Which is likely to be more expensive? (FW Cabins vs. Port Orleans)

[2019TripIdeas]

Hi-
Brand new to planning, so I apologize if this is a silly question. We'll be traveling in either February or March 2019 and trying to think thru resorts that might work best for our family. We have 3 kids (4/2/18 months at time of trip) and they're easy about sharing a bed, going to bed at same time, etc so space is not a huge issue (2 Queens plus a pack n play is fine).

I went to price things out and noticed I couldn't go that far in advance. In general, if we're shooting for a not-super-busy week (assuming February will be better on that), my question is which of these resorts would generally be least expensive?

-Fort Wilderness Cabins
-Port Orleans Riverside or POFQ

I don't think we can swing a deluxe (I'm thinking an upper limit of around $300 a night max), but are there other moderates that I should consider? A great pool area (or a kiddie pool/splash play area) would be a plus. In looking at other dates, Boardwalk and Beach Club, AK Lodge and Wilderness Lodge all seem to run higher than $300/nt-- would you say that's true even at a "low" time?

 

[dansdad]

Hi-
Brand new to planning, so I apologize if this is a silly question. We'll be traveling in either February or March 2019 and trying to think thru resorts that might work best for our family. We have 3 kids (4/2/18 months at time of trip) and they're easy about sharing a bed, going to bed at same time, etc so space is not a huge issue (2 Queens plus a pack n play is fine).

I went to price things out and noticed I couldn't go that far in advance. In general, if we're shooting for a not-super-busy week (assuming February will be better on that), my question is which of these resorts would generally be least expensive?

-Fort Wilderness Cabins
-Port Orleans Riverside or POFQ

I don't think we can swing a deluxe (I'm thinking an upper limit of around $300 a night max), but are there other moderates that I should consider? A great pool area (or a kiddie pool/splash play area) would be a plus. In looking at other dates, Boardwalk and Beach Club, AK Lodge and Wilderness Lodge all seem to run higher than $300/nt-- would you say that's true even at a "low" time?

POFQ will generally be around $150 less per night than the Cabins.

 

[StageTek]

Port Orleans are generally less expensive than the Cabins. I just got back from my first stay in the Cabins (end of Jan) and price checked both.

The downside is access to the pools. Few Cabins are within walking distance (though you can request a close one) and while the resort busses are great they are not terribly convenient.
The upside if you have a car is parking right at your cabin and the full kitchen. Even with three old guys and no kids and eating out every meal except breakfast that kitchen with its full size fridge, coffee maker and toaster came in really handy.
If you won't have a car I'd say it's much better at Port Orleans.

 

[Crystal824]

The cabins will be more money, but it will provide you with more space. POR and POFQ will be about the same price, but it might be a tight squeeze for a family of 5. POR does have the Murphy bed in some rooms, which you may or may not need given that your little one will probably still use a pack n play. My kids loved the pull down bed. They argued over who got to sleep in it.

 

[Average Joes]

You say that space is not an issue. I take it that it does not matter that much to your family. Price seems to be more important. The difference in price between the two would go a long way in covering your food costs if you stayed at POFQ. Granted you can offset the difference in price to some extent by making meals at the cabins. I found the internal buses a bit of a pain at the cabins. We did not have a car so we rented a golf cart. That was an added cost.

You may want to research the pros/cons of renting a DVC if you really wanted a Deluxe. There are some that would be under $300 a night. From your list above a standard at AKL might be the cheapest. I did not run the numbers for your dates but we have paid $200/night tax in for a week. I understand that the standard BW rooms are a bit less but hard to get.

 

[2019TripIdeas]

I found the internal buses a bit of a pain at the cabins. We did not have a car so we rented a golf cart. That was an added cost.

You may want to research the pros/cons of renting a DVC if you really wanted a Deluxe. There are some that would be under $300 a night. From your list above a standard at AKL might be the cheapest. I did not run the numbers for your dates but we have paid $200/night tax in for a week. I understand that the standard BW rooms are a bit less but hard to get.

The bus thing is my greatest concern and what's putting me off the cabins a little bit. Sure, the space and kitchen would be nice, but it seems like in the event we wanted to take kids back to hotel to nap, getting to the cabins would take a seriously long time. We would likely not have a rental car either.

Thank you for pointing out DVC- I'm not super familiar so I'll look into it. Does renting DVC still get you all the on-site perks in terms of reservations/fast passes and whatnot?

 

[dansdad]

Does renting DVC still get you all the on-site perks in terms of reservations/fast passes and whatnot?

Most definitely.