Hope I'm not spoiled! Need Value fans' input!

[MinnieTink]

We are in the planning stages of our next trip "home", and we are trying to spend less $$$ this time. On our past two trips, we have stayed at WL and Poly. We are looking at Pop this time. We really won't be spending a whole lot of time at the resort, just a place to get some zzzz's and maybe take a swim one or two of the days. I think my kids will love the theming. I am just a bit concerned about the room size and mousekeeping. Also, how is the bus trasportation at Pop as opposed to other resorts? Should we spend the extra to go Moderate? I would appreciate any input.

THANKS!!!!!

 

[Carrie772]

I think I am spoiled too, but I will tell you what I think. We stayed at ASp with at the time DS8, DD5, and DS2...he was in the pack-n-play that we had brought from home. The room was so tight! Esp. with the PnP and the double stroller, I thought I would freak out every morning.

(Sorry about the doom and gloom)

Maybe I am just a high strung momma, but I really need more room to organize myself and our home away from home.

I prefer POR.

That's just my 2 cents. Perhaps someone else can offer a different perspective.
Carrie

 

[jadedbeauty14304]

I am a big fan of POP. The rooms are definitely smaller, but they are clean, and if you are only going to use them for sleeping and swimming, it won't matter much. The difference in price, to me, is worth a couple square feet. The theming is great, not only for kids, but for adults too! I loved taking a walk by the lake and reading the little signs that have fun facts on them. The transportation is really good too. POP does not share a bus with any other resorts, and its central location makes each ride short to EPCOT, DHS, and AK. MK is a little longer but not much.

I'm going back this summer.

 

[NotTooGoofy]

POP is a great resort. I love their food court and resort theme and I think your kids will as well. You didn't say how many kids you have (I'll assume two) or if you have a spouse coming with you. To me, the main drawback if you're used to the Poly or WL is the bed size. I believe POP has two double beds but the deluxe resorts have two queen beds. This can make a difference if you like your bed space.

 

[MinnieTink]

OP here... My family is: Me, My Husband, 11 y/o daughter, 8y/o daughter and 2 year old son. It may be tight with the pack and play crib. I was thinking, tho, that when my son is over 3, we will no longer even have Pop as a choice, unless we get two rooms. We will have to stay at a Mod or Deluxe that can accommodate a family of 5. Am I right? Thanks for the info, so far, everyone. I appreciate it.

 

[Pirate's Princess]

but...it's hard to switch resorts types IMO. I had always stayed at a moderate but wanted to try a value for a 9 day vacation. It was nice and clean. Good theming and food court, but I missed the feel of the moderate (CB). It felt like there was a difficult crowd there. Lots of partying people, smoking outside their rooms, empty pizza boxes, etc... Sometimes it was sketchy. I wouldn't walk around at night by myself. I don't know, it just felt like something was missing. Now I've never gone Deluxe, but I want to, but I think even if I'm not always at the resort I prefer CB, and probably wouldn't do value again. I'd rather save and then spend the extra money. Of course, I want to join DVC someday, but that's another story.

 

[Dawn68PA]

We had 4 adults in our pop room in 2006. We weren't in the room much and yes, it's small but it didn't matter to us. The atmosphere is fab as others have already stated. I'd recommend it to a friend.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

With the Pack and Play I think I would go for CBR. It has the largest rooms of all the mods.

 

[Disneydd2]

A year and a half ago we did the POP. And we had a great time. However, this past September we did CS and loved it. The buses didn't seem as crowded as they were at the POP. But, to save several hundred dollars, it makes sense to put up with a little discomfort. It's a toss up for me.

 

[Manda]

I had an unexpected and unplanned two day stayover at All Star Sports a couple weeks ago. A snowstorm in Chicago prevented us from going home, so I just booked a couple days at cheapest resort available. I didn't think it would be that bad for a couple days. Call me a hotel snob or whatever, but I wouldn't go back to Disney World if my only choice was a value. Going from deluxes to that... *sigh*. I was there in the middle of roaming hoards of cheerleaders and everything about it was painful. Horrible lines for food and horrible lines for buses. It was only two of us and the room seemed tiny. And I could hear every word said in the resort, I swear. And the screaming from the pool all night. My four year old said that he loved it though... "except for the girls screaming all night and waking me up."

 

[my2minnies]

We stayed last year at the pop with our 2 year old twins and our 5 and 6 year olds. We had two pack and plays in there, two carseats for the plane and our double stroller. We managed to fit everything just fine. It was small, but other than sleeping we were not in the room at all. My parents had a connecting room so we could go in their room when the twins napped, but other than that we all stayed in the one room.

I loved the resort and found it to be quite safe. It would be the last time you could even stay in a value so it might be worth it to save the extra money. From now on we have to get two rooms because the twins will be three soon.

Because we stay at a value resort when we go, we are able to go every year.

 

[jensen]

I've never stayed in a deluxe, but I think you'd have a pretty hard time going from Deluxe to Value.

Where do you usually stay when you aren't at Disney? If you stay at mid-range places like Holiday Inn Express or Fairfield Inn (like we do), then you can probably handle values, but if you always stay at a Marriott or other high end hotel, you probably won't care for the values.

If you decide to do it, you'll need to go into it with a completely open mind and remember that the values are a BUDGET MOTEL with lots of Disney mixed in.

 

[CarolA]

I have stayed in Deluxe, Mod and Value.

Yes, the rooms are smaller, but it's not like you just moved into a closet!

However, trasnsportation is about the same (if not better) at Pop then the deluxes and, sadly, service is VERY close and I have found it often better at the Values then the Deluxes (For an extra few hundred a night I would expect there to be a bigger difference in service LOL!)

Themeing is excellent and the OP is right, kids LOVE it!

Have a great trip!

 

[waterm]

Okay-after reading all this the moderate and deluxe hotels must be something. We went to Disney about 2 weeks ago on our first trip. We stayed at the POP and I thought it was great! IT was very clean and the staff was very nice! We never had time to swim, but the pools looked great! My dd thougt is was the fanciest place she had ever seen-I guess we always stay value like Best Western etc. I thought the size was adequate, and all we did there was sleep and bath. We were so tired at night, the pool people did not bother us-if you are worried about noise then get some ear plugs! Would stay there again at $65 a night if that meant more money for other things!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[PoohsFan1]

I am so glad this thread was posted because my girlfriend and her two kids (who have never been to Disney before) and myself and my two kids are thinking of going to Disney. My girlfriend's DH thinks Disney is a waiste of money so since my two little darlings have gone twice, I thought it would be nice that we would take our dear friends because my girlfriend and her two darlings love Disney very much. I, however, have always stayed in either a delux or a moderate...never a value resort. But since my girlfriend wants to save money, we thought a value in the off season would be the best bet. Eventhough we are thinking of ASMovies instead of Pop, it would still be nice to hear how everyone likes the values.

 

[Shir Kahn]

One problem that you might have is that Pop Century has a 4 person limit per room.

As for the transportation, it seemed to be alright when we used it, but after a few days we switched to using our car and enjoyed that much more.

 

[jensen]

One problem that you might have is that Pop Century has a 4 person limit per room.

As for the transportation, it seemed to be alright when we used it, but after a few days we switched to using our car and enjoyed that much more.

It won't be a problem for the OP. The limit is 4 people PLUS one child under three in a crib (pack 'n play).

 

[mickeyluv'r]

We are in the planning stages of our next trip "home", and we are trying to spend less $$$ this time. On our past two trips, we have stayed at WL and Poly. We are looking at Pop this time. We really won't be spending a whole lot of time at the resort, just a place to get some zzzz's and maybe take a swim one or two of the days. I think my kids will love the theming. I am just a bit concerned about the room size and mousekeeping. Also, how is the bus trasportation at Pop as opposed to other resorts? Should we spend the extra to go Moderate? I would appreciate any input.

THANKS!!!!!

It sort of depends on your outlook and expectations. The values are not deluxes. On the other hand, I LIKE exploring all the resorts, and enjoying the variety each has to offer in terms of theming, so from that prespective it was lots of fun to stay there and give ourselves time to explore the resort a little.

It you accept that there are no coffeemakers, no pool slide, and that you have to bring towels to the pool with you upfront, that helps.

I personally like the food courts in the mods and values better than the food courts in most of the deluxes, and Pop has one of the better ones in terms of size and colorful decor. They also have a few extra drink options over some of the other food courts (but it's been awhile since I've been to some of them, so maybe they have more items now too.) Pop's can get crowded at peak times, but mostly it's pretty quick. I usually avoid food courts in shopping malls, but at Disney I like being able to grab a quick bite in the morning!

Mousekeeping at Pop was fine. Maybe not QUITE the same as GF - no turndown service - but otherwise it was as good as any other place.

the rooms are smaller, and I remember thinking at ASMu that it was noticable - but Pop has more dresser space than theAll Stars, and I think they are in the process of improving the All Stars too. If you bring afew plastic hangers I think that would help, as there is a place to hang things, and then you don't have to worry about drawer space as much.

AS far as bus transportation, in many ways I prefer Pop over the mods, and in some cases it was faster than the busing at the deluxes. I love being able to walk from the Swan to Epcot and MGM - it won't be the sale as the monorail either - but as long as you accept that, then I think the busing is fine. Tehonly time we had a long wait was leaving Epcot. WE laso ended up leaving MK a little early and that helped too. The buses will be full most ofthe time though.

 

[Liberty Belle]

We've only ever stayed at value resorts (Movies and Sports), but have always been more than happy with mousekeeping, transportation, theming, pools, noise level, etc. The only "issue" is the small rooms, but we don't mind because we don't spend much time at all in the rooms.

We're considering staying in a moderate next trip, but probably won't. I just can't justify the extra cost. There are other things I'd rather spend my extra money on.

 

[cinderellamom123]

Last Feb stayed at POFQ. Had never stayed at a value to we stopped in to take a look. I do not consider myself to be high maintenance but I would not stay there unless a last resort. Rooms are very small. Would not say there if there were more than 3 people. Definately not with a baby and pack and play. Would say that rooms are 30% or more smaller than a moderate. Also, you need to like the decor. I got a headache just driving into the hotel.