Pros and Cons of Disney Deluxe Tier Resorts Part I

Deciding where to stay during a Walt Disney World vacation can be surprisingly challenging.

You won’t lack options and may feel analysis paralysis while trying to pick the perfect place.

Recently, MickeyBlog has been describing the advantages and disadvantages of Moderate and Value Tier Disney resorts.

Now, we’re ready to enter the final frontier, but it’ll take longer.

Here’s the first of a series of Pros and Cons for Disney Deluxe Tier resorts.

Disney’s Beach Club Resort

We’ll start with Disney’s Beach Club Resort, which has a theme you should be able to guess from the name.

Imagineers built an entire beach-adjacent hotel near Crescent Lake, and it even features a shipwreck to complete the effect.

Beach Club has proven to be consistently popular since it opened in 1990.

Pros of Beach Club Resort

As someone who considers EPCOT to be Disney’s best park, my favorite pro about Beach Club will always be its location.

Disney constructed this resort behind the World Showcase.

So, guests can stay here and ride a boat to the International Gateway. Alternatively, you can just walk.

Depending on where your room is, you could be at the park in as little as five minutes. I’m speaking from experience here.

Another pro, which will be a recurring theme at Deluxe hotels, is the quality of the restaurants.

Most Deluxe Tier resorts feature multiple Table Service and Quick Service dining options on site.

At Beach Club, you can enjoy the convenience of Beach Club Marketplace, a Quick Service restaurant hidden inside a general store.

My family loves to order breakfast here, and it’s great for the occasional pizza slice, too.

However, I am not praising Beach Club because of this particular restaurant. My family loves two others much more.

One of them is Beaches & Cream Soda Shop, my family’s go-to lunch spot when we want to eat at the hotel rather than the World Showcase.

Beaches & Cream serves 1950s-style burgers, fries, and milkshakes.

The Kitchen Sink is an unforgettable experience, even if you don’t order it.

The restaurant plays sirens and whistles when some daring soul orders this huge ice cream treat.

Finally, we have Cape May Cafe, which delivers two dining experiences in one.

At breakfast Disney hosts a character meal starring Minnie Mouse and friends, and they’re all dressed for a beach day.

At dinner, the space transforms into a seafood buffet that provides some of the best value at Disney World.

Cons

We have one general con to discuss about all Deluxe Tier resorts. It’s obviously the price.

You’ll enjoy more amenities when you stay here, but you’ll also pay more for the privilege.

As far as Deluxe Tier resorts go, Beach Club and the resort we’ll discuss next are both on the more affordable side of the scale.

The other con is the circuitous design of the hotel.

My wife and I once got so lost here that we wound up the lobby at Disney’s Yacht Club resort, which is an entirely different place.

In our experience, it takes a couple of days to find your bearings at Beach Club.

Disney’s BoardWalk Inn

In 1964, the Platters had a hit single called “Under the Boardwalk.”

That’s a little before my time, and yet I still know it because it’s a Motown classic.

The underlying concept of the song centers on a popular vacation of a bygone era when families would flock to the boardwalk each summer.

I guess it still happens today, but it’s lost its prestige due to Jersey Shore.

Still, the theming at BoardWalk is impeccable. The hotel has imported several actual pieces of resort memorabilia from that era.

There’s even a Mutascope that will make you appreciate your smartphone so much you’ll clutch it tightly.

You’ll also find some creepy clown chairs here. I don’t know what that’s about, and I wouldn’t suggest that you sit in them.

I’m kidding but also not. The style here is VERY quirky, especially by Disney standards.

Pros of BoardWalk

The location of the BoardWalk is even better than Beach Club, especially if you plan to spend a lot of time at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

A walking path connects the hotel to the resort.

In my experience, it takes about ten minutes, but there’s also an easier way.

You can walk to the International Gateway and ride the Skyliner to Hollywood Studios, as well. So, you’re staying ten minutes away from both EPCOT and Hollywood Studios.

Historically, the BoardWalk is VERY popular during festivals, as the World Showcase crawl is legendary.

Drink as much as you want and then stumble back to your hotel room.

The other pro is the easy access to Disney’s BoardWalk, a charming entertainment district hidden behind the World Showcase.

You can drink, dance, and dine here without ever entering a park.

Street performers also entertain you with their singing, dancing, and acrobatics.

The BoardWalk is an action spot in the evenings, especially on weekends, and some of the hotel’s rooms overlook the fun.

Cons

The BoardWalk isn’t as weird as it used to be.

There was a clown pool that was the stuff of nightmares, among other eccentricities. Disney has since remodeled many of the stranger spots, but there is still a core problem.

BoardWalk isn’t particularly Disney.

While the theming is incredibly detailed, it’s a time capsule from a different era that doesn’t scream Mickey Mouse.

Some people like that about BoardWalk, but it’s not my favorite for this reason.

Disney’s Contemporary Resort

In 1955, Walt Disney learned a harsh lesson.

While designing the Happiest Place on earth, Uncle Walt ran short on money.

So, someone else built and owned Disneyland Hotel until 1988.

When Walt Disney World opened in 1971, park officials refused to repeat that mistake.

Two immaculate resorts opened alongside Magic Kingdom.

The Contemporary was the more technologically innovative of the two.

Its A-frame rooms were so complex that Disney pre-fabricated them elsewhere and then lifted them into position via crane.

Not content to stop there, Disney ran a monorail through the middle of the building.

Pros of the Contemporary

You’ll notice a recurring theme at several of the Deluxe Tier resorts. Disney designed them to have optimal logistics.

The Contemporary is the closest resort to Magic Kingdom, the most popular theme park in the world.

You can walk from the hotel lobby to the theme park entrance in about ten minutes.

Alternatively, you can get there the more Disney way by riding the Monorail.

Simply head to the hotel’s fourth floor and catch a ride.

Walking is quicker on the way to the park, but when you leave Magic Kingdom, the Contemporary is the Monorail’s first stop.

Speaking of the spectacular fourth floor, Disney has named it the Grand Canyon Concourse.

This entertainment hub includes a Table Service restaurant, a Quick Service restaurant, and a popular bar and lounge.

You’ll also find three different stores laid out within about one hundred feet of each other.

One of them is a general store, another is a specialty store for Disney toys, and the third is a solid substitute when you don’t have time to go to World of Disney at Disney Springs.

The Table Service restaurant here is Chef Mickey’s, and my wife loves to spend birthdays here.

The Quick Service option, Contempo Cafe, is ideal for grab and go on your way to and from the park.

It’s so close to the monorail that the beverage station sits directly below the tracks.

Remarkably, you’ll find two other revered restaurants at the Contemporary.

On the bottom floor, Steakhouse 71 is exquisite, but many fans prefer California Grill on the top floor.

When you dine there at the right time, you can see the fireworks from inside the restaurant.

If you dine at California Grill earlier, Disney will still let you return to watch the fireworks.

Cons

The primary cons about the Contemporary are fairly obvious. The first one is that it’s a Monorail resort, which means that even by Deluxe Tier standards, it’s an expensive place to stay.

You’re paying for the exemplary access to Magic Kingdom.

The other con is that most people consider the other two Monorail resorts to be the superior options.

At a minimum, their theming is decidedly more Disney. Well, it had been.

Disney recently added rooms themed to The Incredibles.

If you can get one of those, they’re probably the most Disney option of all.

Thanks for visiting MickeyBlog.com! Want to go to Disney? For a FREE quote on your next Disney vacation, please fill out the form below. One of the agents from MickeyTravels, an EarMarked By Disney – Authorized Travel Agency – Diamond Level, will be in touch soon!

Feature photo: Disney