Which value resort would you choose/suggest?

[MGMBoy]

We are going to be traveling in January with a TON of people (close to 2 dozen). About half of us are going to be staying in DVC rooms (hoping for Boardwalk/Beach Club when the 7 month window opens) but the other half are not. It is three families total with 11 people and I am working on the planning so I thought I'd get your advice and see how it jives with what I was thinking. They are looking at a value resort but I know Art of Animation can be a good bit pricier than the others so what I'm wondering is, do you guys feel that the $30-ish more per night is worth it to stay at Pop Century instead of one of the All-Star resorts? I think they would appreciate the queen/pull-out configuration and access to the Skyliner would also be nice for them so that is the way I'm leaning but I haven't stayed in any of them in a long time so just wondering what your thoughts are.

 

[MGMBoy]

I think when the Skyliner is there it's worth it.

Pop is a slight upgrade over the All Stars. However for Pop, I don't like the way the murphy bed for the extra bed is built into the wall. It looks weird and cheap when not being utilized.

The problem right now is there are alot less buses for Pop and AoA. So the wait is way longer.

There are alot more All Star buses since you can really take any of the 3 buses to get back hom.

That is a good point. I hadn't considered the buses. There is a pretty good chance that they were going to rent a vehicle or two to use while there so that may mitigate the need for the buses.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

I've stayed at all of the values.
POP is my absolute favorite.

 

[Clamman73]

Just the fact that you can utilize the Skyliner to travel to the Boardwalk/BeachClub area (epcot station) is a plus for Pop....the new rooms are pretty nice too....watch for if a room discount becomes available at some point.
I'll be at Pop in the fall and even with a vehicle, it'll be nice if I want to drive back from the Park in the afternoon for a break and then take a Skyliner somewhere and it back at night.

 

[Javier Antonio Nisa Avila]

Pop Century I think it would be your best option. The first thing, as the @Pooh.sHoneyHuntTDL say, is a hotel superior to the All Star and is on the same level as the Arts of Animation.

On the other hand it is newly renovated and its rooms have nothing to envy even to some moderate.

If you are many, you may be interested in the standard rooms, since they fit perfectly four people and even a supplement for a fifth without problems.

Regarding services you have the buses and the future skyliner. Currently you have hollywood studios in less than 10 minutes and epcot equal, Animal Kingdom about 20 minutes and Magic at 30 minutes.

It is also one of the liveliest hotels I know, this year is the sixth consecutive year that I go to POP and I do not regret it.

 

[MGMBoy]

Pop Century I think it would be your best option. The first thing, as the @Pooh.sHoneyHuntTDL say, is a hotel superior to the All Star and is on the same level as the Arts of Animation.

On the other hand it is newly renovated and its rooms have nothing to envy even to some moderate.

If you are many, you may be interested in the standard rooms, since they fit perfectly four people and even a supplement for a fifth without problems.

Regarding services you have the buses and the future skyliner. Currently you have hollywood studios in less than 10 minutes and epcot equal, Animal Kingdom about 20 minutes and Magic at 30 minutes.

It is also one of the liveliest hotels I know, this year is the sixth consecutive year that I go to POP and I do not regret it.

That sounds excellent. Those of us travelling on DVC are also looking at possibly staying @ Riviera depending on availability so it would be fun to have us all staying on the Skyliner line. Everything I have read has made it sound like Pop is vastly superior to All-Star so I'm glad to hear that you guys agree.

 

[WondersOfLife]

No competition. Pop Century is the best quality value resort.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

The problem right now is there are alot less buses for Pop and AoA. So the wait is way longer.

What? That is not accurate.

They are looking at a value resort but I know Art of Animation can be a good bit pricier than the others...

That is not accurate either. AOA is very slightly more expensive than Pop.

I would stay off property before staying at any value resort besides AOA. The other four are absolutely hideous and there's nothing Disney about them.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

A little opinionated? Sheesh.

I made three statements.

The first and second were factual statements pointing out falsehoods posted by other members.
The third was my opinion answering the OP's question, no different than you did.

Get over it.

 

[MGMBoy]

I don't think "vastly superior" is correct. Better? Sure. However, POP is still a glorified motel with simple (and extremely garish) architecture. It is not comparable to any Deluxe (to me, the gap between value and moderate is small but the gap between value and deluxe is huge). In order to avoid disappointment, please make sure everyone has the right expectations.... which is Disney-fied Motel 6.... If they think that, they will be pleasantly surprised.

Well put. I'm gonna make sure to put a little email together for them with a picture or two of the interior of each room. Still have to wait for the packages to be released for next year before we can completely price everything out but I'm hoping that it is going to be a blast.

 

[EmmieSue]

I've stayed at movies twice, pop once, and AOA once. Out of all of those AOA is my favorite for themeing and the way it looks, however I hate the walk from the little mermaid rooms to the food court, big blue pool, and buses.

I enjoyed pop and movies equally as much honestly, but for different reasons. The preferred rooms are nice and close to the pools, buses, food court etc. Also keep in mind movies is renovating their rooms to be like the ones they just did over in Pop. Some are done last I checked. I like the themeing of them and personally find them the most Disney Themed. Never had issues with buses for any of these resorts.

 

[KBLovedDisney]

We've stayed at all 3 All-Stars and the Sports has become my favorite. Like them all, but All-Stars Sports (even though I am not the least into Sports) was so nice and Surf's Up is now my favorite building to stay in.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

My 2 cents here..out of all the values, POP is TOP, without question. Unfortunately, now that we are a family of 4 adults, we've outgrown one room, so AoA is our go to resort...just my opinion.

 

[awoogala]

Just throwing a wrench in here... check out Dolphin, too. Especially if you have Marriott/Starwood rewards. We just booked Dolphin for about $200 (plus $30 "fee").. when the all stars were $150-180. We also got to use some Marriott points to lower it a lot. Bigger pools/better location/better transportation for at least 2 parks, imo.

 

[Dave B]

Just throwing a wrench in here... check out Dolphin, too. Especially if you have Marriott/Starwood rewards. We just booked Dolphin for about $200 (plus $30 "fee").. when the all stars were $150-180. We also got to use some Marriott points to lower it a lot. Bigger pools/better location/better transportation for at least 2 parks, imo.

Isn't it $30 fee per day?

 

[Phil12]

The Pop is the absolute worst of the value resorts. It's always overcrowded and the bus transportation is terrible because it's hard to move all those people with the small capacity they have with the buses. You've got to remember that Pop is the largest (by room count) single resort on Disney property. They have 2880 rooms squeezed into a very small space. Once they get the Sky-Saunas in service the transportation issues at Pop will be solved.

The All-Star Sports Resort is the best of the values. While the clientele can sometimes be a problem (i.e. cheerleaders never sleep and they never stop cheering) the bus transportation is the best of all values. Disney buses are staged from the All-Star Sports so by default they have the best service.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

POP and AoA have arguably the best Food Courts on property. Are within walking distance of each other and will soon have Gondolas to get to Boardwalk. Yeah, that’d get my vote

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

A little opinionated? Sheesh.

You’re on a Disney Fan Forum. You’re here for opinions.

 

[MagicHappens]

I'd suggest Pop as it has a good food court and the Rooms are comfortable. It was also recently refurbished. With the Skyliner, it'll be easy to hop over to the DVC resort either Riviera or the Epcot resorts from the International Gateway.

 

[Jewels0621]

Well put. I'm gonna make sure to put a little email together for them with a picture or two of the interior of each room. Still have to wait for the packages to be released for next year before we can completely price everything out but I'm hoping that it is going to be a blast.

Just so you know we've already booked for March 2020 at the Beach Club and All Star Movies. So you may want to check if you can book too. We were planning on waiting also, but I'm glad we didn't. We only booked our rooms, not a whole package yet.