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

[jlsHouston]

Thanks for the info about how the vacation packages work for our European friends. I definitely would take a 21 day package too because of travel costs and time!
I have only traveled to WDW without a DP once. I have used the regular DP (1 TS, 1 QS, 1 snack ) and the DDP (3TS and 3 snacks).
The regular DP is very cost effective for us in terms of how we like to eat and the size and ages of our travel party. It is usually 2 adults and 2 kids under 9. We always do at least 1 TS meal per day and we do a lot of character dining. We all like desserts so we like that the plans include dessert options with the meal. Generally for a 10 days stay at WDW, even with the regular DP, I end up coming out of pocket another $ 200 because we end up with an extra sit down meal either a signature (uses 2 TS dining credits) or a show (uses 2 TS dining credits)
The deluxe dining plan is so much eating it is ridiculous, but we did it twice and loved it. We did a lot of signature dining.
Shamefully we never have extra credits for anything.
Last visit I paid cash and had a discount card. I spent on 11 days with 3 adults and 2 kids about $ 3100.00 on food. We had a sit down meal at least once a day.
Eating is expensive at WDW but if you share and do more qs meals you can save money that way.
Because you will be going to WDW during F&W I bet you could easily eat for less than $100 dollars a day the 3 of you several of your days just eating the F&W fare. Also the time period you are attending will be less crowded and you should be able to get last minute reservations at many of the restaurants even day of. If there is a particular dining venue you really want to try like BOG or Ohana for dinner (popular) then I would definitely reserve those in advance. Chef Mickey at breakfast hour is another popular one too.
How lucky for you 21 days at WDW and a cruise!

 

[Gemma2806]

Thank you again for your responses!

I think the traditional DP actually sounds like the best deal as we always eat a table service meal every day and we always stock up on breakfast so don't need to eat a big lunch every day.

 

[Jonathan Woolf]

Gemma - Hi from Cambridge UK - your holiday sounds delightful - we atop are doing one of those once in a lifetime this summer - 21 days at GF - second once in a lifetime! We stayed at AKL with our son about six years ago and were completely bowled over by the pools, the savannah, the animals made by the chambermaids, the storytelling by the campsite fire, Boma and its beautiful jungle juice - it isn't far out and has a phenomenal shuttle service - so homely comfortable and luxurious - you will have a ball - i agree too about 21 days being more value and have never done this before - when do you go?

 

[Disnee4Me]

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!

We were in the Bayou section ... it was recommended and we liked it. It was very quiet, despite the fact that we were there at Christmastime. It wasn't far from the food court or the bus --- 5 minute walk. What we also liked was the boat to DTD too,

 

[Gemma2806]

Gemma - Hi from Cambridge UK - your holiday sounds delightful - we atop are doing one of those once in a lifetime this summer - 21 days at GF - second once in a lifetime! We stayed at AKL with our son about six years ago and were completely bowled over by the pools, the savannah, the animals made by the chambermaids, the storytelling by the campsite fire, Boma and its beautiful jungle juice - it isn't far out and has a phenomenal shuttle service - so homely comfortable and luxurious - you will have a ball - i agree too about 21 days being more value and have never done this before - when do you go?

Hi and thanks for your reply!

We're aiming to go at the end of October to be there for Halloween and also to be there when the Epcot Food and Wine Festival is on and also to catch the beginning of the Christmas season. Whether we are able to go this year or not though will be determined by finances! That's why I'm trying to get as much information as possible together. I also don't have to worry about school holidays as my son is home schooled making this a much more flexible thing to be able to do.

 

[Gemma2806]

We were in the Bayou section ... it was recommended and we liked it. It was very quiet, despite the fact that we were there at Christmastime. It wasn't far from the food court or the bus --- 5 minute walk. What we also liked was the boat to DTD too,

I must admit I was veering towards the Bayou section myself as this did look lovely and I liked the fact there seemed to be more trees etc making you feel you were more secluded. I also like the idea of the boat as well as I imagine we would be spending a lot of time at Downtown Disney with my shopping habits when it comes to anything Disney related!

 

[IWantMyMagicBand]

Gemma - Hi from Cambridge UK - your holiday sounds delightful - we atop are doing one of those once in a lifetime this summer - 21 days at GF - second once in a lifetime! We stayed at AKL with our son about six years ago and were completely bowled over by the pools, the savannah, the animals made by the chambermaids, the storytelling by the campsite fire, Boma and its beautiful jungle juice - it isn't far out and has a phenomenal shuttle service - so homely comfortable and luxurious - you will have a ball - i agree too about 21 days being more value and have never done this before - when do you go?

I'm Cambridge too! (Well, Royston but close enough )

 

[slappy magoo]

Another thought, and I'm not sure if overseas visitors are allowed to do this...

If you do opt to split your vacation 2 or more resorts, you can also probably vary the dining plans from resort to resort, too. So if you split between Riverside and AKL, you could have one type of dining plan for Riverside and another for AKL.

 

[jaklgreen]

Hi. French Quarter is my "home" resort. It is a nice size and everyone has always been wonderful there. I have stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge and I love the amenities that it has and the resort is beautiful. But I would not stay there again for these reasons... It is so far away from all of the parks except AK(but for 21 days you are in no rush I would imagine), another reason is because of the animals they do not spray for bugs, most importantly the mosquitos. I have never been bitten so much at WDW in all of the 25+ trips then I was when I stayed at AKL. Just walking outside to get to Mara(the food court) I was accosted by mosquitos. I would also recommend to you maybe looking into the Wilderness lodge. Have a great trip!

 

[jaklgreen]

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.

As far as the food at AKL, the quick service food is "normal". And I would not discount eating at Boma(the buffet) it is all delicious! It might look different then burgers and fries but everything is so yummy. It is one of my families favorite places to eat(kids and all). Plus WDW buffets are a great place to try new things. One of the highlight when my kids were young was we would eat at places like Boma, that we did not have at home to try new things. We all found new foods that became our favorites. Even my kids would try a bit of everything to see what they would like. My youngest still says that Tusker House has the best couscous.

 

[Dvcden]

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

I have done 2 trips of 21+ days.... Best advice is to change it up ...disney world is HUGE...bigger than the entire island of Manhattan! I would do 7 days in Epcot/MGM area (boardwalk or yacht/beach club) 7 days MK area ( bay lake towers, grand Floridian, poly, or wilderness)
Then 3 days AK LODGE, 3 days SS to enjoy downtown disney.

The hotels are adventure in themselves...switch it up and enjoy them! Each one brings it's own story and spin on things and I personally think it would be a shame to miss them. I hate packing up and moving but the disney staff does a wonderful job of assisting and even when you forget things (which I have) they are prompt in alerting you and getting your stuff back.

I hope that helps and if you could rent a car and visit universal, gatorland zoo, bush gardens, sea world and downtown orlando it's even better!

Enjoy

 

[EOD K9]

@Gemma2806 I cannot speak for the dining plan, but I have stayed at all three of the hotels you have mentioned. I'm a DVC member and have enjoyed many of the hotels on property. If you were to stay at one, then AKL is a no brainer for the reasons others have mentioned. I wouldn't want to move around too much, but I'd also split a stay in the Epcot Resort Area if I was there for 21 days. As much as I love the place, I'd get bored in the same resort for that long. Try a different hotel for the variance in ambiance and enjoy! Welcome to the boards by the way.

 

[Dwarful]

The only thing we were not impressed with at PORS was the lack of drawer space. I don't like to live out of our luggage and there were only four small drawers in our room. I did request extra hangers but some things aren't easily stored that way. For our longer stays (10 - 15 days) we always opt for deluxe resorts. We end up spending more time at the resort and appreciate more space and more extras that the values and mods just don't offer. Good luck and happy planning!

 

[RMichael21]

For your family, The Animal Kingdom Lodge with a Savanna view would be perfect. Just imagine waking up to go to the Magic Kingdom and you see a Giraffe outside of your window! And seriously, 21 days? I'm so jealous...

Because your staying for so long, The Animal Kingdom Lodge is perfect. Sorry for my long rambling!

 

[Gemma2806]

Thank you again to everyone who has replied to this thread so far. Your input is really valued!

I think we've made the definite decision now to split the stay between hotels. At the moment we are just deciding whether it will be 2 or 3!
We've also seriously been deciding on the Disney Dining Plan and the traditional plan looks like it would be a good one for us. Thanks to all of you the decisions are being made more easily than they were before!

 

[luv]

AKL is the only real hotel in your group. The other two are nicely themed motels with food courts.

AKL happens to be my favorite of all the Disney hotels. I vote for that.

I'd look into suites/homes off the Disney property, though. Three weeks is a long time to be in one cramped little room.

 

[EOD K9]

@luv While I understand your definition of motel (exterior hallways)would you classify CBR, All Stars, or SSR a motel? SSR while enclosed, is still exposed to the outside air. When I think of a motel, I think of a place on the side of the highway, a flashing neon sign, and a cleaning staff that changes out the room on a four hour cycle. In other words, I see motels as seedy.

 

[luv]

@luv While I understand your definition of motel (exterior hallways)would you classify CBR, All Stars, or SSR a motel? SSR while enclosed, is still exposed to the outside air. When I think of a motel, I think of a place on the side of the highway, a flashing neon sign, and a cleaning staff that changes out the room on a four hour cycle. In other words, I see motels as seedy.

Before anyone else starts agreeing or disagreeing, I did not define the word "motel" as meaning "exterior hallways."

Not all motels are seedy. If you believe that they are, though, I don't want to argue the point. We will just have to disagree on that.

CBR and the All Stars are well-themed motels with food courts and pools. SSR is time-share.

 

[EOD K9]

@luv I'm not here to start anything or be here to agree to disagree, it was more of light banter than anything else.