I want one resort, husband wants another

[minerva78]

I want to thank all of you who have read and responded to my insanity of trying to decide on where to stay for our first Disney trip. Now that we have finally decided to stay onsite (yay!) and do a package, my last dilemma is choosing whether or not to stay at Pop Century or POFQ. I showed my husband pictures of both last night, and he fell in love with Pop because of the huge big wheel. But the more I was going over the pros and cons of each resort with him, I was really feeling POFQ more. It's not as over the top fun looking, but I like the idea of queen beds, a boat ride to DTD, a coffee maker, and I like their food court menu so much better than Pop's new menu. I figure, if we're going to spending most of our days in the parks, do we really need to come home to a resort that looks so busy and lively too? I also found a lot of fun activities that go on at POR that we could participate in too. But we will have our 5 and 6 year old girls with us, and I think they would get a kick out of the themes at Pop. And POFQ is $200 more for 6 nights. I just don't know if I want the double bed and the smaller room of Pop, for my own comfort, which sounds a bit selfish.

I know at the end of the day DH will let me choose what I want, but I don't know if I would feel bad for going against his wants, when I tried so hard to get him to actually give me an opinion on something. I don't know if I should try to convince him of the benefits of POFQ or just give in to his desire to stay at Pop. I really would love to stay in one of the Royal rooms at POR, because I know my girls would love that, but I'll have to wait and see how good of a discount AAA could give me because rack rate prices are a bit out of my budget. Anyone dealt with this before and how did you handle it? Or any insight into which resort you would choose and why?

 

[goofyintoronto]

For only $200 more, i'd go for POFQ!! Would a hot tub sway him in your direction? Pop doesnt have any hot tubs. Honestly, if he really wants to see the big wheel, then go over and take a tour. Lol. Better yet, why not do a one night stay at pop for kicks? We did that many times. Thats a nice compromise.

 

[jennylyn_b]

I would consider a split. Two nights at POP and the rest at POFQ. That way you get to experience both resorts and will know better for a hopefully future trip! Now if you can get a good discount on the royal rooms at PoR then I would go with that!

 

[souris]

I understand completely! My husband have been in that situation before.. I wanted a mod and he wanted a value. I find lists help! I made a list of pros and cons and ultimately let him make the decision. He lets me plan everything else, I chose all the restaurants, plan out which park on which day... I find it's a good compromise. Like you we spend little time at the resort... So in the end, which resort we stay in is not that big of an issue. Good luck!

 

[disneemama]

talk him into POFQ..he will love it. I have stayed at both many times. Pop is fun but given the choice POFQ is so much nicer. I agree with pp a split stay is a good idea if you don't mind moving.

 

[Traceylee]

For $200 more, I would pick POFQ.

 

[hsmamato2]

I said this in your other thread,POFQ Just tell him those rooms were available,so you booked them! Truly,it's so pretty there, your family will love it!

 

[minerva78]

Yeah, a hot tub won't persuade him unfortunately, I already tried that. He thought I was insane for getting in the hot tub on our cruise we took in July - although he still got in there with me, for a short time.

I'm not sure about the split stay. I'd have to figure out how to make it work with the dining plan, because we both want to do the dining plan. I suppose I could do multiple days at POFQ initially, and then do the last day or two at Pop, although I would prefer to do Pop first. I don't know, I'll have to think about that a little.

I like the idea of making a pro and con list. I went over these with DH last night, but I think it would be good to put something down on paper, for both of us. You do make a good point though that I will be doing all of the planning for everything else, maybe it would be nice for him to make the decision about the resort, so he will at least feel more included in everything. My goal is to try to plan out at much as possible for this trip, so if he has to put up with my obsessiveness, he should get one thing he wants, lol.

 

[AThrillingChase]

I definitely agree with everyone, do a split stay! You said this is your first trip, so just as a brief overview to help you make the decision, Disney is pretty good when it comes to helping you switch resorts.

My first tip, is to do just a night or 2 at POP when you arrive (better to go UP in resort level so there is excitement for the amenities/pool/etc). Also, if you can, just leave your things in your suitcases instead of fully unpacking for the first stop.

For a package, book your room and tickets at POP. Then do a room only discount for POFQ. Either order tickets at POP for the full length of stay, or buy 3 days and upgrade them at guest relations after you enter a park. But note, this is if you are not getting a dining plan. Someone else will probably know more about how it works with the plan.

On moving day, drop your bags at luggage services at the front of the resort. At POP it is near the bus station. You can go off to the park, and disney will transfer your bags later that day to POFQ. When you leave the parks, take a bus back to POFQ and call for your luggage.

 

[FFEMT510]

I stayed at both back to back years. I felt Pop was much more immersive, which was great because it was my first trip back in years. Last year, we stayed at POFQ and while I didn't feel like I was still at a park, I enjoyed it none the less. The boat ride is fun too. I believe that POFQ had two sinks, whereas Pop has just one--may make a difference when trying to get 4 people ready or a day out.

I'm staying at another moderate (CSR) this year--I don't mind paying a little more for the more refined experience.

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

I have stayed at both and would continue to choose pop over a mod. I never noticed the differences in beds or food/amenities. If however you plan to spend more time at your resort, then POFQ might really be your better bet. Since it is only a $200 difference, it could be worth the splurge. All resorts are fun in their own ways so no matter what you end up choosing, it will be amazing.

 

[hsmamato2]

I wouldn't do a split stay for 6 nights....too much time wasted packing up ,etc. And the reason people advise to move UP in resorts...i.e. stay Pop first,then POFQ is b/c POFQ is NICER....and it's a disappointment to go 'down' in quality on the trip,vs. going up. I agree, if you do split, move UP over the week,not down. But for OP, I'd just stay at the nicer place- 6 days is not a lot of time.

 

[Kristibo42]

We love POP.

 

[Bob NC]

I'm of the opinion that for a first trip with kids a split stay would be a pain in the butt. Just MY opinion.

How do ya'll usually come up with a solution when you aren't in complete agreement?

I'd make a pros and cons list and sit down and try to come up with something together.

One thing is for sure though, there is no wrong decision here.

 

[AThrillingChase]

I think we were writing our posts at the same time...lol. I see now that you want the dining plan which makes splits tricky. In that case I would say either do POFQ and then POP your last night and pay out of pocket for that day. Or, you could do POP on just arrival night. There is a way to pick up tickets from a package early at guest relations at the parks. But again, the DP is tied to the room, not the tickets. So still at least one out of pocket day either way.

Another option could be to do POFQ, and one afternoon take a break from the parks and ride the bus to POP. You could walk around the grounds, take a pic with the giant big wheel, and eat in the POP cafeteria. Then just take the bus back to a park.

 

[Shaden]

Maybe Suggest POR ... I imagine it would be the same price as POFQ, maybe a little cheaper, still gives you the queen beds and double sinks, boat ride to DTD, etc. But maybe it will be more appealing to your husband ?

Otherwise, I would just stick with FQ, for $200 more...

POP is great, but as a resort, Port Orleans (RS or FQ) just seems more of a RESORT ....

 

[HM]

With a family of four, the beds would be my deciding factor. I'd want the queens over the full. Good sleep at night makes for a better experience during the day.

 

[smiths02]

I wouldn't recommend a split stay on your first trip of 6 nights. WDW is HUGE, there is soooo soooo much to do, I wouldn't waste time switching resorts.

 

[minerva78]

Well, DH just keeps making everything more complicated. I talked to him earlier about possibly doing POFQ and he said that whatever "we" wanted to do (meaning me and my girls) was fine. Because he had already given up going to Legoland, already given up going to Islands of Adventure, it really didn't matter if he lost out on the resort he wanted too. Good grief, and I'M supposed to be the emotional one? So I told him I'd "see what I could do" to try to add Universal in the mix for him, without totally blowing our budget.

So one idea I had was doing Saturday and Sunday night at a hotel near Universal with a package, and 5 nights at Disney with a package, but I wasn't feeling that because I'd have to make it over to Disney really quickly on Monday to get tickets and possibly make an early ADR. So then I thought maybe to make us all happy, we could do 2 nights at Pop room only then 5 nights at POFQ with a package. The last option is just to add another day to a POP or POFQ package and do Universal one of those days. I think the 3rd will be the most expensive option, but I'll have to price it out. Or the last option is just to let us stay at Pop for 6 nights and tell DH we can go back to Orlando next year for Universal!

Goodness, the whole point of taking this trip was because I figured it would be cheaper than our original plan of taking the girls on a 7 day cruise. At first it looked like we'd save about $1000 going to Disney instead, now that savings is dwindling down to about $500. I just hope this AAA person is patient with me while I figure all of this out.

 

[mcnealrkn]

Both DH and I are Pooh-sized and cannot sleep in a double bed so we have not stayed at a value. Having said that, I would love to stay at a Value because of the theming. I have read plenty of TR's where people return time and time again to Pop because they love it so much. I think kids would be much happier at Pop. I agree that a split stay would be too much for a 6 day vacation and a hassle with the dining plan. You can buy quite a few souveniers with $200! Since it is your first trip, there will be others so next time you can stay at a different resort.