Help me choose! WL or POR??

[Goin'BacktoDisney]

I'm going to book our Disney trip to tomorrow and I still am so undecided about which resort to choose...I could use some advice to help me make up my mind. I'm traveling with my family of 4, dh and I and our kiddos, ds age 8 and dd age 5. We have been traveling to Disney annually for the past 6 years for the first week of November. We have always stayed in the mods, we tried BC last year and absolutely loved it, but it's more than we want to spend this year so I'm looking at WL or POR. We go every year so we don't do parks commando style--we typically have breakfast at our resort, relax/play in the pool till lunch, have lunch at the resort, then shower and head to the parks for the rest of the night, where we always stay for the end of night festivities. We usually hit all the parks, but our faves are MK and Epcot and spend more time there.

We have been to POR once about 4 years ago. We thought it was a beautiful resort and enjoyed it a lot. We stayed in the AB section, thought we'd try the mansions this time to make it feel a little different. I like that the rooms have all been refurbed sinced our last stay. I also really like that I can do a 7 night, 8 day stay at POR for $600 cheaper than we can do a 6 night, 7 day stay at AKL or WL. So basically, extra day of vacation and save $600.

I'm considering WL because we really did enjoy our first trip to a deluxe (BC) last year and all in all we felt the extra money we spent on the trip was worthwhile. I've never been to this resort and I like getting to experience new resorts each time. Even though we go every year it makes our trips feel very different. I like how close WL is to MK and that we can get there by boat. I also really enjoyed having a balcony to hang out with dh after kiddos are in bed for the night. To get the trip with WL in the budget we'd want to be in, we'd cut the trip down by one day (6 nights 7 days) and we'd do a wilderness view.

So given all that info...what would you go with?? I know both it'll be a great trip whichever we choose...but I still need to decide what to tell the cast member on the phone tomorrow when I call to make our ressies!

 

[shannonstar]

I would go with POR (maybe a Royal Room?). I'm all about more vacation time. And the pool at POR is nice, so it's not like you are sacrificing that. We also like the convenience of the boat to DTD since we loves to meander around that area also.

Are you planning to go during free dining? Since you are planning to call tomorrow, I am thinking you must be. Again, I would stick with POR since you get the same free dp whether you stay at a moderate or a deluxe.

 

[elaw]

Would you consider a "split stay"? .... It's not for everyone but I usually do the split so that I get to stay at both resorts on the same trip because they are both wonderful resorts. It would at least save some money.

 

[Dizneefamily+4]

From your 2 choices, here's my take. We did a split stay a couple trips ago with both POR and WL - POR was the 1st half of the trip. It was our 1st stay at POR. Prior to that trip, we had stayed offsite and at CSR. We absolutely LOVED POR. It really oozed Disney magic imo - the beautiful grounds, the fabulous food court (best on property, I think,) excellent mousekeeping, the boat to DTD, etc. Even though it's a large resort, it never seemed crowded - and we go in August. Then, the day came that we had to switch to WL - our first experience at a deluxe. Needless to say, we were completely underwhelmed and disappointed that we had switched from POR. Now granted, many people love WL, so this was just our experience.

To us, WL just seemed like a regular hotel - not magical at all. Maybe in Nov. it would be better because the lodge-look would be fabulous during the Christmas holiday season. We did, however, like the boat option to MK.

Our last trip was to the Poly - which has become our favorite resort, so we're obviously not anti-deluxe! We just booked a spontaneous short trip to POFQ for next month and are planning on a long trip to the Poly again in 2013.

So if it were up to me, I'd choose POR out of your 2 options. Good luck with your decision!

 

[DisneyFive]

I haven't stayed at WL, but a few comments about it.

I believe it is the only deluxe resort (along with AKL) that isn't on the monorail, or tied into the friendship boats, so the buses are similar to any other mod or value in that regard. No real benefit of access to the parks.

I love the look of the resort, rooms, and the pool, but I would have a hard time justifying it's price over POR.

Just my $0.02.

A split stay would let you save some $$, while still at least checking it out, but then there is the hassle of packing and unpacking twice.

Dan

 

[Disneyhenry]

i say go for WL! It's a great resort for kids, so beautiful, when are you going??

 

[GoHerbie]

I would stay at POR, and like you figured out you can get more nights of Disney magic for less! WL has been the one deluxe that always interested us, but the cost jump from a moderate to deluxe isn't worth it to us, and the savings are big enough to cover lots of souveniers and activities on your Disney trip or even an additional vacation somewhere else.

 

[cwt580]

I haven't stayed at WL, but a few comments about it.

I believe it is the only deluxe resort (along with AKL) that isn't on the monorail, or tied into the friendship boats, so the buses are similar to any other mod or value in that regard. No real benefit of access to the parks.

I love the look of the resort, rooms, and the pool, but I would have a hard time justifying it's price over POR.

Just my $0.02.

A split stay would let you save some $$, while still at least checking it out, but then there is the hassle of packing and unpacking twice.

Dan

The boats from WL will take you to Cr for mono access or other boat takes you to Mk . mono gives you access to TTC and on to EPCOT by mono...plus easy access to Poly,GF,MK,TTC, and EPCOT. WL usually only shares buses with the campground.

 

[danceintherain]

Interesting perspectives. We'll likely be deciding between these two options for our next trip.

If the extra $600 was in the budget, I would probably go with WL. The extra time would only make a difference to me if it was a lot of extra time. I would probably be more likely to stay at POR for a full 10 days, so that it would end up costing the same as a week at WL rather than add only one extra day and save the money. It completely depends on my budget for the trip.

 

[MickeyEars]

We have been staying at Riverside for a couple of years now (including a June trip in a royal room) but we wanted to try something different for next year so today I booked Wilderness Lodge.
Our trip is May 31-June 7 and I'm so excited to be trying something new. Can't wait to go!!!

Carla

 

[tinkmom76]

I have stayed at both and the choice would be easy for me. I would stay at WL. POR is nice but can't compare to WL especially when it is decorated for Christmas. There is a boat to the MK which is really nice and because there are less rooms it always seems like there are less people at the bus stops.

 

[mkaccountant]

I am in the same boat as the OP. We had made up our minds to stay at WL this year and then on June 29 a derecho storm took out our outside building and some outdoor equipment. We had about $1k in replacement costs so I feel like we need to stay moderate this year to offset that expense. I <3 CSR, but was looking for a change this year. It has really helped reading this thread to feel more confident in staying at POR this year. Thanks to all PP!

Can anyone point to some pics of POR Royal rooms and grounds pics? I am sure there is a pic thread but cannot find it.

 

[tinkbyday]

I'm going to book our Disney trip to tomorrow and I still am so undecided about which resort to choose...I could use some advice to help me make up my mind. I'm traveling with my family of 4, dh and I and our kiddos, ds age 8 and dd age 5. We have been traveling to Disney annually for the past 6 years for the first week of November. We have always stayed in the mods, we tried BC last year and absolutely loved it, but it's more than we want to spend this year so I'm looking at WL or POR. We go every year so we don't do parks commando style--we typically have breakfast at our resort, relax/play in the pool till lunch, have lunch at the resort, then shower and head to the parks for the rest of the night, where we always stay for the end of night festivities. We usually hit all the parks, but our faves are MK and Epcot and spend more time there.

We have been to POR once about 4 years ago. We thought it was a beautiful resort and enjoyed it a lot. We stayed in the AB section, thought we'd try the mansions this time to make it feel a little different. I like that the rooms have all been refurbed sinced our last stay. I also really like that I can do a 7 night, 8 day stay at POR for $600 cheaper than we can do a 6 night, 7 day stay at AKL or WL. So basically, extra day of vacation and save $600.

I'm considering WL because we really did enjoy our first trip to a deluxe (BC) last year and all in all we felt the extra money we spent on the trip was worthwhile. I've never been to this resort and I like getting to experience new resorts each time. Even though we go every year it makes our trips feel very different. I like how close WL is to MK and that we can get there by boat. I also really enjoyed having a balcony to hang out with dh after kiddos are in bed for the night. To get the trip with WL in the budget we'd want to be in, we'd cut the trip down by one day (6 nights 7 days) and we'd do a wilderness view.

So given all that info...what would you go with?? I know both it'll be a great trip whichever we choose...but I still need to decide what to tell the cast member on the phone tomorrow when I call to make our ressies!

If it were my choice and money was not an issue, I would definitely choose WL. With children that young, I would imagine you will spend alot of time at MK - that boat ride over is so nice and then the Electrical Water Parade in the evenings is a plus as well. Plus, the lobby of that resort - WOW - just beautiful.

I am not a fan of POR - we had a bad experience there - but you've stayed there already and enjoyed -you know basically what there is to offer there.

 

[elaw]

Can anyone point to some pics of POR Royal rooms and grounds pics? I am sure there is a pic thread but cannot find it.

Try Here
http://www.portorleans.org/gallery.php



I took these during our last stay there

 

[EvilQueenT]

we've stayed at both and really like both resorts. given your two favorite parks i'd consider por as it's more central to mk and epcot so your travel time is fairly consistent to/from each. i really don't think you would be disappointed with either place but i will admit i stayed in a royal guest room with my 8 y/o granddaughter in late march of this year and it was a lot more fun than a standard room at wl imo.

 

[elaw]

we've stayed at both and really like both resorts. given your two favorite parks i'd consider por as it's more central to mk and epcot so your travel time is fairly consistent to/from each. i really don't think you would be disappointed with either place but i will admit i stayed in a royal guest room with my 8 y/o granddaughter in late march of this year and it was a lot more fun than a standard room at wl imo.

The rooms at WL are currently being renovated so they may be fun now too

 

[Tink415]

I would probably choose POR and another day of vacation if I could take another vacation day. We've stayed at both resorts multiple times and love both. To me, POR is enjoyable any time of the year, whereas I like WL best in December (Christmas decorations) or the summer months (beach & pool bar area). As your kids get older it might get harder to take long vacations the first week of November if they go to regular school. Take a shorter WL vacation then

 

[Goin'BacktoDisney]

Thanks so much for your advice everyone! I've been thinking on it for the past few days and I made my ressies this morning for 7 nights at POR with a Royal Garden View guest room. Like I said, we have stayed once at POR a few years ago and we really loved this resort and knew we'd be happy to return. I was really torn between staying at POR or upgrading to WL or AKL, but the thing is that while those two deluxes look really nice, I just didn't think they looked *$1000* nicer than POR, and that's what it came down to. And when I took a look at the brand new royal rooms at POR and imagined my 5 year old princess loving daughter walking into one of those rooms, my decision was made! And, with the price difference we were able to add another day of vacation (we were only pricing 6 night trips at the deluxes, we booked 7 nights at POR in the upgraded room, and we will STILL be saving about $700).
Now, I fully expect that I'll second guess my decision several times between now and November...especially when I read fabulous trip reports and see pics from WL or AKL, but for now I feel really good about my choice! Thanks for your input!