POR vs WL need advice! (long)

[Doctor Mouse]

Thanks! This community is great and I appreciate ALL the opinions. To respond to a few:

POFQ is not available during our stay. :-(

We are members if our local zoo so we thought something different might be good for the girls plus I really think Epcot gets a bad rap but maybe I need to start a new thread on this, too!

LOL on Whispering Canyon vs crabby kids on buses!

 

[cjsm&d]

Thanks! This community is great and I appreciate ALL the opinions. To respond to a few:

POFQ is not available during our stay. :-(

We are members if our local zoo so we thought something different might be good for the girls plus I really think Epcot gets a bad rap but maybe I need to start a new thread on this, too!

LOL on Whispering Canyon vs crabby kids on buses!

EPCOT is great and our family's favorite park, including our DS now that he's almost 12! He, like his dad is a history and geography buff.

But it is not for a 3 year old IMO. They can only go on 3 or 4 things there (Figment, Spaceship Earth, Mexico, and Universe of Energy, which usually makes 3 year olds cry).

 

[SDFgirl]

POR is by far my favorite moderate and I've stayed there happily many times, but I think that the WL is more refined and relaxing than POR. The lobby is stunning and is very calm, peaceful. I've never been annoyed by the noise from the restaurant. I don't think you will find it as rustic/rowdy/hoop-n-hollar as you may envision!

The boat to the MK is a huge plus, as is the pool! I'd choose WL over POR any day!

 

[KELLY]

Thanks all. We're going at the end of October. Poly and CR are pricing out a little more than we'd like to do.

I get that WL is different from FW camping. I guess that I meant that I was concerned that WL might have a more "rough around the edges" culture and not feel refined or sophisticated. I admit that I base this solely on the whooping and hollering going on in the Whispering Canyon video I saw but I prefer something that feels a little more upscale and I'm not sure if the video represent an accurate picture of the WL "vibe" or if it is just the scene in the restaurant.

Well if upscale is what you want I would go with GF. Don't think POR or WL are on that level. If I had to choose it would be WL.

 

[jimandami]

EPCOT is great and our family's favorite park, including our DS now that he's almost 12! He, like his dad is a history and geography buff.

But it is not for a 3 year old IMO. They can only go on 3 or 4 things there (Figment, Spaceship Earth, Mexico, and Universe of Energy, which usually makes 3 year olds cry).

When we first went to WDW, our DS had just turned 4 and Epcot was (and still is) his favorite park! He loved Test Track (which admittedly your 3 year-old is probably too short to ride), Nemo, Turtle Talk, Spaceship Earth, Figment, Living with the Land, etc....He actually also loved walking around the countries.

 

[emilyann415]

Stayed at both and love them both! Hands down the POR rooms are more magical. The theming is more magical. Even though they aren't IMO princesses just watching the headboard light up with fireworks in the princess room was SO cool....even fo me! However, it's more spread out, you will walk significantly more to get anywhere.....even CS at your own reort much less the time it takes to bus around fom park to park. I didn't mind that inconvenience....it was a cool hotel. If you are at WL at Xmas time well then I'd pick that hotel......it was amazing!

 

[LaurenM]

Just wanted to add to the awesome person who talked about the new rooms...we would LOVE to see a picture!

 

[kaysmommie]

Our family has stayed at WL on 3 of our Disney trips. I have to say we definitely felt the Disney magic there. It's my DH's favorite resort even over Poly! The boat to MK and the table services restaurants are wonderful. We like watching EWP from our balcony. The theme of the resort is amazing!
We have also stayed at POR for a short trip and we liked it as well. And we will stay there again this fall to save money over deluxe. When at POR we did miss the interior corridors when it was pouring rain out and we wanted to go to the food court and of course the boat to MK. POR was nice but definitely not deluxe. Though we like the foodcourt there better. Also the buses were less crowded at WL. I would choose WL over POR.

I wanted to add after writing this I just looked into upgrading to WL!

 

[Dizneefamily+4]

I have to say the we were "underwhelmed" by the WL. Yes its a beautiful building, but the rooms felt small, and not deluxe at all. I would always choose a moderate over the WL. PO is a great resort.

Also, other than a boat to the Mk, all transportation options are the same. Save the money and go with POR.

+1. We did a split stay a few years ago with both POR & WL. We stayed at POR first and LOVED it! It was just the epitome of Disney magic - the grounds were lush, serene and beautiful which made the large resort seem small. The food court is the best on property imo. The mousekeeping was great, the pool was perfectly adequate and the bus service was fine during our stay. Then, we switched to WL to get a taste of our 1st deluxe.

We too were completely underwhelmed and actually disappointed that we had left POR. Yes, the ferry to MK was nice as was the electric boat parade that passed by in the evenings, but that's about all the WL had going for it for us. It was just like a regular hotel - not really Disneyish. The pool is actually pretty small and the Quick Service dining is tiny. We're glad we tried it, and now we know it's not for us.

Our last trip was to the Poly and THAT deluxe was fabulous! No complaints at all there. We're planning an Aug. 2013 long Poly stay again and we just booked a spontaneous short 5 day stay at POFQ next month. We're actually really excited to be back at POR - even if it's at POFQ.

So, my vote would be POR!

 

[Schleprok]

Don't stress, what ever hotel you pick it will be magical. I don't mind the busses, to me I get that Disney magic just by riding the Disney bus, boat or monorail. I love the recordings they play.
If your worried about WL, watch the WL tours on Youtube, the ones over 7min long usually have a lot of video of the lobby.
Going to Disney with your daughters will give you all the magic you are looking for on your trip. Just seeing their faces when they see the castle or favorite character is so amazing you will probably feel few tears in your eyes.

Here is some magic from our trip last year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCWCItoJXeA

 

[gillenkl]

Thanks! This community is great and I appreciate ALL the opinions. To respond to a few:

POFQ is not available during our stay. :-(

We are members if our local zoo so we thought something different might be good for the girls plus I really think Epcot gets a bad rap but maybe I need to start a new thread on this, too!

LOL on Whispering Canyon vs crabby kids on buses!

It's a big misconception that AK is like a zoo. Animals are only part of what this park has to offer.