Can someone give me $800 of differences.

[Steven41782]

We are looking into a trip to WDW and cannot decide between Wilderness Lodge and POFQ. POFQ would be $800 cheaper than WL. What are some advantages to staying at WL that we would not have at POFQ?

Also, do all WL rooms have a balcony?

Thanks

 

[lmhall2000]

I do believe they have balconies....for the ones that face the woods as I remember, don't remember balconies on the rooms facing the parking lots...someone will be more specific I hope!

I don't see an advantage of WL over POFQ for that much money...now if you had asked me about Poly or CR I'd say the monorail is worth up to $500 difference for our family...it was just so convenient for us to head back to our rooms quickly that I would pay up to that much extra...I just don't like the buses and the hassle of waiting for them...Sometimes CR Garden view rooms are the same as WL...but no, I would stick to POFQ and save the money.

Tara

 

[kvogel11202]

Honestly- it's just another "what your prefer" issue. For me it's the intangibles of the Deluxe if I'm there for a long stay, but for a quick trip like I'm taking in June POFQ is fine. These types of questions are always met with lots of different answers due to peoples natural differences. If paying the $800 is going to stick to you for your trip, don't pay it. Port Orleans is a nice resort and you'll enjoy it!

 

[TJA]

To us it would be worth it because we have kids and a double stroller, so we love that boat between MK and WL for the convenience. Yes, we'd pay the extra money for the convenience. However, if our kids were older or we were going to WDW without them, then POFQ would be a great option for us and we'd surely enjoy that boat ride to downtown disney at night. So I think it depends on your personal circumstances and preferences.

 

[tiger4me2]

Since I haven't stayed at a moderate I can't say. But having stayed at the WL yes it a nice resort, bigger rooms than moderates in most cases. Location. They do have balconies or a patio. But in the end it really is what you want to pay for a resort. It is in your hands. Of course if someone would have told me back in 2005 not to stay at the GF I would have been most grateful but no one did & it was the worst trip & resort stay I had in all my times at Disney. And no I won't go into what happen let just say it was problems with the room which it should've been taken care of first time & not after three days wasted. Sorry it just burns me up even after talking to the resort manager & staying concierge's prices. DH wanted it & he is so sorry after all the trouble we had. Could have stayed 8 nights at WL plus a week in St Thomas for what we paid Live & learn

 

[cmd0819]

We absolutely love the WL! For us, its worth it to be closer to the Magic Kingdom (direct boat) and also really close to the monorail. The pool is great and the lodge building is beautiful!

 

[HopperFan]

I don't see where you said how many nights, and that would factor in for me....how much more per night ? not how much more total.

That said, the POFQ is a moderate but it does not have all the amenities, such as a sit down restaurant the other moderates have.

WL - Bigger and nicer interior rooms, balconies, queen beds, stunning lobby and sitting areas, two sit down restaurants, boat ride to MK, beautiful pool area with two hot tubs, and a variety of activites and rentals. Beautiful resort and we loved our stay there !

 

[skipperkim]

POFQ does have a boat to DTD. Also it has its own bus stop at MK in the evening. While it does share buses with POR, you are dropped off and picked up first. WL shares buses with VWL and FW.

 

[branv]

I'm not sure I'd pay $800 extra...for us it will only be $280 extra. I can tell you why we're choosing one over the other, but since I haven't yet stayed at WL, all of these could turn out to be "that was so not worth it!" And all of these things are subjective desirables...you may not care about any of them.

We liked POFQ a lot. But what we feel WL improves on the experience is:

**Location -- very pretty resort, gorgeous scenery (beach, lake, woods,etc), and a very quick ride to MK
**Noise -- since doors open to the outside and beds are so close to the door, we had a lot of noise at POFQ. Not as bad as with our Pop stay, but still not ideal.
**Inside rooms -- back to this, I like the idea of not having to walk outside to go to the stores/get food, drinks/front desk. At POFQ if it's raining, you'll have to cover up as best you can to move between buildings.
**Balcony -- love the idea of sitting on the balcony in the mornings/evening
**Restaurants -- 2 sit down and one quick service at WL, plus room service (a big one for us)
**Bed Sizes -- DH and I simply cannot share a full-size bed without wacking each other during the night. At POFQ you can pay for a king-size/preferred room, but you may still arrive and find that they have been given away (as we witness ourselves). At WL we know we'll either get a Queen or King size bed.
**Pool -- the WL is so pretty. I'm not normally a big swimmer when at WDW, but WL pools makes me want to visit, even if it's just to sit at a table and enjoy the view.
**Boat rentals -- I don't know that we'll have time to do these, but I love the quick access to boat rentals
**Easy access to Ft. Wilderness -- we're thinking about doing the campfire/movie thing at Ft. Wilderness, and anyone else can tell you that getting to Ft. Wilderness without a car can be a big pain in the rear. From WL it's easy

But bottom line, for us it's the ambiance. POFQ was pretty and pleasant, but WL is just so lovely on many levels (well, not the rooms, can't stand the look of the furniture and bedspreads, but POFQ doesn't win any kudos there either ). But honestly, if your hotel just needs to be clean, safe and a good place to sleep, and you really don't think you'll spend much time at the hotel, I wouldn't spend the money. As much as I LOVE the parks, they are exhausting and my hotel makes all the difference in helping me relax afterwards.

I will say this. While I did like POFQ, if I was going to spend that much money I'd use one of the Swan/Dolphin discounts and pay a skosh more to stay there. You get a bigger room, better bed, more amenities, right near the Boardwalk, and very close to Epcot. Just my two cents.

 

[tiger4me2]

POFQ does have a boat to DTD. Also it has its own bus stop at MK in the evening. While it does share buses with POR, you are dropped off and picked up first. WL shares buses with VWL and FW.

Yes the WL buses share with FTW & sometimes the GF but they have a bus they goes directly to the MK as well & back to the WL

 

[Deb & Bill]

I'd take WL over POFQ for these reasons:

Size of beds at WL - queens vs doubles
Balconies - none at POFQ
Boat transportation to MK, Contemporary and FW.

WL shares buses with VWL and FW.

VWL is located at the WL. It's not a separate resort. There is only one bus stop for these two places. Kind of like Bldg 5 and Bldg 6 at POFQ. One bus stop for Bldg 5 and Bldg 6 (and all the other POFQ buildings).

 

[Bev J]

We have stayed at both, yes both were very nice, but after our stay at WL we all agreed we would have been just as happy at POFQ. We really enjoy the boat to DTD and thought the quick service was better there, plus it was so easy to get over to POR to use their pool or eat there. No balconys but nice little gardens all over with bunnies and flowers. We have always gotten the king size bed we requested or connecting rooms, what ever we have asked for regarding the room we have gotten with a smile.
We spend so little time in our rooms that the size really did not matter. Yes we did enjoy the balcony and our wonderful view at WL and the beach there was a little slice of heaven. But it was noisy in the lobby and the kids running in the hallways did not make us very happy
We paid about $200 extra for a weeks stay to stay at WL but $800- probably not, $800 could buy a whole lota stuff in the parks or a deposit on our next trip.
Only you can choose if you want to spend the extra.

Look at the threads for these 2 resorts, check out the pictures and see if that what you want.

Bev

 

[Micca]

We much prefer WL over POFQ, but $800 is a significant amount of cash so I don't know that I'd pay that much more to stay at WL.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

Well theres the themeing, more food options, cooler pool, boat to MK, I had better service at the WL than POR. We have stayed in a couryard view room and a concierge bunk bed room and they were both great.

 

[roselark]

Personally, I did not find anything worth the extra cost at Wilderness Lodge. But, it really depends on your personal tastes.

We would have been MUCH happier at CSR, which is where we would have stayed if not WL. We were disappointed in the boats (very full and slow), the busses were always standing room only by the time they got to WL, our "courtyard view" room was actually a view of bushes, we heard noises from the hallway as well as from the courtyard, and Roaring Forks was very, very small.

One of the repeated features that people seem to like about deluxe resorts is the inside hallways. I actually prefer the doors to the outside like at the moderates. I was feeling a bit claustrophobic at WL...

On the other hand, a lot of people love WL. I think it is mostly about the decor, which is something I thought was quaint, but wasn't terribly thrilled about. The boats can be great for families with small children in strollers. If you get a good room, I am sure the view could be quite pretty.

For us, the difference was about $700, and unfortunately, we did not find anything worth the extra cost.

 

[Steven41782]

Thanks everyone for all of the replies. The difference of $800 is on a 7 night stay. There were no standard view rooms available at the lodge, the cheapest was woodsview. We have decided that we will be fine with port orleans, though we are going to have to stay at Riverside because FQ is sold out of King Beds. You guys are very nice to post so much informaiton.

Another factor in us deciding to stay at POR is that we plan to do the backstage magic tour, which will be between 300 and 400 for both of us. I only have one more test to pass and I will be a CPA. Maybe that will be the raise I need to be able to stay Deluxe w/o feeling guilty! Thanks again.

 

[bsbrady]

It depends, if you are renting a car and will be driving to the parks, staying at POR is good. I thought it was a very good place to stay. No on the other hand, if you are going to be relying on Disney Transportation staying at POR it takes alot more time using the buses. And the boat ride to DTD is around 30 minutes.