I can't think straight anymore - help me pick a resort!!

[hipchickie]

Ok, we always stay in values, as we are never there much anyway. We had planned to do it again this trip, but after the 4/3 or 5/2 deal came out, it turns out it is $25 cheaper to stay in a moderate for the first 7 days.

I changed the res, and I asked the CM what was the best mod resort for a family with 2 younger (5 and 8) kids - my oldest loved the theming at POP, but even though the pools are nice, the mod pools have slides, correct? Anyway, she suggested PORS...does that sound good to everyone here? Would you choose a different mod?

THEN since we are staying for 3 more days, and we had the visa 40% off code, I booked us into BWI. I have loved BWI since I first set eyes on it, and have always wanted to stay there. Unfortunately, I did not realize that the only hotels at the $144 visa deluxe rate are AKL and WL, so BWI comes out $200 more. I changed the res to AKL, but this is not a room that you can view animals from....if I want, that it is more.

So, ? #2 is, what hotel would you pick for the last 3 days? DH is not too thrilled about switching rooms period, so I guess we may also just stay at the Mod if it is nice enough. Otherwise, in your opinion, is it worth $200 more for boardwalk? Is AKL even worth it if you can't see the animals? Is PORS so fabulous that we should just stay there...if we should stay there at all?

My brain is fried...please help
DH is *SO* done with me running all these scenarios by him...

[sabrinadv1]

PORS is gorgeous. I think you will love it. However it is spread out just like most of the mods. For three nights I don't know that I would move at all. That is alot to re-pack and move. I would want to be at the same place the whole time with small children.

[tigerali]

From what I have read on these boards, I am in the minority when I say that I really dislike POR. It just felt so spread out and underthemed to me. I also found myself constantly getting turned around trying to find my way around. We stayed at CSR for our honeymoon and really enjoyed it. Great foodcourt! We are trying CBR this time. So if you asked me, I would pick just about any hotel over POR.

[skywaywaver]

I would stay at the one resort for the whole time. I've never stayed at POR - only POFQ, but I've always wanted to. I have not stayed there with kids or as a kid, so sorry, I'm no help there.
FWIW, we wouldn't stay at AKL without having at least a Savannah view room which is why we've never stayed there. WL is beautiful but I don't think I would spend much more for 3 nights. We're spoiled and would stay there for the whole time, or split the stay in half at each resort.
Good luck with whatever you decide!

[DAZY3BYZ]

We have stayed at PORS many times and we love it. Yes, it's large so request a bldg. near the food court. The grounds are lovely, the pool is so much fun and the food court has a really nice selection. We love taking the boat to DD. So relaxing and fun. You'll love PORS. I'd just stay there vs having to move with little ones. Enjoy!

[Sandi]

My favorite moderate is POFQ, but POR is a close second. We didn't care for CBR or CSR. For the age of your children, I think they'd like the pools and slides at both POFQ and POR.

As for AKL, we've never stayed there, but have visited several times (we love Boma and Jiko). Whenever we go, we wander around and spend time talking with the CMs at the animal viewing area. They are always really friendly and interesting. The gal who was there when we visited in August was from Botswana and her pride in her country was infectious. Anyhow, a lot of people say that if you don't get a room with a view, it's a waste to be there. I'm not so sure that's true because there are plenty of viewing areas around the resort. Of course, you can't just go sit on your balcony to view if you don't have a view. The thing that holds us back from staying at AKL is how far it is from everything but AK.

If you've always wanted to stay at BWI, I think you should do that. With a 40% discount, you really can't beat it. I don't mind switching resorts -- particularly when we're moving up a resort category.

[mickey mouse lover]

We thoroughly enjoyed our pool view room at AKL.

[karibritt01]

My personal favorite resort is CSR... but we all have a favorite! I think it really comes down to themeing. You should go to www.allears.net and look at all the photos for the different resorts, and see what appeals to you. All the resorts are nice, and should be fine for your entire stay. I agree with the other posters... with a 10 day stay, you could really unpack and settle in to your resort. I don't think I would want to go through the "packing up" process twice. Plus, it is amazing how much STUFF accumulates in 10 days!

[suedaisy]

Sounds like I am in the minority, but I really like to try different resorts on trips. We have done this with as little as 2 nights, but we try to stick with at least 3 nights before a move. Bell Services is great- call them up and they move your stuff. There is the additional expense of a tip. We strategically select our hotels, so that if we stay at one near EPCOT, we might select another hotel near Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom for the other part of the trip.

The only moderate where we have stayed is the Coronado Springs. We need queen beds, so that is why we have not been to the other moderates. Coronado was recently refurbed and queen beds were added. The bathroom area has a sliding door to close and this allows space to get ready. We liked this resort, however we use the dining plan while we are there as the Pepper Market takes quick service credits. They have many food choices, but to us expensive if we did not have a dining plan. Certainly their Cafe Rix and the pool counter have more typical quick service foods that are cheaper.

The Animal Kingdon Lodge is great. My rooms have never had savannah views, but I do always stay in a pool view. It is very little more $ (like 5 bucks per night). There are many "public" places to view the animals, so not having a savannah view was never a problem for us and we always passed by the viewing windows every time we left our room (I suggest requesting the Zebra trail). There are also many daily activities for kid- really fun stuff! My 3 year old nephew loves the zero entry pool, the playground, and decorating cookies. With the lobby and the savannahs, it is unlike any other hotel that I have visited. Pretty incredible.

I love the Wilderness Lodge as well. It is amazing decor and the boat transportation to Magic Kingdom is nice. The pool is not zero entry, but it is lovely. The lobby is spectacular.

Although I have not stayed at BWI, I visited when I was at the Yacht Club. This is a great location for EPCOT and Hollywood Studios.

I know that I am in the minority for "voting" for moving to a different resort, but to us it always feels like another vacation and if we plan it right, not much extra effort.

I hope that you have a great time!

[kaffinito]

POR is a really nice mod to stay at. It has a great food court, a nice sit down restaurant for dinners, and the boat to DTD. POR also has a great themed pool and several smaller pools. We love POR! Check out the POR thread here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1920531 for more info and some great pics!

As far as the last three days... AKL is a lovely resort as well, and a pool view room is as good as a savanna view room IMO. From some of the pool view rooms you can see the savanna beyond it. It's worth the extra $$$ to stay there and with the viewing areas scattered inside and outside the resort you'll get some great animal views!

[MMrules]

I have stayed at CBR three times and will be going there again in Nov. I have stayed with an infant (11 months) and it fit our needs well. The rooms are a bit larger than at other moderates. I like the pirate theming which my boys (4 and 2) are into right now. The pool has been redone and has a great pirate pool for little ones so I will not need to worry about them as much!! I haven't stayed at any other moderates but am going to try POFQ probably the next time I go. I have heard good things about PO resort so I don't think you will be disappointed.

I will say that on our last trip we stayed at AKL with a 2 year old and an 11 month old. We had booked a standard room but were upgraded to a savannah room. I was thrilled!!! I have heard that they will upgrade standards there if there are other rooms available...so it is a risk to not book a savannah. However, next time I stay there I will request a savannah room because it was the best experience ever. I loved watching the wildlife from our balcony and it was a great way to get the kids to mellow out and relax!!!

Enjoy your trip and don't stress...it is Disney and it will be great no matter where you are at!!!

[kenny]

Have stayed at POFQ and CBR. We prefer CBR.

We love the laid back relaxing atmospher of CBR. They have steel drum music playing, beaches, hammocks and pools at every village.

Not sure if you have boys or girls but they also have pirate themed rooms. Never stayed in one as they are new and we have girls but they look pretty cool.

Plus CBR just redid their pool. Looks REALLY cool!

[rcraw45425]

Truthfully, with kids the ages of your two I'd have chosen WL over AKL. THe convenience to the MK can only be beaten by being directly on the monorail.

[SuzieN]

Just got back from a week at POR last night. It was a fantastic stay!!! The grounds are so beautiful, particularly at night. The cast members were all so very friendly and helpful. Our room was spotless and in a very convenient location. This was my 3rd stay at POR and it will definitely not be my last!!!!!

[abubu919]

As far as a moderate goes my favorite is POFQ because of size and when I was little we always stayed there so I feel like it was part of my childhood lol. But it really is a lovely resort, having that New Orleans feel. I have stayed at CSR and CBR and in my opinion those were just huge resorts, but they were still lovely. BWI is awesome too, we just were at BWV 2 weeks ago and had a wonderful stay!