Planning for next time!

[Andrew Appleby]

So we've been back for just over a week and the withdrawal symptoms have kicked in.

We're looking at starting to plan for 2020 and our first point is resorts. We've only been to the world twice and both time at POFQ so are thinking of maybe something new.

We quite like the look of Caribbean Beach as in 2020 it will have the skyride. We'd 100% go preferred but I'm interested what others think is the best moderate and why? We're going Mod as it includes free dining (QS).

So what are peoples thoughts?

 

[Disneyfreak Jen]

I like POR, but it’s a lot bigger than POFQ, so I often read that lots of people that like FQ do so because of its smaller size.
Keep in mind that “free” dining isn’t really free because they raise the price of the room. While the dining plan works out great for some families, it’s not for every Disney traveler....depending on your situation it may be less expensive to pay out of pocket. So just do the math to make sure that it makes financial sense for you

 

[Andrew Appleby]

I like POR, but it’s a lot bigger than POFQ, so I often read that lots of people that like FQ do so because of its smaller size.
Keep in mind that “free” dining isn’t really free because they raise the price of the room. While the dining plan works out great for some families, it’s not for every Disney traveler....depending on your situation it may be less expensive to pay out of pocket. So just do the math to make sure that it makes financial sense for you

Thanks for the reply

We've found the free dining does bring it in slightly cheaper for the holiday and I know we could possibly eat for less but we love the whole thing being budgeted and paid for. Just makes it so much nicer. With the inclusion of the alcoholic drinks I think we're pretty close to breakeven

With regards to POR. I think if we were doing either of PO's we'd stick to FQ as we do love it (and the busses make it really tough to even consider somewhere else!) but with the Skyride coming in it may be a good time to try something new.

 

[Worldlover71]

I like to try new resorts and would encourage you to do the same. POFQ is the only mod with just one bus stop but don't let that stop you from trying the others. I really don't think it makes that much difference (others will surely disagree!)

I really enjoyed CBR before all the changes and hope it retains it's charm. The Skyliner looks like it will be a fun new way to get to the parks, though I won't love the related price increases.

The dining plan can work in your favor if you want to try some places that you wouldn't otherwise try because they are too expensive (We used 2 credits to see the Luau at the Poly.) Don't forget to budget for tips-they can add up!

 

[Weather_Lady]

We stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort in November 2016 (before the most recent renovations). We absolutely loved it. We were in a preferred room, but that was only because we were there during a dining promotion and you had to book preferred to be eligible (hence removing a good percentage of the "free"-ness of the "free dining," but that is beside the point.)

Despite the large number of bus depots, we found the transportation at CBR to be the best, and most frequent, of anywhere we've ever stayed (including Wilderness Lodge). We rarely waited more than 5 minutes for a bus. The only negative about the resort was the location of the Custom House (a long walk to check in and check out), a problem which was remedied with the subsequent renovations (which demolished the Custom House and relocated check-in and check-out to Centertown/Old Port Royale, where they shoudl have been all along).

 

[Andrew Appleby]

We stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort in November 2016 (before the most recent renovations). We absolutely loved it. We were in a preferred room, but that was only because we were there during a dining promotion and you had to book preferred to be eligible (hence removing a good percentage of the "free"-ness of the "free dining," but that is beside the point.)

Despite the large number of bus depots, we found the transportation at CBR to be the best, and most frequent, of anywhere we've ever stayed (including Wilderness Lodge). We rarely waited more than 5 minutes for a bus. The only negative about the resort was the location of the Custom House (a long walk to check in and check out), a problem which was remedied with the subsequent renovations (which demolished the Custom House and relocated check-in and check-out to Centertown/Old Port Royale, where they shoudl have been all along).

Thats great to read! Thanks for the info.