In a Dilemma, need help please !!

[NEL]

Hello Everyone, :wave:

I will be heading down to WDW on May 6-12 for my 5 year olds birthday. It will be me, my wife, and of course our son. We currently are reserved at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. During my extensive research for this trip I looked at Port Orleans Riverside and noticed that if we were to stay there we can actually stay one night more and still save about $300. So I am not sure what would be best for us, stay at a deluxe hotel at AKL for 6 nights or stay at PORS for one night longer and still save $300 in the process.

I have never stayed at a Mod before so I have some reservations. Are their going to be very little resort activities, especially for my son. Is the resort going to be be huge and require very long walks? Are we going to notice a huge downgrade in service, food, room? Is the bus service going to be slow,packed, and far away.

Any sugestions, advice, recommendations, pros and cons, and what would you do?

All help is greatly appreciated. THANKS

 

[NEL]

If you're staying in a resort that doesn't have interior walkways - like Riverside - and it's particularly hot and humid, you're walking into your room hot and humid. If you want to go to the food court or the arcade or anything not in your room, hot and humid. Whereas in the Animal Kingdom Lodge, you have long interior walkways that are fully air conditioned so you can decompress quite a bit before ever getting into your room. You also don't necessarily have to have your room's air conditioning on so high, because it's already cool outside. And even though you have to go outside for a bit to get to Mara or the arcade, most of the walk can be done in the cool of the interior.

I don't know if this sort of thing would affect anyone else's decision on where to stay, but some people may appreciate any opportunities outside of the parks to not be out in the sun.

Back to the OP...Animla Kingdom Lodge's rooms are amongst the smallest deluxe rooms, though still bigger than the mods. Both resorts have nice pools, though Riverside has all those extra quiet pools. There are more onsite restaurants at Animal Kingdom Lodge, plus room service. With a child that young, early nights back at the resort may be necessary, so those are nice options to have. Another plus for Riverside is rivercraft rental onsite and the boats to Downtown Disney.

Bottom line for me (YMMV) is that I prefer the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and if it were the difference between, say a 9 day or 10 day vacation, I'd stick with Animal Kingdom Lodge. But for the difference between a 5 day and 6 day trip, I'd be more tempted to switch to Riverside. If nothing else, that's a day you can spend with your kid renting a boat, or bikes, or fishing, if you didn't actually want one more day in the parks.

You make great points. The heat and humidity does not scare me, a I live in Miami and I am use to it. It does worry me if it rains and I have to start or end the day with a long and wet walk to the room.

THANKS

 

[shmmrname]

I've stayed in multiple Deluxe and Moderate rooms, and I've had only one trip at a Value. For the most part, the actual rooms you are staying in depend more on the last time the building has received an upgrade than the 'class' of the hotel.
The square footage is different, but you see the leap more when you go from a Value to a Deluxe.
AKL has an amazing lobby, something you don't get at Moderates. It also has some of the best on-site dining options in all of WDW. Plus, there's the obvious unique perk of the animals being there to fill your in-between time.
PO:RS and the other moderates all have very good aspects, but it's not a truly apples:to:apples argument.
That's why, for me and my family - we would choose the extra time in the world. We chose to stay at the Yacht Club on our last trip because of an offer we received. We were hesitant because we view AKL as our "home resort" and had decided beforehand it was AKL/WL or bust.
What happened? We fell in love with the Yacht Club. It's great, like all the others - but, we fell in love most with the walk to Epcot. To us, the ease and quickness of getting out our door and into a park overwhelmed alot of the previous biases we had.
Lastly, you really can't go wrong either way. In my mind, I'd say an extra day and a new hotel experience is worth the gamble. But - just be comforted you'll have fun no matter what you decide.

 

[mjmyers10]

What about switching to a Pirate themed room at PORS with an extra night? The cost will probably be about the same. Plus, PORS is closer to the MK and you can take a boat to DTD. Before you add an extra day, check with the airline to make sure you won't have a change fee.

 

[Uncle Lupe]

POR was a nice resort. We never did any resort activities because we were there for the parks not the resort. I wish I would of had time to enjoy the lounge for some adult beverages. Boatrights was nice dining, had the Porterhouse :slurp:. I thought the food court had a great selection. Only room service was pizza but at the end of the day we would just get things "to go" put it in a bag at checkout and eat in the room. Taking the boat from DTD was a nice option to avoid one stinky bus.

 

[jayhawkmickey]

Simple math: Parks more important= POR + one extra disney day and $300. Hotel stay more important= AKL for what you have now. Choose wisely, I know what my choice would be. Have a great trip.:wave:

 

[We Be Pirates]

Let me start this by saying we have not stayed at AK yet but we have just finished staying at POFQ, and after having my family take a short stroll over to Riverside I surprised them by telling them I booked us there for Christmas this year. While seeing animals walk by your resort room is very cool at any age, heres some things I think that would that PORS has to offer for your family: First, being that you have your son with you I believe you will like the having the convenience of the Grab n Go which will offer mickey waffles in the morning for your son, choice of omelettes and croissant sandwiches, bounty platters, oatmeal and an assortment of cereals. Lunch and dinner, while offering adult choices, also is a 5yo's dinoland...with pizza, chicken nuggets , hot dogs, and cheeseburger all served with either pasta salad or every 5yo fav "veggie": french fries. As far as the rooms they offer 2 queen size beds, flat screen tv's with hook ups for some gaming systems and portable dvd players for that valuable down time. Room also has a fridge and coffee maker for lazy morning or mom and dads downtime. As far as stuff to do at PORS, you many choices from the arcade near the lobby, to the spacious main pool and also several private pools near resort bldgs, for $4.00 you can take you son fishing with a cane pole (bait included use the chopped up hot dogs they have there! fish are too used to the worms) which is great! I have no luck when it comes to fishing and I caught 2 when we went. There are several playgrounds to let your son run around and burn any leftover steam. A short boat ride 5 mins tops will bring you over to POFQ and you can use the very cool serpent pool with a slide that has every kid coming back for more. On certain nights POFQ with set up their outdoor theater and show Disney movies for the kids to watch in a very nicely decorated courtyard. Also at night for 45.00 you and your family can take a horse and carriage ride around both PORS and POFQ. FQ also has an evening campfire near the river!If you would like more then just a grab and go PORS has has a sit down rest called Boatwrights which is very good. So its more casual than a deluxe but hey, thats what is so great about disney, there is something for everyone!! hope this helps...

 

[HouCuseChickie]

To OP- I had a similar dilemma. I initially booked POR for the trip I'm planning for Nov. I have no personal experience w/POR, but between my parents (who once stayed there) and all of the reviews online and in books- I got scared and upgraded to a deluxe. My concerns were long walks to/from the bus, bus service/travel times to parks, convenience with dining, and room size. I just didn't want to take the risk. It costs enough to go to WDW and I'd rather sacrifice a day or two and/or spend more OOP to ensure my lodging makes for a happy stay. We of course take a mid day break back at the hotel, so it's imperative that we can do this with ease. However, a split stay might be really good if you want to try out the mod and see if it can work for you and your family. That way it wouldn't be the whole trip i.e. if you decided it's not for you.

 

[Frau Farbissina]

I think it depends on the length of the trip. If I only had 5 days and could switch to 6, I'd go with POR. If I was there for 7 already, I'd stay at AKL.

AKL is a gorgeous resort.

 

[Biff215]

We've also stayed at both. Before we started saying at deluxe resorts, we thought POR was the best thing ever. After staying at most of the deluxes, we went back to POR a few years ago. There was a noticeable difference, and although it is still a very nice resort, we prefer the overall advantages of a deluxe.

As other have said, AKL is a bit removed but that is also part of its charm. Whenever we are there is truly feels like we are in Africa, far removed from the hustle and bustle of the parks. POR has a similar peaceful feeling, but it's hard to beat being able to watch animals whenever you are at the resort.

Passing up an extra day in Disney is a difficult decision, but personally I would bank on the better experience I have come to expect from the deluxe resorts. Sometimes I wish we had never spoiled ourselves and stayed with the values and mods, but we have had too many great stays to go back now!

 

[The Mom]

I'm a fan of AKL, and I'll never forget waking up early one foggy morning and spying a couple of giraffes strolling outside my balcony. Of course, our room overlooked their feeding station.

They appeared, were fed, and disappeared within an hour - all before 7:30AM. So if you weren't an early riser, or had already gone to breakfast, you would have missed them.

 

[slappy magoo]

You make great points. The heat and humidity does not scare me, a I live in Miami and I am use to it. It does worry me if it rains and I have to start or end the day with a long and wet walk to the room.

THANKS

At the very least, if you opt for a moderate resort or any resort with exterior walkways, plan ahead with ponchos at the ready, crocs instead of sneakers, etc.

 

[wdwcandice]

This may be redundant as I didn't read all the replies, but, since you asked

I'd say PORS...for the extra day and the savings, although I always stay at POFQ, that wasn't a choice, now was it? :lol:

You can get a preferred room at PORS...making it closer to the central area. There are four bus stops so, yes, you'll spend a few extra minutes on the bus everyday, but that isn't too bad.

PORS is in the process of refurbing all of the rooms so ask for a refurbed room and you'll have great, comfortable queen beds...

PORS had one of the best food courts around for a moderate, much better and more choices than Mara, at AKL.

PORS has activities poolside and evening movies on the lawn and campfires and whatnot...very engaging for all family members.

If you plan to go to DTD, the boat to get there is a nice touch...or you can take a bus. I always do the boat from POFQ.

That being said, I love AKL. I've stayed there several times and although I do love it, I'd rather stay at PO and extend my trip time and save the money.

I would suggest visiting AKL during your stay, start with breakfast at Boma, tour the resort, check out the awesome gift shop and visit the pool area and the savanna areas and relax a bit in the incredible lobby. Make sure your camera is charged. Or do the same for dinner...you'll probably see more animals then as usually they go "in" to eat breakfast and I have had very little luck after 8am seeing any animals there. I always make sure to go to that resort for a meal at Boma and just to be there for a bit. Love it....

 

[Cotton178]

Sweet!