Cars suite at AofA or POR for a family of 5

[BJSforVols]

We have narrowed our resort for this trip down to these two. Out of these two, which would you pick and why?

[The Hitchhiking Ghost]

I've never stayed at AoA, but have stayed at Riverside 3 times, twice with a family of 5.

I guess it depends on what you want. AoA would give you more room, which I would think is your primary benefit in choosing that location.

A downside to AoA, and not knowing when you are going, but whenever I see pin code offers or public discounts, they generally seem to exclude AoA rooms. So by comparison, you might be paying a premium to stay there where as POR would most likely be part of any room discount or free dining if offered.

I really like POR.
-very good food court
-great pool and slide, arguably best of the mods
-on site sit down dining (Boatwrights)
-River Roost lounge (featureing YeeHaw Bob)
-Boat transportation to DTD
-Close to PORFQ
-Very nice grounds and theming

Biggest downside to POR is that post refurb they have reduced the amount of storage space in the rooms. There are a lot of things you can do to be creative, and as a family of 5 we were, so it worked well for us. I guess it depends, are you going with younger children, teenagers or a combination of both? Some others complain about how big and spread out POR is, but that is one argument I guess I just don't get. I enjoy winding down and walking the paths of the resort.

Regardless, you are at Disney, good luck.

[disneynarula]

That is a tough descion. Having stayed at both I think I like POR better. As much as they can dress it up, AoA it is still a value. The sheets were cheap and the beds were awful. I haven't stayed at POR in a long time but I don't remember the beds being so uncomfotable.

That being said, it was nice to have the extra room and the extra bathroom. My kids (9,6, and 2) loved AoA. The pool was a lot of fun and I really liked the food court.

I did a review of it here.
http://intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=198213

[BrerGnat]

That is a tough descion. Having stayed at both I think I like POR better. As much as they can dress it up, AoA it is still a value. The sheets were cheap and the beds were awful. I haven't stayed at POR in a long time but I don't remember the beds being so uncomfotable.

That being said, it was nice to have the extra room and the extra bathroom. My kids (9,6, and 2) loved AoA. The pool was a lot of fun and I really liked the food court.

I did a review of it here.
http://intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=198213

I totally agree with this. I'd choose POR.

[mom2morgan]

How old/big are your kids? I would almost always pic POR - we love it - and even when my girls were 16 and 14 we managed (trundle was fine for my older ten, who refused to share a bed - she's about 5'2. However, it WAS a little cramped and bathroom time was at a premium. If you can stand that, the resort itself makes it worth it in my opinon. We used the room only to sleep - most resort time spent at the pool or wandering around the beautiful grounds. Or sitting comatose in the food court with a cup of coffee...LOL

[#1donaldfan]

I'd pick a moderate over a value every time. POR is an incredible moderate too. It's a very relaxing and peaceful place to unwind after a long hard day at the parks !!:mickey:

[disneygoofball]

We just got back from POR, and it was very nice. The pull down bed isn't huge, but fit my niece (10 years old) just fine. It's a spacious resort, and as mentioned above, it's a moderate so the amenities are a bit nicer than at a value.

However, we also stayed at Pop Century before moving over to POR, and I wish we wouldn't have spent the money to move up to a moderate. We visited AoA, and my husband was very disappointed that we hadn't stayed there (he fell in love with the Cars area at AoA).

Some things to consider:
- the food court at POR is very small, and even during the value season (Jan), it got very crowded at peak meal times.
- the in-room safe at POR was significantly smaller than at Pop (not sure what they have at AoA, but seeing as it's newer, I'm guessing it's similar to Pop). We couldn't fit our laptop into the safe at POR (my husband's tablet did fit), but it fit just fine at Pop.
- Some people insist this isn't an issue, but the multiple bus stops at POR were a hassle. I much prefer having a dedicated bus line (not shared with other resorts) that only has one stop, which is what AoA has.