I am actually working on my TR from last month that will include a comparison of our previous stays at FW (4 in the past 3 years) and our stay at Pop 3 weeks ago. I am not sure how much it will actually help with your question, as we stay in our 5'er (not a tent) but on a very basic level, there is a fundamental difference between camping (in general) and staying in a hotel. Here are the reasons why I loved Pop:
1. we saw something different (theme, property, guests, experience).
2. we were able to take advantage of free dining.
3. we got a Disney hotel experience, which DD7 really wanted to do.
4. Pop is a cute hotel. the icons in the different buildings were super cute, there are 3 pools and that was nice (although the feature pool never once seemed TOO crowded to us).
Here is why I didn't love Pop:
1. BUSES!! so spoiled @ FW. even though you have to take 2 buses to get where you're going, the bus system at FW, IMO, is much more efficient, is quicker and FAR less crowded. waits for buses to go back to Pop sometimes were in excess of one hour, along with guests who really did not want to cooperate (not willing to moving as far back as possible to allow more people on, people laying their souvenirs in seats, etc). other things about the bus situation at Pop really p'ed me off but I will never discuss those here as I will get FLAMED!
2. Noise. constant. even though we had a room in a really great location, there is still noise constantly. sometimes after a long day at the parks, you just want to come back to your room and have peace and quiet - I don't see how that is possible at a value resort.
3. this is a major difference between camping and hoteling - mousekeeping was FANTASTIC, however, i don't like the feeling of someone having been in my room with all of my belongings and praying every day that something doesn't get stolen. in my camper, i can leave my laptop out, my purse on the table, or whatever and not have to worry about it. you certainly don't have that luxury in a hotel.
4. beds. Pop has all new beds and while they are just fine, they are not MY bed, they are not king sized and i didn't have my pillow or my blanket. (we drove our hybrid so space in the car was at a premium)
5. marley. that's my golden retriever. she had to stay behind because the nice folks at Pop said she couldn't come (even though I <jokingly> begged). she loves WDW just as much as we do and I just hate leaving her behind.
Now - flame me for this if you will - but I think most regular campers would agree that CAMPERS are just a different breed of folks. We are nice, considerate, respectful, down to earth and we watch out for each other. I missed that at Pop. I am not saying that everyone at Pop was rude and socially unacceptable, but on the whole I just got irritated by the attitudes and the pace. By having my daughter shoved out of the way by a child running through the food court or the pool deck. By having to deal with a crowd at EVERY MEAL! Every single day, I wished we were at FW. We had HDDR on our dining itinerary and cancelled it because we knew that if we set foot on FW property, we'd get upset (so now we're back on with HDDR on Christmas day!!).
All of this to say - you should base your decision PURELY on personal preference. Like PP said, I enjoy being able to sit outside my camper and listen to the clouds float by, eat my dinner or watch/listen to the MK fireworks in peace. I enjoy our traditions of going to the campfire singalong the first night we are there. I missed the Meadows Trading Post and my (seemingly daily) shopping excursions there and at the Settlement. I missed my leisurely walks around the loop, to the playground and to the dog park. I missed our bike rides to the marina to catch the ferry to MK or watch Wishes from the beach.
Most of all - I missed the horn on the MK ferry. That is the "thing" that lets me know I am at Disney. I always get chillbumps the first time I hear it and, yes I will say it - I cry.
Please don't get me wrong...we had a FANTASTIC time at Pop. We have been saying we wanted to try a hotel and we did. There is not one thing about that trip that I want a "do-over" for (well, except the fact that I managed to catch the flu while we were there - didn't know it at the time but I was almost too tired and achy to do anything the last 2 days, come home and Monday am diagnosed). And eventually we will stay at a hotel again - in three years, we decided that for our 15 year anniversary and DD's 10th bday, we are going to splurge and stay at the Grand Floridian. But until then - home is where the Fort is!
)
