Disney World Resort Hotels

I've stayed at Wilderness Lodge (in both Villas and regular hotel rooms) several times and Port Orleans Riverside (princess room) and Beach Club (villas) once each. I absolutely love Wilderness Lodge. Some people confuse it with Fort Wilderness campgrounds but they are very different resorts. The major positives of WL: short and lovely boat ride to Magic Kingdom (making for an easy trip back for naps or pool time), it's one of the smallest hotels on property so it is an easy walk to food, pool, busses and boat, and finally it is a bit less pricey than the other Deluxe Resorts near Magic Kingdom (Contempoary, Grand Floridian and Polynesian). Boardwalk Inn is also a deluxe resort but it is closer to Epcot. If you prefer to be closer to Epcot, I'd suggest Beach Club. You can walk to Epcot or the Boardwalk from there. POFQ is a moderate level resort. I've heard positive things about it, as well. POFQ and Riverside are next to each other. So, I would vote for Wilderness Lodge of those 3 choices. Hope that helps.

Wilderness lodge. Warm, cozy homey feeling. Great pool in a great setting.
We have stayed at many of the hotels. Wilderness is our favorite!
You catch the bus right outside the hotel. Do not confuse it with fort wilderness (that is the campground).
Updated

Wilderness lodge. Warm, cozy homey feeling. Great pool in a great setting.
We have stayed at many of the hotels. Wilderness is our favorite!

We went to the WL for dinner one night. Nice but very isolated...and themed very different than any other Disney hotel. Maybe the rustic theme just isn't me but I didn't love it. I once stayed at Beach Club which is right next door to Boardwalk. Loved that area...so cute and so much happening. An easy walk over to Epcot and quick boat ride to HS. The hotel looked very nice from where I was. Have not been to POFQ so cannot comment. I agree with TF-if you can, check out the Poly for the best hotel at Disney!!!

I have only stayed at POFQ and I will tell you why....because its SMALL! Unlike anything else at Disney, you can walk anywhere quickly. It has only one bus stop, is newly renovated and along the river. Because it is small, the eating there does not have as many choices, the pool is smaller, and the store is smaller at the resort, but PO riverside is a quick walk up the river and you can use anything there since it is a sister resort. But I loved how it was small, much needed after the end of the day. I researched my butt off for months, and I know I made the right choice by staying there. It was by far the best resort for the money (a GREAT moderate resort).

The Wilderness Lodge is way out there, and I heard takes forever to even get to the bus stop. Not too sure about the boardwalk inn.....

disboards.com is a wealth of information.

Never stayed in any of those.

Our hands down favorite and the only one we stayed at during our trips was the Polynesian

Enjoy your trip!! I am sure there will be some moms here with experience with those hotels.

I've stayed at all of them. I would pick the Wilderness Lodge because:
1. It's beautiful and has a couple decent restaurants
2. It's very close to the Magic Kingdom and you can either ride the boat there or a bus. (The bus is easy to find, not far away, and it's a quick ride to the TTC.) The boat ride is fun in itself. You can take a quick boat to the TTC and then get on a monorail and get anywhere from there. Or the boat goes directly to the Magic Kingdom.
3. The pool is great and you are also close to the swimming hole at the campground if you want to try that
4. Horseback riding is nearby
5. You can see fireworks from your balcony if you're facing the right way
6. They have a beach
7. There used to be a lighted boat parade at night that was fun to watch (you'll have to check to see if they still have this)
8. They brought animals in every night to the main hall (we saw a hawk and some reptile but usually we were out at the parks at that time)
9. My kids loved Pooh and he was the main character at the hotel at the time (maybe still is)

Out of those three definetely the Wilderness. Our friends stay there every year and love the quick boat to the magic kingdom,the bunk beds for their girls and fun pool. We haven't stayed there but will try it next .It;s the low end of a deluxe and worth it they say . We love the Beach Club for its awesome pool , great rooms (clean duvet instead of yucky comforter ), and great location to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. The cast members are so friendly and it feels like home .We stayed at the Grand Floridian last time and were not impressed:0(Have a magical trip !

We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge, but it's been at least 12 years ago. The only park it has transportation to is Magic Kingdom and it seemed like we timed our departures very poorly cause we were CONSTANTLY waiting for a bus or boat ride. The kids were both very young and it was a hassle - it was probably only 20 to 30 minutes but seemed like HOURS with 2 little kids. The pool was GREAT though - we all loved it.

I have stayed at all 3 of those resorts. They are all equally fabulous. If you love Epcot stay at Boardwalk. You can walk to Epcot from this resort. Literally steps away from your room. That entrance takes you right into World Showcase. Awesome!!! You can also catch the monorail at Epcot and head over to Magic Kingdom. I also love Wilderness Lodge probably my favorite resort and I have stayed at all the deluxe resorts. Wilderness Lodge feels so homey and comfortable. Nice pool and 2 big hot tubs. You can take a boat right over to Magic Kingdom. This resort is by far the cleanest and most comfortable. Love it!! We just got back from Disney a few days ago and we stayed at Port Orleans Riverside. This is a beautiful resort. We stayed there twice. Once in the Royal Room and last week at Aligator Bayou. Rooms are very cute, clean but this resort is huge and not easy to get around and find your room. Awesome pool, arcade and good food at their restaurants. But you have to take the Disney buses to every park which takes a little while to get off to your park destination. The price of thos resort is amazing and just as nice as a deluxe. My son is 12 and he loves Port Orleans and Boardwalk. Those are his favorite resorts. We have been to Disney World 10 times in the last few years and I would stay at any one of those resorts. There is a boat at Port Orleans that will take you to Downtown Disney if you like going over there. You cant go wrong with either one of those resorts. Get the dining plan if you dont you will spend way more money on food and snacks. I have done the math trust me!! Its worth it!! We use alot of our snack credits for rice crispy treats and other candy in the candy shop on Main Street Magic Kingdom and brimg them home to snack on and remember our trip.

Wilderness Lodge was pretty nice. It is close to the M Kingdom. I did not find it to be too tropical. But, it's not supposed to be. Then, we tried Pop Century.

I really liked Pop Century, too. It was not as expensive. We stayed by the olympic sized pool in the back. The swimming was fabulous ! The cafeteria was nice. We went on an off week and it was not too crowded.
I really enjoyed it ! A bit more walking to get to your room though.

The Polynesian is over-priced. The Port Orleans was nice, but, I do not think I would stay there.

This is a hard question to answer because it depends on what is important to you! Which park do you want to be closest to. Does it matter what kind of transportation you have to take? Do you want big or small? What ages are your kids - are the ammenities of the resort and/or surrounding attrations desireable for your aged kids?I think almost all the resorts are nice - they are just different. I'd think about what is important to you and try to rank each hotel according to those items (I'm an engineer, i make most decisions using a method like that. haha)

I've stayed at the Contemporary and the cabins at Fort Wilderness and loved them both - for very different reasons. I loved the serenity of the cabins and can't wait to go back - but some people would never ever consider staying there.

Have a blast. I can't wait to go back!

We loved POFQ but I still prefer to stay at Coranado. Wilderness Lodge (and Animal Kingdom) are the least expensive of the "luxary" resorts but still considerably more expensive than the moderate resorts (POFQ and Coranado).
I have stayed at The Polynesian Resort and while I loved it, I really can't recommend it knowing how expensive it is. While the rooms are considerably smaller at the moderate resorts the resorts themselves feel luxurious. (The food court was nicer at Coranado than the Wilderness Lodge and Polynesian IMO)
Have a great time!!!!

-

I haven't stayed at wilderness but have for the other two. Boardwalk was awesome. So close to everything but very expensive. Port Orleans was nice, very quiet and secluded. It was very, very far from everything and the buses took forever. We ended up taking boats everywhere which was still very nice but again very, very far away. I wouldn't stay there if I needed to get back for naptime.