Which would you go for??

[Becgaz]

Hi! So we're planning an October 2017 trip- mine and the kids first trip (hubby went with family 13 years ago)
I've been tentatively planning but now my guide books have arrived it's stepped up a notch!!

I'd more or less decided we were booking CBR as it was the cheapest for us (family of 5)
And it seemed really great but since reading the accommodation section of the unofficial guide I've had doubts. The other option for us if the prices next year are similar is POR.
If you had a choice which would you go for? Is POR worth the extra £200? Does the location make much of a difference? Unless a fly drive is the cheapest option we will only be hiring a car for maybe 5 days so will need to rely on the buses.
Any advice would be really appreciated!

 

[Woodview]

Car Hire

First how long are you going for ? What is the difference in cost for over 5 days ?

What are the ages of children ..... extra space required or not ?

Waiting for bus transport can be a pain when compared to car transport.

There is a lot of Florida to see ( within an hours drive each way ) outside of Disney area

 

[bex7583]

i really like cbr on our last visit in 2013 cbr was more expensive than por and did not accomodate 5 people , on our next disney visit i would go cbr over por

i dont mind the buses at all yes it takes a bit longer to get places but the odd days we went by car we got lost , park at transport and ticket centre then still have to get another mode of transport to park or use the tram as car park so huge , but its nice to have a drink etc with meal on a night

i do like having the car to get to non disney places though

 

[willeve]

We stayed at CBR on our first trip, it was lovely. Take reviews with a pinch of salt!

 

[Becgaz]

Car Hire

First how long are you going for ? What is the difference in cost for over 5 days ?

What are the ages of children ..... extra space required or not ?

Waiting for bus transport can be a pain when compared to car transport.

There is a lot of Florida to see ( within an hours drive each way ) outside of Disney area

I haven't actually priced up the car hire but just assumes there would be a big difference between 5 and 14 days.
With it being our first trip I don't see us going much further than the parks, DH wants to go to Kennedy and we will be going to universal for 2 days which is the days we will have the car but apart from that and a sneaky shopping trip I'm not sure we would get our money's worth from the car hire.
Our boys will be 13, 12 and 5.
Thank you for your help X

 

[Becgaz]

i really like cbr on our last visit in 2013 cbr was more expensive than por and did not accomodate 5 people , on our next disney visit i would go cbr over por

i dont mind the buses at all yes it takes a bit longer to get places but the odd days we went by car we got lost , park at transport and ticket centre then still have to get another mode of transport to park or use the tram as car park so huge , but its nice to have a drink etc with meal on a night

i do like having the car to get to non disney places though

Thank you for that, it's just so difficult deciding! It's such a big decision, I'm scared of it spoiling our holiday if I make the wrong choice! X

 

[Becgaz]

We stayed at CBR on our first trip, it was lovely. Take reviews with a pinch of salt!

Thank you, I know reviews can be misleading but I thought if the location of them made a big difference it might be worth changing my mind.
I can't wait to get it booked so I can stop stressing over it! X

 

[bex7583]

are you planning on spending a lot of time at your resort ? we had the odd hour by the pool but didnt really spend much time in the resort . It did have some lovely activities we would have liked to do , boat hire , surrey bikes etc but i didnt feel we had time to do that as our park schedule was packed out

 

[saintrob]

I've stayed at both resorts and although I enjoyed each of them, my preference is POR. I prefered the overall theming of the resort and there's not as many bus stops as at CBR.

 

[micksn]

CBR's rooms are newly refurbished and a little bit bigger than POR. (even though unofficial guide says they are the same!)

 

[scoobydooby]

I personally prefer POR and the pull down bed in the Bayou section would be fine for your five year old. Not loads of storage space for 5 in any moderate room mind and the pull down bed reduces it further. I think the pool and food court are superior at POR though but that's just personal preference. I've stayed at three Disney deluxe resorts but if space in the room wasn't an issue, I.e if travelling as a couple, I'd stay at POR every time. A tip about your a universal days. The free front of line pass given with their in site deluxe hotel stays is invaluable. I would start your trip with two days there then move to WDW. If you made it three nights and did your Kennedy trip the day you transfer to WDW once you got there your need for a car would be over. That would reduce your car hire days to four. (Day 1 arrive andcheck in at Universal, get a few hours in their parks, day 2 and 3 Universal, day 4 check out of Universal visit Kennedy Space Centre drive to WDW and dump the car).

 

[Shazzie B]

When you check out the car hire prices you may find 7 days is the same price as 4 or 5, we did. We did Universal for 4 nights then WDW for 10 similar to suggestion above. We the planned our more difficult to get to by bus meals ( other resorts) for when we still had the car.

Not all resorts suit everyone, we read some scathing resorts about OKW but loved it. If a resort appeals to you try it, I can now say there are some resorts I prefer to others but choice of resort has never spoils our holiday. It'll be great whereever you try

 

[Elise79]

Neither resort will spoil you holiday - for me it comes down to the theming you prefer.

I wouldn't be without a car whilst the buses are great nothing beats the freedom of a car.

If you look into staying at any of the Universal hotels be aware they charge for car parking at their resorts - Disney don't.

 

[Becgaz]

Thank you so much for all your excellent advice! I'm really going to have a good think about putting the universal days at the beginning of our holiday, that will mean we have to have a larger car though- we would probably need an SUV as we wouldn't be having the Disney transfer from MCO. If funds allow I think we will have the car for the full holiday. I think the transfers were making me think it would be easier for just have it for a portion of the holiday as if we don't need it for luggage we can just have a 5 seater.
Thank you for your advice regarding the hotels, I think it will probably come down to the price in the end. If here's only a small difference we might go for POR, I really love the idea of a boat to Disney springs.
xxxx

 

[scoobydooby]

Just note you may not use your car at Universal. We had a 7 seater SUV this last summer and drive it from MCO to the Hard Rock Hotel, got it concierge parked and didn't see it again for four days. That means we paid 4 days concierge parking (I hadn't thought of that!). So it was a waste of money for four days frankly we would have been better getting a taxi van from the airport and picking up the car pre Disney. We used the car nearly every day at Disney but I have done Disney without a car just fine. The pain comes not having a car if you want to eat at the resorts. If you are eating mainly at the parks and QS at your resort you really don't need a car if money is an issue.

 

[Jon84]

CBR's rooms are newly refurbished and a little bit bigger than POR. (even though unofficial guide says they are the same!)

Maybe one or two feet longer.

I'd go with the bad reviews being pre-refurb. It looks great now

 

[Shazzie B]

You can still use MDE and collect your car from Disney Car Care if that helps keep your costs down due to size.