Is POP too far???

3girlswdwdreams

3girlswdwdreams

Member
[FONT=Trebuchet MS, tahoma, arial, helvetica]Hey everyone...

I have a question for those who are familiar with POP.. i was just looking over a resort map and also reading some bus transit info..
It looks SO far away from everything.. 25 min bus to Magic Kingdom... we have 3 very young children and that is probably where we will spend more time than any other park...I hate to waste so much time on a bus.. and it also seems like such a large resort that I wonder if we will get stuck in a far away room walking forever every day for a bus.

would it be wise to choose another value resort or upgrade to a moderate?? (Dh and I have stayed at AS sports and AS movies.. but was back in 98 and 99/00.. so I was hoping for something different)

Money is an issue.. we couldn't go higher than moderate and even that I would want to know that it's going to be MUCH more convienent for us to stay there to justify spending the extra $300 - $400 over a value resort.
Any moderate reccommendations for family convenience?? (size, bus times, etc)

Any guidance would be appreciated!!! :)
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coltow

coltow

Well-Known Member
It only took us long if we needed to "wait" for a bus. I think they came about every 10 mns for the parks and 20 mns for Downtown Disney. MK took maybe 10-15 mns once the bus pulled away, AK about the same, EPCOT & MGM are a little closer.

Staying at a moderate doesn't put you any closer. Carribean Beach is right next door to Pop. If money is an issue, don't waste it by changing resorts.
 
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figment1985

figment1985

New Member
Pop is NOT that far! It's even close to moderates like Carribean Beach Resort. I think it's the closest value resort, with better transportation than the All star ones. We have stayed at Pop twice and never had a problem.
 
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bayoutinkbelle

bayoutinkbelle

Active Member
I'd agree with the others here. I've stayed at Pop twice (and will again this summer) and never had an issue with the times spent on the buses.

If you're worried about where you'd stay at the resort, you can request a preferred room. It costs a little more $$, but it'll put you closer to the main building (food court, front desk) and the bus stops. For someone with three young kids, it could be worth the extra money.

Not sure how old you kids are or how many would be in your party, but you can also request a crib/playpen when you book.
 
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Pioneer Hall

Pioneer Hall

Well-Known Member
Pop is really not that far from the theme parks (especially Epcot and the Studios). You are much closer to most of the action than the All Stars.

Even if you were to upgrade to a moderate...you literally connected to Caribbean Beach so it would be the same distance from there. You are closer to the MK than Coronado Springs. The only Moderates that are closer to MK are Port Orleans and even that isn't much of a time saver.
 
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S

stankypoo2433

New Member
Like the others have said, POP is great and the bus wait/ride isn't all that bad. It may actually be better than the moderates, for example...
CBR is next door and it has multiple bus stops within the resort.
So does the CSR.
The PO and DL (PO Riverside) share a bus so that's an extra stop.
Also compared to moderates is the placement of the Buildings at POP. The Lobby, dining, shopping and bus stops are all together, and any bulding is close to them.
Now, because you have 3 very young children, you MAY be bringing their strollers onto the buses and they sure do get in the way.
I have found that driving my own vehicle to the parks is so much easier. You may lose that great parking spot at the resort but it iws worth it. And as long as you are staying at a resort you can park free. At AK, MGM, Epcot, even DD and the water parks, you generally don't have to walk too far. At MK though we always park at the Contemp., or the Grand. Just say you are eating at one of the restaraunts. Sure they'll give you a timed parking pass, but they never check. Just take the parking pass out of the window once you,ve found a spot. Hit the monorail and you're there a lot closer to the entrance than the bus stops are. I know this dishonesty will probably offend people, but you know what, who is it Hurting? NO ONE
Have a great time!
 
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MPitzen

MPitzen

New Member
DisneyRoxMySox said:
Jumping in on this, I have my own question..

What about the All-Star Resorts? How is the bus situation at these resorts?
Click to expand...

My main problem with the busses at the All-Stars is that they all share busses. So if you're staying at Sports (where they usually stop first) then you have to wait for them to stop at Music then at Movies before you even leave for the parks. Then if you're staying at say Movies you're more than likely going to be standing because Sports & Music already took the seats. The other problem is one the way back... when you have cranky kids (or significant others...haha) who complain because there are more stops before you can ge off.

Also, I found the busses to be much more reliable at Pop... by this I mean the timing of them and the number of busses, as well as the number of seats.

However, I also found that both All-Stars and Pops busses were more efficient than the Grand Floridean.

Also... approximate times to parks:

MK: 20 min.
Epcot: 10 min.
MGM: 10 min.
AK: 10 min.
DD: 15 min.
 
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ErickainPA

ErickainPA

New Member
Pop is the way to go in regards to value, getting to a bus is easy (we stayed in te 70s and cut thru the 80s and then cut thru the parking lot and at the bus in less than 3 mins.)

All stars is bad because of the bus sharing. We just stayed at Sports and it was horrible. The buses got super full and our room was another story. Never again
 
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Mikester71

Mikester71

Well-Known Member
We have stayed at POP twice too and I find the bus ride to all the parks very tolerable. If you get caught up looking at all the scenery outside or talking to a fellow POP resort guest, the ride just flies by. We were there in March (Canadian Spring Break), so the parks and resorts were packed, but I still found the bus lines at the resort and at the parks tolerable.:sohappy:
 
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ToTBellHop

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
also keep in mind that all of the moderates have multiple stops on their bus loops (POFQ and POR combine buses--and POR has multiple stops, CBR and CSR have multiple stops), so you really save no time even if you pick a more central moderate like CSR--and you have more walking at the moderates since they are so spread out. Pop is awesome; you can really get screwed at say All-Star Movies b/c the All-Stars share buses so many times, a bus will show up at ASMo that is standing-room only.
 
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Nemo14

Nemo14

Well-Known Member
Pop is definitely more centrally located than any other Value resort, and also the newest. Upgrading to a mod won't save you any time, since all but CS have multiple bus stops.
On a side note, when my kids were young, they loved the bus ride too - just another piece of the magic for them!:)
 
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RiversideBunny

RiversideBunny

New Member
The only long bus ride, from any resort, is to Downtown Disney.
It doesn't matter which resort.
The bus ride to DTD from the Grand Floridian, for instance, seems long, the same as it does from the other resorts.

What counts for the buses, I think, is the quality and location of the bus stops at the individual resort. Some rooms at Pop Century can be a long way from the bus stop. Same for CBR and Coronado Springs.
Also, at the Value resorts the bus stops are just out on the side walk. At the Moderates and Deluxe, they are covered and are nicer.

Good luck.
:)
 
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Santa Raccoon 77

Santa Raccoon 77

Thank you sir. You were an inspiration.
Premium Member
My DW and I have stayed @ All Stars Movies and Music on previous trips. Last year we stayed @ Pop and we loved it, so much so that we're staying there this year. If the bus trips did take longer we didn't notice and there was definately more buses more often for Pop than for All Stars. :D
Our advise is go Pop all the way !!:sohappy: Hope this helps, have a great time where ever you stay.
:wave:
 
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P

Philo

Well-Known Member
Pretty much any of the resort hotels are fine for travelling between parks. When I was there we stayed off site and it took over an hour to get to Epcot. Then we needed to get transport from epcot to the other parks. It got a little tiresome at times but it really shows that the DW transport isn't that bad.
 
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