Which hotel for a short stay?

[dulcemariamar]

We will have 3 full days and maybe a half day at WDW towards the end of August. Where should we stay to get the most out of time? Will it be best to stay on the monorail?

I was thinking about staying at a moderate resort but I might want to return for a nap or swim since we will go in August. But maybe I will lose too much time doing that if I stay at a moderate resort. Is it that much quicker staying at a hotel with a monorail ?

[breebug]

Which parks do you plan on visiting? The monorail will only really help you save time on days you're at MK or Epcot. You'd have to take a bus to HS and AK if staying at a monorail resort. If you plan on centering most of your time around MK and/or Epcot and if breaks during the day are important to you, I'd consider a monorail resort for sure. You should also check into renting DVC points and staying at Bay Lake Tower. It's walking distance to MK.

[elcjet]

I'd follow the suggestion above and rent DVC. If HS and Epcot are more your thing, then stay at the Boardwalk. If you don't mind the gondola, Coronado will be connected to HS and Epcot soon..... MK area, you might be able to rent at Bay Lake or do a room at Wilderness Lodge (take the boat from MK).

[ribollita]

Beach/Yacht club.

[dulcemariamar]

Jan 29, 2019 19:28:34 GMT -5 ribollita said:

Beach/Yacht club.

Is it better than the Polynesian

[stephm0188]

Jan 30, 2019 17:06:04 GMT -5 dulcemariamar said:

Jan 29, 2019 19:28:34 GMT -5 ribollita said:

Beach/Yacht club.

Is it better than the Polynesian

It's a deluxe resort. Better is going to depend on your priorities.

It has an AMAZING pool and is a short walk to Epcot. You can also walk to HS or take the boat (walking is faster, but August will be hot.)

It'd be my pick over Poly, but I think the monorail is overrated.

[ribollita]

Jan 30, 2019 17:32:10 GMT -5 stephm0188 said:

Jan 30, 2019 17:06:04 GMT -5 dulcemariamar said:

Is it better than the Polynesian

It's a deluxe resort. Better is going to depend on your priorities.

It has an AMAZING pool and is a short walk to Epcot. You can also walk to HS or take the boat (walking is faster, but August will be hot.)

It'd be my pick over Poly, but I think the monorail is overrated.

Ditto all of this. The pool is AMAZING!!! I like being able to walk to two parks. And I like the setup and restaurants (+ Boardwalk area!) better than Poly.

[was5]

If you're going the end of August, there is a room discount through WDW. It brings the daily room rate for a studio at Beach Club down from $456/night to $342/night (before taxes. It's not clear from the web site if there is a minimum stay. It's still more with the room discount than renting through DVC, but you might want to check out both to see what's available.

[curbsideprophet]

Do you want a studio? If so than considering the Poly is fine. If you want a 1 bedroom with a full kitchen and laundry then Beach Club, Boardwalk or BLT would be better options.

How many days to you plan to spend in each park?

[dulcemariamar]

Jan 31, 2019 7:25:48 GMT -5 curbsideprophet said:

Do you want a studio? If so than considering the Poly is fine. If you want a 1 bedroom with a full kitchen and laundry then Beach Club, Boardwalk or BLT would be better options.

How many days to you plan to spend in each park?

It is just three people so a standard room is fine. I don’t need a kitchen. We are there for 3 days and a half. We want one day at Epcot, one in MK, and maybe the half of day at Hollywood Studios or AK. I don’t know how to plan the last full day. I would rather play it by ear and return to the park we liked best but we have to worry about fast passes. Advice?

[redheadk]

I think Beach Club would be great for you. We really like the pool and location. You can walk into Epcot and take the boat to HS (theoretically you can walk but it's a really long walk. I would not do it in August). I prefer the location of the regular rooms bc they are closer to the main pool. We've stayed at both BCV and regular BC.

We were there the first week of October and really had no trouble at all moving fast passes around. With the exception of the main rides that are difficult to get fast passes for without major planning, everything was available. We got lots of 4th, 5th, 6th, fast passes.

[georgeglass]

There is a travel agency that has specific deals for late August - magicalvacationstravel.com/mvt/mvt-magical-deals/

I think they buy blocks of rooms? My friend has used them before and they're legit.

Oh - and ditto the Yacht/Beach Club. With all of the reports of monorail issues, monorail resorts are not as big a benefit to me anymore.

[curbsideprophet]

Jan 31, 2019 13:09:20 GMT -5 dulcemariamar said:

Jan 31, 2019 7:25:48 GMT -5 curbsideprophet said:

Do you want a studio? If so than considering the Poly is fine. If you want a 1 bedroom with a full kitchen and laundry then Beach Club, Boardwalk or BLT would be better options.

How many days to you plan to spend in each park?

It is just three people so a standard room is fine. I don’t need a kitchen. We are there for 3 days and a half. We want one day at Epcot, one in MK, and maybe the half of day at Hollywood Studios or AK. I don’t know how to plan the last full day. I would rather play it by ear and return to the park we liked best but we have to worry about fast passes. Advice?

Will you have park hoppers?

I am going for a short trip in May with three parks days, here is our schedule. We are staying at BLT and not going into a park on arrival day. 

Thursday - MK in the morning (booking FP at MK), back to the resort, then EP in the evening. Hoping to pick up a Soarin FP and have the FEA dessert party booked. I wanted to go to EP in the morning for EMH but we also wanted to see Illuminations before it goes, so I shifted EP to the evening.

Friday -  EMH MK in the morning, no FP. AK in the afternoon/evening, booking FP here

Saturday - pool in morning, HS afternoon/evening. Hoping to get an evening SDD FP.

Sunday - 5 out of the 7 of our group will have AP. Some might pop into MK before check out/ California Grill brunch at noon. We also might just swim. I plan to book up some FP just in case but we might not use them.

[dulcemariamar]

Feb 1, 2019 19:56:17 GMT -5 curbsideprophet said:

Jan 31, 2019 13:09:20 GMT -5 dulcemariamar said:

It is just three people so a standard room is fine. I don’t need a kitchen. We are there for 3 days and a half. We want one day at Epcot, one in MK, and maybe the half of day at Hollywood Studios or AK. I don’t know how to plan the last full day. I would rather play it by ear and return to the park we liked best but we have to worry about fast passes. Advice?

Will you have park hoppers?

I am going for a short trip in May with three parks days, here is our schedule. We are staying at BLT and not going into a park on arrival day. 

Thursday - MK in the morning (booking FP at MK), back to the resort, then EP in the evening. Hoping to pick up a Soarin FP and have the FEA dessert party booked. I wanted to go to EP in the morning for EMH but we also wanted to see Illuminations before it goes, so I shifted EP to the evening.

Friday -  EMH MK in the morning, no FP. AK in the afternoon/evening, booking FP here

Saturday - pool in morning, HS afternoon/evening. Hoping to get an evening SDD FP.

Sunday - 5 out of the 7 of our group will have AP. Some might pop into MK before check out/ California Grill brunch at noon. We also might just swim. I plan to book up some FP just in case but we might not use them.

We have booked the Yacht Club. We will not do park hopper tickets. We are going with the idea that we will probably miss one of the parks this trip.

[curbsideprophet]

Feb 2, 2019 15:25:06 GMT -5 dulcemariamar said:

Feb 1, 2019 19:56:17 GMT -5 curbsideprophet said:

Will you have park hoppers?

I am going for a short trip in May with three parks days, here is our schedule. We are staying at BLT and not going into a park on arrival day. 

Thursday - MK in the morning (booking FP at MK), back to the resort, then EP in the evening. Hoping to pick up a Soarin FP and have the FEA dessert party booked. I wanted to go to EP in the morning for EMH but we also wanted to see Illuminations before it goes, so I shifted EP to the evening.

Friday -  EMH MK in the morning, no FP. AK in the afternoon/evening, booking FP here

Saturday - pool in morning, HS afternoon/evening. Hoping to get an evening SDD FP.

Sunday - 5 out of the 7 of our group will have AP. Some might pop into MK before check out/ California Grill brunch at noon. We also might just swim. I plan to book up some FP just in case but we might not use them.

We have booked the Yacht Club. We will not do park hopper tickets. We are going with the idea that we will probably miss one of the parks this trip.

Since you are staying at YC I would definitely do Epcot and HS. I love AK but given your location it makes the most sense to skip AK.