Por

Kristin3021

Mouseketeer
Joined
Aug 8, 2013
Hi

Wanting to book at POR for April 2014. Is it worth it to book a preferred room? We have 2 young children and both sets of grandparents coming. Thx!
 
You will likely get a lot of responses on this one.... I know a lot of people think that if you are able to walk the parks for a week, the size of the resort should be inconsequential. I have been to POR with 2 young kids (5 & 7 at the time), and my parents who are in their late sixties.

When we stayed at POR, we got free dining. Free dining was not available in the preferred rooms, our only option was a garden room. We stayed in the Mansion section (Magnolia Terrace in the inner courtyard facing the river). As far as distance to the food court, that was actually a pretty good location. There was also a bus stop behind our building. Even considering that it was a pretty good location, my Dad struggled. He has some pretty big back and hip issues. It takes all he has to spend a day in the parks. By the time we get back to the resort... he's down for the count. My husband and I spent a lot of time running back and forth to the food court to refill my parents mugs, or get them things they needed. My younger daughter is also really tiny. At 5, she was probably the size of an average 2-3 year old. She walks really slow, so when we would try to run to the food court quick... it took forever (unless we carried her).

In retrospect... I actually would have done things the same way if given a choice. For our family, the free dining was a heck of a deal. With little kids, we did a lot of buffets and character meals. We saved a fortune. However, if the discount wasn't a consideration... and the only difference was the upcharge between garden view and preferred, I would have paid that in a heartbeat. It would have made things so much more pleasant for my parents. Even though we were doing the running for them (which I didn't mind), they actually kind of enjoy strolling up to the food courts and main areas. Especially as the week went on... it just wasn't happening.

Sorry for the long winded answer..... but I hope that gives you something to ponder at least.
 
Yes!!! We do everytime, but was most important at POR! Very large resort, with preferred room, we were in Alligator Bayou, literally steps from the dining hall! The Mansions are nice in theme, but some can be quite a hike to all your amenities! Just our two cents! :thumbsup2
 
You will likely get a lot of responses on this one.... I know a lot of people think that if you are able to walk the parks for a week, the size of the resort should be inconsequential. I have been to POR with 2 young kids (5 & 7 at the time), and my parents who are in their late sixties.

When we stayed at POR, we got free dining. Free dining was not available in the preferred rooms, our only option was a garden room. We stayed in the Mansion section (Magnolia Terrace in the inner courtyard facing the river). As far as distance to the food court, that was actually a pretty good location. There was also a bus stop behind our building. Even considering that it was a pretty good location, my Dad struggled. He has some pretty big back and hip issues. It takes all he has to spend a day in the parks. By the time we get back to the resort... he's down for the count. My husband and I spent a lot of time running back and forth to the food court to refill my parents mugs, or get them things they needed. My younger daughter is also really tiny. At 5, she was probably the size of an average 2-3 year old. She walks really slow, so when we would try to run to the food court quick... it took forever (unless we carried her).

In retrospect... I actually would have done things the same way if given a choice. For our family, the free dining was a heck of a deal. With little kids, we did a lot of buffets and character meals. We saved a fortune. However, if the discount wasn't a consideration... and the only difference was the upcharge between garden view and preferred, I would have paid that in a heartbeat. It would have made things so much more pleasant for my parents. Even though we were doing the running for them (which I didn't mind), they actually kind of enjoy strolling up to the food courts and main areas. Especially as the week went on... it just wasn't happening.

Sorry for the long winded answer..... but I hope that gives you something to ponder at least.

Thank you! This actually helped a ton. We're booking now, but are hoping for a discount. I assumed that since we would be paying for preferred, we could get the discount with it. Good to know it wouldn't apply.
 


Yes!!! We do everytime, but was most important at POR! Very large resort, with preferred room, we were in Alligator Bayou, literally steps from the dining hall! The Mansions are nice in theme, but some can be quite a hike to all your amenities! Just our two cents! :thumbsup2

This is what we were hoping to do, but I'm not sure if we could get a discount if one becomes available.
 
POR is VERY popular. When/if a discount comes out you will need to be right on top of it, preferably the day it is released. Even then, be prepared to switch room categories.

We are staying at POR with free dining in a little over a month. We were very lucky and got a PIN number and beat the crowds to getting into POR with the discount. Even with the PIN we had to switch from a king bed room to a RR garden view because it was the only category with availability.
 
We are at POR right now in a preferred room (1461). It is a fantastic room and I requested building 14. It is so close to the food court and bus and main pool. We love being close, makes everything so much easier.
 


Thank you! This actually helped a ton. We're booking now, but are hoping for a discount. I assumed that since we would be paying for preferred, we could get the discount with it. Good to know it wouldn't apply.

It may possibly apply... you never know! I would book preferred now so you know you have it... but know that you very likely will have to change room types if a discount becomes available that you want to take advantage of. I think they are able to book the preferred rooms regardless... so often they are not included. You never know... you might get lucky, though.

We're planning another trip with my parents in January. We haven't booked yet, and likely won't book until the discounts come out. If we could get a preferred room at POR with a disount.... I'll be dancing on my desk at work!
 
Alligator Bayou Building 14 -- absolutely you will appreciate how close it is to everything.

Tom
 

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