Beach Club or Port Orleans Riverside?

[SarahC97]

Hi all! Input appreciated.

I'm currently booked at POR for my family of 5. I can upgrade to BC for $850 more for our trip. BC isn't our dream resort - we've gone over there and not been terribly impressed. But I do like it's location and the fact it's deluxe. I know it has an awesome pool, but we're going in January, so I'm not sure that will be that big of a difference for us.

So, is Beach Club worth the extra money? Are the rooms better than POR? We've stayed at Riverside and liked it. I'm unsure if it's really worth the money.

What say you disboards?

 

[jods]

I've never stayed por but I stayed BC this summer. I'm in the minority but I didnt love it. The only thing I liked was that you could walk to epcot. Have you priced wilderness lodge?

 

[SarahC97]

Yes, but it's actually more expensive because their regular rooms don't sleep 5.

 

[KCBelle]

I have stayed at both and while I enjoyed the location and pool at Beach Club I will probably go back to POR. It is a better fit for us as we use the food court every morning and sometimes for lunch so we missed that at BC. Walking to Epcot was fantastic but with Uber being so quick and easy it makes location less important to me.

 

[jods]

Yes, but it's actually more expensive because their regular rooms don't sleep 5.

I always forget it doesn't sleep 5 as we are only 4. Sorry!

 

[ForMyBoys]

We've stayed at both and preferred the beach club. I like being able to walk to more restaurants and such on the boardwalk. We also love the boats and walking to Epcot. But Epcot and HS are our favorite parks.

I wasn't a fan of how big POR was and did not like our room. I felt the BC room was much nicer and liked the size of the property better.

 

[figmentedfollies]

I've stayed at the BC in January and just booked another trip there. I did make use of the pool, but we lucked out with weather in 2015. The days were pretty warm with chillier evenings. I wasn't impressed with their QS offerings, particularly for breakfast, but the YC just opened the Marketplace so that might be an option as well.

The rooms will be bigger at BC and you will have indoor hallways. Plus there is the walking factor to EPCOT and you could walk to HS as well, but there is the boat if you want to save your energy for the parks.

I think it boils down to how you vacation. Are you going to spend a fair amount of time at the resort? I usually need at least a day during the week we're there so I prioritize my location. If you're going to spend the majority of your time outside of your room/the resort, save your money and spend it on a treat for everyone.

 

[Sue M]

I love both resorts, but for 5, I’d go to BC or YC for larger rooms. I think Por would not be comfortable with 5.
We have swam mid day in January.

 

[Jon84]

If you didn't love it, then don't book it, it will just make you more bitter that you spent $850 for a few more Sq Ft.

 

[Wood Nymph]

BC isn't our dream resort - we've gone over there and not been terribly impressed.

If you didn't love it, then don't book it, it will just make you more bitter that you spent $850 for a few more Sq Ft.

I have to agree with Jon. If you don't love it then don't book it. We have stayed at both resorts and like both of them. BC is our favorite resort and it is mostly because of location. You might not get a lot of swim time in January, so that takes away a little of the benefit. The biggest plus to the BC is location and having to use park buses for just MK and AK, instead of all four parks.

The BC rooms are bigger than the rooms at POR with a daybed that is large enough for an adult to sleep on. But the POR rooms are nice, too. But the food court is better at POR than the quick service options at the BC.

Even though the BC is our favorite resort we are very excited to be staying at POR later this month. It is a lovely resort, too.

 

[3gr8boys]

We stayed at POR in an Alligator Bayou room in February 2014- sons were 7, 11 and 15. I really don't remember which one slept In The Murphy Bed, but we were comfortable. We were only a couple of buildings from the food court and bus stops (might be worth checking POR thread for which buildings the 5 person rooms are in.) The grounds were very green, food court had enough variety and kids liked the pool. We were fine with the rustic room decor...... not everyone likes it.

 

[BigredNole]

Completely unfair to compare Moderate to Deluxe. The decision is the amount you want to spend. If it were me, I would look at 2 Value rooms. More space and double everything. It would be about the same price. If you get adjoining rooms, the kids can be on one side and mom/dad the other.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

POR is our favorite moderate and Yacht Club (haven't stayed at Beach but basically the same resort) our favorite deluxe. We'd choose Yacht Club every time because (1) the pool is so much better (although POR has a pretty decent pool) (2) the rooms are bigger and (3) location, location, location. A very short walk to Epcot or Boardwalk area and tons of dining options and a bit longer walk or boat ride to DHS. We also are a family of 5 and sort of outgrew POR as our kids got older/bigger.

All that being said, if you don't like BC I'm not sure I'd upgrade. If you want to be able to walk to Epcot/DHS and will spend a lot of time at the pool (we do) then I'd consider it. We've gone several times in January and used the pool each time.

 

[AllieBoo]

We stayed at BC this summer, and weren't that crazy about it for some reason. We loved YC when we stayed there, so not sure why. We did love being able to walk to Epcot and HS, and we love Stormalong Bay. Since you are going in January, and probably won't be hanging out at the pool a lot, I might go with POR for the savings, unless you'll be spending a lot of time at Epcot.

 

[Amanda&Mike]

We have stayed at both several times and love them both. I do think the rooms at BC are a little nicer. If it were Food and Wine or Flower and Garden I would probably pick BC, if the trip isn't centered around Epcot I would probably lean towards POR. Plus you can walk to POFQ for beignets. $850 can buy a lot of nice signature meals and souvieniers If your trip is long enough, do a split stay!

 

[loves to dive]

You really can't compare the two and is it worth it is subjective. I tend to do split stays with a night or two at a moderate then move over to an Epcot resort. I tend to go with whatever one is less, which lately has been Swan/Dolphin but YC is my favorite WDW resort. BC is my least favorite Epcot resort but only because it tends to have more kids, my kid is grown and you aren't guaranteed a full balcony there. If I'm not getting a full balcony I'll spend less and stay at Swan/Dolphin. POR is a great resort and I certainly wouldn't hesitate to stay there, it's probably my favorite moderate. I don't find it too big at all, have you walked the Redrum hallways at BW? The only thing I don't like is the outside hallways and the fact that you have to bus everywhere. So is it worth it? Obviously for me yes, but not for all.

 

[cmorris303]

We enjoyed the BC and absolutely loved the location, but I don't think I'd pay $850 more to stay there unless it was somewhere I'd always been dying to stay. When we went we booked a deal that brought it to the same price as a moderate so we went for it.

 

[Monorail_Man_NJ]

Ive never stayed at POR but have stayed at POFQ many times.

You mention BC is not your dream resort. So which is your dream resort? If you're paying BC prices then you can more than likely splurge and stay at the resort you really want. Or why not try a split stay?

 

[Imamom2]

We have stayed at and loved both. For us it would be BC because I like walking into Epcot and Studios. If you don't really like BC and can fit 5 in POR stay there and use the extra $850 for ADRs, a tour, and Lyft. We loved using Lyft and it was really easy. You can request a 6 passenger van and get wherever you need to go.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I wouldn't spend $850 more on a resort I wasn't impressed with.