What is the best hotel to stay at in Disney World for 4 adults (2 seniors) and 2 kids (11 & 5)?

Question

Criteria
Close to the Majic Kingdom
Clean
Friendly staff

Answer 1

I just got back from Walt Disney World on Saturday. I went with my boyfriend (we don't have kids yet.) We stayed at Disney's Polynesian Resort. We stayed there last summer and it became our favorite. Everything about the Resort is perfect. First off, it was one of the first WDW Resorts opened, the other being hte Contemporary Resort, which opened the same day. Second, it's a monorail Resort. The monorail is defintely the best mode of transportation at Walt Disney World. It's the quickest and the A/C is always working (unlike in some of the buses.) There's only three Resorts connected to the monorail system, the Polynesian Resort, the Contemporary Resort, and the Grand Floridian Resort. The Resort has a few beaches, two pools (the volcano pool with a slide and the "quiet pool,") two awsome restaurants- 'Ohana, which offers all-you-can-eat and a character breakfast, and the Kona Cafe, one of my favoritw restaurants on WDW property, which serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner (try the famous Tonga Toast at breakfast, or the pot stickers as an appetizer for lunch or dinner, they're SO good!) There's also a quick service restaurant, Captain Cook's, which is open all night and offers all kinds of snacks, drinks, etc. Then there's the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show (the Polynesian Luau,) which offers all-you-can-eat. The show has changed quite a bit since the first time I saw it in '97, but the kids absolutely love it. There's still traditional luau dancers and a guy who twirls batons on fire. It's pretty cool. Kids really love this Resort. At the entrance there's a small sitting area with a TV, playing Disney movies 24/7, and the kids can sit down and make their own leis (but everyone will recieve one at check-in anyway.) Right in the middle of the lobby seems to be a tropical rainforest. There's all kinds of lush green plants, flowers, and waterfalls. There's also wildlife on the property of the Resort. All kinds of ducks, which the kids seem to love to chase around or feed, as well as other exotic birds, rabbits, lizards, and even a cat (last summer we noticed this skinny, little black and white cat, and about halfway through our vacation this time we saw the cat again. I was so surprised. We were pretty sure the cat had escaped from a kennel. The cat still appeared to be way too skinny, so I had my boyfriend run back to our room for some beef jerkey we'd brought. The cat scarfed it down like nothing, poor thing. I asked concierge about it and the guy said he'd just noticed the cat the other day and no one knew how it got there. This shocked me 'cause we'd sen the cat over a year ago. The thing seemed miserable in the heat, and starving, of course. Other guests at the Resort were scaring it away because it was begging for food.) Anyway, I'm getting way off course. The Resort staff is awesome. As soon as we checked in the manager came out and told us we were V.I.P. at the Resort, and we'd been upgraded to concierge. We were given room 1516 with the best possible view available on property, literally. A perfect view of the Magic Kingdom Park, Cinderella Castle, Space Mountain, and the Contemporary and Grand Floridian Resorts across the lagoon. Every night we saw the Wishes fireworks right from our room, as well as the Electrical Water Pageant. At 6:00pm Tuesday through Saturday the Resort has an official torch lighting ceremony. It's quick, but it was really cool (our first time seeing it.) The fire twirler from the dinner show comes into the Resort, blows into a conch shell to get everyone's attention, and then goes outside to perform a dance and light the torches that light the walkway to the Resort lobby. I suggest this Resort, not only because it's my personal favorite, but you wouldn't believe how many kids complained to their parents that they wished they were staying at the Polynesian. People from other Resorts would come to have dinner at one of the Polynesian's restaurants, or just to explore and kids would be like, "Mommy, we should've stayed here! Can we stay here next time?" I don't know, I guess kids just really enjoy it, too. And now that I think about it, I was saying the same thing when I came to visit the Resort for my first time when I was 11. It's such a beautiful place. I mean, I am a huge Disney fanatic, and I know just about everything there is to know about all the Resorts, and I love them all (I plan on taking a two week trip next time and spending two nights in each Deluxe Resort so I can experience them all,) but this is always going to be my favorite. Everything's awesome from the staff to the location. And actually, we took a guided fishing excursion and our guide told us that the Polynesian Resort has the highest return rate of guests out of all the WDW Resorts. This I did not know. It didn't necessarily surprise me though, because it's true, once you stay here, you'll never want to leave or go to another Resort.

I gave this answer to someone the other day and they seemed to like all the information I gave and my opinion. This Resort has everything you're looking for. It's close to the Magic Kingdom- just take the monorail from the second level of the lobby (it takes no more than 5 minutes.) The monorail will also take you to the TTC (Transportation and Ticket Center) where you can make a quick switch to another monorail, and from there take you to Epcot. There's also a walkway from the Polynesian Resort to the TTC. It's very convenient. The Resort is also clean. As clean as the other Walt Disney World Resorts, all are very clean. The staff here is obviously friendly. We were upgraded to Concierge and got all kinds of special gifts. The staff also did anything they could to make our stay as perfect as possible. The rooms have all been newly renovated and now have big plasma screen TVs and mini fridges. And the beds are SO comfortable. I fell asleep in under 10 minutes every night, even if I didn't feel tired. I'm planning on buying one for our home, definitely. Everyone, anyone of any age, will enjoy this Resort. If you'd like a suggestion for a specific room, room 1516 in the Hawaii (Concierge) Longhouse was incredible. The view was breathtaking. Also, room 1221 in the Aotearoa Longhouse was also nice. A view of the Magic Kingdom, too, but from farther away. Still a great location, though, right near Luau Cove and the marina, and one of the beaches.

HAVE FUN!

Answer 2

Well all of the Disney Resorts are clean and friendly! If you would like to be close to the Magic Kingdom, then you'll want to pick from the Magic Kingdom Resorts that circle around Bay Lake. The Grand Floridian is the victorian one that you always see on TV commercials. It is beautiful, but I don't think it is ideal for kids. Next door is the Polynesian. This one is highly recommended for kids and their Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show is HIGHLY recommended! Next up is the Contemporary. The monorail glides right through this modern-style hotel. Chef Mickey's is located here and you and your kids can dine with their favorite Disney characters, dressed up as Chefs!
Behind Bay Lake, but in the same basic area is the Wilderness Lodge. This is also another great hotel for kids. The pool is fun and they have all sorts of water activities available. you can rent a boat from their dock and take it out onto Bay Lake to watch the Magic Kingdom Fireworks!

If you would like any help planning your trip or would like to read up on some fun tips and ideas, visit my Disney Vacation Service Website, I'm All Ears at:

http://im-all-ears-disney-vacation-services.blogspot.com/

Have a great time!

Answer 3

It really depends on how much you want to spend per night. Most of the resorts right around MK are kinda pricey. But the options for those are; the Grand Floridian, The Poly, Contemporary, Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness. You can camp at the Fort for cheap if thats the way you want to go. Though my personal favorite is the Wilderness Lodge, it has a homey atmosphere. Just remember where ever you stay at on Disney property there is always Disney transportation that will get you to and from were you want to go for free.

Answer 4

Look at their website. They have a map as to where the hotels are,so you can get close to the Magic Kingdom. All the Disney hotes are very clean and have a great staff.

Answer 5

Stay on Disney property, whether it's Animal Kingdom Lodge (the best) to the value resorts like Pop Century.

The advantages: free transportation to/from the airport; free transportation to all the Disney Parks (Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, MGM, Downtown Disney, Pleasure Island, Hurricane Harbor, etc) which are spread out; free delivery of your souvenir purchases to your room (next day delivery, so don't buy anything the last day or be ready to carry it around).

Go on mousesavers.com, allears.net and best, disboards.com for details. You will learn EVERYTHING you need to know.

Answer 6

I have stayed on and off the property on multiple occasions.
The best place to stay that won't kill your budget is any of the All-Star Resorts on the property...we preferred the "Movies" one because of the life sized Toy Story stuff, etc.

Take advantage of all of the stuff they have to offer.
If you want to use the folks we used (we took 3 grandparents, 2 parents and 3 kids 11, 9, 3 last April)....go to www.mouseketrips.com.

Answer 7

Any of the Disney-owned properties

Answer 8

port orleans riverside

Answer 9

http://rhoda.joystar.com/Hotel.aspx?AgentID=10008199