Best Value Resort for High School Student Trip

[go3epcot]

I am a High School teacher planning an educational trip to Walt Disney World for early December, 2010. I will be bringing 25-40 students and adults. I expect that we will stay in a Value Resort, but I don't have much experience with any of them as my family usually stays at Port Orleans Riverside. What do you all suggest? Is there much of a difference with the All Star options? Is Pop Century better or worse? Is Pop better located to parks except for Animal Kingdom? Any suggestions will be appreciated!

 

[DisneyWall-E]

I would vote for Pop. Not much of a difference though. The only ones I can think of are the food court is bigger and has more selection and Pop has only one bus, so no having to stop at other resorts. If I remember correctly Pop is reletively close to all the parks except Magic Kingdom, but its still not that far.

 

[kstella]

I would go for Pop, but any of the values will suit your needs. The only AS I've stayed at is Music and it served the purpose. Going in December it shouldn't be too crowded as long as you are not going during winter break. The AS's might be crowded during that time because I think that's when the cheerleading competitions are, not sure though.

 

[Jessie&Buzz]

I've never stayed at Pop but have stayed at All Star Sports and Music. Any of the values would work. I do agree that they will most likely be crowded early Dec with the Pop Warner football and cheerleaders.

 

[eroyee]

Better stick with POP. The Pop Warner kids are all over the All Stars at that time and will be booked fast.....

 

[smk]

I am a High School teacher planning an educational trip to Walt Disney World for early December, 2010. I will be bringing 25-40 students and adults. I expect that we will stay in a Value Resort, but I don't have much experience with any of them as my family usually stays at Port Orleans Riverside. What do you all suggest? Is there much of a difference with the All Star options? Is Pop Century better or worse? Is Pop better located to parks except for Animal Kingdom? Any suggestions will be appreciated!

While I suspect you will get many "pop" is the best values replys here I want to play devils advocate for a minute. Pop is very spread out, has a bridge to nowhere (peace bridge) and several spots for teens to hide in. I would not want to be responsible for hunting down straying teenagers in that place, too many places to hide. I know that you may think you have a good group going, but kids are kids, and temptation is rampant in a "group" think scenario. That being said, I don't know that the other values have anything more to offer other than a smaller property, smaller food court and fewer pools which may or may not play into a december vacation. AS Sports is the last stop when the buses come, so that could be an issue trying to get 25 to 40 students to stay together. I hope you plan on taking a lot of chaperones! Good luck to you.


Edit:
Oh yeah, the Pop warner thing is a bigger issue than the resort choice, IMHO. Can you plan another time?

 

[lighteningqueen]

It was packed everywhere last Dec we went early and I have never seen so many people...We stayed at ASMusic suites. It is during Pop Warner week and the Cheerleaders. Maybe sports. That is usually where groups stay maybe they hold rooms for groups there??

 

[LudwigVonDrake]

Whenever I have chaperoned HS trips we have stayed at All-Star Music. I'm assuming that's where Disney put us but it served its purpose nicely.

 

[go3epcot]

As far as dealing with the dates of the trip, the school principal and I thought that the first weekend of December worked better for many students as it was early into the winter sports season and avoided the numerous trips during the spring. I am appreciative of the many suggestions thus far, and now I am curious whether or not WDW will give us the option of which resort we will stay at, if they normally put groups in certain resorts!

 

[pixiesteno]

Pop Warner football stuff is usually at the beginning of the month, I would check their website to get the exact dates. You also should keep in mind that the Christmas parade is usually filmed the first weekend of Dec and that will bring a great deal of people into the parks. We went last year Dec 13 - 18 and it was a zoo! Disney came out with free dining offer and I can't tell you how many times I over-heard "if it wasn't for the free dining we wouldn't be here". It was kind of a bummer as we specifically picked that week to avoid the crowds. Someone let the secret out that the first part of December was a quiet time to go :lookaroun:lol:. As you have a large group I would check the Pop Warner dates and then get on the phone with your Disney group planner and start working on dates & places to stay. You might want to investigate the price difference for staying at a moderate resort; maybe with the economy you can get a good deal.