Help! We leave in 2 weeks! Indecisiveness

[purplefanatic22]

Help! This will be my first time to Disney with kids (dates 2/25-3/2). The last time we went was in 2007. We are taking our almost 5 year old daughter for her birthday (and leaving our almost 2 yr old at home). Right now we're booked in a Cars suite at AoA, but I'm having second thoughts. I've already upgraded to the suite from the standard Little Mermaid room. Honestly, with just 3 of us, we don't truly "need" the room-I just thought it would be nice to have the space and the kitchenette. Our daughter is a milk fanatic and absolutely MUST have her milk at morning and night. But as far as having an extra bathroom and stuff, that's not a true necessity. Now that I'm realizing how much of a difference in price the suite was, I'm thinking maybe I should have just upgraded to a nicer resort.

I think our suite at AoA was ~$300/night. Are there any other resort properties that would better serve us for this trip around that budget?

 

[rizzo0904]

We stayed at AoA in a Cars suite. The decor was great, but I wouldn't spend the money again. Yes, you get a lot of room and it's a fun place, but it's expensive. You can get any moderate for less than the AoA suite. We are trying POR this time.

 

[CarbonRiver]

We stayed in a Cars Suite last year with 4yo and 2yo. We're going back 3/1-3-7 and are going to try POR this time around staying in the Royal Suites. Have to say that we did REALLY like the Cars Suite and AoA as a whole, but since we spent so little time in our room we decided to POR would work fine and ended up being quite a bit less. Would rather spend the money elsewhere ultimately. The Royal Suites weren't that much more than the basic POR room and seemed to have nice theme to them for our princess obsessed DD.

 

[minnie mum]

You could get a room at any mod resort for less than that. IMO any mod is a huge improvement over the values. Have a look at the Royal Rooms at POR. Not sure about availability, but you could call and ask. If you currently have a vacation package though, you are well within your 45 day point, so you would incur a change fee.

 

[purplefanatic22]

I had no idea there was a change fee!! When I called yesterday to upgrade to the suites the rep didn't mention anything about that! How much is it?

 

[minnie mum]

The fee if you make changes to a package inside 45 days is $50. This is usually waived if the change results in a net increase in the cost of the package. If you upgraded, they probably waived it.

 

[rizzo0904]

$50 will be worth it...you will save much more than that per night.

 

[purplefanatic22]

Oh OK, $50 isn't that bad. And yes it's totally worth it. We stayed at POR back in 2007 with my family pre-kids. The "royal" rooms like perfect for my princess loving daughter. Is there anything specific I should know about the resort? Any specific requests I should ask for? Are the royal rooms all in the same place or are they all around?

 

[purplefanatic22]

And now I'm reading about the differences in POR and CBR. Thoughts on choosing one or the other based on the info I provided above?

 

[BellsFam]

And now I'm reading about the differences in POR and CBR. Thoughts on choosing one or the other based on the info I provided above?

I personally want to pick POR for a trip... It just seems so beautiful and calm!

One of them, CBR or CSR is a convention resort, you may not enjoy that part and I think CBR is closing the pool for renovations...

 

[cckp72]

I am by far NO expert on POR but i have to say that we LOVED our Royal Room overlooking the River. We were in building 90 - close to the Quiet Pool and just over the bridge to the lobby/Ol' Man pool. I can't say enough good things about this resort!

We just came home on Monday so if you have any questions, I am happy to try to answer them for you!

 

[buzznina]

Oh OK, $50 isn't that bad. And yes it's totally worth it. We stayed at POR back in 2007 with my family pre-kids. The "royal" rooms like perfect for my princess loving daughter. Is there anything specific I should know about the resort? Any specific requests I should ask for? Are the royal rooms all in the same place or are they all around?

The RR's are located in 2 mansion buildings, Oaks Manor and Parterre Place. We preferred Oaks Manor and we also paid for RR-GV and always requested a room close to the bridge(if you get river view you can ignore that request) and Oaks Manor. There is a great site devoted to the PO resorts portorleans.org

 

[pixarmom]

Under the circumstances, I'd book a pool view at AKL for only $11 more/night. We've stayed at three of the values (including AOA), all the mods and all the deluxe resorts. Last month, we did a split stay between four resorts and and our first two were AOA and AKL. Our three boys were thrilled to arrive at AKL. It's so relaxing and a wonderful escape from the parks at the end of the day. Even our kids thought AOA was "too much Disney" and I never thought I'd hear them say that! We stayed CL this time, but last time, we stayed in a pool view room and it was great. So convenient to the pool and the Mara. While we don't do a ton of CS, we far prefer Mara over any of the food courts at the values or mods. The bus situation at AKL was wonderful - only stops are AKL and Kidani, instead of the many stops weaving through the mods. The pools are fantastic -both have slides and zero depth entry, and the ability to use both Kidani and AKL pools is a huge bonus. Not sure of the status of the Kidani splash pad, but when it's open, it's perfect for little ones. Looks like discounted rooms are $298 for an AOA suite and $309 for AKL pool view. For $11/night extra (and no change fee because it's an upgrade) I'd be sold!

P.S. I love milk, too! When we're not staying CL, I just stop in the resort gift shop and pick up a half gallon to store in our fridge - no need for a kitchen!

 

[purplefanatic22]

@pixarmom - The discounts start March 2 and that's the day we're leaving. :-( Are there any other ways to find discounts, particularly this late?

 

[pixarmom]

@pixarmom - The discounts start March 2 and that's the day we're leaving. :-( Are there any other ways to find discounts, particularly this late?

I know! I wish I knew how to post a screen shot, because I know what you're saying about the dates - the spring offer starts on 3/2. But when I plug in your dates on the WDW website, 2/25-3/2, and click the spring offer, my screen shows 309 ave/night with the following breakdown:

2/25: $294
2/26: $294
2/27: $331
2/28: $331
3/1: $294

Then it says, "ask about other great rates February 22 - March 1."
Maybe it's just a glitch.

 

[Spoiledraf]

Pixarmom beat me to it with the numbers but I agree. Good luck with what ever you do.

 

[JohnDaleswife]

So you are on a package reservation correct?

 

[JohnDaleswife]

So what do you have now price wise. Tickets, number of people ect on your package?

 

[purplefanatic22]

Sorry @JohnDaleswife just seeing this. Yes we do have a package reservation. 2 adults, 1 child. 5 nights, 4 days in the parks with a hopper, deluxe dining plan. We are currently at AoA in a Cars Suite, but I'm highly considering asking if we can move to POR.

 

[partigus]

STOP, DO NOT PASS GO, DO NOT COLLECT $200....instead go directly to Disney and change your res! Currently the Yacht Club is showing avail a standard view room, on the late spring discount for $305 per night....NIGHT and DAY difference to a value. Walk to Epcot. Boat to HS. Do a park in the morning and hop to EPCOT at night. and have some serious contenders on where to use that DDP at!