Getting cold feet - about to pull the trigger on 1st WDW trip!

[smelton521]

Well after freaking out for the last few weeks over where to stay and multiple discussions with DH on budget, etc., I think we have finally decided to pull the trigger on POR and get a Royal Guest Room with River View! DD is 5 and all about princesses and we live on a river in Mississippi so DS (age 3) loves boats and rivers. Because the kids are so young we are doing a 5 night stay and 6 day park hopper package so we can take our time and go back to the resort to rest, so I do see us spending some time at the resort. POR seems to have a lot of fun things for kids, like the pool and boat ride to DTD, and the river view rooms seem closest to the food court, lobby, etc. In our situation, is a river view room probably our best bet for convenience to bus, food, pool, and royal guest room the best option for fun theming? What floor would be best - is ground floor pretty loud?

However, with upgrading to a river view room it is only about $500 less than a stay in a standard room at WL. That was our big debate. WL would be much more convenient to MK with the boat since I definitely see us spending at least 2 days there. Plus I am sure we will dine at Chef Mickey's and maybe do that pirate ship ride for fireworks one night which I think someone said is from Contemporary. But with the princess theme room and the river at POR, plus having my parents with us to help carry tired kids and/or our stuff, I was leaning towards POR. And it will give us an extra $500 to spend in the park at BBB and other fun things that will make the trip more memorable for them. Am I crazy? I just can't seem to pull the trigger! I want this first trip to be magical for the kids and just don't know what is best!

 

[Mousemommy1]

WL is our absolute favorite resort. So that would be my vote!

WL is an absolutely magical resort and I don't think you'll be disappointed. :goodvibe

And, you still get boats and river (well, lake) at WL. If you have a bunch of activities planned at CR, it will be so much easier to just jump on the boat over there from WL.

WL, WL, WL!!!!

 

[catra121]

Either one will be fine. You say you will still save $500 with the POR option so I would probably go with that. Use that money on something else...like souveniers or BBB/PL...or just save it for a future trip.

 

[darkwing818]

Just pick one, both are Excellent resorts & you won't be disappointed with either.

 

[Disneylover99]

Stick with POR and save some money.

I would suggest saving even more money by booking a standard Royal Room and dropping the park hoppers.

You can always add the park hoppers on during your trip if you wish.

 

[Moomduck1]

WL is our favorite resort as well. However, PO is also very nice. With kids that young, I'd pick the resort that you'd think they'd like more. PO. The Princess room and river/boats is perfect for both of your children. You are planning on spending some time at the hotel, so why not pick one that you know they will both love? Plus, the extra $500 to spend on fun things is great to have. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before you planning on 2nd trip to WDW. You can stay at the WL then, when your kids are older. It's only a matter of time before your daughter outgrows her love of princesses, so I'd totally take advantage of that now and do up the princess theme. We usually pick the resort we want and get the cheapest room available so that we have more money to spend at the parks. We don't mind the walking if it's far. My kids are in their 20s now, and I miss those days when they'd be so excited over the theming at the Disney resorts.

 

[ocalla]

WL would be great!! We stayed at a MK resort for the first time in July...so easy to get to MK and the great resort dining options there!!!

WL is so beautiful!!!

 

[mickeynut1]

Well after freaking out for the last few weeks over where to stay and multiple discussions with DH on budget, etc., I think we have finally decided to pull the trigger on POR and get a Royal Guest Room with River View! DD is 5 and all about princesses and we live on a river in Mississippi so DS (age 3) loves boats and rivers. Because the kids are so young we are doing a 5 night stay and 6 day park hopper package so we can take our time and go back to the resort to rest, so I do see us spending some time at the resort. POR seems to have a lot of fun things for kids, like the pool and boat ride to DTD, and the river view rooms seem closest to the food court, lobby, etc. In our situation, is a river view room probably our best bet for convenience to bus, food, pool, and royal guest room the best option for fun theming? What floor would be best - is ground floor pretty loud?

However, with upgrading to a river view room it is only about $500 less than a stay in a standard room at WL. That was our big debate. WL would be much more convenient to MK with the boat since I definitely see us spending at least 2 days there. Plus I am sure we will dine at Chef Mickey's and maybe do that pirate ship ride for fireworks one night which I think someone said is from Contemporary. But with the princess theme room and the river at POR, plus having my parents with us to help carry tired kids and/or our stuff, I was leaning towards POR. And it will give us an extra $500 to spend in the park at BBB and other fun things that will make the trip more memorable for them. Am I crazy? I just can't seem to pull the trigger! I want this first trip to be magical for the kids and just don't know what is best!

Your trip will be magical at either resort, IMO . WL isn't our favorite resort but we do love it and it does rank up at the top of the list and I don't think you would be disappointed if you chose to stay there. However, we've never stayed at POR so I can't comment on the resort from experience, but if your DD is really into princesses, I think sticking with POR RGR would be my choice. As much as we love the deluxe resorts and the extra $500 would be worth it to me to upgrade to the WL, if I had a little girl who loved the princesses, I'd do the RGR for her . Good luck deciding, although I'm sure you'll have a great trip no matter which resort you choose .

 

[NJdadof2]

Well after freaking out for the last few weeks over where to stay and multiple discussions with DH on budget, etc., I think we have finally decided to pull the trigger on POR and get a Royal Guest Room with River View! DD is 5 and all about princesses and we live on a river in Mississippi so DS (age 3) loves boats and rivers. Because the kids are so young we are doing a 5 night stay and 6 day park hopper package so we can take our time and go back to the resort to rest, so I do see us spending some time at the resort. POR seems to have a lot of fun things for kids, like the pool and boat ride to DTD, and the river view rooms seem closest to the food court, lobby, etc. In our situation, is a river view room probably our best bet for convenience to bus, food, pool, and royal guest room the best option for fun theming? What floor would be best - is ground floor pretty loud?

However, with upgrading to a river view room it is only about $500 less than a stay in a standard room at WL. That was our big debate. WL would be much more convenient to MK with the boat since I definitely see us spending at least 2 days there. Plus I am sure we will dine at Chef Mickey's and maybe do that pirate ship ride for fireworks one night which I think someone said is from Contemporary. But with the princess theme room and the river at POR, plus having my parents with us to help carry tired kids and/or our stuff, I was leaning towards POR. And it will give us an extra $500 to spend in the park at BBB and other fun things that will make the trip more memorable for them. Am I crazy? I just can't seem to pull the trigger! I want this first trip to be magical for the kids and just don't know what is best!

Not to throw a wrench in this, but have you considered renting DVC points? You could possibly stay at the VWL and spend as much POR.

Our first family trip was at WL and we loved it. We also loved POR. You can't beat being that close to MK however.

Doesn't hurt to look into it.

 

[smelton521]

Not to throw a wrench in this, but have you considered renting DVC points? You could possibly stay at the VWL and spend as much POR.

Our first family trip was at WL and we loved it. We also loved POR. You can't beat being that close to MK however.

Doesn't hurt to look into it.

No I am totally new to Disney travel and don't know anything about DVC or points or anything like that.

 

[kmb584]

No I am totally new to Disney travel and don't know anything about DVC or points or anything like that.

Renting DVC points is a great option to keep in mind and has the potential to save quite a bit of money! A quick Google search for "Rent DVC Points" will yield not only a ton of information but websites that specialize in the rental process too. One downside to keep in mind is that if free dining happens to be offered during your stay, you won't qualify for the promo if staying on rented points.

I love both WL and POR and given what I read about your DD & DS, I'd go for POR. The whole "it's only $500 for a deluxe" is a valid argument but it seems as if POR has everything that your little ones consider to be favorites / fun! $500 is also a nice sum to have as extra spending money and can certainly go towards BBB, the fireworks voyage, PL, etc!

 

[Micca]

I'm not a big POR fan but many people here are. There's nothing bad about it, just a matter of taste. WL is awesome. If the $500 isn't a deal-breaker, I'd highly recommend it.

 

[Gorechick]

POR is a beautiful resort with many amenities, plus it was just refurbished last year. Totally go for it!

 

[jillgunter]

You could save money by not doing hoppers. We got them our first trip with dd when she was almost 4, we used them one time. Now we just stick to one park a day. With young children its hard to hop around. Was great when it was just dh and I, we used them then. I would pick WL if money permits. It's a beautiful resort, we will be staying there in October.

 

[jw50]

Renting DVC points is a great option to keep in mind and has the potential to save quite a bit of money! A quick Google search for "Rent DVC Points" will yield not only a ton of information but websites that specialize in the rental process too. One downside to keep in mind is that if free dining happens to be offered during your stay, you won't qualify for the promo if staying on rented points.

Renting DVC points for a first time visitor adds a lot of complexity to their planning since they are not getting a package and will not be able to take advantage of any discounts that Disney may offer. They have to pay the full cost of the points rental at the time they enter into the agreement with the DVC member or reseller and I believe that in almost all cases it is non-refundable. Yes, they can get one of the dining plans but they have to purchase that through the DVC member they are renting the points from and pay the full cost of the plan at the time they book it. They would also have to purchase their park tickets separately.

 

[MyOtherSS]

I would say the transportation convenience that comes with staying at WL is worth the $500 alone.

 

[kmb584]

Renting DVC points for a first time visitor adds a lot of complexity to their planning since they are not getting a package and will not be able to take advantage of any discounts that Disney may offer. They have to pay the full cost of the points rental at the time they enter into the agreement with the DVC member or reseller and I believe that in almost all cases it is non-refundable. Yes, they can get one of the dining plans but they have to purchase that through the DVC member they are renting the points from and pay the full cost of the plan at the time they book it. They would also have to purchase their park tickets separately.

All true. DDP are still available through the owner but I was trying to point out that if it were to be offered via a free promo, the OP wouldn't qualify.

 

[virge]

While I personally would jump at the chance to stay at WL and be within budget, if your daughter is really into princesses & you think it will be several years before you return to DW, I'd say go with the POR Royal Room. My boys are only 7 & it caught me off guard how they switched this year from liking "little kid" stuff to "bigger kid stuff". WL will be convenient and fun (I'd love to stay there) but the theming will be appealing at any age. Savor the little kid stuff while you can

I'm with the other posters who suggested dropping the park hoppers. We took our 1st trip last year and someone suggested we leave them off & add them at the park if we needed. I'm so glad we did. There wasn't a single day we wanted to visit more than 1 park. Our style was to hit the parks at rope drop & go until mid-afternoon. We ate dinner, rested, swam, & fell asleep early. Your style may be different & you may decide to hit 2 parks in one day but there's really no need to pay for that ahead of time if you're not certain you'll use them. If you decide to add them, it shouldn't be any problem to do so at the parks & if you don't use them you can buy some extra princess souvenirs or use the money to start saving for your next trip.

Best wishes with your decision. The great part is that, as long as everything is within your budget, you can't go wrong with either decision. It's Disney!

 

[virge]

OP, what time of year are you looking at visiting? That may also factor into your decision.

 

[alc571]

My vote is for POR! We love the resort and all that it offers (pools, quiet theme, amazing grounds, pirate cruise for our son, boat to DTD, etc). We had originally booked a standard view RR for our last trip, but ended up switching to a garden view standard room with park hoppers for the same amount. We figured our son would appreciate the park time more than the style of room. We also thought the standard rooms were closer to buses, the main pool and the main buildings. I also don't see the value of a river view room, when you can get garden view rooms with an equally nice view. And I can tell you, we never once had a chance to "enjoy the view" when we were there. We stayed in Magnolia Terrace, so we enjoyed the view as we walked to breakfast and the pool.