Eating in Your Hotel

Not a bit.

We're all over the place when we're down there and have restaurants we seem to always want to visit, so I don't think about it.

Each trip we try to -
Have breakfast at Wilderness Lodge
Have breakfast at Caribbean Beach
Lunch at the Poly
Dinner at Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary
Dinner at the California Grill
Lunch or dinner at the food court at Coronado Springs

And since we're usually at Old Key West, we make sure we eat at Olivia's and have drinks at the Gurgling Suitcase.

Everything else is gravy!

It doesn't affect our resort choice, however we do sometimes make ADRs with our resort for that particular trip in mind. For instance, we know we want to try Sanaa, and since we have AKV booked for September, it'd make sense to do it on that trip, as opposed to our next trip when we may be at a different resort.

So we don't choose a resort based on the restuarants, but we do sometimes choose restaurants for that particular trip based on the resort we are staying at. Of course this is not a hard and fast rule. If there is a place that we're set on eating at on that trip, we'll do it regardless of where we're staying.

Not really--we're pretty much all over the place as well! And we like to wing a couple of meals.

But I will say it IS nice to be able to just jaunt down to your lobby for a meal.

I m a major foodie, but I can't say I've ever chosen my resort based on the restaurants. It's just good luck that some of our favorite restaurants are right in the Swolphin or nearby (I will miss Spoodles)

It is a huge bonus to be able to just jaunt downstairs to have dinner then walk back up to yur room after if you want.

It is definitely a perk of the Boardwalk area that you have access to so many places I like to eat. Yachtsman, Beaches and Cream, ESPN Zone, Cape May Buffet is good, plus I'd really like to try several of the Swan & Dolphin restaurants. I may be talking myself into a Boardwalk stay.

I've always said that the number one perk of The Boardwalk is location, location, location (or is that three perks)

But seriously - walking distance to two theme parks and a walk and a monorail to a third. Dining choices galore within walking distance even if you don't count the ones right at the Boardwalk itself.

Whenever I try to justify Deluxe resorts to a non Disney person, I always stress location. To me, the proximity of the Deluxes to points of interest is their biggest perk.

@Imagineer--that's so true! Wilderness Lodge and AKL can get a bum rap because of that, unfortunately. Both gorgeous hotels, but because they're not within walking/monorail distance, they're less desireable.

Very true, however AKL can boast a close proximity to one theme park, even if it's not walking distance. WL features a boat to MK and no monorail or walking, but I think in it's case, it's relative seclusion is a big part of it's charm.

I think seclusion is a draw in a lot of circumstances. Plus, both hotels offer enough activities that building in "hotel days" is almost a must.

Oh, believe you me, when I'm headed to stay anywhere in WDW I book a meal at the restaurant in my resort (except Maya Grill...don't love that one).

I wouldn't say I plan around it, but I do look forward to the food court when I stay at Pop Century. I have some guilty pleasures there I can't miss.

Tie-dyed Cheesecake?

It doesn't affect my choice of which resort to stay at. Having a vehicle allows us to dine where ever we like, so it is quite usual for us to drive up to other resorts for dinner.

Still, since Boma and Jiko are two of our most favorite restaurants, staying at AKL has its advantages in that respect. We can eat as much as we want, and consuming alcohol isn't an issue since we don't have to drive back to our resort. WE simply drag our bloated selves back to our room after a festival of gluttony at Boma.

Zz.

I'm actually not a big drinker at all, which means that one glass of wine is enough to affect me. Still, when I'm at Boma, and especially at Jiko, I definitely would like to sample the wines. Usually this is not a problem at all since someone else is usually driving. But if I have to drive, I don't drink even a glass of wine, or maybe a sip if the we got a whole bottle.

But being able to just walk back to the room is definitely a plus in this case. But this is simply another of those "pluses" for staying at AKL. Still, we find that we end up staying at our "home" at SSR more often than not. And other than Artists Palatte, we don't normally have our meals there.

Zz.

YUM!!

Among others

On a separate note, one thing that wasn't mentioned is how great it is to be on a monorail resort. You have access to a bunch of restaurants just via a monorail ride, which is usually very convenient (unless the park is opening or closing). Very similar to the Boardwalk experience, plus you can jump into MK and hit some of the dining there.

At least once every trip, we hop on the monorail and go to each resort just to walk around the shops and occasionally some of the outside areas.

As for the 'monorail crawl', there was a discussion about having one during our upcoming first annual "WDW For Grownups Board Meeting" to be held in the near future. (Well, I can dream can't I?)

Hi,

I saw this thread and couldn't resist commenting.

I don't consider restaurants in my resort when picking where I want to stay, although a restaurant I like in the lobby of my hotel is a plus. Once in awhile I like to walk--or in the case of one of Whispering Canyon Cafe's all-you-care-to-eat Canyon Skillets on Monday afternoon, December 5, 2005, STAGGER--to my room.

As a nondriver used to getting around on mass transit or on foot, I don't mind using Disney Transit to go all over WDW. There are only a few restaurants on property at which I've never eaten (such as Yachtsman's Steakhouse, V & A's, Maya Grill, San Angel Inn, and the Swolphin restaurants except Fresh Mediterranean Market and Shula's).

After a meal, there's a fine line between "pleasantly full" and "movement is possible but not a good idea".

Jim

I couldn't agree more. And it's very important that you make sure to cross that line!

Well, you can cross it, just make sure your room is right upstairs. I think that's the moral, right Jim?

I wish. I do like to have a sit-down restaurant in my resort, but that's the only criteria I have. I can't afford the resorts with the better restaurants (yet!). But don't forget: the more popular the restaurant, the more people crowd into your resort at meal time, which really annoys me. So I have mixed feelings about it.