Heading to Disney with my 2 1/2 year old once again in July. We would like to stay on property this time now that he is older. There are some good florida residentd eals at the Coronado Springs & Port Orleans. How are these places? Do they have fridges?

I haven't stayed at either of those properties but Disney does know how to do it right. If there are no fridges, you can always bring your own cooler. We usually bring milk and cereal to eat cheap in the morning.

Stayed at Port Orleans a few years back when it was Dixey Landings and Port New Orleans (two hotels, they just combined them since they were right next door).

I really liked it for the money. It's a large hotel complex, with nice landscaped grounds, beautiful pools and bus pick-up points conveniently located around the grounds.

Also has restuarant and bar and a food court area w/game room for kids. And when I was there you could take a boat down to Disney Market Place and the Pleasure Island complex. Very cool.

Don't have any info on Coronado Springs.

Also I would highly recommed the "unofficial" guide to Disney. We found this guide book very helpful.

Have fun.

Our room did not have a refrig but we could rent one if we wanted. Don't know if this has changed. I would suggest calling the hotel directly. Also there are many disney boards out there that could offer some help. And do a search on this site, it may be helpful and give you other sites to look at.

I stayed at the Port Orleans several years ago (in what was then Dixie Landings) and loved it. Rooms are nice, grounds are pretty and there are "quiet" pools around the property.

As far as I know, Disney always charges you to rent refrigerators--nothing extra is ever free at Disney. I've done the "cooler" idea in my room there--but my husband was the one who actually took care of filling it up with ice every day.

Great suggestion about getting "The Unofficial Guide" to read before you go. You'll get great tips about all things Disney, plus ideas about how to best tour the parks. This book is invaluable for making your Disney trip a really great one.

You should also check out some websites about WDW such as www.mousesavers.com; www.mouseplanet.com. Have a great time!

We stayed at Coronado Springs a couple years ago. I liked it. We had them put a fridge in the room, they do charge $10 a day (price then). It was nice as we did have cereal and cold sodas and water at our fingertips. It is a convention property and there was one going on when we were there, but it didn't impact us at all.

We had a room about 1/3 the way around the big lake in the middle, but were able to park very close. We also took the bus to several of the resorts and there were two stops on property.

I would stay there again. The room was not fancy, but we were rarely in it. I love what the maids do with any stuffed animals that have been purchased. They pose them in the windows and it's fun to walk by a window that has a whole menagerie.

I didn't go to Port Orleans.

Hope you have fun.

Here's something I discovered at one of the ALL-STAR resorts. If you get a handicapped-accecsable room it comes with a fridge free! Not sure about the other resorts though and you get a large shower instead of a tub.

We've stayed at both POR and Coronado Springs. While both resorts are beautiful, Coronado didn't appeal to us at all because the place was crawling with conventioneers. All these business people walking around everywhere (the whole resort, not just the main building) really took something away from the atmosphere.

As others have said, fridges are available, at around $11 per day.

I agree with the previous poster on the Coronado Springs. Just went to Disney and stayed at Boardwalk with my children and Coronado once work started. I wouldn't stay at Coronado except with a convention - it is so huge and very oriented toward conventions. Boardwalk was nice, but if I went back I'd probably do a cheaper resort. We stayed at Caribbean Beach a few years ago and it was very nice, met all our needs, easy to get to/from, and very well priced. I think it was just closed for refurbish - but it is probably open again - and in very good shape.

Just got back from another trip to WDW. Refrigerators are still $10/per day and well worth it, especially to keep breakfast items. Port Orleans is currently under renovation and they are not taking reservations now. It is beautiful, however, and has a great pool. Coronado Springs is huge since it is a convention hotel. We stayed at Caribben Beach several years ago and enjoyed it. It also has a really nice pool for the kids.

I'm sorry, I saw that you said there are resident deals at Port Orleans. Maybe they are now open. It is a really beautiful resort.

This is a message to AaronM: As the daughter of a wheelchair-bound mother who can only travel if we can get one of the few handicap equipped rooms, I am apalled that you would want to take that from someone who truly needs it, just so YOU can have more room! Try tying your legs together at the ankles and take a shower, get in and out of bed, etc. Not too much fun, is it? I wonder if you are also one of those people who uses the HC parking spaces because it's so close and "you'll only be a minute in the store." Shame on you! I hope you are never, ever in need of any HC facilities. Thank your Maker you are capable of walking and stepping over that tub!

If you're planning to spend time in the theme parks, consider staying in one of the Disney hotels on the monorail line - the Contemporary or the Polynesian. It will save you LOTS of time and hassle of transporting you and your little one into the car, into the parking lots, into the trams, and then into the parks. Instead, you walk out of the lobby and get on the monorail. And both the hotels are charming.

Sandee in Maggie Valley NC
but a native of Orlando!

We've stayed at the Port Orleans and Dixie Landings (when they were separate) and also Caribean Beach. We've also stayed off site and at the All Stars. IMHO, you cannot beat the All Stars, specifically Movies.

Some will say they're noisy; they weren't to us. At the end of a long FUN day at the parks, we'd come back, swim and then crash about midnight, not hearing a thing. For our family, which includes two ever growing children, now teens, it was PERFECT.

Yes, its on the small side but we only showered and slept there! But being on site was a necessity at times, so we could go back to the room for a rest and then return to the parks later.

And it was GREAT fun waking up to the HUGE Disney characters right outside our door, and also seeing the pool from our front window.

Another factor you need to consider with your grandson: When we stayed at the Port Orleans, the slide was GREAT. However, our daughter was only 4 at the time and was NOT allowed on it! She was HEARTBROKEN. The All Stars do not have slides, but are great fun anyway.

Its all what you make it. For us, we'd prefer using the extra cash for more nights and / or souvenirs!

Have fun!

Just to make your decision more confusing, The Wilderness Lodge is the next step above the moderates, if you can swing it. You can take a ferry to the Magic Kingdom instead of the buses.

Have a wonderful time! We took our 2 1/2 yr old last June and I can't wait to get back.

Heartburn3-
Aaron never said he pretended to need the handicapped accessible room. Relax. He just didn't go into detail about his need for a handicapped accessible parking space and room on the first level.

Heartburn3, I have stayed in hotels, including one at Disney, where I was given handicap accessible rooms without specifically reserving them, presumably because no one had requested them for those nights. Just because AaronM stayed in such a room does not mean that he asked for it nor that he was taking it from someone who needed it. I don't remember that the rooms were any roomier, and in fact for our needs they were not quite as useful (with our kids we would have preferred a tub).

Dear Heartburn3. As a few of the posters correctly assumed, I did not ask for a handicapped-accessable room nor did I particularly want one. I was simply assigned one on one of my many stays at a Disney resort. I have NEVER parked in a handicapped space and in fact have left notes on cars when someone parks in a handicapped space and is obviously not in need of one. You drew an awful lot of innacurate conclusions based on my post. Here's another fact. The last time I was at Disney I reported a young man who was pretending to be handicapped to get to the front of the lines to Disney security. He and his friends thought it was a big joke until they were kicked out of the park. Have a nice day and lighten up please.