Hi I'm a new member who would like some hotel information..

[Gemma2806]

Hi I'm a new forum member. I have made many visits to Disneyland Paris but this is my first family trip in the making to WDW. I'm currently saving for a probably once in a lifetime trip for myself, my partner and our near 5 year old. Our current plan is to spend 21 nights in WDW followed by a 7 night Caribbean cruise.

I've been reviewing all the hotels and have narrowed it down to Port Orleans Riverside, Port Orleans French Quarter or the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We're not opting for a value resort purely due to how long we will be here as we will be making use of extra facilities. We like smaller resorts for that homely feel and so the French Quarter appealed to us. We love swimming and happily spend a lot of time at the hotel pools which is why all 3 hotels appealed to us. My son especially loves animals and we've always wanted to do a safari but haven't ever been able to afford to do one so the Animal Kingdom Lodge has appealed to us. We are wanting to use the Quick Service Dining Plan in order to get breakfast and lunch easily and have a sit down meal wherever we choose so opted for this plan so we're not tied down for evening meals. Whichever hotel we choose we will book either a pool/water view.

Can I have some feedback please as to which is the better hotel in your opinion and why. If you've had any really negative experiences at these hotels could you please let me know what the issues were. I can't sort out exactly how much to save for the hotel until I make a final decision on which one we're going for so any help will be much appreciated.

Thank you x

 

[Disnee4Me]

Wow 21 nights at WDW ... I'm green with envy. Of the three resorts you mentioned, I've only stayed at PORS and have never had a bad experience. We've done all the values too. I've heard great things about the AKL and with a 5 year old that may be the place to stay. Have a wonderful vacation!!

 

[stevehousse]

Definitely Riverside or AK Lodge. If your kid loves animals, the AK Lodge seems like a great fit! Beautiful grounds and pools! Your boy would love wakin up to animals in his backyard! Plus, they have special early morning safari tours for AKL guests only on certain days!

 

[Gemma2806]

Wow 21 nights at WDW ... I'm green with envy. Of the three resorts you mentioned, I've only stayed at PORS and have never had a bad experience. We've done all the values too. I've heard great things about the AKL and with a 5 year old that may be the place to stay. Have a wonderful vacation!!

Thanks for your reply. When you stayed at PORS did you opt for a mansion or bayou room and if you've done both which did you think was better. Sorry for the tons of questions I just really want to get it right as I don't know when we'd be able to stay again!

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Of the 3, Animal Kingdom Lodge is by far the better choice. Particularly if you believe that this is a once in a lifetime venture.

 

[Gemma2806]

Definitely Riverside or AK Lodge. If your kid loves animals, the AK Lodge seems like a great fit! Beautiful grounds and pools! Your boy would love wakin up to animals in his backyard! Plus, they have special early morning safari tours for AKL guests only on certain days!

Thanks for your reply. The photos of the pool at AKL do look amazing as do the rooms! I am loving the look of this hotel but I have to be practical for my son as well and I worry a bit it may be too far out from the centre of things. I doubt we'd eat in the hotel much due to the exotic looking food and my family are quite simple eaters. Does it take long to commute to Downtown Disney or given the size of WDW is everything still within fairly easy reach. I should say that we wouldn't hire a car we would just rely on WDW transportation.

 

[docdebbi]

if you can afford animal kingdom, to my mind there is no choice. it's animal kingdom. I have stayed at all three. all very nice, but akl is in my opinion superior. it is officially a deluxe and therefore has more amenities, and you can also do the safari which I think your little guy would enjoy
mara is the fast food restaurant, and it has great food, more choices, and nicer service than a food court at a moderate.
and animals off your balcony.........come on, what's to lose?

 

[Monty]

I've stayed at all three [and most others]. All three are great for the reasons you state. Of them, my personal choice would be POFQ. It is small, quaint and has great ambiance.

 

[Gemma2806]

Of the 3, Animal Kingdom Lodge is by far the better choice. Particularly if you believe that this is a once in a lifetime venture.

Thanks for your reply. This will be a definite one time only trip for the length of time however if I ever win the lottery I know what I'd spend the money on! AKL is looking like a proper indulgence!

 

[rnese]

Well first let me start by saying WELCOME aboard. Second let me say...21 days then a cruise? When should I be ready to come? I pack light!
As for your choices, here's what you need to know. PO Riverside is HUGE! If you like smaller resorts, you'd want to pick French Quarter instead of Riverside. I'd prefer the Animal Kingdom Lodge over the others if I were you. The French Quarter and Riverside have beautiful grounds and theming as does the AK Lodge. The AK Lodge is more of a HOTEL, where the other two are more like MOTELS. What I mean by this is that you enter your room from the outside in the Port Orleans resorts, but enter from interior hallways at the AK Lodge. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I feel it's a better experience just for that simple reason. The rooms in the AK Lodge are a bit bigger as well. The lobby area in the AK is awesome as well, and so is the dining.

I hope this was helpful. Just my two-cents.

 

[Gemma2806]

T

if you can afford animal kingdom, to my mind there is no choice. it's animal kingdom. I have stayed at all three. all very nice, but akl is in my opinion superior. it is officially a deluxe and therefore has more amenities, and you can also do the safari which I think your little guy would enjoy
mara is the fast food restaurant, and it has great food, more choices, and nicer service than a food court at a moderate.
and animals off your balcony.........come on, what's to lose?

Thanks for your reply. I think out of all the hotels this would be my personal favourite, my other half is just trying to get me to justify my reasons for spending more of his hard earned money! I definitely think my son would love this hotel!

 

[Gemma2806]

I've stayed at all three [and most others]. All three are great for the reasons you state. Of them, my personal choice would be POFQ. It is small, quaint and has great ambiance.

Thanks for your reply. This is the hotel my partner is looking at most for the exact reasons you've stated. I'll let him know he's not alone with his choice!

 

[jlsHouston]

Hi, I love the deciding on a resort part of planning my trip to WDW. I have never stayed at the PORS or PORFQ resorts but I have recently visited the resorts for dining and they look like they have beautiful grounds and I liked the dining I did there. If you stay at either of these resorts you get to enjoy the dining venues of both and the pools of both. They also have nightly carriage rides around the lake you can do. There is a boat to take you to Downtown Disney where you can shop, eat, bowl, catch a show, etc. My brother and his family stayed at PORS before Christmas and it was warm enough to also do some water activities at the marina ( my nephew is 16). They loved Riverside.

I have stayed a few days at AKL over a summer trip and my grandkids loved the pool and pool activities. The restaurants are quite good at AKL. Actually they are some of the best on property for Disney in my opinion. The service from the hotel and restaurant staff is unsurpassed for a Disney resort. The lobby is stunning. They have nightly activities for the kids. And as you mentioned they have the animals. The bus service to all parks is good, always plenty running back and forth from this resort, never long waits and rarely overcrowded either.

I don't know which I would choose for a long stay at WDW because as you pointed out both resort areas have things you desire. In general since the PORS/PORFQ are moderate and AKL is deluxe if the price difference is not much then I would say definitely do the deluxe resort. The Port Orleans resorts are bright type decor in the lobby areas, not sure what the rooms look like. AKL is darker. Make sure if you pick a preferred water view with AKL that you stipulate you want a room with a dresser because in 2012 some of the pool view rooms did not have a dresser and I really needed to not have to spend 3 days living out of suitcases so it aggravated me.

Sounds like a wonderful once in a lifetime trip you have planned! Welcome to the boards!

 

[Gemma2806]

Well first let me start by saying WELCOME aboard. Second let me say...21 days then a cruise? When should I be ready to come? I pack light!
As for your choices, here's what you need to know. PO Riverside is HUGE! If you like smaller resorts, you'd want to pick French Quarter instead of Riverside. I'd prefer the Animal Kingdom Lodge over the others if I were you. The French Quarter and Riverside have beautiful grounds and theming as does the AK Lodge. The AK Lodge is more of a HOTEL, where the other two are more like MOTELS. What I mean by this is that you enter your room from the outside in the Port Orleans resorts, but enter from interior hallways at the AK Lodge. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I feel it's a better experience just for that simple reason. The rooms in the AK Lodge are a bit bigger as well. The lobby area in the AK is awesome as well, and so is the dining.

I hope this was helpful. Just my two-cents.

Thanks for your reply. This does really help. As I said I've only ever stayed at Disneyland Paris before and all their hotels are hotels with internal corridors to rooms. Ive never stayed in a motel style room before but I'd imagine this may have an impact on room quietness(?) you're helping me win my choice of hotel as my other half is seeing these comments and will more than likely have the final say!

 

[Mukta]

I want to address the part about the dining plan. The quick service dining plan isn't a good value if you use it for breakfast. You will be paying over $30 a day for $20 of food.

 

[rt06]

Have you considered staying at both AKL and PO? It's 21 days after all. Half PO, half AKL. Save the best for last. Given one choice, it would be AKL. It has a certain energy I can't describe.

Quick service DDPs are not cost effective if you're planning for sit down meals. If you're planning for 2 or 3 character meals, consider the DDP.

 

[hsisthebest]

This is a tough choice. But I'd go with Animal Kingdom Lodge as it is a Deluxe and has nicer amenities and waking up to watch the animals on the Savannah never get old. One I'd suggest though, is to consider a Resort transfer and try both Resorts. As far as I know Disney only allows bookings of up to 14 nights- they may make an exception in your case or just make you have 2 separate reservations. Irregardless, Disney does very well with transferring from 1 resort to another- we have done this in the past by staying half our trip in a value and the other in a deluxe- as opposed to non-stop moderate. You might consider the same, as PORS may get a little tiring and since this will be a once in a lifetime event, exploring another Resort could be lots of fun.

As far as an actual resort transfer goes, it is very easy. Just book consecutive reservations and then inform baggage services on your first "check out" day to take your luggage to your second Resort. This may take up to 3 hours so we usually spend the day in the parks and our luggage is waiting for us by the time we reach the second Resort.

Good luck and have tons of FUN no matter what option you choose!!

 

[rt06]

Thanks for your reply. The photos of the pool at AKL do look amazing as do the rooms! I am loving the look of this hotel but I have to be practical for my son as well and I worry a bit it may be too far out from the centre of things. I doubt we'd eat in the hotel much due to the exotic looking food and my family are quite simple eaters. Does it take long to commute to Downtown Disney or given the size of WDW is everything still within fairly easy reach. I should say that we wouldn't hire a car we would just rely on WDW transportation.

That is the one thing keeping me from ever staying at AKL again. The transportation can be a drag.

 

[Tuvalu]

Have you considered staying at both AKL and PO? It's 21 days after all. Half PO, half AKL. Save the best for last. Given one choice, it would be AKL. It has a certain energy I can't describe.

Quick service DDPs are not cost effective if you're planning for sit down meals. If you're planning for 2 or 3 character meals, consider the DDP.

This ^^^^ . Split your stay and pay cash for your food.

 

[Figaro928]

Since you are staying as long as you are, you could always consider hotel hopping as well. I've heard of maybe people doing that.