December 13, 2024 • 30 mins
Join Tony Desiere and Lauren Mallard as they delve into the enchanting world of Walt Disney World resorts, offering invaluable insights for those planning their next magical getaway. The episode highlights the different categories of resorts—value, moderate, and deluxe—discussing the unique amenities and experiences each offers. They explore the benefits of staying on property, including transportation options and the immersive Disney experience that comes with it. From the affordability of value resorts to the luxurious charm of deluxe accommodations, listeners will learn how to maximize their vacation dollars while enjoying the magic of Disney. Additionally, the duo shares personal anecdotes and tips that can help first-time visitors and seasoned travelers alike make informed decisions about their stay.
Takeaways:
- Walt Disney World offers various resort categories, each with unique amenities and pricing.
- Choosing a resort at Disney World involves considering budget, amenities, and desired experiences.
- Value resorts can be an excellent choice for families and first-time visitors to Disney.
- Moderate resorts provide more space and atmosphere, perfect for a relaxing vacation.
- Deluxe resorts offer exceptional dining options and extended evening hours for guests.
- Pop Century is highly praised for its theming and convenient transportation options.
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Tally the Elf
- Walt Disney World
- All the Magic Travel
- Art of Animation
- Pop Century
- Caribbean Beach
- Boardwalk
- Yacht and Beach Club
- Swan and Dolphin
- Animal Kingdom Lodge
- Wilderness Lodge
- Polynesian
- Grand Floridian
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:04):
Hello there and welcome toanother edition of the Wands and
Wishes podcast.
I'm Tony Desiri along withLauren Mallard of all the magic travel.
Thanks for joining us.
Hope your holidays are going well.
And today on this episode,we're going to talk about the Walt
Disney World resorts.
The different level ofresorts, the different level of amenities
at each resort, and whenyou're choosing one, what kind of
things do you want to considerand where you're going to stay on
(00:26):
your next Walt Disney World vacation?
Hello, Lauren.
Hope the holidays are treatingyou well so far.
Hey.
Hey.
So far so good, I guess.
So far so good.
Yeah.
Ready or not, right?
It is a very good way to put that.
So far, so good.
Yeah.
Oh.
So we're going to talk aboutthe resorts because you, you've stayed
in.
Have you counted how manydifferent resorts you've stayed at?
I, I could probably countbetter at this point, the ones that
(00:47):
I haven't stayed at becauseI've stayed at almost all of them.
There's just a very, verysmall handful that I haven't stayed
at.
I've stayed at three.
Okay.
I wanted to stay at more.
We, we just keep going down,staying with folks and parents, and
we keep saying every time, thenext time we come, we're just going
to stay on property.
Love staying with my parentsand love visiting them as much as
I can in their older retiredyears, but I miss the resorts.
(01:08):
I miss the resort experience.
Yeah.
Before we do that, though, let's.
I want to talk about Tally the elf.
Tally the elf.
Okay.
Here's why I want to talkabout Tally the elf.
Because I, I, I've gone onthis little bit of a roller coaster
with him on social media.
So the first time I see aTally the elf, Tik Tok, I went, that's
awesome.
Yeah.
The 900th time I've saw aTally the elf, Tik Tok, I went, okay.
(01:29):
I'm not blaming Tally the elf.
He's given the same experienceto different people.
But I'm like, enough with thevideos we get.
We've seen it.
We've seen it, people.
When you go down there sharing your.
Oh, my God.
He called John naughty.
Yeah.
He's told 15 other people.
Everybody seems to be on thenaughty list.
So it's like I would beavoiding eye contact with Tally if
I'm watching the parade, honestly.
(01:50):
But I think he's hilarious.
He's absolutely great.
I don't know what his fate'sgonna be with being a cast member
at Walt Disney World.
I hope that they're not gonnafire him over going viral media.
We can't help ourselves as a society.
Right.
So this is what happens, right?
You.
They started doxing him andthey started finding out who he really
was, what his real name was,and that blows the magic.
(02:14):
And if you've ever been toDisney World and many of you listen
to this podcast, have you knowthat the person that is in character
is that thing, right?
It is that person.
Whether it is a humancharacter, like they're playing Gaston
or a dress up character.
If they're Mickey Mouse orWinnie the Pooh or Sleepy the Dwarf.
Yeah, whatever.
They're in.
And let me tell you a story.
(02:35):
My wife learned this the hardway years ago when.
When I think it wasn't Amberlyborn, it was Christopher when he
was little.
We went on a family vacationand we were getting Chris's picture
taken with like Donald Duckand Mickey Mouse and all that.
And my wife's standing therewhile he's going through all the
things and got a young lady,the handler is with them.
And they're just talking, youknow, talking the breeze about the
vacation.
And my wife goes, how hot isit in that costume?
(02:58):
And lady goes, what costume?
What are you doing?
As clear as day as if you'rejust two people having a private
conversation.
Lady says, what costume?
And my wife went, oh, I get it.
Okay.
So she just dropped it.
Yeah, it's op for the.
She said, that woman evenwouldn't even tell me that the person
was in a costume.
I go, yeah, I don't thinkthey're supposed to.
I was like, I don't thinkthey're supposed.
So Tally the Elf is reallyTally the Elf?
(03:19):
Yeah, it seems that way.
I don't care if his name isJohn Jacobs or whatever they're.
Whatever they doxed him as.
That's right.
If you see him out and about,then he must answer to Tally the.
L.
Tally the Elf.
So there was this Internetrumor that Disney has pulled him
from the parade, but nowthey're saying that it wasn't.
He wasn't pulled from the parade.
That he has.
It's a scheduling thing.
These happen.
And there's a new Tally the Elf.
(03:41):
But that's what you would say if.
Right.
It's like, okay, what have weactually done with him?
And are we.
Because here's the thing.
No news would be not good news.
Right, Right.
So, like, if we're staying inthe news, like, what's the harm?
That's right.
He's not doing anything.
That's that's harmful toDisney or to their brand.
(04:02):
He is doing his job.
It is everybody that hasdecided that Italy the Elf video
is the new greatest thing,even though we have 800 of them online.
Yes.
Of him with different people.
Yeah.
So I hope that Tally the Elfcomes back.
He's doing a great job.
He's doing what he's supposedto do.
Yeah.
Let's find him a permanentposition somewhere.
Yes.
Because even though my wifetold me, I said, man, these Tally
(04:23):
the Elf videos are getting old.
She goes, yeah, but they'renot old for the people who are there.
And I go, that's very true.
Good point.
Yes.
If you are experiencing theChristmas party for the first time
and he calls your brother orhe calls your sister or he calls
whoever naughty or nice basedon the Santa list, that's a great
experience.
That's an awesome take homeexperience that you definitely would
want on a video that you wantto keep.
(04:45):
Absolutely.
And you'd even want to post it.
And it could be costing usTally the Elf at the Christmas.
That's right.
It's kind of like going to the prices.
Right.
For the experience andactually getting picked to be be
on stage.
So if you're there and you'regetting picked to be able to be talking
to Tally the Elf, then it's great.
All right, so let's talk aboutDisney World resorts, because people
are planning their 20, 25trips and this is a question.
(05:05):
We get a lot of people saying,I want to stay on property.
I have no idea where to stayon property.
Especially when I'm not goingto say cost is no object when there's
enough wiggle room.
Right?
Yeah.
When somebody says, look, Idon't want to necessarily pay a deluxe
resort price or a moderateresort price because I don't know
how long I'm going to bethere, but I can, I don't know, should
(05:27):
I?
Is it good value?
What is your best advice onthose three levels of resorts?
On how you get people to say,look, to maximize your dollars, this
is what you're going to wantto do.
Yeah.
So this question comes up aton when I am planning vacations
for especially first timers.
Right.
And so what I like to do is Idon't like to overwhelm a client
(05:49):
and ask, you know, well, whatdo you like and what, what's your
budget and what any of that.
What I like to do is giveoption in each resort category and
say, okay, we have threecategories of different budget allowances
here at Disney.
We have value, we HaveModerate and we have Deluxe something.
(06:09):
They said something aboutchanging the names of those coming
in the near future, but ithasn't been changed yet.
So that's why I guarantee it won't.
Catch on for a while.
You know, I don't think itwill either.
And I'll probably still becalling them the old names just like
I'm still calling LightningLanes Fast Pass, but neither here
nor there.
But so what I like to do isexplain, explain what is involved
with each of those threecategories because you are getting
(06:32):
something with each of themthat's different than the other one.
I stayed at All Star Resort,All Star Sports years years ago.
I mean when at the time Ithink it was like 70 a night.
We're talking like 2008, my brother.
We only stayed one night.
But that the, the experiencekind of felt like, okay, I get this.
(06:53):
Sure.
Like I get, I get what I'm doing.
I'm just needing a bed.
Absolutely.
Even though the theming wasgreat, even though the amenities
were great, I was, I justneeded it first.
A bed.
That's right.
And so what I usually willtell people is the value resorts
and they've all been recentlyrefurbished within.
I say recently and that'swithin the last few years and they
(07:13):
really have been well done.
Yeah.
And so now it's a very small room.
So what I tell people is witha value resort you're looking at
a no frills option.
But you're still on Disney property.
You're still getting the sameperks, so to say as any other resort,
except for we'll talk aboutthe extended evening hours when we
(07:33):
get to the deluxe properties.
Right.
But you're still getting,you're still getting Disney transportation,
you're still getting earlyentry in the morning.
You're still getting so manyof those things at a lower price
point.
And so the rooms are going tobe the smallest in the value category.
You're going to have one queenbed and then you're going to have
a second queen bed.
That is not a pull out sofa.
(07:54):
It is a real traditionalmattress that pulls from the wall.
So it's a Murphy bed that canbe put back up into the wall to save
space for the day.
And so they're reallyutilizing every bit of that space
there.
And the one thing about it,when we stayed there and again this
was obviously it changed butwe, what we wanted with the kids
and everything was just thecomplete start to finish.
(08:16):
We were only going down for aday and then we were going to go
back.
We Were we were living inSouth Carolina at the time.
Again, this was years andyears ago.
And, and I know the policy haschanged, but like parking, you could
just park your car and take itand you didn't have to pay the fee
at the gate.
That was back then.
That's different now.
But even if you're staying fora short amount of time and it's easy
to just go to a localwherever, comfort in or whatever
(08:38):
it is in Orlando, you, you arecompletely 100% within the Disney.
Everybody at the hotel isthere for the same reason you're
at the hotel.
Exactly.
And that, that can be adifference whether because you can
be in a hotel where there's aconference going on, there's somebody
doing something else in Orlando.
But at Disney, the entireresort, no matter where you're staying,
is geared towards everyone'shaving the same vacation.
(09:00):
Everyone's doing vacation.
That's right.
And in, in that regard, yousee that the food courts are going
to be open to suit the park hours.
That's right.
Before and after.
You're going to find that andyou're going to find obviously the
transportation is going to bebetter when you are on Disney property.
I'm glad you brought that upbecause that's another thing that
(09:20):
I tell people about this allthe time.
Look, you can go to a resortthat will say we, we do shuttles.
Right.
That shuttle may not leavetill 9:00.
That's right.
And it may only come and comeback at 6.
Absolutely.
And it may only come once anhour, sometimes every 90 minutes
once you get into the day.
And I will say I havecomplained a time or two about Disney
(09:41):
transportation, but I'm onlywaiting maybe 20 minutes.
That's right, exactly.
So keep that in mind.
You have constant bustransportation, Skyliner transportation
when you're on property.
So let's, let's talk about whomight want to stay in a value resort.
Regardless of what your budget is.
For obvious reasons, if yourbudget aligns best with a value resort,
it's a fantastic option.
(10:02):
But let's say those peoplethat want to be up before the park
opens, be at the park forearly entry and not leave the park
until it is closed down.
That is a perfect, perfectguest for a value resort.
Exactly.
And here I have a friend ofmine who works for a company that
is based out of Orlando andthen he goes down there for business.
No need to get a rent a car,they pick the company up.
(10:23):
But there were, there are offdays where they could go.
You want to go To Disney, youwant to go to Universal, you have
a free day.
And he has pointed out to methe hotel we're staying at had shuttles
at like twice in the morningand like three times at night.
And I, and I couldn't staywhen the park was closed.
Till the park was closed.
I had to make sure I was backin the shuttle lot.
You didn't feel like you gotvalue for your money.
(10:43):
Right.
Because you're paying goodmoney for the park ticket.
And I'm like, I'm gettingthere at 10:30 and I'm leaving at
6:00.
The park's open till 10.
Yeah.
You know what?
Not.
But this time, I mean, I'vehad dinner at Hollywood Studios after
the park was closed andthere's a bus waiting for me to take
me back to my hotel.
Absolutely.
And that's.
Disney is always going to makesure that those buses are running
up to a couple hours afterpark closing to make sure that they're
(11:05):
getting all of their guestsback to their resorts.
I think you hear that too.
When you're on the tram.
They'll, they'll say thingslike, we'll be running, we'll be
running trams until 2 o'clockin the morning after the Christmas
party or after the, theHalloween party.
They're going to be runningthose all night long.
Yeah.
To make sure everyone is home.
There's nobody stranded in them.
That's right.
That's right.
So let's stay with the valueresorts and then we'll move our way
(11:27):
up.
From the standpoint of, again,it's not frills, but pool quality
food quality cleanliness.
How have you found those orhow have you found people who have
stayed there recently?
How have they found those amenities?
Yeah, so cleanliness acrossthe board, I think is a pretty standard
across the board for Disney.
So you're going to find aclean room.
If you don't find a cleanroom, tell somebody they're going
(11:49):
to fix it very quickly withDisney so that, that I would not
be concerned with in any ofthe levels of the resorts at Disney.
Food is actually with thevalue resorts.
The food courts are some ofthe best food courts in all of the
resorts.
So they're going to have aquick service food court at value
resorts, whether that be AllStars, which there are three All
(12:10):
Stars resorts, All StarsMusic, All Star Sports and All Star
Music.
I'm sorry, All Star Mov wasthe other one I haven't said.
And those are three sister resorts.
And then there is Pop Century,which is my Personal favorite of
the Value resorts.
Yeah, I want to get to thatpretty soon because I've never stayed
there.
But every time I go I say, I just.
Everyone comments how greatPop Century is.
(12:31):
Yeah, we stayed across the wayat Art of Animation, but boy, Pop
Century gets a lot of praise.
Yes.
And Art of Animation is thelast of the value resorts.
So you've got all of thosethat are all kind of offering something
different, but they all have afood court that's going to offer
pretty good variety in there.
They're not going to have asit down restaurant at a Value resort.
And they're also not going to have.
When you're talking aboutthings that other levels of resorts
(12:53):
have that the values don't,they're not going to have a water
slide.
So we're talking about the pool.
It's a pretty basic pool whenyou come to a value Resort.
But if you're looking forsomewhere just to cool off in the
middle of the day, it's agreat spot for that.
So that's, that's kind of,that's kind of the X's and O's of
what's going to be includedwith the value resort.
I've also given this adviceand I've said, listen, I don't know
if this will happen whenyou're there.
And honest to God, I don'teven know if they do it now.
(13:15):
But they're the all starresorts used to be infamous for.
That's where the cheerleadingsquad is going to stay.
That's where the band that'splaying from the high school in Montana
is going to stay.
Yeah.
And it's still that way largely.
Yeah.
So if you are a family and youlike a little quiet, you're going
to get a lot of times whenthey're, those kids are in town,
they're going to hang out,they're going to be loud, they're
going to run around, they'regoing to do teenage things at the
(13:37):
resort during the off hours.
So keep that in mind.
That is where most of thosegroups that come to perform at Disney
to do something at wherever,whether it's the ESPN complex or
they're performing in theparks or whatever it may be, that's
where they're going to be stayed.
Absolutely.
So let me tell you why I lovePop Century.
Yes.
So Pop Century is.
It's a really large resort.
(13:57):
So what it is is it's, it'sthemed after pop culture.
So you're going to have a 50ssection, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.
And then the main area wherethe houses everything pop, which
is their food court, theirmerchandise shop, and then they have
a couple of pools.
Again, very basic pools.
What I love about Pop Centuryis there's only one bus stop there,
(14:22):
which is amazing because whenyou get to resorts that have four
internal bus stops, sometimeseight internal bus stops, then your
trip to the park can get closeto an hour when it should be 10 to
15 minutes.
Right.
So no matter where you'restaying at on Pop Century property,
it's really not that far of awalk to the bus stop.
Now, within the last fiveyears or so, you've also had the
(14:43):
addition of the Skyliner.
Right.
And so pop.
Yes, Pop Century and Art ofAnimation share a Skyliner station.
And that station will go toCaribbean beach, which is the hub
of the Skyliner.
And then from there we'll goon to either Hollywood Studios or
Epcot.
So that is a huge perk thatyou're getting a room at a really
(15:05):
great price, but you'regetting that exceptional transportation.
And the Caribbean beach iskind of like the ticket and transportation
center.
You're going to get off there,then you're going to get on whatever
one you want to go to.
Either one Correct.
Of those locations.
Yeah.
All right, so let's go on tothe deluxe.
Oh, let's stay at Art ofAnimation for a second.
That's considered a value, butit's way more expensive than the
other one.
So.
Yeah, so that's, that's agreat point because Art of Animation
(15:27):
provides something that therest of the values do not provide.
And that's the family suites.
So if you have a family ofsix, up to six people can stay in
a family suite.
Now you're not going to getthat at what you would consider a
value price, but you aregetting a really, really nice suite.
So you're getting a bedroomwith a queen bed and then a living
area that has two fold outdouble size beds and two full bathrooms.
(15:52):
So it's a game changer.
It is definitely not somethingthat I would, that I would recommend
for six adults or.
But if you have a family withfour children, it's a great option
for that.
We loved it when we went in 2012.
We went just before it justhad opened.
Not that long when it opened.
So there were little bugs thatworked out.
I think I told the story aboutthe air conditioning not working
(16:13):
and then they sent us to thecars suite.
But the theming is unbelievable.
It is unbelievable.
Yeah, it is.
You walking through the LionKing area, there is you Know, there's
the Lion King motif and it'sin the hallways, it's in the room,
the cars area, the cozy conesright by the pool area.
Again, same thing allthroughout the room.
(16:34):
It's all themed to thatsection of Artem Animation.
Now they don't do theunderwater music anymore, but that
was always a cool thing.
They largest pools on in theresort property.
That's right.
Yes.
And again, it's, it's still afairly basic pool, but it's a really
big pool.
And so it's a great, A reallygreat resort if you have kids that
are into any of thoseparticular movies.
(16:55):
Is it true they turned it offbecause kids were staying under the
water too long to listen tothe music?
Oh, that's hilarious.
I haven't heard that theory.
No, I thought a.
I heard that he used to gounderneath it and hear music.
It was great.
And then somebody said theyturned it off because people were
like trying to stay as long asthey can.
Oh, how terrible.
Yeah.
Which, by the way, I, I giveDisney credit.
I'm surprised they never, notone person in their massive corporate
(17:19):
structure thought of that whenthey brought that up.
That would be a huge, hugeliability concern.
We're gonna put music underwater.
And not one lawyer went, letme tell you why that's not a great
idea.
Just in case this happens.
That's right.
You know, it's usually theirjob, but.
But the we found was really great.
It was a little tight for thelargeness of the resort, but not
(17:39):
too over cumbersome.
Yeah.
That we couldn't grab somebreakfast sandwiches and get moving
on our day.
The bus stop was veryconvenient to get to.
So art of animation, I just, Ilove it and I recommend it all the
time to people, especially ifyou have kids who just love to be
immersed in the entire theming.
Oh, absolutely.
Of the restaurant, especiallythe animation.
So let's get to the deluxe resorts.
Let's go to moderate.
(17:59):
Let's go.
Moderate resorts.
I'm sorry, let's go.
Let's not jump to the supersize one.
Let's go to the moderate resorts.
Okay.
Yeah.
So moderate.
There's going to be.
There's four moderate resorts.
And again, I have my favoritesin the moderate category.
You've got.
We'll start with Caribbean beach.
Since we've mentioned it already.
Right.
So Caribbean beach is one ofthe largest resorts on property.
(18:20):
And for that reason it's neverbeen a go to for me.
It's one of the few that I'venever stayed in because of the size
of the resort.
So you're going to haveseveral internal bus stops.
But again, what has changedthe game for Caribbean beach in the
past few years is it is thehub of the Skyliner station.
There's no stopping at another hub.
You go either straight toHollywood Studios or you go straight
(18:41):
to Epcot from there, whichgives it a really big advantage at
this point.
However, I still think thatthe resort size overall gives it
a disadvantage.
I've heard people say thateven though there's multiple stops,
it's a long way to those stops from.
From anywhere within the resort.
It's still a good little haulto get to the bus stop.
(19:02):
Yeah.
And you know, what I usuallywill do is recommend and request
for clients that are stayingat Caribbean beach one of the buildings
that is closest to the Rivierabus stop and the Riviera Skyliner
system.
And I say, you know, if we'rein this building, then we can use
the amenities over at Rivierafor their transportation and make
it a lot easier.
(19:22):
So.
But that's not going to beguaranteed, obviously.
But so really what you'regetting with a moderate resort over
a value resort is you'regetting a little more atmosphere.
So if you have a group ofadults that don't want the in your
face theming of art ofanimation or pop century, then a
moderate resort is a greatoption for not a lot more money.
And the rooms are a little bitbigger, same kind of layout.
(19:43):
You're going to have two queen beds.
It's not going to fold intothe wall.
At a moderate resort, thebathrooms are a little more spacious
in the moderates than they arein the values.
And then at some of themoderate resorts we have a sit down
restaurant, whereas at thevalue resorts we don't.
Yeah, and I think too you sayit's not in your face theming, you
are getting some theming,which is cool.
But it's not like you said,it's not this.
(20:05):
There's not a whole bunch ofstatues everywhere.
And that's right, it's not.
So I don't want to use theword cartoonish because we're talking
about an animation.
Call it a little more grownup, I guess.
Exactly.
So it can be a little more romantic.
I've had clients that havewanted to stay at Port Orleans Riverside
for a honeymoon because it is,it's beautiful.
It's on the river and thebuildings there are so beautiful.
(20:26):
My favorite moderate resort,if we're talking about favorites
versus not favorites, I'mgoing to say is French Quarter.
Orleans French Quarter isfantastic because it is a small resort.
So there's just four buildings there.
There they have beignets,which are delicious, delicious.
The food court is a littlesmall, but it's good.
This was the very first resortI stayed in on my very first trip
(20:49):
to Disney World when I wasfive years old.
And I still remember theSerpent Pool.
Serpent Pool.
Yeah, it's still there to thisday and so it's a lot of fun for
kids.
There's a fun splash pad forkids there.
So if I were going to choose amoderate resort, this one is going
to be my ch choice in most cases.
But caveat to that, if I canstay in the tower at Coronado Springs,
(21:11):
then that's where I'm going to go.
And that's the next moderateresort that I'd like to talk about
because Coronado Springscaters to a lot of conference guests.
That's right.
So in the past, a lot ofpeople have seen it as the business
resort.
It's really just, you're notgoing to see as many vacationers
there.
You're going to see moreconference guests.
But they've built the towerwithin the past few years and it
really feels like a deluxeresort at a moderate price price.
(21:34):
All right, so.
And they have the really cool,cool themed pool.
Oh, absolutely.
Beautiful.
It's, it's great.
It's fantastic.
All right, so let's talkabout, go back to French Quarter
for second for Riverside.
Now, one of the.
I stayed at Riverside 10, 11,12 years ago, and when we first got
to Riverside, one of thethings that I loved was I, it was
so big that there was a, therewasn't a, a feeling of, okay, it's
(21:59):
not just a hotel.
There's.
There were grounds to walk on.
You could go fishing.
There were hammocks just atdifferent areas.
You could just lay in a hammock.
You can really enjoy an off day.
And that's what I kind of wantto lean towards is there.
A lot of people are takingthese vacations that are seven days.
They want to do five days atthe parks and have two off days to
relax at the resort.
So where you stay at theresort matters.
(22:19):
Now we, my wife and I said,look, we got kids, they want to go
to the resort all the time.
That's great.
Now, we did take a half dayfor the pool and whatnot, but I thought
to myself, if I had a full dayand I was relaxing just, just to
get away from the parks for abit, this is something I would like.
Different things That I could do.
Just take long walks.
Absolutely.
Big pool to swim in.
Like I said, a hammock, hottub, all those kind of things.
(22:40):
Restaurant, all that.
I, I loved the layout of itbecause I could imagine spending
just a day of relaxation justwalking around that place.
Yeah.
And that's where you can lookat the different theming for each
of the resorts because theyeach have their own personality.
And you can look and say,well, where would I enjoy the most
spending my time?
And you can kind of, kind ofnarrow it down from there.
And I love taking the boatride to Disney Springs.
(23:00):
Yeah, it's peaceful.
It's nice.
You could see, you know, somecool, really cool stuff as you get
to Disney Springs.
Walk around Disney Springs abit and then get on the boat and
head back.
Yeah.
So.
All right, so we're gonna stayin the deluxe or you want to move
on?
I mean, moderator, you want tomove to deluxe?
I think we've pretty wellcovered the moderate.
All right.
Now, I think I.
When it comes to deluxe, Iknow you've stated pretty much all
of them.
I have, yeah.
So let's get, let's start withone of your favorites.
(23:22):
Okay.
So if I'm going to talk aboutmy, my, my very favorite, it's going
to be Polynesian.
Yeah.
And the reason being becausethe convenience and the location
of the Polynesian, it justcan't be beat.
So you're right in the middleof the monorail line.
What I like about thePolynesian over the other two monorail
resorts is its proximity tothe transportation and ticket center.
(23:42):
So if you are staying at thePolynesian, depending on which building
you're in, you can actuallywalk over to the transportation and
ticket center to hit thatEPCOT monorail and it saves you a
step.
So, so instead of getting onthe resort monorail and riding around
all the way to thetransportation and ticket center
to switch the track, then youcan essentially just go straight
(24:03):
to that track.
So it really gives you a levelup on that convenience.
Now, in the monorail resorts,typically, let's say, let's say for
the deluxe resorts fortransportation, you're always going
to find at least two modes oftransportation with a deluxe resort,
with the exception of AnimalKingdom Lodge, because that one is
because of the location, youonly have bus transportation from
(24:27):
there.
But all of the other deluxeresorts are going to offer at least
two modes of transportation,being that whether you can walk to
a park or take a boat ormonorail or a bus.
So that is a perk already atthe get go I think for many.
People, their first time atDisney, it's the first part, it's
the first resort they, theyreally see, they seek and see.
(24:47):
Contemporary Grand Floridianis just a little bit too much on
the left hand side when youget there.
But it's really like the firstone that's right there and you're
100% right.
When we went to havebreakfast, we didn't know where,
you know, we were.
How do we get there from our resort?
Like just go to the ticketsaying you can walk right over there.
Right.
We got to the tickets andwe're like, oh yeah, it's right there.
It's right there.
Walked right over there.
And you kind of, you kind oflike I kind of thought it wasn't
(25:09):
as close.
And then I was like, oh no,it's way.
It's closer than I originally thought.
Yeah.
So really.
So if you're, if you'retalking about the different categories
within the deluxe category, Iguess you can say we can talk about
the different locations of them.
So you can kind of, kind oflump them together.
In monorail resorts, you'regoing to have the convenience to
Magic Kingdom and Epcot viathe monorail.
(25:31):
And then you're going to havebus transportation to the other two
from there.
Now then you go over to theEpcot resorts and we're going to
lump together Boardwalk, Yachtand Beach Club and you can even throw
in Swan and Dolphin, eventhough they're not owned by Disney.
They are.
They do get deluxe amenitiesand deluxe perks as a part of that.
And then you're going to haveyour other ones, which I like to
(25:52):
call sometimes Deluxe Lightbecause they price out better than
the other ones.
And that's Animal KingdomLodge and Wilderness Lodge.
Wilderness Lodge is going tobe really close to Magic Kingdom,
but not on the monorail.
And then Animal Kingdom Lodgeis really close to Animal Kingdom
even though it is a bus ride away.
But those are fantastic valuesif you want to get in on a deluxe
resort at a little lower price.
(26:13):
We didn't stay there, but wespent a lot of time at Boardwalk.
One of our kind of like halfdays near Epcot.
And a lot of it was just mywife and daughter went to Disney
Springs.
The bus took them back there,my son and I met them there, spent
a lot of time there.
There.
That was a, a very cooly themed.
Yeah, like just that feelingof like old Atlantic City was a real.
(26:35):
It was really neat to havethat experience.
But I keep looking over on theother side and I haven't gone over
to the, you know, yacht andBeach Club, but I know you've stayed
there and the water park isjust second to none.
Yes, the pool at the YachtonBeach Club is really fantastic and
it really puts that one abovefor so many reasons.
And then just the fact thatyou can walk to Epcot from those
resorts makes that, that'ssuch a really good choice, especially
(26:57):
if you have park hoppers.
If I have clients that are inany of the Epcot area resorts that
you can walk to Epcot, Ialways, always tell them a park hopper
is a must because I don't carewhere you've spent the morning, you
may want to go into Epcot fora dessert or for a drink or for dinner
that night because it's justtoo easy not to.
Yeah, that's exactly right.
You definitely want toexperience Epcot at night around
(27:18):
the, you know, going aroundthe world.
Like you definitely want towalk around it.
So if, even if having an offday and you're just saying, I'm just
going to relax at the resort,you're right.
Having that ability to justkind of get in there and just walk
around instead of, I'vealready been to Hollywood Studios
and I can't go in.
Go, go, take a, go take a nicejaunt around Epcot center at night.
Have a drink, have a, have asnack, enjoy it.
(27:38):
Because if you're that close.
And speaking of night, this isthe, this is the main perk that deluxe
resorts are getting now thatthe other levels of resorts are not
getting.
And that's ex, It's a long,convoluted name.
Evening Extended.
Nope, that's not it.
Extended Evening hours forDeluxe guests, I think is what it's
called.
So, and those are offered twoto three nights per week, depending
(28:02):
on the season.
Not usually during holidayseason when there's parties going
on, that's not always going tobe offered.
But one park, two to threetimes a week is going to stay open
two hours later than normal.
Closing time only for deluxegas guest.
It's no additional charge forthose guests.
And everything in the park forthe most part is open and it is a
huge, huge perk.
(28:23):
That is a huge perk.
If you can definitely staylate, stay late.
If you got kids and you can,it's too bad, but it's really a cool
experience.
Listen, I, I, I'm a big fan ofthese parks at night.
I'm a huge fan of just theatmosphere when the sun goes down.
I, I mean, listen, I'm anearly morning, not necessarily huge
early morning guy, but with myjob, I'm more early morning than
ever.
Yeah, but, but the nightfeeling of just whether it's walking
(28:47):
around the world at Epcot orMagic Kingdom, when the it starts
to slow down and everyone'sslows down, feels the glow of the
parks, it's, it's phenomenalif you get to experience that, especially
in a low crowd time, I highlyrecommend it.
It makes a difference.
Absolutely.
And then the other thing thatI would say that sets the deluxe
resorts apart from everybody,from all the other resorts is the
(29:09):
dining on property.
And you're going to findtypically at least two sit down dining
options.
If you're a family that likesto sit down for dinner every night
or sit down for breakfast inthe morning, this is going to be
a fantastic option for you.
Absolutely.
All right.
We would love to get you helpyou out with your Disney vacation.
So let either me or Laurenhelp you out next year, 2025 or even
a quick trip.
(29:29):
You can reach Lauren atlauren@allthemagictravel.com reachme
travelwithtonyd gmail.com we'dlove to give you the advice as we
have you help you get readyfor your upcoming Disney World vacation.
Have a wonderful holiday.
Hit us up next week.
Don't forget to subscribe tothe podcast.
Leave us a five star review.
That's it for our Wands andWishes edition.
And again, happy holidays fromall of us.
Hello there and welcome toanother edition of the Wands and
Wishes podcast.
I'm Tony Desiri along withLauren Mallard of all the magic travel.
Thanks for joining us.
Hope your holidays are going well.
And today on this episode,we're going to talk about the Walt
Disney World resorts.
The different level ofresorts, the different level of amenities
at each resort, and whenyou're choosing one, what kind of
things do you want to considerand where you're going to stay on
(00:26):
your next Walt Disney World vacation?
Hello, Lauren.
Hope the holidays are treatingyou well so far.
Hey.
Hey.
So far so good, I guess.
So far so good.
Yeah.
Ready or not, right?
It is a very good way to put that.
So far, so good.
Yeah.
Oh.
So we're going to talk aboutthe resorts because you, you've stayed
in.
Have you counted how manydifferent resorts you've stayed at?
I, I could probably countbetter at this point, the ones that
(00:47):
I haven't stayed at becauseI've stayed at almost all of them.
There's just a very, verysmall handful that I haven't stayed
at.
I've stayed at three.
Okay.
I wanted to stay at more.
We, we just keep going down,staying with folks and parents, and
we keep saying every time, thenext time we come, we're just going
to stay on property.
Love staying with my parentsand love visiting them as much as
I can in their older retiredyears, but I miss the resorts.
(01:08):
I miss the resort experience.
Yeah.
Before we do that, though, let's.
I want to talk about Tally the elf.
Tally the elf.
Okay.
Here's why I want to talkabout Tally the elf.
Because I, I, I've gone onthis little bit of a roller coaster
with him on social media.
So the first time I see aTally the elf, Tik Tok, I went, that's
awesome.
Yeah.
The 900th time I've saw aTally the elf, Tik Tok, I went, okay.
(01:29):
I'm not blaming Tally the elf.
He's given the same experienceto different people.
But I'm like, enough with thevideos we get.
We've seen it.
We've seen it, people.
When you go down there sharing your.
Oh, my God.
He called John naughty.
Yeah.
He's told 15 other people.
Everybody seems to be on thenaughty list.
So it's like I would beavoiding eye contact with Tally if
I'm watching the parade, honestly.
(01:50):
But I think he's hilarious.
He's absolutely great.
I don't know what his fate'sgonna be with being a cast member
at Walt Disney World.
I hope that they're not gonnafire him over going viral media.
We can't help ourselves as a society.
Right.
So this is what happens, right?
You.
They started doxing him andthey started finding out who he really
was, what his real name was,and that blows the magic.
(02:14):
And if you've ever been toDisney World and many of you listen
to this podcast, have you knowthat the person that is in character
is that thing, right?
It is that person.
Whether it is a humancharacter, like they're playing Gaston
or a dress up character.
If they're Mickey Mouse orWinnie the Pooh or Sleepy the Dwarf.
Yeah, whatever.
They're in.
And let me tell you a story.
(02:35):
My wife learned this the hardway years ago when.
When I think it wasn't Amberlyborn, it was Christopher when he
was little.
We went on a family vacationand we were getting Chris's picture
taken with like Donald Duckand Mickey Mouse and all that.
And my wife's standing therewhile he's going through all the
things and got a young lady,the handler is with them.
And they're just talking, youknow, talking the breeze about the
vacation.
And my wife goes, how hot isit in that costume?
(02:58):
And lady goes, what costume?
What are you doing?
As clear as day as if you'rejust two people having a private
conversation.
Lady says, what costume?
And my wife went, oh, I get it.
Okay.
So she just dropped it.
Yeah, it's op for the.
She said, that woman evenwouldn't even tell me that the person
was in a costume.
I go, yeah, I don't thinkthey're supposed to.
I was like, I don't thinkthey're supposed.
So Tally the Elf is reallyTally the Elf?
(03:19):
Yeah, it seems that way.
I don't care if his name isJohn Jacobs or whatever they're.
Whatever they doxed him as.
That's right.
If you see him out and about,then he must answer to Tally the.
L.
Tally the Elf.
So there was this Internetrumor that Disney has pulled him
from the parade, but nowthey're saying that it wasn't.
He wasn't pulled from the parade.
That he has.
It's a scheduling thing.
These happen.
And there's a new Tally the Elf.
(03:41):
But that's what you would say if.
Right.
It's like, okay, what have weactually done with him?
And are we.
Because here's the thing.
No news would be not good news.
Right, Right.
So, like, if we're staying inthe news, like, what's the harm?
That's right.
He's not doing anything.
That's that's harmful toDisney or to their brand.
(04:02):
He is doing his job.
It is everybody that hasdecided that Italy the Elf video
is the new greatest thing,even though we have 800 of them online.
Yes.
Of him with different people.
Yeah.
So I hope that Tally the Elfcomes back.
He's doing a great job.
He's doing what he's supposedto do.
Yeah.
Let's find him a permanentposition somewhere.
Yes.
Because even though my wifetold me, I said, man, these Tally
(04:23):
the Elf videos are getting old.
She goes, yeah, but they'renot old for the people who are there.
And I go, that's very true.
Good point.
Yes.
If you are experiencing theChristmas party for the first time
and he calls your brother orhe calls your sister or he calls
whoever naughty or nice basedon the Santa list, that's a great
experience.
That's an awesome take homeexperience that you definitely would
want on a video that you wantto keep.
(04:45):
Absolutely.
And you'd even want to post it.
And it could be costing usTally the Elf at the Christmas.
That's right.
It's kind of like going to the prices.
Right.
For the experience andactually getting picked to be be
on stage.
So if you're there and you'regetting picked to be able to be talking
to Tally the Elf, then it's great.
All right, so let's talk aboutDisney World resorts, because people
are planning their 20, 25trips and this is a question.
(05:05):
We get a lot of people saying,I want to stay on property.
I have no idea where to stayon property.
Especially when I'm not goingto say cost is no object when there's
enough wiggle room.
Right?
Yeah.
When somebody says, look, Idon't want to necessarily pay a deluxe
resort price or a moderateresort price because I don't know
how long I'm going to bethere, but I can, I don't know, should
(05:27):
I?
Is it good value?
What is your best advice onthose three levels of resorts?
On how you get people to say,look, to maximize your dollars, this
is what you're going to wantto do.
Yeah.
So this question comes up aton when I am planning vacations
for especially first timers.
Right.
And so what I like to do is Idon't like to overwhelm a client
(05:49):
and ask, you know, well, whatdo you like and what, what's your
budget and what any of that.
What I like to do is giveoption in each resort category and
say, okay, we have threecategories of different budget allowances
here at Disney.
We have value, we HaveModerate and we have Deluxe something.
(06:09):
They said something aboutchanging the names of those coming
in the near future, but ithasn't been changed yet.
So that's why I guarantee it won't.
Catch on for a while.
You know, I don't think itwill either.
And I'll probably still becalling them the old names just like
I'm still calling LightningLanes Fast Pass, but neither here
nor there.
But so what I like to do isexplain, explain what is involved
with each of those threecategories because you are getting
(06:32):
something with each of themthat's different than the other one.
I stayed at All Star Resort,All Star Sports years years ago.
I mean when at the time Ithink it was like 70 a night.
We're talking like 2008, my brother.
We only stayed one night.
But that the, the experiencekind of felt like, okay, I get this.
(06:53):
Sure.
Like I get, I get what I'm doing.
I'm just needing a bed.
Absolutely.
Even though the theming wasgreat, even though the amenities
were great, I was, I justneeded it first.
A bed.
That's right.
And so what I usually willtell people is the value resorts
and they've all been recentlyrefurbished within.
I say recently and that'swithin the last few years and they
(07:13):
really have been well done.
Yeah.
And so now it's a very small room.
So what I tell people is witha value resort you're looking at
a no frills option.
But you're still on Disney property.
You're still getting the sameperks, so to say as any other resort,
except for we'll talk aboutthe extended evening hours when we
(07:33):
get to the deluxe properties.
Right.
But you're still getting,you're still getting Disney transportation,
you're still getting earlyentry in the morning.
You're still getting so manyof those things at a lower price
point.
And so the rooms are going tobe the smallest in the value category.
You're going to have one queenbed and then you're going to have
a second queen bed.
That is not a pull out sofa.
(07:54):
It is a real traditionalmattress that pulls from the wall.
So it's a Murphy bed that canbe put back up into the wall to save
space for the day.
And so they're reallyutilizing every bit of that space
there.
And the one thing about it,when we stayed there and again this
was obviously it changed butwe, what we wanted with the kids
and everything was just thecomplete start to finish.
(08:16):
We were only going down for aday and then we were going to go
back.
We Were we were living inSouth Carolina at the time.
Again, this was years andyears ago.
And, and I know the policy haschanged, but like parking, you could
just park your car and take itand you didn't have to pay the fee
at the gate.
That was back then.
That's different now.
But even if you're staying fora short amount of time and it's easy
to just go to a localwherever, comfort in or whatever
(08:38):
it is in Orlando, you, you arecompletely 100% within the Disney.
Everybody at the hotel isthere for the same reason you're
at the hotel.
Exactly.
And that, that can be adifference whether because you can
be in a hotel where there's aconference going on, there's somebody
doing something else in Orlando.
But at Disney, the entireresort, no matter where you're staying,
is geared towards everyone'shaving the same vacation.
(09:00):
Everyone's doing vacation.
That's right.
And in, in that regard, yousee that the food courts are going
to be open to suit the park hours.
That's right.
Before and after.
You're going to find that andyou're going to find obviously the
transportation is going to bebetter when you are on Disney property.
I'm glad you brought that upbecause that's another thing that
(09:20):
I tell people about this allthe time.
Look, you can go to a resortthat will say we, we do shuttles.
Right.
That shuttle may not leavetill 9:00.
That's right.
And it may only come and comeback at 6.
Absolutely.
And it may only come once anhour, sometimes every 90 minutes
once you get into the day.
And I will say I havecomplained a time or two about Disney
(09:41):
transportation, but I'm onlywaiting maybe 20 minutes.
That's right, exactly.
So keep that in mind.
You have constant bustransportation, Skyliner transportation
when you're on property.
So let's, let's talk about whomight want to stay in a value resort.
Regardless of what your budget is.
For obvious reasons, if yourbudget aligns best with a value resort,
it's a fantastic option.
(10:02):
But let's say those peoplethat want to be up before the park
opens, be at the park forearly entry and not leave the park
until it is closed down.
That is a perfect, perfectguest for a value resort.
Exactly.
And here I have a friend ofmine who works for a company that
is based out of Orlando andthen he goes down there for business.
No need to get a rent a car,they pick the company up.
(10:23):
But there were, there are offdays where they could go.
You want to go To Disney, youwant to go to Universal, you have
a free day.
And he has pointed out to methe hotel we're staying at had shuttles
at like twice in the morningand like three times at night.
And I, and I couldn't staywhen the park was closed.
Till the park was closed.
I had to make sure I was backin the shuttle lot.
You didn't feel like you gotvalue for your money.
(10:43):
Right.
Because you're paying goodmoney for the park ticket.
And I'm like, I'm gettingthere at 10:30 and I'm leaving at
6:00.
The park's open till 10.
Yeah.
You know what?
Not.
But this time, I mean, I'vehad dinner at Hollywood Studios after
the park was closed andthere's a bus waiting for me to take
me back to my hotel.
Absolutely.
And that's.
Disney is always going to makesure that those buses are running
up to a couple hours afterpark closing to make sure that they're
(11:05):
getting all of their guestsback to their resorts.
I think you hear that too.
When you're on the tram.
They'll, they'll say thingslike, we'll be running, we'll be
running trams until 2 o'clockin the morning after the Christmas
party or after the, theHalloween party.
They're going to be runningthose all night long.
Yeah.
To make sure everyone is home.
There's nobody stranded in them.
That's right.
That's right.
So let's stay with the valueresorts and then we'll move our way
(11:27):
up.
From the standpoint of, again,it's not frills, but pool quality
food quality cleanliness.
How have you found those orhow have you found people who have
stayed there recently?
How have they found those amenities?
Yeah, so cleanliness acrossthe board, I think is a pretty standard
across the board for Disney.
So you're going to find aclean room.
If you don't find a cleanroom, tell somebody they're going
(11:49):
to fix it very quickly withDisney so that, that I would not
be concerned with in any ofthe levels of the resorts at Disney.
Food is actually with thevalue resorts.
The food courts are some ofthe best food courts in all of the
resorts.
So they're going to have aquick service food court at value
resorts, whether that be AllStars, which there are three All
(12:10):
Stars resorts, All StarsMusic, All Star Sports and All Star
Music.
I'm sorry, All Star Mov wasthe other one I haven't said.
And those are three sister resorts.
And then there is Pop Century,which is my Personal favorite of
the Value resorts.
Yeah, I want to get to thatpretty soon because I've never stayed
there.
But every time I go I say, I just.
Everyone comments how greatPop Century is.
(12:31):
Yeah, we stayed across the wayat Art of Animation, but boy, Pop
Century gets a lot of praise.
Yes.
And Art of Animation is thelast of the value resorts.
So you've got all of thosethat are all kind of offering something
different, but they all have afood court that's going to offer
pretty good variety in there.
They're not going to have asit down restaurant at a Value resort.
And they're also not going to have.
When you're talking aboutthings that other levels of resorts
(12:53):
have that the values don't,they're not going to have a water
slide.
So we're talking about the pool.
It's a pretty basic pool whenyou come to a value Resort.
But if you're looking forsomewhere just to cool off in the
middle of the day, it's agreat spot for that.
So that's, that's kind of,that's kind of the X's and O's of
what's going to be includedwith the value resort.
I've also given this adviceand I've said, listen, I don't know
if this will happen whenyou're there.
And honest to God, I don'teven know if they do it now.
(13:15):
But they're the all starresorts used to be infamous for.
That's where the cheerleadingsquad is going to stay.
That's where the band that'splaying from the high school in Montana
is going to stay.
Yeah.
And it's still that way largely.
Yeah.
So if you are a family and youlike a little quiet, you're going
to get a lot of times whenthey're, those kids are in town,
they're going to hang out,they're going to be loud, they're
going to run around, they'regoing to do teenage things at the
(13:37):
resort during the off hours.
So keep that in mind.
That is where most of thosegroups that come to perform at Disney
to do something at wherever,whether it's the ESPN complex or
they're performing in theparks or whatever it may be, that's
where they're going to be stayed.
Absolutely.
So let me tell you why I lovePop Century.
Yes.
So Pop Century is.
It's a really large resort.
(13:57):
So what it is is it's, it'sthemed after pop culture.
So you're going to have a 50ssection, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.
And then the main area wherethe houses everything pop, which
is their food court, theirmerchandise shop, and then they have
a couple of pools.
Again, very basic pools.
What I love about Pop Centuryis there's only one bus stop there,
(14:22):
which is amazing because whenyou get to resorts that have four
internal bus stops, sometimeseight internal bus stops, then your
trip to the park can get closeto an hour when it should be 10 to
15 minutes.
Right.
So no matter where you'restaying at on Pop Century property,
it's really not that far of awalk to the bus stop.
Now, within the last fiveyears or so, you've also had the
(14:43):
addition of the Skyliner.
Right.
And so pop.
Yes, Pop Century and Art ofAnimation share a Skyliner station.
And that station will go toCaribbean beach, which is the hub
of the Skyliner.
And then from there we'll goon to either Hollywood Studios or
Epcot.
So that is a huge perk thatyou're getting a room at a really
(15:05):
great price, but you'regetting that exceptional transportation.
And the Caribbean beach iskind of like the ticket and transportation
center.
You're going to get off there,then you're going to get on whatever
one you want to go to.
Either one Correct.
Of those locations.
Yeah.
All right, so let's go on tothe deluxe.
Oh, let's stay at Art ofAnimation for a second.
That's considered a value, butit's way more expensive than the
other one.
So.
Yeah, so that's, that's agreat point because Art of Animation
(15:27):
provides something that therest of the values do not provide.
And that's the family suites.
So if you have a family ofsix, up to six people can stay in
a family suite.
Now you're not going to getthat at what you would consider a
value price, but you aregetting a really, really nice suite.
So you're getting a bedroomwith a queen bed and then a living
area that has two fold outdouble size beds and two full bathrooms.
(15:52):
So it's a game changer.
It is definitely not somethingthat I would, that I would recommend
for six adults or.
But if you have a family withfour children, it's a great option
for that.
We loved it when we went in 2012.
We went just before it justhad opened.
Not that long when it opened.
So there were little bugs thatworked out.
I think I told the story aboutthe air conditioning not working
(16:13):
and then they sent us to thecars suite.
But the theming is unbelievable.
It is unbelievable.
Yeah, it is.
You walking through the LionKing area, there is you Know, there's
the Lion King motif and it'sin the hallways, it's in the room,
the cars area, the cozy conesright by the pool area.
Again, same thing allthroughout the room.
(16:34):
It's all themed to thatsection of Artem Animation.
Now they don't do theunderwater music anymore, but that
was always a cool thing.
They largest pools on in theresort property.
That's right.
Yes.
And again, it's, it's still afairly basic pool, but it's a really
big pool.
And so it's a great, A reallygreat resort if you have kids that
are into any of thoseparticular movies.
(16:55):
Is it true they turned it offbecause kids were staying under the
water too long to listen tothe music?
Oh, that's hilarious.
I haven't heard that theory.
No, I thought a.
I heard that he used to gounderneath it and hear music.
It was great.
And then somebody said theyturned it off because people were
like trying to stay as long asthey can.
Oh, how terrible.
Yeah.
Which, by the way, I, I giveDisney credit.
I'm surprised they never, notone person in their massive corporate
(17:19):
structure thought of that whenthey brought that up.
That would be a huge, hugeliability concern.
We're gonna put music underwater.
And not one lawyer went, letme tell you why that's not a great
idea.
Just in case this happens.
That's right.
You know, it's usually theirjob, but.
But the we found was really great.
It was a little tight for thelargeness of the resort, but not
(17:39):
too over cumbersome.
Yeah.
That we couldn't grab somebreakfast sandwiches and get moving
on our day.
The bus stop was veryconvenient to get to.
So art of animation, I just, Ilove it and I recommend it all the
time to people, especially ifyou have kids who just love to be
immersed in the entire theming.
Oh, absolutely.
Of the restaurant, especiallythe animation.
So let's get to the deluxe resorts.
Let's go to moderate.
(17:59):
Let's go.
Moderate resorts.
I'm sorry, let's go.
Let's not jump to the supersize one.
Let's go to the moderate resorts.
Okay.
Yeah.
So moderate.
There's going to be.
There's four moderate resorts.
And again, I have my favoritesin the moderate category.
You've got.
We'll start with Caribbean beach.
Since we've mentioned it already.
Right.
So Caribbean beach is one ofthe largest resorts on property.
(18:20):
And for that reason it's neverbeen a go to for me.
It's one of the few that I'venever stayed in because of the size
of the resort.
So you're going to haveseveral internal bus stops.
But again, what has changedthe game for Caribbean beach in the
past few years is it is thehub of the Skyliner station.
There's no stopping at another hub.
You go either straight toHollywood Studios or you go straight
(18:41):
to Epcot from there, whichgives it a really big advantage at
this point.
However, I still think thatthe resort size overall gives it
a disadvantage.
I've heard people say thateven though there's multiple stops,
it's a long way to those stops from.
From anywhere within the resort.
It's still a good little haulto get to the bus stop.
(19:02):
Yeah.
And you know, what I usuallywill do is recommend and request
for clients that are stayingat Caribbean beach one of the buildings
that is closest to the Rivierabus stop and the Riviera Skyliner
system.
And I say, you know, if we'rein this building, then we can use
the amenities over at Rivierafor their transportation and make
it a lot easier.
(19:22):
So.
But that's not going to beguaranteed, obviously.
But so really what you'regetting with a moderate resort over
a value resort is you'regetting a little more atmosphere.
So if you have a group ofadults that don't want the in your
face theming of art ofanimation or pop century, then a
moderate resort is a greatoption for not a lot more money.
And the rooms are a little bitbigger, same kind of layout.
(19:43):
You're going to have two queen beds.
It's not going to fold intothe wall.
At a moderate resort, thebathrooms are a little more spacious
in the moderates than they arein the values.
And then at some of themoderate resorts we have a sit down
restaurant, whereas at thevalue resorts we don't.
Yeah, and I think too you sayit's not in your face theming, you
are getting some theming,which is cool.
But it's not like you said,it's not this.
(20:05):
There's not a whole bunch ofstatues everywhere.
And that's right, it's not.
So I don't want to use theword cartoonish because we're talking
about an animation.
Call it a little more grownup, I guess.
Exactly.
So it can be a little more romantic.
I've had clients that havewanted to stay at Port Orleans Riverside
for a honeymoon because it is,it's beautiful.
It's on the river and thebuildings there are so beautiful.
(20:26):
My favorite moderate resort,if we're talking about favorites
versus not favorites, I'mgoing to say is French Quarter.
Orleans French Quarter isfantastic because it is a small resort.
So there's just four buildings there.
There they have beignets,which are delicious, delicious.
The food court is a littlesmall, but it's good.
This was the very first resortI stayed in on my very first trip
(20:49):
to Disney World when I wasfive years old.
And I still remember theSerpent Pool.
Serpent Pool.
Yeah, it's still there to thisday and so it's a lot of fun for
kids.
There's a fun splash pad forkids there.
So if I were going to choose amoderate resort, this one is going
to be my ch choice in most cases.
But caveat to that, if I canstay in the tower at Coronado Springs,
(21:11):
then that's where I'm going to go.
And that's the next moderateresort that I'd like to talk about
because Coronado Springscaters to a lot of conference guests.
That's right.
So in the past, a lot ofpeople have seen it as the business
resort.
It's really just, you're notgoing to see as many vacationers
there.
You're going to see moreconference guests.
But they've built the towerwithin the past few years and it
really feels like a deluxeresort at a moderate price price.
(21:34):
All right, so.
And they have the really cool,cool themed pool.
Oh, absolutely.
Beautiful.
It's, it's great.
It's fantastic.
All right, so let's talkabout, go back to French Quarter
for second for Riverside.
Now, one of the.
I stayed at Riverside 10, 11,12 years ago, and when we first got
to Riverside, one of thethings that I loved was I, it was
so big that there was a, therewasn't a, a feeling of, okay, it's
(21:59):
not just a hotel.
There's.
There were grounds to walk on.
You could go fishing.
There were hammocks just atdifferent areas.
You could just lay in a hammock.
You can really enjoy an off day.
And that's what I kind of wantto lean towards is there.
A lot of people are takingthese vacations that are seven days.
They want to do five days atthe parks and have two off days to
relax at the resort.
So where you stay at theresort matters.
(22:19):
Now we, my wife and I said,look, we got kids, they want to go
to the resort all the time.
That's great.
Now, we did take a half dayfor the pool and whatnot, but I thought
to myself, if I had a full dayand I was relaxing just, just to
get away from the parks for abit, this is something I would like.
Different things That I could do.
Just take long walks.
Absolutely.
Big pool to swim in.
Like I said, a hammock, hottub, all those kind of things.
(22:40):
Restaurant, all that.
I, I loved the layout of itbecause I could imagine spending
just a day of relaxation justwalking around that place.
Yeah.
And that's where you can lookat the different theming for each
of the resorts because theyeach have their own personality.
And you can look and say,well, where would I enjoy the most
spending my time?
And you can kind of, kind ofnarrow it down from there.
And I love taking the boatride to Disney Springs.
(23:00):
Yeah, it's peaceful.
It's nice.
You could see, you know, somecool, really cool stuff as you get
to Disney Springs.
Walk around Disney Springs abit and then get on the boat and
head back.
Yeah.
So.
All right, so we're gonna stayin the deluxe or you want to move
on?
I mean, moderator, you want tomove to deluxe?
I think we've pretty wellcovered the moderate.
All right.
Now, I think I.
When it comes to deluxe, Iknow you've stated pretty much all
of them.
I have, yeah.
So let's get, let's start withone of your favorites.
(23:22):
Okay.
So if I'm going to talk aboutmy, my, my very favorite, it's going
to be Polynesian.
Yeah.
And the reason being becausethe convenience and the location
of the Polynesian, it justcan't be beat.
So you're right in the middleof the monorail line.
What I like about thePolynesian over the other two monorail
resorts is its proximity tothe transportation and ticket center.
(23:42):
So if you are staying at thePolynesian, depending on which building
you're in, you can actuallywalk over to the transportation and
ticket center to hit thatEPCOT monorail and it saves you a
step.
So, so instead of getting onthe resort monorail and riding around
all the way to thetransportation and ticket center
to switch the track, then youcan essentially just go straight
(24:03):
to that track.
So it really gives you a levelup on that convenience.
Now, in the monorail resorts,typically, let's say, let's say for
the deluxe resorts fortransportation, you're always going
to find at least two modes oftransportation with a deluxe resort,
with the exception of AnimalKingdom Lodge, because that one is
because of the location, youonly have bus transportation from
(24:27):
there.
But all of the other deluxeresorts are going to offer at least
two modes of transportation,being that whether you can walk to
a park or take a boat ormonorail or a bus.
So that is a perk already atthe get go I think for many.
People, their first time atDisney, it's the first part, it's
the first resort they, theyreally see, they seek and see.
(24:47):
Contemporary Grand Floridianis just a little bit too much on
the left hand side when youget there.
But it's really like the firstone that's right there and you're
100% right.
When we went to havebreakfast, we didn't know where,
you know, we were.
How do we get there from our resort?
Like just go to the ticketsaying you can walk right over there.
Right.
We got to the tickets andwe're like, oh yeah, it's right there.
It's right there.
Walked right over there.
And you kind of, you kind oflike I kind of thought it wasn't
(25:09):
as close.
And then I was like, oh no,it's way.
It's closer than I originally thought.
Yeah.
So really.
So if you're, if you'retalking about the different categories
within the deluxe category, Iguess you can say we can talk about
the different locations of them.
So you can kind of, kind oflump them together.
In monorail resorts, you'regoing to have the convenience to
Magic Kingdom and Epcot viathe monorail.
(25:31):
And then you're going to havebus transportation to the other two
from there.
Now then you go over to theEpcot resorts and we're going to
lump together Boardwalk, Yachtand Beach Club and you can even throw
in Swan and Dolphin, eventhough they're not owned by Disney.
They are.
They do get deluxe amenitiesand deluxe perks as a part of that.
And then you're going to haveyour other ones, which I like to
(25:52):
call sometimes Deluxe Lightbecause they price out better than
the other ones.
And that's Animal KingdomLodge and Wilderness Lodge.
Wilderness Lodge is going tobe really close to Magic Kingdom,
but not on the monorail.
And then Animal Kingdom Lodgeis really close to Animal Kingdom
even though it is a bus ride away.
But those are fantastic valuesif you want to get in on a deluxe
resort at a little lower price.
(26:13):
We didn't stay there, but wespent a lot of time at Boardwalk.
One of our kind of like halfdays near Epcot.
And a lot of it was just mywife and daughter went to Disney
Springs.
The bus took them back there,my son and I met them there, spent
a lot of time there.
There.
That was a, a very cooly themed.
Yeah, like just that feelingof like old Atlantic City was a real.
(26:35):
It was really neat to havethat experience.
But I keep looking over on theother side and I haven't gone over
to the, you know, yacht andBeach Club, but I know you've stayed
there and the water park isjust second to none.
Yes, the pool at the YachtonBeach Club is really fantastic and
it really puts that one abovefor so many reasons.
And then just the fact thatyou can walk to Epcot from those
resorts makes that, that'ssuch a really good choice, especially
(26:57):
if you have park hoppers.
If I have clients that are inany of the Epcot area resorts that
you can walk to Epcot, Ialways, always tell them a park hopper
is a must because I don't carewhere you've spent the morning, you
may want to go into Epcot fora dessert or for a drink or for dinner
that night because it's justtoo easy not to.
Yeah, that's exactly right.
You definitely want toexperience Epcot at night around
(27:18):
the, you know, going aroundthe world.
Like you definitely want towalk around it.
So if, even if having an offday and you're just saying, I'm just
going to relax at the resort,you're right.
Having that ability to justkind of get in there and just walk
around instead of, I'vealready been to Hollywood Studios
and I can't go in.
Go, go, take a, go take a nicejaunt around Epcot center at night.
Have a drink, have a, have asnack, enjoy it.
(27:38):
Because if you're that close.
And speaking of night, this isthe, this is the main perk that deluxe
resorts are getting now thatthe other levels of resorts are not
getting.
And that's ex, It's a long,convoluted name.
Evening Extended.
Nope, that's not it.
Extended Evening hours forDeluxe guests, I think is what it's
called.
So, and those are offered twoto three nights per week, depending
(28:02):
on the season.
Not usually during holidayseason when there's parties going
on, that's not always going tobe offered.
But one park, two to threetimes a week is going to stay open
two hours later than normal.
Closing time only for deluxegas guest.
It's no additional charge forthose guests.
And everything in the park forthe most part is open and it is a
huge, huge perk.
(28:23):
That is a huge perk.
If you can definitely staylate, stay late.
If you got kids and you can,it's too bad, but it's really a cool
experience.
Listen, I, I, I'm a big fan ofthese parks at night.
I'm a huge fan of just theatmosphere when the sun goes down.
I, I mean, listen, I'm anearly morning, not necessarily huge
early morning guy, but with myjob, I'm more early morning than
ever.
Yeah, but, but the nightfeeling of just whether it's walking
(28:47):
around the world at Epcot orMagic Kingdom, when the it starts
to slow down and everyone'sslows down, feels the glow of the
parks, it's, it's phenomenalif you get to experience that, especially
in a low crowd time, I highlyrecommend it.
It makes a difference.
Absolutely.
And then the other thing thatI would say that sets the deluxe
resorts apart from everybody,from all the other resorts is the
(29:09):
dining on property.
And you're going to findtypically at least two sit down dining
options.
If you're a family that likesto sit down for dinner every night
or sit down for breakfast inthe morning, this is going to be
a fantastic option for you.
Absolutely.
All right.
We would love to get you helpyou out with your Disney vacation.
So let either me or Laurenhelp you out next year, 2025 or even
a quick trip.
(29:29):
You can reach Lauren atlauren@allthemagictravel.com reachme
travelwithtonyd gmail.com we'dlove to give you the advice as we
have you help you get readyfor your upcoming Disney World vacation.
Have a wonderful holiday.
Hit us up next week.
Don't forget to subscribe tothe podcast.
Leave us a five star review.
That's it for our Wands andWishes edition.
And again, happy holidays fromall of us.
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