It’s cheaper to fly to Tahiti for a bungalow, than to stay at Disney Polynesian bungalows.

I completely agree about the Contemporary! A huge missed opportunity to play on a wonderful 70’s retro theme to honor the resort’s 50th Anniversary!

I agree 1000% with the contemporary revamp as being a bad thing. I think it cheapens the look and feel of what’s supposed to be a deluxe resort. Personally I think ANYTHING that was original to the WDW resort should NEVER be drastically changed. Updated a little, yes. But never completely overhauled.

The bird at 5:46 was outside our window in April at Kidani EVERYDAY, it’s gets points for devotion and consistency for its commitment to patrolling the same path ALL DAY LONG.

I honestly think Port Orleans French Quarter is easily the BEST Disney hotel for the money. It’s a bit more than a value resort, but especially in the off-season, very affordable. It has a boat to Disney springs which was so fun. There’s one bus stop, and it’s not very crowded because the resort is so small. The rooms feel nice and not too cramped. It was perfect for us, and I recommend it to everyone!

Me and my husband stayed at the All Star Sports Resort in May for a week and LOVED it!! We actually had no issues with the buses at all. We were able to get to each park 30 minutes early every morning, and had no issues getting back at night. It's a fun, affordable place, and great for those who just want to be surrounded by Disney.

I wish they had dedicated the Contemporary to going all in on Mary Blair’s design work and history at Disney. Her mural work dominates the lobby, the hotel theme is already there, Disney keeps ignoring it.

Stayed at Old Key West a few years ago--very quickly learned that the bus stop nearest to our rooms was the last of the 5 stops in the resort--so buses would show up full or almost full. A short walk away was the first stop--so we'd have first dibs on an empty bus. in such a large resort, little things like that can make a HUGE difference.

Completely agree with the Contemporary re-theme. Even though I love The Incredibles, I don't want to pay top dollar to live in a cartoon room.

I love these videos, but one thing that never gets mentioned is the lack of organized lines when waiting for a bus at deluxe resorts. We stayed at Animal Kingdom lodge and Boardwalk Villas in June and it was frustrating each morning we needed to catch a bus for park opening because it was busy at the bus stops and there were people just showing up and cutting to get on the bus (sometimes intentionally and other times not). I liked how Art of Animation had line barriers to keep things fair and organized. 👍🏻

I love what the Contemporary did with the lobby areas and I love the Monorail etched into the bathroom mirrors. I get Incredibles have a mid-century 60s type vibe, so maybe they were going for a mid-century modern look, but they should have gone all in on the monorail motif and the vibe the lobby has, with the vintage WDW pictures & Mary Blair imagery, for example

We had a standard two queen room at Wilderness Lodge, on the 6th floor, overlooking the waterfront cabins. And we had an AWESOME view of the Contemporary and Cinderella's Castle! Which of course translated into views of the fireworks shows every night.

I’m so surprised by the Incredible’s theming at the Contemporary resort. It looks so plain. I can’t imagine paying all that money for a room that looks so bare. 🤷🏻‍♀️

WOW, AJ actually came out and said that something at Disney is a ripoff? I hurt my neck doing a double-take!

I personally loved the rooms at the Contemporary… before the remodel. The incredibles theme is a bit overwhelming and reminds me of art of animation, however I still love the hotel. Once you move into the room and make it your own little space, the incredibles theme kinda goes away and is not as obvious compared to the minute you walk in the room.

Mickey coming out to dance and everyone just staring at him hurt my heart 🤣

I agree with you on the Incredibles theme for the Contemporary rooms. It almost makes it feel like a value resort, not that theming in value resorts is bad, I would just expect characters to be plastered everywhere in the design for the price you pay for a deluxe resort. I think they could have refreshed it and given it a contemporary look without a character theme. I feel that the amount of huge Incredibles fans out there are not enough to justify every room being done in this fashion.

POFQ is really the only on-site resort I willingly stay at. Not Riverside, French Quarter! Such a small resort footprint. You are never far from anything, the busses are about as good as they get and you only share buses at random times. The ferry to DS is So relaxing! It sold my 5 year old on the resort and he doesn’t want to stay anywhere else. Plus he loves he can take a ferry to the LEGO store. The atmosphere of the resort is so lazy and slow, and not smacking you in the face with Disney theming. You’d never guess you were so close to amusement parks by how relaxed and quiet it is. We love it. I wish they offered POFQ as DVC, I would buy into it for sure!

All the rooms at Saratoga have been refurbished for like a year already. The rooms are gorgeous and we had a great view of DS from Congress Park.

This may be a hot-take, but this is how I came to book our upcoming hotel stay for our honeymoon: A majority of Disney resort hotel rooms don’t have mini-fridges and/or microwaves in room. This was a deal breaker for us, so we ended up booking our upcoming week long stay at the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando - Disney Springs location. A king size bedroom with separate living/dining area and patio suite (with mini fridge and microwave!) within a 10 minute walk to Disney Springs, all for roughly the same price as a suite at the Disney's Port Orleans Resort - Riverside (which had a fridge but no microwave?) !! Like I said, may be a “hot take” but, when traveling for a week long vacation, having the ability to easily refrigerate or heat up food, is very crucial for us. Just something for new comers to keep in mind.

Yup, I'm with you. Contemporary would have been better just getting a bunch of IKEA furniture. Yeah, the rooms needed a remodel, but it DIDN'T need IP, and it CERTAINLY didn't need Incredibles, which, honestly, I don't remember being particularly futuristic.

Sheesh! If you really want a nice room and don't care too much about staying an exclusively Disney resort, book a vacation at the Swan and or Dolphin. It's in the EPCOT resort area and you still get the extended magic hours! Sometimes it's the same price as if you were going to stay at the budget friendly resorts. It's luxury coupled with convenience.

Stayed in a studio at Saratoga Springs in September and loved it. We were the absolute first room when you entered property. We used the Paddock pool a ton. The room was wonderful. We walked to Disney Springs almost every night and the walk was lovely. I highly recommend it. My least favorite stay was All-Star Movies. It was just a really bad check in (took longer than our flight from Rhode Island) , sent us to a room that was already occupied by children, and than took another half an hour to actually give us our hotel room. This was all done on a first trip to Disney. Not a great way to spend our first day.

My favorite Disney hotel rooms, hands down, are The Lion King suites at AoA. I just can't imagine going to WDW and staying at a hotel without intense, colorful, in-your-face theming (especially when many of the non-themed rooms come at higher costs). 😂 I'm at DISNEY! I want to be surrounded by my favorite characters and stories 24/7. Second favorite are the All-Star resorts, for the same reason. Gotta have whimsy at my WDW resort.

😅What I love about Saratoga springs is that it’s really quiet. If I just wanna relax and sleep it is the place to be😂 plus walking to Disney springs is great

I’d like to piggyback off of the first point! If convenience and ease of location is important to you, and you are able to, I recommend always splurging the extra ~$20-30/night to book a Preferred room vs. a Standard. This will ensure your room is closer to the main lobby, or central hub of the resort (ie closer to food, shopping, front desk, transportation, etc.). Especially at those larger resorts, this can be a huge make-or-break for your vacation, especially if you have little ones or others who may need a little less walking after a long day at the parks. Another factor to keep in mind is most of the resorts require walking on uncovered paths to get to the main lobby, transportation, etc., and with the (almost always promised) Florida rain, having to walk farther can put a huge damper on your day! I know this was mentioned in the video, but just wanted to emphasize this point because I used to work at one of these larger resorts and cannot stress how many guests were upset once they realized how far their room truly was from all the amenities

Agree with the Bungalow review. The same floor plan is available at the Wilderness Lodge with an actual hot tub. My family loved the cabin and had an amazing fireworks show from the hot tub on our last night! That being said, the Bungalow is my wife's favorite and we will definitely stay there again, I'll just bring a noise cancelling headset for the Coast Guard required horns!

Totally agree with your Contemporary refurb comments. Underwhelming changes make the rooms feel stark and forgettable.

My problem with the modernization of the Contemporary is that The Incredibles originally was in the theaters in 2004, (sequel in 2018)…that is not very contemporary! Disney needed to have more of a generic modern feel, as opposed to tying it to one, or two animated features. Their scope was too narrow! I will be watching this again before I book my trip next year. Thank you AJ.

I also agree with you about the Contemporary. It’s awful, there’s too much re-theming to IP going on. It’s a convention hotel, I’d never book my group there because of the theme. Like you said, there’s way too much going on, decide on one theme and stick with it. I love the Mary Blair in the lobby, would have liked to see more of that. It’s sad because the Contemporary was the first Disney hotel we stayed at as a kid, it’s a no for me now.

The family suite at all star music was worth dealing with everything else at that resort. Seriously. Having a private bedroom, 2nd barroom, and real fridge was amazing.

I stayed in the Little Mermaid rooms thinking that it would be the same walk as the 1990's or 1950's sections of Pop Century. I was VERY wrong. The walk to the furthest rooms in Pop Century is so much easier. I have no idea why it was such an exhausting walk, but it was.

I personally don’t like the IP integration in the Contemporary and Polynesian and have made them place lower among my favorites.

I’ve never stayed at the Contemporary but have always admired it for its monolithic/brutalist look - even when I was a child. But now, as an adult, I’m also confused by its identity and also not loving the Incredibles rooms. It feels like licensed home decor? Graphic/architectural design, iconography, and simplicity clearly played a part in the creation of the resort. I wish the entire would be re-visited through that original lens and refurbed in one pass rather than fragmenting.

I’ve never wanted to stay at Contemporary. When I was a child we stayed there in 1980 and it was super cool and modern, but as an adult the rooms remind me of a Courtyard Marriot.

Thank you. I 100% agree on the contemporary. I adored the old design. The new one looks cheap.

Saratoga Springs has had every room refurbed, and it was all complete almost a year ago (September 2021).

We typically stay at Shades of Green. But we have also stayed at Pop Century a few times. We love Pop Century because of the proximity to the Skyliner. Draw back to the Skyliner is the HUGE lines first thing in the morning. However, being able to take a few hours in the afternoon to rest and relax is a HUGE bonus. This works best for Epcot and Hollywood of course, but for a short stay, that works.

I stayed at the Wilderness lodge 25 years ago. My view was of the dumpster for a deluxe price. I have not stayed there since.

Husband and I stayed at Pop last September, and loved the rooms! Classy and relaxing! Loved the table/murphey bed and the clean/simplistic style. I wish the Riviera studio rooms were not DVC - really wanted to stay there.

I do like the new Contemporary rooms, but I do agree that it should've been done differently. I think they shouldve done a more Mary Blair style modernism rooms. Treat the rooms like Steakhouse 71 with history nods, but modern still again. I think the Polynesian and Grand Floridian did it right wit the IP, but Contemporary didn't need IP IMO

These videos are so helpful and have made planning my girls trip to Disney so much easier! Thank you for what you do! 😊

We love Saratoga. As DVC members, we could stay anywhere but we always choose Saratoga. Love the peacefulness and classical music. Love the way it's spread out and taking a ferry ride to the other hotels along the back is very relaxing. Of course having large sea turtles and otters there is an added bonus.

Totally agree on The Contemporary. Used to be a good place for an adult stay. At that price, the forced Incredibles theme is tacky and not worth the money. Fortunately, we are DVC owners and Bay Lake Tower is great with huge one bedroom rooms with subtle Disney touches in the decor.

I stayed at Coronado Springs in May in the tower...I had a great time & yes having the bus stop right there next to the resort tower was nice!

14:19 it makes sense but it’s sad that there’s not Lilo & Stitch rooms as well.

I always like the Club Level at The Boardwalk Hotel. Great food, and drinks covered in the price, you can easily skip at least one meal a day, or two in the parks. It's my favourite place to stay at Disney. The Cabana Bay at Universal is my second favourite, I love the art deco designs.

For our trip (we're 3 adults, in our 20s and early 30s, no kids), we opted to pay less by going with a good-neighbor hotel on property. Though the Swan Reserve likely won't blow us away with its theming, we'll be just a walk away from the Boardwalk area with tons of hotels that have great themed areas. Not to mention being walking distance from 2 parks at a great price for the area.

Why so expensive Disney !!!! You don’t even enjoy the rooms sometimes because of the parks

Transportation wise, I truly feel that Pop and AoA are the best options on property (when considering access to ALL parks). First, Skyliner makes transit to HS and Epcot super fast and convenient. With regards to AK and MK, they are among the few resorts that can handle the double buses (which means that buses are rarely full)... plus, with how close the resorts are (and the fact that their bus pickup locations at the parks are usually next to each other) if you are leaving the park and there is a bus for the opposite resort waiting, you can just hop on that bus and your walk to your room isn't significantly longer than the walk from the Skyliner drop off to your room.

Contemporary defetly miss mark on referb I feel the same feelings you felt and described

Earlier this year we spent thousands of dollars for four people and had to put up with rude resort employees and extremely long lines at the parks. The best advise for Disney is to stop going and go somewhere else that you will actually enjoy.

All-Star Sports has been undergoing remodeling over the past few months. Was there in May, and the touchdown section was completely closed off for renovations. CM said they are going to close two buildings at a time to complete the remodel while the hotel is still open. During the pandemic, they focused more on exterior work, mostly painting, and boy did it need it. Stayed at All Star Music in 2020 - with a view into All Star Sports, and saw two of the large Coke cup stairwells - one before paint and one that was just finished being painted - HUGE difference. Painted exteriors with the remodeled rooms will truly be an improvement.

I personally love Saratoga Springs. When we stay there (SS is one of our DVC homes), we always request the rooms right next to Disney Springs. If you love Disney Springs (and I do!), and go there many times during your visit, this is the perfect place to stay. Lovely views of the aerophile and shops and restaurants from SS/Congress area, and you can hear the music from the Springs. It's a beautiful, peaceful view. The one time I drove and had to use the parking garage to get to Disney Springs, I was shocked at the hassle. Totally spoiled to walk through a charming little woods and over a quiet bridge to enter DS from SS.

My partner has stayed at the Coronado Springs a couple of times and she loves it. She likes the more adult contemporary feel and the more subtle theming. And she has said she doesn't have that much problem with the transportation, you just need to build the time into you calculations. To each their own!

We stayed at All Star Music the first week of April and never had trouble with the buses! The bus drivers were so kind! They were great with my sons wheelchair as well!

I'm not even gonna lie, I don't think ANY of the WDW resorts are worth what they are currently charging.

We loved the studio room at the Riviera! The size never bothered us since we really only used the room at night. We spend all the waking hours in the parks. We loved being able to fold the bed out of the way when we didn't need it. And maybe my wife and I are the weird ones, but we brush our teeth while the other is doing their "business" at home so it's no problem in a hotel. Plus the Riviera is a great location for the Skyliner.

We just recently stayed at Gran Destino Tower! We had a king size, water view room. It was GORGEOUS! Absolutely blew us away when we opened the door! And our view was stunning! We could see the lake AND Everest! Also, Contemporary was my fave deluxe resort but I have no interest now. It’s the perfect location and food and stuff! But I don’t want a bunch of theming in my rooms

We stayed at Cabins at Fort Wilderness last December and loved it. So quiet and peaceful.

OMG, I had no idea that the Contemporary changed the rooms to Incredibles decor. I am so glad I was able to visit before that happened. I first visited WDW and The Contemporary with my parents waaaaaayyyy back in 1980. Back then there was just Magic Kingdom to explore and The Contemporary and Polynesian to stay at. I loved the feel of The Contemporary and having the Monorail come right in the hotel to pick you up and drop you off. When I visited many years later with my husband and daughter in 2012, there had been many changes, mostly the addition of the souvenir boutiques on the main level, but the main feel remained the same including the huge wall mural. I loved the nostalgia of it. Now the Contemporary is not overtly "Disney Themed" but I liked it, in that you could spend the day at Disney, but come back to a subtle version at your hotel. A Mickey shaped pool, Disney character towels on your bed, Disney music played through the resort. The rooms were tasteful with dark wood and white bedding. Made you feel like you got something grand for your extra money staying at a deluxe resort. Next trip I think I would like to explore another hotel.

Its a reason why i rather rent a big villa instead of a hotel when my family and i visit Orlando from Norway

100% agree with the disappointment over Contemporary retheme. I would have loved to see them go all in on a cohesive retro space age vibe - Tomorrowland meets Shag art by Josh Agle!

We love Saratoga for all the reasons others hate it. It’s quiet. Not major Mickey Mouse in your face. Great for as relaxing a trip as Disney can be. Beautiful walks around the grounds. Never had a bad stay there and the new rooms are lovely. You always say it looks like any Florida apartment building. But I dont live in Fla and they arent like anything near my home so I really like the way it all looks with the convenience of being near Disney Springs. And if people hate it that makes getting a room there easier for me. Win!!

We stayed at casitas in Coronado springs April 2022. It’s a gorgeous and fun resort but the walking situation is so true. After a week of doing all that walking in the parks plus all the walking to and from grand destino tower for everything, my feet were a mess for weeks afterward.

I stayed in the casitas at Coronado springs two weeks ago and it was legit a 2 minute walk to the dig site and a 5 minute walk to gran destino. My gf and I LOVED the resort, it’s beautiful.

Thank you. This video has been very informative and helpful.👍

Disney World is not what it used to be anymore.

I will continue to stay at Pop Century. We love this hotel. Close to HS, Epcot and AK. We have the skyliner which is a game changer. Plus, since we're hardly in the room other than to sleep, I'm happy w/this hotel.

extra walking is not a big deal for able-bodied adults, but children, and elderly and disabled folks it is not really an option. Remember, once you are in the parks, you walk ALOT

Grand Floridian needs an update really badly for regular rooms, not just DVC!

We were lucky enough to stay at the Yacht club. Our company had a convention there. The rooms, the decor, sand bottom pools, the access to all the shopping g, boardwalk , even the parks was amazing. It’s my favorite place but pretty pricey .

I absolutely agree with you on the Contemporary renovation. We stayed there (had 3 Garden View rooms) in June, 2022. It looks like a room you would find at a much cheaper resort. The carpet in the hallways was already filthy and the furniture in the rooms was already showing wear after only being 3 months old. I don't know who was behind this change, but it's awful. So, not worth the money!

All stars is great value, however the Dolphin is where it is at! I stayed years ago and they had a free buffet it was fantastic!!!!! Wilderness Lodge is really great inside décor and the restaurant is one of the best at Disney World.

I love POFQ! Occasionally you have to ride through Riverside's bus stops to pick them up as well, but out of three trips (about 21 days riding) I've only seen their stops twice. I've had preferred rooms at value resorts that were longer walks to buses/food/front desk than any room at POFQ.

If you stay at the Caribbean Beach resort, I suggest requesting the Aruba section. We stayed there this past January, and it was 100% worth it! Its close enough to the Rivera Resort's Skyliner port, and it is the last stop for the bus pick ups, for Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom. Since we are older, we aren't too concerned about swimming in the pool, but it is away from the main lobby. However, since it was January, it wasn't too hot, and we enjoyed a simple walk to and from the main building.

I think a big plot twist room is the Cabins at Fort Wilderness. They are quiet, spacious, and has a kitchen, but one plot twist are the beds. There is only one comfortable bed in the cabin if you bring more than three adults. There is a bunk bed, but they are only full size. You probably have to sleep in a fetal position if you sleep there. There is a pull out bed in the living room, but the ice maker from the refrigerator can be noisy and disruptive. The living room can be much noisier with the AC and the utilities than the bedroom.

We had three rooms at the grand Floridian in May and it was wonderful. Our only complaint was the lack of storage space, very few tiny drawers, it was difficult for even two of us. Families of 5 had to live out of suitcases, but they loved the resort so much they didn’t care. Access to monorail, great pools, easy walk to MK. Poly rooms look great, but the Contemporary? Being older, I don’t even know what the Incredibles theming is. 😂. The new rooms just look industrial and cold. I would never stay there.

We returned from Disney a week ago... stayed in at the all star music resort. We loved it. We will be going back!!

Every single Disney hotel has become a rip off. Stay off property if ur gonna go

I totally agree about the contemporary… this was one of my favorite resorts but now it’s one of my least favorite.

Loved Port Orleans and the boat ride. So convenient!

Much preferred the 1986 version of the Contemporary. Had suites on top floor with breakfast and Happy Hour in elevator area. Huge living / dining area and adjoining bedroom. 2 balconies on living area and another on bedroom. HUGE area. Main lobby was gorgeous.

We're all blessed just to see DISNey open after covid again and were all still alive it took 5 years for some of us to return and everyone of us lost family to covid so we're very Lucky to even go back!!! So all the parks are busy now!!!

100% agree with your assessment of the Contemporary. The rooms needed an refurb, but the new design is terrible.

Yeah, probably the most annoying thing about room upgrades seems to be their 8 year old's version of a "well, technically" you do get that feature. We added 2 upgrades to the Caribbean Beach Resort rooms one year. The Pirate Theme upgrade was great. The second upgrade was a "water view". The only way you could see "water" was by pressing the side of our face to the glass to see a portion of the rain retention pond about 800 yards from our room. Seems very much in line with your point of some rooms having a fireworks view may only include the top portion of the show.

i loved the wilderness lodge, was good value and there was a ferry which came on time. my biggest complaint was the bus drive who picked us up from the airport sounded bitter

Stayed in the Casitas in May, it was a great location to food, and to our bus stop.

Shouldn't it be LEGALLY REQUIRED for the hotels to have elevators? That sounds like an ADA violation right there. What if you need a first-floor room and they're all sold out?

All the rooms at SSR have been renovated and were finished in 2021. The Tree House Villas are set for a renovation in 2023.

Because of all the park pass stuff rather than spend most of our days in the parks we decided to splurge on a poly bungalow and just have mostly a lazy vacation (with only 2 park days instead of almost every day of our trip like usual). We loved it more than our normal dvc stays.

Omg that contemporary resort with the incredibles looks so so tacky! And that’s one of the most expensive?? After watching some of the videos on Aulani and the cruises, I feel like there are people who have devoted their vacations to Disney properties and don’t realize how tacky and underwhelming the hotels are compared to comparably priced luxury hotels elsewhere in the world.

I haven't yet stayed at Saratoga yet, but I want to. I am from about 1 1/2 hours from there, and have made multiple trips to the tracks with my family, in part because my grandfather used to harness race with his own horses. My grandmother passed a few years ago and I think walking around will get me right in the feels!

The incredible theme reminds me of the super budget hotels we have here in the UK, it doesn’t look superheroes! It looks more like a budget contemporary theme

I haven’t seen the renovated Contemporary rooms in person yet, but from the pictures, I love it. To me, it doesn’t say Incredibles, it says 1970s modern, in keeping with the shape of the building.

The way you said huge at 20:53 was hilarious

We recently went on our first Disney vacation (myself, my partner, and our 6'+ teenager). Granted, we barely spent any time in our room, preferring to stay in each park from open to close. That said, the All-Star Music hotel was fine for us, and that's the smaller room. It had the split bathroom, and we mostly needed a place to collapse at night and get ready each morning. It was a bit of a hike to the bus stops, but transportation waits were short and the restaurant was not bad at all. On top of that, there was a discount for Disney+ members. Now if they could work on the door entry feature of the app...

1st room on the list…the exact room type I stayed in back in May 👀👀👀 in all seriousness though, the second level part wasn’t an issue for us. As for location, we were based in Barbados, which was 5 minute walk either way for reception or skyliner, which we thought was great! Also, we often walked to the reception bus stop instead of the Barbados stop as it was earlier in the loop and more chance in getting on the bus! 😊

No more free parking at hotels started it all. That was a huge benefit gone.

I have to agree about The Contemporary . I have been staying at the Contemporary for 50 years since November of 1971. . I was there last November and got to experience the tower club level theme Park View and I was greeted by The Incredibles.. Although cute and very crisp and clean my favorite part of the whole renovation is the bathroom ..I felt like I was in a luxury spa. With that said I agree they did not have to do all the rooms I think truthfully making more Mary Blair theming her artwork and color palates through the hotel Would have been a little bit better. Maybe even doing more of the theme in the garden wing.. Disney seems to forget that it's not always families traveling to these hotels so an adult who's on an adult trip might not want to be surrounded by Disney characters.. I didn't mind the room beds were very comfortable and again it was very crisp and clean.. some of the touches of the remodel I did enjoy in the room the lamp shade in between the 2 beds was very cool the layout was a little odd though because if you're sitting on the couch you can't see the TV because it's behind you ... With that said though I will be back because that is my home away from home and I love the ease of traveling 2 and from the parks with the monorail.. It's too bad they didn't extend a big You turn of the monorail to wilderness lodge with one more access to transportation that hotel would sky rocket in its popularity.