Help,Serious Family Issue...POP VS. POR

[Glass Slipper]

Just another thought here...even if you are at the same resort, you could be on one end of the resort while they are on the other, you will still have to meet up at places. It would be different for me if I knew our rooms would be right next to each other. Have a great vacation!!!

 

[Jasminetigger]

I understand your dilemma. Our family is headed to WDW this month. I have benn planning this trip since last October. A couple of weeks ago it started to happen. MIL and FIL called us and said they would be joining us for a day while we were there. They only live about two hours away. No problem, rearranged some of our plans. Then last week BIL and SIL said they were coming with there two kids and my other SIL's two kids would be coming too. They would be stayng for four days. I panicked. My plans that I had worked on so hard were going to unravel. My PS's for four now had to be PS's for 12 At first I resented that they were going to just drop in on our vacation. But then I came to my senses and realized what a wonderful time all the cousins were going to have at WDW. I also realized that all of us together there at once would probably not happen again. If I were you, I would try nicely one more time trying to convince him to stay at POR. If he still doesn't want to, I would move to POP. Consider it your good deed for the day. Life is too short. Also remember, if you are at two different resorts, you wouldn't get to swim together. No pool hopping. Good luck with your decision.

 

[aplejax76]

I was pretty much in the situation as you. We are staying at BC.My sister decided she wanted to go as well. I was happy about this but alittle worried. With 2 families it is very hard to do everything together. You might do things at a different pace. We decided that we would go at the same time but different resorts. We also talked about what each one of us wanted out of our vacation. We figured out that we would spend some time together but not all our time with eachother. I just think you need to talk about what you guys what to do together. That way when you get there you will not have people upset about the little things.

 

[eeyore45]

excuse me... re "no pool hopping"

if I understand "guests" rights, I may have visitors with me at whatever resort I'm staying at.


I do not have the right to "pool hop" to get my "jollies" out of deciding to jump over to WL or the Poly when I'm booked at... Grand Floridian, just because "I want to" that would be "pool hopping'.. but... if I'm registered at POR, and my parents came to visit me, they could swim while I'm at POR with them, and they would not be POOL HOPPING>..

 

[Jasminetigger]

excuse me... re "no pool hopping"

if I understand "guests" rights, I may have visitors with me at whatever resort I'm staying at.


I do not have the right to "pool hop" to get my "jollies" out of deciding to jump over to WL or the Poly when I'm booked at... Grand Floridian, just because "I want to" that would be "pool hopping'.. but... if I'm registered at POR, and my parents came to visit me, they could swim while I'm at POR with them, and they would not be POOL HOPPING>..

I'm sorry if I gave wrong information. I certainly didn't mean to. I guess I don't fully understand the resort pool rules.

 

[Goofy4]

if I understand "guests" rights, I may have visitors with me at whatever resort I'm staying at.

I've been wondering if Grand Gathering groups might technically be prohibited from getting the kids together for a swim if staying at different resorts.

Back to the OP... Maybe everyone could switch to a "neutral" resort Just kidding... Stay put.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I have stayed at Pop and POR and preferred POR. So did my kids (8, 10) and that really surprised me. Don't get me wrong we loved Pop and would stay there again but POR was just really special. If you are used to staying at a moderate it might be tough to change. To me it's not so much the size of the rooms because the rooms at POR didn't feel that much bigger and I never felt cramped at Pop or ASMO. It was just the overall feel at POR that sold us and the beauty of the resort.The things that we noticed one way or the other were the following:

Both Pop and ASMO felt very crowded and we were in an off season. Pools, food courts, laundry rooms, gift shops and lobbies were ALWAYS crowded. Had no trouble doing laundry, eating at the food court and the pool had plenty of chairs for us. The resort just didn't feel crowded to us which was so nice. The bus service at POR was about the same as far as wait times but the buses themselves and the stops were not as crowded. Also loved having covered bus stops at POR. Parking at Pop was a nightmare for us. We were in the 80's (I think, it was the rubix cube bldg.) and parking was a challenge, especially the Friday night we checked in. Midnight after a long flight OMG it was awfu! Never had one problem at POR finding a close spot to our building. We were far out at POR too (bldg 36) but the walk didn't seem as far as the one at Pop. If I do stay at Pop again I will pay for preferred location but wouldn't at POR.

POR was much quieter. While the noise at the values didn't keep us up at night because we always turn in late due to our Mountain time zoned bodies, it did wake us up early. It wasn't the flushing toilets sounds for us but the sounds of many, many children running up and down those walkways. I don't think we ever saw another guest walking down our walkway at POR. POR was 98% sold out according to the CM at check in when we were there in late April but we never felt it.

The decor of the rooms was very nice at POR and we enjoyed it. LOVED the double sink area and privacy curtain. So nice when we were getting ready. Loved having the nice bathtub ledge at POR as well.

Much preferred the pool area at POR for the obvious reasons: slide and hot tub! But the hippy dippy pool was fun too, especially the Mai Tai's DH and I enjoyed at Pop one night!

Mousekeeping was even at all three resorts we have stayed at. Equally good at all of them. The conditions of the rooms at Pop and POR was equal. Pop is new and POR I guess is recently refurbished so that was nice on both counts. Beds felt comfortable at both resorts. The air conditioning worked better at POR. I also liked having the blinds at POR so that in the mornings we could have privacy and some natural light. We loved having the fridge at POR although somehow ended up with a free one at Pop even though we kept calling them to take it away!

Liked the food court at POR better. Lines shorter and we thought the food was a little better. Same gross pizza however!

Loved the fun theming at Pop but loved the beauty at POR. Enjoyed having the surrrey bike rentals, the boat to DTD and the nicer pool area.

All in all I would stay at either resort in a minute. My kids have voted for POFQ for our next visit and I am very happy with that but would have been fine to stay at Pop again. I do wonder however if and when we do stay at a value again how it will be since we have now done moderates, joined DVC and are doing two nights at the Contemporary in October! Good luck, do what you think is best. Personally with some family members I would have to stay in the same resort to be near them, with others I would probably lose my mind with all that togetherness!

 

[MEK]

splitting your stay between the two resorts? That way you can be with your family at POP, but still have your quiet time at POR. Just a thought! Otherwise I think you should consider what is more important to you - the convenience of being at the same resort with your brother and family or your desire to stay at a resort you love. If the former is more important, then you should change to POP. If the later is more important, then stay right where you are. It's pretty much on you (unfortunately), because your brother sounds too stubborn to change. Good Luck. And don't feel guilty about whatever decision you make.

________________________________________
Looking forward to August 2005

 

[drakethib]

This is our dilema...

My brother, his wife and 13 year old dd have decided they would like to join us for our August vacation to WDW, the free dining convinced them. We are booked @ POR and love it there!! They want a value and booked at POP. They really want us all to be together (touring and meals are a given) and REFUSES to spend the extra $400 on POR (yes, that's all the difference is).

They want us to come on over to POP and stay there. We are; me, my DH, and 17 year old DS. Not my idea of where I want to spend my vacation, BUT we go often they don't. Should I break down and go stay at POP or just keep what we have and meet up at different times.

Please if you can be as specific as possible on the pros and cons it would help, we are REALLY struggling with this

No offense, but isn't this your vacation as well?

Why would you want to stay somewhere that you and your family will not be happy with?

I have never stayed at POP and I am sure it is nice, but by all means it can't be as relaxing as Riverside.

IF it were me I would stay where I want and give my brother my room or cell number and have some planned places to meet.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[HappyLawyer]

this is your vacation, it does not matter where u stay you can always meet up somewhere, stay where u want

 

[HaleyB]

One way to deal with this is to wait long enough.. Pop has already run out of rooms for some dates.

Honestly it is hard enough to try to cooridinate with another family, being on separate properties will be a hassel. Unless you will not be using the resort bus and will drive over to the Pop and get them and then go to the parks. But I am a park camando and like to be in the parks as early as possible...

What is the priority for you? Is it the vacation, is it being together with your brother? is it touring the parks? spending time together? What is your touring style (camando? relaxed?)? Did you invite them or did they jump in on your trip?

I see both sides here, but a vacation is 2 weeks. A brother is your whole life.

 

[isabellarenee23]

We just got back from por and loved it. Our children also had a blast. The resort is so beautiful.

 

[tinker-kyle]

POP tends to nosier and more crowded and more "packs of teenagers" if you know what i mean
its not too bad if you're expecting it ... but it could make or break your trip if you spend the time thinking how nice and family friendly POR would have been ...

i've stayed at both ... did not like POP much at all
it was august ... hot as you-know-what ... and we were a million miles from the main building ... POR is big too, but seems shadier and more peaceful

POR pool is much better than POP ... and no slide at POP!

meeting at the parks and for meals is totally do-able ... especially since you dont have babies or small kids traveling with you.

i'd stick with POR ... good luck !

 

[lajones81]

POP tends to nosier and more crowded and more "packs of teenagers" if you know what i mean
its not too bad if you're expecting it ... but it could make or break your trip if you spend the time thinking how nice and family friendly POR would have been ...

i've stayed at both ... did not like POP much at all
it was august ... hot as you-know-what ... and we were a million miles from the main building ... POR is big too, but seems shadier and more peaceful

POR pool is much better than POP ... and no slide at POP!

meeting at the parks and for meals is totally do-able ... especially since you dont have babies or small kids traveling with you.

i'd stick with POR ... good luck !

I'm not sure I know what you mean. I don't know about POR, but my experience at POP was wonderful - and I stayed there during the spring break rush! I really enjoyed POP. There were no crowds of us teenagers running around (myself included! - I'm 24, but look much younger). The only noise I heard during our stay at POP actually came from the Disney employees, as they sprayed down the exterior walls each day.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I'm not sure I know what you mean. I don't know about POR, but my experience at POP was wonderful - and I stayed there during the spring break rush! I really enjoyed POP. There were no crowds of us teenagers running around (myself included! - I'm 24, but look much younger). The only noise I heard during our stay at POP actually came from the Disney employees, as they sprayed down the exterior walls each day.

I know exactly what Tinker-Kyle meant! I feel the same way. I loved Pop, loved the fun theming but if you stayed there over Spring Break and saw no crowds you were very lucky. Pop and ASMO are so Disney I was in heaven but it was a noisy, crowded kind of heaven (and both times were off season)! Like her we were in a far out building at Pop and hated that. We were in a far out building at POR but didn't mind because walking from that room to the main buildings was like a beautiful stroll. I would still stay at Pop again but not if I wanted something relaxing and I would likely spend a lot of time missing the tranquility of POR. Up until I stayed at POR I didn't realize how nice it is to have a really quiet, relaxing resort to go back to. Even my rowdy kids preferred it. Still, if I could get a $49 AP rate again at Pop I would stay because you cannot beat that! I also don't think Tinker-Kyle and I are the only ones who find the values, fun, a great bargain but just really high energy!

 

[lovewdwdvc]

I would look at it as an opportunity to have some space and one more set of ammenities to look forward to. swim in thier pool one afternoon and your pool the next, have them fix cocktails one night and you the next. could be really fun if you ask me.