Please help me make a resort decision!

[laben594]

Okay so we are going the end of April/early May and I have no idea why prices are ridiculous. We can either stay at Port Orleans Riverside for $270 (king bed) or the JW Marriott for $191 (I have rewards points).

Please help me choose! Do I risk my precious Disney time for a cheaper luxury? (Let's be honest the JW is much nicer than POR), but it is about 20 minutes away, and I won't be able to use extra magic hours.

HELP!

 

[epcotisbest]

Okay so we are going the end of April/early May and I have no idea why prices are ridiculous. We can either stay at Port Orleans Riverside for $270 (king bed) or the JW Marriott for $191 (I have rewards points).

Please help me choose! Do I risk my precious Disney time for a cheaper luxury? (Let's be honest the JW is much nicer than POR), but it is about 20 minutes away, and I won't be able to use extra magic hours.

HELP!

We have stayed at the JW Marriott Grande Lakes multiple times. There is no comparison to POR. Yes, we like POR but JWM is far and away nicer with much better rooms, grounds and a truly amazing pool. For less money, I would, and have taken it in a heartbeat. The drive to WDW is not bad.
With that being said, if staying on property is important to you and you will spend the whole time at JWM wishing you had chosen POR, then go ahead and take POR and don't look back.

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

Ehh tough call. It's really all about your personal preference and what you're willing to do or not do.
Me and DH personally prefer to stay on property even though it does cost more so we'd choose POR in your case.
But if you're wanting to save money, stay somewhere nicer it sounds, and you don't mind the drive (don't forget parking costs) then you've got your answer.

Is that the best deal you can get to stay on property for your dates? No values available?

 

[21stamps]

So basically it's a $60 price difference per day. (After parking)

Is $60 pd worth being on property? Will you do other things in Orlando?

If you are only doing Disney then the price isn't enough of a difference to make sense staying offsite. I'm only saying this bc I'm assuming that you're a party of 2 since you said king bed.. If you're more than 2 I'd definitely go for a larger room.

If you are planning on seeing more of what Orlando has to offer.. go offsite. Save the money.

 

[BASS]

Have you factored in any resort fees or parking charges at JW? I don't know whether they do or don't, but if so, those sneaky charges might make this an easier decision for you.

 

[parkhopper1213]

If you are only doing Disney then staying on property may be the better option. You won't need a rental car, and the Magical Express takes you roundtrip to/from the airport. Parking is $20 a day. Add gas and other fees and off site may not be that cheap.

We stay at the on site value properties because we spend such little time in our room. We had 2 double beds and got a discount for being an annual passholder.

 

[BigRedDad]

OK, this is my opinion from someone that use to stay on property all the time. I thought I would miss out by staying offsite, but the price was too good to pass up. Since we drive, makes staying offsite much easier. It also allowed us to buy APs with the price difference. If you are considering offsite, you can look for excellent options for FAR less than $200 a night. You can get 2BR condos for $700 a week. We didn't miss any of the Disney Magic by being offsite. Where we stayed, it was 2 miles to the Disney Magic when we needed it. Another benefit is that we could see Epcot and MK fireworks from our room.

As for deciding onsite or offsite, it all comes down to what you want. We will no longer stay onsite unless we can get an insane offer. That would be a 1BR DVC room for $1000 or less.

 

[22YrsDVC]

We have stayed at the JW Marriott Grande Lakes multiple times. There is no comparison to POR. Yes, we like POR but JWM is far and away nicer with much better rooms, grounds and a truly amazing pool. For less money, I would, and have taken it in a heartbeat. The drive to WDW is not bad.
With that being said, if staying on property is important to you and you will spend the whole time at JWM wishing you had chosen POR, then go ahead and take POR and don't look back.

Wise you are, epcotisbest.

 

[22YrsDVC]

Okay so we are going the end of April/early May and I have no idea why prices are ridiculous. We can either stay at Port Orleans Riverside for $270 (king bed) or the JW Marriott for $191 (I have rewards points).

Please help me choose! Do I risk my precious Disney time for a cheaper luxury? (Let's be honest the JW is much nicer than POR), but it is about 20 minutes away, and I won't be able to use extra magic hours.

HELP!

Have you seen the King bedded rooms? They look so empty and vacant with nothing to fill the void left from the missing second bed. But it's up to you.

 

[MissViv]

If most or all of your time is going to be at Disney, I would stay onsite. But, if you are doing other things in Orlando, then the Marriott might be a good choice.

I love staying onsite at Disney but we go to Orlando to only visit WDW. Love the Magical Express and not having to rent a car. Everything is right there with Disney Transportation!!!

 

[s&k'smom]

I agree if only doing disney I would stay on property. Nice to have this kind of decision lol

 

[ryguy]

$270 for a moderate sounds crazy to me . I won't pay more than $200 for a moderate. Not when there are so many nice choices outside of Disney. But I always have a car.

 

[Johnguelff]

I would never consider staying out of the magic. But lord that is a lot for POR. I would most likely stay somewhere else onsite.