Not feeling my resort choice

[poconopixie]

I have booked our second trip to the mouse for Christmas. I am taking my 2 teenage girls and my mother-in-law. This will be MIL's first time to Disney.

I have already stayed at Grand Floridian, and while I loved it, the holiday rates have priced me out of it. So I chose Wilderness Lodge. But the exterior of the resort does nothing for me. I keep looking at PORFQ and it looks so pretty and quaint.

I am considering changing my resort. Am I making a bad move?

 

[ErinsMommy]

We LOVED the smallness of POFQ and how close everything is. I can't comment on WL though because I personally could never stay there. Too much 'woodsyness'. I believe I just made a new word. LOL.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I'm baffled how anyone is not amazed by the exterior of the Lodge.
I just don't see how that's possible.

MG

 

[Momto2minniemice]

The lodge at Christmas I have heard is one of the best resorts to stay at. You still have the joy of using the boat too the MK. Yes it is wood like a cabin. But to me that says home! For me though I could never stay at GF as it is too fancy and I do not feel at home when we go!

 

[wanderingdee]

We originally booked our stay for the wilderness lodge and then changed our reservation. It's definitely beautiful, but it's theming just wasn't my style. The way I look at Disney trips is, you are spending way too much money not to be 100% about your decision.

 

[Hockeyfan17]

We loved the Lodge, and although I have never been at Christmas, I have heard, read, and saw pictures of how awesome it really looks. We loved the location, loved the themeing and loved the resort. We would go back in a heart beat.

 

[Nutbean]

Wilderness Lodge at Christmas time would be lovely.

That said, I'm Canadian so the theme is very close to what we already have here, haha! For that reason, I would pick POFQ.

 

[poconopixie]

I think the exterior does not excite me because it reminds me so much of Great Wolf Lodge. And saying there once was enough. But I suppose that since this will be a slow paced stay, and we will have resort time, WL will be fine. It will feel like home since we live in the mountains.

 

[baler31]

The WL is beautiful at Christmas. However, I would care far more that all the amenities and rooms are inside. The exterior corridors of the other resort levels are IMO not ideal especially during cooler weather. I would stick with WL unless it is more of a budget concern. We also find the transportation at WL to be very good.

 

[ChicagoJ]

I'm having the same issue. I like everything about WL except the theme which is huge lol! I pretty much would like any other theme you could think of other than woodsy. The other deluxe resorts are out of budget but the moderates are all motels and we really want a hotel (interior corridors with lobby). I didn't think it would be this tough to pick a resort!

 

[BattyKoda]

This isn't going to help any, but we've stayed at, and love, both. You really can't go wrong with either one. Go with whichever one has you feeling better about your choice.
Good luck

 

[Smittolis]

The WL will be awesome! I know some people can feel that the 'theming' is somewhat different, but when inside of the huge cavernous lobby you will have a different view! The theming is different yes, but it is very fun and the attention to detail is typical Disney-esque awesome! We have just booked 2 weeks at the Poly simply because the WL was not available. It is a really cool place, and being Xmas and having all the coziness of log fires and smores etc... will only enhance the experience in my opinion.

The transportation from the WL is awesome too, especially if you take the boat to MK, its a very cool ride! I know POFQ and POR are very popular on this forum, but having stayed at both numerous times simply from a budget perspective i just don't see why people like them so much, I don't rate them personally, but others obviously do. Purely from a transport perspective i would choose WL over any of the PO resorts.

 

[Trip planner]

I love WL at Christmas!

 

[terri33inne]

Not a huge fan of WL... just not my style/theme. I'm not outdoorsy at all. It's my least favorite resort of where we've stayed to date. I will say I get why people love it though... just not for me.

I have not stayed at POFQ, but we have stayed at POR, and I love the mansion section...super charming & relaxing... I imagine POFQ would be similar.

I will just add too, I splurged Dec 2015 for a Christmas stay at GF, and it was wonderful. Make sure to plan some time to go over there, and see the tree, gardens, decor & gingerbread house!

 

[Babsy]

I have booked our second trip to the mouse for Christmas. I am taking my 2 teenage girls and my mother-in-law. This will be MIL's first time to Disney.

I have already stayed at Grand Floridian, and while I loved it, the holiday rates have priced me out of it. So I chose Wilderness Lodge. But the exterior of the resort does nothing for me. I keep looking at PORFQ and it looks so pretty and quaint.

I am considering changing my resort. Am I making a bad move?

I have stayed at all three: GF , POFQ and WL. here are some thoughts to consider before you change resorts.

Have you looked at pictures of the rooms online? When staying in a resort, it can feel quite different from looking at the exterior. I would be more concerned about what you feel when you look at pictures overall of the interior. Don't forget that you have access through interior corridors to shopping, the gorgeous lobby, dining and activities. At POFQ you will have a smaller room, no balcony and will have to walk outside in the weather to get to even the minimal amenities available.

How about the restaurants at the WL? Does the food appeal to you? Don't forget that POFQ only has a food court. Yes, you can walk to POR to eat at Boatwrights or take a boat to DS, but it is really convenient to have good dining options at your resort.

Have you stayed at a moderate before? There is a big difference between the GF and a moderate.

POFQ is a much liked moderate, but the WL is still a deluxe resort. As others have stated, a stay at the WL is particularly appealing at Christmas time. Also, as @Nutbean said, I am also Canadian, so a stay at WL is not my first choice either. Still, I have stayed there and LOVEd it. I would definitely prefer a stay there at Christmas over a stay at POFQ.

Whatever you decide, have an awesome trip!

 

[Babsy]

I think the exterior does not excite me because it reminds me so much of Great Wolf Lodge. And saying there once was enough. But I suppose that since this will be a slow paced stay, and we will have resort time, WL will be fine. It will feel like home since we live in the mountains.

I totally get it! It is the same reason that the theme doesn't appeal to me as much as others. It just looks like home and I want something different when going away on holiday.

Still, Christmas may be different. It would be a plus to feel more like home at Christmas for us, at least. Christmas is the best time to be at WL, IMO.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

While I love the WL overall, I struggle with the room sizes there for our family of four (2 of which are much smaller than yours!). They are notably smaller than GF rooms. That may/may not be a big consideration for you, but it comes into play in our decission making.

That being said, it's a lovely resort especially over Christmas.

 

[Smittolis]

As a Disclaimer, we stayed in a 1 bedroom Villa so that may have presented a different experience as a family of 5.

 

[momof2gr8kids]

Wilderness Lodge at Christmas time would be lovely.

That said, I'm Canadian so the theme is very close to what we already have here, haha! For that reason, I would pick POFQ.

Same here. We camp all summer. When I go to Florida I want to see palm trees and such...Not the Boreal forest! Lol

 

[Lisann]

I have booked our second trip to the mouse for Christmas. I am taking my 2 teenage girls and my mother-in-law. This will be MIL's first time to Disney.

I have already stayed at Grand Floridian, and while I loved it, the holiday rates have priced me out of it. So I chose Wilderness Lodge. But the exterior of the resort does nothing for me. I keep looking at PORFQ and it looks so pretty and quaint.

I am considering changing my resort. Am I making a bad move?

I don't think you'll like the rooms at WL. I like GF, and I like WL, but I can't stand the rooms at WL. Small, and bleh. You won't be happy.

The closest thing to feel for me that matches GF is BWI. To me it's kind of a boutique version of GF. BW is "pretty", as is GF.

I think that POFQ is very quaint and you will like it, but I would get two rooms with four adults...you'll be glad you did. I'm not a huge fan of the room decor at POFQ but I would stay there in a heartbeat, as the resort is very quaint.

Hope this helps.