Resort Help Please!

[Oceanman813]

I have stayed at all Walt Disney World (WDW) resorts, most of them multiple times. Port Orleans Riverside (POR) is a great Moderate Resort, with one of WDW's best pools, food court, and general store. The bus ride to the Magic Kingdom is not that long. You probably will spend as much time waiting for the bus as the ride itself.

My experience with children of the age of yours (6 and 4) is that they tend to love the over-the-top theming of the Value Resorts. Consider a 2-room suite at Art of Animation (AOA). All Star Music (ASM) also has suites. You and your spouse will appreciate the extra room. The bus ride is a bit long but unless you're willing to pay the big bucks for a Monorail Resort (Grand Floridian, Contemporary, Polynesian) to get quick access to the Magic Kingdom, you'll find that bus travel time differ by only a few minutes for most other resorts.

As has been mentioned, the Wilderness Lodge (WL) is closer to the Magic Kingdom than all but the Monorail Resorts, and costs less. It is excellently themed, has an enjoyable pool, although it has one of the weaker food courts.

Ultimately, if getting to the Magic Kingdom is the most important factor for you, then one of the Monorail Resorts is the way to go.

I have stayed at the Wilderness 2 different times over the years & definitely love it there. I didn’t consider it this time because I wanted to stay somewhere different.

 

[bubbles1812]

I’ll echo the posters who say keep POR. It is our “home” resort... We’ve stayed on property 10/11 trips and half of them have been at POR, including this past Dec 7-15.

I’ve been in the Royal Rooms once and they have great Disney theming. The regular bayou rooms have added Disney (mainly Princess and the Frog) touches as well. I love the resort for its homey feel and the pool is great. Nothing beats it for me except Beach Club’s pool. And it has an excellent food court.

I’ve never had an issue with transport. The Disney busses are pretty reliable. The only time you might have trouble is if you get on at South Depot (this is the one off the main building) during the mid morning rush... then you might wind up on the ‘second bus’. But honestly, we used South four weeks ago the entire time and never had any problems. Don’t think we waited more than 5-10 minutes.

MK is a 10-15 minute bus ride tops in the early am and probably maxes at 20 during the busiest transport hours. So not really bothersome and easy to get back and forth from. I actually trust the monorail less than the Disney buses and the monorail is always jammed going to the MK from the Transport Center.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I’d love to stay at Beach Club & that was one of my first choices, however, it was completely sold out on the dates we are going.

That sucks...consider yacht club too!

Consider Disney's Boardwalk. The Boardwalk and Beach Club are both on Crescent Lake, and are within reasonable walking distance to Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios (DHS). (Although I'm not sure how your 4-year-old will hold up with all the walking.)

Second this...boardwalk isn’t what I’d choose thematically (see list above)...but I’ve stayed there a lot and love it.

I can go to the real Atlantic City (if I wanted to) in an hour anytime

 

[Club Cooloholic]

I recently booked a 5 night trip to WDW for the week of March 21st, for myself, my wife, my 6 year old son, and my 4 year old daughter. I ended up booking a Royal Guest Poolview room at Port Orleans Riverside, because it looked like the property, pool, rooms, restaurants, etc, would have a much more kid friendly and "Disney Magic" feel to them. The issue I am now having is that I discovered that the property is somewhat off the beaten path and does not have great access to any of the parks at all, especially to MK where I imagine the kids will want to be at the most. My wife and I keep going back and forth over switching to the Contemporary Resort instead, because of the location, monorail access, and that pathway to and from MK, but I am genuinely trying to determine if it is really worth the extra money or not, especially since I have not ever stayed at the Contemporary.

I love the location of the Contemporary Resort but it looks like a very generic place to stay compared to most others, especially the pool and offerings for the kids. We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge several years ago and loved it there, but it was not available for the week we are going. and I prefer to try somewhere different.

Any suggestions, advice, or overall help from those that have experience with the resorts mentioned above would be SO greatly appreciated!!!

You did great. It's a wonderful resort and the food court has plenty of options to make the kids happy and a great piano player many nights at the family friendly bar. No more off the beaten path than most other resorts.

 

[Hcalvert]

Thank you so much for all of this, it is definitely extremely helpful!

I’m curious what “reduced rates” are at vacation club locations??

Other than that...you give some great advice about port.


As far as location goes...I think beach club and boardwalk offer the most...but the ones along the monorail are nice as well.

I privately rented points for my three stays. I paid $225/night for CVV (March & June), $275/night for Poly (March) and $240/night in January, and $250/night for BLT (June). I am also have an AP and originally had CVV booked for $300/night, but cancelled that reservation when offered a better deal from a DVC owner. The AP deals for Poly and BLT were non-existent or minimal. We originally wanted to rent points because we thought we were driving in during the spring break trip and didn't want to pay parking, but ultimately we are flying instead when the price of flights dropped by 50%.

 

[MissViv]

I love the Contemporary with the excitement of the monorail traveling thru. Love to just sit in the lobby or at the quick service restaurant and view that monorail. The CR has really increased in price but it is a "special place". The availability of the monorail service, boat service or the quick walk to MK adds to the enjoyment, especially with little ones that might need a nap during the day. I usually go back to my room to rest during the afternoon and then return in the evening.

My vote is for the Contemporary if it is in your budget. The kids will never forget it!!

 

[Oceanman813]

Thank you so much! I’m getting such great feedback & advice, that I am now considering looking at availability again, in an effort to split our stay between 2 different resorts.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Thank you so much! I’m getting such great feedback & advice, that I am now considering looking at availability again, in an effort to split our stay between 2 different resorts.

Not sure I would recommend shuffling around doing a split stay.

 

[JillC LI]

We love POR. In addition to what others have said about it, you have the ferry direct to Disney Springs which is wonderful. Plus a quick walk to POFQ for beignets. Plus Yehaa Bob at the Riverside Roost Lounge. Stay put unless you have to be on the monorail line to the MK.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

You're still going to have great access.

We're talking about a 10-20 minute bus ride here (depending on your stop). I get it that you can walk to the MK from the Contemp and boat it over from WL and FW. But we're talking 10-20 minutes. With the app you pretty much have up to date info on when the buses are going to get to your stop. And you can time it pretty well.

The only variable is the wait time at the MK for the bus back to the hotel. But there's a trick there as well. Take a look at the anticipated arrival time at your POR/FQ stop for the MK bus (while in the park) - then add 10 minutes. That'll give you a pretty good indication of when the bus will be pulling up to the MK hub.

As an option, with the money you'll be saving between the Contemp and staying at the POR - you can get on-demand car service with an Uber or Minnie Van - that'll take you wherever you want to go, pretty much whenever you want to go.