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

[virge]

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.

This was true for us as well! Originally, we booked our stay at the Poly and I spent a great deal of time analyzing what room to request so I could pay for Garden
View but optimize my chances of an even better view. We ended up switching to AoA Cars to lower our budget. Our suite had a view of the parking lot and it didn't bother us at all. We didn't spend any time looking at our window. We enjoyed the views while walking around the resort but when we were in our room the boys were playing on the floor with their new souvenirs & my husband and I were watching tv/getting work done/playing on our iPads.

If we were able to make Disney an annual trip, I could see my family eventually wanting a room with a nice view (on other family vacations we always go for the nicer view, house right on the beach, NYC hotel room with great city views, etc.) but at this point in our lives I found that paying for a view at Disney would be a waste on us. Every family is different though.

 

[GrumpyBelle]

WL is one of my favorites. However if your DD is really into princesses, I would go with POR. I think it would be amazing for a little girl who is into princesses to feel like she is in a princess's bedroom. Eventually she will probably outgrow this. Plus you can use the money you are saving for other things---dinner, souvenirs, bbb, etc.

 

[Shaden]

There is another option, you could just book a Royal room, and not book river view.

I don't know how much convenience a River view room is going to add, in all honesty. All the rooms are beautiful, and you MIGHT still end up with a RV room, unless they are all booked up, room placement can be kind of randomish.

I don't know how much more just a normal Royal Room would save you, but if its significant, that might work really well as well.

I know the WL is a beautiful resort, but I am pretty sure your little one would LOVE the royal rooms.

 

[smelton521]

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

We are going the 1st week of March 2014. I thought a river view room would be less of a walk to the food court, pool, and the bus stop? That was mainly why I was thinking of going with that type of room.

 

[ColonelHathi]

There is yet ANOTHER option at POR that would save you even more $$, ALL of the rooms have some Princess & The Frog touches. You could pay more for the Royal Rooms, yes, but if convenience is more important, the preferred rooms are in Alligator Bayou section and still have lots of P&F touches on the pillows and Murphy beds. The other mansion rooms have P&F images in the headboards too. No, they don't scream princesses, but I know my DD4 is still just as excited to be staying in either this October. She's just anxious to meet Snow White in person, LOL. I'd personally save money on the room view for sure, splurge on BBB for your DD, pirate adventure or fireworks cruise, maybe CRT and/or Akershus ADR. Our stay is a little longer though, so we had to spread the budget and wanted to save some on the room portion.

Your DS will be in transportation heaven no matter which option you choose!

 

[shell8558]

I love POR. We have stayed in the mansions twice. Once on top floor and once on bottom - both were nice and neither were noisy . I actually liked our bottom floor room better because it was a corner room with more windows . I agree with pp to consider the royal room without the view . The distance will not be that much . All the royal rooms are in the mansions - so the walk to food court , pool and bus are very short.
My kids love the food court with make your own pasta , the pool and waterslide area are great . My daughter also loved the horse and carriage rides at POR and the boat to DD.

 

[smelton521]

There is yet ANOTHER option at POR that would save you even more $$, ALL of the rooms have some Princess & The Frog touches. You could pay more for the Royal Rooms, yes, but if convenience is more important, the preferred rooms are in Alligator Bayou section and still have lots of P&F touches on the pillows and Murphy beds. The other mansion rooms have P&F images in the headboards too. No, they don't scream princesses, but I know my DD4 is still just as excited to be staying in either this October. She's just anxious to meet Snow White in person, LOL. I'd personally save money on the room view for sure, splurge on BBB for your DD, pirate adventure or fireworks cruise, maybe CRT and/or Akershus ADR. Our stay is a little longer though, so we had to spread the budget and wanted to save some on the room portion.

Your DS will be in transportation heaven no matter which option you choose!

What is CRT? I have seen that a few times and can't figure it out! Ha!

 

[Mousemommy1]

What is CRT? I have seen that a few times and can't figure it out! Ha!

Cinderella's Royal Table....the meal you eat in the castle.

 

[smelton521]

Cinderella's Royal Table....the meal you eat in the castle.

Oh! Thank you!

 

[alc571]

This was true for us as well! Originally, we booked our stay at the Poly and I spent a great deal of time analyzing what room to request so I could pay for Garden
View but optimize my chances of an even better view. We ended up switching to AoA Cars to lower our budget. Our suite had a view of the parking lot and it didn't bother us at all. We didn't spend any time looking at our window. We enjoyed the views while walking around the resort but when we were in our room the boys were playing on the floor with their new souvenirs & my husband and I were watching tv/getting work done/playing on our iPads.

If we were able to make Disney an annual trip, I could see my family eventually wanting a room with a nice view (on other family vacations we always go for the nicer view, house right on the beach, NYC hotel room with great city views, etc.) but at this point in our lives I found that paying for a view at Disney would be a waste on us. Every family is different though.

Actually, the only reason I pay for Garden View over standard view is because you can get a better location. We always request the mansions (and have had our requests granted) and close to the river path. Both have been in great spots - although my first "garden" view was a view of a large cement post! I'm sure there was garden behind it! Haha

 

[Angieandsteve]

I had our trip narrowed down to two resorts and just like you they were the WL and POR. I selected POR based on the royal rooms. My daughter is 6 and I wanted that magic of the princesses for her. It did not disappoint! She loved the room so much. It had the neatest details and she loved every one of them. We paid extra for the pool view room because they are all close to the bridge to the main area. It was really pretty there. Now the buses could have been better but looking back we never waited more than 20 minutes. We went in June and it was super crowded so that is to be expected. The WL would be great for MK and I thought about that but there are 3 other parks and avoiding the buses is not possible.

Personally I am glad we made the decision we did. We used the extra money on souvenirs, a carriage ride through POR and FQ which was nice, the BBB the full package including dress, etc. I think the trade was totally worth it.

I might select WL if we go back because it gets great reviews and daughter would be older but I knew this would be the moment to do the princess thing because she will only be into princesses for so long!

 

[thumperjr9]

We stayed in a Royal Room last Jan. It was my DH, DS13 and myself.....we didn't request a Royal Room, just got upgraded. Of course my DS13 at 1st said it was dumb, but then I noticed him checking out all the details and by the end of the trip he said "this is a really cool room for a little kid"!!

If you ask my kids what things they remember about our trips when they were very young, it's interesting that they always mention the resorts and the rooms!

Also, just today I was asking my friend's DD5 what her favorite thing was about their recent trip to Sesame Place and she said "the hotel"!! Then she proceeded to tell me all the details about the room. I say go for POR...I think it will be magical for you DD.

 

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

Another vote for the Royal Room at POR. Plenty of time for WL 8-10 years from now. You will love WDW so much, you will definitely want to go back.
I do want to caution you not to try to do everything this trip. Your pirate cruise sounds like great fun. There is just SO MUCH, you all may have sensory overload. Meltdowns usually happen in every trip at some point, so don't be upset when it happens. Enjoy, but don't try to do it all. (And put that $500 in the jar for the next trip, or the kids college fund.)