From deluxe to moderate...

[we3travellers]

We stayed at AKL in 2010 and now planning a 2012 stay. I'm afraid budget this year will only allow for moderate at best. I do not want my family to be disappointed! We are myself, DH and DS5. I am thinking POFQ or POR. Thoughts from anyone that has done the downgrade, or are simply moderate fans, would be appreciated. We will be on dining plan and we enjoy a great pool!

 

[hollywoodprincess91]

POFQ and POR are both great. The benefit of them is you can go to either pool. POFQ's pool has a really cool slide that has King Triton. The theming is great. POFQ is smaller than POR. They're conveniently located near Downtown Disney. You also get the benefit of two food courts.

 

[dworldlovers]

We loved POR, especially the Magnolia Bend area rooms in the mansions!! The grounds are beautiful (roses!!) and the waterway going through is nice. Pools are also very nice. We were just at Beach Club in January and loved it. It was our first deluxe resort, but I wouldn't hesitate going to POR. I don't think room size was that great a difference. Good luck and have fun!!

 

[katrina1122]

I've done deluxe, villas and values. Doing a mod in Nov. I've loved all the places we have stayed. To me, the hotel is mainly for sleeping anyway, so it's not a big deal. For a kid, they aren't going to notice a difference. All of them have theming and pools, that's all that matters to them anyway.

No worries.

 

[Drscholls]

Coronado is the closest to a deluxe amenity-wise. It has nice landscaping and a great pool.

 

[sleeperclan]

We've gone from deluxe to value to mod to villa. POR is great...the grounds are beautiful, the food court was good, and we loved the mansions! Can't speak to the pool as we aren't pool people, but it looked very nice. I would definitely do POR again!

 

[PrincessBetsy]

My family always used to stay in deluxe resorts. For the past few years, we have switched to POR to save money and have completely fallen in love with the resort. At first, the rooms are going to feel a little small and cramped and won't be as upscale as a deluxe, but as long as you realize this, you won't be disappointed.

I would recommend staying in the Mansions, maybe Magnolia Bend if you would like to be close to a bus stop. POR has an awesome food court (I have some reviews of it in my dining review, if you want to check it out)! Plus there is a very relaxing boat ride that will take you to POFQ and DTD. Another fun activity our family did on our last trip was to rent a surrey bike - so worth it! Good luck on your decision! Remember that a trip to WDW is going to be an awesome vacation no matter where you stay!

 

[mkacar24]

I've done deluxe, villas and values. Doing a mod in Nov. I've loved all the places we have stayed. To me, the hotel is mainly for sleeping anyway, so it's not a big deal. For a kid, they aren't going to notice a difference. All of them have theming and pools, that's all that matters to them anyway.

No worries.

We have also stayed at deluxe (AKL), villas (SSR) and value (POP). And I can also report that we have loved all three places. The kids even say POP was their favorite.

Staying moderate this year, looking forward to it.

 

[ccgirl]

We stayed at AKL in 2010 and now planning a 2012 stay. I'm afraid budget this year will only allow for moderate at best. I do not want my family to be disappointed! We are myself, DH and DS5. I am thinking POFQ or POR. Thoughts from anyone that has done the downgrade, or are simply moderate fans, would be appreciated. We will be on dining plan and we enjoy a great pool!

I stayed at POFQ and much preferred that over POR. I thought POR was just way too big. The great thing is, I could stay at POFQ and still take the boat over to POR to use their pool as well. Plus, you can also take the boat to DtD.

I will say the one thing I did miss was the balcony. BUt, they again, I was spoiled at AKL and have a savannah view.

Other than that, I loved the resort. Now, values I am not a fan of but loved POFQ.

 

[we3travellers]

Thanks to all for the advice! I was drawn to POFQ by recent renovations, smaller size, boat to DTD, and POR being sister property (extra pools and restaurants to use!) Also great activities like surrey bikes, fishing and movies at night.

 

[jennyjinx3]

Thanks to all for the advice! I was drawn to POFQ by recent renovations, smaller size, boat to DTD, and POR being sister property (extra pools and restaurants to use!) Also great activities like surrey bikes, fishing and movies at night.

We are sort of in the same boat. We are booked to return to the Poly in September, but if any new discounts come out, I may be swayed to try POR. This is where we were originally going but DH really wanted to go back to Poly. I loved it too, but it is a HUGE savings to stay at POR. Not sure what to do either.

 

[WildGrits]

We too have stayed at most of the Deluxe and Mods during our visits.

We didn't care for the AKL went we visited. My girls are teens and didn't like that the pool didn't get deep. And after spending a week at the CBR I felt like the beds were too big for the room in the AKL. Also the counter service was not as nice as the mods, Poly or Contemp.

That being said, I don't think you will be disappointed with going with a mod. CBR and POR are very sprawling so if you don't care for that idea, I would say PORFQ is a good option.

 

[MinnieTink]

We like the Deluxe resorts a lot but thought POFQ was good as well. The room was a good size, they now have queen beds and the resort itself was compact. Just a short walk to wherever you are going.

We have also stayed at CBR and though we liked it, it is a very large, sprawling resort. (POR and CSR look similarly sized) I prefer the compact POFQ over these.

 

[Epic Epcot]

I've stayed everywhere from the GF to POFQ to ***. Honestly, I have never really disliked any of my rooms. I really liked POFQ. Went there for my engagement celebration and loved how cozy it felt. You didn't feel overwhelmed at all. They have a decent Food Court (no TS on the grounds) and a nice pool for your DS...

The pool will be more then enough for your 5 year old. There is also a pool side bar...

There is a bar with live jazz if that's what your DH is into.

I would highly recommend POFQ

 

[ccgirl]

Thanks to all for the advice! I was drawn to POFQ by recent renovations, smaller size, boat to DTD, and POR being sister property (extra pools and restaurants to use!) Also great activities like surrey bikes, fishing and movies at night.

I did not get a preferred room there, just standard, and I found it a short walk to the pool, counter service etc. Conversely, I paid for a preferred room at AsMO and our room was further away than the standard rooms at POFQ.

You will love it.

 

[POB14]

Coronado is the closest to a deluxe amenity-wise. It has nice landscaping and a great pool.

Agreed; I think of it as a "mod-and-a-half."

I've stayed everywhere from the GF to POFQ to ***.

I'm guessing All-Star Sports?

 

[scottmel]

We are deluxe fans for sure. club level is a must with my DH and DD13. that being said last summer we spent a few days at POFQ and I was a little dubious about it. I really missed my balcony....but I really liked their foodcourt, the interior garden rooms were very pretty. What I had a hard time with was the air conditioner unit being a stand alone thing in the room vs. built in. Kicked on and off a bit, etc. That being said though I was REALLY pleasantly surprised with our stay. I would stay there again if budget didnt' permit a deluxe and DD13 didn't notice the difference. I ooh'ed and ahh'ed over the pretty gardens, quaint street lights cute walkways, etc. and she was right on board with me. We really loved it. Even the pool which anything compared to Storm Along Bay just doesn't compare....She was fine with it! I think sometimes us obsessive mom planners put more stock into the room than our families would ever think of....

 

[Paradise18]

We have stayed at AKL (Jambo and Kidani) and POR. We loved POR and would definitely stay there again. The pool was great and we really enjoyed the food court.

 

[buzznina]

We have stayed all 3 levels and have enjoyed all our stays and resorts. We decided that Mods were best for us for most of our stays and we might do a deluxe for a short stay. We actually felt like the AKL rooms were smaller because the Mod rooms are all open and does not have that walk-in area that really doesn't get used. The PO resorts are our favorite, closely followed by CSR. CSR has a spa/exercise area but does not offer boat rentals, bike rentals and only has 1 sink, the PO resorts also has the boat to DTD. They all have great theme and landscaping.

 

[KBoopaloo]

We joined DVC in 2008 and one of the only things I don't like about it is that I miss staying at POR where we had so many great trips!

On the big family trip we took last year, we stayed at POFQ first and then moved over to AKL-Kidani. Though everyone oohed and ahhed over our villas at AKL, we all agreed that POFQ was very nice and we would all stay there again. The newly renovated rooms make it feel more upscale than you might think.