Woo hoo!! FREE DINING!
Of course it has to end five days before I get there!
If it were me going, I would probably switch to POR and do the free dining. And the reasoning I would give myself would be that we could do so much with all that money saved. It could maybe even be put away toward our next Disney trip! However, if you think that not staying at the WL will make your trip any less fun, then don't take my advice. WL is something that is important to you, so I don't think you should give it up if it is going to make you unhappy. I'm sorry I'm not much help.
I just don't want to tell you what to do and then ruin your trip!
That's exactly why I switched, we will have way more spending money now, and we don't have to kill ourselves saving for the next 4 months!
I'm kind of sad about WL, but it's not going anywhere, hopefully I will stay there again! I'm so excited about POR now!
Wow-that's a hard one. I can't remember, but I'm assuming that you have a PIN room code you're using for WL?
If so, with the discounted resort rate/and paying for the
DDP-how does the cost compare to staying at POR, rack rate, and not paying for dining ?
I've stayed at both, and I do have to say that WL at Christmas time is absolutely beautiful!
I did have a pin code that I was using for WL, it was 40% off the room, but even with that, it couldn't compare to switching to a moderate with free dining, almost a $900 difference!!!
I know WL is so amazing at Christmas, I'm sure POR can't compare, but I know I will like it there! I just hope I get to stay in the mansions section!
You need to rectify that list for the MK of "attractions" you have not done. And I would certainly be starting with DUMBO!!!!
I can't help tell you what to do on you resort dilemna. I'm not a fan of the WL, but I understand it is beautiful at Christmas time. I've not stayed at the POR, but it really is a beautiful resort and I love the food court there.
LOL, don't worry, Dumbo is on my list of must do's this year! I know I went on it when I was 7, but I really don't remember it! It's a classic, I have to do it this year!
One of the reasons I picked POR is the food court! I was debating, yet again, between POR and CSR, but I picked POR for the food court and the fact that CSR seems to be a more summery resort, and I wanted the resort that would give me the most Christmas-y feel!
I do want to try CSR someday though, I know you love it!
That is such a hard decision!!! Here is what we did in January:
We had booked the buy 4 get 3 nights free at POR. Once I got my PIN code, I realized we could do 2 less nights at the WL for the same price. My DH and I decided that staying at the WL was worth less days (especially after reading about the bus system at POR). I am SO happy we went with the WL!!! Staying there was like an attraction within itself.
How much money will you save switchinng to Free Dining???
There is no way I could give up nights at Disney to stay deluxe!!!
It sounds like a good idea, just like doing a split stay sounds good, but I just don't see it working for me! I want to do the most nights possible, so if staying at a mod or even a value is what I have to do, then that's what I'll do!
We're saving about $900, a little less! SOOOOO happy with my decision! (Although to be fair, I woke DH up about this when I found out free dining was extended, screaming "FREE DINING WAS EXTENDED THROUGH DECEMBER!!!" and told him how much we would save and he said do it! He doesn't care where we stay, he's just happy we're saving so much!)
I saw go free dining; you are going to be at WDW and will have a FANTASTIC time no matter where you stay! I know if you are like us, that is a huge chunk of change to put elsewhere right now, too. Plus, if what you save isn't money that you need over the next year or so, you can roll it over in to a future trip! I went through the same thing for our trip last year and ended up going with FD; it was definitely the right choice!! You can always go visit WL and eat there, so you can still get a fix!
We love, love, love Tusker House breakfast! It was, by far, my favorite last year. We ate at Chefs for the first time last year too, and really liked it. We're going a lunch ADR there this time!
You have to ride the Jungle Cruise; it is so corny and fun! I love knowing that it was one of Walt's originals!
I like the Stitch ride, but it's nothing special. I adore Stitch though, so that's the only reason we ride it. I'd definitely check out Jungle Cruise and Dumbo (another classic) first!
TSM and the Beauty and the Beast show are two of my fav things at DHS! But, Belle is my favorite princess and we love going to shows. I have to tell you though that we saw Lights, Motor, Action on our honeymoon and were bored out of our minds. Maybe we just aren't in to that sort of thing, but we both thought it was a waste of time.
AND, Nemo!! You have to see Nemo!! DH walks around singing one of the songs from this show all the time. It's fantastic!
Hi, Heather, you're here!!!
I'm definitely happy with doing free dining...I'm already thinking how this will help with my plan to get us to go next year (as of now, DH said no way! But we will see...
)!
I made my Tusker House ADR because you recommended it!!! I remembered you said you loved it and I wanted to try somewhere different so I did it! I'm excited to try it!
I'm definitely doing the Jungle Cruise, I'm really interested in doing all the classic rides this year! That's why I want to go to
Disneyland so badly, I want to see Walt's park, the park he actually got to see finished and go to!
Another must do this year is Beauty and the Beast! Belle is my favorite princess too, so I know I'll love it! I even named one of my cats Belle after her!
I really have no interest in LMA, I just thought my DH might like it, but if he doesn't want to do it, I'm not forcing him!
Thank you guys for the advice about WL and POR!
It was a very hard choice, if I had the money to stay deluxe every time, I would, but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way! I'm just happy that I'm lucky enough to go twice this year and I know that where we stay isn't as important as just being there! I'm SO excited, I cannot WAIT for November to get here!!!!
We are really never in the room anyway, so as much as I love my WL, it's really not worth it! 
I'm glad you were able to come to a decision you were happy with. I can't believe how much money you're saving! That will be really helpful for your next Disney trip! 
I was looking at upgrading my resort, but even with the free dining, it would've been more than I could afford. I totally can't wait, though 
