[Question] What's the best themed Disney resort hotel in the world (SORRY ltd to 10 poll choices

[jcruise86]

SORRY I'm limited to 10, so feel free to add your favorites in your posts. My bias is obviously that I think WDW's space allowed for more impressive landscaping than Disneyland Paris, and I've never stayed at a Disney hotel in Tokyo or Hong Kong.

You may vote for more than one.

Please add you favorite hotel that's missing from the list above in a post on this thread.

I included Port Orleans and Paris' Hotel Cheyenne because they do such a good job of pleasing guests with impressive theming despite "moderate" prices.

Sorry, I forgot to include Aulani.




--Tom Sinsky

[swampymarsh]

Re: What's the best themed Disney resort hotel in the world (SORRY ltd to 10 poll cho

DAK, if a savanna view. Poly surely if not viewing the parking lot. Wilderness Lodge is a masterpiece, but not the best hotel. Port Orleans French Quarter is wonderful.

[sbk1234]

Re: What's the best themed Disney resort hotel in the world (SORRY ltd to 10 poll cho

Although I haven't stayed at these, I find Polynesian seems to give me the greatest sense of really being there in the South Pacific.

Wilderness Lodge is my favorite of the places I haven't stayed, largely for the feel of being in a national park.

and Animal Kingdom Lodge is exquisite in its African theming, AND they have Savannah animals.

[TylerDurden]

Re: What's the best themed Disney resort hotel in the world (SORRY ltd to 10 poll cho

The Boardwalk - such a sucker for the theming (1920's, theme parks) and I love the set-up with the stores and restaurants by the bay, as well as the quick access to DHS and Epcot. Really is it's own attraction, and there's not much else like it.

[Mondo Mouse]

Re: What's the best themed Disney resort hotel in the world (SORRY ltd to 10 poll cho

I think the Animal Kingdom Lodge is exceptional, and a really big fan of the Polynesian as well. I really, really like Port Orleans-Riverside, it's extremely charming and was very pleasantly surprised the first time I checked it out. The Wilderness Lodge is very well-themed, it's just not my thing so much.

I can't speak to any of the international resort hotels, hopefully I will be able to sometime soon.

Not on this list is the Art of Animation Resort, which is a lot of fun and extremely well done for what they had to work with.

[Aotphks]

Re: What's the best themed Disney resort hotel in the world (SORRY ltd to 10 poll cho

Definitely, the very best themed Disney hotel is the Tokyo DisneySea Miracosta. Inside and out it makes the Grand Floridian look cheap. But the Animal Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland Hotel and Wilderness Lodge are as well quite nice. The problem with a broad survey like this is that for the answers to be credible, all participants must have been to all those hotel. Based on the results I see so far, it appears people are voting on the hotels they have been to only. So the margin for error here is quite high.

[jcruise86]

Thanks! + Questions

Definitely, the very best themed Disney hotel is the Tokyo DisneySea Miracosta. Inside and out it makes the Grand Floridian look cheap. But the Animal Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland Hotel and Wilderness Lodge are as well quite nice. The problem with a broad survey like this is that for the answers to be credible, all participants must have been to all those hotel. Based on the results I see so far, it appears people are voting on the hotels they have been to only. So the margin for error here is quite high.

AND I put the poll in the Walt Disney World section. )

What's better, the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel or the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel?

I doubt many people have stayed at every Disney hotel.
Dusty, have you?

Mondo Mouse, glad the Art of Animation has its fans. An article by Jessica today described its counter-service food court, which she listed as one of her personal favorites. Does it have a few excellent, healthy options?

Aotphks, I agree the Grand Floridian is looking a bit cheap, but I think the only reason for this (for me) is because it has too many rooms in too small a space. It's like a neighborhood full of McMansions. It looks to me like they got greedy and gave up on the five-star aspirations they had when it opened.

Is the Mira Coast in Tokyo the only five star Disney hotel in the world?

Tyler, the Boardwalk and the Beach and Yacht Club would have been on a longer list. Perhaps Disney should allow me to stay at every one of their resorts at no charge so I can be more fair and accurate.

The best Disney service I've ever encountered was on the Disney Wonder in July of 2013, but there are enough Disney hotels without including the cruise ships.

[CaliforniaAdventurer]

Re: What's the best themed Disney resort hotel in the world (SORRY ltd to 10 poll cho

I voted for the one with live giraffes.

[Hathaway Browne]

Re: What's the best themed Disney resort hotel in the world (SORRY ltd to 10 poll cho

This is a tough one if we're choosing from the whole Empire. There's nearly 40 hotels to chose from. All with unique theming that brings its own charm and feel.

I had to go with Mira Costa though, it does have some exquisite theming, but that's not to take away from some of the others around the world.

East Coast
=1 Polynesian/Wilderness Lodge/Boardwalk

West Coast
Grand Californian

Paris
Sequoia Lodge

Tokyo
Mira Costa

Hong Kong
Hollywood Hotel

and just for fun...

Shanghai
Shanghai Disneyland Hotel (based on the fact that I don't like the look of the concept of the Toy Story Hotel).

[robbiem]

Re: What's the best themed Disney resort hotel in the world (SORRY ltd to 10 poll cho

I always thought it was a shame that most of the WDW resorts went for 'safe' themes based on where people would holiday if they weren't at WDW (Florida beach, New England, national park, Carribean,, Mexico etc.) Euro Disney was the same but it could be argued that 'America' as a theme was more exotic in Europe than the US.

I would have have loved some of the original planned resorts to have been built. Something like the Asian or the Persian would have been much more unique and exotic than the Grand Floridian or Old Key West

[Mondo Mouse]

Re: What's the best themed Disney resort hotel in the world (SORRY ltd to 10 poll cho

I would have have loved some of the original planned resorts to have been built. Something like the Asian or the Persian would have been much more unique and exotic than the Grand Floridian or Old Key West

I think "Asian" would be far too broad, but I get what you mean.

[Mondo Mouse]

Re: What's the best themed Disney resort hotel in the world (SORRY ltd to 10 poll cho

Might be fun to have hotels themed on the cities of the international Disney resorts

[Hathaway Browne]

Re: What's the best themed Disney resort hotel in the world (SORRY ltd to 10 poll cho

Wasn't the Asian hotel supposed to be Thai in all but name?

[jcruise86]

Re: What's the best themed Disney resort hotel in the world (SORRY ltd to 10 poll cho

I still want more insider details on Mira Costa and the Hong Kong & Tokyo Disneyland hotels from people who've been to all three. (I'm seriously vicarious.)

C'mon, haven't ANY of you stayed at all three of these in the last month? :smart:

And how is that other Hong Kong Disneyland hotel? I mean when contrasted with Walt Disney World hotels, since we are in the Disney World section!

[robbiem]

Re: What's the best themed Disney resort hotel in the world (SORRY ltd to 10 poll cho

I haven't stayed there but I've visited the three Tokyo hotels (stayed at the Hilton). Of the three I really liked the Ambassador the most. Yes it's location is the worst but it had a great Art Deco which was very Disney but different from the stateside or Parisian hotels

Disneyland hotel was very nice, kind of a more colourful Grand Floridian type hotel. It has a good location being walking distance from Disneyland the JR station and Inspari shopping centre. It might be the nicest of the Victorian hotels but is very similar in theme at least to several other Disney resorts. You feel you are in a big hotel here.

Mira Costa was OK but I thought it was overrated. Now I haven't stayed there and I'm sure the rooms and their views of Disneysea are fantastic but I found the lobby and public areas quite small and crowded compared to the others. The theming was lovely and the location fantastic though

[toonaspie]

Re: What's the best themed Disney resort hotel in the world (SORRY ltd to 10 poll cho

I too would have to go with Tokyo Hotel MiraCosta. The detail inside and out is amazing and the fact that they got this hotel to blend in flawlessy inside of the TDS park is also a crowning achievement in itself.

I would love to see Walt Disney World built their own 5-star resort with the class and detail of MiraCosta. I bet you the Disney nuts would pay good money to stay in a room like that.

Second runner up goes to Animal Kingdom Lodge. I've always wanted Disney to do an African-lodge theme hotel.

[jcruise86]

Re: What's the best themed Disney resort hotel in the world (SORRY ltd to 10 poll cho

I haven't stayed there but I've visited the three Tokyo hotels (stayed at the Hilton). Of the three I really liked the Ambassador the most. Yes it's location is the worst but it had a great Art Deco which was very Disney but different from the stateside or Parisian hotels

Disneyland hotel was very nice, kind of a more colourful Grand Floridian type hotel. It has a good location being walking distance from Disneyland the JR station and Inspari shopping centre. It might be the nicest of the Victorian hotels but is very similar in theme at least to several other Disney resorts. You feel you are in a big hotel here.

Mira Costa was OK but I thought it was overrated. Now I haven't stayed there and I'm sure the rooms and their views of Disneysea are fantastic but I found the lobby and public areas quite small and crowded compared to the others. The theming was lovely and the location fantastic though

Thanks, Robbiem!

Which three hotels do you think are Victorian? The Grand Floridian, The Tokyo Disneyland Hotel, and the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel? I think of the Grand Floridian as an impressive rip off of the Hotel del Coronado, which is shown in Billy Wilder's "Some Like It Hot." (A hotel at the California border in Primm, Nevada also copied the Hotel del Cornado.)

Any word (from anyone) on how the Disney Hong Kong hotels compare and
contrast with other Disney hotels?

I'd like to reiterate my offer to Disney, Dusty, and the Travel Channel to stay at all the best Disney hotels in the world and report on them, their best restaurants, and how they treat their VIPs/concierge-level guests! Oh, and on all the different first class sections of airlines that go to Tokyo, Hong Kong, Orlando, and Paris. Thanks in advance! (Now I'll just sit back and see who contacts me first!)

[WDWFigment]

Re: What's the best themed Disney resort hotel in the world (SORRY ltd to 10 poll cho

This is a tough one if we're choosing from the whole Empire. There's nearly 40 hotels to chose from. All with unique theming that brings its own charm and feel.

I had to go with Mira Costa though, it does have some exquisite theming, but that's not to take away from some of the others around the world.

East Coast
=1 Polynesian/Wilderness Lodge/Boardwalk

West Coast
Grand Californian

Paris
Sequoia Lodge

Tokyo
Mira Costa

Hong Kong
Hollywood Hotel

and just for fun...

Shanghai
Shanghai Disneyland Hotel (based on the fact that I don't like the look of the concept of the Toy Story Hotel).

Completely agree with this list until you get to Hong Kong. There, I don't necessarily disagree, I just hope you're wrong because we booked HKDLH!

[jcruise86]

Re: What's the best themed Disney resort hotel in the world (SORRY ltd to 10 poll cho

I wonder how the Shanghai Disneyland hotels will compare and contrast with other Disney hotels.

[RTDJ]

Re: What's the best themed Disney resort hotel in the world (SORRY ltd to 10 poll cho

I think the Wilderness Lodge @ WDW is the best themed. Unfortunately, I've only stayed at the WDW resorts. I would really like to try the Disneyland Hotel @ Disneyland Paris with a view of the park. Probably not going to happen unless I win the lottery.