On the fence about where to stay - Long post / need help please

[joejccva71]

My trip is the first week in May (may 5 - 10), and I still cannot for the life of me figure out where I want to stay. I'd like to stay on-site (POR or POFQ) but I'm trying to save money to be able to do MORE things while at Disney. My budget is very tight and I have at the very most $3000 for the entire trip including food/souvenirs. I'm taking my 10 year old daughter for her birthday. She has never been before. I have been 3 times but the last time was 15 years ago.

Pressing on with my issue...

I have narrowed it down to these 3 resorts:

Also, the prices below are with airfare, hotel for 5 nights, 4-day park tickets (no park hopper), and $500 food allowance for 1 adult and 1 10 year old child.

1. POR or POFQ on Disney property -$2900
2. Hilton at Downtown Disney/Lake Buena Vista area - $2500
3. Best Western at Downtown Disney/Lake Buena Vista area - $2200

As you can see, quite a price difference for someone on a tight budget.


The pros and cons of both in my mind:

1. Transportation system - I've heard horror stories about the Disney transportation bus system. Long lines, hassles, etc. And the theme park transportation from the Hilton and the Best Western are very good from what I hear and run every 30 minutes and run late at night too.

2. Dining - I'm not planning on doing the Disney dining plan even if I stayed on-site for the simple reason of I don't believe it's worth it and we may not eat that much food. I'd rather just set aside $100 a day for food for the two of us and pay out of pocket. With that being said, there are alot more choices in restaurants at the off-site hotels IMO. I've checked Boatwright's menu and it looked somewhat mediocre to me. Hilton and Best Western's restaurants are kinda nice. I've checked them all out.

3. Proximity to DTD - Not a huge deal but if I stay at the Hilton, I literally walk across the street and I'm at their entrance which not only gives us more dining options but it also gives us something nice to do when we get home from the parks. I understand that from POR or POFQ, it's just a boat ride to DTD but nothing beats walking across the street.

4. Disney bubble - I've heard about this "disney bubble" and being immersed in the theme of Disney by staying on-site but for the extra money I'm not entirely certain it's worth it to me. It might be to my daughter although I think she will just love being there anyway regardless of where we stay.

5. Disney benefits - This is where one of my problems lies. All those benefits that staying on Disney gives you. The free transportation to and from the hotel, the luggage transport, when you buy something at the park you don't have to carry it around as they will just send it to your room, being able to pay for anything with your room key, etc. Things like this may not seem really that important when pricing and planning, but when you're onsite I know that it would be nice to have.


Another thing I forgot to mention is that if I stayed off-site at either the Hilton or Best Western, not only would I be able to afford the "Park Hopper ticket option", but also we could probably stay an extra day giving us 6 nights in the hotel and 5 days at the parks.

Oh yea, and if you're wondering "why don't you just stay at a value resort and you can save money AND be on Disney property!"....well yes I thought about that, but I've heard and read on this very forum that the transportation system is not so good at those value resorts, not to mention the lines for the buses, etc. I've heard that sometimes you have to wait 2-3 buses before getting to the parks. I'd rather not deal with that.

Transportation is HUGE for me.

Decisions, decisions.... This drives me crazy.

If you guys don't mind, can you give me your thoughts and input on this? What do you think? What do you recommend?

Thank you guys!

 

[Betsyboo]

I've stayed at Pop Century and found it to be a very enjoyable resort and I've also stayed at PORS and loved it. We've not had any major problems with Disney transportation. Waiting for a couple of buses isn't the end of the world and if you're up early and ready for the parks most of the time it won't be a problem. I'd research some websites devoted to Pop and the other All Stars and see if there are suggestions or reviews on the transportation. The week you are going has low crowd predictions too so that will help.

Staying on property is great and you do get that "bubble" feeling. If it's a trip of a lifetime I'd stay on property.

Best wishes for a wonderful trip with your daughter. She'll always remember this as a special time with her father and it's a great place to make memories.

 

[Ember]

Did you factor in the spring discount for POR? It's 25% off room and a free day ticket for any tickets 4 days and up. Our cost is less than yours ($500 taken into consideration) and we are booked for 7 nights at POR with 6 day tickets for four people.

 

[Ember]

Not trying to be overbearing or anything, but I went ahead and priced it out and with the discount and 5 day ticket it would only be 1461 for a stay at Port Orleans Riverside With your $500 that put you at $2000 for your trip leaving room for another night or for some awesome souvenirs/dinner reservations/side trips

 

[Ember]

Augh I feel like a jerk. You said including airfare!

 

[mr_braver23]

I've stayed at Pop Century and found it to be a very enjoyable resort and I've also stayed at PORS and loved it. We've not had any major problems with Disney transportation. Waiting for a couple of buses isn't the end of the world and if you're up early and ready for the parks most of the time it won't be a problem. I'd research some websites devoted to Pop and the other All Stars and see if there are suggestions or reviews on the transportation. The week you are going has low crowd predictions too so that will help.

Staying on property is great and you do get that "bubble" feeling. If it's a trip of a lifetime I'd stay on property.

Best wishes for a wonderful trip with your daughter. She'll always remember this as a special time with her father and it's a great place to make memories.

March will be our 8 time staying at PoP no troubles AT ALL here EVER!

 

[bow0303]

We've stayed at Pop Century and we don't recall any major issues. Now what's major to me and what's major to you maybe completely different. We did have to wait quite awhile one day when leaving DHS midday but nothing other than that. I would agree that if you are up early you wont have to wait long for busses to the park. We have stayed off property a few times and after staying on property the last big trip I really enjoy the "BUBBLE" a whole lot more. I truly believe the immersion adds to the trip.

If your budget is tight I would really consider stay at the Pop. I don't believe that you'll see a HUGE difference between the value and Mods (I haven't stayed at a moderate yet so just going off what I have read and answers to questions that I have asked). Whatever you decide I hope you have a magical trip and are able to make wonderful memories with your daughter.

 

[75disney]

I highly recommend a value resort given your budget. If it is your daughter's first trip, immerse her in as much Disney magic as you can every day. Plus, you will get Magic Bands and be able to set up your FPs 60 days before you arrive.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

How much is your airfare? May 5th to 10th with 4 day plus one free day promotion puts POR at 1461.93... Honestly value resorts are good. Even buses at deluxe resorts tend to be slow sometimes. May is supposed to be a time with low crowd levels so I would easily recommend value resorts. For every bad story about transportation, you'll find others that had great bus service.

 

[joejccva71]

I've stayed at Pop Century and found it to be a very enjoyable resort and I've also stayed at PORS and loved it. We've not had any major problems with Disney transportation. Waiting for a couple of buses isn't the end of the world and if you're up early and ready for the parks most of the time it won't be a problem. I'd research some websites devoted to Pop and the other All Stars and see if there are suggestions or reviews on the transportation. The week you are going has low crowd predictions too so that will help.

Staying on property is great and you do get that "bubble" feeling. If it's a trip of a lifetime I'd stay on property.

Best wishes for a wonderful trip with your daughter. She'll always remember this as a special time with her father and it's a great place to make memories.

Thanks for your advice! I'm pretty crazy when it comes to efficiency. LOL so the waiting for bus thing would bother me probably.

 

[joejccva71]

Did you factor in the spring discount for POR? It's 25% off room and a free day ticket for any tickets 4 days and up. Our cost is less than yours ($500 taken into consideration) and we are booked for 7 nights at POR with 6 day tickets for four people.

Are you sure about that? I factored in the airfare with my price.

 

[Courtneylee212121]

You should be fine at a value! The buses Really only get like that during Christmas and other peak times....early may you should be fine! But port Orleans is an awesome place to stay also the dining plan really helps us save on money! We love it!

 

[joejccva71]

How much is your airfare? May 5th to 10th with 4 day plus one free day promotion puts POR at 1461.93... Honestly value resorts are good. Even buses at deluxe resorts tend to be slow sometimes. May is supposed to be a time with low crowd levels so I would easily recommend value resorts. For every bad story about transportation, you'll find others that had great bus service.

Airfare was just under $500 from Raleigh.

Yea I love all the advice here, I'm considering staying at Pop Century now.

 

[Ember]

Are you sure about that? I factored in the airfare with my price.

See my later comments, but even so your total would be about 2300 for tickets, room, food, and airfare. Pop would be even less

 

[Ember]

And staying in the bubble is just awesome which is why I am trying to help you work it out

 

[Courtneylee212121]

If you choose a value I bet your daughter would love all star movies or art of animation! Both of those resorts have disney characters everywhere!

 

[gostone23]

We've never had an issue with Disney Transportation. If you are nervous about it just leave early for everything. The parks have opening ceremonies that are fun to watch anyways.

But you should also take a longer look at the budget hotels. They really aren't bad but POR and PORFQ do look awesome. I think one of them might be our next stop if I can talk my wife into going back again. We've done All Start Sports and Music and they were fine albeit not as themed as the PORs.

-Robert

 

[Ember]

We've never had an issue with Disney Transportation. If you are nervous about it just leave early for everything. The parks have opening ceremonies that are fun to watch anyways.

But you should also take a longer look at the budget hotels. They really aren't bad but POR and PORFQ do look awesome. I think one of them might be our next stop if I can talk my wife into going back again. We've done All Start Sports and Music and they were fine albeit not as themed as the PORs.

-Robert

Port Orleans Riverside or bust!!! But I seriously love that place. This will be our second stay there. I have lots of pics in my trip report if you want a better idea of the resort.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Airfare was just under $500 from Raleigh.

Yea I love all the advice here, I'm considering staying at Pop Century now.

@Ember is correct, 1461.93 for May 5th to May 10th @ POR, 5 day tickets, plus $500 for airfare, and $500 for food brings you to $2461.93! I would definitely recommend POR but if not, staying at Pop Century would put you at $2,164.08.

Enjoy which ever your choose. When on the disney site remember to go to special offers then apply the discount

 

[iluvMainStMagic]

I also agree about checking into Pop Century. We've stayed there a couple of times (as well as at all 4 Moderates and a couple of the Deluxes), and we would gladly stay at Pop again. The food court there is one of my favorites. The rooms are a bit smaller than the Mods & Deluxes but for 2 people, it's plenty of room.

We have used Disney's Magical Express (DME) to on-property resorts quite a few times, and highly recommend it. I've read of some people's problems with it, but I've heard a lot more good than bad, and our experience has always been good. We did rent a car the first year we flew, but once we tried DME we found it to be very convenient, plus it saved us time and money.

In our experience - we have enjoyed using the Disney bus system over many years. We have had a few wait-times that we thought were too long, but overall we think it's a great system, and Love using it vs the hassle of driving.....trying to find the best route to where we want to go, parking, and then trying to find our car again - or if we park hop, having to go through all that again. Also, the bus stops are near the park entrances and are covered for protection from rain and provide some shade if it's hot. We like being able to "sit back, relax, and leave the driving to them" But I realize that's not the way everyone wants to do it
If you haven't, it might be a good idea to look up (ie find in writing) or call the off-property hotels to be sure of their bus schedules. There are good and bad stories about bus service for off-property buses, too. At least that way, you would know what to "expect", per the hotel.

If it's important to you to go to DTD, and you choose the Hilton because it's close, please make sure you really can safely cross the street to walk there. There are lots of places in WDW that look like they are walkable on the map, but due to the amount of traffic, sidewalks were not built to discourage foot traffic for safety reasons.

I also agree that having Magic Bands (another perk of staying on-property) really can help. We had 11 in our group last time, and several people really didn't want to have to use the MB's, but after a couple of days, they had changed their minds. We also found out that it really does help to be able to make some FastPass+ reservations well ahead of time. We thought we wouldn't have a problem making a few ahead and then some after we got there, especially since it wasn't one of the more crowded times of the year, but it turned out that we had few or no options for times for some of the most popular attractions.

So Sorry this got so long It sounds like you have thought it through very well. Each option has pros/cons, and you could enjoy your trip with any of them. Congratulations on being able to go, and I'm sure this will be a special birthday for your daughter! Have a Wonderful time!!