“They” are the champions, my friends … and, “they kept” on fighting ’til the end.  “They” are the champions!  “They” are the champions  … of “The World”!

What … a  … battle!

Mrs. All in WDW, our son and his fiancee’, and I went to see “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” last night.  In the end, it might have been more entertaining to keep watching our finale unfold.

Oh, don’t get me wrong.  Good movie … but, at about 5 PM last night, only two votes (TWO!) separated the Top 3 resorts!  In the end, our winner finally broke away from the pack and defended their title.

Yes, my friends.  “They” are the champions, and “they” are the Poly!  But, was it an easy victory?  No, by no means was it a runaway.

The Poly’s theming leads it to victory again! But, was it easy?

In 2012, with 60.4% of the finale vote, Disney’s Polynesian Resort utterly destroyed its competition.  This year, it was a much, much different story.  Only eight votes kept our #2 vacation destination – Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge – from dethroning “the champ”!

1. Disney’s Polynesian Resort – 34.48%
2. Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge – 25.29%
3. Disney’s Beach Club Resort – 22.99%
4. Disney’s BoardWalk Villas – 17.24%

Long live the Poly!  You have done it again.  You are still the All in WDW Readers’ Favorite WDW Deluxe Resort!

Now, before I cruise out of here for the day, I have to ask you … why do you think the Poly had to fight harder to win this year?  Leave a comment with your thoughts either here or on Facebook or Twitter!  What’s your opinion?

What a diverse finale!  The whole property is covered!

The loop is represented by our defending champion – the Poly.  Our favorite area of the entire resort sports two entries – Beach Club and BoardWalk Villas.  And, when it comes to a deluxe not in close proximity to parks, unsurprisingly, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge stands tall.

Christmas at Animal Kingdom Lodge … as taken from the balcony that is the Kilimanjaro Club!

Just to satisfy my curiosity, I went back to look at 2012’s finale.  It is pleasing to see that, even though the overall All in WDW audience has grown over the last year, we’re pretty consistent.

One year ago, I presented you with a “Final Three”.  I don’t remember why it ended only with that “terrific trio”, but, even then, we did the very same thing – we completely enveloped Walt Disney World in candidates.

In 2012, The Poly and Beach Club battled for the title.  Plus, the Animal Kingdom complex was represented by Kidani Village.  This time around,  the kingdom’s roots take a shot – the lodge itself enters the fray.  Finally, BoardWalk’s villas make their debut.

Having said all of that, let me add that you guys have “rocked” during this week of voting.  Please keep it up!  Vote!  Vote for your favorite resort in “The Big Deluxe Finale!”  One vote to cast … one resort can win!

“Why must you make me choose between AKL and Poly?!”

That comment, received on yesterday’s post, pretty much sums up these polls as you move into the 2nd Round and beyond. The choices get excruciatingly hard. Sadly, today, it gets more difficult.

Good representation by the Monorail resorts. Only the Grand Floridian – both resort and villas – failed to slip into Round 3.  At the same time, Crescent Lake got well-covered by the Beach Club Resort and both the BoardWalk Inn and Villas.

Do you enjoy a stroll on the BoardWalk?

Finally, as impressively as the BoardWalk’s double-entry in the semi-finals, both the …

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“Good morning, WDW fans!”  Thanks for all your support yesterday.  The voting was fierce and spirited!  The outcome was more in line with what we’d normally expect.

In fact, I think you’re going to like our [in my best singing voice], “Twelve Resorts of December”!  Sorry.  Cheap (and poorly executed) take on “Twelve Days of Christmas”, that was.  Really, sometimes when I’m writing, I don’t know where these random thoughts come from!

Wilderness Lodge is a great deluxe option.  Enjoy the beauty of the U.S. Pacific Northwest!

I know its a crummy Monday, but I hope you can eek out just a minute or two to take this week’s poll to the next level … uh, the next round!  Go on!  You know you have a second.  Do it on your phone!  No one will be the wiser!

Today, you have four (4) groups to address.  As in Round 1, the Top 2 in each group will move on to Round 3.  Go ahead and vote!  You know you want your favorite to win!  VOTE!

Wow!  You know how sometimes an idea just doesn’t work out the way you think it will?  Well, consider me out-played.

I was planning to take today off and let you guys vote to your heart’s content, and I still could, but I don’t know that it would do any good.  It’s just a simple fact.  I mis-fired on the execution of this one.  My idea to allow unlimited voting has ended up in, what I will call, a melt-down.

Ladies and gentlemen, winning the category of “WDW deluxe resort who gets the most support in an unlimited voting poll” is Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa.

So, yesterday, I said things like, “Call it an experiment,” and “… we’ll probably have to toy with the process.”  Yeah.  I’m glad I used the word “experiment”.  And, toy with the process?  Uh, how about back to the drawing board, Bob?

I totally respect the fact that Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa is a fine Walt Disney World deluxe resort option.  I’m very impressed with its epic vote total.  I even admire the fact that one of our family of readers loves it so much that they packed the ballot box full.  Geez, I think the All in WDW super-computer overheated as it counted all the votes!

I also know that I created the playing field.  Hey, I was the knucklehead that said, “Vote as much as you like”.  The rules were followed.  The rule-maker, however, should be banished to Universal Studios.

So, if we aimed for a Top 10, we got one.  In the free-for-all forum I created yesterday, our Top 10 deluxe resorts are:

1. Saratoga Springs
2. Polynesian
3. BoardWalk Villas
4. Beach Club Villas
5. Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani
6. BoardWalk Inn
7. Animal Kingdom Lodge
8. Old Key West
9. Yacht Club
10. Beach Club

Now, I have had all day and night to think about this long and hard.  How can we recover from my folly?

Well, first, as promised, I “crown” Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa as the All in WDW Favorite Deluxe Resort.  Honestly, I can’t bear to call it “Readers’ Favorite” because I don’t think that it really is.  I do, however, think that it is a reader’s favorite.

Quick! Push the button!

Having acknowledged this, I have decided to “reboot” the process.  I am going to take us back to basics and stop messing around with things that aren’t broken.  Foolishly, I started us down a poorly-lit path, and now I’m going to return to the  tournament-style process that we all know works very well.  This is the same way we did it a year ago.  It’s the same way I should have started it yesterday.

There are six (6) groups below.  Vote for one (1) in each group.  The Top 2 in each group move on to the second round.  Jump in and vote!

Oh, thanks for having my back, my friends!  I don’t want to go to Universal!  Please don’t make me!  Please VOTE!