POR or GF?

[Momtoapug]

hello,
It's our first trip to Disney.
We are torn between Royal rooms at POR and villas at gf.
Here are our issues:
I have ms and need to minimize walking wherever possible so I can conserve energy and make it through the day
Minimizing wait times or stress from things like taking long bus rides is also helpful
Husband snores VERY loudly. We sleep in separate rooms at night at home
4 year old daughter is easily overstimulated. Again, minimizing extra stress where possible by choosing the right resort is our goal...
At GF I can see her loving cinderellas dance and the quiet pools
But at POR The Royal rooms are gorgeous....but the snoring....
We know gf is way more expensive....
Any thoughts based on the above? Wondering how far the walking is at POR versus the villas at GF. And if buses are "that bad" or "totally doable" with a 4 yo.
Which would you choose based on the above?
Thank you!

 

[pamkat1820]

My 2 cents, if you are worried about walking distance due to health issues stay away from RR. They are located further away from the food, and main pool. I felt that the rooms were very small. I would go with the GF

 

[PixieJenna]

My 2 cents, if you are worried about walking distance due to health issues stay away from RR. They are located further away from the food, and main pool. I felt that the rooms were very small. I would go with the GF

Totally agree! The royal rooms are nice but it is a long walk to everything. I would suggest GF based on your needs

 

[T_O]

Sounds like GF would be a better choice for you, unless you can get a room right near the lobby in POR (most of the royal rooms are not.)

 

[Babsy]

The GF would be the best choice by far, IMO, as long as the budget allows for the additional expense. Everything is closer, rooms are larger and more comfortable, pools are nicer, the resort is more relaxing, transportation is much better, dining options are better.

POR RR are nice, but do not compare to the GF!

Enjoy!

 

[Sue M]

We love POR, and GF! But you will walk less at GF, and have monorail for 2 parks. We also like the boat from MK back to GF. I haven't stayed in the villas section, we stay in the regular rooms. Our fav is the beach pool which is very close to the Villas. Another nice thing about GF is having a balcony. It gives you extra living space and a place to hang out after little one goes to sleep
Have you thought of renting a scooter? I think it would be a huge help for you. There are many off site rental companies that deliver to your resort.

 

[Momtoapug]

We love POR, and GF! But you will walk less at GF, and have monorail for 2 parks. We also like the boat from MK back to GF. I haven't stayed in the villas section, we stay in the regular rooms. Our fav is the beach pool which is very close to the Villas. Another nice thing about GF is having a balcony. It gives you extra living space and a place to hang out after little one goes to sleep
Have you thought of renting a scooter? I think it would be a huge help for you. There are many off site rental companies that deliver to your resort.

Thank you so much!!!
Do you recall if the villas themselves were a far walk from the main building at GF?
do you see any benefit staying in the main building in a single room?
We can stay main building single room, theme park view
Villas 1 br suite, standard view OR lake view ( does lake view offer anything special like EWP?)
Single room outer building at GF, club level....

 

[Nancyg56]

Thank you so much!!!
Do you recall if the villas themselves were a far walk from the main building at GF?
do you see any benefit staying in the main building in a single room?
We can stay main building single room, theme park view
Villas 1 br suite, standard view OR lake view ( does lake view offer anything special like EWP?)
Single room outer building at GF, club level....

The villas are in the back of the resort if I recall correctly. The main building is centrally located and you would be right where all the transportation is situated.

The resort is really not too large, so any building is pretty close, with the furthest being less than a five minute walk to the main building.

With that said, given your health, I would choose the main building. You have so much right in the lobby that you would only be steps away from. The Grand pianist is there every afternoon, and it is a treat to watch little girls dancing in the "ballroom". The grand orchestra is there later in the day as well.

I would avoid POR. Even preferred rooms at most moderates involve a lot more walking than the gf outer buildings.

I can't help with room choices. In my family in the one who chases folks away and use breath right strips.

 

[BellsFam]

We chose CR over POR RR and we never looked back. Yes, you do pay a premium for the deluxe hotel, but it was worth it to us... We would do it again!

 

[Nancyg56]

We chose CR over POR RR and we never looked back. Yes, you do pay a premium for the deluxe hotel, but it was worth it to us... We would do it again!

It's really tough when you find a favorite deluxe and then don't want too look back! I know we save money at the mods, but boy!!! When you factor in convenience! How much is time worth?

 

[Sue M]

Thank you so much!!!
Do you recall if the villas themselves were a far walk from the main building at GF?
do you see any benefit staying in the main building in a single room?
We can stay main building single room, theme park view
Villas 1 br suite, standard view OR lake view ( does lake view offer anything special like EWP?)
Single room outer building at GF, club level....

No, the villas aren't far at all. I can't really comment on villas as I've never stayed in them! Were you thinking of a 1 bedroom villa? I'm sure having your own space would be nice. You can stick the snorer in living room, lol!
We had a lagoon view in Big Pine Key and could watch EWP from our balcony at Poly. We faced Poly.
We've also stayed in Main Building RPC. That was really nice. Loved the RPC, sitting in the lounge at night and listening to the music downstairs. We've also had standard view room in Boca Chica looking at Courtyard Pool.

The benefit of CL is the services, and food. Especially if you plan on having resort time and you aren't in parks opening to closing. We always have afternoon pool breaks, and aren't park commandos. But you'd be giving up having a seperate bedroom, and sounds like sleep too. You'd have to decide what's more important. With a 1 bedroom you could put an order into Garden Grocer or another food delivery for snacks and breakfast stuff for your room. I like having breakfast in my room. Bagel or yogurt, fruit & coffee works for me. Saves time in the morning.

 

[mickeynut1]

The GF would be the best choice by far, IMO, as long as the budget allows for the additional expense. Everything is closer, rooms are larger and more comfortable, pools are nicer, the resort is more relaxing, transportation is much better, dining options are better.

I agree! We've never stayed at POR, but have stayed at the GF. It's a great resort with everything pretty close together as the resort isn't all that spread out. In addition, you have a variety of great dining options just a quick monorail ride away at the CR and Poly .

But you will walk less at GF, and have monorail for 2 parks. We also like the boat from MK back to GF. I haven't stayed in the villas section, we stay in the regular rooms. Our fav is the beach pool which is very close to the Villas. Another nice thing about GF is having a balcony. It gives you extra living space and a place to hang out after little one goes to sleep

The main building is centrally located and you would be right where all the transportation is situated.

The resort is really not too large, so any building is pretty close, with the furthest being less than a five minute walk to the main building.

With that said, given your health, I would choose the main building. You have so much right in the lobby that you would only be steps away from. The Grand pianist is there every afternoon, and it is a treat to watch little girls dancing in the "ballroom". The grand orchestra is there later in the day as well.

I would avoid POR. Even preferred rooms at most moderates involve a lot more walking than the gf outer buildings.

This is a good suggestion! We've never stayed in the villas and while it would probably be great to have a separate bedroom, the main building is very convenient and has everything just a few steps away .

 

[Mousemommy1]

Honestly, that's like comparing apples to oranges. POR is a nice resort but GF is just outstanding.

The GF is also much smaller, so you will definitely have less walking time.

IMO, there is no contest. GF would be our choice!

 

[Aurora0427]

Thank you so much!!!
Do you recall if the villas themselves were a far walk from the main building at GF?
do you see any benefit staying in the main building in a single room?
We can stay main building single room, theme park view
Villas 1 br suite, standard view OR lake view ( does lake view offer anything special like EWP?)
Single room outer building at GF, club level....

The villas are close to the beach pool and relatively close to the main building. The advantage of staying in the main building is everything is under one roof and you have private elevator access- monorail & bus access, restaurants, shopping, and you're close to both pools. The only thing you'd have a walk to is boat transportation.

Given your circumstances, I'd choose the main building unless you really need the extra space a 1 bedroom Vila provides.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

My DH also snores and I, too, always end up in a separate bedroom every night so I can sleep. When we travel, we now always get rooms with two separate areas. It costs more but spending the money is less painful than being completely sleep deprived for our entire trip.

I highly suggest the 1-bedroom villa. We now only book 1 and 2 bedroom villas at WDW.

GF is gorgeous! I would also suggest looking into the BC Villas. They are extremely close to both the IG entrance to EP and, if you request a "close to lobby" room, you are incredibly close to the AK and MK bus stop. The boat dock is also nearby to take you to DHS.

If you are primarily doing MK, GF is the way to go. If you are doing all four parks, consider BCV. It will also be cheaper than GF.

 

[loves to dive]

Given your health issues and the snoring, I would go for a 1 bedroom no matter which deluxe you choose. My honey also snores and we too sleep in separate rooms and always get a suite when travelling. The times we can't get a suite, we try to at least get separate beds so there is a little distance to drown out some of the noise. As far as GF goes, I've stayed there, it is a beautiful resort but I'd just go with whichever MK resort is less, sometimes you can find rooms at CR for less than GF.

 

[Shanti]

GF is a lot better than POR, but I actually recommend CR (a tower room) given your mobility issues. It's Disney's most compact resort (least walking), and you'd be on the monorail line to quickly get to GF for 1900 Park Fare if you wish.

 

[Baklava]

We loved our Royal Room but not only was it a fair amount of walking, it's outdoors and not completely level, which might be harder on you than a walk down a hotel hallway. I think you might be more comfortable at the GF. (Which is not exactly a loss- it's beautiful!)

 

[sndral]

I love the 1 br. villas at the GF. There's a thread in the DVC resorts forum area of Disboards which has links to pix of the views from most of the GF villas. I was very happy with my standard view - loved watching the monorail glide by while sitting on my balcony. The 1 br.s are absolutely gorgeous, spacious - I walked in and was just thrilled. I was concerned about the walk to the buses and through the main building to the monorails & to the marina before I went, but it didn't seem that far once I was there. Not as close as when I stayed in Sago Key, but much closer than many WDW resort rooms. An RPC room in the main building would be lovely, but you wouldn't get the space you'd get w/ a 1 br. villa (unless you upgraded to an uber expensive suite there.)

 

[Momtoapug]

My DH also snores and I, too, always end up in a separate bedroom every night so I can sleep. When we travel, we now always get rooms with two separate areas. It costs more but spending the money is less painful than being completely sleep deprived for our entire trip.

I highly suggest the 1-bedroom villa. We now only book 1 and 2 bedroom villas at WDW.

GF is gorgeous! I would also suggest looking into the BC Villas. They are extremely close to both the IG entrance to EP and, if you request a "close to lobby" room, you are incredibly close to the AK and MK bus stop. The boat dock is also nearby to take you to DHS.

If you are primarily doing MK, GF is the way to go. If you are doing all four parks, consider BCV. It will also be cheaper than GF.

Thank you for this incredible detail! What is BC villas?
We went ahead and booked villas at GF I thanks to everyone's advice and thoughts I feel great about it!