Which deal would you take?

PrincessNelly_NJ

PrincessNelly_NJ

Well-Known Member
Even though I just got back from Disney on Sunday... I'm head first into planning my next trip this October! I'll be taking my two older sisters who haven't been since they were under 10 and now they are 26 & 29! I'm trying to decide which package is the better choice.

We were planning on 10/18 - 10/25 to celebrate my sister's birthday, but with free dining we were okay to push the trip back to 10/26 to 11/02. So I had really hoped for free dining at CSR but... after spending 3 - 4 hours each day of my vacation just trying to get through to Disney reservations, by Wednesday afternoon both CBR & CSR were sold out for the week I needed. So at 1am... yes, I finally talked to an agent at 1am! I booked a bounceback stay at POFQ for 10/26 - 11/02, thinking that since most people will be at CSR & CBR, POR & POFQ will be less crowded.
Well, I just returned from a week stay at POR and I know people love it there but... :cautious: I can't stay I'd return, pretty much one and done for me. So now, I've been second guessing my stay at POFQ too.

Switching to a value resort with Deluxe Dining Plan would still save us about $200.
I thought of going back to CSR for 10/18 - 10/25 because its one of my favorite resorts and saves us $125. Then I thought.. maybe with people flocking to CBR & CSR my stay at POFQ wouldn't be as bad as POR. Finally after browsing the WDW website I realized that using my Target red card to buy discounted disney gift cards, I could stay at AKL for only $150 more than POFQ.

See.. confusing!:confused: Help!
 
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belledream

belledream

Well-Known Member
I think it mainly depends on the focus of your trip. Are you planning to spend at lot of time at your resort...are you going to be exploring the parks...etc. Resorts and parks alike will probably be a little crowded around that time no matter what, with everyone trying to do Halloween & Christmas all in one. Saving money at a value is better than a moderate with no dining plan in my book. However, the $150 extra for AKL sounds awesome. Between three (?) of you, that's not too much extra for a great upgrade!
 
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Disneygrl

Disneygrl

Well-Known Member
Just stayed at AKL in January, and I have to say, if you have the opportunity to get it at such a great price, go for it! IMHO, there isn't a huge difference between value and moderate resorts, but the deluxe resorts are awesome.

Also, have you thought about renting DVC points for the week you want? You might be able to save some money that way and stay at a deluxe resort.
 
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KLeigh

KLeigh

Well-Known Member
I've stayed at POR and POFQ and prefer FQ due to the smaller size, and it's less crowded.

I'm going to second what @belledream said above - how much time are you planning on spending in the room? If you're not going to be hanging around the hotel much, I'd go with the least expensive option. If you plan on having resort/pool days then stay somewhere you will enjoy more.

The Target card will definitely save you quite a bit of money (that 5% really adds up!), and if you can use those extra savings to stay at AKL then go for it!
 
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PrincessNelly_NJ

PrincessNelly_NJ

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Michael Shiels said:
Welcome back! POR...too busy or just not what you expected? I will say I have been to both and I still prefer POFQ over POR, much quieter and less busy than the larger resorts.
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I had stayed years ago when it was Dixie Landings but didn't remember much, so it was like seeing it for the first time. It was beautiful, the CMs were amazing, our room location was excellent, we liked the arcade, and we enjoyed the food court.
I thought the ferry to DTD was nice, we enjoyed it the first time but every other time we tried, the line was ridiculous, so we ended up taking the bus to DTD most of the time. Overall, the transportation was probably the worst I've ever had on property.

We had a number of issues... small things like our bathroom door didn't lock the phone, tv remote, & alarm didn't work, the small shelves in our shower must have fallen off because they were missing but the caulk was still very visible and had various cracked tiles, the water pressure was hit or miss and really noisy when you turned the shower on (you could hear the water struggling to come through the pipes), every time the people above of us flushed the toilet it was loud enough to wake you and it ran for a long time, and we had the bad luck of getting a room with zero wifi & zero cell service. (which I know they can't control so I wont hold that against them)

It was nice to try but I can't say I'm dying to return.
 
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PrincessNelly_NJ

PrincessNelly_NJ

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
belledream said:
I think it mainly depends on the focus of your trip. Are you planning to spend at lot of time at your resort...are you going to be exploring the parks...etc. Resorts and parks alike will probably be a little crowded around that time no matter what, with everyone trying to do Halloween & Christmas all in one. Saving money at a value is better than a moderate with no dining plan in my book. However, the $150 extra for AKL sounds awesome. Between three (?) of you, that's not too much extra for a great upgrade!
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We do plan to spend mid evening back our resort for about 4 of the 8 days we are there. I have never said value or deluxe so both would be new territory for me.

Disneygrl said:
Just stayed at AKL in January, and I have to say, if you have the opportunity to get it at such a great price, go for it! IMHO, there isn't a huge difference between value and moderate resorts, but the deluxe resorts are awesome.

Also, have you thought about renting DVC points for the week you want? You might be able to save some money that way and stay at a deluxe resort.
Click to expand...

I did look at renting DVC points from DVCRentalStore and that option was about $300 cheaper but I wasn't sure how my sisters would feel about sleeping on a sleeper sofa.:(
 
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belledream

belledream

Well-Known Member
PrincessNelly_NJ said:
We do plan to spend mid evening back our resort for about 4 of the 8 days we are there. I have never said value or deluxe so both would be new territory for me.
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You definitely get what you pay for with value, but you're also paying for a compact resort where the walk to the bus stop takes less than 5 min, and the buses run frequently at that. The pools are nothing special, but if I'm staying at value and want a day break, I'd go to a nearby deluxe and explore/relax! :)

But the 50/50 split makes it a 50/50 decision:p ~4 days taking advantage of not only the pool amenities, but the theming and activities of AKL sound very enticing.
 
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tlev

tlev

Well-Known Member
I stayed at AKL for the first time in March. I fell in love with it and so did my daughter. My vote is spend the extra money for AKL. Even though it's not a savanah view there are SO many other places to see and enjoy the animals. I can't wait to stay there again!
 
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EricJ

EricJ

Active Member
Nobody needs Deluxe dining plan (you're not on a cruise ship!), but you have to visit AKL once.
The Mods are already sold out, so you'd have a better chance with the Deluxes, and I was lucky enough on my first trip to be bumped up to the far end of the Savannah wing and look out on giraffes outside my window in the morning. :)
(But you can still come down to the lobby grounds and wander around if you get a Standard view.)
 
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PrincessNelly_NJ

PrincessNelly_NJ

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
EricJ said:
Nobody needs Deluxe dining plan (you're not on a cruise ship!), but you have to visit AKL once.
The Mods are already sold out, so you'd have a better chance with the Deluxes, and I was lucky enough on my first trip to be bumped up to the far end of the Savannah wing and look out on giraffes outside my window in the morning. :)
(But you can still come down to the lobby grounds and wander around if you get a Standard view.)
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We have a bounceback that we are using at the moderate resorts instead. So that's why if we did switch to free Dining it would be Value or Animal Kingdom Lodge. I tried to get CSR or CBR but waiting on hold for hours was cutting into my vacation time last week so we missed out.
 
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draybook

draybook

Well-Known Member
I would go with POFQ IF, and only IF, you already have free dining attached to it. If you're having to pay out of pocket then I would go with AKL if that has FD. We really want to try AKL, but it's proving almost impossible to get my wife to leave POFQ.
 
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Michael Shiels

Michael Shiels

Active Member
draybook said:
I would go with POFQ IF, and only IF, you already have free dining attached to it. If you're having to pay out of pocket then I would go with AKL if that has FD. We really want to try AKL, but it's proving almost impossible to get my wife to leave POFQ.
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POFQ seems to be such a popular resort. I have to admit as well, it has been my favorite so far that I have stayed in. I have never stayed at a Deluxe though...
 
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L

LondonGopher

Well-Known Member
OK - Will you have a car? I L-O-V-E AKL (Boma, Jiko AND Sanaa next door...drool). It is a stunning resort and always feels so lovely and cool (it has a sort of Pan-African Wilderness Lodge feel to me) after hot parks. I stayed in a standard there a few years ago and would go back in a flash...provided I had a car. If no car, I'd do PO. PO has DTD and other resorts just a boat ride away...assuming the boats are running (I haven't kept up with what the DTD construction has done to the boat schedules - if anything). With all adults, I think I'd like a bit of non-bus access to DTD. Have a cheeky drink and then just drift back along the river...but with a car, AKL - DEFINITELY.
 
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