Trying to Pick a Resort - Help please!

[BethR9]

Ok, guys, I’m really torn on which resort to stay at. This would be for a possible middle of February stay or last week of March stay (probably last week of March so I don’t have to pull my daughter from school at all). Most likely a mother-daughter trip.

The last 4 trips we have stayed at Pop. We love it. If we did Pop this time though, we would get a preferred room (never have) so we are closer to transportation and the food court.

I’m also considering Port Orleans Riverside (I’d consider French Quarter but I just really don’t care for the theming of the hotel but do love how small it is…). If we went with Riverside, I might consider the Royal Rooms (not sure how much more that would be). My daughter isn't super girly (used to be) but I think these rooms look pretty special.

The other consideration is one of the deluxes, possibly Contemporary, Beach Club or Wilderness Lodge. If we did deluxe, I’m looking for the “cheapest” one and not quite sure how they all rank.

The thing I am struggling with is I like to feel like we’re at Disney pretty much all the time. That’s why I like Pop. It’s bright, has Disney stuff everyone from the lobby to the rooms, etc. It can be loud but that doesn’t bother me. The food court is bright and huge. I just like all the colors and how it “feels” like Disney.

When I look at the others, I don’t feel that (of course that’s just by looking at pictures online). When I look at Riverside’s food court, it looks super nice but just looks like another restaurant to me. It doesn’t seem like we’re at Disney. Same with Beach Club, it feels like I’m at the beach which is great but we can be to some gorgeous beaches in about 6 hours drive (and do that).

But with the moderates or deluxes, I like the water slides they have and the campfires and the horse drawn carriages, etc. Stuff you don’t find at Pop. We don’t spend a ton of time at the resort but a fair amount where I’d like other neat things to do.

We’re doing this trip before my daughter becomes a Disney adult. And I’m not really sure if we’ll be back again after this trip. Since she’s getting older, there are so many other places we’d like to visit with her.

I’ve thought about a split stay but I’m not sure I want that hassle either (maybe it isn’t that big of a hassle as I’m thinking it is). We’re usually rope drop people so would I have to go to the front desk at our first hotel and check out before we head to the parks? And then after the park visit, return to our new hotel? We drive also though so we’d have to move our car at some point… Is it easy to link the reservations if we do a split stay? And what about if we do the dining plan? Do we have to do it on each reservation?

HELP!!!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Cheapest deluxe is usually Wilderness Lodge or the Contemporwry Gwrden Wing. It's never Beach Club.

 

[johnsonet]

It may be that Pop will always be your favorite. However, I'd say try a new resort, just so you'll know for sure.

I wouldn't recommend WL b/c of the huge construction projects going on there for the next year or two.
AKL would be the other Deluxe that would be more affordable. WL and AKL standard rooms only sleep 4, so they are different from the other Deluxes, pricewise.

I love AKL probably more than any of Disney's resorts and I've stayed at all of the Deluxes. But since you didn't mention it, perhaps you are not considering it... It is BEAUTIFUL and a very special place.

I haven't yet stayed at any of the Values but I see what you mean re. the theming. In a POR Royal Room you would definitely feel the theming in your room! And the grounds are so pretty there, too.

I would recommend a standard view room at the Polynesian; a pool view room at AKL; a Bay Lake view room in the tower at CR; or a garden view room at GF. All of these I would only book at a very good discount (25% off+)

Have fun planning!

 

[bridget8822]

My family stayed at POR when I was married at Disney in 2013 and LOVED it. We have done All Star Music, CBR, POLY, GF and the Dolphin and when the Deluxe resorts are just not in the budget I would do POR a million times over. We love the food court there - so many options to choose from and you have the choice of a sit down restaurant as well. The rooms are beautiful. My daughters are 10 and 12 and we are going back with my husband and mother in August and we are staying there again. We are all super excited to be going back.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

If it may be your last trip for a while going with what you know (POP) would be nice. For nostalgia also. But I would go with a new resort.

I've been looking at doing a mother daughter trip in the next year or two. I've been looking at Port Orleans quite a bit and thinking of doing a royal room also. Then when I think that it'll be just us two I should go deluxe since it won't be as much with 2 people instead of 4. Decisions, decisions!

We did BC and Poly this past August and loved both but BC took the cake. I would stay there in a heartbeat.

My kids require a water slide. It is literally their only request so values are out of the question.

 

[Ndusmama]

I've only ever stayed at POR. We stayed in the princess room. It was princessy but not overly so imo. It would make you feel like you were at Disney. My next trip is WL. I was looking at split stay with dining plan. What I discovered was if you have snack or meal credits they have to be used by end of visit per checkout. So if you switch hotels you have to use all credits before end of day of switch or you loose them, they do not carry over to new hotel. Does that make sense?

 

[richmo]

You probably won't go wrong whatever you do. All I can add is that we really enjoyed Port Orleans Riverside on our last visit -- we were in the Alligator Bayou section. I honestly liked it almost as much as Wilderness Lodge. Of course, you don't have the proximity to MK with the boat ride, but there's a boat to Disney Springs, which is a nice plus.

 

[BethR9]

Thank you all for the great replies!!! This is helping so much.

As for the deluxes, I only mentioned those 3 because that's all I've really looked at. Any of them are open for consideration! I forgot about AKL and that's another one I want to look into.

I think I need to read up on split stays. I think the only reason I want POP is because of the nostalgia feeling, like Nikki said. I feel like I want to visit there one more time since it's the only resort we've done and I can remember my daughter being 3 years old and being there...

Would 2 nights at POP and 4 nights elsewhere be silly? Are split stays only worth it if you're staying for a longer time?

 

[rosysubmarine]

I haven't stayed at Pop Century myself, but sometimes that 'special' resort your family has is hard to beat.

I'm going to POR (we asked for Alligator Bayou though) and, while I haven't been, the design of the grounds seem far more subdued than Pop Century. If that 'Pop' (haha!) is what appeals to you, then I would possibly look at another resort.

As far as deluxes, I'd say that the Contemporary is great for "feeling" like Disney-- especially the Magic Kingdom. The monorail goes right through it, which is not only convenient but a great reminder that you are only steps away from MK. Plus the general atmosphere and the shops just have this "Disney" feeling about them. Maybe it's nostalgia for me (I love visiting the Contemporary), but when I think of the Magic Kingdom, I think of the three deluxes surrounding the Seven Seas Lagoon.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Thank you all for the great replies!!! This is helping so much.

As for the deluxes, I only mentioned those 3 because that's all I've really looked at. Any of them are open for consideration! I forgot about AKL and that's another one I want to look into.

I think I need to read up on split stays. I think the only reason I want POP is because of the nostalgia feeling, like Nikki said. I feel like I want to visit there one more time since it's the only resort we've done and I can remember my daughter being 3 years old and being there...

Would 2 nights at POP and 4 nights elsewhere be silly? Are split stays only worth it if you're staying for a longer time?

We did 5 nights at Poly with 5 nights at the BC. It was nice and we enjoyed it. The move wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

If I were going with just DD I could see us doing a split stay and it being much easier.

 

[johnsonet]

Thank you all for the great replies!!! This is helping so much.

As for the deluxes, I only mentioned those 3 because that's all I've really looked at. Any of them are open for consideration! I forgot about AKL and that's another one I want to look into.

I think I need to read up on split stays. I think the only reason I want POP is because of the nostalgia feeling, like Nikki said. I feel like I want to visit there one more time since it's the only resort we've done and I can remember my daughter being 3 years old and being there...

Would 2 nights at POP and 4 nights elsewhere be silly? Are split stays only worth it if you're staying for a longer time?

Absolutely would not be silly. Sounds like that is what might be best for you. Only trouble might be your tickets. Will you be booking a package? Or room only?

 

[amy1981]

We stayed at POR in the Magnolia Terrace building. It was not a Royal room, but my girls still really liked it ... those big "mansions" are pretty impressive to a kid. We did a split stay and it wasn't that much of a hassle. The night before we were checking out of the first hotel we packed everything up except our clothes for the next day. The following morning we got dressed, went to the lobby to check out and handed them our luggage then headed off to the parks and returned to our new hotel that afternoon with our luggage waiting for us. We really like trying all the resorts and seeing all of the different theming, so we liked the split stay option. I would say it will eat up about an hour or so of your time however.

You asked about the dining plan and that's where things get tricky. You have to have room & tickets to purchase the dining plan. If you wanted to split stay and have dining for both resorts you'd need two separate packages. You wouldn't want to do it that way however because you'd be paying a lot more for park tickets. A 7 day ticket will be considerably cheaper than buying a 3 day & a 4 day ticket. We booked 3 nights at POR with dining then upped our tickets to the 7 day option. We only had dining the first 3 nights of our stay, so when we switched to our second hotel we no longer had dining, but that was fine for us and made a lot more financial sense.

I've only stayed at Mods or Deluxe, but they all felt very 'Disney' to me. Maybe not as overtly so as a value, but there are hidden Mickey's everywhere and a lot of other little touches that make it feel magical. Since it's just the two of you, I would strongly recommend that look at renting DVC points and staying in a studio. There'd be plenty of room for the two of you and if you rent points you can stay at a deluxe for the same price, or maybe even less than you'd pay at a Moderate.

 

[BethR9]

Absolutely would not be silly. Sounds like that is what might be best for you. Only trouble might be your tickets. Will you be booking a package? Or room only?

We would most likely be booking a package.

I see Amy went through some of the scenarios of booking a package and a split stay.

I hope that doesn't complicate things!!!!

If we rented DVC points though, wouldn't we actually get more bang for our buck on that room if we had another person or 2 with us? I would think the fewer people in the room, the less value the room has (if that makes sense).

 

[AJA]

My choices would be either POR or AKL.

We love the feel of the POR/POFQ resorts and the boat to DS is a big plus. Animal Kingdom Lodge though is a special resort especially if you have little ones.

 

[katyjeka]

The adults in our family love WL, CR, Poly, GF, and the Swan. Our kids are a different story as they love Pop and the AllStars. Our last trip we thought we'd surprise them with the GF and they asked the entire trip when we were going to Pop, go figure....They do enjoy WL though.

 

[tink1970]

My DD's favorite resort is still POP, even after staying at all the mod and deluxe resorts.

I think if you love POP then don't rule out a stay there-the heart wants what the heart wants

If you'd really like to try another I'd vote for the Contemporary. It's just a walk to MK, there are good restaurants and shopping and the monorail going through the center is pretty iconic. If you "go big" and get a theme park view it would definitely feel like you're staying at Disney.

Have fun planning

 

[BethR9]

Is the Contemporary a large, spread out resort? It sort of looks that way. So even though you can walk to MK, is it still quite a hike from the cheapest room there?

 

[tink1970]

It is large both vertically and horizontally (the Garden wing). Also the Garden wing doesn't have an MK view...We have stayed there when DD was 3 and honestly I think she enjoyed the playground more than the parks at the time , then as a couple. I don't think it's any (or much more) spread out than AsMo or Pop though (and definitely more compact than, say, CSR and CBR).

 

[amy1981]

I was thinking more of room size and comfort with the studio for the two of you. In terms of value, yes, more people = less per person so that is more justifiable for cost. A studio gets pretty tight with a family of 4, so since it's just the two of you, this would be a great time to try one. So just crunching numbers loosely the last week of March, Pop is about $160/nt average, POR is $240, BC is in the mid to upper $500 range...you can get a BCV studio for about $280. Yes, $280 is a lot more than what a night at POP would cost, but is almost half of what a room would cost at BC. You could do 2 or 3 nights at POP for nostalgia sake then split stay at a DVC for something different.

 

[BOST99]

Is AOA out? It would seem like a good compromise between trying something new, getting that over the top disney feel and still being close to Pop.

Of the ones mentioned I would go with AKL or if budget allowed BC/YC. AKL is just themed so wonderfully and is really great value for delux. BC is in such a great location you are totally immersed in Disney between being able to walk to 2 parks and the boardwalk area and seeing two fireworks shows.