POR or WL???

[wdwkiki]

Which would you choose?? Planning a trip for April 2016
We were just about to book POR when I realized pricing for WL was not much different and when a discount code becomes available it may make the price difference even smaller. I know they are beginning construction so I do take that into consideration. We have kids in our party ranging in ages from 4 - 9.
Thanks for any advice/help you can give!!!!

[Courtland Lambert]

WL all the way !!!!! DW and I have stayed here 6-7 times and simply love it !!!

[KarenP]

Welcome to Intercot! I would choose WL as well since it is a deluxe resort. WL has a bit of a larger room than POR and more amenities. There are a couple table service restaurants and the pool is very nice. Also, the boat to MK is a big plus!

[Kairi_7378]

The only reasons that I wouldn't switch from POR to WL are:
1.) If you tend to spend all of your time in the parks (opening to closing). You wouldn't be able to appreciate all of the upgrades.
2.) If spending more on the resort means that you can't do something else special on your trip. While WL is certainly the better resort of the two, POR does have some nice perks, including the boat to DTD and a short walk to beignets.

Make sure to book through Magical Journeys so you don't have to worry about getting those discounts!

[GoBlueLacheta]

It all depends on how much time you spend in your particular resort. DW is always unique in that you can travel to all of the other resorts and enjoy their restaurants, scenic trails, and architecture. The pool and the layout is a bit nicer at WL, the travel to MK is unique and different for the kids. Like mentioned, the age groups and where you spend a lot of your time can dictate what may be the more convenient area of the property to stay.

[kpen625]

As everyone said I think it will depend on how much time you spend in the hotel. If the price is not to much different and it is important to you I would upgrade to WL.

Have a great trip!

[darthmacho]

As a huge fan of both resorts, I'd choose Wilderness Lodge. If you decide that POR is what you can afford, think about requesting an Alligator Bayou room, because the decor has a rustic motif that reminds me of the WL. You are so lucky to have to make this choice. Have a great time, whichever you choose!

[mydisneygirls]

If the differnece in price is something you could afford, I would absolutely choose WL not matter if you spend your whole day in the park or not. It's an absolutely gorgeous resort and it's where we always stay. I don't think the construction will hinder your stay in any way.

[The Hitchhiking Ghost]

I believe you said on another thread that you were a family of 5, which I think pretty much excludes WL or at least any room that would be even close to comparative pricing to POR. I would think the only way you could make WL work would be the Villas or Deluxe Club level, in which case you are far outpricing POR.

[buzznwoodysmom]

I believe you said on another thread that you were a family of 5, which I think pretty much excludes WL or at least any room that would be even close to comparative pricing to POR. I would think the only way you could make WL work would be the Villas or Deluxe Club level, in which case you are far outpricing POR.

The studios at the Villas at WL now sleep 5 with a fold out murphy bed like the ones at POR. The price of a studio wouldn't be much different than the price of a standard room at WL. It may be a little more, but not by much.

OP, having stay at both, I would pick WL over POR anytime. Even if you don't plan to spend a whole lot of down time at your resort, WL puts you just a boat ride away from MK.

[The Hitchhiking Ghost]

The studios at the Villas at WL now sleep 5 with a fold out murphy bed like the ones at POR. The price of a studio wouldn't be much different than the price of a standard room at WL. It may be a little more, but not by much.

Is that fairly recent? Whenever I've done searches for availability for 5, that never comes up (could just not be available). The last time we seriously thought about WL, family of 5 was not a viable option.

[The Hitchhiking Ghost]

The studios at the Villas at WL now sleep 5 with a fold out murphy bed like the ones at POR. The price of a studio wouldn't be much different than the price of a standard room at WL. It may be a little more, but not by much.

OP, having stay at both, I would pick WL over POR anytime. Even if you don't plan to spend a whole lot of down time at your resort, WL puts you just a boat ride away from MK.

Ok - so now am confused. I finally played with enough dates on the WDW website so that I could get Deluxe Studio to show available. It came up as rack rate of $517 p/night before taxes. How is that not a lot more than POR? Even for a preferred building or room, POR is still only in the $200's per night, it would seem that the WL Studio is still double the cost of POR at rack rate.

What am I missing? Because if the WL studio were truly fairly similar in cost, that's where I'm staying next time. But if its $200+ more a night, that's $1500 or more out of pocket, which in my world is a whole lot of Disney cheddar.

[buzznwoodysmom]

Ok - so now am confused. I finally played with enough dates on the WDW website so that I could get Deluxe Studio to show available. It came up as rack rate of $517 p/night before taxes. How is that not a lot more than POR? Even for a preferred building or room, POR is still only in the $200's per night, it would seem that the WL Studio is still double the cost of POR at rack rate.

What am I missing? Because if the WL studio were truly fairly similar in cost, that's where I'm staying next time. But if its $200+ more a night, that's $1500 or more out of pocket, which in my world is a whole lot of Disney cheddar.

What I said/meant was that a studio at VWL was not a lot more than a room at Wilderness Lodge. I was comparing a regular room in the main lodge with a studio in the villas, not comparing with a room at POR. My point was that the OP didn't need to book a deluxe room at WL or a larger DVC room to accommodate her family of 5. The less expensive studio would accomodate them.

To be honest it's been a while since I checked prices, but the last time I compared WL room pricing with VWL studio pricing it wasn't a huge price difference. That may have changed since then.

[Davy Crockett]

Unless I'm missing something from wdwkiki 5 people was never mentioned, just that they had kids ranging from 4 -9. If she/he has been looking at pricing at the WL then I would assume that the party size would be 4 or it wouldn't give you a rate except for the Deluxe rooms...
No one seemed to address her/his main concern / question which was the pending construction and from what I've been reading that is mainly going to impact the Villas and the corresponding amenities and that construction will be going on full bore in April of next year SO I would not be recommending the Villas especially if this is their first stay at WL.

All that being said I would most definitely chose the WL over POR if it fits their budgetary constraints.

wdwkiki if you want to read about the proposed construction plans for the Villas at WL then go to the section titles RUMORS (there's more to the title just can't remember as I'm typing) and you'll find a thread with plans attached to let you know more.

Last but not least WELCOME to INTERCOT!!!

[wdwkiki]

Oh boy, I haven't been on the boards in a couple of days, thanks for all of the responses!!!! We are a family of 5 however the grandparents have decided to join us so that allows us to put one child in their room allowing the WL to work for us.
We decided to go with the WL as the construction seems to be effecting the villas rather than the main lodge. As long as the main pool, restaurants and boat to MK are all open its a for us!!!!
Thanks again for all your help!!!!
For those of you who have stayed at the lodge recently what has your experience been with the busses? I know we will use boat to MK and most likely boat to Contemporary to catch monorail to EPCOT.

[buzznwoodysmom]

Taking a bus to Epcot would be a lot quicker than taking the monorail to Contemporary. You would still have to wait for a boat, boat to CR, walk up to the monorail, monorail to TTC, get off and switch to the Epcot monorail. It's way more time consuming that you might think. We have stayed at WL 7-8 times now and we have never had any major issues with the buses there.

[VWL Mom]

Taking a bus to Epcot would be a lot quicker than taking the monorail to Contemporary. You would still have to wait for a boat, boat to CR, walk up to the monorail, monorail to TTC, get off and switch to the Epcot monorail.

We tried it one time because I thought it would be quicker than the stop at FW. In the end it really didn't save time at all. Only benefit was the monorail ride around Epcot which I never get sick of.

[Davy Crockett]

Buses work flawlessly, so take them to all the parks except MK.
The water taxi's are wonderful going to MK, Contemporary & FW.
WL shares their bus route with FW, The Poly & The Grand.
There have been talks about carving out the bus route so that it's only FW and WL, but I don't think this has occurred to date.

[VWL Mom]

There have been talks about carving out the bus route so that it's only FW and WL, but I don't think this has occurred to date.

Not yet, end of May it was:
MK - WL only
Epcot - WL/FW
DHS - WL/Poly
AK - WL/Poly
DTD - WL/GF? was the old route, took a cab