The voting has really slowed, so I went ahead and closed the polls early, folks.

The first phase of our quest to identify WDW’s “Most Coveted Deluxe Resort” has come to an end, and I would like to extend a sincere and hearty thanks to all of you who participated. I’m blown away by the response – and the hundreds of people that voted. Hundreds! THANK YOU!! Without further delay, here are the winners:

Group 1

206 votes

1 – Beach Club  (95 votes)

2 – Bay Lake Tower  (78)

3 – BoardWalk Inn   (24)

4 – Old Key West Resort  (9)

My sentimental vote, here, was Beach Club.  We’ve stayed there twice with our son and his fiance for special occasions – this past New Year’s Day and his 21st birthday – so it holds a special place in our family.  In truth, my vote was for BoardWalk Inn, however.  The room we had there on our visit in October for my 50th birthday was just that good.  We really enjoyed the location.  OK, we really enjoyed Leaping Libations and The Belle Vue Room.  The bartenders, at both, are fantastic.

Group 2

213 votes

1 – Animal Kingdom Lodge  (73 votes)

2 – Grand Floridian  (70)

3 – Wilderness Lodge  (64)

4 – Swan & Dolphin  (6)

Incredibly close vote!  I knew this would be a tough group, but to see that only nine votes separated the Top 3 is phenomenal.  AKL was my vote.  There was no doubt, for me.  I just love zebras, giraffes, Boma, and the theming.  We’re angling to try Wilderness Lodge for the first time in 2013, and we’re not huge fans of the Grand Floridian.  We just feel it’s a bit too stuffy for us.  We want to relax on vacation – not feel like we have to “dress up” in our Sunday’s finest.  We’ve been to the Dolphin a couple of times, but it just can’t compete with this bunch.

Group 3

216 votes

1 – Polynesian  (155 votes)

2 – Contemporary  (36)

3 – Yacht Club  (20)

4 – Saratoga Springs  (5)

Wow!  Do you think we like the Poly?  If Disney ever makes good on the rumors to do a major rebuild of this resort, we may all break down and cry.  Contemporary is on our “To-Do” list.  We do love California Grill, however.  That, and the monorail, are this resort’s biggest attractions for us.

Group 4

202 votes

1 – Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village  (77 votes)

2 – Beach Club Villas  (75)

3 – The Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge  (27)

4 – BoardWalk Villas  (23)

Another very tight vote.  A good result, from my view.  As I said above, I have a fondness for both BC and AKL.

Next up?  The Top 2 resorts from each of these four groups will compete to be included in our version of the “Final Four”.  Look for that in the next day or so.

Please leave your comments below.  What do you think of the results?  Did we get it wrong?  Why?  Feel free to “speak up”!  I would love to hear from you!!