Thinking about upgrading our resort for an upcoming trip from Moderate to Deluxe

[GADisneyDad14]

CR’s notice to guests:

In an effort to continually enhance the Guest experience, we often refresh our offerings from time to time. In preparation for your upcoming stay, we would like to inform you that the Contemporary Feature Pool and whirlpool spa will be unavailable due to refurbishment from January 9 through early April 2023. During this time the water play area and Bay Lake Pool will remain open for your enjoyment.

Note that the Bay Lake Pool is NOT the BLT feature pool, it’s the “bullseye” pool on the water by the CR boat dock/marina. BLT’s pool is called the Bay Cove Pool so may be causing the confusion above given similar names. I personally doubt they will let CR guests use BLTs pool during CR’s feature pool closure, IMHO and none of Disney’s notices in various places seems to suggest it. It’s probably one of the reasons this refurb was announced with a crazy long lead time - CR guests just aren’t going to have a feature pool option during that time.

 

[Marthasor]

Staying super close to a park via deluxe and not having a hopper feels bad sometimes. You can see MK but can't just walk over since it's not your park day. Imo keep pofq small resort great for kids and boat to the springs.

I agree with this. If mid-day breaks are planned, it's much easier to start at a more remote park and then spend your evening in a park that's closer when you have a hopper.

 

[Eastern]

I would keep POFQ. The resort is so convenient and the buses have always worked well for us. When you get back it's a short walk to your room. Convenient food court. Boat to DS. Little lizards running around for the kids to see. $1,000 in your pocket.

 

[snikki]

I would keep POFQ. The resort is so convenient and the buses have always worked well for us. When you get back it's a short walk to your room. Convenient food court. Boat to DS. Little lizards running around for the kids to see. $1,000 in your pocket.

I agree. I would keep POFQ but I would upgrade to 6 day park tickets and G+. Those two extra days don't have to be long park days. For us we don't do full rest days. We either sleep in, do pool time and hit a park in the PM with FP+ (or stacked G+ now) or go in the AM and have the whole afternoon and evening to rest and relax.

 

[focusondisney]

Thanks @GADisneyDad14! I had a feeling you’d have the right info. And thanks for explaining the difference in the BLT & BL pools. I had no idea that the bullseye pool had a name.

 

[sponica]

I like POFQ and I really didn't think the bus rides everywhere were all that bad.

If you're bringing a double stroller, the contemporary does have its perks....but I HATE the contemporary theming. WITH A PASSION. (My husband on the other hand adores it so at some point we'll have to stay there).

I'd flip a coin between WL and AKL. With younger kids, you'll want a balcony or patio at the end of the day.

 

[LynnTH]

I agree with @snikki - I would definitely add on to a 6 or 7 day ticket. Probably won't cost that much to do so and even having the option to go to a park for part of the day is nice. I would also look at Park Hoppers. Have you priced out any of the Epcot Resorts. Boardwalk or Beachclub. This is our favorite area and so easy to go to Epcot and HS.

 

[mrsswat]

With little ones that age my advice is WL. And a double stroller for sure lol. We were able to wheel that stroller right onto the boat to MK without taking the kids out. Much much better than bus service! That said - there’s also a lot to be said for the Contemporary and using the monorail and just plain walking to MK! But my first would be WL for the additional theming. As far as Animal Kingdom Lodge goes - on your rest day might be too chilly to swim in the morning. Hop to MK, bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge and spend the morning there! Let us know what you decide. Whatever you do will be great! What a wonderful gift you have received!

 

[RoseGold]

AKL is even worse with transportion than Port Orleans. The buses aren't that frequent and you can get stuck waiting a long time if your timing is bad. It sounds like just renting a car and staying at POFQ is what you actually need. Or don't sleep on Uber. I took a few Lyfts, even from Poly, because I didn't want to do the whole 40 minute monorail thing to Epcot. All of this isn't that far in a Lyft. If you're in a situation where you need to get back to the hotel now, just get a Lyft.

The animals go to bed early. If you're at the parks all day, you're not going to get to see them.

I agree I'd add a night over any of these upgrades. I think hoppers are too expensive now, and you don't need them.

 

[Eastern]

Another reason I wouldn't 'upgrade' my resort: The family member 'gifted' you POFQ. That was an extremely generous gift. I would not want to offend them by changing the resort. By changing the resort it might seem that you don't think it's good enough. I am going to ignore any crazy comments after this, it is just my personal opinion.

 

[Shellyred8]

I would vote for WL. I like their pools for your kids ages. Also, the pools are pretty close together, so you don't have to go from one end of the property to the other end to get to the other pool.

 

[starousse]

Another reason I wouldn't 'upgrade' my resort: The family member 'gifted' you POFQ. That was an extremely generous gift. I would not want to offend them by changing the resort. By changing the resort it might seem that you don't think it's good enough. I am going to ignore any crazy comments after this, it is just my personal opinion.

Normally, I'd say, yes, spend the extra $1k and upgrade to WL, however, I agree w this poster. If my family member gifted me a trip to PO, then I wouldn't feel right changing it. If I was super generous and gifted my family member a week long trip to PO and saw them in pictures at the AKL, I'd be hurt and annoyed.

 

[snikki]

Another reason I wouldn't 'upgrade' my resort: The family member 'gifted' you POFQ. That was an extremely generous gift. I would not want to offend them by changing the resort. By changing the resort it might seem that you don't think it's good enough. I am going to ignore any crazy comments after this, it is just my personal opinion.

This was also what I felt but I didn't type it out.

 

[Robber Baron]

Normally, I'd say, yes, spend the extra $1k and upgrade to WL, however, I agree w this poster. If my family member gifted me a trip to PO, then I wouldn't feel right changing it. If I was super generous and gifted my family member a week long trip to PO and saw them in pictures at the AKL, I'd be hurt and annoyed.

It all depends. If they have stayed at that resort and love it and want you to enjoy it, I might stick with their gift.

If, however, they just called their travel agent and said to set up a vacation at a moderate resort, that's a different story.

We have stayed at all 3 of those resorts multiple times. I would stay at any of them again without hesitation.

One thing people make too much of is the distance from AKL to the parks. It's really a non starter. AKL is closer to 2 parks than the Magic Kingdom area resorts are.

You may spend a few more minutes on a bus from AKL to MK than other resorts, but, the frequency of the bus picking up is more of a factor, and that can't be planned for.

I say just pick the theme you like best, pick it, then leave it alone.....(LOL, I'm a chronic resort changer.)

 

[AmyMac1109]

I actually think POFQ is great with little kids. It's a small resort and, if I remember correctly, when it shares a bus with POR, POFQ gets picked up and dropped off first. So guaranteed seats on the way to a park and if you don't have a seat on the way back, you at least get off quickly. Access to Disney Springs is great too, especially if you're planning some non-park days. I'd consider adding an additional day (or two) to your park tickets, rather than upgrading your resort. It should be fairly inexpensive (you know, relatively speaking) to add days to a multi-day ticket, or adding park hoppers. You could also splurge on some character dining since you're saving so much on the actual trip.

If you're determined to upgrade (which I totally understand because Deluxe resorts are very nice), I'd skip Contemporary due to the pool refurb (granted, POFQ also has a refurb scheduled it seems). I'd also skip AKL due to transporation issues (I absolutely LOVE AKL, but if you need to get to/from the resort multiple times per day and you don't have a car, avoid it). That leaves WL as my top upgrade choice, if you choose to upgrade. Beautiful theming and nice easy boat ride to MK, which is where you will probably spend most of your time.

 

[_19disnA]

Another reason I wouldn't 'upgrade' my resort: The family member 'gifted' you POFQ. That was an extremely generous gift. I would not want to offend them by changing the resort. By changing the resort it might seem that you don't think it's good enough. I am going to ignore any crazy comments after this, it is just my personal opinion.

I was thinking the same thing as I was glancing through the earlier replies and didn't see this mentioned. How would the person who gifted this feel about you upgrading to a different location? Don't know your family dynamics but would the person be offended if you decided to stay elsewhere? Having someone else pay for your Disney vacation is a very generous gift. That would be my first consideration before thinking of staying elsewhere.

With all of the Disney properties, what tends to matter is what your budget is, which park(s) you will be spending the most time at and what your preferences are about hotel theming. Until you experience a resort for yourself, difficult to say what you might think of the various properties. Everyone has their own favorite place to stay.

 

[Mle8308]

Will disney allow going to another resort? Not ideal, but I'm assuming the little boat ( CR/FW/WL) will be operating.

The BLT is small to start with, never mind adding CR to it.

Boat between CR/WL/FW has not returned.

 

[jo-jo]

Boat between CR/WL/FW has not returned.

But that was our favorite ride. Sometimes if it wasn't busy, we would just take the boat RT. Not that we are cheap, but we would break out PB on crackers and call it a cruise.

 

[Mle8308]

But that was our favorite ride. Sometimes if it wasn't busy, we would just take the boat RT. Not that we are cheap, but we would break out PB on crackers and call it a cruise.

Agreed! We loved it, too. Been hoping it would come back, but after 2 years and nothing, I think it's gone.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Another reason I wouldn't 'upgrade' my resort: The family member 'gifted' you POFQ. That was an extremely generous gift. I would not want to offend them by changing the resort. By changing the resort it might seem that you don't think it's good enough. I am going to ignore any crazy comments after this, it is just my personal opinion.

I think the POFQ pool being a construction zone will give them a decent out if they feel they need one.