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I would let hubby win with the resort. While I prefer POFQ, I don't mind the Values... Little ones seem to love them too. Plus from POP you could go explore the new Art of Animation resort! I wanted to stay at Pop for our next trip but with DD1, DD2, DH, my mom and I, we could use that extra space. If it were just our little family we would go value and use the extra money for special experiences or souvenirs.
I would price out how much it would cost to go to Universal for a day or two. I know the numbers helped us decide to do only one day at Seaworld! No way we were going to spend so much money for Universal when we had little ones a pregnant women and older folks who don't like rides that move too much! It's all about compromise isn't it? I think it is crucial to plan together. What are your must dos, your children's must dos and your husband's must dos? If we are a group, we all pick one or two. I plan the rest
He said he doesn't care, just pick something. I know he really likes Pop, and if it weren't for the double beds I think I'd be all for it for the entire trip. We do sleep okay in our double bed at home, but for some reason the double bed at my mom's house seems to be smaller than our bed, so we don't sleep as well (we're both a little pooh sized too. ) As much as I don't want to do a split stay, I think doing 2 nights at Pop would be good to get the experience, and 5 or 6 nights at POFQ would be good for the nicer resort and the queen beds. Or maybe I'll just suck it up and do Pop for the full stay. I probably will drop Universal though - maybe Legoland because it's a little cheaper. But first I need to talk to my mom, because she claims she still has these free passes to Universal that never expire, that we got when we went to Universal about 20 years ago! She claims she knows where they are, I don't really believe her, but if I tell her we're planning to go, she'll look for them. If she does find them, I will fall out of my chair, lol.
Well, DH just keeps making everything more complicated. I talked to him earlier about possibly doing POFQ and he said that whatever "we" wanted to do (meaning me and my girls) was fine. Because he had already given up going to Legoland, already given up going to Islands of Adventure, it really didn't matter if he lost out on the resort he wanted too. Good grief, and I'M supposed to be the emotional one?So I told him I'd "see what I could do" to try to add Universal in the mix for him, without totally blowing our budget.
So one idea I had was doing Saturday and Sunday night at a hotel near Universal with a package, and 5 nights at Disney with a package, but I wasn't feeling that because I'd have to make it over to Disney really quickly on Monday to get tickets and possibly make an early ADR. So then I thought maybe to make us all happy, we could do 2 nights at Pop room only then 5 nights at POFQ with a package. The last option is just to add another day to a POP or POFQ package and do Universal one of those days. I think the 3rd will be the most expensive option, but I'll have to price it out. Or the last option is just to let us stay at Pop for 6 nights and tell DH we can go back to Orlando next year for Universal!
Goodness, the whole point of taking this trip was because I figured it would be cheaper than our original plan of taking the girls on a 7 day cruise. At first it looked like we'd save about $1000 going to Disney instead, now that savings is dwindling down to about $500. I just hope this AAA person is patient with me while I figure all of this out.
I want to thank all of you who have read and responded to my insanity of trying to decide on where to stay for our first Disney trip.Now that we have finally decided to stay onsite (yay!) and do a package, my last dilemma is choosing whether or not to stay at Pop Century or POFQ. I showed my husband pictures of both last night, and he fell in love with Pop because of the huge big wheel.
I know at the end of the day DH will let me choose what I want, but I don't know if I would feel bad for going against his wants, when I tried so hard to get him to actually give me an opinion on something. I don't know if I should try to convince him of the benefits of POFQ or just give in to his desire to stay at Pop. I really would love to stay in one of the Royal rooms at POR, because I know my girls would love that, but I'll have to wait and see how good of a discount AAA could give me because rack rate prices are a bit out of my budget. Anyone dealt with this before and how did you handle it? Or any insight into which resort you would choose and why?
I think it is very important to let your hubby win on something. You said in one of your earlier posts that you were trying to get his input on things and that it is hard to do. Well, he gave you his input, what message does it send to him if he finally tells you what he wants and you ignore it? If he wants to stay at Pop, stay at Pop. Tell him he is right, you got to pick the destination, he should get to pick the resort. Resist the urge to say, "I told you so" if he complains about being in full sized beds for 6 days. Under no circumstances complain about the resort and then do the suffering wife routine where you think you are being subtle about any problems being his fault.
Seriously, (not saying you do this, just that I see women do it all the time so please read this as a general thing) why would a man continue to offer his opinion if his opinion always gets ignored?
Signed,
Very happily married for 15 years to a husband who still thinks I rock.
PS, if you could swing the Universal thing and then the Disney thing I would do it if it is that important to him. Don't worry about having to get somewhere early for an ADR, that is why cabs exist. Plus, no food in Disney is so phenomenal that missing it would be the end of the world. I'm sure there are great restaurants where you live too.
Edited to add: Saw your later post about the cost of Universal and your sleeping arrangements at home. U does add a lot on to the price, so if you are going to skip it I think it is even more important to let him have the resort. Legoland is about 45 minutes away so make sure it is worth the extra traveling time. If you are used to full sized beds that changes a lot. I'm used to a King and going to a full would make me nuts. That extra 6 inches of width and 5 inches of length you get from a Queen is make or break for me.
. I liked someone's idea of staying at POFQ and visiting Pop, and it made me think, we could just as easily stay at Pop and visit POFQ. I would much rather go to lunch or dinner over there anyhow, so it would make more sense to visit POFQ. And if I really like it, and we like staying onsite, then maybe that can be for a next trip. 
How did you get only $200 difference for 6 nights? The difference in price is about $90 a night
I think you hit the nail on the head. The reality is that though I "want" to stay at POFQ, what I "should" do is value my husband's opinion and stay at Pop. It won't kill us, I'm sure we'll have a good time there with our girls, and we may not be at the resort much anyhow. I will try my best not to do an "I told you so" if the beds end up being too uncomfortable.
Remind him of the old saying "when Mama's happy, everybody's happy"!
How did you get only $200 difference for 6 nights? The difference in price is about $90 a night
