Give me best resort/room advice for this group please!

[SuprDav]

We have made 3 trips including my wife, daughter and myself. That always meant one room with double beds at whatever resort we stayed at. Now for one last go around before my daughter graduates high school we are thinking of letting her bring a friend. So with 2 adults and 2 teenage girls, please give me some suggestions on room type. We are average people with average paychecks so cost is a major factor. Thanks!

 

[Beholder]

All Stars are ok, but you're teenage daughters may prefer a moderate resort. Mine does. I'm probably on the "below average" income chart, so price is big for us. Port Orleans French Quarter or Riverside are nice (French Quarter is more "elegant" I guess..?), and CBR is good for the beach/tropical atmosphere. I believe all the standard rooms sleep 4, so that shouldn't be a problem. We're going 2/8/12-5/8/12 for a soccer tournament and we'll be at the Port Orleans River Side. I like the water taxi's to DTD, but the resort is kind of spread out.

That's just info based off of my own experiences, I'm sure much better informed/knowledgeable people will chime in with better tips/information.

 

[Nemo14]

I'd recommend 2 connecting rooms at a Value resort like Pop Century. 2 bathrooms and the privacy alone would make it worthwhile to me.

 

[GoochDSA]

I would go with 2 rooms close together at either a value or a mod (Pop, AoA or POR would be my choices), depending on what you consider to be an average paycheck. This will allow you to keep your eye on them and at the same time give them a little bit of freedom to be on their own.

 

[disneygirl76]

Do you want a room that you can all share or do you want 2 separate rooms? You can ask for connecting rooms at a value (for cost effective reasons) or one room at a moderate. The royal rooms at POR have 2 queen beds.

 

[jmargarone27]

If you don't want say a villa at one of the DVC resorts, your best bet is a deluxe resort as their rooms are much larger. I would recommend one of the monorail resorts or Yacht/Beach Club 94 Boardwalk (whatever is more your style.) My personal favorite is the Grand Floridian, and it sounds like this trip is special. Maybe you should take the plunge and go the top of the top? Just a suggestion.

 

[jlsHouston]

Do you want a room that you can all share or do you want 2 separate rooms? You can ask for connecting rooms at a value (for cost effective reasons) or one room at a moderate. The royal rooms at POR have 2 queen beds.

Good suggestions here, I would probably not do an All Stars Resort, I would instead go for POP or AofA if thinking Value. If I was going for AofA , I might just get the suite that has 2 bathrooms, depends on how much privacy you want. I think the suggestion of the POR royal rooms is a good one and CSR also has queens and has these sliding doors that close off the bathroom area for a little more privacy when showering/dressing. If it was me I would probably get 2 of the cheapest connecting rooms at POP, since most likely the room is for sleep and getting ready and that way everyone has their space.

 

[SuprDav]

I've been checking out the AoA on the website. I'd like some feedback from anyone who has stayed in their 2 bath suites. In the past we have stayed at CBR, CSR & ASM but that was always one room with 2 adults and 1 child. I wonder if the better value would be 2 connecting rooms at Pop (or maybe even a mod) or a suite at AoA?

 

[dreamfinder]

Are you going to be asking the friend (friends parents) to help pay? That could make a big difference. I don't think the girls would have a problem sharing a bed. If they do offer to help pay, maybe look into renting DVC points and doing a 1 bedroom? They would still most likely end up sharing a bed (pull out couch) but you would have the extra room and the ability to be separate, but still right there. Any second room situation other than adjoining just sounds sketchy to me. There is no guarantee you would end up near each other, and they will require each room to have a registered adult.

 

[SuprDav]

Are you going to be asking the friend (friends parents) to help pay? That could make a big difference. I don't think the girls would have a problem sharing a bed. If they do offer to help pay, maybe look into renting DVC points and doing a 1 bedroom? They would still most likely end up sharing a bed (pull out couch) but you would have the extra room and the ability to be separate, but still right there. Any second room situation other than adjoining just sounds sketchy to me. There is no guarantee you would end up near each other, and they will require each room to have a registered adult.

No, if we invite a guest, they will be a guest. I've explored the 2 connecting room options at Pop in the past and that's probably the way to go. I just wanted to hear some other expreiences on connecting rooms at the mods and the suites. As far as how they decide to sleep, that's the kid's problem . I think the larger issues for the grownups is having enough bathrooms. Even with 2 baths, when you figure it would be 3 females vs. 1 male, I'd still be heading to the nearest public use restroom every monring.

 

[Spikerdink]

I don't know the cost, but you may want to look into renting a two bedroom lock off at Old Key West. (Try one of the sites that rent points like DisBoards). The two BR lockoff is really a one bedroom plus a studio attached. The studio has two beds plus a bathroom and the door can be closed/opened for privacy. Plus the rooms at OKW are huge.

Cost savings can be had since you would have the full kitchen in the main room and could have breakfast in room every day (and maybe even a lunch). With four people not eating breakfast in the restaurants, you could be saving $30 - $45 a day food wise.

 

[KCheatle]

I've had connecting rooms at both Pop and Coronado. I didn't think there was any real differnece with regard to the connection of the rooms. It boils down to the amenities you want. With kids that old, I can't imagine you are going to be spending a whole lot of time in you room, so I'd suggest Pop. And, quite frankly, with kids that old you probably could get a "non-preferred" location and it wouldn't be that big of a deal - it would save you a couple hundred bucks, but the walk to your room would be 5 minutes longer. The downside to Pop is its location - so far away from MK. But, my kids are young so that's our favorite park. Wtih highschool kids, I question whether you will be spenindg more time at HS, Epcot and AK or even DTD. It may be a great location for you!

If I were in your situation, I'd do two connecting rooms at Pop without a preferred location. Between a Mod and a Value, you'll end up saving several hundred dollars and then the downgrade to the non preferred will save you a couple hundred bucks too.

 

[SuprDav]

I've had connecting rooms at both Pop and Coronado. I didn't think there was any real differnece with regard to the connection of the rooms. It boils down to the amenities you want. With kids that old, I can't imagine you are going to be spending a whole lot of time in you room, so I'd suggest Pop. And, quite frankly, with kids that old you probably could get a "non-preferred" location and it wouldn't be that big of a deal - it would save you a couple hundred bucks, but the walk to your room would be 5 minutes longer. The downside to Pop is its location - so far away from MK. But, my kids are young so that's our favorite park. Wtih highschool kids, I question whether you will be spenindg more time at HS, Epcot and AK or even DTD. It may be a great location for you!

If I were in your situation, I'd do two connecting rooms at Pop without a preferred location. Between a Mod and a Value, you'll end up saving several hundred dollars and then the downgrade to the non preferred will save you a couple hundred bucks too.

Good advice. Even with a daughter that's nearing adulthood, MK is still the place to be in her mind. How long is the bus ride from Pop to MK?

 

[Nemo14]

We have one son and one daughter, and we found that connecting rooms with 2 beds in each worked best for us. I imagine with 2 teenage girls it would be similar. Good advice about the non-preferred location too. No need for that.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Good advice. Even with a daughter that's nearing adulthood, MK is still the place to be in her mind. How long is the bus ride from Pop to MK?

According to the "Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World", average travel time is 24 minutes.

 

[pixiesteno]

We have used connecting rooms at POP on two occassions without a problem. Time of year that you go and crowd level will greatly impact the resort's ability to have connecting rooms. If you book two rooms, make sure that you request connecting rooms or adjoining rooms so that it is understood that you want a set up with the door between the two rooms. We have also used the family suites at All Star Music. We found with the kitchenette that the family suite was our preferred. However, I am not the one sleeping on the fold-out couch. Now that all of the value rooms have a small fridge in them that might change how we look at suite vs. reg. rooms. Now, DH and I are looking to go in the end of Jan 2013 for our 25th anniversary and he is still thinking the suite. I am a early riser and that will allow me to get up, have breakfast, get ready for the day and leave him snoozing in the bedroom with the closed door. It's a little harder to not disturb him when you are in an open room. We shall see.

 

[maryszhi]

art of animation suites. that way there is room and privacy

 

[KCheatle]

Good advice. Even with a daughter that's nearing adulthood, MK is still the place to be in her mind. How long is the bus ride from Pop to MK?

The ride itself is about 20 mins. The issue with both hotels really is that the bus can get pretty crowded (to MK in particular). So, sometimes the wait to get on the bus from POP and home from MK can be another 10-15 mins. We just ended up making our MK day an entire day at the park and did not go back to the room at all that day (we usually try and go back for nap time).

Having said that, the bus ride from Coronado is not significantly shorter. Maybe a couple minutes at best. There are more bus stops at Coronado (i.e., you don't have to walk as far to get to a bus), but the time it takes to go aroudn the entire hotel and pick people up doesn't really save you any time on your trip to MK - it just saves you the walking to the front bus stop.

Really, the only places you can stay that get youa quick trip back and forth from MK are the MK hotels. Otherwise, all of the hotels are far away. So, I wouldn't make that a deciding factor I guess unless you think you want the super easy access to MK.

Last trip we were at Wilderness Lodge and the ease of getting back and forth to the MK was amazing. But, we paid a pretty penny for that convenience...