Update on our trip - we will be 4, not 5

[austraveler]

I envy your savings going back from 5 to four, but it is so hard to change decisions after all the initial research and decision making. Lucky you like planning!!

My two cents, for what it is worth is that the decision to drop back to the smaller room in NY is a smart one. Extra spending money is such a treat. I have stayed at the Omni Parker in Boston. It is lovely (as is all of Boston!) but not spectacular. That price seems good though so you might as well stick with your original choice. I will put in a vote for POFQ. We loved it and would say there again in preference to the beach club. Everyone raves about the beach club pool but my boys were happier with the one at POFQ. They did not like lining up for the slide at BC (sometimes a 5 minute wait) and the much admired sand bottom was not a novelty for kids who go to the beach a lot. We all loved the POFQ boat to downtown Disney too- I have 3 little shoppers and we used that boat a LOT. THere is great Jazz music playing throuout the resort which is compact and manicured to Disney standards.

 

[queenie82]

I agree the beach club pool is way over rated. Especially to Australians who are regularly in the water. Of course. Canberra don't have beaches

But remember what you are comparing.

I'm comparing DELUXE resorts. Deluxe EPCOT resorts.

So in that realm the beach club I believe is far better than boardwalk.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

I envy your savings going back from 5 to four, but it is so hard to change decisions after all the initial research and decision making. Lucky you like planning!!

My two cents, for what it is worth is that the decision to drop back to the smaller room in NY is a smart one. Extra spending money is such a treat. I have stayed at the Omni Parker in Boston. It is lovely (as is all of Boston!) but not spectacular. That price seems good though so you might as well stick with your original choice. I will put in a vote for POFQ. We loved it and would say there again in preference to the beach club. Everyone raves about the beach club pool but my boys were happier with the one at POFQ. They did not like lining up for the slide at BC (sometimes a 5 minute wait) and the much admired sand bottom was not a novelty for kids who go to the beach a lot. We all loved the POFQ boat to downtown Disney too- I have 3 little shoppers and we used that boat a LOT. THere is great Jazz music playing throuout the resort which is compact and manicured to Disney standards.

Austraveller - how exciting. Someone who has stayed at the Omni Parker House. Mind if I pick your brain for a second. How was the hotel in terms of location? Could you walk everywhere? Were there nice places to eat nearby? Could you walk to the North End or was that a bit far? How far to Boston Common? Safe location? Any cheap eats for brekky etc nearby?

I have always thought that POFQ looked lovely, the styling and atmosphere seems to ooze out of the images I've seen. I love jazz and would enjoy the boat to DD I'm sure. How did you find the buses?

I agree the beach club pool is way over rated. Especially to Australians who are regularly in the water. Of course. Canberra don't have beaches

But remember what you are comparing.

I'm comparing DELUXE resorts. Deluxe EPCOT resorts.

So in that realm the beach club I believe is far better than boardwalk.

Not only does Canberra not have beaches but we are not really beach people. I grew up 15 minutes from some of the nicest beaches in the country, Torquay and Bells Beach and hardly ever went .

I promise to compare apples to apples Miss Queenie. Thanks for the info.

 

[austraveler]

The location was excellent although on arrival we were a little worried. The approach from the airport looked dodgy and rundown, but it was fine once you walked about half a block in. You are only a block from Boston Common. We pretty much walked everwhere but there was also a bus that took you to Faneul Hall at the North end or the waterfront and back that came every 20 minutes or so. We had a lovely breakfast at the hotel but from memory it was a little pricy. We also had Boston Cream pie at the hotel which was divine but large and rich. I recommend sharing. Most of the little cafe style restaurants were cheap and good quality. I don't recall exactly where we ate but I had a chicken zucchini ziti pasta that was amazing for about $5. We also had a cheap breakfast next door to the hotel.

Re POFQ, the busses were fine for us. We never waited more than 10 minutes although we did go through POR before heading on the parks. The busses were quicker to reach the parks than BC though since at the BC we stopped at the Swan and Dolphin each time. That being said, I can never quite understand why people complain about busses- I like the downtime with Disney music and a look at other areas of WDW.

 

[queenie82]

Not only does Canberra not have beaches but we are not really beach people. I grew up 15 minutes from some of the nicest beaches in the country, Torquay and Bells Beach and hardly ever went .

I promise to compare apples to apples Miss Queenie. Thanks for the info.

I'm not a beach person either. It's just the pictures from your Island holiday I thought of your DS and that Beach club seemed to match his enjoyment of the pool. What can I say...they seem a match...
It is the weirdest feeling having sand under your feet when you come out of a water slide

Beach Club isn't in my top 3 Disney Resorts. But for the Epcot Resorts I think it is the best and most fun. I've mentioned before I love Cape May.

If we are going down to a lower tier I love the atmosphere of Caribbean Beach and the food there. We actually drove there for food and brought it back to Beach Club once But I know you won't pick it because it is HUGE and it may have bus issues.

My top 3 -
Animal Kingdom Jambo House
Bay Lake Tower (8 minute walk to the Magic Kingdom Gate )
Old Key West


I just want to make sure we are comparing apples with apples. I'm not going to recommend or not resorts I haven't stayed in. I've never made it to the Port Orleans resorts as it is out of the way getting to and you have to go through the Magic Kingdom Gate to get to it. Was too tired to bother by the time we go there

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

The location was excellent although on arrival we were a little worried. The approach from the airport looked dodgy and rundown, but it was fine once you walked about half a block in. You are only a block from Boston Common. We pretty much walked everwhere but there was also a bus that took you to Faneul Hall at the North end or the waterfront and back that came every 20 minutes or so. We had a lovely breakfast at the hotel but from memory it was a little pricy. We also had Boston Cream pie at the hotel which was divine but large and rich. I recommend sharing. Most of the little cafe style restaurants were cheap and good quality. I don't recall exactly where we ate but I had a chicken zucchini ziti pasta that was amazing for about $5. We also had a cheap breakfast next door to the hotel.

Re POFQ, the busses were fine for us. We never waited more than 10 minutes although we did go through POR before heading on the parks. The busses were quicker to reach the parks than BC though since at the BC we stopped at the Swan and Dolphin each time. That being said, I can never quite understand why people complain about busses- I like the downtime with Disney music and a look at other areas of WDW.

So would you say that the area that surrounding the Parker House is a bit dodgy? My DH would have a fit if I chose a hotel that wasn't safe for the children. We plan to do alot of walking ourselves and we are actually going to be there for NYE so will be walking to Boston Common for the early fireworks which is part of the reason I thought the location was great. We had also been told about a place called the Marriott Copley Place that is closer to the Back Bay area of Boston and it connects via a walkway to the big shopping centre in that area. It sounds lovely because it is all modern and apparently the rooms are slightly more spacious, lots of places to eat nearby. The trolley tour stops not far from the entrance as well. It is only mildly more expensive for a room too. It doesn't seem to be such a walkable location for the touristy stuff though.

It's just that I kind of fell in love with the history and beautiful architecture of Omni Parker House but I wouldn't want to stay somewhere unsafe, with no good eats nearby and old and tired so I just want to be sure I've made a good choice. Perhaps I should have another look around now that our requirements of 5 down to 4 have changed.

Buses - I don't mind the bus ride at all, I always enjoyed the downtime too. It's more that I have issues if the bus system to the resort is unreliable and some of the resorts have a reputation for that. It's also good if the resort doesn't share buses with too many others. I have read the POR can be a bit of a shocker with the buses because they pick up at POFQ first and people can end up waiting for a long time because buses are full by the time they hit POR. This is why I wouldn't really consider POR. I had also heard that about the All Star resorts. Someone on here I am sure also mentioned issues with buses at BWI.

So essentially, I don't mind time on the bus, I just don't want to wait for 40 minutes to catch a bus .

I'm not a beach person either. It's just the pictures from your Island holiday I thought of your DS and that Beach club seemed to match his enjoyment of the pool. What can I say...they seem a match...
It is the weirdest feeling having sand under your feet when you come out of a water slide

Beach Club isn't in my top 3 Disney Resorts. But for the Epcot Resorts I think it is the best and most fun. I've mentioned before I love Cape May.

If we are going down to a lower tier I love the atmosphere of Caribbean Beach and the food there. We actually drove there for food and brought it back to Beach Club once But I know you won't pick it because it is HUGE and it may have bus issues.

My top 3 -
Animal Kingdom Jambo House
Bay Lake Tower (8 minute walk to the Magic Kingdom Gate )
Old Key West


I just want to make sure we are comparing apples with apples. I'm not going to recommend or not resorts I haven't stayed in. I've never made it to the Port Orleans resorts as it is out of the way getting to and you have to go through the Magic Kingdom Gate to get to it. Was too tired to bother by the time we go there

My DS definitely does loves the beach, you have a wonderful memory. It is more my DH and myself that can take it or leave it. I'm sure he would adore the BC.

I'm going to go and run some figures on the WDW website now and see what dollars jump up. That could well and truly help me decide.

 

[ColinA]

I agree the beach club pool is way over rated. Especially to Australians who are regularly in the water. Of course. Canberra don't have beaches

But remember what you are comparing.

I'm comparing DELUXE resorts. Deluxe EPCOT resorts.

So in that realm the beach club I believe is far better than boardwalk.

Beach Club is nice but prefer the Boardwalk with the view over Crescent Lake!

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Okay so for 5 nights in December the two options are:-

POP Century $563
POFQ $951

Deluxes for 6 nights in December:-

AKL $2115
Beach Club $2599
Boardwalk $2666


Interesting stuff.

So the smart money would be POP for 5 and POFQ for 6 , which would be 11 nights of accom for $1737 which is very reasonable compared to what we are paying everywhere else .

Other split stay options:

Pop/AKL $2678
Pop/BC $3162
Pop/BWI $3229

POFQ/AKL $3066
POFQ/BC $3550
POFQ/BWI $3617

Big price differences. What to do, what to do?

 

[battymum]

I'd go with POP/POFQ - thats a lot of champagne money!!

I just dont get the appeal of staying at the deluxes for that sort of money, sure they are beautiful, (and so is POFQ!) but the rooms are all pretty similar!!

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

I'd go with POP/POFQ - thats a lot of champagne money!!

I just dont get the appeal of staying at the deluxes for that sort of money, sure they are beautiful, (and so is POFQ!) but the rooms are all pretty similar!!

Morning. It sure is alot of champagne money . You know me so well Battymum .

I do take your point.

Overnight whilst I was lying in bed tossing and turning over the big issues, like where to stay at WDW , I was thinking this will be our last time at WDW and in fact the US for quite a while as after this trip we will be focusing on exploring Europe for a few years. My nature is that I DO NOT LIKE CHANGE . My friends always tease me about it. So I was initially thinking lets stay at WL/Pop because that is familiar and I know what I will get and I will be comfortable with that. Overnight when I realised this will be the last visit for a while I decided if we can afford it, we would be mad not to try other resorts and have new experiences. Look at me go with my "outside of my comfort zone thinking".

But I'm also mindful of cost to an extent. So depending on exact pricing that comes back I am thinking a good compromise will be POFQ/AKL, but with 6 nights at POFQ and only 5 nights at AKL to reduce the cost a little. I know, I know, it's still over 1k more than if we did POP and POFQ split stay and once the final price comes back I could balk at it and go the cheaper option but I feel this is a compromise somewhere in the middle.

The themeing at POFQ and AKL look amazing, a photographers dream .

Thoughts????

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Oh and of course I have my fingers crossed that Disney will release either a room discount for my dates or more importantly, FREE DINING

With POP we would need to hire a fridge which while not alot extra, still $10ish per night. And if free dining is offered, we would need to upgrade from the Quick Service to the Regular dining plan so the POFQ would be better in that instance. Gee I'm being optimistic about free dining aren't I? I believe if I put it out to the Universe and believe it, the Universe will provide hahahahaha.

 

[5ofus]

I like it. POFQ/AKL looks like a great combo to me, but I could be very biased. I have only seen pics of AKL, but as I mentioned in my earlier post, it reminds me a bit of WL and I LURVE the WL. As for POFQ, well, it's looking like POR will be the best (ie cheapest) option for us when we go on our trip - there are five of us, hence the handle - so I've been doing a lot of reading and looking at pics of the two PO resorts. I'm loving the look of PO so far - although my research has mainly led me to POR since they accommodate five.

I think you really should try somewhere (or two somewheres ) new so the POFQ/AKL will give you that. I don't think you can go wrong with the theming and the buses can't be THAT bad can they? I've stayed at ASMu - notorious for bad buses - and OKW - also previously had bad rep for bus issues, and didn't find it taxing at all. A bit of patience goes a long way and I've always found it hard to get TOO upset while visiting the World.

 

[queenie82]

I'd go with POP/POFQ - thats a lot of champagne money!!

I just dont get the appeal of staying at the deluxes for that sort of money, sure they are beautiful, (and so is POFQ!) but the rooms are all pretty similar!!

Smart people don't pay those prices for a deluxe
Smart people buy or rent dvc points.

 

[ColinA]

Morning. It sure is alot of champagne money . You know me so well Battymum .

I do take your point.

Overnight whilst I was lying in bed tossing and turning over the big issues, like where to stay at WDW , I was thinking this will be our last time at WDW and in fact the US for quite a while as after this trip we will be focusing on exploring Europe for a few years. My nature is that I DO NOT LIKE CHANGE . My friends always tease me about it. So I was initially thinking lets stay at WL/Pop because that is familiar and I know what I will get and I will be comfortable with that. Overnight when I realised this will be the last visit for a while I decided if we can afford it, we would be mad not to try other resorts and have new experiences. Look at me go with my "outside of my comfort zone thinking".

But I'm also mindful of cost to an extent. So depending on exact pricing that comes back I am thinking a good compromise will be POFQ/AKL, but with 6 nights at POFQ and only 5 nights at AKL to reduce the cost a little. I know, I know, it's still over 1k more than if we did POP and POFQ split stay and once the final price comes back I could balk at it and go the cheaper option but I feel this is a compromise somewhere in the middle.

The themeing at POFQ and AKL look amazing, a photographers dream .

Thoughts????

The rooms are similar between the moderates and deluxes, it is the location you pay more for.

You could always try renting DVC points! The cost for a deluxe would probably be cheaper than the moderates and you would be in a villa.

IMO the Epcot Resort area is the best, AKL or villas is miles away.

 

[ColinA]

As an example I did a search on this year at the Boardwalk for a studio preferred Garden or Pool View room arriving 9th December departing 20th December is 167 DVC points

If you rented figure on US $1,670.00 ($10 per point) minimum and if you rented from David ($13 per point) $2,171.00 maximum.

This would be cheaper in Aus dollars.

I recently rented out 420 points in 5 different contracts, there were plenty of takers.

 

[aussietravellers]

I have always thought that POFQ looked lovely, the styling and atmosphere seems to ooze out of the images I've seen. I love jazz and would enjoy the boat to DD I'm sure. How did you find the buses?

It's funny. I would love to stay at POFQ, but many years ago, before POFQ was POFQ, I did a course at Disney University and we went to POFQ (that I think was Dixie Landings or something like that) and the jester, clown things in the food court freaked me out! So much that I could never stay there. I went on our last trip with friends as they loved the resort and we went to the food court for beignets and they didn't freak me out as much but were still really freaky When I was looking at this upcoming trip and tossing up between DL and WDW, I had POP and POR on my list (and maybe Dolphin).


Not only does Canberra not have beaches but we are not really beach people. I grew up 15 minutes from some of the nicest beaches in the country, Torquay and Bells Beach and hardly ever went .

I live on the gold coast and we are not beach people either

Overnight whilst I was lying in bed tossing and turning over the big issues, like where to stay at WDW , I was thinking this will be our last time at WDW and in fact the US for quite a while as after this trip we will be focusing on exploring Europe for a few years. My nature is that I DO NOT LIKE CHANGE . My friends always tease me about it. So I was initially thinking lets stay at WL/Pop because that is familiar and I know what I will get and I will be comfortable with that. Overnight when I realised this will be the last visit for a while I decided if we can afford it, we would be mad not to try other resorts and have new experiences. Look at me go with my "outside of my comfort zone thinking".

But I'm also mindful of cost to an extent. So depending on exact pricing that comes back I am thinking a good compromise will be POFQ/AKL, but with 6 nights at POFQ and only 5 nights at AKL to reduce the cost a little. I know, I know, it's still over 1k more than if we did POP and POFQ split stay and once the final price comes back I could balk at it and go the cheaper option but I feel this is a compromise somewhere in the middle.

The themeing at POFQ and AKL look amazing, a photographers dream .

Thoughts????

I think POFQ and AKL sounds like an awesome combo

With POP we would need to hire a fridge which while not alot extra, still $10ish per night.

POP rooms now come with a mini fridge Found that out on my investigations whilst looking at POP

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

I like it. POFQ/AKL looks like a great combo to me, but I could be very biased. I have only seen pics of AKL, but as I mentioned in my earlier post, it reminds me a bit of WL and I LURVE the WL. As for POFQ, well, it's looking like POR will be the best (ie cheapest) option for us when we go on our trip - there are five of us, hence the handle - so I've been doing a lot of reading and looking at pics of the two PO resorts. I'm loving the look of PO so far - although my research has mainly led me to POR since they accommodate five.

I think you really should try somewhere (or two somewheres ) new so the POFQ/AKL will give you that. I don't think you can go wrong with the theming and the buses can't be THAT bad can they? I've stayed at ASMu - notorious for bad buses - and OKW - also previously had bad rep for bus issues, and didn't find it taxing at all. A bit of patience goes a long way and I've always found it hard to get TOO upset while visiting the World.

Yep, I think it sounds like a great option and I just looked up Christmas photos of the AKL and the foyer looks AMAZING!!!!! Not as amazing as our beloved WL but a pretty nice second.

Smart people don't pay those prices for a deluxe
Smart people buy or rent dvc points.

Hmmmm, a more sensitive person than myself might think you are being very rude. But since I know that you know that I am a very smart person who runs a very successful business which is why I can afford to pay high prices to stay whereever I want, I know you don't mean that the way it sounds

The rooms are similar between the moderates and deluxes, it is the location you pay more for.

You could always try renting DVC points! The cost for a deluxe would probably be cheaper than the moderates and you would be in a villa.

IMO the Epcot Resort area is the best, AKL or villas is miles away.

ColinA, I have to say I don't really consider the rooms when I choose a resort . Crazy right. And I also don't consider the resorts proximity to parks as a rule . I am all about the experience and themeing to be honest. And on occasion, I consider finances. That is how I chose.

I agree the Epcot resort area looks fabulous. We are 100% definitely eating at Flying Fish this time (we bailed on our ADr last time, too exhausted) and plan to spend an hour or so wandering around exploring the area for sure.

As an example I did a search on this year at the Boardwalk for a studio preferred Garden or Pool View room arriving 9th December departing 20th December is 167 DVC points

If you rented figure on US $1,670.00 ($10 per point) minimum and if you rented from David ($13 per point) $2,171.00 maximum.

This would be cheaper in Aus dollars.

I recently rented out 420 points in 5 different contracts, there were plenty of takers.

I mentioned your sums to my DH but DVC makes him nervous because he doesn't understand it and to be honest renting points is a little foreign to me too so he said he would feel more comfortable booking at a resort through our US TA. Thanks for doing that for us as a comparison though. I appreciate it.

I live on the gold coast and we are not beach people either

I think POFQ and AKL sounds like an awesome combo

POP rooms now come with a mini fridge Found that out on my investigations whilst looking at POP

Any recommendations for room requests for AKL. Should we fork out the extra for a savannah view or is it not worth it?

Great news about POP. I swear it's such a great resort for the money, amazing in fact. I just really got to thinking last night that if I'm not going back for a while, I'd love to try 2 new places. I would recommend POP to anyone in a heartbeat though.

 

[aussietravellers]

Any recommendations for room requests for AKL. Should we fork out the extra for a savannah view or is it not worth it?

Great news about POP. I swear it's such a great resort for the money, amazing in fact. I just really got to thinking last night that if I'm not going back for a while, I'd love to try 2 new places. I would recommend POP to anyone in a heartbeat though.

For us, yes it is worth it for the savannah view. I would run down to Mara and grab some breakfast or dinner and we would sit out on the balcony, with that amazing view. There are only two chairs and a table on the balcony, but you could take the two inside chairs out so you could all sit out there and enjoy your view whilst eating.

For room requests I request Arusha savannah (although they have made that it's own room category now), Zebra Trail (that's the corridor your room will be down) and second floor.

AKL is a large resort. The restaurants are to one side, close to reception with the pool and laundry. Staying on Zebra trail, we just take the lift down and we are at the laundry and the doors out to the pool, Mara, Boma and Jiko. Also it's close to the nightime viewing which is near the pool.

I request the 2nd floor because I you feel so close to the animals, you still get great view without the obstruction of any trees. Also on the 2nd floor, they have these viewing areas along the hall ways, where you can go outside, sit on the rocking chairs and look through the viewing machines. None of the other floors have this, they just have big glass windows. My DS would run ahead and go out to the viewing areas along the way and on our last trip we were the room right beside the viewing area (which is set back so it didn't disturb us at all when we were on our balcony). So DS would pop out of our room and go and sit in the rocking chair and look through the viewer (and I would bend round the corner of our balcony and wave.

You can see one of the 2nd floor viewing areas in this photo.

So it really depends on your family, but for us we wouldn't stay with out the savannah view. You can do a search too for the different animals that are in the different savannahs. I think the Uzima (Uzimo, something like that) is quite boring, it has Giraffes (they all have Giraffes) and Vultures and some others. The Sunset, now that Kidani Village has opened is good too. I didn't realise as it wasn't that great our first visit but it is much larger now and has a larger assortment of animals. When we went through the savannahs on the Wanyama Safari I thought the Sunset looked great (and the Uzima still looked boring )

Here's a link to the resort map. You can see Zebra trail and how it's closer to everything (although you can still have a good walk, it has such long corridors. But if you were at the end of Kudu trail, you could walk forever to get to the restaurants
http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/aklmap.htm

 

[austraveler]

So would you say that the area that surrounding the Parker House is a bit dodgy? My DH would have a fit if I chose a hotel that wasn't safe for the children. We plan to do alot of walking ourselves and we are actually going to be there for NYE so will be walking to Boston Common for the early fireworks which is part of the reason I thought the location was great. We had also been told about a place called the Marriott Copley Place that is closer to the Back Bay area of Boston and it connects via a walkway to the big shopping centre in that area. It sounds lovely because it is all modern and apparently the rooms are slightly more spacious, lots of places to eat nearby. The trolley tour stops not far from the entrance as well. It is only mildly more expensive for a room too. It doesn't seem to be such a walkable location for the touristy stuff though.

It's just that I kind of fell in love with the history and beautiful architecture of Omni Parker House but I wouldn't want to stay somewhere unsafe, with no good eats nearby and old and tired so I just want to be sure I've made a good choice. Perhaps I should have another look around now that our requirements of 5 down to 4 have changed.

The area is fine, but as you drive through the area from the airport to the hotel it is pretty seedy. It only gets good just before the hotel. We felt 100% safe though. I loved the proximity to the historicaL area. WE walked through lots of little streets with gorgious houses. Hotelwise, I was probably a little disappointed because I thought it would be more intimate and cosy. It is quite busy and bustling.The rooms were quite luxurious (lovely bedlinen etc) though and I would definitely stay there again. I had a quick look on the net at your other option and if you like period charm, the Omni is the better choice.

 

[queenie82]

I'd go with POP/POFQ - thats a lot of champagne money!!

I just dont get the appeal of staying at the deluxes for that sort of money, sure they are beautiful, (and so is POFQ!) but the rooms are all pretty similar!!

Smart people don't pay those prices for a deluxe
Smart people buy or rent dvc points.

Hmmmm, a more sensitive person than myself might think you are being very rude. But since I know that you know that I am a very smart person who runs a very successful business which is why I can afford to pay high prices to stay whereever I want, I know you don't mean that the way it sounds

I find your decision to make this comment quite rude and unnecessary. I was not commenting on anything you have said. I was replying and commenting on a SPECIFIC comment which was insinuating that the only way to stay at a deluxe was to pay the prices that YOU can afford.

This one

I just dont get the appeal of staying at the deluxes for that sort of money, sure they are beautiful, (and so is POFQ!) but the rooms are all pretty similar!!

Unfortunately we aren't all so fortunate as to unnecessarily spend excess money on staying in a deluxe resort. So we research and try and find out as much information about the cheapest way to stay at Disney resorts and like you....crave staying at a Deluxe.
So the SMART MONEY rents DVC points if you can't afford to buy.

ColinA's sums show that you CAN stay at a deluxe resort for the same or less than a moderate. Which means this comment I WAS REPLYING to was being negated by pointing out you can have these "similar" rooms for the same money.

ColinA, I have to say I don't really consider the rooms when I choose a resort . Crazy right. And I also don't consider the resorts proximity to parks as a rule . I am all about the experience and themeing to be honest. And on occasion, I consider finances. That is how I chose.

I agree the Epcot resort area looks fabulous. We are 100% definitely eating at Flying Fish this time (we bailed on our ADr last time, too exhausted) and plan to spend an hour or so wandering around exploring the area for sure.



I mentioned your sums to my DH but DVC makes him nervous because he doesn't understand it and to be honest renting points is a little foreign to me too so he said he would feel more comfortable booking at a resort through our US TA. Thanks for doing that for us as a comparison though. I appreciate it.

Just because you and your DH don't understand nor feel comfortable with it...is irrelevant.

IT IS A VERY COMMON AND LEGITIMATE method of staying at Disney and NOONE can deny the sums.

shushh has successfully rented hundreds of points over her stays at Disney without problems. I don't see how renting from someone is any less comfortable to throwing money at a TA you've never met in your life and only exists in the computer as well.


So please...don't "translate" for me, especially when my comment wasn't directed at you.


My point as always was to let people reading this thread know that, nor think that, your sums are the sums they should be comparing alone.
There are FAR more sums out there if you are willing to put in the effort to rent.