A common question I see often, “What Walt Disney World resort is your favorite to stay at for Christmas decorations?” All of Disney’s resorts are beautifully decorated, but there are always a few that stand out from the rest.
A few polls were posted in our Facebook groups, All Access Disney Group and All Access Disney’s Disney Vacation Club to get members’ opinions on their favorite resorts. One poll allowed members to input any resort they wanted into the poll and were told money was no object. Then I broke down the other polls to Disney’s levels of resorts. One of the polls includes Disney Vacation Club resorts voted on by DVC members, people who have rented DVC points and/or have booked a cash stay at a DVC resort villa.
Value Resorts
- Art of Animation
- Pop Century
- All-Star Movies
- Campsites at Fort Wilderness
- All-Star Music
- All-Star Sports
Art of Animation took 59% of the votes! Wow! Pop Century took 25% of the votes. All-Star Sports had 0 votes. While All-Star Movies got 9% of the votes, based on these numbers, it appears Art of Animation and Pop Century are the best 2 resorts to choose for your value resort stay during Christmas time for the decorations. As you can see, the Campsites were lumped in with the value resort poll options so we had an accurate number comparing to other resorts.
Moderate Resorts
- Port Orleans–French Quarter
- Cabins at Fort Wilderness
- Port Orleans–Riverside
- Caribbean Beach
- Coronado Springs
The top 3: French Quarter took 52% of the votes; Cabins took 22% of the votes; Riverside is not far behind the Cabins with 18%.
Due to Port Orleans being closed in 2020 due to Covid-19, many guests who had booked at Port Orleans resorts were transferred to Coronado. They said Coronado is not as “Christmasy” as the other resorts. Coronado received less than 1% of the votes.
Deluxe Resorts
- Grand Floridian
- Animal Kingdom Lodge
- Wilderness Lodge
- Contemporary
- Beach Club
- Boardwalk Inn
- Polynesian
- Yacht Club
The Grand Floridian took 43% of the votes. The numbers are close with Animal Kingdom Lodge (26%) and Wilderness Lodge (23%) in this poll. The remaining resorts were not even close to the top 3. The top 3 took 92% of all the votes.
Disney Vacation Club Villas
- Grand Floridian
- Copper Creek/Boulder Ridge
- Bay Lake Tower
- Animal Kingdom–Kidani
- Old Key West
- Polynesian
- Boardwalk
- Riviera
- Animal Kingdom–Jambo
- Beach Club
- Saratoga Springs
Grand Floridian took 39% of the votes in this poll. The top 2 took 65% of all the votes.
I lumped Copper Creek and Boulder Ridge together, because Boulder Ridge cannot operate separately from the Wilderness Lodge (Copper Creek is inside the lodge) unlike Animal Kingdom Kidani can operate separately from the Animal Kingdom Lodge (Jambo is inside of the lodge). Boulder Ridge is a hop, skip and a jump from Wilderness Lodge. While Animal Kingdom Kidani and Jambo are semi close together, Kidani and Jambo are not as close in proximity like Boulder Ridge is to Copper Creek/Wilderness Lodge.
Some Kidani guests never step foot in Animal Kingdom Lodge during their stay. Animal Kindgom Kidani has its own front desk for guests where Boulder Ridge does not. Boulder Ridge guests usually need to walk through the Wildness Lodge at some point. Kidani is more independent from Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Choice of Any WDW Resort
~~Money Is No Object~~
Members inputted their favorite on the poll and other members either added their own or agreed with the options already in the poll. Surprisingly, only 4 resorts were inputted into the poll out of all the resorts Walt Disney World has to offer.
- Grand Floridian
- Wilderness Lodge
- Polynesian Bungalows
- Animal Kingdom Lodge
Grand Floridian took 54% of all the votes and Wilderness Lodge took 25% of the votes. One member did add the Cinderella Castle to the poll and there were 3 votes, but the castle could not be included, because it is not a resort, Disney does not rent out the castle and Disney has said that no amount of money can purchase a stay in the castle.
Summary
Not surprising, and the polls have continued to show, that Grand Floridian is most popular for Christmas decorations.
While Wilderness Lodge/Copper Creek/Boulder Ridge was #2 in a couple polls, it was #3 in another. The ranking is different for a few of the resorts, because the polls were hinged on Facebook’s algorithms. Some people may not have seen one of the polls that they voted on in another poll.
But, there is one consistent pattern in almost all polls……..Animal Kingdom, Grand Floridian and Wilderness Lodge are the most popular, by far, except where they could not be chosen in the two polls that were dedicated to the value and moderate poll categories.
Strictly by the numbers: In 3 out of 5 polls, Grand Floridian took 47% of all votes; Wildness Lodge/Copper Creek/Boulder Ridge took 26% of all votes; Animal Kingdom Lodge/Jambo/Kidani took 15% of all votes. Those particular resorts took 88% of all votes! That’s incredible!! You know what to do next? Book your stay at Walt Disney World to see the amazing Christmas decorations!
