POR or AKL

[captchris]

My family and I are in the initially planning stages for our next Disney vacation. I was playing around with the dates for this year, but we are planning to go in August of 2009.

I was plugging in the dates for 2008 that we are looking to go in 2009 just to get a little idea what resort to shoot for. I would really like to in the Port Orleans Riverside or a Deluxe..WL or AKL. My kids would really like the AKL.

My question is...over the course of a weeks vacation at WDW, the AKL is $600 more than POR. Is it worth the extra money, or will be totally satisfied with the POR? I have only stayed in the values, but since we are going for a week and can take our time a bit and enjoy our resort, I am looking for something other than "just a pool." The hot tubs, water slides, and other activities, I think will make it more fun.

My kids will be 7 & 9 when we go. I welcome anyone's thoughts.

 

[jess20k]

We have stayed at POR, POFQ, and most recently at WL. We are actually wanting to stay at AKL for Jan 2009, but it will either be there or POFQ.

Anyway, we loved WL! It was beautiful, and it was about $500.00 more than the moderate would have been, and to us, it was worth every penny. It just depends if you are able to do the extra $$$$. If you are trying to save, then I would say, just go with POFQ, because that was a lovely resort as well. It is our favorite mod, and we have stayed at all of them so far, except CSR.

We didn't care for POR as much as POFQ. We liked FQ for the smallness of the property. You still get a quiet atmosphere though, but everything is much closer. Plus, if you are going to utilize the buses, it picks up and drops off at FQ first, which really made a big difference for us. The bus situation was not good for us while we were at POR, but for FQ, it was fine.

WL is just a gorgeous resort! We love everything about it. The rooms were just rennovated, the property is lovely, and we enjoyed the pool area and hot tubs after a long day at the parks. We also enjoyed taking the boat to the MK, it was a very nice and relaxing ride!

 

[wdwhereicome]

If you are looking for a water slide, then AKL isn't what you're looking for - it's main emphasis is being a zero-entry pool. Our favorite moderate is POR and it has a cool slide and hot tub. We have also stayed at the WL and it has a water slide and 2 hot tubs.

Is a deluxe worth the extra $$$. I know a lot of people who would answer - no. And I know a lot of people who would say yes. It really is your own state of mind. I love the deluxes because we go to wdw more often and so we don't power attack the parks. We spend more time at the resort and enjoy what it has to offer. But having said that, I am always happy at POR because I absolutely love the quiet pools too. It's so cool stepping out of your room for a quick dip and less crowds.

Either way you can't go wrong!

 

[disneydance]

I would have to say AKL the children will love the animals there pool isnt the greatest but there is lots more to do then just "the pool" Also at AKL there is Bomas and more than just a food court i'm not sure if POR has a hot tube but I know AKL does

 

[mm6mm6]

We've stayed at both AKL and POR.

POR: 2 themed pools that are very fun. Boat ride to DTD is really relaxing and very fun...an attraction in and of itself. Loved the Fishin' Hole at POR. $4 for half an hour (about a kid's attention span for catching fish anyway) is a great deal. It's neat to have a picture catching a fish at WDW! Big, spread out resort feel. Lush green lawns, well manicured shrubs and bushes, huge trees, glistening lakes. Saving that $600 is a pretty good deal. I can think of nothing negative since you've only stayed at the Value Resorts. I think you'll find it to be a big step up. If you're driving, I really liked parking so close to my room and bringing our luggage and snacks and stuff a short distance to the door.

AKL: The animals and theming are cool. I wouldn't stay there unless I had a Savanah View room. It was pretty neat. Boma is a great restaurant. Of course, you can eat there and see the animals without staying at the resort. My 9 year old DD found the AKL pool to be very boring. Tiny slide and that was it. Only one pool (POR has a total of 6) and it was very crowded all the time. Our room took forever to walk back and forth too from the lobby. We were tired before we even went to a park. Plus, we couldn't carry our luggage all that way ourselves (it would have taken 3 trips) so we had to pay (tip) to have it brought by a bellhop both ways.

For your first upgrade from Value, I'd recommend saving the $600 and going with a Moderate. I'd also actually recommend the Coronado Springs Resort over POR. We've stayed at the CSR, the Caribbean Beack Resort and POR. We love all of them for different reason.s

But, with the kids you will have with you, I think they'll really like "exploring" the CSR. The Dig Site pool has an awesome, long, fun slide. Lots of stairs around the edges, other fun things to do (squirting water, the giant pyramid makes for wondeful pictures). The theming is pretty cool with stone statues, fountains, white sand beaches, lush greenery, the sparkling lakes, at night the resort is just stunning with the lighting. The restaurants (Pepper Market and..uh-oh, I forget the other one's name...someone help me out here) are great too. You can rent a Surrey bike for 4 and pedal all around the resort.

We liked the CSR so much that we voted to go back there again for our first Moderate Resort return trip (see my signature below for where we've stayed before).

Good luck!

 

[tejasranger]

We just got back from POR Feb 2nd and we very much enjoyed it. We liked the boatride to downtown and we liked the laid back atmosphere. My husband enjoyed feeding the ducks in the morning by the river. Your children will probably enjoy that also. POR has horse drawn buggy you can rent bicycles, sea ray boats and other water rides you can rent. They also have fishing poles you can rent if your children like to fish. I thought AKL looked neat to stay at but we picked POR for the boatride to downtown it was very relaxing and I took some neat pictures on the way. POR is a beautiful resort. The magnolia section mansions looks like it is from the old south and Gone with the wind. You will enjoy POR. I guarantee like they say in New Orleans.