Extended 14 Night Stay Advice

[Sinders99]

After our first trip to the world in September 2016, DH & I are hooked!! Unfortunately we're from Australia and travelling to the world is a huge expense that we can only afford every 3-5 years. After returning from our trip last year we immediately decided to travel back to the world in 2019 or 2021 (for MK's 50th).

I realise this is a ridiculously long way out but we're starting to budget and set a savings plan with the intent on returning in 2019. On this next trip we'd like to experience WDW dressed up for Christmas and are considering the first 2 weeks of December. Given that we're looking at a an extended stay of 14 nights it makes choosing a resort really difficult!!

On our first trip we had a split stay at POP and POR. I can honestly say we were VERY disappointed with POR. Having a boat trip to Disney Springs was great but the shared buses were a constant point of frustration for us. At POP it always felt like we never waited more than 5-10 minutes for a bus but we regularly waited 15-20 mins for bus at POR and then had multiple stops to contend with on top of that. Transport this trip is going to be a HUGE consideration for us BUT with an extended stay of 14 nights we're worried that POP will be too basic and not have enough amenities/facilities to satisfy a longer stay? We also spent a lot of time in the parks on our fist trip so we did't feel that we really got good 'value for money' out of the cost of POR.

On this next trip though we intend to build in at least 3 non park days, leave our arrival and departure days park free and travel to Universal for at least 2 days and attend MVMCP. Basically we're planning a more relaxed touring experience which is why we have concerns about a longer stay at POP.

What are your thoughts and advice for anyone considering a longer stay at a Value Resort? If you were going to recommend an alternate resort which one would it be and why??

 

[Sean91]

After our first trip to the world in September 2016, DH & I are hooked!! Unfortunately we're from Australia and travelling to the world is a huge expense that we can only afford every 3-5 years. After returning from our trip last year we immediately decided to travel back to the world in 2019 or 2021 (for MK's 50th).

I realise this is a ridiculously long way out but we're starting to budget and set a savings plan with the intent on returning in 2019. On this next trip we'd like to experience WDW dressed up for Christmas and are considering the first 2 weeks of December. Given that we're looking at a an extended stay of 14 nights it makes choosing a resort really difficult!!

On our first trip we had a split stay at POP and POR. I can honestly say we were VERY disappointed with POR. Having a boat trip to Disney Springs was great but the shared buses were a constant point of frustration for us. At POP it always felt like we never waited more than 5-10 minutes for a bus but we regularly waited 15-20 mins for bus at POR and then had multiple stops to contend with on top of that. Transport this trip is going to be a HUGE consideration for us BUT with an extended stay of 14 nights we're worried that POP will be too basic and not have enough amenities/facilities to satisfy a longer stay? We also spent a lot of time in the parks on our fist trip so we did't feel that we really got good 'value for money' out of the cost of POR.

On this next trip though we intend to build in at least 3 non park days, leave our arrival and departure days park free and travel to Universal for at least 2 days and attend MVMCP. Basically we're planning a more relaxed touring experience which is why we have concerns about a longer stay at POP.

What are your thoughts and advice for anyone considering a longer stay at a Value Resort? If you were going to recommend an alternate resort which one would it be and why??

Hello!!

We are from the UK and frequently have to save about that length of time for our trips so I feel your pain!!

We have actually done a 14 night stay at Pop before and it was actually really good! You don't really notice anything missing in way of services and the only thing we don't like is not being walking distance to a park which isn't a big deal at all. We noticed Pop Centuries buses being really good, they must throw extras on with it being a large resort. One resort I would suggest looking into is Saratoga Springs. It often works out to be not much more expensive then POR, the buses seemed good on our last trip and you can just walk around to Disney Springs which is a really nice, scenic walk after a busy day

 

[bigskip]

If you can run to saving for a deluxe resort the addition of a balcony made a real difference to us last year - Think about a studio at Saratoga springs - walking distance to Disney Springs, Bus service not too bad, still a big resort, so a few bus stops. Downside is it doesn't have the best Quick Service options, but it is walkable, or a short boat to Springs.

If you book at the right time of year there are heavy room discounts to be had too.

 

[Sinders99]

Saratoga Springs is definitely a resort on my radar but I thought it was all DVC? Can you book it via the Disney site?

 

[Sean91]

Saratoga Springs is definitely a resort on my radar but I thought it was all DVC? Can you book it via the Disney site?

Absolutely, we stayed there on our last trip booked with cash via Disneys website and loved it so much we actually have recently put an offer into buying in at the Saratoga, just waiting on Disneys Right of first refusal!

 

[Sinders99]

Hmmm looking online now for the first 2 weeks of December POP is coming up around $2,300 but Saratoga is coming up for those same dates as $5,800 which is a fairly big jump

 

[Sean91]

Hmmm looking online now for the first 2 weeks of December POP is coming up around $2,300 but Saratoga is coming up for those same dates as $5,800 which is a fairly big jump

Is that for a studio? Wow, I got a much better deal on this DVC then I thought I did :') However it will be quite a lot more expensive then Pop with it being Deluxe Villas compared to Value, The price seems to be less on the UK Site then it does on the US

 

[Sean91]

Price on the UK site for SSR is £2748. If you can book via the UK version it may be worth doing that

 

[Sean91]

For comparison sake: The UK price is around 4598.53 Australian Dollar where as the US is 7667.90 Australian Dollar. It maybe worth calling Disneyholidays.co.uk and asking about international bookings?

 

[Disneylover99]

We happily stay at Pop for 14 nights at a time and we spend a good deal of time at the resort. We've stayed at moderates and deluxes as well, but I never regret my time at Pop. I do find that they have the best bus service.

Lots of people decorate their room windows at Pop with lights and Christmas decorations in December. It makes for a fun, festive vibe.

 

[Sinders99]

I'm looking into renting DVC points as well but I've been told that the first 2 weeks in December are the highest in demand weeks for DVC all year and that I'm unlikely to get a 14 night booking Renting DVC points is substantially cheaper than the Disney rack rate but it looks like we'd have to have a split stay and share our time between 2 resorts if we did that - not that we really mind experiencing different resorts. If we did go down the DVC route we were thinking of 1 week at the Contemporary or Polynesian and then 1 week at the Boardwalk or Saratoga Springs.

 

[Nancyg56]

I realize that the discounts vary, but last year the December discounts started around December 9 or 10. I would pay close attention to the discounts offered this year, which will give you an idea and then begin pricing for extended stay. Sometimes there will be a moderate that is reasonable. I find that CSR tends to be less expensive than the other mods, so maybe use that one and compare it to POP.

The only thing I caution about renting DVC is that when my friend tried to book her points during early December DVC was booked solid, so if this is your plan, make sure you start the process of renting as early as possible for whatever resort you choose. For our dates, even SSR was booked. Good thing I had a RO discount booked.

 

[ADisneyQueen]

I would recommend Coronado Springs. It is a beautiful moderate resort and does not share buses. In fact, because it hosts some conferences, the buses can be less crowded b/c the business people are not going to parks during the day. Their pool area is one of the best on property. It's our favorite resort!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I know you talked about DVC rental on another thread, and we told you that the first two weeks of December are a bit of a handful. While you'd still want to be booking at 11 months + 7 days, Saratoga Springs would be the easiest resort to get via DVC rental the first two weeks in December.

 

[Sinders99]

@ADisneyQueen That's great feedback! Thank you. I hadn't considered Coronado Springs as I just assumed all resorts shared buses.

 

[Lesverts]

For a 14 day/night trip I would do a split stay without question, especially if you want to go to Universal. By 2019 you will have Adventura, Cabana Bay, and Sapphire Falls at the value to moderate end.

I'd personally do 6 days at Disney, followed by 3 days at Universal followed by another 5 days at Disney. With the first 6 days at a value and the final 5 days at a moderate/deluxe depending on budget.

 

[Disneylover99]

@ADisneyQueen That's great feedback! Thank you. I hadn't considered Coronado Springs as I just assumed all resorts shared buses.

Just to be clear, both POR and CSR buses make four stops around the resort. It sounded like one of the sources of your frustrations was the multiple stops. So if you didn't like the bussing at POR, you might not like it at CSR. We found the bus wait times to be similar at both resorts.

 

[Lesverts]

Just to be clear, both POR and CSR buses make four stops around the resort. It sounded like one of the sources of your frustrations was the multiple stops. So if you didn't like the bussing at POR, you might not like it at CSR. We found the bus wait times to be similar at both resorts.

POR also shares buses with FQ during off-peak times.

 

[Sinders99]

Just to be clear, both POR and CSR buses make four stops around the resort. It sounded like one of the sources of your frustrations was the multiple stops. So if you didn't like the bussing at POR, you might not like it at CSR. We found the bus wait times to be similar at both resorts.

I realised this once I started looking into CSR but thank you for the comparison between POR & CSR, it really helps. You are correct, one of our dislikes of POR was not only the shared busses but the multiple stops throughout the resort as well. We paid extra to stay in a preferred room at POR but we were the last of 4 resort stops which caused us no end of frustration. My advice to others staying at POR now is to pay for a standard room in Alligator Bayou close to the West Depot which is the first stop of 4.

 

[Disneylover99]

POR also shares buses with FQ during off-peak times.

Occasionally.

We travelled to the parks during off peak times (mostly early afternoon or early evening) on our last trip. Only once during our seven day trip did we share with POR on our way to AK.