Where Oh Where should we stay?

[mickeymouse108]

Hi Everyone I am planning a trip to Disney we are planning on next year 2014 around the Holidays so I have about a year and want some advise on where we should stay.
We are a family of four my older daughter will be home from college on break she will be 21 and my younger daughter will be 15. the only two resorts on Disney I have stayed have been pop century, and port Orleans riverside.
I really love port Orleans riverside we need to stay as cheap as possible so it will have to be value resort or one of the moderate resorts. My first thought is to say at port Orleans riverside because I know how much I love the resort one of my favorite things about it are that it is quiet and beautiful and I love the theamed pool because it has lots of trees around it and you can have shade from the sun. I also love the boat ride to downtown Disney.
I feel I really should try another resort just so I can have a new experience but I am worried I will not like the other resorts as much. I have always wanted to stay at the wilderness lodge but don't think we can afford it. any advise from others would be greatly appreciated we would also consider a value resort maybe the new art of animation. thanks for your input.

 

[OnceUponATime15]

If you liked Riverside, why not try French Quarter. It has great ambiance & it is smaller then the other moderates so it is also quaint. You still get the boat to DTD too. FQ is my "go to" choice whenever I can't decide on where to stay.

 

[Hootch]

staying at POFQ for the last several trips. It has great theming and filled with trees. Our first stay we had a room facing the parking lot. I hardly noticed with the distance and the trees.

It depends somewhat on the time of the year, but in the summer POFQ has its own buses. We were there one trip when we shared with POR and getting a bus was much more difficult.

 

[kmb584]

I'm going to "3rd" POFQ as a good option. It's beautiful and quaint, and even when sharing buses with POR it's still the first pick-up. As a bonus, because its sister resort is POR, you can very easily take the boat or walk along the river path over there and enjoy their amenities too.

 

[Lisa71]

I would rent points and stay in a studio at a deluxe for a change !! The points make it about the same as a moderate..

 

[melissafox18]

POFQ is often excluded for room only discouts if they exist for your time frame. I like both Pop and POR. They both have a great location!

 

[TimeLady]

I've been very happy at Pop twice, but after spending an hour or two wandering around AoA, I think it looks like a lot of fun and one that I'd like to try next.

 

[Disneylover99]

I would stay at Pop and ask for a room close to the bridge. That way you get a room probably cheaper then AofA, but you can easily visit their food court, take their buses or walk around and enjoy the theming.

Best of both worlds!

 

[Luv0fDisney]

I guess it depends on budget and whether u spend a lot of time at your resort but when my mom and I go to Disney we go to pop century. It's our most favorite. We go value because we don't spend much time at the resort since we are usually so busy taking in the parks.

 

[Disneyaddictz]

We stayed at POR in march and fell in Love for all the same reasons, walked over to POFQ and my husband and I said we were glad we picked POR but everyone is different! We just did the value in sept for the last trip and decided the savings wasn't worth it even through we weren't at the room much.i recommend decide just how much time you will spend down and what amenities you have to have because values lack many that the mods have. New experiences are great but there's nothing wrong with staying at a place you already know you love I mean it's a lot of money!! Enjoy whatever you choose

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[tzolkin]

Just a suggestion based on the ages you posted-- What about the Swan or Dolphin? Now that my kids are getting older, we are considering this for our next trip because we really enjoy walking around the Boardwalk area and Epcot is our favorite park. The kids will also have the option of walking to HS while DH and I go eat in Epcot. Certainly, we could still split up if we were staying at another resort, but being able to walk and take the boats will be a nice change of pace from the buses.

Are any of you a nurse/teacher/military? If you are eligible, some discounts they offer make the room prices comparable to POR.

 

[LovesTimone]

We are going to be staying at AoA in a lion king family suite. It will be myself, my Mom and my Daughter. This is a girls only trip. We decided on AoA for a couple of reasons, 2 bathrooms with 3 grown up women is just a must. Everyone will have their on bed to sleep in. More room to spread out ever so nice. This will our 1st time staying in a value. I was a bit nervous about it, but after reading the great reviews, I am excited, and can hardly wait till January.

Our home resort is POFQ.. so I will have to show some love for it. You really get the best of both resorts, plus the boat ride to DTD. We love staying here. Its a short walk to POR food court and pool if you want to hang out there. I like the food court at POFQ better, for us it doesn't seem as busy when we grab a bite to eat there. Could be the time we have been in there. We really enjoy the boat ride to DTD it make for a nice relaxing ride, you kinda get a moment to decompress from all the energy of the parks.

 

[mickeymouse108]

thanks for all the advice I always think I should try something new even though all I really want to do is stay at POR I just love this resort and we have not been since they redid the rooms so that will be something new.

I stayed at POP once just for a couple of days and it was nice but I think the price difference to stay at POR is well worth it. we tend to stay 8 days but only do parks for five so we do spend lots of time at the resort.

 

[DisneyDiana]

I would also look into renting points for a Deluxe. We did a few years ago, paid less than we would staying at a moderate and we're forever changed in how we vacation at Disney. I fell in love with AKL! We even bought our own dvc contract.

 

[kelconic]

I don't have a lot of experience as this is my first trip (I'm here now!) but we arrived a day early and randomly ended up at POR that night before checking into our cars suite at AoA the next morning. Next time we come we will choose POR. The main reason....the beds! Never thought something like that would make a difference to me but it did this time. They were just so much more comfortable at POR and it seemed so relaxing. We do like having a little kitchen and 2 bathrooms though, so I guess it depends on your priorities

 

[OnceUponATime15]

Just back from WDW last night.. while I was happy for the opportunity to stay at Pop Century, I will stick with my moderate resorts on future stays.

(who knew I'd miss having a hot tub or the option of a TS restaurant or even that little boat to DTD! -- lol)

In all seriousness though.. I'm thinking to rent DVC points next trip. Would love to try Wilderness Lodge Villas or maybe the Beach Club Villas. Both look exquisite

 

[ptlohmysoul]

Hi Everyone I am planning a trip to Disney we are planning on next year 2014 around the Holidays so I have about a year and want some advise on where we should stay.
We are a family of four my older daughter will be home from college on break she will be 21 and my younger daughter will be 15. the only two resorts on Disney I have stayed have been pop century, and port Orleans riverside.
I really love port Orleans riverside we need to stay as cheap as possible so it will have to be value resort or one of the moderate resorts. My first thought is to say at port Orleans riverside because I know how much I love the resort one of my favorite things about it are that it is quiet and beautiful and I love the theamed pool because it has lots of trees around it and you can have shade from the sun. I also love the boat ride to downtown Disney.
I feel I really should try another resort just so I can have a new experience but I am worried I will not like the other resorts as much. I have always wanted to stay at the wilderness lodge but don't think we can afford it. any advise from others would be greatly appreciated we would also consider a value resort maybe the new art of animation. thanks for your input.

I agree that renting points and staying at a dvc studio would be a good option. Animal Kingdom Villas studios are a great option if you have any interest in seeing the animals. The pool is really nice at Kidani (where we stayed). The value studios are really cheap, but probably hard to get, unless you rent from an AKV owner.

 

[LSchrow]

something else to consider:
if booking thru DRC/CRO, you would pay the extra adult fee for your eldest daughter, for each night
if you rent DVC points, you do not pay an extra adult fee (guest count still matters, just not ages of each)

 

[jwwi]

Rent points, it is so wonderful to stay at such great resorts. OKW x2, VWL x2, BLT, BCV and AKV. The resorts are beautiful, the rooms are nice and you can't beat some of the upscale amenities. I loved each and every stay. I still miss POR, but we try to visit it on each trip.

 

[d3boyz]

I cast my vote to renting points and trying the Disney Vacation Club approach. Not only will it end up costing less, more than likely, but you will have a condo with amenities you don't have in a 'hotel' atmosphere.

The properties are also on Disney transportation and if you go to Bay Lake (the Contemporary), you're even on the monorail system. You will have the ability to cook in your accommodations, most have washer/dryer inside the room, and you get far more space than in the traditional hotel-type rooms.

Like was posted by another already, once you try this method it will forever change you idea of vacations!

Deb