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I'm planning a stay end of may (after memorial day) for my 10 year old daughter and myself. My family normally stays at Poly but finances dictate something more affordable this time. I'm considering Port Orleans-FQ, All Star music or possibly stretching budget to Wilderness Lodge. My main concern is transportation between parks. Which is the best in your opinion. I don't want to be waiting forever for buses. Thanks
We like POR, and POFQ isn't bad. You can take buses to the parks, and boats to Disney Springs.
Swan/Dolphin, you can take boats to DHS and Epcot, which is really nice. The hotel is just okay, though the restaurants are pretty good.
The values aren't my thing. We didn't have any sort of good experience with that.
We love French Quarter. It is a small intimate resort. We have never had any problems with transportation from here. WEW have not tried the new food court. It was under construction when we were there last September. I like being able to go over to POR to use the pool or to eat. We also enjoy the boats to Disney Springs
I'd go with your choice to stretch the budget at The Wilderness Lodge. We usually stay at The Beach Club, or Poly, but The Wilderness Lodge is where we stay when we want to spend a little less. Great resort with fun theming and we've never had any transportation issues, there.
Like texas211, values aren't our thing. We, too, haven't had any good experience with them.
POR is beautiful, and we truly love it! However, the WL is an awesome experience in and of itself. If you can manage to stretch your budget a little further and stay there I highly recommend it. It's close enough to MK and the convenience of taking a boat over a bus is much nicer. There are also some things that come with WL that don't come with other resorts - you can watch the Light parade on the water at night from your resort, and Whispering Canyon restaurant is a must! I recommend both POR & WL but really would recommend WL just for the experience, even if you only stay there this one time.
The Poly or BWI are my family's favorites but prices have skyrocketed to where we just can't justify the $'s.
We like POFQ and Port Orleans but last trip my wife and I stayed at Pop with a "preferred room location". We were very worried about the busses and sure enough, on day 1 when headed to MK the line was incredible! However, we were pleasantly surprised when almost immediately 3 then 4 busses were called and the entire snaking line was boarded in under 10 minutes. This happened several times on our trip so we actually ended up waiting less time for busses than at moderates or deluxe! A very unexpected and wonderful surprise!
Keeping in mind that my tastes could be completely opposite of yours since I really don't like the Poly, I would avoid All Star Music unless your daughter really loves music. Pop is one of my favorite resorts, but I didn't really like the All Stars. I think Port Orleans is a lovely resort and plan on staying in the French Quarter for a week next year.
I would like to stay at Wilderness Lodge some time with my oldest son. He was in the ceremonial guard in the Navy, and I just want to do the flag family with him to see him do it. (Completely selfish of me, I know. He probably never wants to handle another flag again. :P)
Have you considered Animal Kingdom Lodge? Many 10 year old girls I know love animals, and I think it is priced similarly to Wilderness Lodge.
You'll be a Disney! What could be better than that? We didn't like the Poly when we stayed there. Do like the value resorts as it allows us to visit more often because we spend less $$.
WL & AKL are deluxe resorts without the higher price. That's a good thing.
As far as buses go we've waited for over 30 minutes at AKL. It all depends on when the bus/buses head back from the parks. Stayed at value resorts and sometimes the wait can be 2 minutes or 20. It all depends.
It's Disney....have a great time
POFQ is a great resort. No problem with buses. While I have not stayed there consider Art of Animation I here those are great and they have a good food court.
If you're used to staying in the larger rooms at the Poly, all the rooms at the resorts you mention will seem pretty small. If you can swing the Wilderness Lodge, that would be my recommendation, especially for ease of transportation (the boat across to the MK is a nice option). Not a fan of the All Stars.
Thanks! Not too worried about room size since we chose Poly because our kids were little at the time and needed to come and go from parks. Since my daughter is older figured we would be in park for longer periods of time and not need room so much.
Thought about offsite? Can get some great deals, else, more for your buck. Might save a few on food.
We loved both the Wilderness Lodge and POFQ.
Although I wouldn't hesitate to stay at POFQ again, but if I had a choice and could swing the difference comfortably I would stay at WL, Especially with copper canyon now open.
Thanks everyone for your help. I actually was given a gift in order for my daughter and I to enjoy our mom/daughter trip and we have booked a room at the Polynesian villas. We are so looking forward to our special trip! Now I will be looking at all the tips you great people have posted!
If you haven't tried the Twilight Feast while staying at the Poly it's a must do for our family. For you and your daughter you just get one serving and you will eat for days! It's the exact food at Ohanas and is so very good!Quote:
Originally Posted by kangan2roos2
Enjoy your trip!
Thanks for the info Isabella