Upgrading from POR to WL

[Carolyn R]

Hi there! I'm currently planning a 12 day trip to WDW for December and trying to decide if it's worth it to upgrade from Port Orleans Riverside to Wilderness Lodge. I have stayed at POR in 2014 and 2015, and last year we stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge. I truly loved both resorts, but I've always dreamed of staying at WL. Price wise, it would be a little over $600 more to stay at WL. I'm a bit torn because I've had the experience of a deluxe resort, and it can be hard to go back. That money could be used towards new dining experiences (Artist Point, Akershus, Spirit of Aloha) and spending, especially because we will be there the two weeks before Christmas. However, this is a big Christmas trip, and it would be amazing to stay in a resort with a giant beautiful tree and decorations!

 

[Traver Freeman]

If I could, I'd switch. I just have a hard time spending that much right now at our stage in life. But if you can afford it, I say go for it. We can't wait until we can get to that point financially.

But it's all down to what you want. If you have a set budget, then yes, nicer resort might mean fewer extra activities. We don't do many other activities, that's just how we vacation, so having a nicer resort would be awesome for us. We love just relaxing at the resort if we aren't in the park.

 

[DG25]

I have stayed deluxe and moderate, and it is not that hard to go back and forth. I think of my vacations in terms of what I want to get out of them. When we have youngest with us, who is not young, in 20s we go moderate POR. When I have oldest we go POFQ. When we have family all together we go BC or CR. When I went with DGD we did a 5 split for 15 nights at 5 DVC resorts. Going with DH and we are going GF CL 2nights, 11 nights BRV and 2 nights WL CL.

So if you want a Christmas to remember, a cabin in the North Pole, than do WL it will be beautiful. Just tell yourself that next vacation may be back at POR because it will be a summer vacation and you will want the pool more. Now to go back to a value, that may never work, but to me that never works anyway, we did AoA only one night and we will never do a value again. But now that moderates have queen beds, and the theming at moderates are so beautiful, you can make it back.

 

[Traver Freeman]

But now that moderates have queen beds...you can make it back.

YES! This. I hated the double beds.

 

[margot31]

Is it possible to do a split stay? One thing my husband enjoyed was resort hopping and maybe getting a meal or something over there. It is a wonderful resort to see at christmas I will say that.

 

[Babsy]

Is it worth the extra $600? The answer to that varies with individual circumstances. Sometimes, I have said 'Yes', but on other trips, I have decided 'No, it isn't worth it this time'.
Some trips are theme park heavy - so NO. Some trips are with others that would find the cost difficult, so NO. Sometimes we have other things that we want to pay for more than a deluxe resort, so NO. Sometimes we just want to stay at a moderate or value for variety, so NO. Other times that deluxe resort is where we feel we really want to be and we plan time to relax and enjoy staying there, so YES.

I would switch if it is easily affordable. WL is especially nice at Christmastime. However, POR is a lovely moderate that I wouldn't hesitate to stay in gain and again (as a matter of fact our next visit is booked again at POR in November of this year and after that we have POFQ booked for Dec). There is so much to do in WDW, though, that I would not want to miss out on - MVMCP, special meals etc. Of course, it is all about how YOU will best enjoy your vacation.

Both POR and WL are great resorts!

Whichever you choose, enjoy your trip!!!!

 

[Amanda999]

I'd definitely spend an extra $50/night on the better resort (WL, by far) than food or shopping, but everyone has different priorities. (I note that you didn't say you'd save the $600: you would spend it on food/shopping - so the total trip cost will be the same: just decide what experiences you value more.)

 

[Hockeyfan17]

A question of worth is one that only you can answer. We had always wanted to stay at WL and did so on our last trip. We absolutely loved it. We have stayed at POR as well and really liked that too. We love MK, and for that reason, it would be worth it to us. We enjoyed the very quick transportation to and from MK while staying at WL. This summer we are trying another new resort in the Poly, but we can't wait to stay at the Lodge again.

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

Hi there! I'm currently planning a 12 day trip to WDW for December and trying to decide if it's worth it to upgrade from Port Orleans Riverside to Wilderness Lodge. I have stayed at POR in 2014 and 2015, and last year we stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge. I truly loved both resorts, but I've always dreamed of staying at WL. Price wise, it would be a little over $600 more to stay at WL. I'm a bit torn because I've had the experience of a deluxe resort, and it can be hard to go back. That money could be used towards new dining experiences (Artist Point, Akershus, Spirit of Aloha) and spending, especially because we will be there the two weeks before Christmas. However, this is a big Christmas trip, and it would be amazing to stay in a resort with a giant beautiful tree and decorations!

Since it's Christmas, and you've always wanted to stay there, I say go for it!

 

[SharonZ]

For the price difference, and Christmas decor, I would definitely switch.

 

[dkmulder]

As others have said in a round about way, there is something truly magical about WL at christmas time, and if ever a time to stay there, Christmas is the best. That being said, both resorts are gorgeous, and if you asked about this scenario at any other time of year, I'd say it's a toss up. POR is up there with my favorite resorts, but WL at Christmastime will always win.

 

[bjscheel]

I like them both. Last year I booked a POR Royal Room with a code that was only good for a small portion of our trip. When the new discounts came out, I found I could get WL for only $38 more, total! That was easy. $600 would require a lot more thought. I do love POR but after staying at WL last summer, I want to go there always

I've never resort hopped because it didn't seem worth the trouble for a week's stay, but you have 12 days so I think this is a perfect opportunity to compromise and do half the trip at POR and half at WL.

 

[chiisai]

We did this, and not at Christmas. Absolutely love WL.

 

[Dizjunkieee]

Speaking from my own experience here - We did an early December trip in 2015 where we stayed the first 5 nights at POFQ, then moved for our last 4 nights to the WL. I HIGHLY recommend WL, especially at Christmas time. So incredibly beautiful. Now, we were paying for 2 rooms (we take our daughter and son-in-law every fall) so we had to compromise and do the split stay, but if it is within your means - I say DO IT! At the very least, do a split stay and end your trip there. If you don't have experience moving resorts during your trip and that concerns you, don't let it. Disney makes it very easy to transfer resorts.

 

[Carolyn R]

Thank you everyone! I really appreciate all of your insight and thoughts so far! I haven't made a final decision yet, but I will give you a bit more info about our vacation...

The last few years at Disney have been girls trips with just me and my mom. We're not park hoppers, and we typically do a park every other day, with down time, Disney Springs and dining at other resorts in between.

We really loved the grounds, atmosphere and Royal Rooms at POR. Our main issue was the bus transportation... especially at the end of a long park day. It took us almost two hours some nights just waiting to get on the bus (sometimes it was the 3rd or 4th bus that we finally got on) and we were always the last drop off at the depots. I imagine this will be worse since it will be during a more busy season.

I really like the idea of the boat transportation to MK from WL, and I imagine this will eliminate some stress during our trip. I read that you can also transfer to the monorail to go to Epcot... this would be great since we are planning to go to Epcot and MK twice! We also visit the GF for tea every trip

A deal breaker, although this might sound strange, would be the heating system in the rooms at WL. We're from NY, and when I we were at Disney in December two years ago it was freezing at night! Lucky POR had heating in the room! When we stayed at AK last October the room had really no heating options... it would only stay on a few minutes then switch to AC. We just couldn't set the temperature in the room. We even had a maintenance worker try to adjust it, but it didn't help much. They must've thought we were crazy asking for heat in Florida, but the room was really cold at night. Anyway, I'm curious if AK and WL have a similar heating system? Or if anyone has had issues during the winter?

 

[rstevens333]

The WL boats really are wonderful. You can hop on either one and be no further from the MK than a short Contemporary walk.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

A split stay would give you the best of both worlds. As for the bus hassles, have you thought about maybe renting a car, at least for the POR portion of your trip? I've found I enjoy POR more with a car than without.

 

[chiisai]

I don't know about the heating, but the boats to and from MK were a highlight of the trip for me, so wonderful and relaxing. We did not have a problem with them at all.

We left very early a couple of days, so used buses, but always came home on the boat. One day when we went later, we took a boat.

We did have a problem with a morning bus to one of the parks. I can't recall for sure, but I think it was Animal Kingdom. It just never came. This was over an Easter week. We waited 40 minutes and then just took a cab.

 

[danikoski]

Thank you everyone! I really appreciate all of your insight and thoughts so far! I haven't made a final decision yet, but I will give you a bit more info about our vacation...

The last few years at Disney have been girls trips with just me and my mom. We're not park hoppers, and we typically do a park every other day, with down time, Disney Springs and dining at other resorts in between.

We really loved the grounds, atmosphere and Royal Rooms at POR. Our main issue was the bus transportation... especially at the end of a long park day. It took us almost two hours some nights just waiting to get on the bus (sometimes it was the 3rd or 4th bus that we finally got on) and we were always the last drop off at the depots. I imagine this will be worse since it will be during a more busy season.

I really like the idea of the boat transportation to MK from WL, and I imagine this will eliminate some stress during our trip. I read that you can also transfer to the monorail to go to Epcot... this would be great since we are planning to go to Epcot and MK twice! We also visit the GF for tea every trip

A deal breaker, although this might sound strange, would be the heating system in the rooms at WL. We're from NY, and when I we were at Disney in December two years ago it was freezing at night! Lucky POR had heating in the room! When we stayed at AK last October the room had really no heating options... it would only stay on a few minutes then switch to AC. We just couldn't set the temperature in the room. We even had a maintenance worker try to adjust it, but it didn't help much. They must've thought we were crazy asking for heat in Florida, but the room was really cold at night. Anyway, I'm curious if AK and WL have a similar heating system? Or if anyone has had issues during the winter?

We stayed at WL in January 2015 and February 2017 and never had issues with it being too cold in the room. And both trips we had nights that dipped into the 40s.

 

[nyy]

We have stayed at both POR and WL. (We have stayed at other values and mods as well.)

I would switch in a heartbeat!

In Aug 2015 we spent 10 days Club Level at WL. It was beyond our expectations! We fell in love with it!
In Aug 2016, the budget was smaller. We did 8 days at POR in a preferred room.
POR was everything it promised. But it just fell so short of WL. The only thing we liked better about POR was the pools.

The transportation at WL was excellent. We found the busses to MK to be significantly faster than the ferry. We were stunned at how often they came and how little we shared. We were at MK in 5 minutes!
The ferry ride to Contemporary and FW for dinners were perfect!

The busses at POR were inconsistent, more crowded, and the ride was significantly longer.

We are from upstate NY. We've never been able to go to WDW when Christmas decorations were up and the weather was cool at night. (It is actually a dream of ours to do so! But since we are both teachers and our teenagers play sports, that will likely never happen!) I have no idea about the heating.