Which Value/Mod would you choose?

[Dis703]

At this point this may be just a dream, but I'm playing around with dates and numbers to possibly bring my soon to be 5 year old on a trip to Disney this fall just the two of us. We just returned from a family trip and his twin brothers definitely made it a bit harder than I had anticipated. As we got APs to return in the spring I thought why not try for a 4 or 5 day trip with mom and son alone as we are the big Disney lovers of the family anyhow.

So, to convince DH we need to do this as cheaply as possible . We just did BC CL for our last trip but it was a huge splurge and deluxe is not in the picture again, possibly ever. The only mod we ever stayed at was POFQ prior to being refurbished and I wasn't exactly thrilled with it mostly because of the condition of the room.

If the mods aren't much more with discounts I'll probably look at POR, but I'm wondering between the values which others prefer and why. Obviously we don't need much room with just the two of us and we won't likely use the pools. Just need a clean, comfortable room and decent transportation.

Is Pop nicer than the All Star resorts? And are the discounts usually the same between those? I think I remember reading AoA had less of a discount with the recent offers.

We are also looking at early/mid November. Are rates decent then?

TIA

 

[gluvsmickey]

We have done all values and mods so for you and your DS I would suggest POP! We loved it there and never had any issues with the buses. If you had a car I would say ASMo in the Toy Story area but I wouldn't want to share a bus. As far as the mods go we love POR (esp. If the pool won't be needed) the atmosphere over there is do nice!

Either way have a great time!

 

[rteetz]

At this point this may be just a dream, but I'm playing around with dates and numbers to possibly bring my soon to be 5 year old on a trip to Disney this fall just the two of us. We just returned from a family trip and his twin brothers definitely made it a bit harder than I had anticipated. As we got APs to return in the spring I thought why not try for a 4 or 5 day trip with mom and son alone as we are the big Disney lovers of the family anyhow.

So, to convince DH we need to do this as cheaply as possible . We just did BC CL for our last trip but it was a huge splurge and deluxe is not in the picture again, possibly ever. The only mod we ever stayed at was POFQ prior to being refurbished and I wasn't exactly thrilled with it mostly because of the condition of the room.

If the mods aren't much more with discounts I'll probably look at POR, but I'm wondering between the values which others prefer and why. Obviously we don't need much room with just the two of us and we won't likely use the pools. Just need a clean, comfortable room and decent transportation.

Is Pop nicer than the All Star resorts? And are the discounts usually the same between those? I think I remember reading AoA had less of a discount with the recent offers.

We are also looking at early/mid November. Are rates decent then?

TIA

POR is very nice moderate and is actually been pretty cheap lately compared to some values even. I love the Pop and would stay there anytime. The All stars have great theming but the food courts have been bad lately but to my knowledge they are getting refurbished right now. I wold watch the new 7 in 7 videos on the All stars that were put up by the Dis team. AoA isn't going to have many discounts as of right now because it s still a new resort and it is a great resort but trust me its not that expensive and you have a great time being at AoA it has to be no doubt the best value resort.

disney lover at heart

 

[KELLY]

We have stayed at pop multiple times. I will say that we had a bad room twice at POFQ before refurb. But I'm sure it is fine now.

If you are trying to convince dh then I say go with a value. Really you are in disney and after all how much time are you in the room.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

We have also stayed at all of the values and mods. Our favorite value is ASMo, because of the theming and food court. The other all stars have much smaller food courts. When our kids were younger, this was their favorite resort at any level (including deluxes).

That said, we now prefer POFQ over any but the deluxe resorts. For us, it is simply perfect.

 

[dpswift]

I would stay at AoA. You cannot book a package so even if Free dining comes out you would not be able to get it. To me it is a bit better than the other values.

 

[snykymom]

I would stay at AoA. You cannot book a package so even if Free dining comes out you would not be able to get it. To me it is a bit better than the other values.

You can book a package at any resort. You may not be able to get FD at AoA, but you can definitely book a package. However, the non-suite rooms at AoA tend to go quickly.

I'd take Pop. The All-stars share buses with each other; Pop doesn't share with anyone.

 

[Dis703]

You can book a package at any resort. You may not be able to get FD at AoA, but you can definitely book a package. However, the non-suite rooms at AoA tend to go quickly.

I'd take Pop. The All-stars share buses with each other; Pop doesn't share with anyone.

I'm assuming pp meant that I can't book a package because I already have annual passes so I'm not buying tickets.

That's good to know Pop doesn't share buses.

 

[snykymom]

I'm assuming pp meant that I can't book a package because I already have annual passes so I'm not buying tickets.

That's good to know Pop doesn't share buses.

OK, I got it. Sorry.

But AP holders can, in fact, book "ticketless" packages. You just pay for the dining plan.

 

[Kristibo42]

We love POP it's our Favorite resort!!!

 

[Lumiere Lover]

I am sorry to hear you didn't like POFQ. Having a 5 year old with you, this would be a great sized resort for you. Very little walking, etc. The boat ride to DTD is a nice plus! There is a lot more walking to be done at POR.

Good luck making your decision. Pop is a nice resort also, but still very large. We were put there for one night in December, and we walked for what seemed like forever before we got to our room. I wouldn't stay there again because of that. In Disney's defense, we were only there for 1 night, so we probably were put out of the way for guests staying longer.

 

[SarahKate]

We have stayed at Pop 3x, As Movies 1x and last two times at POR. Our fave value is Pop but after POR I can't see us EVER going back to a value. It was great at the time but its well worth the few hundred extra bucks for the week to have the nicer setting and a bit more grown up feel. We visited POfQ and found it too small for our tastes. Yes POR is big but such a relaxing place and the walks are nice. If you request a closer building the walk is just about right. We really liked Bldg 85.

 

[Sweet Melissa]

A five year old won't notice things like the increased square footage or mature landscaping of a moderate resort. What he will notice is fun theming in the room, if the bus takes forever, or he has to walk a long way from the stop to his room at the end of a long day. For those reasons, I think Pop Century is the way to go. Since bus service isn't shared with any other resorts, and the resort has just the one centrally located stop, it makes the rides seem a little more bearable. The garish, brightly colored statues at every building are fun too.

 

[WisconsinDad]

I took my family to CSR in 2011 and we really enjoyed it. As PP said though, I don't think a 5 year would appreciate or even enjoy the theming there (or any Mod for that matter). My kids were 7 and 10 when we went and they enjoyed the pool but overall, I don't think they cared about the theming. I wonder sometimes if any kids do. My kids just wanted to go to the parks!

A couple of years ago when we were planning our trip, we narrowed it down to Pop and CSR (we actually originally booked at POP). When FD came out though, the deal at CSR was too good to pass up (getting the DDP vs the QSDP). We also liked the though of having queen beds and a refrigerator.

I would probably choose Pop given your situation.

 

[disneymom0811]

Can't go wrong with any of the all stars, going to be staying at aoa so I'm excited

 

[travelitis]

Can't get free dining with AofA, and my family doesn't like the food court offerings there. I had a sandwich with stale bread, very calmly complained to 2 managers who were standing there, and they did nothing. Absolutely nothing. It was the 2nd and last meal I had there. I wanted a hot fudge sundae, not gellato, but you can't get that at AofA either.

I've stayed at all the values multiple times, and I've found Sports has the lowest rates and best drink selection. (Not all Disney drink stations are created equally) I like the surfing section best for tropical theme and location. I like to stay at PoP for overall theme and tie dye cheesecake and Movies for the Disney theme (best for the little kids).

I love the newly remodeled rooms at POR. Those are the closest you'll get to the decor of the castle suite. If you have Pirates, though, you should head to CB for a pirate themed room. POR is my favorite moderate, but I would compare the least expensive view at AKL then not make any request about location of room. Some standard view rooms have less than perfect savannah views. I've been in one, and it had a view of animal pens and the edge of the savannah. I paid a comparable price to a moderate. Now, there's no guarantee, and you could get parking lot view, but there are big balconies along the hallway where you can go out and view the savannah. If you're in the parks during the day and get in after dark, it doesn't matter if you have savannah view or not.

Good luck putting together your trip!