To Pop or not to Pop?

[The Mighty Tim]

Hi all

18 months on from our last trip to WDW, we are in the exciting stages of planning for the next one - tentatively scheduled for 18 months from now (September 2018). We were originally considering Coronado Springs or Port Orleans, but recently we've been finding ourselves drawn towards Pop Century. The reason for this being that we stayed at Caribbean Beach on our last trip - a nice moderate, but it's becoming clear that we don't often end up using many of the resort features, namely the pools, table service restaurants etc. Normally, we use the resorts for sleeping, storing our stuff and getting breakfast (and the occasional pool side adult beverage and/or midnight chicken nuggets!). The fact that Pop Century is (at the time of writing) over £500 cheaper than Coronado Springs for two adults for ten nights is also a factor that drew us closer to Pop Century. We've also considered the All Star resorts (a further saving of ~£150 on Pop Century), but we've stayed at all three of them and personally, I'm trying to stay at a different resort on each visit!

So, I was wondering, based on the vast experience of the other members here on this forum, which would you recommend?

• Pop Century
• Coronado Springs/Port Orleans
• All Star Resorts
• Something else

Of particular interest would be Disney Transportation frequency/crowd levels, likelihood of large groups of school kids/cheerleading groups/South American parties, noise issues etc.

For reference, our travelling party will consist of myself and my brother, both in our 30s.

Thanks for your help in advance!

 

[Monty]

I've managed to stay at all the non-DVC resorts.
Pop is my go-to Value Resort.
Port Orleans French Quarter for Moderates.
Beach Club for Deluxe.

September in Pop you shouldn't have any problems with groups. Noise is an issue if your room faces a pool and somewhat with people/kids going by, there is not much soundproofing.

Theming and such, Pop is better than the All Star Resorts IMO.

 

[belledream]

Pop in September is just fine, and I would highly recommend! I like the All Stars too but I totally get your desire to stay at a new place every time, and would also not mind paying the extra money for that this time around.

 

[BigRedDad]

Without kids, it comes down to how much you want to spend and what you plan to do. I would go POR or CSR for moderates. Boardwalk for a Deluxe because there is so much to do in that area.

 

[WDW_Emily]

My opinion has always been Pop is the best value resort, however, we had a great time at All Star Movies this past February. Here are the big differences we noticed:

1. The busses seemed faster at All Star Movies compared to Pop...Especially when leaving the parks.
2. The rooms felt nicer. I know this is a matter of opinion but we felt pop needed some TLC.
3. This could have been luck but our room was quiet in All Star Movies. Pop was filled with noisy people up until 1am we never had that problem at All Star Movies.

 

[Andy_0410]

Stayed at pop recently for the first time and can't fault it. As a base for somewhere to like you said sleep and store your stuff it's great
Do like port Orleans French quarter quiet and relaxing and has the added bonus of the boat to Disney springs
Since like my self you are from the uk I would hold out for about a month if booking for next year as April is when Disney normally starts offering us brits free dining if staying in a moderate or higher resorts

 

[Smiley/OCD]

We have stayed at POP 3 times...it is IMO, the best of the value resorts...contrary to what was said by others, the bus service can't be beat!
If you stay at the All-Star resorts, usually you have one bus that handles all 3 resorts, whereas with POP, it's 1 bus for the resort with no other stops. We have always found the rooms clean, the food court is great, and the pool very good. We agree with you, if you are just going to use your room for showering and sleeping, why waste your money on the room...save it to spend in the parks.
With that being said, now that we have 2 tall DD's, we sort of outgrew POP...our new resort is Art of Animation, right across the Hourglass Lake from POP...it IS more expensive, because most of the rooms are suites, but if you get the chance, and end up staying at POP, take a walk across the bridge, and check out AOA...the theming is incredible. If you end up at POP, you WILL have a great time!!!
P.S., If you're concerned about the noise, (rooms facing the pool can be noisy), try for the 3rd floor, facing the lake in the 60's building.

 

[Captain Barbossa]

POP, PORiverside, and ALL-STAR MOVIES are great resorts

 

[JohnD]

To Pop or not to Pop? That is the question.

Answer: Pop

 

[Otterhead]

Of particular interest would be Disney Transportation frequency/crowd levels, likelihood of large groups of school kids/cheerleading groups/South American parties, noise issues etc.

For all of those things, I'd choose Pop Century. Great bus transportation, minimal noise issues (in my experience), and I may be mistaken, but I think the cheerleading and South American tour groups usually do the All-Star Sports. I honestly have fonder memories of staying at Pop Century than my times staying as a guest at Saratoga Springs.

 

[The Mighty Tim]

Thanks for all the responses thus far.

To Pop or not to Pop? That is the question.

Answer: Pop

Judging by the answers, it's looking like that's going to be the answer!

Stayed at pop recently for the first time and can't fault it. As a base for somewhere to like you said sleep and store your stuff it's great
Do like port Orleans French quarter quiet and relaxing and has the added bonus of the boat to Disney springs
Since like my self you are from the uk I would hold out for about a month if booking for next year as April is when Disney normally starts offering us brits free dining if staying in a moderate or higher resorts

I was thinking about the UK Free Dining offer, and though that is a compelling reason to stay at a Moderate or better (which is why we did so last time), in order for it to be worth it, we'd have to spend over £500 between the two of us on food for the duration of the 10 day trip. As we will no doubt have at least one or two days off WDW property, hitting the £500 food bill is unlikely (but not impossible). Plus I found the dining plan to be somewhat restrictive sometimes. However, chances are we will wait before booking as we're waiting to see what my folks are doing (they're planning to stay at a Moderate resort at the same time as us).

 

[SAV]

We love POP and the room will be fine for 2 people. It's our go-to on-site Value resort.

Another vote for 60's section with a lake view on an upper floor.

 

[Stevek]

Stayed at Pop once before and just booked it again today. I would chose it over CBR (our last stay) in a heartbeat

 

[thomas998]

I would say stay anywhere except any of the value resorts period. I understand your desire to avoid spending money, but if that is driving your decision don't do a value do an off-site hotel where you will get much more for your money and which will probably have just as much Disneyfication as you will get at value.... To me the standards I get from a Disney Value are on par with what I expect from a Motel 6 which is pretty low... If I'm going to go into money mode and try to be frugal it is much more comfortable doing it with an off-site hotel... especially since you are going without any kids which makes using the off-site hotels buses much easier and less of a hassle than when you have to schlep along kids and strollers.

 

[GigglesMcSnort]

For us going to WDW is a "big thing" once every few years, and I without fail always end up starting with a booking for a value resort to save money and then at some point decide to upgrade it to a moderate after feeling increasingly uneasy about my choice.

I just figure that for the overall cost of a holiday to WDW, it's worth spending on a decent hotel. I like the laid back feel of the moderates, the little pools and other features dotted around the place, the fact that I can book a table service restaurant for our first night there without having to go into a park, and that they feel like a little tranquil world of their own, which is great. I also try to factor in "non-park chill time" into my trip though, so it's important to have a nice resort to explore and relax in for that.

Having said that, I'm sure the Values would actually be perfectly fine, and if I was going without a kid I'd probably stay at the cheapest hotel I could find that looks like it's clean and has decent service ... (Oh who am I kidding, without needing to pay for anyone else, I'd probably blow the bank to stay at the most expensive deluxe I could find and live it up! )

I just can never bring myself to risk it for what for us is an "Event Vacation" that my kid will likely remember at least disconnected images of for the rest of her life (I'm basically doing this to make sure she takes me along when she has her own family as she wants to relive all these great memories she has from when she was young!).

 

[Lsumatt72]

I actually prefer POP over AoA. Unfortunately the rest of my family doesn't....

 

[Kevin_W]

We have stayed at Pop for most of our trips. We've stayed at Moderates twice, but like you find we don't use many of the resort features. So, I find that Pop is nice enough and I'd rather just save the money.

 

[JillC LI]

So, I was wondering, based on the vast experience of the other members here on this forum, which would you recommend?

• Pop Century
• Coronado Springs/Port Orleans
• All Star Resorts
• Something else

Of particular interest would be Disney Transportation frequency/crowd levels, likelihood of large groups of school kids/cheerleading groups/South American parties, noise issues etc.

For reference, our travelling party will consist of myself and my brother, both in our 30s.

Loved Port Orleans Riverside (and I think you guys would get a kick out of Yehaa Bob's show there at the River Roost Lounge).
Haven't stayed at Coronado, but my next choice would be Pop Century over All Star resorts.

 

[popcenturylover]

POP!

 

[tigger731]

my favorite is Pop. I call it a "deluxe" value, as I think it's a step above the All Star Resorts