First Disney resort stay- help choosing a resort

[blackwo1]

We are traveling to Disney in January 2018 with our two girls, 4 & 8. This will be our first stay on property and we need help choosing a resort. Love the idea of being in a "Disney bubble" so theming is important, as is a fun pool for kids, nice rooms (Queen beds preferably) and some decent food (we will have the dining plan). Looking at the following mods-

CBR - concerned about construction
POR
CS

Or any others that are suggested. Would be open to a value resort but not sure about the double bed situation. Also, are the princess rooms at POR worth the price tag? Seems we could stay in a deluxe for the same price as a princess room and I'm not sure they are that special- am I missing something? I do have two little princesses that would get a kick out of a fancy room, but not sure they're worth the cost.

Any advice is appreciated!

 

[loves to dive]

I love all three of your choices for different reasons. The pool at CSR is great, they are under construction as well so I'm not sure how that would effect you. You can't go wrong with POR and in my opinion, no the princess rooms aren't worth it but worth it is subjective. As far as values, I'm not a big fan but Pop is in the process of redoing their rooms and the beds in the renovated ones are now queen. No one knows if in the future those rooms will go up in price and how many will be done by January 2018. You might want to pop over to the thread dedicated to their renovated rooms and look around that, there are pictures of the new rooms and frankly, as someone who dislikes the value resorts, I would stay in them so there is that. A food court is a food court, I'm not crazy about them because they are just so busy and loud but there are so many great places to eat in the parks, I might be a big biased, I rarely eat anything other than breakfast at the resort.

 

[ChasingLeslie]

CBR is under heavy construction.

CSR is also receiving some work, but it is much less intrusive. Going in January, you'd have a good chance at a newly refurbished and the Dig Site pool area is one of the best. The dining options are plentiful and the bus service is better than most resorts. This is my favorite resort.

POR is also very nice. It has a great food court and the boat to DSp is a plus.

 

[jpeterson]

Might also consider AoA family suite. Queen bed for the adults, double murphy bed for the kids. 2 Bathrooms is nice, plus a door that can be closed between adults and kids is a great perk!

 

[WiscoMom]

My son (he was almost 4 during our visit)
and I stayed at POR this past March for our first stay. We loved it! Food court was good and expedient. Great theming. Son loved the pool area. We were happy with the transportation options to the parks and had no issues with buses, boats, etc. I don't have anything to compare to, but highly recommend POR and would go back there again.

 

[TillyDe]

I have stayed at Riverside and French Quarter. I prefer French Quarter. Smaller, splash area, only one bus stop. It is also a short walk to Riverside.

 

[megs1313]

Or any others that are suggested. Would be open to a value resort but not sure about the double bed situation. Also, are the princess rooms at POR worth the price tag? Seems we could stay in a deluxe for the same price as a princess room and I'm not sure they are that special- am I missing something? I do have two little princesses that would get a kick out of a fancy room, but not sure they're worth the cost.

Any advice is appreciated!

POR, hands down. They have one of the best quick service (cafeteria style) restaurants on property (including deluxes, IMO) and the pool has a great slide. I wouldn't pay to upgrade to a royal room if it were me. I might pay for a preferred room to be closer if you think that's worth it, though I didn't find even the farthest rooms to be too far for us, especially considering how beautiful the grounds are to walk. We'll be staying at POR in January, too (unless some ridiculous BWI discount comes out!) You won't be disappointed! It's in my top 5 of resorts no matter what "level."

ETA: If you want to feel a little "fancier", you can request a mansions room...the alligator bayou rooms have a more rustic feel.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We've stayed at POR twice now and had the characters visit at the resort both times. The first time it was Mickey and five other characters outside by the marina. The other time is was Cinderella and Tiana in the lobby. It is a really nice resort.

I would rather stay at the Wilderness Lodge than in a royal room at POR if everything was equal. Since it is your first Disney resort visit, I would hold off on the royal room for this trip.

 

[blackwo1]

Thanks all! Leaning towards POR Mansion section based on your comments. Any other specific room requests or building I should try for? I would love it if we ran in to some characters. Are these surprise visits or are they announced prior? How do I find out if there will be characters?

 

[Hopefully]

I second POFQ for the samller size, but POR is beautiful as well I would not recommend the royal room
I definitely would not stay at either CBR or CSR until construction is completed.

 

[megs1313]

Thanks all! Leaning towards POR Mansion section based on your comments. Any other specific room requests or building I should try for? I would love it if we ran in to some characters. Are these surprise visits or are they announced prior? How do I find out if there will be characters?

I wouldn't expect to see characters at the resort. IMO, the best way to experience characters on a first trip is a breakfast character dining experience. My favorite is Tusker House at AK, but Chef Mickey's is a classic as well. You can also meet characters in parks using fastpass+ (in some cases) or by waiting in standby lines. There's a character locator app available, though I didn't totally understand how to use it (even after paying for it.)

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

Personally, I'd go with POR and absolutely recommend the Royal Guest Rooms. My daughter loved them when she was 2 and when we were touring them again last summer so still loved it (she is now 7). The fireworks in the headboard are a nice touch and she enjoyed looking for all of the princess memorabilia like the magic carpet, Aladdin's lap as the faucet, and the dog from Beauty and the Beast as the luggage stand. The rooms are also a bit closer to the main building. You have access to both the French Quarter and Riverside pool if you are staying at either resort so you get two pools for the price of one hotel. The grounds are so beautiful and very relaxing. I loving coming back to that calm atmosphere after a fun but hectic day in the parks. Yes, I'd definitely go with POR.

 

[jaiminee krikit]

Another vote for a royal room at POR. DD14 still loves those rooms and that is usually the only hotel she wants to stay at. We've tried to book a standard room in the past, but when discounts come out, we have never gotten one on a standard room. So we change to a royal room and it's cheaper than standard at the rack rate. Well worth it IMHO - especially since you have girls. The rooms are so detailed and magical, I love them myself! We push the button and watch the fireworks before we go to sleep every night and it's the perfect ending to our day. I know, it's weird to spend so much money on room décor and special effects, but in our experience, the royal rooms usually do end up being more affordable with the discounts.

The resort is gorgeous! I honestly love everything about both POR and POFQ, we just typically stay at POR because of DD. The lobby is beautiful, the food court is great, the landscaping is just wonderful. I love all the sights, sounds, and smells there. I highly recommend seeing Yehaa Bob at the River Roost. It is a family friendly, super fun show that goes on several nights of the week. But get there early because he has become quite the hot ticket!

We have stayed at POR and POFQ many times, and we have never seen any characters at either. We stayed at AKL for a few nights last summer and saw characters there, but never have we seen characters at a moderate resort. I'm going to say that's pretty rare, just to warn you.

My DD isn't a big pool person and when she does swim, we use the quiet pools. We've checked out the main pool at POR before and it's just too busy for us, same with the pool at FQ.

With all of the construction going on at CSR and CBR, I personally would not stay at either of those resorts. But POR/FQ is always my first pick, so it doesn't take much to sway me from the other two

I don't mind Pop Century when I'm there for a quick (or trying to save money) trip. I love the theming there, I find the food court surprisingly good, and I love that they only have one bus stop. But personally, I would splurge a little and at least get a standard room at POR or FQ and keep my fingers crossed for a decent discount on a royal room.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

The nice thing about the Royal Guest rooms is the closeness to everything. You can do this with the Preferred rooms but when we stayed in the Royal rooms we were right next to the walking bridge to get to the food court. Our DDs really did love the room. We did get a discount at the RR room and the preferred room was more money for us. It is a big resort and would not stay in a room that is so far from the food court.

 

[married2mm]

Our first stays onsite were all at values-we wanted in your face Disney and loved it.
AOA fave value-got an upgrade to a suite (had booked little mermaid room)
Pop is a very close 2nd

Fave mod is definitely pofq-it's a gorgeous resort and so compact.
last month we stayed at fort wilderness cabins and they were amazing (we switched from cbr)

Our only deluxe hotel stay was at the contemporary & it was delightful.
Dvc style-we adore okw~ the chilled back ambience is wonderful & we like to eat at olivias.

 

[rosiebean]

With daughters the age of yours, I'd suggest you seriously consider a royal room at POR. They are magical for kids that are into princesses. They're my favorite moderate room -- and while they're more expensive than regular moderate rooms, they're nowhere near the price of deluxe rooms. Take a look at pictures and videos and see if the adults in your party could handle them for more than a few nights, lol. I LOVE them, as do my adult nieces, but my brother and his family like the regular mansion rooms much better.

Some royal rooms are in a great location, while others aren't (depending on what side of the mansion you're on). If you decide to go with a royal room, both pool view and river locations are really, really close to the bridge to the main building and are worth the extra cost, IMO. My sister and I each had one of those views a few years ago, and the location was wonderful for accessing QS and the gift shop, the boat to DS, and we were steps away from the quiet pool, which was so relaxing.