Budget mom & daughter trip...need advice

[sherry7]

Hello all. I'm seriously considering booking a mom & daughter trip for the first week of December. My DD will be 5 1/2 years old then. We went to Disney about a year ago, but we stayed offsite in a condo. I'm planning on an 8 night stay. I haven't stayed on property since 2001, so I'm pretty out of touch. I'm considering either one of the All Stars, Pop, or possibly Art of Animation (regular room, not family suite). For some reason, I can't find a regular Art of Animation room on the Disney site, but Expedia has some.

Please tell me the advantages/disadvantages of each resort.

 

[LovesTimone]

Sounds like a really fun trip. With staying in a Condo last trip, you will get a shock at how small the value room are in comparison. So this might be something to take into consideration when planning.

I have not stayed at All Stars so I really can't speak on that resort.

We tried staying at POP while the exterior of the resort is so well done, really cute, the interior was not what I had expected, there were so many issues with our room, and after a manager went with us to see the room, They moved us over to Caribbean Beach at no charge, even though I offered to pay for the upgrade.

I have stayed at AoA, in a family suite (Lion King), this resort is amazing, all the details just immerse you in the story line. We spent some time walking around and checking out the resort, we did peek into a room that was being cleaned as we walked by and it was cute and really well done. The Little Mermaid section is at the farthest end from the main pool, food court and buses, at the end of a long day every step counts. The pools are really over the top, lots of loungers. We only ate at the food court once for breakfast, and it was good very busy but very well handled. As far as buses go they seemed to run on time, at the end of the day however it was chaos, lots of strollers and overtired kiddos which is to be expected, but they packed them in so tight, my group decided to wait for the next bus which worked out good for us.

I have a few suggestions.

If you go with one of these choices you might think about getting a King room, so that you will have a bit more room to move around. I did this when DD was little, cause she would end up in bed with me anyway.

Have you thought about a Moderate resort? I would suggest, Caribbean Beach or either Port Orleans Resorts. Just more room to move around and for a 8 night stay you both will probably need a bit more space. If you are going during Free dinning, that might work out to your advantage, when staying at a Moderate you get 1 quick service, 1 Table service and 1 snack a day per person, so this would help with the character dinning. Also if pool time is important, the moderates have slides which at 5 1/2 could be quite important.

Have a Magical Trip.

 

[msmama]

I've stayed at all the all stars and pop. In general, they are all pretty much the same. Like pp said, my son usually ends up in bed with me but it's no problem in a double bed. Frankly we are both usually so tired that we barely move once we get in bed.

I tend to like pop best but that could be that it's usually cheapest, though the reason I have stayed in all is that I go with what is cheapest. Sports theming interests me least so at this point I probably wouldn't stay there again. I remember the pool at music being really abnormally cold compared to other disney resorts but that stay was probably a decade or more ago.

Staying again (it's just my son and I) I would book a preferred room to be closer to the main building. With kids, I think that's easier. I don't find I'd need any extra room with just the two of us.

 

[Fsudisney]

I have stayed in all several times. They are all essentially the same room setup. I tend to go for Pop or AofA now since they are newer. The All Stars theming doesn't really appeal to me any more, but they are fine.
I find the AllStars often have large groups of kids there as well (cheerleaders, sports teams, etc) so sometimes they can be a little louder.
The theming at Pop and AofA is the best I think, and the pool at AofA is awesome, and it has the best food court in my opinion, as well.

If you can afford it, I would also recommend looking at the moderates. We just stayed at Caribbean Beach for $146 a night after tax, using Expedia. Well worth the extra money. Maybe just look around and see what discounts are available if any are out for that time period yet.

 

[DCbride]

A 5 1/2 year old would love the mermaid room at AoA! Definitely pick this! For just 2 you do not need space or kitchen of a condo. I also agree with king if they have it. Sounds fun!

 

[Queeneileen]

Other cost saving measures would be to bring breakfast foods and snacks in your suitcase. You can bring individual cereals, bagels, donuts, prepackaged crackers and cookies. Eat breakfast in the room, and buy milk at resort store. Since you are going 8 days, get the water park and more ticket. So for every park day you buy, you will also have the same amount of water park days. For example, if you get a 4 day park ticket, you will also have 4 water park days.

 

[MomToOne]

I've traveled with DD to Disney since she was 4 (she's now almost 15). We haven't tried AoA because we don't need a family suite and the individual rooms just seemed like such a walk to the food court/buses. We both didn't like Pop - too big, too many people and we just really didn't like the theming. We both really like ASMusic and ASMovies. We try to just go with the one that's been rehab'ed most recently but we end up at ASMusic most often. The room size is fine for just the 2 of us, and we've never had any awful problems with the rooms. They aren't fancy, but they aren't Motel 6s either so we are fine with them. I am the type of person who would rather spend my money on other things like more days instead of a fancier room.

One tip I have is pay the extra for a Preferred room, esp. with a 5 year old. The walks from the food court/buses to many of the non-preferred rooms at the Value resorts can be quite long.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Depending on your exact dates you may run into Pop Warner football and cheerleaders. Last year I believe they were at the All Star Resorts and Pop Century. And CBR. So I would avoid those resorts if you are going during the dates they are there.

I think the 2014 dates were something like Dec. 6th through 12th.

 

[Dizzy4DL]

We stayed at Pop about a year ago. While planning our trip I spent quite a bit of time comparing resorts here on the Dis. As you may already know, each resort has it's own thread. Comparing photos and amenities helped me to choose Pop over the other budget resorts. One thing I learned was that Pop is the only resort with one-stop buses. At least it was a year ago. This can save time and frustration at the end of the day. The rooms really are small, comparable to a small Best Western room. But we did fine with two adults and a pre-teen girl.

 

[Pembo]

I stayed at Pop on a mother/daughter trip. We loved it there. I've also stayed at ASMo and liked Pop better bc it's newer and it doesn't share buses. We also hopped on an AOA bus a couple times to come back from a park. It is a quick walk from Aoa to Pop.
If you request the right bldg. at Pop you get a view of the fireworks at the Studios and Epcot. Nice little bonus. As for Aoa, be warned if you choose a Little Mermaid room, they are far from everything. I liked Pop because it was a short walk to the main bldg., pools and bus stop.

 

[sherry7]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

I'll definitely miss the space of an off-site condo like we typically have, but since it's just DD5 and I going, I think even a smallish hotel room will be fine. She doesn't snore at ear splitting levels (like DH, ha ha), so I have no issue sleeping in the same room as her, as long as she's in her own bed. I stayed at Sports back in 2001, so I kind of remember the smaller size of the values. I can't justify the extra cost to stay in a moderate since this is supposed to be a budget trip. Besides, I know that DD will like the "in your face" decor at either Pop of AoA. I leaning toward Pop, mostly because I read somewhere that if room discounts come out, that AoA is always excluded. (Although I know that she would absolutely love staying in a Mermaid room, since it's one of her favorite movies.) Our trip is tentatively from Nov 28 to Dec 6, which should just overlap 1 day of Pop Warner.

 

[dpswift]

As long as you only have one day of overlap with Pop Warner POP will be fine. There are several threads on favorite sections. I like 50s and 70s because they are standard rooms yet close to the FC.

I stayed alone with my kids on more than one occasion and the only real problem is getting back to the resort after the park closes. They over pack the buses and often you do not get a seat.

AoA is beautiful just a quick walk from POP. AoA also has its own bus. As much as a 5 year old would love a Mermaid room I would avoid it just because of the long walk to the room. The walk is fine for an adult but could be too much for a 5 year old after a long park day.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

I'll definitely miss the space of an off-site condo like we typically have, but since it's just DD5 and I going, I think even a smallish hotel room will be fine. She doesn't snore at ear splitting levels (like DH, ha ha), so I have no issue sleeping in the same room as her, as long as she's in her own bed. I stayed at Sports back in 2001, so I kind of remember the smaller size of the values. I can't justify the extra cost to stay in a moderate since this is supposed to be a budget trip. Besides, I know that DD will like the "in your face" decor at either Pop of AoA. I leaning toward Pop, mostly because I read somewhere that if room discounts come out, that AoA is always excluded. (Although I know that she would absolutely love staying in a Mermaid room, since it's one of her favorite movies.) Our trip is tentatively from Nov 28 to Dec 6, which should just overlap 1 day of Pop Warner.

Yes, if there are discounts, Pop will be included. But AoA/LM most likely wont be. We LOVE Pop! Stayed there many many times. The decore is a lot of fun. The rooms are always clean and tidy. Beds are always super comfy. Pop has some of the best pool-side entertainment staff ive seen compared to other values and even moderates. Also for lunch, if you want to try something new you can always walk over to AoA and try their food court. They have unique offerings. I'd go with pop, I like it better than the All Stars. If i had to pick a fave resort at the all stars, it would be Movies. I like sports too. but I didnt like Music. Although when comparing prices at the values I see that Sports is always the cheapest. But Pop isnt that much more expensive.

As long as you only have one day of overlap with Pop Warner POP will be fine. There are several threads on favorite sections. I like 50s and 70s because they are standard rooms yet close to the FC.

I stayed alone with my kids on more than one occasion and the only real problem is getting back to the resort after the park closes. They over pack the buses and often you do not get a seat.

AoA is beautiful just a quick walk from POP. AoA also has its own bus. As much as a 5 year old would love a Mermaid room I would avoid it just because of the long walk to the room. The walk is fine for an adult but could be too much for a 5 year old after a long park day.

Actually the 60's is closest to the main building...its the building that surrounds the main pool too. Plus this section is the closest to the main bridge, if you ever decide to take AoA bus back to the resort, its just a quick walk over the bridge. This is the best section to get if you want to be close to buses/main pool at pop. 50's & 70's would be my second choice. The best view at Pop is 60's lakeview. GORGEOUS! So serene.

 

[buzz2400]

My son and I have stayed at all four of them. I do prefer Pop because of the location (down the street to the marketplace). The room is big enough for two people. We have never had a problem. I would suggest if you have a car to use it to go to the parks instead of using the buses for the the value resorts. We have waited so so long each time for the buses so much that my son refuses to use the bus. We drive to all the parks now. We also do not ever get the preferred building since we do not go to the food court. Also each all star has its own decor. For instance, there is the touchdown section at all star sports which is football, so you can pick which type your daughter would like more, music, sports or movies. The setup for all three are actually the same.

 

[leebee]

DD and I have stayed at POP several times and it's fine, but on our last mother/daughter trip we stayed at ASMu and really liked it! It's a smaller resort than POP so it took less time to walk to the food court for that ever-so-important first cup of coffee! We had rented a car (because I HATE the Disney buses) and it was so convenient to be parked right outside our building. Basically, the rooms at All Stars and POP are all the same size and similarly furnished, so there is really no difference there. We rarely use the pool- we are park animals- so that didn't matter too much to us, either. I DID like the food court at POP better than at ASMu, but now that there are fridges in all the value rooms, we take breakfast stuff with us and eat in the room, so the food court issue is less important to us now.

 

[katie111]

I would stay at All Star Movies. I stayed here with my 3 kids (DH stayed home) and really had no problem with space. We've also stayed at Pop and ASMu and ASSp but movies was my kids favorite. We went on a slow week in late November. We never shared buses and the waits were never bad. At ASMo we were in the section closest to ASMu so we would just take whichever bus came first. I like that the resorts are smaller than POP. There is never a bad walk anywhere. My kids absolutely loved the theming there (they were 5, 8, and 9 at the time). A lot of the POP theming they just didn't get.

We've also stayed at CBR, POR, BW, and most recently the Beach Club. Staying at the BC was a dream of mine but I won't stay there again. I've realized that we are just total theme park junkies. We don't spend almost any time at the resort except for an occasional swim so it's just not worth the additional $$ for us. I found myself dragging my kids out of the parks so we could "hang out" at the hotel and get our money's worth. Should have just saved the additional $2k and stayed at ASMo.