Port Orleans, Coronado Springs or Animal Kingdom Lodge?

[ElleBelle88]

As the title suggests, we are trying to decide whether to stay at PO(FQ or RS), CS or AKL. We will be travelling in February for 10 nights and it will be DH, myself and our ten month old DS. We are staying in Disney without a car and plan to use the Disney transportation to take it easy and enjoy making some lovely memories at our little fella’s pace.
We have stayed at the value resorts before and also POR. We loved POR for the relaxing atmosphere and boat option to Disney Springs but there was only two of us then. I worry that staying at POFQ will make me wish I’d paid the extra for POR.
CS looks great apart from the construction work?!
AKL is by far our favourite but is it worth the extra £800 (in comparison to CS). Are there multiple pools there as with POR and would we get a balcony if staying in the most basic room?
Thanks for your opinions in advance!

 

[FosterLovesMickey]

Of those options, I would choose PoFQ. I've stayed at all of them and PoFQ is - by far - my favorite of those mentioned. With a 10 month old, I think that the the smallness of the PoFQ resort would be helpful. PoFQ has a boat to Disney Springs, as well, just FYI. If you stay in a standard room at AKL, you're not guaranteed a usable balcony, for sure. I've stayed with a lovely view of the thatched roof over the entry into the lobby - so, there was a balcony, but not really useful. lol.

 

[Magical2017]

Eight hundred dollars is nothing to sneeze at. Since you have stayed at all three, I would opt for a mod, or see if you can get lucky with renting DVC for AKL.

 

[ElleBelle88]

Thanks for your thoughts. Have the rooms been updated recently at POFQ recently do you know? My thinking with the balcony would just be that my DH and I would have somewhere to sit of an evening whilst baby was asleep safely in the room so the view doesn’t really matter to be honest.

 

[evilqueenmindy]

My knock on the Mods is the amount of people waiting for/packed onto buses. Also no balconies at Mods, so I would pick AKL. Gorgeous lobby, larger room and balcony.

 

[Scifidiner]

We've never stayed at CS, but have POFQ and AKL. We really enjoyed AKL, but honestly we decided it was a waste of money. We basically sleep in the room and spend most of our time at the parks. I'm glad we stayed there it's a beautiful resort, but the last time we went to WDW we opted for POFQ.

 

[FosterLovesMickey]

Thanks for your thoughts. Have the rooms been updated recently at POFQ recently do you know? My thinking with the balcony would just be that my DH and I would have somewhere to sit of an evening whilst baby was asleep safely in the room so the view doesn’t really matter to be honest.

Yes, they have been refurbished recently. I think that they may still be going on (I think that building 7 is still in refurbishment), but are scheduled to be completed well before you're going. The refurbishments are really nice, in my opinion - I really liked the lack of carpet and the beds were VERY comfortable.

 

[cheerbaybee]

I have stayed at all 4 resorts. And by far POFQ is my new favorite. I loved AKL however, when we stayed we opted for a pool room instead of a savannah room. Because of that, I don't think that we got everything we wanted out of the room. I do like the interior entrances. I personally believe that POR and CSR are too large. I love their themed pools, however, the walks to and from the main building could be long tedious and uncovered. Too me, POFQ does not feel like a moderate resort. The hotel is very small that everything is within a couple mins and there's only one bus stop.

I would choose POFQ.

 

[Wild4Walt]

We love the POR properties. I agree, I think the POFQ would work best with a young child. It's smaller so the common areas are closer and it's just beautiful. We also love the boat to DS.

 

[heidijanesmith]

Agree with above posters, POFQ is a great small resort. So easy to get around. My step father and his family loved their stay and my sister and her family loved their stay.

We love Coronado Springs. If the main pool is reno is done, then I would stay there again, even with the other construction.

 

[HopperFan]

As the title suggests, we are trying to decide whether to stay at PO(FQ or RS), CS or AKL. We will be travelling in February for 10 nights and it will be DH, myself and our ten month old DS. We are staying in Disney without a car and plan to use the Disney transportation to take it easy and enjoy making some lovely memories at our little fella’s pace.
We have stayed at the value resorts before and also POR. We loved POR for the relaxing atmosphere and boat option to Disney Springs but there was only two of us then. I worry that staying at POFQ will make me wish I’d paid the extra for POR.
CS looks great apart from the construction work?!
AKL is by far our favourite but is it worth the extra £800 (in comparison to CS). Are there multiple pools there as with POR and would we get a balcony if staying in the most basic room?
Thanks for your opinions in advance!

I'll throw a wrench. So in my mind $100 extra per night to stay at AKL which is hands down a truly unique stunning hotel/resort compared to CSR/POR (two of my favorites) which are beautiful motels.

Two points TEN NIGHTS and TEN MONTH OLD.

With AKL you will get a balcony which could very well be worth every penny if trying to get a little one down to sleep while you want to stay up and talk or nap time. You could put them down, sit on the balcony with drinks, some music, visit and totally embrace the entire day. Yes you will get a balcony no matter where your room is located and even some standard rooms can see animals and standard rooms also get upgrades at times. Rooms are getting refurbs so you may luck out with a new one (or it may result in upgrade).

With AKL if the weather is cool or iffy, you are completely inside and able to walk to the dining options or head over to Sanaa for those dining options. There is a nice lounge, there are firepits to sit and enjoy and lots of nooks and balconies where you can enjoy the animals even if your room is not savanna. There is often musical entertainment in the lobby, would be great fun for a little to enjoy.

The AKL hotel pool is going through a big renovation and will reopen in December. The pool has a zero entry which you will not find at the POR/POFQ/CSR. You can also go over to Kidani where they have a water play area. And while water play areas are fun (AKL & POFQ and who knows maybe new pool at CSR) ... 10 mos is still very small to truly enjoy them with all the other kids. I'd rather play at zero entry edge.

But if the little will go down without issue and you know the setup at moderates .... my picks in order would be:
- CSR (new pool, new room renovations, my favorite moderate, highly themed)
- POR (laid back and relaxing with all the amenities, good food court, Yeeha Bob and boat filled there first)
- POFQ (I wouldn't, I didn't find the price was worth the lack of amenities and after many POR stays was disappointed, especially when POR can use the water play area - where was the perk? My room was no closer to hub/bus than most my rooms at POR)

 

[Babsy]

I'll throw a wrench. So in my mind $100 extra per night to stay at AKL which is hands down a truly unique stunning hotel/resort compared to CSR/POR (two of my favorites) which are beautiful motels.

Two points TEN NIGHTS and TEN MONTH OLD.

With AKL you will get a balcony which could very well be worth every penny if trying to get a little one down to sleep while you want to stay up and talk or nap time. You could put them down, sit on the balcony with drinks, some music, visit and totally embrace the entire day. Yes you will get a balcony no matter where your room is located and even some standard rooms can see animals and standard rooms also get upgrades at times. Rooms are getting refurbs so you may luck out with a new one (or it may result in upgrade).

With AKL if the weather is cool or iffy, you are completely inside and able to walk to the dining options or head over to Sanaa for those dining options. There is a nice lounge, there are firepits to sit and enjoy and lots of nooks and balconies where you can enjoy the animals even if your room is not savanna. There is often musical entertainment in the lobby, would be great fun for a little to enjoy.

The AKL hotel pool is going through a big renovation and will reopen in December. The pool has a zero entry which you will not find at the POR/POFQ/CSR. You can also go over to Kidani where they have a water play area. And while water play areas are fun (AKL & POFQ and who knows maybe new pool at CSR) ... 10 mos is still very small to truly enjoy them with all the other kids. I'd rather play at zero entry edge.

But if the little will go down without issue and you know the setup at moderates .... my picks in order would be:
- CSR (new pool, new room renovations, my favorite moderate, highly themed)
- POR (laid back and relaxing with all the amenities, good food court, Yeeha Bob and boat filled there first)
- POFQ (I wouldn't, I didn't find the price was worth the lack of amenities and after many POR stays was disappointed, especially when POR can use the water play area - where was the perk? My room was no closer to hub/bus than most my rooms at POR)

Wish that I could like this 10X!!!!

100% agree with everything HopperFan said! I would definitely stay at AKL in your situation with a 10 month old.

the balcony alone is worth it.
The pools at AKL are worth it.
the dining at AKL is worth it. QS at Mara is wonderful, Boma is wonderful and Jiko is to die for. Sanaa (Kidani) is also a must do.
the interior corridors are worth it.
the lobby area is worth it.
all under one roof is worth it.
the atmosphere is worth it.

The AKL is one of the very best resorts in all of WDW. Only the MK resorts on the monorail are better, IMO, and even those only beat it because of location. For the price the AKL is a phenomenal resort.

 

[rdaky]

AKL is a wonderful resort. We just stayed there a few weeks ago and we've stayed at all of the values and moderates and enjoyed the moderates, and really weren't sure how it could really be worth it to spend so much more money on a deluxe. But yes, 1000x yes, it was worth it for us. Loved having a balcony to sit on during nap time, loved the interior hallways so if I wanted to grab a drink or food or needed something from the front desk, I didn't have to walk outside to get it. Several times we walked back to our room on a rainy afternoon and loved not having to walk in the rain after a long day.

 

[Rxdr2013]

We stayed at AKL Kidani over Christmas and rented DVC points it was much cheaper than booking with Disney. We enjoyed it very much. With a baby you might be spending more time in the room than you think. I would opt to try to rent points thru a DVC owner and see what other properties you might be able to get into thru that way might be cheaper!

 

[AMK53]

Know I am in the minority but I did not like AKL . Buses took long and as much as I like animals, I didn't like AKL..

CS is my absolute least favorite resort

I loved POFQ and have stayed there 3 times. Charming atmosphere, buses were good, liked the food.

Yacht Club club level is my favorite but I honestly was equally happy at POFQ

 

[Ahmne]

Another vote for AKL. We had these same three on our short list. The interior walkways, balcony and restaurants at AKL is what factored into our decision. Our cost to upgrade for 10 nights was more than $800.

Pofq would be my second choice

 

[mom22boys]

We have stayed at AKL and POR and our next trip is scheduled at POFQ! We love AKL, but my only concern about a 10 day trip there without a car is how remote it might feel after 10 days. I think having the boat from POFQ to Disney Springs would be really nice just for some place to go on non-park days and for more eating options (while we like The Mara at AKL having that be your primary counter service option for 10 days might be tough). Also, while we loved AKL, one thing it doesn't have, that POFQ would have, are lovely grounds for leisurely walks. If you are taking a stroller, both POR and POFQ have so many lovely walkways to enjoy. Also, one tip from our infant and toddler days, if you stay at a moderate resort, request a ground floor. (makes stroller life easier), and another tip, while you do not have a personal balcony, the many gardens give great spaces for relaxation and are easily accessible from the ground floor.

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[HopperFan]

We have stayed at AKL and POR and our next trip is scheduled at POFQ! We love AKL, but my only concern about a 10 day trip there without a car is how remote it might feel after 10 days.

I never really got the idea of remoteness .....

If someone doesn't have a car ........... they are likely to be remote from anywhere depending on where they are going. AND distance is assuming the bus takes the most direct route from POR, it doesn't always. In these examples CR, an expensive deluxe option, only is a plus for MK but often the farthest to travel way more than AKL to other parks.

POR to DHS 3 miles
AKL to DHS 4 miles
CR to DHS 6 miles

POR 2-3 miles depending on travel*
AKL to DS 7 miles
CR to DS 9 miles

AKL to AK 1 mile
POR to AK 6 miles
CR to AK 8 miles

I think the feeling of remoteness is all the landscape surrounding the resort that gives it the illusion of being in the depths of Africa.

* Boat comes with own set of issues.