Port Orleans Riverside or Wilderness Lodge

[lhsgrad2000]

Hello. My family is going to Disney World in September 2017. It will be me, my husband and my twin girls who will have just turned 4 at that time. I have looked at all the resorts and narrowed it down to Port Orleans - Riverside and Wilderness Lodge. There is about an 800 difference for 7 nights and I don't know if the difference in price is worth it for the Wilderness Lodge. Any opinions?

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Kids that young I'd stay at POR. Lots of pool areas to have privacy. Kids love Yeehaa Bob.

 

[regul8ter18]

Our family has stayed at both resorts and if we had to choose we would choose Port Orleans. Wilderness Lodge is nice but we liked the pool and food court options better are POR. We also liked the guy who plays the piano at night by the bar. I think his name is BOB and he is a blast to watch.

 

[hicksnichols]

We've stayed at both. Kids love POR. It's our favorite resort!

 

[maryj11]

I have stayed at both and I like both. If I had to choose I would pick WL. The pool is pretty awesome, the lobby is beautiful and I love the boat to MK. If you choose POR I would go with a preferred room or request a room that will be close to food court. It can be a long walk from certain buildings. They do have a really good food court, a little better than WL.

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

I have stayed at both resorts multiple times and like both very much. If I had to choose, I would go with WL, no question. The bus transportation from MK at night, back to POR has been, in our experience, mosty awful. Long waits for the buses, crowds of people waiting for the buses, and you might not get a seat on the bus for the ride back, which is tough on parents with little kids. Getting to MK in the morning from POR was not good either, in our experience. Waited over 40 mins for a bus to MK to catch an early morning ADR. Ended up being late, despite getting to the bus stop early. POR is beautiful, the food court is great, but for families with little ones (my twin granddaughters are about the same age as your twins), I would not want to deal with POR buses. At least at WL, if you wait long for a bus, and you can't get a seat on the bus, it is a short ride back to WL, plus you have the option of taking the boat.
WL is amazing and everything is indoors. We love it!

 

[mickeynut1]

Hello. My family is going to Disney World in September 2017. It will be me, my husband and my twin girls who will have just turned 4 at that time. I have looked at all the resorts and narrowed it down to Port Orleans - Riverside and Wilderness Lodge. There is about an 800 difference for 7 nights and I don't know if the difference in price is worth it for the Wilderness Lodge. Any opinions?

We've never stayed at POR, but we love the WL. If the extra cost is doable, I'd go with WL. We find the pool, food court, and transportation to be great (love the boat to MK and CR). The atmosphere/surroundings are also beautiful/relaxing, IMO. If you will be spending a lot of time at MK, you can't beat the convenience of getting there. I have heard POR has good bus service, but the boat to MK isn't long and is a nice, scenic route. Also, unless it's changed (we haven't stayed at WL in a while), there is a bus that goes direct to MK with no stops if you didn't want to take the boat. With all of that said, I'm sure you'll have a great trip no matter which resort you choose. Good luck .

 

[adisneyaunt]

I am so partial to POR but will ONLY stay in a preferred room there. It is very large.
What I like about WL is the boat to MK, but would still do POR with kids.
Have a Magical visit!

 

[goopysolelady]

Are you aware of the construction at the Wilderness Lodge? It may BE finished by then but, if it's not, would that bother you? The Lodge is BEAUTIFUL and the pool area is awesome. I've never stayed at PO but our 2015 stay was our third at WL. You may want to check on the construction dates before you make a final decision.

 

[DJFan88]

POR. We've stayed at deluxes, but not WL, and although we loved 1 of them, are going back to POR. We visited the WL once, and for people who are less likely to eat table service every meal, found the food court to be small and lacking. POR has a great food court not to mention you can hop the boat to the French Quarter for more options. Boat to Disney springs.
Bussing is subjective. We've had some great bussing experiences, and some not so great. Yes, AM is busy-allow time. Coming home mid day, empty seats. Staying for wishes, yup, it's gonna stink---everywhere.
The POR pool is great, the slide, and if you want, again, boat down to POFQ you can try that one too.
I agree preferred is great. But many mansion rooms are close too. If your family has no health issues, the size really is not that bad, in fact, walking around is part of the beauty and enjoyment if you ask me.

 

[Tk0021]

Hello. My family is going to Disney World in September 2017. It will be me, my husband and my twin girls who will have just turned 4 at that time. I have looked at all the resorts and narrowed it down to Port Orleans - Riverside and Wilderness Lodge. There is about an 800 difference for 7 nights and I don't know if the difference in price is worth it for the Wilderness Lodge. Any opinions?

I have the same question. We are also going in September 2017, but for 4 nights, but we are paying for my parents room. I am leining towards WL because I really like the boat to MK and we are only going to MK for the 4 days. We have two girls 5 and 3 and we will be using a stroller and I hear you can roll the stroller right on the boat without folding it. Rolling the stroller back to the Contemporary was big on our trip last year. Just my opinion.

 

[danikoski]

I have the same question. We are also going in September 2017, but for 4 nights, but we are paying for my parents room. I am leining towards WL because I really like the boat to MK and we are only going to MK for the 4 days. We have two girls 5 and 3 and we will be using a stroller and I hear you can roll the stroller right on the boat without folding it. Rolling the stroller back to the Contemporary was big on our trip last year. Just my opinion.

At least some of the WL to MK boats, you have to fold up the stroller. My husband helped a mom out with managing kids and stroller to get on the boat from MK to WL in 2015.