Hubby balking at value...

[Tooliebell]

I have made ressies at POR for October. I would love to change to POP due to the rising price of gas as we will be driving. And my overwhelming need to be CHEAP! But we stayed at All Star Music when we went in 99 and dh hated it. The pools were overcrowded and the room seemed very run down. I think he was just expecting too much.

How much of a difference really is there between POR and Pop? Can't be too much? It will save us what we will end up paying for gas to drive there and back and I think that is a fair savings!

I wanted to add our children are small, 3dd, 7, 5, and 8mos(at time of visit), and to me POp seems like a better choice for their age group. They haven't ever stayed in a hotel so honestly the probably wont care!

 

[kapoof]

pop has lots of fans. i haven't been but have driven past it it does look like a loud place, but some like the party atmosphere. they also have one bus for the resort so there is no sharing. i have seen pics of the pool and it looks real cute. to save $ due to gas i think you are making the right choice. i think your kids will love it there because of the giant icons. go and have fun!

there is also a pop info thread here too.

 

[MPHARJ]

Well it depends on where you are driving from. The cost is about $300 difference, but it also depends on what type of room you pick. I know the rooms at ASMusic and ASSports have all jsut been refurbished. I think your kids would enjoy the theme at the value resort, however how much time will you be spending there if you haven't been in a few years. I keep weighing the option of changing the first part of our split stay to a value but it would only be about $200 savings. So not really that much but still weighing it.

 

[DizzDoll]

We love Pop. It's clean, fun, active but not "hey dude let's party" loud, the pools are not unduly crowded, it has a nice walking/jogging path in the back, it has Hour Glass Lake (it also has the eyesore of the unfinished Legendary Years, but that can be ignored), the rooms are smallish but clean, the foodcourt has edible food, the gift shop is laid out well, the icons are worth the photo ops alone. If you get a room in the back overlooking the lake you won't be disappointed. I think it's a good choice for families.

 

[declansdad]

It is a big resort but we haven't found it loud, or "party all the time" either. The bus service is great and many people have said the food court is one of the best at any of the resorts.

If you like taking pictures, as the pp mentioned, there are plenty of opportunities.

 

[geokeim]

I'm with hubby on this one. (isn't he helping PAY for the trip?)
Why not give in on this? It will make for a MUCH more pleasant experience
for everyone.

 

[Lovetherodent]

Another vote for make the hubby happy. A happy hubby is worth a couple hundred dollars.

We stayed value in 99, too, and while we didn't hate it, we just didn't like it as much as the mod. We felt cramped, especially at nap time with all four of us jammed into one tiny room. Missed the separate vanity area, too.

 

[disneyfreakjackie]

Moderates ... worth the extra $$$ for our family ... and we have to get two rooms!! POP was nice (we stayed there last August ... added five nights with FREE DINING before we took Disney's 7-night Eastern Caribbean Cruise). I will NEVER stay at a value resort during free dining again!! TOOOOOO CROWDED ALL AROUND including the buses. We had to wait through two or three buses sometimes before we got on. BIG waste of my Disney minutes!!!

Now, if it was either a value resort or not go at all, value it would be!!

 

[minnie61650]

I have made ressies at POR for October. ....
I wanted to add our children are small, 3dd, 7, 5, and 8mos(at time of visit), and to me POp seems like a better choice for their age group. They haven't ever stayed in a hotel so honestly the probably wont care!

I love The Value Resorts.

I am 56 years old and travel several times a yearfor pleasure. I often stay at 3and 4 star and sometimes a 5 star hotels and motels.
So the deluxe and mod resorts are just another hotel/motel to me.
Staying at Disney's value resort is like being in the heart of the Magic and that is where I want to be.

All Star Music is my favorite. It is quieter because more couples stay there.

Bus rides are quite short according to PassPorter.com

All Star Buses-CBR buses---POPbuses--PO buses--- Contemporary
MK 20 min---- 20 min-----25 min------10 min---20 min(mono)
Epcot 10 min-- 15 min-----20 min------10 min---15 min
MGM 10 min----12 min-----15 min------15 min---20min
AK 10 min------20min-------15 min----15 min---20 min
DTD 15 min----20 min------20 min-----15 min---35 min



*Please Note:
In my experience the bus rides are usually 3-6 minutes shorter than the listed times. Perhaps the authors posted the ride times during heavy traffic so the actual times would be less in most cases.



I have visited WDW more than a dozen times with the 1st time in Oct. 1971. It was brand new. I've stayed at FW, Disney Inn, a few the of Hotels on hotel Blvd., CBR and the towers at the Contemporary. I got to see the MK from my balcony at the Contemporary and I'm happy I got to experience it once. I just prefer the All Star Resorts.
The theming is pure Disney.

My last 7 visits have been at The All Stars and during the fall of 2005 when we took dd,dsil, and our grandson age 3(at the time) for 8 nights we stayed at the All Stars Music. I thought about AKL and even though we can well afford AKL I just wanted Alex to experience the Disney Magic at the All Stars on his first visit.
Where else can one find Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse at the pool?

Have fun at Disney!

 

[declansdad]

We had to wait through two or three buses sometimes before we got on.

We have been there in July and August and the only time we had this happen was one night closing time at MK and tat the studios. We still waited only 30 minutes.

 

[Sandi]

With a family of your size, I'd go with POR. We've stayed at both resorts and it's only DD13 and me on most of our trips. I would feel terribly crowded at POP (if you can even stay there as Linda pointed out). At POR, you'll have two sinks and a trundle bed for one of the older children.

 

[dvcnewgirl]

I have made ressies at POR for October. I would love to change to POP due to the rising price of gas as we will be driving. And my overwhelming need to be CHEAP! But we stayed at All Star Music when we went in 99 and dh hated it. The pools were overcrowded and the room seemed very run down. I think he was just expecting too much.

How much of a difference really is there between POR and Pop? Can't be too much? It will save us what we will end up paying for gas to drive there and back and I think that is a fair savings!

I wanted to add our children are small, 3dd, 7, 5, and 8mos(at time of visit), and to me POp seems like a better choice for their age group. They haven't ever stayed in a hotel so honestly the probably wont care!

Just make sure you are ready if he does not like it. After you spend all of that money on vacation you do not want to be listening to him complain. I know from experience. I planned a trip to POP, my husband walked in saw the crowds and started complaining. Then we checked in went to lunch and he saw the crowds and kept complaining... . Finally he said we are not staying here and went to the front desk and upgraded to a mod. It was the best move because if not we would have been fighting the whole time. Good Luck!

 

[SusanDK]

The OP said she has three children, one of which will be 8 months old at the time of the trip, so they can stay in a value (4 + one child under 3).

Susan

 

[HonnyDipp]

To the OP, I was in your same boat about 3 months ago. I orginally booked with POP, but my group didnt think it would be big enough so I went shopping for a mod and settled with POR. We are also driving down so I know what you mean about the gas prices. But in my opinion, your hubby may be onto something here! :

 

[BillyFeat]

No contest between POR and POP in my book. POR would be my choice.

 

[fall08CP]

I'm not crazy about POR but I would definitely book a mod over a value without hesitation. I am stuck staying at POP this upcoming Sunday (5/18) and will you know what I thought of it but I really wish I was staying at CSR. Ah well.

 

[stopher1]

We've done both POP and POR - and our family definitely PREFERRED staying at POR. DW really liked it for the shade - the landscaping at POR is just so much more lush - POP has trees, but nothing like at POR. My kids loved the Ol' Man Island main pool area - especially the slide. There's no slide at any of the POP pools. Being able to take the boat to DTD is a nice option, which we really enjoyed too. The room that we had at POR was a tad bigger than at POP, and the bathroom area a bit bigger - plus there was a refrigerator already in the room - no need to pay for one for find a fridge swap.

 

[abcboys]

I have never stay at POR but we just returned from Pop and I thought it was just fine. Like you I had me, DH and 3 kids one being a 2 year old with a pack and play and I didn't think it was crowded at all. Before my trip all I kept hearing was how TINY the rooms at values are but I thought it was just fine. I was expecting it to be as small as a cardboard box the way some people were going on about it. We had plenty of room. We hardly waited at all for bus services. Usually 5 minutes or less. Maybe once or twice a 10 minute wait. Once we went to the contemporary from the MK to catch a bus to Downtown disney and we waited FOREVER!! We ended up getting a bus to AK just to get out of there. Pop busses were great. Then again we are not "fussy" people about stuff. We did try to avoid the food court at breakfast time as it was crazy busy but we brought our own food and ate breakfast in the rooms. The food courts were less busy later in the day. My boys went swimming everyday and I never felt the poos were crazy busy. It was fine.

 

[buzznina]

Here is the main point, if you go to POP and it is crowded and your DH does not have a good time your stay will be VERY LONG

 

[abcboys]

Just wanted to add the rooms were not run down at all, they were nice. I did not hear a lot of noise from the neighbors just the toilet flushing a few times. I need a fan to sleep and there is a bathroom fan on a timer so I rigged it up so it stayed on constantly. Worked great!! The only thing is we were way back in building 7 in the 80s section. It was quite a hike to the main hall but we were doing so much walking anyway it didn't matter. My boys loved it there.