My boys are making this hard....

[LdyApxr]

I love them, I do but tonight as we have booked Poly Club in October/Nov, they start looking at the other resorts and because they are crazy and like to make me crazy, they decide we should book May at POR instead of GF Club since we are going to be back in the World 5mo later and this way we can get a Royal room(they are boys, why do they care other than it looks pretty cool!), book the Deluxe DDP and still come out under the GF Club level. My poor travel agent is going to pull her hair out if I change one more time. LOL I said "Why don't we just hold off changing hotels until we see what kind of discounts come out for May?" hoping that this would appease them but no, they are monsters(figures, since mom always said I would have a child just like I was and here I have TWO of them!) and don't want to chance possibly missing getting the moderate resort and DDDP and then in Oct going Poly Club, MNSSHP and no dining plan.

Thoughts on this? I haven't really looked at POR or POFQ because I want to be close to the parks with quick access back to my room in case a migraine hits(unpredictable even 21yrs later and I can get back to my hotel on my own while they stay in the parks) and this is our first ever trip so I think paying more for a closer resort(and having more than one way to get to the parks) and doing dining out of pocket sounds better. I am old and like convenience and luxury. LOL They are 26 and 17 and like to make me insane. My husband says "Whatever you guys decide...." he's so helpful. LOL

 

[VictoriaLynn83]

Totally get it! Didn't struggle so much with booking the resort but we're all over the place with ADRs. We have a plan and then I'm looking around and the next thing I know we've got a new plan. There's so much to take in and do.

I hope you're planning gets easier and less stressful!

 

[Figgy1]

I love them, I do but tonight as we have booked Poly Club in October/Nov, they start looking at the other resorts and because they are crazy and like to make me crazy, they decide we should book May at POR instead of GF Club since we are going to be back in the World 5mo later and this way we can get a Royal room(they are boys, why do they care other than it looks pretty cool!), book the Deluxe DDP and still come out under the GF Club level. My poor travel agent is going to pull her hair out if I change one more time. LOL I said "Why don't we just hold off changing hotels until we see what kind of discounts come out for May?" hoping that this would appease them but no, they are monsters(figures, since mom always said I would have a child just like I was and here I have TWO of them!) and don't want to chance possibly missing getting the moderate resort and DDDP and then in Oct going Poly Club, MNSSHP and no dining plan.

Thoughts on this? I haven't really looked at POR or POFQ because I want to be close to the parks with quick access back to my room in case a migraine hits(unpredictable even 21yrs later and I can get back to my hotel on my own while they stay in the parks) and this is our first ever trip so I think paying more for a closer resort(and having more than one way to get to the parks) and doing dining out of pocket sounds better. I am old and like convenience and luxury. LOL They are 26 and 17 and like to make me insane. My husband says "Whatever you guys decide...." he's so helpful. LOL

I like the golden rule as I tell my boys. He/she with the gold rules. Good luck I'm doing the same dance with my boys about where to eat, and they just talked me into 3 more days.

 

[LdyApxr]

HAHA! Thank God I am not the only one. The Unofficial Guide got her yesterday which prompted the conversation and my oldest is a food lover so he thinks premium dining is going to be awesome(and it might be, we've never done it before) but I just really want convenience. I suppose since we will be going back in October, I could compromise and go with this plan for May and my plan for October.

The Golden rule is a great rule and usually one we adhere to but since the elder is paying for part of the trip, we have to share ruling powers. LOL

How long(barring any serious bus issues) is the trip from the parks to POR? Is it something that is manageable for some first timers without having to be awake every day at the break of dawn? Manageable to go back and have a rest/pool time if we wanted to? Since we are DLR people who stay on site, we are used to longer breaks midday(or not going in at rope drop, and doing room service breakfast) but not knowing how far the trip is from the parks to the hotel is hampering me.

 

[VictoriaLynn83]

I can't answer that one...this is our first trip staying onsite! We've been twice but always have stayed somewhere else.

Premium dining! I'm jealous!!!! We are gifting this trip to my in laws, so we settled on some things (mostly because I wouldn't budge on a spa day for the girls and a golf putting for the boys! Oh and a trip to Daytona 500!) we went with the plus.

 

[Figgy1]

I'd stay on the monorail for getting around easier.

 

[wannabeBelle]

Tell them if they are paying you will stay anywhere they want to. Until then.... And actually for a mostly adult trip I probably would have picked one of the EPCOT resort hotels honestly. Walking distance to EPCOT and a boat ride away from the Studios. Good luck!!! Marie

 

[LdyApxr]

Tell them if they are paying you will stay anywhere they want to. Until then.... And actually for a mostly adult trip I probably would have picked one of the EPCOT resort hotels honestly. Walking distance to EPCOT and a boat ride away from the Studios. Good luck!!! Marie

Thanks! My older son is paying half so it is a compromise but for now I am leaving the reservation as is because we are not sure of how long it takes to get to the parks by bus from POR.

 

[Figgy1]

For males 12-25 There's turkey legs in each park, Gaston's in MK has pork shank. You can eat your way around EPCOT. DDP is a lot of food. Are you and your dh going to want to sit down every day? I'd go over all the menus on allears with your boys and see how many dining credits you'd use. That might help make the decision easier.

 

[wannabeBelle]

Figure on roughly 20-25 minutes once you actually board a bus, the wait time for the bus to get to your stop could be about the same. Rule of thumb is to allow at least an hour to get anywhere using Disney transport. Marie

 

[Tuvalu]

Thanks! My older son is paying half so it is a compromise but for now I am leaving the reservation as is because we are not sure of how long it takes to get to the parks by bus from POR.

POR is about 15 minutes to MK and AK and between 10-15 minutes to Epcot and DHS once the bus leaves the property. POR has 4 different bus stops within the resort so you need to allow a few extra minutes for the stops. That said, it is very do-able to go back for a mid-day break ~ we always do whenever we stay at POR or POFQ.

POR also has the water taxi option to Downtown Disney, which is MUCH preferable over riding a bus due to all the road construction going on.

The Royal rooms are very nice, I call them "deluxe lite" because they feel a step up from the regular moderate rooms with the plush regal-ness of the decor. And c'mon...fireworks in the headboards?? Awesome.

The monorail resorts are very convenient to MK, but POR is actually closer to the other parks. The resort itself is gorgeous, and the rooms nicer than the one we had at Paradise Pier (which had a wonderful view of DCA). I don't think you will be disappointed with POR as a first time WDW visitor. Save the $$ for deluxe on your second visit .

And you may want to consider APs if you will be spending more than 10 days total in the parks in one year.

 

[LdyApxr]

POR is about 15 minutes to MK and AK and between 10-15 minutes to Epcot and DHS once the bus leaves the property. POR has 4 different bus stops within the resort so you need to allow a few extra minutes for the stops. That said, it is very do-able to go back for a mid-day break ~ we always do whenever we stay at POR or POFQ.

POR also has the water taxi option to Downtown Disney, which is MUCH preferable over riding a bus due to all the road construction going on.

The Royal rooms are very nice, I call them "deluxe lite" because they feel a step up from the regular moderate rooms with the plush regal-ness of the decor. And c'mon...fireworks in the headboards?? Awesome.

The monorail resorts are very convenient to MK, but POR is actually closer to the other parks. The resort itself is gorgeous, and the rooms nicer than the one we had at Paradise Pier (which had a wonderful view of DCA). I don't think you will be disappointed with POR as a first time WDW visitor. Save the $$ for deluxe on your second visit .

And you may want to consider APs if you will be spending more than 10 days total in the parks in one year.

Thanks! We've stayed at Paradise Pier in 2008 and the room was nice but so was the room at the GC(actually kind of on par which sounds like blasphemy but the GC could use a perk up in the rooms IMO). I thought I saw something that said the bus trip to the parks could take up to an hour(or maybe that was to other resorts for dining?).

 

[LdyApxr]

For males 12-25 There's turkey legs in each park, Gaston's in MK has pork shank. You can eat your way around EPCOT. DDP is a lot of food. Are you and your dh going to want to sit down every day? I'd go over all the menus on allears with your boys and see how many dining credits you'd use. That might help make the decision easier.

For my DH, older son and I, we would benefit from it but our 17yr old has the appetite of a bird. LOL We like sit down table service at least once a day whether it is a character meal or just a nice relaxing meal with drinks. Even at 17, our son is more likely to have a kids meal or an appetizer than a full meal. His brother is the opposite. I could not keep food in the house when my older son was 17! LOL

 

[LdyApxr]

Figure on roughly 20-25 minutes once you actually board a bus, the wait time for the bus to get to your stop could be about the same. Rule of thumb is to allow at least an hour to get anywhere using Disney transport. Marie

Yeah that is my worry, I don't want to spend an hour waiting/riding a bus. One year, we stayed off property in DLR and we had our older son and his gf with him(they were 16/17 I think), and myselg, DH and younger son and one morning DH and I decided on breakfast in the hotel and Josh and Cricket wanted to go to the parks so they went and waited for the bus. We finished breakfast(and it was a sit down breakfast, no rushing) and went to get in the car and Josh and Cricket were STILL waiting on the bus..... LOL So yeah, I am more about convenience and since we will not have a car, I am thinking closer is better.

 

[Tuvalu]

Thanks! We've stayed at Paradise Pier in 2008 and the room was nice but so was the room at the GC(actually kind of on par which sounds like blasphemy but the GC could use a perk up in the rooms IMO). I thought I saw something that said the bus trip to the parks could take up to an hour(or maybe that was to other resorts for dining?).

The "up to an hour" includes the time waiting for a bus to arrive (in case you just missed the bus) and making all the stops. The travel times I listed were for once you leave the property. An hour would be the worst case scenario. Most likely you are looking at 20-25 minutes.

 

[LdyApxr]

The "up to an hour" includes the time waiting for a bus to arrive (in case you just missed the bus) and making all the stops. The travel times I listed were for once you leave the property. An hour would be the worst case scenario. Most likely you are looking at 20-25 minutes.

Thanks! I think I saw the "up to an hour" on touring plans while researching(I could be wrong on where I saw it though. LOL)

 

[Tuvalu]

Yeah that is my worry, I don't want to spend an hour waiting/riding a bus. One year, we stayed off property in DLR and we had our older son and his gf with him(they were 16/17 I think), and myselg, DH and younger son and one morning DH and I decided on breakfast in the hotel and Josh and Cricket wanted to go to the parks so they went and waited for the bus. We finished breakfast(and it was a sit down breakfast, no rushing) and went to get in the car and Josh and Cricket were STILL waiting on the bus..... LOL So yeah, I am more about convenience and since we will not have a car, I am thinking closer is better.

Again, monorail works only for the MK and Epcot (though you have to change monorails at the TTC). If you stay at GF, you can have a 15-20 minute trip from MK back to the resort (it is the last stop on the monorail line from MK; the boat can be faster if you don't have to wait for a boat). And you will need to take a bus from GF to DHS, AK and DTD (longer rides than from POR.) GF does not have its own bus to those parks, it shares with either Poly or WL and is the second stop, so in the mornings you will likely be standing. Same with the monorail. Just so you know

 

[LdyApxr]

Again, monorail works only for the MK and Epcot (though you have to change monorails at the TTC). If you stay at GF, you can have a 15-20 minute trip from MK back to the resort (it is the last stop on the monorail line from MK; the boat can be faster if you don't have to wait for a boat). And you will need to take a bus from GF to DHS, AK and DTD (longer rides than from POR.) GF does not have its own bus to those parks, it shares with either Poly or WL and is the second stop, so in the mornings you will likely be standing. Same with the monorail. Just so you know

Good to know thanks! So much to think about! LOL This morning my younger son expressed frustration about me planning and researching because I was comparing resorts and I said "This is not DLR, we do not know this area, these parks are worlds away from walking across the lot from DL to CA Adv and we need to at least know what we are getting in to at each place" and he stopped and thought for a moment and said "Ok, I get it. But whatever you decide will be great mom, I just want to go" LOL Half tempted to book older son at POR by himself on a dining plan and the rest of us stay at the GF! LOL Since he is paying for his part ya' know.

 

[Chernaboggles]

I think you should stick with GF. When we stayed at POFQ (which was otherwise wonderful) we had many conversations about how much we missed our car.

 

[wannabeBelle]

As others have touched on the parks are at four very different places on the Walt Disney Property so if you are closer to one, you will be further from the others. The monorail is really only close to the "Park" for Magic Kingdom. Epcot will still require a monorail ride and a transfer to a second monorail which is going to take at least 25 minutes!!! Animal Kingdom and the Studios will only be accessible by bus even from the Grand Floridian. There is no single resort that is close to all of the parks, so keep that in mind. Take a look here: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/maps/ The page shows a map of tthe four theme parks and as you zoom in it will show you the resorts in the area. I hope this is helpful!!! Marie