Need your Opinions--- Port Orleans Riverside, Castle Hotel, Caribe Royal, Or.

[peainapod]

I currently have POR booked. I can't get excited about it for some reason.

We have priced out the Caribe Royal which will be about $100 less.

Marriott Castle Hotel--about $250 less

Radisson lake buena vista--about $350 less

For the offsite, I did include WDW parking in the difference

We are traveling with a 1 year old. I want something safe and nice, but not crazy $$. Most condos have already been booked through vrbo or require a 6 night stay

I need your opinions!

 

[sksjasams]

I currently have POR booked. I can't get excited about it for some reason.

We have priced out the Caribe Royal which will be about $100 less.

Marriott Castle Hotel--about $250 less

Radisson lake buena vista--about $350 less

For the offsite, I did include WDW parking in the difference

We are traveling with a 1 year old. I want something safe and nice, but not crazy $$. Most condos have already been booked through vrbo or require a 6 night stay

I need your opinions!

I know at the Caribe Royale, you will have a separate bedroom and living area. I think this would be nice for you to be able to put your one year old down for a nap or to bed for the night, and still have a place for you and your DH to hang out.

The rooms at Buena Vista Suites have the same exact layout (sister property)...just not as fancy of a pool/resort. I believe it is less expensive though and comes with free breakfast. Mousesavers often has special rates at both of these properties.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[starwart]

With a 1 yr. old child I will go for POR. We stayed in Caribe Royale once and we did not like it mainly because it is a multi storey huge building and we did not feel safe compared to staying in WDW resorts. I'd rather stay in a value resort rather than staying in Caribe Royale. Just our personal choice.

 

[Swimalie]

First time I went to Disney we stayed at the Royal-something hotel off site. It was nice but when we went back and stay on-site is was much better. My husband and I stayed at Riverside in 1996 and loved it! We highly recommend the hotel. The scenery, rooms, general atmosphere were just great. We have also stayed at Coronado and preferred Riverside.

 

[HeatherC]

I would suggest looking at the Marriott Village properties. I book through Last Minute Travel Club and they have great rates.

With a 1 year old I would want a separate bedroom area that you could close off at naptime or bedtime. Would give you and dh a more relaxing feel than cramming into one small room.

I may look at Fairfield Inn and Suites, Embassy Suites, Residence Inns, etc. Having a mini kitchen is also great for snacks and heating stuff up.

The ResidenceInn near SeaWorld gets good reviews and last time I checked, the rates were like $120 a night for a suite. Very easy drive to theparks too.

Hope this helps!

 

[Shmily1]

I would definitely keep POR. If you've never stayed there, you may be pleasantly surprised. It's a very relaxing resort. I've never found anything there I didn't love.

 

[peainapod]

Thanks all. I will be cancelling Port Orleans today. Just couldn't see paying more $$ for something that looks very blah and not exciting to me!

I booked an offsite hotel that looks very nice. Thanks!

 

[Rose23]

With a small child, you will want to be close especially to take mid-afternoon breaks. Port Orleans Riverside is a wonderful resort for adults and children.

Plenty to do at the resort, lots of kid areas even in the foodcourt, wonderful Old Man Island Pool area, not to mention the fabulous boat ride to Downtown Disney to take you to even more Magic in Downtown Disney, i.e. LegoStore, etc.

Another option - If you are looking for more exciting decor for a one-year old, consider Art of Animation Little Mermaid rooms which are decent price and you have great themed rooms and walking paths. Lots to keep your little one interested.

I do not stay at off property Orlando hotels. After two bad experiences at supposedly nice hotels, NEVER AGAIN.

 

[kymom99]

Your little one won't really know what kind of resort you stay in, but I will tell you that when my son was little we stayed at value resorts and they suited us fine. He was 4 on the first trip and we stayed at ASSports. The next year he chose ASMovies. I LOVED Movies! It was so cute and had so much to look at. The pool areas had kiddie pools that were perfect for little ones. Once he got a little older we were all ready to graduate to moderate resorts, but with a little one, the values were fun and exciting. You could get a king room and use a pack n play so that you will have more space. I have read where people put the pack n play in the sink area and pull the curtain so they can watch TV while the little one sleeps. I would suggest that you price a value. If you are going when there is a discount, they can be fairly reasonable and my husband loves using the resort transportation.

 

[cel_disney]

Have you considered POFQ? Its a fantastic resort that is so much smaller and has a feature pool...

The vanity closet area fits the packnplay perfectly so you can curtain it off....go for buildings 4 or 5 and you are a minute walk to the bus stop and to the cafe and to the pool...we did it as our son was 1 and 2 and 3 years old...

I think early morning hours are sooo important for successful touring with a 1 year old who will not be great at line waiting that missing out on that would not help your trip...

Plus, having to park at MK is a pain...(everywhere else is fine)...

~Theresa

 

[peainapod]

Have you considered POFQ? Its a fantastic resort that is so much smaller and has a feature pool...

The vanity closet area fits the packnplay perfectly so you can curtain it off....go for buildings 4 or 5 and you are a minute walk to the bus stop and to the cafe and to the pool...we did it as our son was 1 and 2 and 3 years old...

I think early morning hours are sooo important for successful touring with a 1 year old who will not be great at line waiting that missing out on that would not help your trip...

Plus, having to park at MK is a pain...(everywhere else is fine)...

~Theresa

At this point we have decided to stay off-site and save the $350 for 4 nights. That essentially pays for a big chunk of our food costs. We never use buses.ever.So, we planned on driving to the parks anyways. None of the values or mods are "doing it" for me anyways. Thanks

 

[peainapod]

I would definitely keep POR. If you've never stayed there, you may be pleasantly surprised. It's a very relaxing resort. I've never found anything there I didn't love.

I guess that is what I don't like about it. I personally do not see a lot of "theming" like I do when I stay at the AKL or Poly. I think the deluxe hotels have spoiled me.

 

[cel_disney]

I guess that is what I don't like about it. I personally do not see a lot of "theming" like I do when I stay at the AKL or Poly. I think the deluxe hotels have spoiled me.

I generally agree with you - but we found POFQ had more theming than the others (we don't like POR or CS at all...tolerate CBR - probably more in a pirate room! and find the values too overdone for us) and the size of POFQ is manageable to make it enjoyable. We enjoyed the jazz player at the lounge, the big masks, the pool, I believe we even got some Mardi gras beads and coins somewhere there....

We could never do it offsite again (we bought DVC so we could stay at BLT when we had our 2nd child) but more power to you! Enjoy your offsite stay...in addition to your savigs - your pre-planning will br simpler! you won't have to spend time doing FP+ ahead of your trip!

 

[LadyJayne813]

Personally we love Caribe Royale!

We went for the Halloween Party this past year, and were thrilled with the property. I don't understand how anyone could think it was unsafe. After a a certain time, 8 PM or so, the entry doors to the towers lock, and require a room key. The property is beautiful, and well maintained. Not seedy at all, so I don't understand how anyone could feel unsafe.

The pool area is absolutely fabulous!

We are going back in December of this year. This time we've booked a villa. We've only stayed in their one bedroom suites previously.

I am a huge fan of Caribe Royale, and reccomend it 100%. Also, Mousesavers offers a fantastic discount!

 

[jmpellet]

I second, third, or fourth POFQ! It definitely has just the right theming. I have stayed at many of the on and off-site properties including the Caribe Royale, Vistana Villages, Fountains, Marriott (pirate ship), Nick Hotel, POR, CBR, POP, ASMusic, and even BWV. The convenience of being onsite even if you have a car as we usually do, make the trip more magical.

 

[a742246]

Have you thought about renting DVC points from a member. You can stay at Bay Lake at the Comtempory resort which is walking distance to MK. While
it is more money the time and hassle saved is well worth it. I know you are staying offsite on this trip, but while you are down there you may want to look into those DVC resorts for the future.