Trying to decide between two resorts Opinions needed

[ccreighton]

Hi all This is my first post. We are going the 6th through the 13th of august and this is our first trip. We are torn between the French Quarter and the Wilderness lodge. The lodge is about $400 more for the 7 nights and from all my reading it seems it may be a bit nicer, but not overly so.

Opinions??????

 

[Nolcrest]

I have stayed at both resorts and this is a really tough decision. I guess it will depend on what interests you. The WL lodge is gorgeous but POFQ has so much to offer too.

Some really like their rooms opening to a corridor as the deluxes do. FQ is a moderate so all rooms open to the outside. Actually my family prefers this. We love having the food courts that are at the moderates although the WL does have a quick service offering.

PO is my favorite moderate and WL is my favorite deluxe. I really don't know what to tell you.

POFQ has boat transportation to Downtown Disney but WL has boat transport to MK.

The size of the rooms are not much different at either.

I guess the major decision would be if you have a preference for indoor or outdoor access, then I would go with what theme interests you. If you don't feel too strongly for WL - keep the FQ ressies. It's very charming there with only one bus stop which is pretty efficient.

Have a great vacation with whatever you decide and welcome to the boards.

 

[BeamsofLight]

I've also stayed at both resorts, and I agree with Nolcrest - it's a difficult decision. I love them both.

In August, I would give the slight nod to the indoor corridors that the Lodge offers, just due to the humidity. That said, I've stayed in moderates at that time of year and it's not a big deal. Sometimes I think it's just nice to stay inside a tiiiiiny bit longer, on the way to refill your refillable mugs, or heading toward the bus stop.

I really love the boat transport from WL to MK. It's a very relaxing and pleasant ride, I think. That said, you can take an equally relaxing and pleasant ride from POFQ to Downtown Disney. I find that one especially nice at nice, when you're going past all the old Treehouses in the dark. Just remember your bug spray.

I think if you were planning to spend a lot of time at MK, then that might influence me to pick WL as well, just because it's a shorter trip. If you're going to all the parks more or less evenly, then POFQ is closer to MGM/Epcot so it balances (and quite a bit closer to DTD).

If none of those are serious considerations for you, then I agree, POFQ is a great resort and you'll have a great time there and can save the $$ or spend them on some other fun things.

Welcome to the DIS, and have a great trip!

 

[figment95]

ITA with the two posters above. I love both resorts and would happily stay at either. The lobby at WL is beautiful and the indoor corridors would be a big plus during the hot and rainy weather. The food court at POFQ is much better than the food at WL IMHO. My family finds the food choices at WL get very old after a few days.

Have you considered splitting your stay? We did this last year (POFQ first and then moved to WL) We got the best of both worlds and it did not inconvience us at all. There really is no wrong decision here. Both resorts are wonderful!

 

[siac]

For me WL is the best, but when need more money for other things I stayed at PO or other moderate.

 

[sue1013]

Two differences I haven't seen mentioned. WL has queen size beds, POFG has doubles. May not make a difference to your group. Also POFQ only has one pool. WL has main pool and a quiet pool.

 

[HopperFan]

I think I would also factor how often you travel to WDW. We go very regularly so the $400 may come into play in my decision. But if I am only going every couple years, then I would absolutely stay at WL. To me you can't compare them, especially at that minimal difference for that long of a stay.

 

[flblond36]

hi well my daughter and I stayed at the French Quarter this pasy May, and we had a blast, the pool is awesome! and trust me you WILL use it! It gets very hot there in August trust me I know this because I am a native Floridan. The other thing that we liked about it was that you were able to take to boat to downtown disney, in stead of the bus if you wanted to.

 

[*Fantasia*]

I have stayed at POFQ and WL. We love them both! And this is a hard decision to make because they are both wonderful resorts.

I guess if you're going to do a lot of MK, then I guess WL might be better. If you like the camping outdorsy theme, then WL would be the pick. Just take the boat or the bus to MK.

If you want more the southern theme and will visit Epcot and MGM more, then POFQ would be great. At POFQ, though it has only one pool. The themeing of this pool is very nice. And you can take the boat to POR and use the pool there as well. If you're planning to go to DD just take the boat there.

Either way you go... you can't go wrong with either of these resorts. They are both great!!

 

[fitzperry]

LOL! My first post was a couple of weeks ago and concerned the same two resorts. We ended up booking POFQ for the third week in October for several reasons. One was the dining. I thought that WL would win out in that category, but from the responses I got on this board, that doesn't seem to be the case. We went with POFQ over the other moderates mainly because of its size. We have small kids, so the length of the trek from the bus stop to the room is an issue.

The rooms at POFQ were renovated recently, and the Unofficial Guide describes them as comparable to or better than many of the deluxes, though they are a bit smaller. Also, the travel times on Disney transportation are comparable for POFQ and WL, again according to the Unofficial Guide. We'll spend most of our time at the parks, so we probably wouldn't take advantage of all the amenities that a deluxe has to offer. Last time we were there we stayed in DTD and found the transportation lacking, so we couldn't go back to the hotel during the day. Not sure if we will this time or not, but we did want to have the option.

The price differential for us for 6 nights was between $600 and $700, and we decided we'd rather spend the money on something else. Actually, our video camera died a couple of days after we made the reservations and a couple of days before our dd's 6th b-day party, so we already spent it.

Have a great trip!

 

[ccreighton]

Thanks to EVERYONE for the replies. I feel better with my choice which was POFQ. We plan to spend 2 days in MK, 2 days in Wilderness, 1 in epcot and 1 in MGM, with the extra day as a fill in.

The quiet pool doesnt interst me as I will be with my daughter the whole time, and I know she wants where the action is.

I have scheduled the following dinners with characters

Monday- Priness dinner at epcot norway
Tuesday-Mickey and friends dinner
Wed- Cinderella dinner (couldnt get breakfast or lunch in castle)
Thurs- Polynesian dinner which the WDW person said was great for kids(opinions on this?)

Any more advice would be great. I am loving reading the boards and for a first timer this is no such thing as an old thread LOL