So new to this!

[Lollipop's Mom]

I am saving to take my daughter to Disney. I am thinking January 2005 or May 2005. It will be just me and her (8 yrs old). Last time we were there was in 2000 and we stayed on DVC point rental at the BWV.

Due to lack of funds I have not really bothered looking at anything Disney until about 4 days ago and oh my everything has changed so much! POR is not POFQ and DL is now POR - im lost! I put alot of planning into the 2000 trip with the help of this site, so just starting again.

I am trying to figure out when I should make my ressies for the hotel. If going in Jan/05, when can I expect the 'deals' to come out. I am on a budget and do not plan on paying rack rates, as I know there are codes,etc... out there. Just need to be given a basic idea of when the codes and stuff will go out for that time of year?

Hotel suggestions? I am on a 'moderate' type budget. I really don't want to do the all stars or pop century. We are girls that like to be pampered a bit and feel like we are on 'vacation'. I would love to go deluxe but its not in the budget.
AKL and Wilderness Lodge are not our style at all. If I had the budget I would love to do the BC or BC villas, or Grand Floridian. That is 'our' style. Pool is important as we are big swimmers and my daughter loves the waterslides.
I was thinking CBR but have read some terrible reports on it. I love the idea of the theming and feeling very 'tropical'. We are in a cold climate so that would be nice for us. Also the size scares me. One thing I really hate is the end of the long day, so hot and tired, and walking a gazillion miles back to the room. Also I like being near the food court area as we tend to be late night snackers on vacation and love to grab some ice cream or something fun around 8-9pm if we are back at the hotel.
Does the POFQ have a 'holiday' feel to it?

Any suggestions/help would be appreciated. I am so lost with all the changes! I have been reading the boards and websites for 4 days and figured I better just bite the bullet and ask!

 

[BobbiG]

We rented dvc points to stay at a deluxe resort, for about the same price as disney lists for a moderate...check it out....you might be willing to reduce your trip a day or two to stay at a nicer resort...

 

[XStAnt]

Pick whichever moderate resort has the theming that appeals to you the most. I believe they all have pretty good pools. Don't worry about posts that talk about negative reports on the resorts. All of the resorts have bad reports on these boards. Sometimes people do get a room that is moldy or dirty, or has a toilet broken, or rude CMs. That can happen everywhere. Sometimes I get the sense that a particular resort just doesn't live up to someone's expectations.

I think the moderates are all pretty much the same except for the theming. They are all spread out around a central building (except POFQ, which is more compact), they all have outside doors, they all have a food court, and they all have decent bus transportation (although sometimes your bus will make internal stops or be full at times). I believe CBR has slighter larger rooms and CSR is newer. Other than that, pick whichever one appeals most toyou and enjoy it.

 

[Micca]

Welcome to the Dis Lollipop's Mom. I know what you mean about returning to the resort at the end of the day hot & tired and then having to walk a gazillion miles to the room. This is one of the reasons we like CSR. We request a room close to the parking lot.
It's a bit of a trek to El Centro where the food court is, but it is worth it to us