Extra Day vs Nicer Resort

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DrexelDragon

New Member
Original Poster
Hello Again,

I recently had a thread in here about myself and my girlfriend going on a trip this Christmastime from Dec 26th-30th. The consensus of that thread was that we should stay at POFQ which sounds good to us :)

However, we were doing some math and for pretty much the same price we can stay an extra day and stay from the 26th-31st if we stay at Art of Animation instead of POFQ.

What do you all think? Worth it to "downgrade" to AoA to stay an extra day? Or should we stick with the original dates and stay at POFQ?

Thanks for all the help :)
 
belledream

belledream

Well-Known Member
I would take the extra day, especially around the holidays, because the parks will be crowded...you'll want the extra time!

This is also coming from someone who lives at the parks from open to close, so I truly appreciate and embrace value resorts. I get the appeal of the fancier resort though!

If money is a concern, then you should also consider that staying an extra day might cost the same at first, but then food will bump it up as well. But hey, you're on vacation!
 
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DrexelDragon

New Member
Original Poster
belledream said:
I would take the extra day, especially around the holidays, because the parks will be crowded...you'll want the extra time!

This is also coming from someone who lives at the parks from open to close, so I truly appreciate and embrace value resorts. I get the appeal of the fancier resort though!

If money is a concern, then you should also consider that staying an extra day might cost the same at first, but then food will bump it up as well. But hey, you're on vacation!
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Extra day is what I was thinking, I just don't know how crowded/noisy AoA will be since all kids will be on break as well.

I did the math with the dining plan and it is only a few bucks more expensive but I think it's worth it for an extra day.
 
belledream

belledream

Well-Known Member
DrexelDragon said:
Extra day is what I was thinking, I just don't know how crowded/noisy AoA will be since all kids will be on break as well.

I did the math with the dining plan and it is only a few bucks more expensive but I think it's worth it for an extra day.
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That's great then! I would definitely go for it. I go for 10 days right now - I feel that if I pay a good sum to travel to FL, I might as well stay as long as time/money permits. I don't doubt that it will be chaotic during that time, but I would consider it as a small price to pay for a better reward :)
 
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DrexelDragon

New Member
Original Poster
belledream said:
That's great then! I would definitely go for it. I go for 10 days right now - I feel that if I pay a good sum to travel to FL, I might as well stay as long as time/money permits. I don't doubt that it will be chaotic during that time, but I would consider it as a small price to pay for a better reward :)
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10 days? Whoa, if only... lol Maybe once I get a full-time job/out of college and married we'll be able to afford that!
 
belledream

belledream

Well-Known Member
DrexelDragon said:
10 days? Whoa, if only... lol Maybe once I get a full-time job/out of college and married we'll be able to afford that!
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Haha #1 reason to get a job! I graduated ~2 years ago so I know what you mean. This is obviously where all my vacation time goes to. Worth it.;)
 
WDWoptmist

WDWoptmist

Well-Known Member
I would go with POFQ it is such a great resort and the theming is incredible I think it may be a better payoff than the extra day...atleast until the day you leave comes and then you will be like damnit I could still be there hahaha tough call
 
popcenturylover

popcenturylover

Well-Known Member
DrexelDragon said:
Extra day is what I was thinking, I just don't know how crowded/noisy AoA will be since all kids will be on break as well.

I did the math with the dining plan and it is only a few bucks more expensive but I think it's worth it for an extra day.
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I vote extra day! We stayed at AOA in September 12' & it was pretty crowded then so, I can imagine it'll be pretty busy during the holidays! I look at it this way that we use the resorts just to lay our head down for the night. Unless you have children to take afternoon breaks or come back early to swim & or go to bed I'd rather have extra time in the parks!!!
 
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DrexelDragon

New Member
Original Poster
popcenturylover said:
I vote extra day! We stayed at AOA in September 12' & it was pretty crowded then so, I can imagine it'll be pretty busy during the holidays! I look at it this way that we use the resorts just to lay our head down for the night. Unless you have children to take afternoon breaks or come back early to swim & or go to bed I'd rather have extra time in the parks!!!
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The only thing I'm worried about is AoA being over the top with the theming. I love Disney but I feel like the Little Mermaid room is going to get annoying quickly lol
 
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DrexelDragon

New Member
Original Poster
WDWoptmist said:
I would go with POFQ it is such a great resort and the theming is incredible I think it may be a better payoff than the extra day...atleast until the day you leave comes and then you will be like damnit I could still be there hahaha tough call
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Haha yes it is!

cw1982 said:
I vote extra day. We are staying for six days, and I'm still paranoid that we'll run out of time lol.
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Well I've been to Disney many times so I don't worry about missing anything cause I've seen it all :p I just wonder if the extra day might be good for us to rest and not run around all day
 
got2lovedisney

got2lovedisney

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
I absolutely love POFQ and would opt to stay there but I have the advantage of having been to the World many many Many times so an extra day here or there won't make a difference to me. That time period is going to be nuts crowded no matter where you stay so grab the extra day. Remember, even if you decide to stay at AoA, you can always visit the other resorts and enjoy their ambiance, especially all the different decorations up during the holidays. Have fun!
 
popcenturylover

popcenturylover

Well-Known Member
DrexelDragon said:
The only thing I'm worried about is AoA being over the top with the theming. I love Disney but I feel like the Little Mermaid room is going to get annoying quickly lol
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We loved it! (especially, our DD4!) The rooms aren't that bad. There is a light green paint on the wall with pictures of the little mermaid & friends. There's also a colorful room divider & shower curtain. When we stayed there they had bedspreads but, I think they've changed that since. The carpet is probably the ugliest part of the whole room!
 
rt06

rt06

Well-Known Member
DrexelDragon said:
Extra day is what I was thinking, I just don't know how crowded/noisy AoA will be since all kids will be on break as well.

I did the math with the dining plan and it is only a few bucks more expensive but I think it's worth it for an extra day.
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Drop the DDP ($120/day for two). You will not go hungry on half that budget. Then maybe you can get POFQ and the extra day with a couple of romantic dinners thrown in.
 
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DrexelDragon

New Member
Original Poster
rt06 said:
Drop the DDP ($120/day for two). You will not go hungry on half that budget. Then maybe you can get POFQ and the extra day with a couple of romantic dinners thrown in.
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I get where you would say this and it seems logical - however I want to eat at signature restaurants every night lol
 
lebeau

lebeau

Well-Known Member
As it stands, you have 5 days in the parks. Two of them will be travel days. So really, only 3 quality days at the parks. And the parks will be wall to wall. So it may be difficult to see and do everything you want to in that time. Especially if you are taking the time for signature dining.

Ultimately, this comes down to how much time you're going to spend in the parks. If you plan to be in the parks most of your day, go for the extra day. If you plan to spend a lot of time at the resort, I would go for the Mod.

If you are worried about the theme at AoA, why not stay at Pop? You would save a couple bucks, the rooms would be less garish and you can easily walk over to AoA if you want to check it out. AoA doesn't have much of a leg up on Pop outside of theme. I hear their food court even got an upgrade to be on par with Landscape of Flavors.
 
slappy magoo

slappy magoo

Well-Known Member
lebeau said:
As it stands, you have 5 days in the parks. Two of them will be travel days. So really, only 3 quality days at the parks. And the parks will be wall to wall. So it may be difficult to see and do everything you want to in that time. Especially if you are taking the time for signature dining.

Ultimately, this comes down to how much time you're going to spend in the parks. If you plan to be in the parks most of your day, go for the extra day. If you plan to spend a lot of time at the resort, I would go for the Mod.

If you are worried about the theme at AoA, why not stay at Pop? You would save a couple bucks, the rooms would be less garish and you can easily walk over to AoA if you want to check it out. AoA doesn't have much of a leg up on Pop outside of theme. I hear their food court even got an upgrade to be on par with Landscape of Flavors.
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What's in bold is probably the best advice. In your position, I'd lean a little more towards the extra day, too. But then I remember the second trip I took with my wife, back when we were still just technically dating and unofficially engaged, 9 years ago. It was Easter Break so comparable crowds. We were staying in Riverside, near a quiet pool. Parks were wall to wall people, so being in a resort that had some amenities came in handier than we originally thought. We'd use early morning EMH to get a couple of rides in but soon enough the crowds would become overwhelming, and we'd go back to Riverside. Even then, Ol' Man Island would be so packed that you couldn't find a place to drop your gear to go into a pool, and there was precious little to room to swim if you did, so we'd head to the quiet pool, rent boats or surrey bikes, take walks...I think one of the reasons we became DVC members is because by taking the tour we got 3 free fastpasses! :D It wound up being a much more slower-paced trip than the previous one, because if you tried to "do everything," you were only going to be disappointed.

So if you think you might be in a similar situation, I'd go for the place that has more things to do, because you may e spending more time there than you'd think. In fact, I'd even argue seeing if you could get into Coronado instead. Prices should be comparable to FQ (apologies if they're not) but seems to have a few more amenities (including something akin to a nightlife if you and your S.O. like to dance). The exception to my advice would be if you have access to a car. Because if you do have a car while you're down there, you can always drive to any of the other resorts for meal reservations, or renting boats or any other amenities available to people not staying at the resort like the pools.
 

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