First time! torn! HELP!!!

[Ima Disnewby]

I would definitely choose POR. I would pass on the Park Hoppers though because we went for our first trip last May and we didn't get them and still had a ton to do! As for the Animal Kingdom day since it is more of a half day park(or was for us) we left at about 3 and took a break until about 7 and went to Downtown Disney for the night. We had so much to do!

i am actually SO relieved to hear that!!! everyone i have talked to just seems to rave about animal kingdom but we just haven't seen much about it that appeals to us so far idk, to each their own i suppose. we aren't big animal lovers by any means though and my kids are always bored stiff at the zoo or museums, they need more to DO.

i was thinking along the lines of checking it out and hopefully going on to downtown disney later on in the day/evening. glad to know it's a possibility

 

[dminnie]

I'm not sure how old your kids are. Mine are in teens and are not big swimmers. They were unimpressed by the pool at FQ. The slide is more for 4-5 year olds.

POR, CSR and CBR are all large resorts. Some people are bothered by the walking. Others don't care or pay for upgrading to preferred rooms to avoid walking much. We have never paid for a preferred room. We just ask for a room with a good location. At CBR, the buildings just across the bridge from the food court and pool are not that big of a walk. At POR, the mansion closest to the bridge is also not that long of a walk at all...and it's NOT preferred.

Many of the royal rooms at POR and pirate rooms at CBR are the furthest away from the pool and food court. You pay for decor, not location on those.

 

[alc571]

Just my two cents..we did the 5 day pass (no hopper) on our last trip, plus one MNSSHP ticket. We didn't miss the park hopper until the last day when our son really wanted to end the trip at MK and we had already been to EP earlier in the day. After a horrible mixup with a CM at POR and another two at the gates of MK, we ended up having to pay for hoppers at 8pm on the last night of our vacation! It ended up being worth it just so our son had the great memory, but would have been a better investment on day one. Especially when AK and DHS were half-day parks for us.

 

[davedmaine]

Just my two cents..we did the 5 day pass (no hopper) on our last trip, plus one MNSSHP ticket. We didn't miss the park hopper until the last day when our son really wanted to end the trip at MK and we had already been to EP earlier in the day. After a horrible mixup with a CM at POR and another two at the gates of MK, we ended up having to pay for hoppers at 8pm on the last night of our vacation! It ended up being worth it just so our son had the great memory, but would have been a better investment on day one. Especially when AK and DHS were half-day parks for us.

You could have just cried and gotten them for free like a lady in another thread. I think you did the right thing and set a good example for your kids.

 

[princessallegra]

You could have just cried and gotten them for free like a lady in another thread. I think you did the right thing and set a good example for your kids.

Really uncalled for.

 

[sndral]

I've never been huge on POR- would you ever consider CSR? It's my favorite moderate- gorgeous, updated, easy bus system, etc. Love love love it!

I only personally know one person who has stayed at CSR, and she disliked it and it's theme (too much like SoCal, I guess for her taste.) So one person's paradise is another's purgatory - which is why it's so great that Disney has 23+ resorts to choose from.
Here's a youtube link if you want to get a feel for POR, or search w/ any of the resort names on youtube and there's a billion of them for each resort.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emk30JtrCvo

i am actually SO relieved to hear that!!! everyone i have talked to just seems to rave about animal kingdom but we just haven't seen much about it that appeals to us so far idk, to each their own i suppose. we aren't big animal lovers by any means though and my kids are always bored stiff at the zoo or museums, they need more to DO.

i was thinking along the lines of checking it out and hopefully going on to downtown disney later on in the day/evening. glad to know it's a possibility

I personally love AKL, but many find it to be a half day park. Be sure to catch the finding Nemo show and the Lion King show and It's Tough to be a Bug.
POR (which I have not stayed at) and POFQ (which I have stayed at) are sister resorts and you can use the facilities of both when staying at either one - you can walk or boat between the two. I was in the POFQ building closest to POR when I was there and the walk to POR was not much further than the walk to the other end of POFQ, but POR is a largish resort so how close you would be to POFQ could vary a lot.
Your plan to visit DTD for an off afternoon/evening is especially nice from these two resorts because of the lovely boat ride to and from DTD and each of the resorts - so pretty and relaxing.
You don't mention if you have any ADRs, but if you do have any in the parks and you opt to not get park hoppers, then the park where the ADR is will have to be your park for that day.