Port Orleans Riverside or Poly for family of 5

[shayausten]

I am having a hard time deciding on where to stay. We have stayed at the Polynesian the last few times we have been to Disney. Money is a little tight and I am thinking about Port Orleans Riverside with trundle bed. Port Orleans is only 109nt vs 294 for the Poly. We have never stayed at a moderate before. The thing we love most about the Poly is the monorail. We spend most of our time at the park since we only go for 3 days. We eat at the food courts. Is it really worth almost 200 more a night to stay at Poly? Will we be just as happy at Port Orleans? Our kids are 6,12,16. Thanks for any advice from those who have been to both.

 

[MomPlanner22]

I personally wouldn't do 5 in a moderate. We have also stayed in the Poly and it worked well. However, we have also done 2 rooms at Pop and it worked great. If I really wanted to get to Disney with money tight and needing accomodations for 5, I'd do 2 adjoining in a value!

 

[litlpixie2]

Having stayed at POR a few times, I can definitely say that if I had the group you have, money was tight and we couldnt do a deluxe, I would seriously look at pricing for 2 room at a value. I have never stayed value, but then I have never gone to WDW with teenagers. By the time our boys hit the teens, they decided not to go to WDW, so we just took the girl who's only 10. I would want more room for those bigger kids. Good luck in your decision.

 

[SGMCO]

Having stayed at POR a few times, I can definitely say that if I had the group you have, money was tight and we couldnt do a deluxe, I would seriously look at pricing for 2 room at a value. I have never stayed value, but then I have never gone to WDW with teenagers. By the time our boys hit the teens, they decided not to go to WDW, so we just took the girl who's only 10. I would want more room for those bigger kids. Good luck in your decision.

I Agree--2 connecting Value Rooms or the ASMU Suite.
There are 3 of us 2-adults and 1-12year old DS who is really
growing fast and is as big as an adult--I would feel really feel
cramped if we had a 4th person in a MOD unless they were
really small. There are pleanty of families that stay at Values
all the time and have a really great time--think of it as a new
adventure. I also don't think the cost of Deluxe resort are
worth it.

 

[frdeb1999]

We thought POR was way too small for 5 of us. Would deffinately look into two rooms at a value or mod before going with one.

 

[kimgof]

We love staying at POR and we are 5 but we our kids are substantially younger than yours- 7,5 and 13. I would also say to look at the ASMU suites, it has two bathrooms also. It isn't much more than the POR and is a lot cheaper than the Poly.

 

[KCmike]

It is absolutely beautiful at Riverside. The grounds are amazing. The pools are wonderful. There is the main pool with a slide and other activities and there are other "quiet pools" around the resort.

Warning though- rooms are smaller and the bus service can be a pain at times.

Guess it comes down to whether a smaller room and bus service are worth spending quite of bit money less than poly. I would love to have said that I have stayed at Poly but am very glad to call Riverside my home away from home.

 

[gr8tdame]

Hi,
We have stayed at the Polynesian and just returned from 2 weeks at POR.
Stayed in Bldg 27 Alligator Bayou. It was just Me (5'7" plus size), dh ( 6'2") and ds 16 (6'1").
We reluctant to stay at POR because of the rumors of bad bus service etc.
We loved POR and prefer it over the POLY.... much quieter and the pool is much larger than POLY plus it has several quiet pools.
We loved the boat to DTD...ds was able to return from DQuest on his own.
Bus service was great.....they must have responded to previous complaints.
We booked next year at POR.....

 

[lovesdumbo]

I have stayed at Poly, POR and ASMu family suites and would say ASMu family suites would be a good choice for you. I must say I LOVE the Poly but I started staying there when I could get a good discount. It is just so expensive that now that my kids are older I just can't justify the expense-on our first trip kids were 11 months, turned 3 and 4. The monorail was great when we had 2 strollers but now that we're down to one umbrella stroller and the kids can walk onto the bus we have "downgraded".

We really liked the layout of the family suites. The pull outs for the kids were quite comfy and the queen in the bedroom was great for DH & I.

 

[dmzrn]

We are a family of 5... myself, DH, and 3 girls... 14,10 and 10. We LOVE LOVE LOVE POR and while I would love to stay at the Poly or AKL, we just can't justify the expense. I would say that it depends on how much "in room" time you spend. We are there to sleep and shower... we swim for several hours every afternoon.. the Ol'Man island pool is great, our girls love it so much. The resort is very quiet and serene, even when booked full, as it has been the last 2 trips for us. You feel very removed from all of the Disney action, as wonderful as it is. AB section is beautiful, we love how rustic it is, all of the foilage, the walking paths when lit at night are very conducive to "winding down" after a long day. All in all, we would miss not staying here and look forward to returning in June 2009! You will read alot of stories about the buses, mousekeeping, etc. In our 4 stays, nothing but magical things!
I can't tell you anything about the Values, having never stayed there. We have friends that were there in August, stayed at POP. All they said was that it was quite noisy, and they felt the bus rides to the parks were quite long. Other than that, can't offer you too much! Good Luck!

 

[Haunted Mansion Girl]

I am a fan of Port Orleans Riverside and loved staying there a couple of times. Yes, it is nice to be near the parks with the monorail when you stay at the Polynesian---but the POR is a very nice alternative. One hidden secret about the POR is that you also have boat service to downtown Disney. After a day at the Parks we often went to Downtown Disney for dinner or shopping by boat. Very nice and relaxing to go on the boats which are not crowded compared to the buses. Also: the POR has a very good and large food court that is open late. The grounds are beautiful and quiet compared to the hotels around the monrail. I would certainly stay there again.