Help needed with Disney hotel

[funkyshaker]

Hi there,

We are in the middle of organising our next WDW trip. We are aiming for January as I would like to run the WDW half marathon whilst I am there. We have a brochure which lists the Disney hotels and are stuck for choice. We have stayed at the Caribbean Beach a few years back and the other times have been offsite. The choice is between: Pop Century, All Star, Port Orleans, Coronado Springs and at a push, Animal Kingdom Lodge. Our party consists of my wife, me and our 3 1/2 year old daughter. Does anyone have any views on the above accomodation? Thanks in advance for all your help! :wave:

 

[KevinPage]

Hi there,
We are in the middle of organising our next WDW trip. We are aiming for January as I would like to run the WDW half marathon whilst I am there. We have a brochure which lists the Disney hotels and are stuck for choice. We have stayed at the Caribbean Beach a few years back and the other times have been offsite. The choice is between: Pop Century, All Star, Port Orleans, Coronado Springs and at a push, Animal Kingdom Lodge. Our party consists of my wife, me and our 3 1/2 year old daughter. Does anyone have any views on the above accomodation? Thanks in advance for all your help! :wave:

I have stayed at all the above locations except Caribbean Beach, though I have visited there many times. IMNSHO it is too spread out to be enjoyable.

If $$$ is not an issue, stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge, it's fabulous. Not to mention most rooms have a savannah view of the animals and there is a reason why it is a Deluxe resort. Fireplace in the lobby and outside with rocking chairs, a lounge for adults, 2 restuarants that are great. It's looks like an African version of The Wilderness Lodge (which is a VERY GOOD thing)

Port Orleans and Coronado are both Moderate resorts and nice, but I would choose Port Orleans. Smaller and more "quaint". Coronado is a convention center and has more rooms, which equals more walking :brick:

Pop Century & the All Stars are value resorts. Pop Century is the newest but I would pick All Star Movies or Pop Century, before Sports or Music. Movies is the best themed out of all the value resorts with HUGE statues of different characters all over the place.

 

[careship]

If money isn't an issue, I agree to Animal Kingdom Lodge. Otherwise, go for the new Pop Century. If you aren't spending alot of time at the room, then go cheaper but newer. Movies, I agree, is the best themed, however Sports is the first on the bus route of the All Stars which do use the same buses and with a young one, you want to be able to have a seat. Just my opinion. I am staying at Pop in about 45 days so I can say more after that. However, from all the pictures and posts, Pop Century is a pretty fun place to be.

 

[mrtoad]

POR is great. I love it and it is reasonably priced. We stay in the Bayou section. I have not stayed at AKL but we want to someday. The reason we won't as of now, is we also have a 3 1/2 year old and spend most time at MK so we want to be a little closer. We are staying at the Polynesian in Jan/Feb coming up which is a stretch for us but we will work it out. The main reason was wanting to be on the monorail loop. Waiting for buses with a young kid can be a drag. Not real bad though, it just can be trying at time. Think about which park you will spend most time at. I would think with small child it would be MK but that depends on taste. If it is MK, then POR is your closest resort. We have stayed at both POR (Port Orleans Riverside) and POFQ (Port Orleans French Qtr). We prefer POR but both are excellent resorts.

Let us know what you choose.

Enjoy!

 

[DivineMadness7]

As mentioned several times above, how much time do you spend in the room?

To some people this may not be the decision maker, but for my family it has been.

We LOVE Wilderness Lodge. It's gorgeous and there is nothing else like it.

Before we fell in love with WL, with LOVED Port Orleans Riverside.

On our last trip, we loved Pop Century. We wanted to try something new. Honestly, it has been the best fit of the three, only because we spend very little time in our room.

Also, with the extra money we save by staying at Pop, we can afford to do 2 trips a year instead of the usual one.

All resorts have bus transportation (major bonus for us), great disney service and really the room sizes are pretty much the same (at least with "standard" rooms, it appears). The extra money you pay is really only for perks and atmosphere.

No matter where you stay on property, the quality will not be matched off property (just my opinion...) and you will enjoy your stay at any of them.

Good luck with your decision!