Wilderness Lodge or Port Orleans?

[fitzperry]

Hi - This is my first post here. We are planning a trip to WDW in October and are trying to decide whether it is worth the added expense to upgrade to a deluxe resort. This will be our second trip to WDW with kid or kids in tow. We were there about 3 years ago and stayed in a Downtown Disney hotel. Since we weren't thrilled with the transportation between DTD and the parks, we want to stay onsite this time. I was leaning toward a moderate resort (probably PO-FQ or CBR), but some of the research I've done suggests that the dining facilities are less than adequate at the moderate resorts (especially in terms of their capacity to handle the number of guests at the hotel), and the resorts are fairly distant from other dining options. Our kids will be 6 and 2 1/2 when we travel, so easy access to food is definitely an issue! We'll be flying to Orlando and would rather not hassle with a rental car, so we're considering upgrading to Wilderness Lodge, primarily for the amenities. Anyone with experience in this area? Is it worth the extra $600 or $700 for the week to stay at WL?

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

 

[grumpy's fan]

I've stayed at both WL and POR and prefer POR. The WL is nice and the "theme"ing is great, but I prefer POR due to the dining options. WL has a nice sit down restaurant (Artist Point) and Whispering Canyon which is an interactive (translated=loud!!!) restaurant and a very small food court. POR has a nice sit down (Boatwrights) and a very large food court (Sassagoula Steamboat) which had a nice selection of items. The boat transportation to MK from WL is great but the busses from POR were fine as well...just took a little longer to get there. I actually liked my room better at POR (Mansions section) and the staff seemed friendlier as well. Hope this helps..

 

[TN Traveler]

I haven't stayed at WL but have stayed at PO-FQ and POR. I absolutely LOVE POR. We stayed in the AB area and yes, I must admit it is spread out somewhat but we didn't mind it really. Of course we have a 45 acre farm so maybe that's a factor too?! We ate breakfast and dinner at the resort several days and have to honestly say the food was very good. Good selection too. Unless I had the extra money, I wouldn't spend the additional $600 or so. Save it and go again in another year or so!

Karen

 

[Collette]

We have stayed at both POFQ and WL. For cost reasons, we are going back to POFQ in October. I'm excited about staying in the newly refurbished rooms. It was the first WDW resort we stayed in so I have a sentimental attachment to it also. Our kids were older than yours are and I'm trying to think which I would prefer with little ones.

The food options are less at the small WL food court, but from the menu, I see that it has some of the kids staples.

I like the indoor corridors of WL and I just love that it is such a quiet, soothing place to return too after a long day in the parks. Everyone puts a different price on things so it is difficult to say if it is worth the extra money. I suppose a lot depends on how often you can return also. We don't go very often so I don't mind spending a little more for what I like - once I decide what that is

Have fun planning!!

Collette

 

[NotTooGoofy]

I've stayed at POR and WL and enjoyed both. In addition to the previous comments, WL rooms are noticeably larger that POR's and WL had queen size beds vs. double beds. My DW and I are used to sleeping a king size bed so when we travel and have to sleep in a double bed, it definitely takes some getting used to.

Good Luck!

 

[Luigi's Girl]

IMO the extra money is definitely worth it. My family loves the WL much more than POR Mansions. The AB section was definitely not somewhere we would want to stay again but that is just our opinion. I'm sure whichever resort you choose you will enjoy it and have a good time, but since you asked, my vote goes to the WL. Good Luck!

 

[diswedwish]

Have you thought about staying at both? In Jan. we're planning to stay 8 nights at POR and the last 3 at WL. We did a split-stay last time and it is very easy - Disney transports everything for you. We love POR, but we also enjoy being able to try a Deluxe without paying a higher price all week. HTH and have a fun trip

 

[chyam]

I have been a WL devotee since it opened, I love the woodsy feel to it since living in Florida it feels like a world away.............but this past April I stayed at POFQ and I was extremely happy with it, the grounds are beautiful and just as peaceful as the WL. The rooms have all been redone too, although the FQ only has one pool, Riverside has one main and several quiet pools and it is a short distance away. You are also able to use the food courts at either resort and there are sit down restaurants, In my opinion the food courts there are much better than at the WL, it is small and seating is limited. For the $600.00 more at the WL I would chose the PO resorts, yes you are not a boat ride away from the MK but you are a boat ride away from DD. There are pros and cons to each but I can think of other ways to spend that kind of money other than a room. I am returning to the FQ again in Oct. and may do the WL in Dec. but decided that I can be happy at each of these resorts and it is not a must to stay at the WL anymore. I would take the extra money and treat yourselves to some nice sit down meals at the parks. In general most people do not spend all that much time in their rooms, and as I said the grounds at the PO are absolutely beautiful.

 

[stacy6552]

Stayed at both. Hands down Wildreness Lodge is the better place. I totally think its worth every extra penny you will spend there.

 

[Troy08]

My vote goes to WL-will be checking in there Monday. With little ones, I would definately choose the Lodge just for the convenience. I enjoy the moderates, especially CBR, but if you can afford it-splurge for a deluxe.

Or as someone else suggested, why not a split stay? Start out at POR and then switch to WL-will give you a better feel of what is right for your family in future stays.

 

[rkmassa]

Cancelled our reservations for WL and changed to POR. We looked at the themeing and liked it, but not that much. The money was a little bit of an issue. No standard rooms left for AAA discounts or Best Rate program. Had a room booked with AAA--Woods view, but just decided to switch to POR. The food court was also not what we had hoped. Checked online and didn't like the limited choices. We will be happy staying at POR and saving lots of money to do other things. I would suggest checking out the threads on both here and also checking other web sites to see if the theme, food, recreation, etc. are things you would enjoy and want to pay extra for.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

When we had to change our July reservations at BC, no reasonably priced deluxes were available. We ended up downgrading to POR and were excited about trying a new resort. In May, we really enjoyed spending the last 2 days at CSR. These were days we decided to add-on at the last minute. CSR was all that was available. After spending the previous 8 days at AKL, I didn't expect to like CSR as much as we did. We loved it! So...I really wasn't too disappointed about changing to POR. However, I quickly changed my tune when deluxe rooms became available 2 weeks later. To make a long story short, we've now switched to the WL. This works perfectly for us, since we will not have a car this trip and already have ADR's at CG and Kona. We also have an 8:05 a.m. ADR at CP, and I know that arriving on time for this will no longer be a problem. My advice: just choose the resort you like the most. All of the WDW resorts are well-designed and themed.

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

We have a 5 yr. old dd and have stayed at the WL for our past 2 visits, the most recent being May '05. It is our favorite resort so far, but we're trying POFQ for our Dec. trip, mostly because we have family coming to meet us in Orlando and cost is an issue with them as they also have to pay for airfare (we can drive). I'm hoping I like it just as much as the WL, it gets great reviews here.

 

[KittyKitty]

Since we all know this won't be your last visit!!!! Try out POR and take a boat ride over to WL from Magic Kingdom to check it out. POR is beautiful and you will love their food court, boatride to Downtown Disney, Surrey ride around the huge resort, fishing, slide at the main pool.

WL has the geiser, trail to Fort Wilderness, boatride to MK, small nighttime fireworks in the water(cannot remember the name), water sprites, a lobby that knocks your socks off.

I tend to hang out at the resort more than normal, so AK is my favorite,but would stay at POR if finances can't swing it

You will not be disappointed either way.

Have a great time.

 

[fitzperry]

Thanks so much for all your suggestions. We're leaning toward POFQ at this point, but that may change ten times before I make the reservation! Either way, I know we'll have a great time!

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

We also have stayed at both. While we love POFQ, we prefer the WL. We were going to cut costs and stay at POFQ for our fall trip, but decided the $1,000 extra was worth it for us. Either way, you will have a great time.

 

[Lou-Ann]

Please do not be afraid to tthr POR resorts. We are devotees of WL and thought we could stay no where else. We tried POFQ in May and were so ver pleasantly surprised. Except for missing the beautiful lobby we found POR to have everything we wanted and needed. We are going back again.

 

[magicmato]

Just be aware that POFQ may not be available. We tried to get it for our end of november trip and all they had was king sized rooms.

So, we ended up at WL... and are thrilled.

It was not very much more for us to 'upgrade' to this resort from a moderate and since the parks I know we will spend the most time in are Magic Kingdom and Epcot, well, it made sense for us. Also, we have two very young children... 4 and under 2, so I think the indoor corridors will be nice if we happen to need to get snacks or drinks when it is raining.

Also, since we are going while the Christmas decorations are up, the WL beats other resorts hands down on decorations! (So I have been told, lol.)

 

[AngieInOH]

Yikes! I was going to post the same question. It's my big delima too.

DH says we're on vacation and we should spend the extra money (he's a salesman and is making pretty good comissions right now). I however, remember how those commissions can go south and am much more money conscious.

DH would like to do a split stay at WL and AKL, I would like to do the same but the thought of saving $800 is music to my ears

We also have a DS (5) so we'll be spending alot of our time at MK.

So if you had the money but you love saving what would you do?

Ooooops almost forgot.....we'll be there Nov 14-21 does that change things? Will X-mas decorations be up?

 

[magicmato]

Christmas decorations go up the day after Thanksgiving, iirc.