1 adult and 2 kids...a week in March over spring break at the world. What resort would you pick ?
AKL, WL, BC, or PORS or Swan are the choices.
AKL, WL, BC, or PORS or Swan are the choices.
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Trying to pick the best resort for a spring break visit....
- Thread starter jlsHouston
- Start date
PORS...
Brian & Jill
Well-Known Member
Highly recommend PORS!!! Stayed there several times...suggest staying in the Alligator Bayou side it seems a lot more secluded.( that's my opinion)
Moderate $ 1600
WL deluxe $ 2600
AKL deluxe $ 2400
WL deluxe $ 2600
AKL deluxe $ 2400
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I could get points and stay at SSR for $ 1700, it's the only resort with openings
Be quiet, only a lagoon view is available there. Trust me if I could book a standard or garden view there would be no hand wringing going on....
slappy magoo
Well-Known Member
I like PORS, quite a bit, but take this with a grain of salt - the second trip I took to WDW with my wife, we stayed at PORS (I had stayed there twice prior with my first wife back when it was Dixie Landings). It was during Spring Break. And the hotel was packed. Routinely took over a half hour to get any kind of QS meal - we started to intentionally drive to less popular restaurants just for the chance of less congestion. The main pool was always SRO and never a place to sit, leave your gear, etc. Even quiet pools got packed (and less quiet as a result).
And of course, that meant that the buses were also, often incredibly packed. They seemed to try to send more buses to alleviate congestion, but it was still pretty bad and we eventually gave up and started to use our own car, even to go to MK (which we visited less often because it was - wait for it - packed, to the point that they'd turn cars away from parking). We wound up doing a lot of boat rentals and surrey bike rentals, stuff you'd pay extra for, because that was the stuff that wasn't as busy.
If you're going for Spring Break, and if your two kids are relatively young (under 10) I'd really recommend Wilderness Lodge. Boat to the MK in the morning, when it gets so busy that it's unbearable, you're a boat ride back for pool time or lunch. Or you can also monorail to other resorts from MK for lunch before going back to WL. Or you can go to Fort WIlderness and enjoy their amenities. It will afford you the most options in case the parks are unbearably busy, and being a deluxe (admittedly the least expensive deluxe) it might not be as jam packed as the mods.
BC or Swan would be my second choices, again for the options. Walking/boating distance to 2 parks, as well as the Boardwalk, Yacht Club, Dolphin, Fantasia Gardens. One of these might even be better as Epcot and DHS tend to be less busy than MK during peak periods. Of course, if you wind up spending a lot of time in the pool, you'd probably be happier at the BC.
SSR is my home resort and I like it a lot, but like PORS, it's huge and it will be busy, Disney buses will be maxed out. If your kids are older and like to shop, it's a good choice being so close to DtD. And one nice perk of staying there is that you can walk to the DtD bus stop and catch buses to other resorts if you have meal reservations. But if you intend to spend as much time in the parks as possible, it might not be your best choice during such a busy time.
And of course, that meant that the buses were also, often incredibly packed. They seemed to try to send more buses to alleviate congestion, but it was still pretty bad and we eventually gave up and started to use our own car, even to go to MK (which we visited less often because it was - wait for it - packed, to the point that they'd turn cars away from parking). We wound up doing a lot of boat rentals and surrey bike rentals, stuff you'd pay extra for, because that was the stuff that wasn't as busy.
If you're going for Spring Break, and if your two kids are relatively young (under 10) I'd really recommend Wilderness Lodge. Boat to the MK in the morning, when it gets so busy that it's unbearable, you're a boat ride back for pool time or lunch. Or you can also monorail to other resorts from MK for lunch before going back to WL. Or you can go to Fort WIlderness and enjoy their amenities. It will afford you the most options in case the parks are unbearably busy, and being a deluxe (admittedly the least expensive deluxe) it might not be as jam packed as the mods.
BC or Swan would be my second choices, again for the options. Walking/boating distance to 2 parks, as well as the Boardwalk, Yacht Club, Dolphin, Fantasia Gardens. One of these might even be better as Epcot and DHS tend to be less busy than MK during peak periods. Of course, if you wind up spending a lot of time in the pool, you'd probably be happier at the BC.
SSR is my home resort and I like it a lot, but like PORS, it's huge and it will be busy, Disney buses will be maxed out. If your kids are older and like to shop, it's a good choice being so close to DtD. And one nice perk of staying there is that you can walk to the DtD bus stop and catch buses to other resorts if you have meal reservations. But if you intend to spend as much time in the parks as possible, it might not be your best choice during such a busy time.
Yah, I could have bought points for SSR but I declined because it is so huge and we are only going be there 8 days and 2 of those are travel days...and PORS looks huge to me too...and with it being as immensely popular as it is I've been thinking it would be packed to. I've thought about another stay at CSR, but with since it is just me with the kids (9&7) it's kind of sprawling too.
I think WL is my best pick too...last time I had the perfect room, lobby level, and it is a quick boat ride to CONT or MK or the Campgrounds....and one of the cheapest of the deluxes.
My DGD9 picked WL over AKL, told me AKL had a bad smell of all things...
Thanks for the input.
Tuvalu
Premium Member
With Easter being in late April this year, the spring break season is spread throughout March and April. While the parks will be busy, your week in March should not be crazy crowded. (We are going the first week of April when many of our school systems have spring break and from at experience I expect it will be busier than what you will encounter.)
But back to your resort question, I would choose WL.
But back to your resort question, I would choose WL.
EvilQueen-T
Well-Known Member
I always start with where I can get a room discount and which park(s) I plan to spend most of my time in, for instance, if we're doing food and wine we like staying as close as possible to epcot. When I travel alone with my granddaughter when I know we will be going back to the resort each afternoon to swim I like resorts where I can see them easily in the pool but don't necessarily have to sit in direct sun and melt so I always comb the pool pics and weigh that against how fast we can get to/from the park we plan to spend the most time at.
jeffk410
Well-Known Member
I would be really happy if it wasn't as slammed as I expect it to be. I don't think I have ever visited WDW when it was slow so I'm not all that turned off by crowds...but with only FP+ to circumvent long waits for rides not sure what to expect about the park experience...so really want to be happy with the resort.
WL is probably going to get it as long as a woods view remains available....unless I can talk the DGD in giving AKL a try again...I have no idea where she came up with AKL having an odor....I am going to have a car so staying anywhere will not be any kind of a transportation problem. AKL would be a $ 200 dollar savings...I'm not paying for a savannah view, be nice to have one sometime but I am not paying for one on this trip.
Anyways thanks for the encouragement about the crowds. It would be nice to NOT have all 8 days a "10".
Yes this is good advice. This will be the first time I will be on my own entirely with the 2 of them with no friend along and no daughter or aunt showing up either. SO it should be interesting because I have to bring my laptop and work and that means our schedule is going to be late days -night time park time. I'm going to have to be near the computer and my phone at least morning and early afternoon hours...I figure 2 mornings I will put them on those pirate cruises. I think they have one at PORS, one at BC and one at CONT. The other mornings we will do character dining. They of course love MK the best but we will hit all the parks and I have a car so I'm not worried about the logistics part of getting around.
AKL is the best discount, then WL. If I could get BC standard or garden view I would stay there but only lagoon view is available with the AP discount so.....I haven't ruled out a moderate resort yet, the room part of the trip is $1000 cheaper at a moderate...just not sure if we'd be happy with the pool at PORS, the one at CSR was decent...we do a lot of pool time if it's warm enough. Probably prefer AKL pool over WL.
EvilQueen-T
Well-Known Member
Have to laugh because my granddaughter and I are staying at CSR for her spring break. We've only stayed there once before and she wanted to do someplace different (we have my daughter's wedding there in Oct and will be splitting a stay between GF and POR so spring break had to be different). Of all the moderates when traveling alone with her I don't like pools like CBR, the pirate facade is cool but hard to see around so it's hard to keep an eye on her in the pool. I actually like POR's pool mainly because I can sit near the bar area, have some shade and be close to the bathroom and bar and still have a fairly good view of most of the pool. I like AKL and WL pool areas as well for easy visual but lots of places to get out of the direct sun. We've never stayed at the swan. My only draw back with beach/yacht is where the kids get on the slide. We drive as well and I like POR for when we do a lot of mk. We always take the road where you leave the main entrance and go right towards Golden Oaks then past the wl campgrounds then onto mk.
Oh how funny. I didn't like the pool at BC as well as I liked the one at BW because of the slide. There is actually some kind of a whirlpool going right when you hit the water when you come out of that slide and I ended up in the water waiting for them when I discovered it. I had to convince them to go to the sand place finally where I could keep a better eye on them. And the bar is not easy to get to. Yah the pool at BC is a fantastic water play area but not so user friendly with young kids.
I had trouble keeping track of them on the slide at CSR too...but finally got them in an area where I could be on the lounge chair and them in the water and I had good visibility. I think the Swan shares with the Dolphin. That is a pretty awesome pool area too but the bar is a walk from where they like to swim. AKL, BW and WL I think are the best pools for keeping a good eye on younger grade school age kids.
I had trouble keeping track of them on the slide at CSR too...but finally got them in an area where I could be on the lounge chair and them in the water and I had good visibility. I think the Swan shares with the Dolphin. That is a pretty awesome pool area too but the bar is a walk from where they like to swim. AKL, BW and WL I think are the best pools for keeping a good eye on younger grade school age kids.
