Go for the Parks, Stay for the Resorts.

Whenever someone tells me they're going to Disney, I always ask them where they are staying. My least favorite response:
"Oh, we just stayed in a hotel outside the parks."


HOKAY.
I knowwww it's cheaper to stay outside of the parks. But it's only cheaper because it's not fun. You go back to your hotel room, flip on the tv probably, go to the little indoor pool... yadda yadda yawn.


At Disney, however, the "hotel" is half the experience.
In fact, it's not even a hotel. It's an oasis. It's a world away from the world. It's a resort.


People who stay in the Disney Resorts get special perks as well, such as being granted Disney's "Extra Magic Hours" (which are extended hours in the parks after they have closed), the advantage of complimetary transportation from the airport and parks, the Disney Dining Plan (Save up to 30% on food!), and package delivery. Did you buy a GINORMOUS stuffed giraffe at Animal Kingdom but don't want to carry it around all day? Disney will deliver Geoffrey straight to your room.


During past Disney experiences, my family and I would often reserve one day out of the entire week that was just devoted to the resorts. We pool-hopped. We rode on surrey bikes around a boardwalk. We walked around arcades and candy shops and took pictures in those little picture booths. When we stayed at the Polynesian, we watched sunfish sailboats glide on the water as we layed out in a hamock on the beach.


The parks are why you go to Walt Disney World. The Resorts are why you stay.


So Becky... what is your favorite Disney World Resort?






My brother and I often say that the most exciting part of Disney is first checking in to the hotel. The first time you walk into the Boardwalk lobbey, you smell the watery floridian scent, you see the light coming in through the porch windows, and the chairs that look as if they had been there for over a century. You see watercolor paintings of 1920's girls at the beach, and of course, you can't miss the chandelier with the golden carousel horses that look down valienty, hundreds of sparkling diamonds poised around them, glimmering in lamplight.

Walking to the room, you smell the delicacies brewing down on the boardwalk below and it always makes you hungry. You want steak and a cheeseburger and a ceasar salad and you want a diet coke. My dad always gets a beer from Big River Grill. Joey is always the first one to whip out his card to open the door of the hotel room. We all wait. We all watch. We all sigh as the blue door opens, and the cool rush of air conditioning plumes through the doorway.
Someone says "Welcome Home"

The Boardwalk is the Resort that we always run to the windows, thrust open the curtains, and take an eyefull of the glorious view before us. If you get a garden view at The Boardwalk, you will see peaceful floridian flowers and little duckies (aww) by a quiet, shimmering pool. If you get a Boardwalk view, you see the "Friendship" boats putter back and forth on the water, you see people milling around on the Boardwalk, you see the surrey bikes and the cotton candy and the restaurants and dance clubs and the kites flying high in the air. And oh - it's pure heaven.

And of course, if you get a pool view, you may be looking out upon the place where my dad, brother, and I like to frolic. (When we were kids my dad would do the "ROCKET LAUNCH!" and he would go underwater and catapult us high in the air, and it was the biggest rush for a little kid.

My family and I have stayed at many resorts within Disney, and they were all spectacular. We have stayed at the Contemporary Resort, The Polynesian (which is my second fav) and the Old Key West Resort.

But Becky... You have been to Disney about 15 times!! Why haven't you stayed at more Resorts?

Simple. The Boardwalk sucks you in. Every time we get together and figure out our Disney plans and where we're going to stay... it's always the Boardwalk. It's always because we've had the best times there. Its because it's walking distance to the parks, we can run around on the boardwalk, and we have tons of stuff to do... right there.

So mull it over. Check it out. Any resort you end up staying at... just... make sure it's a Disney resort... eh??

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/

^Go here. It's amazing. And the pictures are super pretty.