3 weeks at POP

[TinkerChelleBell]

Firstly Im new here so sorry if Im posting this in the wrong place

We are planning on doing disney next year and taking our son who at the time will be a month under 4 years old. We are wanting to do 3 weeks out there but not sure if 3 weeks at POP would be too much?

We are considering renting a villa for the final week - but worry that our son would be upset with the villa after the fact of having 2 weeks at POP?

Has anyone done 3 weeks on site?
We would have a car so could go out and about to other attractions, and also eat at other places.
We are considering the dining plan but would use some TS for the signature meals etc so would still have a few meals off site

Thanks in advance

 

[tinkandonaldfans]

pop is a really nice place to stay but if you plan on spending a lot of time at the hotel then you might get tired of it! you could do a split stay at one of the other hotels- something with an exciting pool that will keep him occupied. POR and CSR have slides and stuff so that could be fun.

i don't think i could be on site for 2 weeks and then be off site i would miss the benefits too much!

i have never done the dining plan as we felt that it could be a little restrictive and we always go to universal studios (ooh they have some cool hotels around there- might be worth a look) so we would have a lot of meals left over.

if i were you i would stick to two weeks we love disney but by the end of two weeks we are exhausted and we don't even have kids

 

[TinkerChelleBell]

Thank you for your reply. Thats my worry about going to a villa and then missing all the benefits LOL! - I might look at splitting it between two hotels thats a good idea and hadn't thought of that
Gonna go and have a look at that option now


I think because we are wanting to book in the next fews weeks I want to make sure that Im happy with the decision - I think because we are gonna have to pull a few purse strings in I want to make sure its all perfect! OH... gonna have so much fun planning this over the next 9 months

 

[Disney Fool]

If you do a villa, you could save some serious $$$. But please, do it in reverse!!! Do the villa first, then come on disney property. As for staying at Pop, it's a fun place, but the rooms are small. There's not a lot of room for a 4 year old to run around in; he may get antsy. As previous poster suggested, how about a split stay? Maybe a combination of Pop Century, and a moderate resort? or a weekend at a Deluxe? like the Wilderness Lodge? or garden wing at the Contemporary? Be warned...once your child has been immersed in "the magic", you're toast! Start planning your next vacation.

 

[kim_d]

You could rent a DVC villa.

 

[goofy4tink]

If you are thinking of being offsite for a week you could head over to the Nickelodeon Resort. It's supposed to be a ton of fun for the kids and you would be right in the middle of all the area attractions. I would spend a week offsite and then two weeks onsite. I love POP. I think if it's just three of you, you should be fine there. Sure, the rooms are not large, but they are just a wee bit smaller than the moderates, so you would have to pay quite a bit more to get more room. Or, you could try to rent DVC points from an owner and stay at one of the DVC resorts.

 

[TinkerChelleBell]

Thank you for all your replies, gives me a lot to think about and think when the other half is at work tonight and little one is in bed I might do some searching to try and find the best option

 

[dburg30]

I think most of us are still glassy eyed thinking about 3 full weeks of disney!!! (yea, I know not ALL disney but......)

 

[EpcotBill]

Pop Century is fun but too much of a good thing might not be such a good thing. I stayed there once for 8 nights and that was definitely enough.

For my family 5 or 6 nights is plenty. After that we start to notice how small the room is and we miss not having a restaurant on site. We start to wish we had some of the little things that the mods have like a refrigerator, coffee maker, vanity curtain and ceiling fan.

They are minor things but I would go nuts at Pop for 3 weeks. YMMV.

 

[Tissa]

We always stay at POP but I could not stay there for 3 weeks straight. Definitely split stay somewhere. I'd do a week at a house with a pool but for us I'd do it last. Once staying in a house with your own pool then going to POP would be a letdown.

 

[Disney Fool]

Are you from the UK? I'm assuming you've seen the latest offer for UK residents? This is pulled from the Mousesavers.com site:

LAST UPDATE: 8/20/08 -


Current UK-Specific Discount Offers
Enjoy a Disney Dining Plan at no cost for your 2009 holiday!

Book five nights or more at a selected Disney Resort for arrivals between 2nd August - 3rd October 2009, and you'll receive FREE dining for the duration of your stay for everyone in your party. (Note: this is the very slowest season at Walt Disney World due to school schedules, heat/humidity and peak hurricane season.)

Choose a Moderate Resort and receive the Quick Service Dining Plan for FREE

Choose a Deluxe Resort or a select Deluxe Villa Resort (Old Key West or Saratoga Springs) and receive the regular Dining Plan for FREE

Also includes a 14-Day Ultimate Ticket for the price of a 7-Day

Requires purchase of a holiday package including accommodation at a Walt Disney World Moderate Resort, Disney Deluxe Resort or selected Disney Deluxe Villa Resort, plus a Disney Ticket and Disney Dining Plan. This fantastic offer is only available for bookings made on or before 4th November 2008. Book via the Disney UK web site or tour operators in the UK.

The number of rooms allocated to this offer is limited. No group rates or discounts apply. Applies to new bookings only. Gratuities not included.

Thanks to Mike W for updated info.




Special Walt Disney World Tickets for Visitors from the UK & Ireland
Click here for a full page of information about special Walt Disney World tickets that are available exclusively for visitors from the UK and Ireland.

Other Useful Information for Visitors from the UK & Ireland
The travel agency I recommend, Small World Vacations, gladly works with clients around the globe. They have many clients from the UK and Ireland. Unfortunately they cannot book UK-specific offers, but most of the year the American offers are a better deal anyway.

Some companies I mention on this site may not ship outside the US, or may not offer special deals outside the US. A few only allow those with a US address to sign up for their programs.

Prices are given in US dollars, unless otherwise noted.

Be aware that I use the American format when abbreviating dates: for example, 3/4/06 indicates March 4, 2006.

 

[TinkerChelleBell]

Thank you for your reply - the free DDP doesnt work for the dates which we are able to go but thank you for mentioning it.

Just wondering if we were to stay at two WDW hotels and had the DDP would this be possible to have it in both hotels?

 

[Disney Fool]

Yes, but you'd have to make two separate reservations. Not a problem; disney will move your luggage for you from resort to resort (patience will be needed )

 

[disnut8]

If you can afford it, you can even do three different Disney resorts. Start out with Pop Century (value), move up to a moderate, and then finish with a deluxe.

Or, stay off site and do all the non Disney things for however long that will take. Then move onto Disney property to finish out your stay.

You might also want to check into a shorter rental car rate (assuming you are renting one and not borrowing one once you are here). Once you are on Disney property, you really won't need one. That could save you some money to get better accommodations at Disney World.

There are tons of possibilities with three weeks in the Orlando area. Don't hesitate to ask millions of questions on this board. We're always glad to help.

 

[catne]

My suggestion would be to start with Pop, then switch to a mod like POFQ (we like that one because of the boat rides to Downtown Disney, which the typical 4 year old would love, too.) They also have a wonderful pool & theming...more park-like on the grounds. And the rooms are bigger with more aminities (like they come with fridge & coffee maker.)

While off-site villas are less expensive, I think the trade-offs would not be good. However, if you have to split your stay between off-site & Disney resort I agree you should stay off-site first. You'll be spoiled once you stay on-site!

 

[AndyMcV]

If you can afford it, you can even do three different Disney resorts. Start out with Pop Century (value), move up to a moderate, and then finish with a deluxe.

I agree with disnut8, with 3 weeks you have TONS of options. I'd seriously consider staying at more than 1 resort. That truely is a long time at PC. I'd consider PC and a moderate or a deluxe. The Poly or CR would rock being on the Monorail line especially with a little one and great access to the MK!

If you're worried about budget then you could also look into the WDW Swan and Dolphin as well. They are deluxes right beside the BC/YC.

Andy

 

[sharadoc]

I'd recommend looking at a Family Suite at All Star Music. If you're going to be there for 3 weeks, you could use the living room area to stretch out and relax and be much more comfortable. I'm guessing that you could move the ottoman cot/bed into the BR so your son could stay in there with you, plus you and DH would have a queen bed to sleep, rather than a full bed in the standard value room.

You'd also have a kitchenette with microwave and refrigerator so you can do simple breakfast in the room and have basic supplies for snacks.

Best of luck planning. This is the place to ask questions and so many people are experts, you'll have no trouble making a decision?!?!?! Cheers!

 

[ICF]

For the weeks, especially with a little kid, I'd be looking into an offsite condo, if you have a car it would be much cheaper in most cases then stay on site for 3 weeks.

3 weeks in a normal hotel room would drive me nuts.....

 

[My2BabiesLexis&Dill]

But please, do it in reverse!!! Do the villa first, then come on disney property. :

I agree with the above poster. Do not do Disney resort first then offsite. On our first visit we were staying a 2 days in a regular hotel...can't think of name but just plain crappy. We stayed there the first night. Got up the next morning, went to check out the Disney resort and fell in LOVE with it. We called the other hotel to see if we could get our money back from that nights stay and they said yes but you have to be checked out by noon. Well, it was 11am. We still had to get a room at Disney first. That took a little then we rushed over to our other room to pack up/load up/check out by 12pm. Needless to say at 11:58am we were checking out. We wasted half our morning but we were glad to stay at Disney another day (plus we could actually sleep under the blankets.)

I was would say for my family of 4 we would beable to handle 3 weeks at disney in one hotel. The most we have stayed is 13 days and we didn't want to leave then. The kids never got bored either (they were 4 and 5)

Good luck planning your trip.

 

[TinkerChelleBell]

Thank you for all your comments and advice - dont think I can afford doing value, mod and deluxe but possibly value and then mod.

To be honest I think whatever happens we have to be grateful that we can afford to go and take our son Think he will love POP for the theming etc and not sure how much time we will spend in our room apart from sleeping and getting ready so if money doesnt stretch enough for us to change halfway through will just have to be sent wild by the POP theming by the end HAHA!