Is PORS for us? Need some Disney knowledge!!

[Zipadeelady]

I'm getting ready to start booking our 2013 trip but here's my dilema.

We are a family of 5. My youngest is 9 and my other two are teenage girls. In the past we've gotten 2 connecting rooms but my DD is a Potter fan so you guessed it we are going to spent a day at UNI. We wanted to get away from value resorts and the Cabins are more than we want to spend since were also doing Potter. Since for us money is an option we were hoping that the Alligator Bayou room at PORS would be ok for our family and the extra bed would fit my son who is a little tall for 9.

Plus my girls aren't the sweetest towards each other ~gasp~ and not to excited about sharing a bed but if Potter is to be experienced than sacrifices must be made.

Anyone out there with a similar situation or has slept 5 to the Alligator room?

 

[lilclerk]

I've stayed in POR, but not one of the alligator bayou rooms so I'm not sure how this would work with the little murphy bed, but maybe you could bring a twin air mattress for one of the girls?

 

[ParentsOf4]

Five adults or near adults in any one room is a tight fit. It will be OK if you plan to use the room as a place to sleep and shower but you might seriously start to hate it after more than a couple of days. There's no good place to change so people end up having to get dressed in the bathroom or, as we sometimes did, send "the boys" down to the food court for breakfast, let "the girls" shower and get dressed, and then swap places.

We won't ever do it again and prefer to stay in a 2-bedroom suite at Wyndham Bonnet Creek (located next to the Caribbean Beach Resort) which we've been able to get on eBay for $120/night. Their WDW bus runs about once every 30 minutes. Because they are essentially located onsite, it takes no longer than a bus from POR (which is less than a mile away).

 

[awesomeinabox]

I am 5 ft 4 and the Murphy was a bit cramped for me (I always get the cramped beds). It also wasn't very comfortable. One of the rooms I was in had a roll out mattress under a bed, those are much roomier than the Murphy. Perhaps you can ask if those are still around.

 

[aw14]

Did you think about art of animation suites?

 

[ParentsOf4]

Did you think about art of animation suites?

The OP mentioned the Cabins at Fort Wilderness cost more than they want to spend. The AOA suites cost even more than the Cabins.

 

[Wojciehowicz]

The AOA suites cost even more than the Cabins.

Not to be disagreeable, but in the interest of accuracy, DAAR suites are, and I'm assuming will be, about 10% less expensive than the cabins.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Not to be disagreeable, but in the interest of accuracy, DAAR suites are, and I'm assuming will be, about 10% less expensive than the cabins.

My information is per disneyworld.com. Picking a random week in 2013 (the OP did not state when they were going), prices for a 7-night stay July 13-20 are:

- Port Orleans Riverside: $1544
- All Star Music Suite: $2526
- Cabins at Fort Wilderness: $2556
- Art of Animation Suite: $2853

 

[Zipadeelady]

@ParentsOf4 I'm not against the wyndham bonnets but will I still "feel" the magic (no eye rolling) . I will have to check out their website.

Also now that the kids are older I like the idea of not staying at a resort full of toddlers and little kids thats why AOA wasn't high on the list, plus the girls will still have to sleep together. Although once their at Disney the fights usually stop and they get along.

I was hoping to do the whole trip around $3200 without UNI but if I get the 2 rooms it's a little over $4000. Cabins are close to the same if you add a weekly cart fee and we don't want to do the Cabins again without a cart.

 

[Zipadeelady]

I am 5 ft 4 and the Murphy was a bit cramped for me (I always get the cramped beds). It also wasn't very comfortable. One of the rooms I was in had a roll out mattress under a bed, those are much roomier than the Murphy. Perhaps you can ask if those are still around.

Since my son will be 10 at the time and only weighs 70 pounds is this similar to your experience? I do remember the roll out mattresses he was 4 when we were last at PORS.

 

[awesomeinabox]

Since my son will be 10 at the time and only weighs 70 pounds is this similar to your experience? I do remember the roll out mattresses he was 4 when we were last at PORS.

It's not so much the weight but the length, the beds are fairly short and you are right next to a wall so it feels pretty cramped. If he's under 5ft he should be good but anything over that and he might complain a bit... there's always the floor as an option. I looked into renting DVC points from http://www.dvcrequest.com/ and it seemed fairly affordable (I ended up getting a Visa discount instead). We had 4 adults in the 1bedroom at OKW and it wasn't that bad, there were just a lot of stops on the bus if I remember correctly, but it was really roomy and had a fantastic kitchen if you were looking to save some cash by cooking.

 

[Zipadeelady]

Thanks for the input!! You guys have given me some things to look into. The planning for me is half the fun....it's the geek in me i guess.

 

[minniemickeyfan]

Since you said your 9 y/o would sleep on the murphy bed- I believe I read somewhere(i'm thinking allears.net) that the new murphy beds are bigger than the old trundle beds? I can't tell from the new pictures whether they are or not though.

 

[PUSH]

I'm not sure how the murphy bed will fit your son, but there is a 360 degree photo on this site:

http://portorleans.org/alligator-bayou.php

The murphy bed is located directly below the TV. A downfall to the Alligator Bayou rooms is the lack of drawers for clothes. The only drawers are located underneath the murphy bed and there are only three of them. Some people don't even use the drawers, but just thought it might be useful information for you. Hope I helped!

 

[BUZZCRUSH]

We stayed there once we 2 adults and 2 boys and I thought the rooms were very small. Have you thought about staying off property? Since you are going to Universal I assume you'll have a car. There are lots of 2 bedroom villas close to disney that are very reasonable and nice. Might be worth having the extra space.

 

[Tinkerkell]

If you do stay at POR, I'd consider bringing an air mattress for one of the kids. We've used an air mattress at POR and POFQ and it worked well. We just propped it up against the wall (where the connecting door is or could be) during the day, and mousekeeping brought sheets and a blanket for it.

If more space on a budget is important and you have a car, I'd consider off-site. We're on-site die hards, but we're a family of four. If we had a larger family and access to a car, I think I'd consider one of the off-site rentals which are usually less expensive and offer much more space plus a kitchen. Just a thought.

 

[disneygirl1024]

If you do stay at POR, I'd consider bringing an air mattress for one of the kids. We've used an air mattress at POR and POFQ and it worked well. We just propped it up against the wall (where the connecting door is or could be) during the day, and mousekeeping brought sheets and a blanket for it.

If more space on a budget is important and you have a car, I'd consider off-site. We're on-site die hards, but we're a family of four. If we had a larger family and access to a car, I think I'd consider one of the off-site rentals which are usually less expensive and offer much more space plus a kitchen. Just a thought.

We also brought an air mattress with us. We were located in Alligator Bayou too. We just propped it up against the wall during the day and got sheets and another blanket for my son at night. The trundle bed was really tiny and very uncomfortable looking.

 

[BigRedDad]

We have friends that have stayed at Wyndham Bonnet Creek and loved it. We have tried to get rooms there for our trips but it just has not worked out. After this next trip, we are going to make plans to stay there. You can't be the price plus location. Depending on the deal, you can get a 4-bedroom Pres room for $1200-$1500 for a week. Split that up with 2-3 families and you are golden. The kids can crash on the floor on air matresses.

 

[ThinkTink721]

Our family of 5 has stayed in the AB section at PORS several times & it worked well for us.
Our boys shared a bed & our girl had her own smaller bed.
The rooms are kind of small for 5 people.
Of course, we don't spend much time in the room anyway, so the size of the room was not a big deal for us.

 

[Zipadeelady]

Our family of 5 has stayed in the AB section at PORS several times & it worked well for us.
Our boys shared a bed & our girl had her own smaller bed.
The rooms are kind of small for 5 people.
Of course, we don't spend much time in the room anyway, so the size of the room was not a big deal for us.

We never worried to much about room size either because we were only in it to sleep, but since we are planning on going around the 1st of December and the park hours are shorter we thought the size of the room might be an issue this time. Plus the kids are all bigger now.

Looks like i might have to increase the budget. Maybe.