Doesn't this price seem high?

[Debs1963]

Me, DH,DD (7) and DS (5)
Pop Century-preferred room
8/19/06 - 8/26/06
8 day park hoppers
free dining
travel insurance
all taxes
$1783.72

I was a little confused when some people got value season rate and some got regular season rates. We stayed at POR in 5/05. What I found in making my reservation at that time was prices changed depending on day and CM that you got. This time I've tried calling several different times and seem to keep getting the same price. Yet it seems in reading the Boards that some people have gotten a better deal then this.

 

[DisneyFan09]

Me, DH,DD (7) and DS (5)
Pop Century-preferred room
8/19/06 - 8/26/06
8 day park hoppers
free dining
travel insurance
all taxes
$1783.72

I was a little confused when some people got value season rate and some got regular season rates. We stayed at POR in 5/05. What I found in making my reservation at that time was prices changed depending on day and CM that you got. This time I've tried calling several different times and seem to keep getting the same price. Yet it seems in reading the Boards that some people have gotten a better deal then this.

Here's what I got:
Me, Dh, DD 11, DD 10
9/27 - 10/5 Pop Cent. (8 nights)
8 day premium tickets
no insurance
all taxes
$1888.32

I thought mine seemed high too. When I subtract the amount of the tickets it makes the room about $95 dollars a night with taxes which is about $10 more a day than I thought. Oh well I'm not complaining, I know we will eat more than $10 a day in food and I can't wait!!

 

[princessmomma]

You have quite a few extras on your reservation that a lot of people don't add.

Preferred vs. standard
Hopper vs. Base
Insurance vs. declined

You could probably reduce your rate to about $1500 by making these changes.

 

[dandave]

Hi Debs1963! You got the Vaue season rate. I rounded everything.

Preferred room for 7 nights = $710 ( Preferred is $91 a night. Standard is $79.)
Insurance = $120
8 day Hoppers = $995

Total $1785

 

[formernyer]

Insurance - You purchased through Disney, so it cost you $59 per adult, or $118. Check out http://www.insuremytrip.com/p/myquote?pid=5946 You'll find better coverage for about 1/2 the price.

Park Hoppers - This option cost you $160. Do you really need them? I spent last week at WDW with my two kids. My TA strongly advised that I add the hopper option. I declined and I'm so glad I did. We were only there for 4 days and did one park each day. We planned our park days and ADRs around the extended MYW hours. I can honestly say that even if I had purchased the hoppers, we never would have used them. I had no interest in wasting precious daylight riding on buses to get from one park to another. It would have been too confusing and too much interruption. It was much nicer to just spend an entire day at one park, pace ourselves to see everything we wanted to see, etc.

Preferred Room - This option added $105 to your trip. Check out a map of POP. You'll be placed in the 60s section. Would it be that inconvenient for you to be in the 50s or 70s sections? The rooms are identical. They are just a little further away from the buses and food court, but they really aren't THAT MUCH farther from everything, and if you request those buildings you can usually get them.

So there's over $300 off your trip if you just kill the hoppers, take a standard room, and get your insurance outside of Disney.

 

[Debs1963]

I thought about staying in the standard building next to the preferred building. I was concerned if they didn't honor it I would be very unhappy. I have never stayed in this resort but CM told me when I booked it that some of the standard rooms are a 20 minute walk from the main building. This could be a nightmare with 2 small children. Thanks for the suggestions! Debi

 

[formernyer]

some of the standard rooms are a 20 minute walk from the main building.

OMG, that is such a ridiculous statement!!! I can't believe a TA would say that. Maybe she was just trying to sell you on the higher rate room...and I guess it worked! It might have pursuaded me too if I didn't see the resort in person first. Do you really think anybody would stay someplace where they have to walk 20 minutes to get to a bus or the food court?

The 80s and 90s buildings are the longest distance and should take no longer than 5-10 minutes, depending on how fast you walk.

The 50s and 70s buildings are "standard" rooms and depending on where you are located within the building your walk would be about 3-6 minutes.

 

[bronwyn]

IMO, a standard room at the POP is really not an inconvenience at all. A 20 minute walk is greatly exagerrated. I think you could walk around the entire resort in 20 minutes! I really didn't think it was that big. I think the 80's and 90's are the farthest buildings. We stayed in the 50's and I think it was just as close as some of the preferred rooms.

 

[dandave]

I hate to disagree, but I have to disagree. I have stayed in the 90's building. It was a hike and a half to get to the busses or the food court. To lessen it to a mere hike you can go through a parking lot, weaving in and out of parked cars, but I sure wouldn't want to try that with toddlers.
On our second stay, I think it was in the 50's building we stayed.
I have reserved a preferred room for September.

 

[Disney845]

some of the standard rooms are a 20 minute walk from the main building.

UMMM yeah.....NO! That is so false. I can't even imagine that the most distant room in the entire resort would take more than 10 min to get to the Classic Hall (buses/food/shopping/lobby) and that is assuming you are in the furthest room from the stairs/elevator on the top floor in the back corner of the furthest building and you walk like a snail!

Take a look at this map:

Last time we were in building C of the 50's section (near the indentation on the top of the "T") on the second floor. We almost always took the stairs as opposed to the elevator and I would guess that our total time between leaving the room door and entering the Classic Halls door was around 2min (not speed walking). In the "worst case scenario" you are in the 90's section building A at the back leg of the "T" in which case it would be quicker for you to cut across the 70's parking lot to the buses and enter Classic Hall from the front.

Cut out the preferred room and request a standard in 50's or 70's.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Okay, first, you need to remember (or know for the first time) that many of the reservations CMs have never been to Walt Disney World, and in fact may not even be located in Central Florida. Therefore, they've never even seen the resorts. Second, if you look at the Pop map in post number 3 on the first page of this http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=698727&page=1&pp=15 thread, you'll can probably determine for yourself that while some preferred rooms are indeed close to everything, some rooms in the standard buildings are actually better located than, for example, the rooms at the far end of the Sixties facing away from the pool side. While you can't be assured of a particular room or building on a Standard room reservation, no room at Pop is a twenty minute walk from Classic Hall, Everything Pop, any pool or the bus stop. Given the number of rooms, it's a relatively compact resort. That CM must have been thinking of Port Orleans Riverside (aka POR, easily confused with Pop )

Anyway, using Disneyworld.com, I came up with:
You, DH,DD (7) and DS (5)
Pop Century-standard room
8/19/06 - 8/26/06
8 day park hoppers
free dining
NO travel insurance II think for most of the prices you've seen, the traveler has chosen not to get the insurance)
all taxes
$1,556.30
Also, depending what time you're arriving and what time you're leaving, you could downgrade to 7 day hoppers and save (ready for this?) $8.42 total

For comparison, for just me, five nights, standard room, one-day base pass, no insurance is $506.

leaving the room door and entering the Classic Halls door was around 2min (not speed walking). In the "worst case scenario" you are in the 90's section building A at the back leg of the "T" in which case it would be quicker for you to cut across the 70's parking lot to the buses and enter Classic Hall from the front

I just 'measured' (very roughly, using my fingers ) the approximate distance from here to the bus stops, then from the bus stops to the preferred buildings. By cutting across the parking lot as you suggest, the 90's room location is CLOSER to the buses than a fair number of preferred rooms!

 

[dandave]

My room was in the farthest right hand corner of that map. I requested to be near the main building, since my mother had just had back surgery.
Requests are just that. If you want to be sure to be near the main building, pay the few bucks extra for preferred. JMHO.

 

[shoegirl1020]

The price does seem about right. But I agree, I would cancel the preferred room, on my last two trips to Disney I did not book or pay for preferred rooms, but upon check-in I requested a particular building and was given a room where I requested. Actually, when I checked into the POP this January the CM actually ASKED ME if I had a building preference. I requested and received a 1st floor in the 70's and it was only a 1-2 minute walk to everything. I also don't see how ANYTHING can be a 20 minute walk at POP, unless you count a walk around the lake (there are no rooms on the other side of the lake).

 

[Tidus]

Act fast if you are going to change anything. I called last night to add a day to my trip (I want to arrive a day earlier). The first CM said there was nothing left at POP and at first he said there was nothing at any All Stars. He found me ASMU, however, I called and spoke with someone else and although she first told me POP was full, she found me a room. I paid $94. after tax and with AAA. That seems high doesn't it? Do you think it is really the AAA rate? It is not a preferred room.

 

[n2mm]

but CM told me when I booked it that some of the standard rooms are a 20 minute walk from the main building.

I would never pay the extra to stay in a preferred room at POP. Even some of the preferred rooms are farer than the non-preferred rooms. I would request 50s or 70s. Unless the resort is completely full, you can always change your room assignment. We do it several times a year. We have stayed at pop at least 6 trips now and we always ask the CM to show us on the map where our room is. If you don't like what they tell you, they will try to accommodate you with a better room location. I have been in the 50s section at least 4 trips, and I've been in the 90s and 70s, and I've never felt like the walk has ever been more than 5 minutes or less.

 

[formernyer]

Act fast if you are going to change anything. I called last night to add a day to my trip (I want to arrive a day earlier). The first CM said there was nothing left at POP and at first he said there was nothing at any All Stars. He found me ASMU, however, I called and spoke with someone else and although she first told me POP was full, she found me a room. I paid $94. after tax and with AAA. That seems high doesn't it? Do you think it is really the AAA rate? It is not a preferred room.

The Value season rate at the Value resorts is $79 plus tax. The only thing that I can see making it any higher would be if you began your stay during the free dining, but extended it beyond 10/4. The Value season rates end on 10/4. Beginning on 10/5 the rack room rate is $99/night.

 

[minnie61650]

There is no AAA discont if you book free dining.
You have to choose the discount or free dining>

 

[eeyoresmom]

Don't pay for preferred at POP.This resort is much more compact then the other values(I've stayed in everyone but sports) Another poster was correct,there are some standard rooms that are even closer to the lobby then preferred.

 

[ktink]

Personally, I would pay for preferred at Pop. We did stay in the 90's and it is a hike. That's even if you cut across the parking lot and thru the corridor in the 80's that comes out by the walkman. At the end of a tiring day w/ a then 3 & 8 year old, oh yeah preferred has my name written ALL OVER IT!!! We did request a room in the 70's but were not granted it and we were there the week after Hurricane Frances hit. So it wasn't in peak season.

 

[coachyo]

Disney845,
Where did you get that map?

YO