We have a trip booked to Disney April 18-23rd. We are debating between Pop Century and Coronado Springs. I keep hearing horror stories of transportation at both resorts right now during COVID. We have 2 rooms and 8 people all together. My main concern is the transportation aspect. We only get to disney every 3 years, so being at the parks all day is a priority for us. We have 2 small children so Uber/lyft is not an option for us. There is a $400 difference per room between the 2 resorts. Just want to know other experiences with it to ultimately decide!
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Pop century vs Coronado Springs
- Thread starter croyse
- Start date
dmw
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
We've stayed at both and have experienced good and bad in regards to transportation. I would pick Pop over CSR because of the Skyliner option to Epcot and HS, since transportation is your main criteria. If considering other resort amenities, CSR is a very nice resort with a great pool.
CaptainAmerica
Well-Known Member
If your main concern is transportation, Caribbean Beach.
We looked into Caribbean Beach but all they have available are the Pirate rooms and they are so much more expensive. $800 more than Pop Century. I also worry due to the fact that CBR has not been upgraded and I see some odd reviews. There are so many different kinds of reviews for all 3 resorts.
The only thing that is worrying me is the wait for transportation at POP Century. I know we will run into that at every resort due to COVID. I worry about the Hub station at CBR as well and having to wait even longer. We are going after Spring Break rush, but i'm still not sure how the crowds will be at POP compared to CSR
CaptainAmerica
Well-Known Member
I agree with the pirate rooms. They suck, not worth the cost. But besides that, the entire resort just came off of a major multi-year refurbishment.
Queen of the WDW Scene
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
I've stayed at both.
I'd pick POP over CSR without hesitation.
I had a terrible experience at CSR especially with transportation.
But you have to consider that right now any resort may be iffy with transportation.
If you're spending the majority of your time in the parks then that would also make me lean towards POP.
Although again right now... you have to consider the limited hours at the parks so whether you want to or n ot you may be looking at spending more time at the resort than usual.
I'd pick POP over CSR without hesitation.
I had a terrible experience at CSR especially with transportation.
But you have to consider that right now any resort may be iffy with transportation.
If you're spending the majority of your time in the parks then that would also make me lean towards POP.
Although again right now... you have to consider the limited hours at the parks so whether you want to or n ot you may be looking at spending more time at the resort than usual.
We have planned several days to swim. the first day we get there and the animal kingdom day. We have 3 kids, I feel like there are benefits to both resorts. They love water slides, so thats why I consider CSR. Its so hard to decide. We are a rope drop family, so having an infant makes it hard to take an uber or lyft. That is just my concern with the transportation.
dmw
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
The hub was not too bad for us, even first thing in the morning. The lines keep moving - much better than waiting for buses. The MK bus wait at Pop seems daunting, but the first buses in the mornings are usually the double-buses. We love Pop and stayed there twice in 2019 after the skyliner had opened. But, we've not been there post-covid, so not sure if there is any difference in transportation.
MrsPrice96
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
We just left Pop and had zero issues with any transportation. The key is to get to the transportation areas early. The day we checked out the line was super long to get to MK, open time listed 9 and they got in line at 8:30. We never waited longer than 20 minutes in any line to the parks at Pop. Here is what we did
--MK open listed time 9. Got in bus line at 7:20. Should have gotten there earlier- probably 7. We got on the 4th bus. In line for seven dwarfs at 8:20. Waited 15 min to get on ride. Then walked on Peter Pan ,Big Thunder, and Haunted Mansion.
--HS open time listed 9am. We got in line for Skyliner at 7:40. Arived at HS at 8:20. The line moved super fast. We were able to walk on Millennium Falcon and Toy Story Mania.
--AK open time listed 8. We got in line for bus at 6:40 and was on first bus. Arrived at park at 7:05. We were the first resort bus to arrive. Walked by ourselves to Pandora and first in line. Walked on to Kilimanjaro after that.
--EPCOT open time listed 11. Went to skyliner at 9:05. Get off at CBR and we walked to Riviera instead of waiting just bc it was so nice. The line at CBR we would have been 5th. Started running skyliner at 9:55
MrsPrice96
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
Also- we stayed at CBR before and will not again due to the bus lines not being organized. Pop at least has an actual que line for each park. CBR tends to be a free for all and confusing when we were there. IMO
You might also try breaking up your res and see if the rooms pop up at CBR in the price range you want. I had orig booked at Pop for my upcoming stay, but saw that if i split the res into 2 diff ones, I could get a nice room at CBR at the discounted rate. I know the CMs will usually be able to keep you in the same room the entire time, so if you do that, just let the front desk know at check in. I love Pop (stayed there before), but liked that CBR was closer to most everything.
Thank you for the information!! This looks like a great plan. We have 8 in our party, so maybe 2 people can go get in line for the skyliner and the baby and my toddler can join closer to when they start running. I think we will stay with pop. Coronado Springs looks like it is beautiful but I have heard a lot of bad about the buses there as well. It is also $734 more dollar total for us to stay at coronado instead of POP.
MrsPrice96
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
I forgot to mention that all the parks opened an hour before listed opening times so be careful with not having your entire party there once the transportation lines start moving.
That is very true. We decided to go with POP Century and spent extra on the preferred room so we can be closer to all transportation. It was not that much more for Preferred. We showed both resorts to our older 2 kids and they both were way more excited about pop century. The last time we stayed 3 years ago was at AOA.
Queen of the WDW Scene
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
POP is very easy to get around.
And the buses and skyliner are in different directions.
I'd save even more money and go with a standard room.
Daily Magic
Active Member
Coronado for me. I spent years staying at Pop and while it is even better now bc of the Skyliner I just enjoy the look and feel of Coronado so much more. The rooms are much nicer, food options far better, the pool is great and it has lots of great views. That said the transportation at the end of the night back to Coronado seemed to never be great. Waited nearly an hour at the bus stop at Epcot trying to get back to the resort one night. That was rough.