POR or Offsite Villa?

[Cinderella]

Has anyone stayed in both POR and an offsite villa with pool? How did they compare?

Now the kids are teenagers, we need two rooms. And unless they do the discount on OKW & Saratoga, we're looking at either 2 rooms at POR, or an offsite villa. If it wasn't for the free dining, doing the villa would be a no brainer. But because of the dining, it will probably work out about the same price.

I've not visited POR but I've always thought it looks lovely in the pics. But, we've been spoilt by good deals on deluxe resorts and DVC accommodations in the past. And we've never done the offsite villa with pool in Florida either, so I don't know how the two options compare.

Has anyone done both? Would you lean towards one or the other, or maybe even split our stay between the two? We're probably going to go October or November and we don't usually do EMH anymore.

 

[iluvtot]

Has anyone stayed in both POR and an offsite villa with pool? How did they compare?

Now the kids are teenagers, we need two rooms. And unless they do the discount on OKW & Saratoga, we're looking at either 2 rooms at POR, or an offsite villa. If it wasn't for the free dining, doing the villa would be a no brainer. But because of the dining, it will probably work out about the same price.

I've not visited POR but I've always thought it looks lovely in the pics. But, we've been spoilt by good deals on deluxe resorts and DVC accommodations in the past. And we've never done the offsite villa with pool in Florida either, so I don't know how the two options compare.

Has anyone done both? Would you lean towards one or the other, or maybe even split our stay between the two? We're probably going to go October or November and we don't usually do EMH anymore.

Hi there,

we stayed at POR last year; only for 3 nights, but really enjoyed it and would like to go back. We stayed offsite in a villa with pool about 8 years ago, and personally, I didn't like it, though dh did, he liked all the space! I found that more space meant more mess and it was like being at home, and having to tidy up! We did try a condo offsite one year, and I liked that. More compact, and I thought the communal pool was better for the kids because they had some interaction with other vacationers, instead of just us!
Our kids are now 17, and 15 x 2, and they have been spoilt by Disney. There is no way they would want to go offsite; and also we feel they can have more freedom if we are onsite. Last year my son was 16, and he went off to the parks on his own if we weren't ready! If you were offsite in a villa, there isn't that option. (only if your kids are old enough!) The only other thing about the villa is it's quite insular. The kids can't just pop out for a wander, or to the shop or whatever, so it's great if you're ok with that, but I found we all needed some space!! At the end of the day it's what you feel comfortable with yourself!
You're sure to have a great time whatever you decide

Jules

 

[Gaynor]

Hi
we stayed at POFQ and in a villa last year. I would recommend a split stay.
As much as I loved staying onsite we stayed in one room and it drove me mad. With a 12 and 16 year old it just didn't work. If we stayed onsite again it would be at SSR or OKW in a 1 bed villa.
After a week onsite I couldn't wait to get to the villa all that space, our own pool, several bathrooms it was heaven.
Saying that, I do like the idea of the girls being able to go off on their own in the future so onsite is ideal for that.
You'll find there are good and bad points about onsite versus villas offsite.

 

[stevechase]

Hi there,

we stayed at POR last year; only for 3 nights, but really enjoyed it and would like to go back. We stayed offsite in a villa with pool about 8 years ago, and personally, I didn't like it, though dh did, he liked all the space! I found that more space meant more mess and it was like being at home, and having to tidy up! We did try a condo offsite one year, and I liked that. More compact, and I thought the communal pool was better for the kids because they had some interaction with other vacationers, instead of just us!
Our kids are now 17, and 15 x 2, and they have been spoilt by Disney. There is no way they would want to go offsite; and also we feel they can have more freedom if we are onsite. Last year my son was 16, and he went off to the parks on his own if we weren't ready! If you were offsite in a villa, there isn't that option. (only if your kids are old enough!) The only other thing about the villa is it's quite insular. The kids can't just pop out for a wander, or to the shop or whatever, so it's great if you're ok with that, but I found we all needed some space!! At the end of the day it's what you feel comfortable with yourself!
You're sure to have a great time whatever you decide

Jules

Hi

I would agree with Jules to a certain extent, although we have only ever stayed on site, I have spoken with a number of friends who have stayed in villas, they have all enjoyed it, dont get me wrong, but the common issue, was the fact that you are, as Jules puts it 'insular'. Cant really pop anywhere to get out for tens mins. I have not experienced this, but we always try to lean towards on site. Staying at POR this year in July for 3 weeks, same as we did in July 07 and loved every minute. Got loads of pics if your interested.

Cheers

Steve

 

[burt]

We have done both and without doubt we will only do onsite in future, as people have said the pros of the villa is the space but to us that was the only pro, The room at POR is quite small but we looked at it as how much time do you spend in the room? Being on site means you are close to everything, we had the main pool with a slide for the kids but if we fancied a bit of piece there are other pools scattered around the resort that a lot of the time you will be the only ones using them. It really is about personel preference and we know many people who much prefer of site but as a family we enjoyed the holiday so much more when we stayed on site.

Port Orleans by the way is absolutley gorgeous you really wont regret staying there, catching the boat to downtown disney and having a meal is one of the best ways i can think of to spend an evening, and 15 weeks today hopefully thats what we will be doing

 

[stevechase]

Burt,

West Midlands, I see. Where about mate? we are in Stourbridge, near Merry Hill Shopping centre.

Steve

 

[burt]

Hi Steve

We are in Kingswinford so only about 3 miles away

 

[stevechase]

Burt

Spooky eh!, just down the road.

We were coming out of the Animal Kingdon two years ago, towards the end of our three weeks. It was about 9pm and waiting in the queue for the bus back to POR. My wife looks across at another stop and there is a friend whos kids go to the same primary school, bizarre!

Steve

 

[JohnnySharp2]

A rare response from Johnny Boy:

As applies to many topics on here the answer can depend on your circumstances, so there isn't a right or wrong way just what suits you best.
In our situation with Joshua's autism, he likes his home comforts and private pool and having plenty of room/cooking facilities are major plus's for us as we rarely eat out.

The advantages of just staying at a villa mean you can fully unpack and settle without the need to check in and out to somewhere else, which
depending on timings can mean you lose a day of your holiday, as you may have to check out around 11am and not be able to check in to your second location until 4pm or so.
So that is usually our choice. To be honest we don't mind the cooking, I appreciate there are negatives but the plus points outweigh them.
I can totally understand people who do not want to cook , shop for groceries or do cleaning on holiday, however it really doesn't bother me (mainly as Julie does it all )..just joking as the driver I do the shopping bit.
With Josh being an early riser that would be a major worry with people in the next room for 2 weeks. At a villa he has the freedom to express himself!

Sure there are downsides - the isolation factor - we have had holidays where on the development I haven't spoken to anyone except the 'pool guy' so choosing a gated villa 'resort' can mean you get clubhouse facilities, which may include internet cafe, communal pool, children's playground etc so the opportunity is there to interact with other children.

I don't think I would fancy a hotel stay for 2 weeks if we had more than one child, it would be just too cramped, especially as relaxing to a degree plays a part in our holiday too as we rarely get the opportunity to at do so at home.
I agree a split stay is a good option, but the checking in and out twice scenario can be time consuming and unsettling for the children *especially if they are like my boy!*
My personal choice for our next holiday would be the first few nights at Grand Floridian, with the rest at a villa at either Windsor Palms or Windsor Hills.
However, that is based on my needs to enjoy some evening entertainment on-site, whereas Julie and Josh are happy staying in.
After 5pm or so he just wants to wind down and chill, whereas I want to go out..it's a surprisingly difficult problem which to date I still haven't solved, so I suppose for me that is the biggest problem unique to me/us, getting out of the villa in the evening as a family, I have lost count of the number of times I have gone out alone.
That's partly why we chose Terre Verde for this April's holiday, however it didn't work out quite as expected as the 'Tiki Bar' was either closed, or not
quite what I expected. Cue me getting 'dressed up to kill' only to find everyone else in their swimming costumes (well the other 2 people that were there).
The GF , where we took loads of photos, looks more like my style, but Josh looked less impressed when we looked around so.....
Staying on-site the real advantage is the location, being close to Magic Kingdom is very appealing for example. I have never stayed POR or looked around there but as with any Disney hotel being close to the action is in my opinion the big plus.
I can relate to what you say about being "spoilt" it's like flying Premium Economy, you never want to go Economy again.
I think you need to decide if you want to settle down for the full 14 days in one place, or if you are happy having to pack/unpack and have the additional check in/out issue.

If this doesn't bother you then the split stay is definitely a sound choice. I just wish for us it was that simple.
In your circumstances I would consider 4 or 5 days onsite at your chosen resort, with the rest in a villa.

 

[burt]

Burt

Spooky eh!, just down the road.

We were coming out of the Animal Kingdon two years ago, towards the end of our three weeks. It was about 9pm and waiting in the queue for the bus back to POR. My wife looks across at another stop and there is a friend whos kids go to the same primary school, bizarre!

Steve

Well as the ride says - Its a small world !!!

There are a couple of other people on here from stourbridge aswell, and Crabbie is also from kingswinford - we will soon have enough for a midlands dis meet !!!! What dates are you at POr this year Steve, we fly out 9th August for 25 nights.


Johnny good to see you posting i wondered where you had gone !!

 

[deejay-55]

Hi

although we have only ever stayed on site, I have spoken with a number of friends who have stayed in villas, they have all enjoyed it, dont get me wrong, but the common issue, was the fact that you are, as Jules puts it 'insular'. Cant really pop anywhere to get out for tens mins. Steve

Depends how far out you stay - for example, the 'Formosa Gardens' area is just 2 miles from Disney main gate. The gated resorts in the area are Windsor Hills, Windsor Palms and Emerald Island. IMHO you can't beat having your own home and swimming pool to go back to.

 

[Clare D]

We are considering either POFQ or POR as we have 2 kids aged 6 and 1 as I like the convenience of being on site for the EMH and the transportation etc. We have done a villa and it doesn't really bother me doing the cooking, cleaning etc as I liked the fact that we had the washing machine and dryer but for me it was the inconvenience of being off site and having to get up that bit earlier to get into the parks as we were leaving the villa during the rush hour.
If you want privacy and home from home comforts then a villa it is.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Hi. Yes I'm another one from Stourbridge.( it's a small world).
We went to POR last year, and its a great resort and would recomend it to anyone.

 

[BoingBoingBaggie]

Hi. Yes I'm another one from Stourbridge.( it's a small world).
We went to POR last year, and its a great resort and would recomend it to anyone.

Must be a West Midlands thing to be going to POR this year.

We are from Sedgley, just outside Dudley and we are going in September this year!

 

[Dimplenose]

We've stayed at ASSp twice and a villa once.

We had high hopes for a villa and although there was nothing wrong with the villa we chose, nice size, well kept, good management comp., only 8 minutes to Animal Kingdom etc. we were so disappointed with it. We go to Florida for the Disney atmosphere and found it very "flat" going back to a villa in the evening. We didn't like having to plan our meals or pop into the supermarket for milk etc, it's much easier being able to pop to the foodcourt (if a bit more expensive.)

This year we've opted for two rooms at ASMu to give us space, privacy and an extra bathroom.

This said you won't know if you like it unless you try so a split stay maybe a good compromise.

 

[burt]

Must be a West Midlands thing to be going to POR this year.

We are from Sedgley, just outside Dudley and we are going in September this year!

Will say hi if we see you - even if you have got your baggies shirt on, you will recognise us we will have a wolves PREMIERSHIP shirt on lol - sorry couldnt resist!!

Seriousley though we love POR its so relaxing but still got that disney feel to it, cant imagine we will ever stay off site again. But having said that we have 3 kids and as they get older the room at POR might not be suitable so we will be looking for onsite with a bit more space, maybe wilderness Cabin or beach club!!!

 

[lyn9856]

Well as the ride says - Its a small world !!!

There are a couple of other people on here from stourbridge aswell, and Crabbie is also from kingswinford - we will soon have enough for a midlands dis meet !!!! What dates are you at POr this year Steve, we fly out 9th August for 25 nights.


Johnny good to see you posting i wondered where you had gone !!

Blimey Guys, def a small world. Just noticed this thread
We are from Stourport (ex Halesowen) and I work at Russells Hall Hospital
And we are here in a Villa at the moment, and stayed last year in Port Orleans.
My opinion is probably too different to be useful as we have no kids with us (all grown). But for what its worth, I totally get the freedom for the older kids/teenagers.When we brought our 3 kids (many yrs ago it fels like now) we stayed in a Villa offsite, and we all had to do everything together, and if I'm really honest it was a drag for them. And we hardly saw the villa anyway. Fastrack forward a few years and me and DH had an amazing stay in Port Orleans Riverside. We had the quiet pools all to ourselves after the parks, it was romantic and fantastic. However we returned last year and I loved it at first, but hated it after 14 nights of it. We were in The French Quarter. No escape at all from unruly families, insufficient staff in the dining hall, food cold by the time you sat down after line for pay, pool full even after midnight, (in May) and bathroom needed good overhaul. And no escape at all, Disney transport is great, but after 14 days of screaming kids and unruly teens..........I begged for a Villa this year. So here we are. its great (£44 per night for the whole villa) Lots of space. Peace. No......we havent cooked unless you count warming up left over pizza in microwave. But its great to have the fridge full of wine, salad, fruit, cheese etc. Prices onsite have def gone up. It can be very pricey when you are at total mercy of the Disney prices. But on the dining plan, then it would look better, and of course the refillable mugs at PO etc.....
Downsides? Yes there are always some. We are too far away to keep nipping back to the parks. So we have to plan for the whole day, and ensure we don't need to come back for anything. Pool is cold; we havent paid for heating and we are ok with this, but you would need to add this cost in if you are a family with children. We are only two adults, and the villa is easy to keep clean and tidy as we dont make mess. I would not want to clean/wash up after teenagers again. I remember it well, all I did was keep checking laundry, bathrooms, etc. And there are rarely enough clean sheets for the week, so beds have to be stripped and sheets washed and tumble dried. So.....will we stay in a villa again? Yes, but probably on site again next time. With teenagers though, then I would seriously consider the pros and cons.
Regards
Lyn (from sunny Orlando!)

 

[tttessa]

Hiya,

our kids are younger - 6 and 8 , so would always do the villa.... peace and quiet - nighttime separate, decent breakfast from Wal-mart, able to buy and cook, and refrigerate friut and veg. And BIGGY - own laundry room - makes travelling sooooo much easier - take half a dozen outfits each and wash overnight, put in drier as you go out next day. 2 small cases to travel with for 4 of us, then bought an extra cheap one to bring stuff home

Pool - we pay for it to be heated - over there heated means BATH temperature mmmmmmm.

But we are not Disneyfied..... so we wouldn't just go to Florida for the mouse...
If your teenagers are old enough to be allowed to go off on their own, then I can see a villa could be isolating, on site they could use the transport on their own...

Tessa

 

[Blue Kangaroo]

It looks as though they are doing some good deals on SSR and OKW. We're looking to book for Oct/Nov this year and they had discounted rates on both, with free dining of course.

We stayed at SSR with teens last year and we all loved it. Especially as they were able to nip over to Downtown Disney to shop!

We've also stayed at POFQ in the past and really liked it. I think I'd prefer to stay in a two bed apartment at SSR with teens though, rather than two sep rooms at POR, as you have the full kitchen/washing machine and a balcony with the apartments.

We're just trying to work out if we should stay at SSR again or POR as we're going as a couple this year.