Need some help in picking where to stay on disneyworld 2013

[jorgen]

Hi Everyone

we are a family of 4 and we are looking to stay onsite in disneyland florida.
we are looking to go in late november about 25th, child 1 is 5 and the other will be 13 months old.

me and the wife have been to florida b4 but never with our kids so we aren´t sure which would be the best place to pick.

This are the ones we have looked at.
port orleans french qtr waterview
disney dining plan + 14 for 7 ultimate tickets.

Animal kingdom lodge
standard room
disney dining plan + 14 for 7 ultimate tickets.

art of animation
little mermaid
disney dining plan + 14 for 7 ultimate tickets.

art of animation
finding nemo family suites
disney dining plan + 14 for 7 ultimate tickets.

old key west
studio room
disney dining plan + 14 for 7 ultimate tickets.

these are some resort we looked at.
we have stayed in disneyland paris with the food deal is it worth it in florida or is cheaper just ate as we go around the parks?

Thanks in advance to who replies back to us.

 

[Aliceacc]

You're bound to get a variety of opinons. And to be honest, you lost me on the "14 for 7 ultimate tickets" thing. I've never stayed at any of the resorts you're considering, though friends have stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and loved it.

Thursday November 28 is Thanksgiving in the US-- a HUGE national holiday, and a time when schools are closed for at least a 4 day weekend... some schools close the whole week. So if it's possible to push your vacation up or back by a week, I imagine you'll find the crowds a lot more manageable.

Since your kids are so young, you'll probably be spending a lot of time at the Magic Kingdom. Can I offer a few alternatives?
- A garden wing room at the Contemporary. You can walk to the Magic Kingdom-- that's incredibly convenient when your child has had enough.

- The Wilderness Lodge. I imagine it's comparable in price to the AKL, but it's close to the MK. The Assistant Principal at my school raves about it!

As to the meal plan: I'm not sure it saves us any money, but we love it. Food at WDW is expensive, and I hate worrying about how much we're spending. I like having it all prepaid.

Happy planning!

 

[chmurf]

And to be honest, you lost me on the "14 for 7 ultimate tickets" thing

the OP is referring to the UK deal. 14 days ultimate ticket for the price of a 7 days premium ticket.

Hi Everyone
art of animation
...
disney dining plan + 14 for 7 ultimate tickets.

the kids would probably be thrilled by a suite at AoA, but you also have to think about yourself (grownups) and AoA is expensive for a value (if you go for the suites) and a Deluxe like AKL would also be great. POR would stand in the middle.

we have stayed in disneyland paris with the food deal is it worth it in florida or is cheaper just ate as we go around the parks?

if you get the UK or US deal for free dining, then go for it, even if you have to upgrade from QSDP to DDP
but if you have to pay for the dining plan, then you'll save money by paying OOP
as PP mentionned, the DDP might be worth it if you don't want to be worrying about how much you spend there, but you'll always need to pay for the tips anyway ... (and if you want to have the most bang for your buck and go for the most expensive dish on the menu, your check will be bigger, even if you pay it with a dining plan credit, you'll still pay a tip based on the amount of the check. SO it's a double edged sword.
If you get if free, it's good, if not, then don't take it and go out of pocket.

 

[philholsha]

Hi


We stayed at French Quarter October 2011 and really liked the resort. It was good to get the boat to Downtown Disney and also good to have a walk to Riverside some mornings for a change of breakfast scenery. The pool was absolutely lovely albeit we only visited twice because it was a little too chilly for us! Rooms were clean and tidy and were refurbished in 2011. Buses were regular and the longest wait was 10 minutes.

Dining Plan value depends on your eating habits. If you have a bit of time it may be worth looking at the menus at various eateries, seeing how much they cost and working out what is cheaper for you and your family. Allears.net has the menus and prices. Are you going to have all your meals at Disney or are you going to venture out? The portions are bigger in Florida compared to Paris. I shared my lunches with my daughter in Florida last year and we still struggled to eat it! It's been 7 years since we visited Eurodisney but my food memories aren't good!

 

[joolz1910]

We stayed in a 1 bed in OKW with our 3 girls aged 5, 8 and 12. The villa was huge and the resort was tranquil and beautiful. It is not as expensive to eat at WDW as it is at DLP.
I am sure you will be happy with whatever you choose.

 

[scoobydooby]

What level resort do you want? You've got value, moderate and deluxe there. Vastly differing price ranges. If your kids want a slide at the pool you need at least a moderate. I've never stayed value so can't help with that. The moderates are fine and deluxes lovely but I'm not sure i think they are worth the very high additional cost although if money were no object I'd go deluxe every time my favourite moderate is Port Orleans Riverside.

 

[jorgen]

thanks for all the replies so far.

As i have two kids i was wondering which would be the best to please them.
the all the prices are about the same bar a couple of 200 each way, we are flying from the uk.

Regard jorgen

 

[darthtatty]

Another thing to think of is travelling from the resorts to the parks.
Are you driving at all? We stay onsite and only use Disney transport, although its convient it does add a lot of time to the end to the start & end of your day.

For me AKL just seemed out of the way and took a while to get to anywhere from here. Ive heard others say the same, although Ive also heard a few say the transport has been good.

I like the suggestion of the Contemporary resort, we go to MK a lot, so love the walk to MK.

I think your kids would love AoA, probably best to do it while they are young. Not sure what the travelling is like from here.
Im sure youll go again and can try the other resorts on your list

As for the dining plan- unless its free, I personally would not buy it.
Its a lot of food-even for us and we're big eaters

 

[scoobydooby]

The best bus service of your choices for sure is POFQ. Small resort, only one bus stop, great pool for kids too. Rooms are bigger than AoA although even though that's a value resort, it does look nice for little children. AKL is beautiful and has much better on site food than the others but personally I would not stay there without a car. But with children that young, if you can afford it, I'd stay at the Polynesian. Decent pool, big rooms, great food choices and a monorail ride from MK. The Contemporary is close too but just my taste, I don't like it there.

 

[jorgen]

thanks for all the replies so far.

As i have two kids i was wondering which would be the best to please them.
the all the prices are about the same and we are flying from the uk.

Regard jorgen

Regarding the dining plan that is an extra of 1100 pounds.

 

[darthtatty]

thanks for all the replies so far.

As i have two kids i was wondering which would be the best to please them.
the all the prices are about the same and we are flying from the uk.

Im sure anywhere in WDW would please them.

Its the Uk section, so many of us fly from the Uk.

 

[joolz1910]

I would not pay £1100 for the DDP for two adults, a child and a toddler. I would want my dining to be very flexible with a toddler as they are likely to sleep through meals or be cranky when you have planned something - I would not want to be tied to so many ADR's.
The DDP is great if it's free but would you get your money's worth if you paid for it?

 

[MrRomance]

Selecting the right resort for you and your family is very much a matter of budget and personal preferences so it's really hard to help you choose, it's more a matter of weighing up your costs and what amenities will appeal to you.

For young kids, I think Art of Animation is fantastic. It was themed really well and it's really cute. The food court is great but being a value resort it has limited amenities.

Stepping up to a moderate gives you better amenities and something that we find particularly important is a fridge in the room which you pay extra for in value resorts. I would recommend POR over POFQ with little ones.

AKL has the appeal of the animals if you're considering a deluxe, but personally, I would go for OKW or SSR. You get the higher level amenities but can often get a cheaper rates. SSR has a walkway to DTD which is cool for taking the kids over to the lego store etc.

Hope that helps!

 

[chmurf]

and something that we find particularly important is a fridge in the room which you pay extra for in value resorts.

There is a fridge in every value room, free of charge, since March 2012

 

[MichelinMan]

Personally, out of all the hotels you listed, even though I've never stayed in any of them, I would choose AKL. The young kids would love that hotel. But if you can afford AKL, can you afford the little bit extra for the Poly? With young kids, the convenience of the monorail for MK and EPCOT will be well worth the extra money.

As for DDP, if you can't get it for free, pay OOP. Whilst I have enjoyed planning all my ADRs on the DDP, I suspect I may have chosen different restaurants/strategies if we had not got it for free.

 

[robinb]

I have stayed at all of those resorts except Art of Animation.

Your kids will be pleased no matter where you stay. The 13-month old won't care at all and the 5-year old will also be happy just about anywhere. Is s/he enjoys a pool slide then you should skip the Value resorts.

port orleans french qtr waterview

I LOVED Port Orleans French Quarter. It's a compact resort with a beautiful theme. You have the ability to "pool hop" over to PO-Riverside but the pool at FQ is probably better for a 5-year old. The food court is very nice and you get to board the shared (with Port Orleans Riverside) bus first in the morning and will get a seat.

Whoops! I originally read Port Orleans Riverside. Here's what I wrote about that resort: I didn't really care for Port Orleans Riverside. We stayed in the "Alligator Bayou" section and I found it to be too spread out and hard to get around with lots of twisty, turny paths. It took us 15-20 minutes to walk to the food court every day. If I were to stay again I would pick one of the "Mansions" as they have straight paths to the center of the resort and then to the food court.

Animal kingdom lodge
standard room

Animal Kingdom Lodge is one of my favorite resorts. The downside is that it's "off the beaten path" and it takes a bit longer to get to the parks. Since you're going to be there for 14 days you may enjoy a more relaxed resort. A standard room will overlook the parking lot. I would consider a savannah view room if you can swing the extra $$.


art of animation
little mermaid

art of animation
finding nemo family suites

I have not stayed here but I have heard really good things about this resort. HOWEVER, you are paying a premium to stay there over the other Value resorts. The "suites" are completely overpriced in my opinion.

old key west
studio room

I have stayed at OKW many times since we used to own Disney Vacation Club points there. It's also a very spread out resort. You could be so far away from the Hospitality House that you would have to take the internal bus to get there. Plus, there is not real food court, more like a small "snack shop". Since you will be on the DDP, it's important that you choose a place with easy access to meals. Another negative for me is that OKW has 2 queen sized beds in the studio instead of a queen bed and a fold out couch. I like having the couch since it makes the room more comfortable and roomier when not sleeping.

My take on your choices ... Port Orleans French Quater hands down. For a Value Resort, I would pick Pop Century as it's cheaper. The theme is fun and the food court is very nice. For a Moderate Resort, I would go with your choice of Port Orleans FQ. For a Deluxe Resort, I would switch to a Savannah View room at AKL or price a room at Wilderness Lodge. Any of the other Deluxe resorts will be a lot pricier. For a Home Away From Home Studio, I would pick Saratoga Springs over Old Key West because the restaurants are nicer, the pools are nicer and the studios have a fold out couch. SSR is also pretty spread out, though.

 

[nhmommy]

The last 2 times we went we paid for the dining plan. it didn't save us much money but kept Me from cheeping out, if I had to pay for each meal I would have made lunches split dinners skipped snacks and so on.
How much time are you planing on spending in the parks vs the resort? That would weigh heavily on my choice.

 

[nhmommy]

Another option for you if you didn't mind moving you could do the first 5-7 days "cheep" and do a value with no dinning plan then switch resorts to a Mod or deluxe and add the dinning plan. you need to add dinning for the length of stay but switching resorts would allow that and your park tickets would still be good for the 14 days.

 

[scoobydooby]

Another option for you if you didn't mind moving you could do the first 5-7 days "cheep" and do a value with no dinning plan then switch resorts to a Mod or deluxe and add the dinning plan. you need to add dinning for the length of stay but switching resorts would allow that and your park tickets would still be good for the 14 days.

They won't let you do that without buying your tickets twice as they form part of the package, at least when the DDP is free. Last year we wanted to do this with the free DDP and I wanted a week at the Poly and a week at the Beach Club. They would only let me do it if I booked two separate packages so we just spent a week at the Beach Club. I did ring twice to see if the first person had told me wrong but I got the same response. It's worth trying, but I couldn't do it.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

As a PP stated if you can change your vacation to another week you will be happier. The week you want to go will be super crowded, lines will be long and rooms will be over priced and availability will be scarce. Dinning reservations will be snatch up quickly so if you are going to go with the dinning plan you had better be online at the 180 day mark to make your reservations. Otherwise the TS places will be booked and your dinning plan will be worthless if you can't use your TS credits.