Split stay at Port Orleans royal room river view and Wilderness Lodge or only WL?

[Abigail Broughton]

I have a crazy but exciting trip in December 2018. My plans... 2 nights at POR royal room river view, 3 nights Wilderness Lodge deluxe studio villa, 1 night Grand Floridian and 6 nights Polynesian. I have only been to Disney 3 visits. 2 at Caribbean Beach before construction and September 2017 at the Yacht Club. The first 5 night of our trip will be my 8 year old daughter and I only my husband and 16 year old son will be joining us at the GF. I am very excited to relax and take it easy only focusing on things she loves. Swimming, princess, shopping. Should we keep our 2 nights royal room at Riverside or just stay at the WL. I cant decide. I thought we would enjoy the resort at POR, boat to Disney Springs, French Quarter pool, and Yee Ha Bob then the nights at WL We can attend the MVMCP and enjoy an easy boat ride back to the resort. I do not mind the moving around to me its exciting and I am organized and do not need to fully unpack.This trip will not be go go go. We will only visit MK a couple times, once at HS and a couple visits to Epcot no AK this trip. Any thoughts would be wonderful.

 

[gharter]

Personally, I would not want to move that much. If moving is not a big deal to you and you want to visit the other resorts, then do it. The fact that you are not doing as many resort days also makes moving easier. Riverside is nice, but it is not the Wilderness. But they have other attractions at PO that you can't get other places as well.

 

[rkstocke5609]

Just ending an 8 night trip at Wilderness. All I can say is that I’ve stayed at French Quarter and it nor Riverside are deluxe resorts. Plus, it’s December. Wilderness wins hands down and it isn’t even close.

 

[Wood Nymph]

I would keep the POR reservation if you plan to concentrate on Disney Springs and resort activities. The boat ride to DS is nice and the resort is a great place to hang out in.

The WL is also nice. It is a good time to either try the Hoop Dee Doo revenue or have a meal at Trail's End. There is a nice walking path from the WL to Fort Wilderness that ends at the pony corrals.. The pools are nice, too.

If I was going to drop a resort then it would be GF. Both the Poly and the GF are monorail resorts and it would be very easy to enjoy the restaurants, etc, at the GF but stay at the Poly.

 

[TyphoonLegume]

... I am very excited to relax and take it easy only focusing on things she loves... Swimming, princess, shopping....

I think you just answered your own question! 2 nights in a Royal Room, with it's boat ride away from shopping at Disney Springs... sounds like a wonderful 'girls' trip!

Wood Nymph brings up some great points though... and personally I would rather 'staycation' at the Wilderness Lodge during that time of year, with time spent at Fort Wilderness as well. Disney Springs is only a bus ride away... and you could always take the boat over to POR to see Yehaa Bob and have dinner there a night if you desired.

I must admit though, that the resort I truly feel a princess at, is the Grand Floridian. Have you considered moving your 1 night at the Grand to the front of the trip, and staying there instead of POR? Breakfast with Mary Poppins, Tea Parties in the Garden View Tea room, a mother/daughter spa visit, pool day cabana rental, or even a fun watercraft rental to explore Seven Seas Lagoon... the options are plentiful...

Whatever you decide... your trip sounds amazing!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I, personally, wouldn't want to move that much, but if it doesn't bother you and your DD is into swimming, princesses and shopping, I would do it. The royal rooms are adorable and you'll have all the shopping you could dream of just a boat ride away - go for it!

 

[Abigail Broughton]

Thank you for all your wonderful advice! Decision made, no POR this visit we are staying at the Wilderness Lodge all first 5 nights! I thought my daughter would enjoy the resort, focus on girl time at Magic Kingdom, princess meet and greets, shopping on Main Street what more can I ask for!

 

[Sue M]

You’ll be there 12 days but only going to parks 5 days? I wouldn’t skip AK, it’s probably the best themed park in WDW. So many great attractions there and 2 great shows.

I agree with Wood Nymph, about dropping the 1 night at GF and staying at Poly that night. The resorts are walking distance apart, so you’d have plenty of opportunities to go to GF to shop & eat.
Check in isn’t till 3:00 earliest, and in Dec at Christmas time it’s so busy maybe your room wouldn’t be ready even at 3:00, in reality you’d just be checking in & out, sleeping there 1 night.

 

[ksromack]

I would keep your Royal Room at POR. We've stayed Riverside during the Christmas season and it is wonderfully decorated! You already mentioned YeeHaw Bob. We loved POR. Boating to DS is very fun and a Royal Room? Those are pretty far back into the resort I think? Still, keep POR!

We are staying 5 nights at WL this December and WL IS my favorite place to stay at Christmastime but you already have those nights planned anyway. I would, however opt to stay at Poly and skip the GF. Is it really worth staying for 1 night? It really is up to you. You can easily hop on a ferry or monorail to check out the Christmas decorations at GF while staying at Poly. We actually did all the deluxe resort holiday decorations on a trip in 2015 all while staying at POR. You are going to have a fabulous trip!

 

[rkstocke5609]

Thank you for all your wonderful advice! Decision made, no POR this visit we are staying at the Wilderness Lodge all first 5 nights! I thought my daughter would enjoy the resort, focus on girl time at Magic Kingdom, princess meet and greets, shopping on Main Street what more can I ask for!

And, take the boat! Enjoy the journey, not just the destination.....

 

[Babsy]

Thank you for all your wonderful advice! Decision made, no POR this visit we are staying at the Wilderness Lodge all first 5 nights! I thought my daughter would enjoy the resort, focus on girl time at Magic Kingdom, princess meet and greets, shopping on Main Street what more can I ask for!

Great choice! Enjoy the WL! and GF and Poly! Sounds like a great trip!

 

[Smittolis]

Glad you made a decision, the WL is a fantastic resort and one of my families favorites... while it can often seem a little ironic being in a tropical climate and staying in a winter cabin themed hotel! haha... it is a very very cool place to stay. The pools are great, the lobby is breathtaking and the overall amenities are fabulous. The biggest perk for us is the MK transport, the boat system is awesome, very frequent and hardly ever packed! Such a great way to get too and from the parks...

Here is a video i took the last time we were there that highlights the boat ride from WL to the MK! This is on the small boat: