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Old 02-10-2014, 03:50 PM
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Default Disney Hotels

My sister and I are planning a week in Disney in November and I was hoping I could get some advice regarding hotels from any of the Disney experts. Our budget is keeping us in the more moderately price hotels so places like Animal Kingdom Lodge, Grand Floridian, and The Polynesian are out. A few that we've looked at and are considering are Coronado Springs, All-Star Movies Resort, Port Orleans Riverside, and Caribbean Beach Resort. Does anyone have any insight on any of these or can recommend a similarly priced resort at Disney? It's just going to be my sister and me. Thanks.
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Old 02-10-2014, 04:37 PM
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If I were you, I'd pick one that looked like the most fun or the prettiest one. I know that I don't care for any of the All-Star hotels because I'd rather say some place fancy-smanshy. One day I want to go away for the weekend to the Grand Floridian with my hubby. Ah!

Anyway, my good friend who worked at Disney when we were in college usually goes to Port Orleans and it looks pretty! When I was a kid, I stayed at Caribbean Beach several times and loved it.

I'm sure any Disney hotel is going to be enjoyable! It all comes down to what you think looks like the most fun.
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Old 02-10-2014, 04:37 PM
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I've stayed at All-Star Movies and Port Orleans. Both are just your basic hotel rooms. No extra frills. I think All Star Movies is considered the Value and Port Orleans is considered Moderate. There were no big differences in the rooms. Once you have a party of 5 you can no longer stay at Value and have to stay at Moderate. The Movies is obviously a little more child themed and the Port a little more adult themed. Honestly though, I don't think you'd gain much by spending the extra $$ on the Port. I'd probably go with a Value resort, especially if you don't plan on spending much time in your room.
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Old 02-10-2014, 04:42 PM
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Oh--and then there's Bonnet Creek, which is on the property. On our way back home from Christmas in PA in 2012, we stopped in Orlando to surprise the kids. We found a huge suite at the Wyndham with bunk beds on Priceline for just $150.00. And that resort is gorgeous! So, don't forget to look over there, too! You could get some really great rates! I prefer that area to the Downtown Disney/Lake Buena Vista hotels.
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Old 02-10-2014, 04:59 PM
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the difference in value/mod besides prices and bus stops..bed size

Port Orleans has queen beds and All-Stars have full
Caribbean beach also has Full Size not sure if they have upgraded their beds yet

I'd stay at Port Orleans myself

Try renting DVC points? Can stay in a deluxe villa for the cost of a moderate room
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Old 02-10-2014, 05:09 PM
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Quote:
Coronado Springs, All-Star Movies Resort, Port Orleans Riverside, and Caribbean Beach Resort
Of the ones you are considering, I have stayed at All-Star Movies, Port Orleans Riverside (and French Quarter), and Caribbean Beach. I've never stayed at Coronado Springs because the rooms are in need of renovation.

They recently upgraded the rooms at Port Orleans Riverside. We stayed in one of the new Tiana princess rooms last time and it was awesome. We LOVE the Port Orleans hotels. French Quarter is our favorite because it is smaller and the kids like the pool, but Riverside is even more beautiful. The beds are Queen size, the rooms are elegant and just big enough, and the grounds are beautiful. We especially love that at night they have roasted marshmallows over a fire pit and it's located on a 'river' which if you hop on one of their boats will take you straight to Downtown Disney where you can eat, shop, etc. It's nice. It's also one of the more quiet resorts. If you stay at Caribbean Beach or any of the All-Star resorts there are more groups and noisy kids.

I will say that DH and I loved our 2 times we stayed at Caribbean Beach. The beach-y areas with hammocks are a nice place to rest at the end of a long day at the parks. The rooms are nice, but nothing special, though. We like the slight elegance of P.O. better.
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Old 02-10-2014, 05:14 PM
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Lots of great info here. Thanks.

Quote:
Originally Posted by FlirtatiousBrat View Post
Try renting DVC points? Can stay in a deluxe villa for the cost of a moderate room
I'm not sure what this is. So far the extent of my time in Disney has been day trips from Sarasota to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios. I'm a complete newbie with the actually going to Disney for a whole vacation...but looking forward to it.
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Old 02-10-2014, 09:30 PM
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DVC - Disney Vacation Club. If you look on some of the timeshare websites you can buy points from people and get a week there or several days.

We just stayed at Coronado Springs and have also stayed at Port Orleans, Carribean Beach and All Star Movies and Sports. The beds are bigger and nicer at PO, CB and CS. Rooms come with a small fridge and I think they are nicer than the All Star resorts. All of these are going to be motel rooms in that the hallways are outside and the bathroom is in the back of the room. I don't think you can go wrong with the mid-level resorts. Being able to park and ride the bus is nice or you can get a pass and drive your car to any resort or park. It really makes the experience that much better. However, schedule time to wait for the bus if you have reservations.
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Old 02-10-2014, 09:42 PM
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We have only ever stayed at PO Riverside, but we loved it. In fact, we stayed there twice we loved it so much. The food court was excellent and although you'll find people who hate the bus system there, we didn't have any complaints. The resort is gorgeous and you'll forget you're anywhere but in your little vacation bubble when you're there.
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Old 02-10-2014, 10:14 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by YepBrook View Post
Of the ones you are considering, I have stayed at All-Star Movies, Port Orleans Riverside (and French Quarter), and Caribbean Beach. I've never stayed at Coronado Springs because the rooms are in need of renovation.
hmm not sure when you last checked..we stayed there Christmas 2011 and they were newly renovated. A lot of people don't like CSR b/c it's a convention resort and it's HUGE. We had the BEST bus service during a peak time so I can't complain. I'd stay there again.

Caribbean beach hasn't been renovated it's the last mod to get an update I think (still have full size beds the rest have queens)
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Old 02-10-2014, 10:30 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FlirtatiousBrat View Post
hmm not sure when you last checked..we stayed there Christmas 2011 and they were newly renovated. A lot of people don't like CSR b/c it's a convention resort and it's HUGE. We had the BEST bus service during a peak time so I can't complain. I'd stay there again.

Caribbean beach hasn't been renovated it's the last mod to get an update I think (still have full size beds the rest have queens)
I can't say I have checked in a really long time. Maybe 2009 or 2010??? As a family, we have stayed at Port Orleans for the past 4 years... so, it's been a while since I've even considered a different resort. DH & I stayed at a Pirate themed room in Caribbean Beach right after they finished them, which was within the last 2 years... I think. All I remember is reading complaints about the rooms at CSR when I was doing my research, so I never really considered it.
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Old 02-10-2014, 10:42 PM
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We've stayed at the All Star ones and Port Orleans. The kids liked the All Star ones (mind you the boys were bitty then, but my younger siblings were older kids) but the Port Orleans one was much nicer. That's where John and I stayed when we went on our own. It was so pretty.
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Old 02-10-2014, 11:14 PM
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We just stayed at All Star Sports. It was fun for kids, but honestly, I would upgrade, we were just doing one night though so we went with value.
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Old 02-10-2014, 11:32 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MissKim View Post
The resort is gorgeous and you'll forget you're anywhere but in your little vacation bubble when you're there.
I like the sound of that. Although we're looking forward to going to the parks, I usually need some quiet downtime when I'm on vacation just to recharge. We were looking at Port Orleans Riverside again tonight and I've got a feeling that's the way we're going to go. We're planning on going mid-November so I guess we have a bit longer to figure things out.
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Old 02-10-2014, 11:52 PM
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here are a few photos from when we went a few years back and stayed at the Port Orleans

view from outside of hotel room



view of the back of the hotel when walking up from where the rooms are


I thought I had more saved to Photobucket, but I can't find them and lost them when my Mac died.
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Old 02-11-2014, 10:14 AM
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Have you considered Art of Animation its our favorite
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Old 02-11-2014, 01:48 PM
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We did Caribbean Beach 15 years ago when we honeymooned there. It was pretty and I enjoyed the beachy atmostphere, but if it hasn't been renovated since then, I'd probably skip it unless you're looking for rooms a la 1990 Golden Girls decor. LOL We stayed at Art of Animation in 2012 when we took the kids. It was brand new when we stayed there and it is awesome! More kid-centered than you are probably looking for, but it's all so well done that we all loved it!
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Old 02-12-2014, 08:01 PM
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We have stayed at all of the ones you are considering. One thing I would take into consideration is where you plan on spending the majority of your time. The All Star hotels are 10 minutes from Animal Kingdom and closer to 30 minutes from Magic Kingdom. Coronado is located in the same area, and it takes about the same amount of time to get to those parks. We really like both of those resorts, but my son always reminds that when it is raining and there is any chance of lightning (even in the distance), they close the pool with the pyramid. Caribbean Beach has a great theme, but is a bit spread out for us.

Port Orleans Riverside is pretty centrally located and is by far our favorite moderate: we always try to stay in the Alligator Bayou. It has such a relaxing atmosphere. One thing about Port Orleans Riverside is that it was the only moderate not included in the free dining last November when we were there. (We actually switched to Coronado because it was such a significant savings.)
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Old 02-14-2014, 03:27 PM
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We just stayed the last 3 nights at the Swan. I'm sad to be back home to snow. There were mostly business travelers and convention goers and very few families there this week. I think it all depends on what kind of atmosphere you are looking for.
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Old 02-14-2014, 11:49 PM
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Don't wait too long to book Julia The November deals are already out
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Old 03-27-2014, 08:32 AM
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Just wanted to thank everyone for their help. My sister and I just booked out trip last night. We're going to be staying at the Port Orleans Riverside in November. It's my first trip to Disney (other than a few day trips when visiting my cousin in Sarasota) and I'm really looking forward to it.
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