WHy only POR?

[coastermom]

We are a family of 5 and have been to Disney a few times in the 8 years our son is with us . We did stay on site and use the POR room which I found VERY small for 5 people . We have stayed off site because of the price of a deluxe room on Disney property . We will not buy a DVC because we travel all over to amusement parks that offer perks for staying on their grounds that we can not always get with a DVC ... ( universal , Cedar Point , Bush Gardens VA Etc) We were very excited to stay at the ASMUFS on our last two visits and looking forward to the visit there next week . I wish they had rooms in this price range in other resorts or at least rooms that were not an arm and a leg for a family of 5 to stay there . There are many families that do Disney with a limited budget and it seems to me that Disney should think of this . When traveling to Universal ( for Harry Potter ) after Disney we are all in one room at the Hard Rock Hotel ! So why cant Disney make their rooms BIGGER ?? Makes ya wonder since Universal is right down the road?

 

[coastermom]

I have actually looked at them--since they first opened--and the suite at the ASM resort is more expensive than the 5 person room at POR. Go figure! LOL

The suite is also much bigger !! It has 2 full bathrooms and a private master bedroom as well as a small kitchen area with a micro and a fridge . We drive to WDW and it is a blessing for us with teen girls two full bathrooms gets us up and out earlier and the kitchen helps us get breakfast in the room which is way cheaper then eating in the park and or at the resort . BTW the pull out beds are extramly confortable as my kids are very picky where they sleep and none have an issue there .

 

[beccamarie]

Have you looked into the family suites they currently have at All Star Music?

I did look into them, but we went with offsite the first time since we were also doing Island of Adventure. I was very happy with the offsite stay, but I loved the character dining and I will be buying a dining plan next time for sure. I had no idea how much I would love Disney World and I am absolutely staying onsite next. The new hotel just sounds so neat with the theme and I think it will be neat to stay in a brand new hotel when we return.

 

[missyek]

The suite is also much bigger !! It has 2 full bathrooms and a private master bedroom as well as a small kitchen area with a micro and a fridge . We drive to WDW and it is a blessing for us with teen girls two full bathrooms gets us up and out earlier and the kitchen helps us get breakfast in the room which is way cheaper then eating in the park and or at the resort . BTW the pull out beds are extramly confortable as my kids are very picky where they sleep and none have an issue there .

LOL That is good to know too! Luckily I only have one daughter and she is the youngest at 7--who happens to be the size of a five-year-old...LOL For us, we are comfortable in just a basic room with the trundle--we don't spend a lot of time in our room anyway, so that is also a big factor when we consider pricing. While a big suite is nice, it is really not practical. But of course that could all change once the kids get into their teen years and take up too much space... LOL

 

[coastermom]

LOL That is good to know too! Luckily I only have one daughter and she is the youngest at 7--who happens to be the size of a five-year-old...LOL For us, we are comfortable in just a basic room with the trundle--we don't spend a lot of time in our room anyway, so that is also a big factor when we consider pricing. While a big suite is nice, it is really not practical. But of course that could all change once the kids get into their teen years and take up too much space... LOL

We found it so much better for the kids now that they are older and Girls take FOREVER in the bathroom as teens . If my kids were still little I would so do the POR but with teens and needing space the ASMUFS is the way to go .

 

[eeyorepixie]

I have actually looked at them--since they first opened--and the suite at the ASM resort is more expensive than the 5 person room at POR. Go figure! LOL

this is one of the reasons I do POR each trip,I have considered the Family suites and I keep saying I will try this but, POR always wins out, I love their moderat grounds, food court and pool.

 

[Missytara]

So we're just 2 people.

Why do we have to pay the same rate as 4 people?

Get my drift?

Are we excluded from the Pop Legendary Years?

Aren't those years representing people that are Senior citizens?

And, why don't they cater to senior citizens, aren't the Baby Boomers
the largest upcoming group of retirees?

What I'm really trying to say, is that Disney can't accommodate every possible group. I don't expect ANYTHING. But I do realize that sometimes
my particular circumstance would not fit the norm either.

Room rates are always based on double occupancy for any hotel/resort. You pay for the third/fourth adult in the room.

I travel alone and I have to pay for double occupancy wherever I go, but with all the amentities, I still see my Disney trip as a very affordable vacation.

 

[Missytara]

I really wish they'd add the trundle beds to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and Wilderness Lodge bunkbed rooms. What would be better for a family with 3 kids to have a seperate bed for each of their kids. Since the bunkbed only takes up the floor space of a twin bed there should be plenty of room for the trundle bed to pull out. We are a family of 4 so it doesn't affect us either way, but to me it would be a great option for a family of 5 to be able to stay at these two amazing resorts without haveing to get two rooms or a more expensive "Jr. suite" or whatever they are calling the rooms that sleep 5 at WL.

It is not about the floor space in the room, it is about the space of exiting outside the building in case of a fire.

Say you have 12 rooms on each side of the hallway and you add one extra person per room. That is 24 extra people who now have to exit that hallway, which means you have to widen that hallway to accommodate those extra people.

 

[tinkerbellybutton]

It is not about the floor space in the room, it is about the space of exiting outside the building in case of a fire.

Say you have 12 rooms on each side of the hallway and you add one extra person per room. That is 24 extra people who now have to exit that hallway, which means you have to widen that hallway to accommodate those extra people.

I understand what your saying, but I don't buy into Disney's Fire Code excuse at all. I'm sure they do what they do from a profit stand point, and why wouldn't they, they are a buisness after all. Maybe next time I'll take my tape measure becaue the halls at the Poly seem tiny. Those rooms ALL sleep 5. I'd love to know the measurements of the halls at the deluxe resorts that sleep 5 vs. the deluxe resorts that only sleep 4 (WL & AKL). Because the halls at WL and AKL didn't seem to be any smaller than the other deluxe resorts we've stayed at.

 

[disneyobessed]

I understand what your saying, but I don't buy into Disney's Fire Code excuse at all. I'm sure they do what they do from a profit stand point, and why wouldn't they, they are a buisness after all. Maybe next time I'll take my tape measure becaue the halls at the Poly seem tiny. Those rooms ALL sleep 5. I'd love to know the measurements of the halls at the deluxe resorts that sleep 5 vs. the deluxe resorts that only sleep 4 (WL & AKL). Because the halls at WL and AKL didn't seem to be any smaller than the other deluxe resorts we've stayed at.

The halls at WL actually seem big!!!

 

[tinkerbellybutton]

The halls at WL actually seem big!!!

That's exactly what I was thinking too.

 

[disneyobessed]

Unfortunatly Im sure there are people that break the rule and do put 5 in a room... not everybody buys a package..

 

[Missytara]

I understand what your saying, but I don't buy into Disney's Fire Code excuse at all. I'm sure they do what they do from a profit stand point, and why wouldn't they, they are a buisness after all. Maybe next time I'll take my tape measure becaue the halls at the Poly seem tiny. Those rooms ALL sleep 5. I'd love to know the measurements of the halls at the deluxe resorts that sleep 5 vs. the deluxe resorts that only sleep 4 (WL & AKL). Because the halls at WL and AKL didn't seem to be any smaller than the other deluxe resorts we've stayed at.

Yes, but the original question was about the mods and the mods have outside entrances with narrow walkways - I should have used that example instead of the hallway example - my bad.

Since elevators cannot be used in case of fire (because they are shafts and the fire can go from floor to floor), say you had a row of twenty rooms on the second floor and the third floor at POR in the mansions going to one exit stairwell. That means 20 extra people using the same stairwell from the third to the second floor, and 40 extra people using the stairwell from the second floor to the ground level. If the resort was at capacity, you see what could easily happen.

Fire codes are not excuses; they are set by precedences from unfortunate fires that have occurred and been studied over time. While sprinklered buildings, such as those required by hotels/motels or resorts, have additional time to exit people out of the building; it is still difficult to handle shear volume.

If you have traveled in the US, you will know that most hotels are based on an occupancy of 4; someone mentioned that several posts back.

I know; I am an architect and now a construction manager - I see this every day.

 

[snykymom]

^^So the fire code may be based on total occupancy of the floor/building, not just on occupancy of a particular room?

 

[Deb & Bill]

Ah, but remember Disney is, for the mostpart, autonomous. As such, Disney sets its own fire codes.

I've never bought into that logic. And I'm not saying it's YOUR logic. I know that's Disney's line if asked about those occupancy limits. The rooms at Caribbean Beach are 340 square feet, whereas Riverside rooms are 314 square feet. Doesn't make sense that a smaller room is safer for 5 guests than a larger room.

Further - a king bed room will hold only 2 guests, while that EXACT same room at ANY other moderate resort will accommodate 4 guests, or 5 guests if it's Port Orleans Riverside.

I truly believe the motive behind Disney's occupancy limits are strictly profit based.

I understand what your saying, but I don't buy into Disney's Fire Code excuse at all. I'm sure they do what they do from a profit stand point, and why wouldn't they, they are a buisness after all. Maybe next time I'll take my tape measure becaue the halls at the Poly seem tiny. Those rooms ALL sleep 5. I'd love to know the measurements of the halls at the deluxe resorts that sleep 5 vs. the deluxe resorts that only sleep 4 (WL & AKL). Because the halls at WL and AKL didn't seem to be any smaller than the other deluxe resorts we've stayed at.

^^So the fire code may be based on total occupancy of the floor/building, not just on occupancy of a particular room?

The fire codes are based on the fire in 1911 at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory that killed many people who were unable to evacuate the building safely.

In 1982, there was a terrible fire in the Westchase Hilton in Houston, TX that killed 12 people. I'm really familiar with that one because it happened the night before my wedding and most of the people killed were there for a wedding. I got many calls that morning from family and friends who weren't at the wedding concerned that some of the deceased were friends or family of ours.

In 2006, there was a fire at the Grand Californian Hotel at Disneyland that caused the evacuation of 2000 guests.

Any large company that does not build or manage it's lodging facilities based on the fire codes is asking for tons of negative publicity and lawsuits should a fire occur at their location. Disney has already dodged a bullet with the GC hotel.

 

[Brian Noble]

For larger families Disney loses, because off site looks better and better to a large family. I know I have considered Winsor Hills more than once, but free dining keeps me at POR

I'm not sure how Disney is losing here---you're still going!

But, even with my family of four, I would rather stay offsite in a condo than in one of Disney's regular hotel rooms, no matter the size.

 

[DebbieB]

I understand what your saying, but I don't buy into Disney's Fire Code excuse at all. I'm sure they do what they do from a profit stand point, and why wouldn't they, they are a buisness after all. Maybe next time I'll take my tape measure becaue the halls at the Poly seem tiny. Those rooms ALL sleep 5. I'd love to know the measurements of the halls at the deluxe resorts that sleep 5 vs. the deluxe resorts that only sleep 4 (WL & AKL). Because the halls at WL and AKL didn't seem to be any smaller than the other deluxe resorts we've stayed at.

I don't buy into it either, it's mostly a business decision. I've read that Disney is well under the fire code occupancy rules in their hotels. Disney's occupancy rules and fire code rules are not necessarily equal. Disney can limit the room occupancy to less than the fire code, which I think they do. Why? Because they can make more money. There is no fire code that says you must allow maximum occupancy per room.

 

[maxiesmom]

I don't buy into it either, it's mostly a business decision. I've read that Disney is well under the fire code occupancy rules in their hotels. Disney's occupancy rules and fire code rules are not necessarily equal. Disney can limit the room occupancy to less than the fire code, which I think they do. Why? Because they can make more money. There is no fire code that says you must allow maximum occupancy per room.

Do you care to post a link to where you read that?

Or you could look at it this way. Say Disney doesn't totally fill their resorts to capacity. And think about how much crabbing there is on how there are no seats at the pool, and how full the busses are. Think adding people to the resorts will solve that problem? Why should Disney add people to the existing resorts, making their crowding problems even worse?

And would it make financial sense to add guests when you would then have to turn around and have more busses, more bus drivers, buy more gas, have more staffing at the food courts, have more lifeguards and so on and so on.

I'm betting they have it figured out pretty well how many people they can handle with the system they have in place, and don't want to have to spend more money to accomodate more people if they don't have to.

Though I do tend to believe someone who actually works in the industry (Missytara) then people who don't, and just want to blame Disney for not being able to accomodate their particular wants in a room set up.

 

[tinkerbellybutton]

I don't buy into it either, it's mostly a business decision. I've read that Disney is well under the fire code occupancy rules in their hotels. Disney's occupancy rules and fire code rules are not necessarily equal. Disney can limit the room occupancy to less than the fire code, which I think they do. Why? Because they can make more money. There is no fire code that says you must allow maximum occupancy per room.

I totally agree, and this was exactly the point I was trying to make. I did not mean that fire codes themseleves were excuses, I completely understand that fire codes are there for the safety of guests, but I feel that Disney uses the fire code as their excuse for not allowing more per room, when the fire code would likely not be exceeded with an extra person in some of the rooms. As I said before the hallways at some of the resorts that allow 5 per room appear, to me at least, to be smaller than at some of the resorts that only allow 4. But I could be totally wrong. I think I'll take my handy dandy tape measure with me in Oct. and take some measurments of the halls. LOL.

And like I said in an earlier post, I have a family of 4 so it really doesn't affect me either way, but it would be nice to see larger families have more options. I do, however, understand both sides of the situation/"argument". When choosing to have more than two children surely one can't expect every establishment to accomodate them. If we were to have any more children I wouldn't expect Disney, or any other place, to lower the prices of their deluxe accomodations so that I can better afford to take my larger family, or complain that the only resorts I can afford, value family suites or POR, are not to my liking. Some of the comments I've read on here have made me scratch my head and say "Really?????".

 

[DebbieB]

Do you care to post a link to where you read that?

Or you could look at it this way. Say Disney doesn't totally fill their resorts to capacity. And think about how much crabbing there is on how there are no seats at the pool, and how full the busses are. Think adding people to the resorts will solve that problem? Why should Disney add people to the existing resorts, making their crowding problems even worse?

And would it make financial sense to add guests when you would then have to turn around and have more busses, more bus drivers, buy more gas, have more staffing at the food courts, have more lifeguards and so on and so on.

I'm betting they have it figured out pretty well how many people they can handle with the system they have in place, and don't want to have to spend more money to accomodate more people if they don't have to.

Though I do tend to believe someone who actually works in the industry (Missytara) then people who don't, and just want to blame Disney for not being able to accomodate their particular wants in a room set up.

I saw it on a post, I don't think there was an official link. I do agree that additional occupancy would put a greater load on the other resort services but I just don't believe it's fire code. It's a business decision they made. They want to push larger families/groups into more expensive accomodations, either 2 rooms or a different resort.

For example, most of the DVC 1 bedrooms have an official occupancy of 4 with a king bed and queen sleeper. But DVC member services will accept a reservation for 5 with the note that they do not provide additional bedding or linens. They do not accept 5 for a CRO reservation. Do you really think 4 is the fire code? But they accept reservations for 5 for members, breaking fire code? There's no way the fire code is 4, that would be a huge liability issue for them if there was a fire. I think that's an example of where they have some "wiggle room" with the fire code vs their room occupancy.