Paging "Muffy" or anyone else who knows lots about the hotels!

[Golf Widow]

So, I have narrowed it down to changing to one of the official resorts. The ALK is not availabel Sat. night (10/18) but I will keep checing. My options seem to be the POR or any of the All Star resorts but I am not sure they seem too nice.

How is the POR? It seems that you must "bus it" everwhere from this hotel to but is the difference that is in a better location? More Disney feel? What is the difference? It is also a LOT cheeper which is a bonus - $144 per night.

How are the All star resorts? They seem very kid-friendly but are they *nice* for adults too?

It is odd ... we stay at Hiltons all the time and have never heard a bad thing about them - we love them - is it just that it is not such a fun hotel?

I feel like a broken record with all these questions! (In the beginning we were booing the Contemporary but thought the Hilton sounded better ... now they are totally booked - silly us! Nest time we will be better prepared!)

 

[wdwstar]

we have stayed in all the disney resorts except for the GF, next time. i think all disney resorts have the feeling of magic, it just depends which one you like more and what your budget is for spending on a room and how much you would like to be pampered. if you are going just adults and you want to get away from the kids scene, i would choose the port orleans, a very nice resort and you can take boat rides to the market place, what a great way to go for dinner. did you check out all your choices using discounts ? it will be busy at that time of year because of the F & W fest at epcot.

 

[Miffy]

I'm sure Muffy will see your post, but, meanwhile, here's some info from me, Miffy.

I don't know about POR, because we've never stayed there, but my dh and I (no kids) stayed at ASMu last January and IMHO it's not a great place for 2 adults (I'm assuming you're going w/o kids, altho I may have misinterpreted your post). You can read my comments on ASMu in the new review area of the DIS to get a better idea of what I'm talking about.

We did stay at POFQ (not open right now) 4 years ago and we really liked it there--very calm and quiet, nice room, great cms. The bus service was just fine, altho it's in a slightly different location than POR is, so I don't know if this info translates to that resort.

Also, another great resource for reviews on the WDW hotels (and hotels all over the place as well) is tripadvisor.com. Check it out--tons of reviews posted there.

Just to throw another wrench into the works--have you thought about the Swan/Dolphin if AKL doesn't work out?

HTH -- miffy --

 

[Muffy]

POR is a great WDW resort. We have stayed there twice and enjoyed it very much. They have a water taxi to DTD and busses to the parks. I have stayed at many of the onsite resorts and have a few favorites, S/D, BC and AKL. I LOVE the Dolphin and will be back with my family for 15 nights in Dec/Jan. You can get 50% off with the entertainment rate. You would need to get the entertainment book (20.00) You could book a room w/o the book. You would have to check availablity. 1 888 625 4988. I would say the All Stars are better than the Hilton because they are oniste. I think you would be missing alot if you stayed at the Hilton. Let me know if I can be of any help!

Muffy

 

[CarolA]

Personally if I was an adult traveling without kids I would stongly consider the DTD Hilton over the All Stars.

I normally get the Hilton or one of the other "resort" hotels on Priceline for the $60 range. While not all of the PL hotels are on site it is hard to pass up that price for the pleasure of staying in a small room at the All Stars with tons of kids and possibly even youth groups.

Don't get me wrong I love the Disney hotels, but not the prices.

 

[zurgswife]

I know on another post you were considering the Swan/Dolphin were they not avail for the dates that you wanted as I think either one of them would be far superior to the POR or AS...

 

[Grumpy92]

POR is a very nice resort. We love the magnolia bend section, just find it a little quieter then AB. The foodcourt and Boatwrights are the best.

As for the AS. I would recommend it. You will find plenty of discussions on here regarding the various youth groups that tend to favor these resorts the most. They are noisy, sometimes practicing early and very late.

The hilton you can stay at one similar in any city. But Disney resorts are themed all the way and unlike any hotel you have every stayed in. Stick with them

 

[MJames41]

I love the All Stars, but then I'm a big kid at heart. Like Grumpy92 said, I'd prefer the All Stars over the Hilton just because it is right there on site. I was asked a couple of days ago why I go to Disney so much, what I enjoy the most, and without a doubt it is the customer service - even at the All Stars.

Another option, if cost is a problem for you, is to rent points for the Boardwalk, Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club or Old Key West Villas. Sunday through Thursdays are the cheapest, you end up paying almost (or more than) regular price on Friday's and Saturday's.

 

[dawgfan]

I really cannot explain this in a way that truly conveys the "feeling" of a Disney resort. I researched my first stay with kids in 2002. I studied everything I could get my hands on. Staying on site seemed to be the way to go according to all the things I looked at out there. I made plans with ASMU. We arrived and it sort of started. Everything seemed to turn out great. Things did happen that were bad (believe it or not my father in law had a heart attack while we were there and to this day everyone on the trip will tell you that we had a great time. FIL had a six by-pass surgery shortly thereafter) but the trip itself was soooo great they seemed to nullify the bad. That is what we call Disney Magic I guess. The All Stars are great. We had a blast. About having to bus everywhere, this is not a problem. Bus transport is the primary transport option for most resorts to some destination. Higher priced hotels have more amenities but the AllStars have everything you will ever need and they are a great value. Price is the determining factor here. We recently went back (just me and the wife) with the idea that we would scope out the other resorts to decide which we might want to stay at on our next visit. We went to POR and loved it at first site. We wil lbe staying there on our next trip.