All Star Music vs. Port Orleans Riverside

[pkjne]

We have stayed at PO Riverside the last three times we have been to Disney World. The kids are getting bigger we are a family of five.....children ages 15, 13, 11 plus two adults.
Would we be better off staying at the All Star Resort with the two rooms or at Riverside ???
The cost is about the same for us what are the pros and cons of each !

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

If it were me I would stay in a family suite at ASMu instead of two rooms. The reason being I prefer to have the separate bedroom for mom and dad that you get in the family suite. That way we can have a quiet, dark room to go to sleep in. The kids like to leave the TV on when they go to sleep. SO if we stayed in a room(s) all together we would either have to put up with TV noise (which I doubt we would do) or they would have to try and fall asleep with no TV.

In the suite you still get 2 bathrooms and you get a kitchenette.

The suite usually runs around $219/$240 a night. If free dining is offered you can get FD in a suite but it is QSDP. Any room discount might also apply to the suite.

Every trip we book I say we are going to stay at POR to save some money but our kids are really too big for the Murphy bed. Mine are 12, 13 and 14. And all of our bags would not fit in one POR room. SO every time I end up booking a suite at ASMu. The suite is really worth the extra money in my opinion.

And all the suites are in the preferred buildings Calypso and Jazz. I always request Calypso because it is the closest building to the food court.

 

[Lucijoy]

I would recommend 2 rooms at one of the All Stars--you get four real beds (family suites have fold-outs) and two full bathrooms. We have 2 boys and 2 girls, so we had the boys in the room with us (they're younger) and the girls each had their own bed and their own bathroom. Although Disney will not guarantee connecting rooms, we never had a problem getting them--even the last time when 2 of our 3 kids on the trip were adult age. That's my 2-cents.

 

[DisneyWisher]

I suggest 2 rooms at All Stars. When my girls were 12, 10, & 2 we started staying at All Stars. We'd go 3 times a year. We'd stay in 1 room (I was a single mom) when they were 17, 15, 8 I got an offer for Riverside for $99 (sept '01, yes we were there for 9/11) my daughters hated POR. They said it was too big and too many little kids. They loved when there were sports tournaments going on at All Stars because of the teenage boys. So after that back to All Stars we went but started getting 2 rooms. My girls are now 29, 27, & 19. I just went 2 weeks ago with oldest and her 2 kids, we stayed at All Stars. We've tried other Mods and Deluxe but always go back to All Stars. It's home!
Plus for what we save on the room means we can go more often (going in sept with DD27, SIL and DGD 8 months, I shared the room with my oldest but will get my own since DGD is still a baby) We noticed the rooms now come with mini fridges, no microwaves like the suites but we don't need them anyway. Plus they are available to use in the food court.

 

[nkereina]

I would go with two rooms at All Stars. Two rooms means double the space, two more beds, and an extra bathroom. My only concern, however, is that connecting rooms are not guaranteed (regardless of what it says!).

The rooms at POR that hold 5 have a murphy bed now and the murphy bed is about the size of a crib mattress, but longer. It's meant for children 11 or 12 or younger. So if your 11 year old is average size or smaller, he or she should be fine. But the other kids wouldn't fit more than likely. You could bring a twin air mattress, but then the room is getting really cramped.

Other options are family suites at AoA or ASMu or FW cabins. Depending on when you are going, you could also rent DVC points and stay in a villa. By renting points, it costs about the same as a moderate resort depending on the time of year.

 

[Sue M]

POR is our fav resort. My daughters were still teens when we first stayed there and they loved it. But, I wouldn't enjoy 5 in a room. So I would get 2 rooms in any value. I'd prob want Pop, or mermaid room in AoA. And request connecting rooms. All Sports just doesn't appeal to me, but that's just me. I've never stayed there just going by pics.

 

[pkjne]

Thank you all for your information. Greatly appreciated !

 

[Racemom17]

Two rooms at an All star. We have 3 kids also-16-12-10 and stayed at Riverside in 2011...that is the last year I think we will ever stay one room "comfortably". Too many people-too much stuff.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Definitely go with two rooms at an All Stars resort (or Pop & AoA! )

More space = happiness
one room all squeezed in with all that luggage = cranky family

 

[mommykds]

Our family of 5 (2 adults, 3 teens) have stayed at POR 3 times & enjoyed it. However this year we are going with 2 rooms at Pop. Last summer I realized that we just don't "fit" in the rooms at POR anymore. We really needed the 2 bathrooms. My shortest kid (he was 12 at the time) slept on the murphy bed but his feet were dangling off. When the kids were younger it was fine but once they are all older it was just didn't work for us so 2 rooms it is.