Help me choose!! POR, AoA, or CBR

[Leleluvsdis]

HEEELLLLPPPP!!!!! I don't know which to choose!!! Here are the details:

• Dec. 20-24
• DH, DD (5 - it's for her 5th birthday), and me
• This is our first trip just the three of us. We normally do family trips with my parents and once with mine and his parents and siblings
• currently booked in Little Mermaid room
• ~$200 difference to upgrade to POR or CBR
• I chose AoA for the amazing theme and gondolas but with such a low price difference to switch to a mod, now I'm second guessing my decision. The reviews on CBR I've seen aren't great so it's probably really between AoA and POR.

 

[Shellyred8]

I would stick with AoA, or perhaps switch to CBR. You get to use the skyliner for transportation to 2 parks. AoA has it's own bus (not shared with another resort) to the other two parks. Your timing gets to be pretty busy, so not having to take bus transportation to two of the parks could be a real time saver.
Also, I think DD might like the theming of AoA better.

I would vote for keeping AoA and using the $200 for a fun birthday surprise while on your trip.

Have a great trip!

 

[FredPinsocket]

I’d stay with Art of Animation!

 

[stranger706]

AOA and POR are our 2 favorite resorts! I lean towards AOA and my wife loves POR.

AOA
- Best bus system out of any resort (no shared buses, 1 stop at main lobby, organized waiting lines, shortest wait times)
- most Disney resort (along with ASMo) this can be good or bad, it kind of feels like your still in the parks all the time
- now has Skyliner station
- we love the family suites with 2 bathrooms (we've never tried the LM rooms, they are the farthest from lobby/transportation)

POR
- most relaxing resort (we stayed here last Christmas and it was still unbelievably quiet and relaxing)
- very spread out and roomy (never feels crowded or rushed)
- buses were ok...theres 4 stops and the crowds and wait times varied wildly
- check out the royal guest rooms, that would be a treat for your daughter!
- also have boats running to Disney springs

Both have large food courts and were comparable in my eyes. POR does have a nice table service restaurant (Boatwright's)

Do you have any specific questions?

 

[CynBeth]

POR!

 

[cassie58]

With your daughter's age I think AoA would be perfect! Theming is really well done, great food court, and one bus stop. LM rooms have amazing details, just be prepared as PP mentioned it is a longer walk at end of the night, but hopefully you might be bringing a stroller for DD if she is crashed out or done walking for the day.

 

[ProfT]

I agree with the pros/cons of both AoA and POR above. One more thing to add in AoA's favor is not only that the theme being great for young kids, now is the time in your family's life stage to enjoy it. By that I mean as your daughter is 5 yrs old, the little mermaid theme will likely be special for her - Louisiana bayou probably less so.

That said, you probably can't wrong with either. When my son was that age, we would regularly stay at POR and FQ and he enjoyed it immensely. French Quarter has less walking and everything is much more central which can be a benefit for tired little feet. Not sure if you looked into that resort.

 

[ZumaTree]

Not a lot of love for Caribbean Beach shown here, so I need to add my two cents. On our last trip, my husband and I stayed 6 nights at Pop Century, then moved to CBR for our last night. We really loved it. We definitely noticed the the moderate upgrade after a week at Pop, and we weren't even in a refurbished room. The Caribbean Cay was a fun surprise, the pool was GREAT (maybe not relevant in December...), and the Old Port Royale area was lovely.

The theming at AoA is probably perfect for your 5-year-old. We are staying at AoA for our next trip and hope to stay at POR in the future, but I wanted to share that CBR got two thumbs up from us, and that was even before the Skyliner transportation option.

 

[SG131]

I would upgrade to either one of the moderates (probably CBR) solely for the convenience of big people beds instead of small full size beds but that’s just me!

 

[TheBigErn]

You won't be disappointed at POR

 

[gorkt]

For a kid that age, I would choose AoA.

 

[nkereina]

Reviews are very subjective so whatever you have read about CBR, I would take with a grain of salt. The new layout, the newer bus routes, and the Skyliner are all big positives for CBR and reasons why I would try it again after a not so great stay several years ago. It would also still give you the same benefit of the Skyliner, which is huge considering how quickly it gets you to two of the four parks.

 

[Ohiostatefan606]

I am staying at CBR in January for the first time, so can't speak that location.

AoA - my son was 7, it was our first trip and he was and still is a huge Cars fan. AoA was perfect and feel like for that age of a child, they will get the Disney feel. The fact that you can take the Skyliner, gives you an extra way to get around. What we loved about AoA, dedicated buses, we never had an issue getting on a bus. The one day we were at a park waiting and waiting for a bus. We hopped on a POP bus and just walked across the bridge to AoA. We stayed in a Cars family suite. I'm not sure I could handle the double size beds that are in the Mermaid rooms. For us, we would stay again, but they either need to upgrade the beds in Mermaid, or I would stay in a suite.

So why did I pick CBR - the Skyliner. I want to avoid the buses and we (I) are huge Star Wars fans. I expect I will be at HS more than once during my 4 day trip!