Will my kids be disappointed with POR instead of ASM?

[GoofyGirl75]

Hello all! I'm happily planning our 6th trip to the world, but I'm having a dilemma. In the past, we've always stayed at values, and my kids have been happy with all of them. My dd9 says ASMo is her favorite, and I think my ds5 is too young to care. I've been fine with the values, too, and we were considering trying ASMu this year. Then I thought, why not try something a little nicer? So, we're thinking POR. Then, I saw that we can get the royal rooms for $135 more than standard, so why not try that? So that's what I'm planning. But, do you think the kids will miss the over-the-top giant in-your-face Disney theming of the values?

It will be costing us about $450 more for a Royal room at POR than a standard room at ASMu + water parks. (We won't add water parks if we do POR, since they have a nicer pool, and we only go once per trip anyway.) I'm okay with this "splurge" if the kids really enjoy the resort (it looks like there's so much more cool stuff to do there), plus I think my DH will like it better, but I'm not okay with the kids longing to be back at a value while we're there.

So, what do you think?

 

[eemaxx]

I would think the kids would enjoy PO very much. I've stayed at both French Quarter and Riverside, and I actually prefer FQ. As for the Disney theming, I think you would have a little more of that at FQ with the Mardi Gras theme, especially at the pools. Either way, you can't go wrong with any Disney resort! Both of my kids, ages 10 and 5, have been to AS resorts and moderate resorts and don't care which it is, as long as its Disney!

 

[Mynamewastaken]

I personally think they will be ok! The Royal Rooms are amazing and your daughter will love them. We will be staying there for the first time in April and both my kids (one girl 6 and one boy 4) are psyched. They wanted that over AOA! They love to swim and the pool there is fun. I would do it if I were in your shoes. The room alone is much bigger and nicer than what the values offer. Plus the ferry is cool too

 

[Sue M]

What's not to like . We love POR, and for sure you and DH will enjoy it more, queen beds, 2 sinks, more room. It's a beautiful resort. The kids will like it too.

 

[DizDaD7]

POR is a very nice resort, just very different then AS...A lot bigger, but very lush, and nice restaurant and feature pool...Drawback is the Bus system , which I think is the worst or at least even with BWV.

 

[Rosanne]

I have not stayed at POR. It doesn't appeal to my girls (6,11) at all. However, the Royal Rooms would definitely appeal to my 6 year old.

We mostly have stayed at Movies, which is probably our favorite except maybe the Dolphin (but they are such different experiences). We have stayed also at Music, Pop, YC and Caribbean.

We are in the process of making some decisions about Disney for various reasons but if we do go to WDW we are going to stay at ASMusic. Movies wasn't included in the special (my 6 year old's favorite) but both girls were excited to stay at Music, esp. since they could walk to Movies to enjoy the icons if they wanted. If I were you, I would ask them. If they would prefer Music you would save some money anyway. If they prefer the Royal Rooms you can feel secure that they will be thrilled. Anytime I ask my girls' something like that I preface it with something like. "I will be making the final decision but I wanted your input on this."

 

[Rosanne]

Oh, also my 11 year old is excited about the "quiet" Ariel pool at Music, LOL.

 

[AllieBoo]

We've stayed at PO French Quarter twice and love it! We just booked our June trip for this year and before we did, we asked the kids where they wanted to stay - both picked French Quarter again. My husband and I wanted to try somewhere new though, so we looked up the PO Riverside Royal Rooms and my daughter decided those looked super cool too, so we're booked there. I don't think you can go wrong with either PO resorts, they both have great pools and you can use the pool at either resort if you are staying there.

 

[GoofyGirl75]

Thanks for the feedback, guys! We didn't consider POFQ because we got a better rate with the spring promo at POR.

I actually got dd's input earlier in the planning stages, and she did seem to lean toward a Magnolia room at POR over ASMu and water park tix. (But she wasn't seeing the big picture of the resort...just the rooms and the pool.) At that time we weren't even looking at royal rooms, so I'm sure she'll love them!

I know my kids will be thrilled with whatever...heck, on our last trip my son was excited over the yuck-o motel we stayed at en route. I just don't want to pay all this extra $ to then turn around and have him say something like, "This place is really cool, but when are we going to our Disney hotel?"

 

[3sweetpeas]

We usually split stay between POR and a couple days at a deluxe. I have tried to change resorts for variety but my kids do not want to change from POR. Every year, we rent the sea racers (one parent, one kid) out together and ride down to Downtown Disney and back. We all love it. Yee Haw Bob is great fun one night for the kids. The food court has a great ice cream bar and bakery. My kids love that! Pool is lots of fun. I think they'll like it !

 

[Rosanne]

Thanks for the feedback, guys! We didn't consider POFQ because we got a better rate with the spring promo at POR.

I actually got dd's input earlier in the planning stages, and she did seem to lean toward a Magnolia room at POR over ASMu and water park tix. (But she wasn't seeing the big picture of the resort...just the rooms and the pool.) At that time we weren't even looking at royal rooms, so I'm sure she'll love them!

I know my kids will be thrilled with whatever...heck, on our last trip my son was excited over the yuck-o motel we stayed at en route. I just don't want to pay all this extra $ to then turn around and have him say something like, "This place is really cool, but when are we going to our Disney hotel?"

It sounds like it will be a hit either way, then! My younger daughter went on her first WDW trip when she was just barely two. We stayed at Movies and for a couple of years (we take trips every 8-12 months) she was convinced that WDW was the Toy Story section of Movies. Everything else was specific parks, like MK, Epcot, AK, DHS. WDW was Toy Story section, period. I was kind of worried the first time we tried something new... Caribbean... but we stayed two nights at Toy Story first so she could get her fix.

 

[disnut1149]

Hi
Your DS might like to go fishing with a cane pole. My DS did this when he was really young and had fun!! There's a lot to do at POR. Also, you can use the slide at POFQ which has a dragon slide for smaller children. You're going to have so much fun!!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Back in 2005, this was our same dilemma! My kids were 8 & 10, and we had always done values and enjoyed them. But a deal came out and I was itching to upgrade to a mod. I chose POR, and like you was worried. Dd in particular loved the theming of a value.

Once at POR, we all four were in love with the whole resort! The boat to DTD, main pool with the slide and waterfall feature, food court, quiet pools, grounds, fishing and room were all huge hits.

That was our fourth trip and since then we have stayed value several more times, all the mods, some several times, the Poly, and even were DVC members for awhile. But the mods, POR in particular are our favorites. For us they are the perfect combo of value with a resort type experience.

Your kids will really enjoy all the areas to explore and the larger room with queen beds and larger/two sink bathroom is very nice.

I am not opposed to values but do way prefer the moderates. The different vibe and less hectic nature are great, but they still are a lot of fun with great theming.

I find Disney able to wow kids with all their resorts, because regardless of theme and level, they are able to immerse the guest in the specific theme of the resort.

 

[MrRomance]

I can definitely see your dilemma here. We've never stayed at a value because we don't like the OTT in your face Disney themes. We have visited them though to eat and stuff.

We have stayed at POR and our family stayed at POFQ during that trip so we spent a lot of time at FQ. If you're hoping it will be anything like the values then I can certainly say they're not. They are nice resorts. POR is more to our taste than FQ which I would say is slightly more "Disney" than POR.

You'll find that PO is much quieter, better equipped and "prettier" to look at. Very green and lush and not very Disney at all. That said, I think most kids are just happy to be at Disney and don't worry too much about the look of the resort. They'll enjoy the better standard of room and facilities much more.

My family really seek out non "Disney" resorts, our favourite is Saratoga Springs, but I would say that on balance, POR would make for a nicer time for you all because the pools are better, the facilities are better, the rooms are nicer.

 

[DizDaD7]

Thanks for the feedback, guys! We didn't consider POFQ because we got a better rate with the spring promo at POR.

I actually got dd's input earlier in the planning stages, and she did seem to lean toward a Magnolia room at POR over ASMu and water park tix. (But she wasn't seeing the big picture of the resort...just the rooms and the pool.) At that time we weren't even looking at royal rooms, so I'm sure she'll love them!

I know my kids will be thrilled with whatever...heck, on our last trip my son was excited over the yuck-o motel we stayed at en route. I just don't want to pay all this extra $ to then turn around and have him say something like, "This place is really cool, but when are we going to our Disney hotel?"

If you choose this place you won't be disappointed..That's for sure....Like I stated earlier the ONLY thing that was Bad was the bus system...But mostly just coming home late from a full day at the parks...Especially Fantasmic..>Which was horrible..

Other than that this place is amazing...Awesome feature pool, Great food court,& TS rest. great lounge, with Yee Haw Bob's. Nice Boat ride to DTD.
The rooms are all updated with comfortable queen beds, We stayed in Magnolia Bend which was probably the best spot I could think of....SOOO close to everything....Good luck & Have fun..

 

[Mousemommy1]

I have never stayed at POR, but I honestly don't see how a child can be disappointed in any Disney resort....it's Disney after all!

We did stay at the WL this past summer and when my kids (ages 8 and 5 at the time), saw the pics, they were NOT impressed...especially compared to some of the pics of the value resorts (some of which they have stayed)...well, they absolutely LOVED the WL, despite the lack of in your face theming....in fact, we are booked at YC for our April trip and the girls are apprehensive because its not the WL, but as my DD8 said...."it's gonna be fine, it's Disney!!!"

I'm training them well, lol.

The royal rooms look like a blast....we will definitely get over there to try them at some point.

 

[calngavinsmom]

Hello there! We are a family of four and have been lucky enough to try out a couple of values and a couple of moderates and my boys favourite is hands down POR!

They were 9 and 6 on our last trip and it was a repeat stay at POR at their request. We had previously stayed at POFQ, POP, ASMu and ASMU family suite as well.

To them there was just so much more to do at POR that the over the top theme of the values didn't matter as much.

POR has a great feature pool with a slide (it's fun I tried it.....a few times ) cool arcade, fishing hole (we didn't catch much but still fun), boat to DTD, fun boats at the marina (watermice), the boys LOVED the YeeHaw Bob show in the lounge, very interactive!

To add, for the adults, I personally really enjoyed the feeling of relaxation at POR. After the hustle and bustle of a day at the parks, I really enjoyed having a place that I could just relax.....and POR definitely promotes that feeling. It is so lush and beautiful I just love it.

It's a small thing but by the pool, there are a lot of sunny and shaded areas to lounge, which I appreciated being able to get out of the sun when it got too hot.

The foodcourt was also great with the design your own pasta and salad....very yummy

The boat to dtd also opened up a lot of dining options that were an easy, fun ride away.

My dh loved POR so much after staying at values, he went from wanting to take a break from DIsney to booking the bounceback before we even left the resort

I have no idea if your kids will love it or not but I just wanted to share the experience of a family with children of similar ages who have btdt.

Good luck to you!

 

[Gorechick]

We took our 7 yr old boy/ girl twins on their first trip this past August and stayed in a RR at POR. They absolutely loved the resort. They loved the setting, pools, room, store, and food court. This was their first big trip staying at a fancy hotel. They continue to talk about it and we just might stay again on our next trip.

 

[mum2four]

Hello all! I'm happily planning our 6th trip to the world, but I'm having a dilemma. In the past, we've always stayed at values, and my kids have been happy with all of them. My dd9 says ASMo is her favorite, and I think my ds5 is too young to care. I've been fine with the values, too, and we were considering trying ASMu this year. Then I thought, why not try something a little nicer? So, we're thinking POR. Then, I saw that we can get the royal rooms for $135 more than standard, so why not try that? So that's what I'm planning. But, do you think the kids will miss the over-the-top giant in-your-face Disney theming of the values?

It will be costing us about $450 more for a Royal room at POR than a standard room at ASMu + water parks. (We won't add water parks if we do POR, since they have a nicer pool, and we only go once per trip anyway.) I'm okay with this "splurge" if the kids really enjoy the resort (it looks like there's so much more cool stuff to do there), plus I think my DH will like it better, but I'm not okay with the kids longing to be back at a value while we're there.

So, what do you think?

I completely understand your dilemma! We debated back and forth between POR room and AOA suite for our upcoming May trip (we need a room for 5). Kids LOVE the pics of AOA, but the cost is almost $1000 more than POR, so we are booked at POR instead. Personally, I'm thrilled - the pics of POR are gorgeous!! I am a little concerned that the kids might be disappointed, BUT, they are at Disney World! There is no reason for them to complain about anything!! Besides, they've never been anywhere like POR before so it will all be new and exciting. We will probably make a trip over to AOA some evening just to walk around and check it out - maybe you could do that if your kids are missing the ambience of the values! I bet your kids will love POR

 

[pixarmom]

I have never stayed at POR, but I honestly don't see how a child can be disappointed in any Disney resort....it's Disney after all!

We did stay at the WL this past summer and when my kids (ages 8 and 5 at the time), saw the pics, they were NOT impressed...especially compared to some of the pics of the value resorts (some of which they have stayed)...well, they absolutely LOVED the WL, despite the lack of in your face theming....in fact, we are booked at YC for our April trip and the girls are apprehensive because its not the WL, but as my DD8 said...."it's gonna be fine, it's Disney!!!"

I'm training them well, lol.

The royal rooms look like a blast....we will definitely get over there to try them at some point.

Definitely agree with this! We stayed at a value before kids, but with kids, it's been CBR, CSR, POFQ, Poly, BC, YC, CR, Dolphin, BWI, AKL and WL. For one trip, we booked All Star Movies and decided to switch to BC. We thought our youngest would be disappointed (our older boys were already familiar with BC and would take deluxe over value any day.) So anyway, there is no way our youngest was going to choose BC over Movies in advance and based on photos. We told him that, by staying at BC, we would be closer to the "real Woody" at DHS. After that stay, BC became his favorite resort.

Our kids are now ages 5, 12 and 13, and we've been going to Disney relatively frequently since our oldest was a baby. In our experience, particularly with younger kids, they often like the last resort they stayed in the best! But when we return and try something new, they often have a new favorite!