First Time Value Stay

[KaystotheKingdom]

Hay all!

we own DVC, with enough points to go every other year with the accommodations/length of stay we prefer. Long story short, this is an off year and I am dying to get down after this awful year. Really looking to spend more time in the parks than the room so I ask you this:

what would you recommend to someone who has never stayed value? I’m considering pop or AoA.

now I’m not an accommodation snob, If it’s clean with decent food I’m golden. It will be 2 adults and 1 five year old.

thanks in advance!

 

[JoelB]

I've stayed at Pop and AoA and love them both. For your situation, I'd probably go with Pop unless someone in your family is a huge Little Mermaid fan.

The biggest advantage to Pop, IMO, is that you stand a decent chance (with a good room request and some luck) of getting even a standard view room that is a decent amount closer to the lobby and transportation than if you stay in the Little Mermaid section at AoA, which can be a bit of a hike.

Both resorts are a lot of fun, though, and the Skyliner is awesome!

 

[a1tinkfans]

Ohhhh , my advice. Lower your expectations and be prepared. There is simply no comparison to a value. Many like them, it’s a room. 8its only to sleep etc etc. but it’s a solid been there did that would Not repeat.... even If it was staying Disney springs area as there was no on site availability.
safe travels and enjoy ur visit.

 

[VandVsmama]

Hay all!

we own DVC, with enough points to go every other year with the accommodations/length of stay we prefer. Long story short, this is an off year and I am dying to get down after this awful year. Really looking to spend more time in the parks than the room so I ask you this:

what would you recommend to someone who has never stayed value? I’m considering pop or AoA.

now I’m not an accommodation snob, If it’s clean with decent food I’m golden. It will be 2 adults and 1 five year old.

thanks in advance!

Stay at Pop Century. It's cheaper than AoA. DH & I stayed there for about a week last month. We really liked it. The room was very very clean.

There's only 1 option for food at Pop. But it's super easy to get on the Skyliner and go to Primo Piatto at the Riviera. Or CBR. Or have lunch or dinner at Epcot and spend the rest of the day at another park. Etc., etc.

 

[JenBush]

Another vote for Pop. My biggest complaint with values is their lack of dining other than a food court, but with the skyliner that isn’t as much of an issue anymore. Pop is now just a quick skyliner ride from tons of dining options. Also the newly remodeled rooms at Pop are, in my opinion, far nicer than the little mermaid rooms at AOA. You can always walk over to AOA to look at the decorations/theming there that your five year old will probably love.

 

[WEDWDW]

Ohhhh , my advice. Lower your expectations and be prepared. There is simply no comparison to a value. Many like them, it’s a room. 8its only to sleep etc etc. but it’s a solid been there did that would Not repeat.... even If it was staying Disney springs area as there was no on site availability.
safe travels and enjoy ur visit.

I have to agree,however when they recently added Indoor Plumbing,to us,it has made ALL the difference!

(Just kidding)

 

[skuttle]

I’ll admit it, I’m a bit of a resort snob.

After receiving free tickets after an issue during our trip, we decided to use those tickets for a quick “bonus” trip a few months later. Since it was a bonus trip, we didn’t want to spend what we normally do, and we also invited my mom, so we became a party of 6. We decided to get two rooms at POP so we wouldall have “real” queen sized beds.

Surprisingly, I really liked our room. It was clean, lots of storage, the Murphy bed made it seem more spacious, and I loved the lack of carpet. And the skyliner is the best Disney transportation! What I didn’t like was the outside of the buildings, with the giant, over the top decorations and theming... which I knew before we even arrived. We did pay extra and reserved a preferred room to be closer to things. And the pool was closed for refurbishment, plus it was cold, so we didn’t spend a whole lot of time just hanging out at the resort.

If I wanted to do a more budget-minded, park heavy trip, I wouldn’t hesitate to stay at pop again.

And the only reason we didn’t do AOA was the beds. Some of our party would have been stuck on a sofa bed or sharing a full size bed, and my kids are too old for that.

 

[Olaf Myfrenzargay]

Since you are more park centric, Pop. Normally would show you CSR, particularly GDT, which easily eclipses both of those but for the park access.

 

[Disneymomma18]

I have always only stayed at value, but I made a mistake last year and rented DVC points and stayed at BLT. I say it was a mistake because now that I’m booked at All Star Movies in April I’m already missing the fact that I can’t walk to Magic Kingdom. That being said my trip is costing less than half so if it’s between going to Disney and staying value rather than not going at all I will always take value lol. I think if you just prepare yourself and know that you won’t be getting the same quality you do in a deluxe then maybe it won’t be so bad for you. My vote is for POP. We’ve stayed there multiple times and really enjoy it.

 

[wide awake]

We've stayed at Pop, Contemporary, and the Polynesian. They were all fine, but when I went to book for December 21 my first thought was Pop...it just seems Disneyish to me. We ended up at WL because it is supposed to have the best Christmas decorations, which are sort of the point of the whole trip...DS loves Christmas lights, music, and decorations.
Let's face it, the smart money is to purchase the best value which still allows you to enjoy your trip. In my case that always means two rooms for our family of three, which generally translates to Pop. Love the food court, love the on-site shopping, love the campy decor since I'm on vacation and not living with it 365 days a year.

 

[WEDWDW]

We've stayed at Pop, Contemporary, and the Polynesian. They were all fine, but when I went to book for December 21 my first thought was Pop...it just seems Disneyish to me. We ended up at WL because it is supposed to have the best Christmas decorations, which are sort of the point of the whole trip...DS loves Christmas lights, music, and decorations.
Let's face it, the smart money is to purchase the best value which still allows you to enjoy your trip. In my case that always means two rooms for our family of three, which generally translates to Pop. Love the food court, love the on-site shopping, love the campy decor since I'm on vacation and not living with it 365 days a year.

And like I always tell everybody the Values(TERRIBLE name-implies less quality than the Moderates and Deluxes)do NOT have less quality Cast Members,less quality landscaping,less quality cleanliness,less quality attention to detail,etc. than the other Resorts.

The name Values immediately gives people that impression but nothing could be farther from the truth!

 

[DL1WDW2]

I own DVC at BLT and BRV but POP preferred pool is always my choice to get the value out of my AP ... I love POP and think your family will enjoy for many reasons. It is actually fun to walk around the neighborhood which includes the bridge that connects POP to AoA and SkyLiner station. Many guests decorate their windows to reflect a birthday, graduation, holiday celebration also!
YAY POP!

 

[Sandiz08]

Pop is fine, just get a noise machine to turn on at night if your sensitive to that.

 

[Wild4Walt]

I've stayed Pop a few times ( normally can only do moderates ) and it's the nicest of the Values IMO. You can walk over to AoA ( it's a cute resort and has some good photo ops ) but I'd stay at Pop over AoA. The Skyliner does open up some transportation and dining for you as well.

I think the things you'll notice are:

• room size ( Pop is wayyy smaller than the standard DVC rooms )
• the lack of table service location ( that's where the Skyliner can come in )
• Gift Shop ( larger but may have less sundry items than you are used to )
• no indoor lounge - this one is always a bit one for me. We usually like to close out the evening with a cocktail and a Pop the bar is outside.

 

[CarolynFH]

DH and I have stayed at Pop a couple of times when we were out of points, and we enjoyed it. That was before the Skyliner, which makes it even more attractive to us. We haven't stayed at AoA, but we have walked around over there, and that Little Mermaid section is quite a hike from the main building where the food, bus stop and entrance to Generation Gap Bridge and the Skyliner are. So I'd recommend Pop for the three of you.

 

[maxiesmom]

Unless you are planning on using the Skyliner, I would save money and stay at an All Star. I've stayed at Pop, Music, and Sports. To me, the only real difference besides the Skyliner is size of the resort. And each All Star is way smaller than the Pop. Plus they are a bit cheaper.

 

[kwdw]

Unless planning to stay in family suite at AoA - just stay at Pop.

I think the biggest difference you will notice is the noise level. Values have outside doors, thinner walls. You'll also notice thinner towels and the beds aren't as comfy. But I think for a couple with one kid - you'll be just fine. If you are used to a one bedroom at a DVC - remember that Pop rooms will be the size of a typically hotel room. It can be harder to "keep it neat" - if that is important to you. I thoroughly dislike the fake wood floors (yes, I'd rather have worn carpet) - so those will get "crap" on them that you bring in from the outside.

Your room WILL be clean when you first arrive - as clean as you find at a DVC resort. If its not, complain. There might be a few nicks on furniture or a wall here or there - but not much.

Frankly - I've never used the food court at a value during peak times - but the times I have been there - there has always seemed to be someone around making sure the dining room is clean. The food is the same quality as any other QS at Disney. Nothing special, but always edible.

You'll be fine for a trip focused on the parks. And it's worth walking around the resort to see all the BIG characters in front of each building. Your 5 yo will like that!

 

[MamaJessie]

I have stayed at many resorts and Pop is still one of my favorites - enjoy trying something new!

 

[mkb3]

Yeah we kinda went in reverse. Our first trip in 2017 we did Deluxe (Contemporary), second trip in 2018 moderate (Port Orleans Riverside) and our third trip in 2019 Value (Pop Century). My wife prefers Pop out of all of them because the preferred rooms are more affordable than standard rooms at deluxe and moderate and provide easier access to transportation and dining. She hated the long walk to dining for coffee or a soda. The easy access to the skyliner and dining is why she wanted Pop for our trip later this year. Only downside to Pop is the food isn't great, but it is almost faster to take the skyliner to another resort or park than it takes to walk from say the Port Orleans Royal Rooms to dining. One day (pre covid) I wanted a ronto wrap for lunch. Via Skyliner I went to HS had lunch at Ronto Roasters and back to my room at Pop in less than an hour.

 

[heresabe]

I've said it before and I will say it again...I really like Pop. True, there is only one food option, but it is a food court with several stations. AofA also has only a food court dining option.
Pop has 3 pools.