) we have returned a few times, usually for very last minute one night stays.

This week is our return to a Value resort for the first time in many years and again first time at AoA so we'll see how it goes.

We got very lucky for our trip two weeks. We were upgraded from a Little Mermaid room to a Finding Nemo Suite and it was GREAT! Funny thing is when we were trying to find our room and building we drove all the way around to the Little Mermaid buildings (since that is what I booked) but realized the numbering was wrong for our room assignment. We were quite happy with the location of the Finding Nemo suite and proximity to everything but I could see how Little Mermaid rooms would be a hike. We did really enjoy Art of Animation, enjoyed the variety of food court options and of course the proximity to the Skyliner. We would stay there again. I can imagine during busier times though it could get loud. A summer trip may have had us thinking differently but I believe this was a relatively "slow" time for Disney despite the perfect weather.

Our first on-site stay was at All-Star Movies. It was a magical trip and we loved the giant kid-friendly icons located around the resort. Fast-forward 20+ years to the present and we’re now DVC owners. I’m not one to say “never” but, as much as we have a great fondness for that resort, I just can’t see us staying at the values again. If a DVC resort wasn’t an option, we’d be more likely to rent a 3BR house in Windsor Hills. We did that several times over the years and liked it a lot, especially the space.

To the point of “never say never,” when we first bought DVC, I was in the camp of SSR being the “resort of last resort” and had no plans to ever stay there. But I liked what I saw in videos of the refurbished rooms and we decided to try it out. We’ve now stayed there multiple times and like the rooms, resort, and ability to walk to Disney Springs a lot.

We stayed at CBR and POR one time each years ago and enjoyed our stays, but probably wouldn’t stay at either of those again (mainly because we primarily use our DVC points these days), but I do have some interest in maybe staying at CSR some time.

BLT has risen to the top of the list of DVC resorts that we’re least likely to stay at (after this fall, it will be the only one we haven’t stayed at… well, not including the two in CA and Aulani, which we had booked a few years ago but ended up having to cancel that Hawaii trip). Despite BLT’s proximity to MK, we would still be more likely to stay at GF or Poly. But I still wouldn’t rule out a stay at BLT, if even just for a few nights to try it out.

Our first on-site was All Star Music, back in the late 1990s and it was fine...but it was our very first on-site stay ever and we were in our 20s. I never thought we would be DVC owners but my husband convinced me after we "rented" points from a DVC owner to stay at Boardwalk with our 2 kids and his parents.

I thought the same thing about SSR, and a few times we have stayed there and felt a bit isolated. This last trip our building was right at the front gate so a hike to anything, and we've also stayed at the Treehouses, also a bit of a hike. We did enjoy walking and taking the water taxi over to Disney Springs though and the rooms are nice. I'd stay there again. I was hoping to try out a preferred room, which we had booked for next month, but my daughter was able to stalk DVC and snag a room at Riviera, and we do really enjoy being on the Skyliner now and ease of heading over to Epcot and Studios.

I'm struggling to find our would not stay again resort. We have always had a love for BLT to be able to walk to MK. Poly is also nice to walk to the TTC or hop on the monorail. Grand Floridian we stayed at once and it was okay, but it's probably near the bottom of our list. We've stayed at all of the moderates except Coronado Springs, but they would be near the bottom (other than CB) because they aren't on the monorail or Skyliner and no easy access to parks or even Disney Springs. We've stayed at All Stars twice, and they would also be near the bottom.

the bottom of our list. That would mean All-Stars, Port Orleans, and Coronado Springs, but we've never stayed at Coronado Springs.

 

[Ensusieasm]

For sure I would not stay in a Polynesian bungalow again. Ours was so dirty! Shower walls so gross! Dirty smelly washing machine, replaced with another dirty smelly washing machine. Very dusty phone, lamps etc. Trash on the floor under the vanity. Stuff left in the freezer. Curtain cords that have been recalled due to safety still in use, and we had an active toddler in our bungalow. We ran out of hot water after one adult shower and two babies’ baths even though the bungalows accept 8 people. Repairman says it happens all the time.
Nope. Never a 2 bed Poly bungalow again. A three bedroom Villa at The Grand Floridian would have been less!

 

[AngieInOH]

Only one we would never stay at again would be POR. Just didn't like the vibe. Too quiet, too spread out, too boring. I'm sure it's for some, just not for us.

Recently stayed at Coronado. I was nervous we'd feel the same as POR. I shouldn't have worried. We loved it!!!

 

[kittylady1972]

For sure I would not stay in a Polynesian bungalow again. Ours was so dirty! Shower walls so gross! Dirty smelly washing machine, replaced with another dirty smelly washing machine. Very dusty phone, lamps etc. Trash on the floor under the vanity. Stuff left in the freezer. Curtain cords that have been recalled due to safety still in use, and we had an active toddler in our bungalow. We ran out of hot water after one adult shower and two babies’ baths even though the bungalows accept 8 people. Repairman says it happens all the time.
Nope. Never a 2 bed Poly bungalow again. A three bedroom Villa at The Grand Floridian would have been less!

Wow. For the amount of points those cost, I would have been pretty mad about all of that.

I wonder of the Wilderness Lodge Cabins are any better? Not that we have the points to afford any of them right now, but maybe ONE day in far far future.

Only one we would never stay at again would be POR. Just didn't like the vibe. Too quiet, too spread out, too boring. I'm sure it's for some, just not for us.

Recently stayed at Coronado. I was nervous we'd feel the same as POR. I shouldn't have worried. We loved it!!!

It's been a while since we've done POR, but I get that.

Good to know about Coronado. It's on our one day list for sure, mostly because we'd also love to return to 3 Bridges!