Resort choice help! Family of 5.....coming from far away :)

[Miamehello]

Hello! We are coming from far far away for a sea/land holiday. Starting with the Dream cruise, followed by 5 days at WDW (in January). I am conflicted in hotel bookings and am looking for help. Here are my options:
Caribbean Beach resort- they assured me the construction (amenities anyway) would be done by our arrival
Port Orleans Riverside and All Star Music - the suite- (a suite might be nice coming off a tiny cruise cabin).
They are all within $100 total. Because there are 5 of us, for our budget we don't have a ton of options. Our kids are young in age 5,7, and 10. I am looking for any help in what resort to chose. Food isn't an issue as we plan to spend most of our time at the parks. So what we are looking for is the WOW factor. The "thats so cool" from the kids. Good pools, cool fun rooms, fun grounds, not horrible transportation...with young kids and long days, as accessible as possible is nice.
Any help would be really appreciated.

 

[Melanie230]

If you can swing it....Art of Animation suite is the wow factor

 

[Micharlotte]

My choice of those would be POR! It’s a beautiful resort and the boat to Disney springs is something that the kids would like.

 

[momto3pirates]

Definitely an Art of Animtion suite. It will give you more sleeping surfaces and another bathroom. The resort is really fun.

 

[Miamehello]

If you can swing it....Art of Animation suite is the wow factor

I know....I really wish we could. It really is my favourite

 

[Upatnoon]

Hello! We are coming from far far away for a sea/land holiday. Starting with the Dream cruise, followed by 5 days at WDW (in January). I am conflicted in hotel bookings and am looking for help. Here are my options:
Caribbean Beach resort- they assured me the construction (amenities anyway) would be done by our arrival
Port Orleans Riverside and All Star Music - the suite- (a suite might be nice coming off a tiny cruise cabin).
They are all within $100 total. Because there are 5 of us, for our budget we don't have a ton of options. Our kids are young in age 5,7, and 10. I am looking for any help in what resort to chose. Food isn't an issue as we plan to spend most of our time at the parks. So what we are looking for is the WOW factor. The "thats so cool" from the kids. Good pools, cool fun rooms, fun grounds, not horrible transportation...with young kids and long days, as accessible as possible is nice.
Any help would be really appreciated.

If you want space, take the suite. If you want nicer amenities, take POR. After a cruise I would think you would want as much non-in-the-same room time as possible.

Don't worry about the "wow" factor, your kids are lucky to get to go on such a fabulous vacation. All the Disney resorts have "wow" factor.

As for the pools, you're going in January and spending a lot of time at the parks, so they may not be in play at all because of the weather.

Have a great time!

 

[Brojoef]

POR was great for our family of 5. My kids loved the grounds. We did s’mores at night, fishing, six seater bike ride, hammock for ever and ever, and of course the pool. A lot of fun “extras” at POR

 

[lanejudy]

I love POR, but if you plan to spend all day everyday in the parks, you wouldn’t really have opportunity to use/enjoy some of the features. For a parks-heavy plan, of the choices you listed i’d do the ASMusic suite. It will give you more space (essentially 2 value rooms connected), and the lids will like the larger-than-life icons. You also have the option to easily walk to the other 2 AS resorts if needing a change of scenery.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[piglet1979]

We loved POR. The pool is great and you also get to use the pool at POFQ.

 

[Arielfan98]

I think the suite would be nice because it would allow the kids to have their own space and let mom and dad relax at night. As others suggested, if you can swing an AoA suite, that'd be better.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Of the three, POR is definitely the best, overall resort. It's beautiful, you'll have boat access to DS and it shares amenities with POFQ. You'll get space with ASMu, but it's a value as opposed to a mod and there is a difference in amenities, bedding comfort (IMHO), etc. I don't know who assured you CBR would be finished, but I would take that with a massive grain of salt. I wouldn't risk it.

 

[Colgal77]

Of the 3 you mentioned POR would be my choice.

 

[ladyandthetramp2]

POR!

 

[married2mm]

I vote the suite.
More sleeping areas.
More bathrooms.

 

[DWillowBay]

Having both cruised and stayed at ASMusic...let me say, yes...having the extra space is wonderful. There's a very nice kitchenette, the privacy of a bedroom and dedicated bathroom....kids had their own bathroom..YEA!!!! And the sleeping spaces were fine. Plenty of room...their own TV. And the cost was another plus. We don't spend much time in our room when we visit, so although AoA is visually amazing, the function of both AoA and ASMusic was the same for us. Have a great cruise and time in the parks.

 

[bumbershoot]

Don't worry about the "wow" factor.... All the Disney resorts have "wow" factor.

Yep.

And speaking as a former kid (and eldest of 5 with tons of cousins), kids love any pool. My son gets as psyched about a square pool at the super 8 as he does at a fancy pool. Ultimately, to kids, it’s a place to swim and splash and have fun.

As for the pools, you're going in January and spending a lot of time at the parks, so they may not be in play at all because of the weather.

Good point.

For a parks-heavy plan, of the choices you listed i’d do the ASMusic suite. It will give you more space (essentially 2 value rooms connected)

Yep.

That family suite is very good.

 

[MomOTwins]

Caribbean Beach resort- they assured me the construction (amenities anyway) would be done by our arrival.

The catch is that there is major construction on the new adjacent DVC Riviera resort through mid 2019, so even if the construction were technically finished at CBR itself, you'd still be in an active construction zone because of the DVC construction.

I would go with POR.

 

[Miamehello]

The catch is that there is major construction on the new adjacent DVC Riviera resort through mid 2019, so even if the construction were technically finished at CBR itself, you'd still be in an active construction zone because of the DVC construction.

I would go with POR.

I didn't know this. Thank you very much. I think we have decided to break the bank and stay in a suite at AOA.

 

[Babsy]

Like others, I would forget CBR this time around. I just wouldn't want the potential to be in construction to any degree at all.

Of your choices, i would probably stay in the suite. I LOVE POR and the amenities are fabulous, but your kids are beyond napping age and with only 5 days you will likely be very much in the theme parks, in January swimming may or may not be possible (weather dependent), and the extra bathroom, space and kitchenette will be very nice. In my experience, kids are very happy at the All Star resorts. I think that there will be lots of WOW factor while on vacation in WDW!

 

[Babsy]

I didn't know this. Thank you very much. I think we have decided to break the bank and stay in a suite at AOA.

OK, read this right after I posted the above!! Yay! You will LOVE the suite at AoA! That is a WOW for sure.

Enjoy!!