Help! DH wants to stay at the Grosvenor, I want POR!

[Dallas_Lady]

DH and I are going to WDW for our anniversary this September. We are split on where to stay. I want to stay at POR, which in order to have a King bed, with our DC discount will cost us $118/night and since we want a fridge in room, that would bring it to $128/night.

After talking last night, DH thinks staying at the Grosvenor would be a better idea. I checked it out and the Grosvenor honors the DC/Entertainment membership, so we could get a Tower King room for $65/night. We would alsoe get interior corridors, walk to DD, fridge in room with no extra charge, and the possibility of a great high rise view from our room.

The Grosvenor now has package delivery, E-ride ticket purchases and is considered an "official" WDW hotel, though not owned by Disney.

He asked me what the real benefit of staying at POR would be. I couldn't think of a real answer.

Since niether one of us has stayed onsite before, I guess we wouldn't be missing anything. I have just heard so much about how staying "onsite" is the only way to go, I feel like we will be missing out on something. Can any of you offer advice?

 

[Rpsemont]

YOu loose a little of the great theming, but personally, If I was travelling w/o child and had the potential to spend a few nights at PI. I'd choose the Grosvenor.

 

[Momto8]

While I'm not totally sure about this, I don't think the bus service at the Grosvenor runs quite as often as at a Disney resort. Disney buses also bypass the TTC at the MK, while the DD buses don't. Correct me if I'm wrong about this.

But if you are not planning on going to MK and planning on spending more time at DD and PI, then go for the Grosvenor. If it were me, though, I would go for POR, but I would miss the magic too much since we always stay on site. JMHO.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[BobBrazeal]

I don't know anything about the tranportation service directly to/from the Grosvenor. You may also be getting a rental car. I never get a rental car when I stay "on-site" and I've always figured that in as a savings that I can apply to the costs of staying on-site.

If you are using Disney Transportation, then there is the walk to the DD bus stops that I assume is reasonably short. However to get to <b>any</b> of the parks (except MGM after 4pm) you will have to go to TTC and take another bus to MGM or AK or the Monorail to Epcot or the boat or Monorail to MK. With POR, there are buses directly between the resort and the parks.There are no direct buses to any of the parks from DD (with the exception of MGM after 4pm)

Since I first decided to take the plunge and stay in an on-site resort, I've never wanted to do anything else again. To me it is more about being immersed in the magic. Before, I was always about getting the very lowest price. Now, although money is always a consideration, the value is there for me to say on-site. I've almost always stayed in the moderate level resorts.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

If you are renting a car, go for the DD disney hotel. If you are relying on "DD" transportation stay at POR. We stayed at the Marriott at DD last Sept. And the bus service was HORRIBLE! I told my DH never again, always in the park and he agreed.

 

[hercamore]

There is nothing wrong with the Grovenor..

however, the POR is a beautifully landscaped and themed resort, not just a hotel. You will have good transportation staying onsite. Just walking around POR is a treat.

If this is your ann. trip, the POR is much more romantic than a dt disney hotel.

Just my .02.

Good luck,

Herc

 

[Dallas_Lady]

Originally posted by roliepolieoliefan
If you are renting a car, go for the DD disney hotel. If you are relying on "DD" transportation stay at POR. We stayed at the Marriott at DD last Sept. And the bus service was HORRIBLE! I told my DH never again, always in the park and he agreed.

Can you tell me what you didn't like about the transportation?

 

[CarolynNC]

I thought I'd chime in since my son & I stayed there last June. We loved it. It was nice being a block from Downtown Disney.

I'm not familiar with POR so I don't know how spread out the resort is but I can tell you the Grosvenor is compact and doesn't require a long walk to get to services offered.

I had my car but took the transportation provided by the hotel. The only exception was the day we went to Animal Kingdom. We had plans for after the park visit and needed our car.

The buses were comfortable & ran regularly. If I remember correctly they picked up at the hotel on the hour and half hour. They picked up in the parks on the quarter hours. (Only exception was the AK bus that ran hourly after 9am.) There were individual buses for each park. The only time we were dropped at the TTC was for Magic Kingdom. That wasn't horrible, all we had to do was catch the ferry or monorail. You're also so close to the DD bus stops you can use those buses when it works best for your schedule.

We were able to take advantage of enight and early entry. Although I've never stayed at any of the moderate resorts I have stayed at the Contemporary, FT Wilderness, and All Stars numerous times. I don't think I lost any magic or convenience staying at the Grosvenor and making the best deal is what is important to me. If I get a good deal this summer I'll stay there again.

Carolyn

 

[walt's assistant]

We stayed at the Grosvenor in 1988 so my info is dated, but we enjoyed it very much. We got good value for the money; the rooms were nice, there was a complimentary continental breakfast, and there was regular Disney bus service running to/from the Transportation and Ticket Center. Since we spent so little time in our room, it worked out well for us.

BTW, we have also stayed at the Hilton and the Hotel Royal Plaza in LBV. All were very nice and we got some GREAT deals, which I guess made it even nicer! You do lose the "on-site"experience but LBV is as close to being "on-site" as it gets.

 

[eeyore0062]

Split your stay between the 2, and then everyone will be happy. It is your aniversary, so compromise!

 

[AJKMOM]

I agree, split your time. We did that once with a child, and it was no problem. Since there is no early entry, I would vote to save money at the Grosvenor. My family of 5 decided to save $200 a night and stay at the new Country Inn and Suites! The themeing at the Disney resorts is nice, but so is the money you save.

 

[txdznydude]

We just spent 4 glorious nights at POR Feb 1-5. It is a great resort, It is an attraction all to it's own. I spent one morning strolling the winding paths and enjoying the decor and landscaping. It would be a very romantic resort to send an anniversary at. There is one large main pool and I believe 4 quite pools. I never encountered anyone at any of the quite pools, always had them to myself, which I loved! There is also boat, bicycle and surrey rentals. There is even a fishing hole where you can pole fish. POR is my new favorite resort. As for staying on property I feel that it is the only way to go, the extra cost is more than made up for in the benefits that most of the other post have explained. When I go do Disney World I want to be total immersed in the magic which staying a Disney resort does. It also elminitates a lot of stress about renting a car, driving, getting lost, parking and so on. The Disney buses run every 5 to 15 min., pick you up at your resort and drop you off at the entrances to all parks and back again. There is also water craft transportation to several locations.

I say the only way to go is to stay on property!

 

[Disney-Kim]

check out mousesavers.com to see if you could save a few more dollars on your rates for the POR.

We stayed at the Wyndham Palace (then the Buena Vista) on our first trip for $140 per night....... we could have stayed at the POR for $79 a night that year (it was the year they opened)
but we didn't.
While the Wyndham was a beautiful hotel with corridors, across from Disney, "official hotel" etc.....I just did not realize the difference till we stayed the next trip at the CBR.

I think the Disney ambience makes the trip 100% better. You can stay in a nice hotel room anywhere but at WDW staying onsite really esconces you in the feeling and makes you feel a world away from the real world.
isn't that why you go to WDW???

so I say....try for the POR w/ your DH.....it will really make your trip so much more fun. Just my honest opinion.......

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

The transportation didn't run as often as the Disney hotels. We stayed at the BWI and Swan previously that same year, so we were able to compare fairly. The bus went to all the hotels at DD everytime so that took alot of time. And your drop-off and pick-up points for the bus were in the MIDDLE of a parking lot at the parks. We had to walk quite a ways to get to the parks even once the bus dropped us off. Maybe doesn't sound like a big deal but when we went it was in the 90's and HOT. To stand in a hot parking lot waiting for the bus was not fun. After a week, it got annoying. We are staying at the YC in Oct.

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

POR is quiet, peaceful, georgeous theming. It has this
romantic thing you can really feel. The transportation is so
easy. I have stayed at POR 4 times.

I have never stayed off-site for WDW. However, I have stayed
off-site to do Universal first. If you look at what other people
have said about the off-site transportation, and waiting in the
middle of the parking lot in the heat, it can be stressful. If you
stay in an off-site hotel you lose that feeling of being in a
fantasy world. You are reminded of "the real world" too
many times. When I go to WDW, I really want that wonderful
"escape" from the "real world". This may make a HUGE
difference on how you actually FEEL about your anniversary
vacation, and also how you may feel about it many years
later. Please tell your DH how I feel about it.

 

[gtaylor]

If you're driving I'd go with Grosvenor. The big advantage of Disney resorts is transporation and theming (used to be early entry) and theming just isn't worth the price differential to me. If you're flying and were to rent a car that added to Grosvenor would make it about break even money.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

Thank you all for your input.

I am still a bit undecided, though I think the Grosvenor may be a better option for us.

But by all means, keep the opinions coming!

 

[dmorrill]

Hi, this is my first time responding to this sight.But I was reading your request for info and had to. For years,10 of them I think, my wife and I stayed at the Courtyard Marriott accross from the Grosvenor Resort.The price was right and we could not afford to stay in the park at the time. Three years ago we stayed at the Grosvenor resort in March in the tower,we wanted to make a step up we thought. The resort is nice and clean and we thought it was going to be great.Wrong. It is very very noisy. All the doors on the rooms are made in such a way that it sounded like someone was slaming them shut.We could even hear them on the floors below and above as well as the people in them.This does not sound so good at 2am.We lost alot of sleep on this trip. Also the lower part with the outside hallways seem to be a place for the teens to run about and yell at each from one side to another.We had such a bad time at the resort,not Disney,that be bought into the DVC and stay at the BWV.Big change. But if I were going to stay outside again I would go back to The Courtyard.We really had some geart times and it's a real clean and well run Resort. Good Luck where ever you chose, Dave

 

[Dee & Greg]

Couldn't beat the price ($39 a nite!). But if the prices were close, I'd pick POR. Loved the theme of the mansions... and it just feels more "Disney". We also are DINKS (double income no kids). Had a king room at Grosvenor, and it was very quiet, but didn't have any view (UGH) and no theme whatsoever. I'd pick POR in a heartbeat. We walked over to DD to catch a bus to the parks because busses at Grosvenor were few and far between, and crowded!
It was okay for the price, but if you can't get a deal like I had (through Dreams unlimited), then go on-site.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

Originally posted by Dee & Greg
Had a king room at Grosvenor, and it was very quiet, but didn't have any view... We walked over to DD to catch a bus to the parks because busses at Grosvenor were few and far between, and crowded!

Were you in a tower room or in one of the wings?

Also, I didn't know that the DD buses went to the parks? Did you have to transfer at the TTC?