Just back from POP/CSR

[JenC025]

Wow what a difference between value and moderate. FIRST - It took forever to check in. We arrived Saturday around 5 pm, took about an hour. I would never stay in the 90's area again. The walk was LONG we bought the mugs but after doing the parks all day (we don't do mid day breaks) no one wanted to do the walk for mug refills. Plus, Coffee was HORRIBLE...(nescafe- didnt know they still made it) The playground is set aside making it a pain if your kids want to play.
Buses were crowded and boy do they pack them in. But there was NO noise in our room.

CSR- bus stops are shaded and have COLD water fountains. Four different stops means less crowds and there are seats while you wait.
Check in was quick and having someone take your bags to your room was nice. The landscaping is beautiful, the pool awesome. We passed by the quiet pool and no one was ever in it. Having a hot tub available GREAT. The jumping beans arcade is a waste of money as most games barely work. the one at the dig site is much better. The dig site is great, having the playground, pool, and arcade right there so if you have kids of different ages you can all be in the same area having fun.

I can't wait to go back. We were strolling around the lake at CSR planning our next vacation. It was just so wonderful.

 

[magicmouse2]

I agree about Pop C. Glad you like Coronado, we also noiced the huge difference between value and moderate this trip. We too are thinking of staying at Coronadao next year.

 

[Badllamamama]

Thanks for sharing!!

 

[mikkiwikki]

I really want to like the values....but the more i hear the more I keep going back to ....You get what you pay for....If Im only going to pay 80 bucks a night for a hotel I can only expect 80 bucks of service. I dont see why people get so horrified if the resort isnt 4 diamond quality. You are paying bargain basement prices.

I cant convince myself to go value, and the more I read and hear horror stories, the less likely I am to go ...We stayed at POR in 2005 and loved it...
It was thanksgiving...and a bunch of us arrived via bus....upon arriving in the lobby - they brought out like 10 CMS to handle the crowd...we were in our room in 10 minutes. Also the quiet pools (one right outside bldg 25) was rarely occupied. One of my fondest memories, is hanging out in the pool with my son - while DH and DD slept in the room...
.....We had the entire pool to ourselves & the peacefulness of that resort isnt something Im sure to find at the ALL Stars or Pop.

 

[zoomouse]

Just got back from Pop Century. Pretty happy considering the money paid. Got a room with beds and a shower, nice enough pool to keep the kids happy. Only downer was the 7 hour wait for luggage to arrive - won't make that mistake again - jammies and blankies in the carry-on from now on.

 

[JenC025]

Oh I forgot about that! I didnt want to chance problems on board so we didn't pack baby wipes, So we were without luggage for about 7-8 hrs too. They didn't have our luggage until about midnight. I was panicking.

 

[mikkiwikki]

Wow what a difference between value and moderate. FIRST - It took forever to check in. We arrived Saturday around 5 pm, took about an hour. I would never stay in the 90's area again. The walk was LONG we bought the mugs but after doing the parks all day (we don't do mid day breaks) no one wanted to do the walk for mug refills. Plus, Coffee was HORRIBLE...(nescafe- didnt know they still made it) The playground is set aside making it a pain if your kids want to play. Buses were crowded and boy do they pack them in. But there was NO noise in our room.

CSR- bus stops are shaded and have COLD water fountains. Four different stops means less crowds and there are seats while you wait.
Check in was quick and having someone take your bags to your room was nice. The landscaping is beautiful, the pool awesome. We passed by the quiet pool and no one was ever in it. Having a hot tub available GREAT. The jumping beans arcade is a waste of money as most games barely work. the one at the dig site is much better. The dig site is great, having the playground, pool, and arcade right there so if you have kids of different ages you can all be in the same area having fun.

I can't wait to go back. We were strolling around the lake at CSR planning our next vacation. It was just so wonderful.

JenCO25 - im really interested in this post - cuz My hubby & I were struggling with the idea of doing a value next trip...so doing lots of research. From your post what I can gather is ....

Cons for POP
1)Long checkin time
2)bad coffee,
3) poor landscaping?
4) packed buses
5) were bus stops unshaded?
6) pool?
7) playground for kids out of way....

Pros for CSR
1) checkin quick
2) coffee??? good/bad?
3) beautiful landscaping
4) Less crowded buses
5) shaded bus stops with fountains
6) secluded quiet pools
7) playground (dig site) very convenient

For our 2007 trip - Ive booked Contemporary for 5 days, and was toying with offsetting the cost with another 5 days at a value...but....I cant convince myself to go that route.

 

[Pixiedust34]

For our 2007 trip - Ive booked Contemporary for 5 days, and was toying with offsetting the cost with another 5 days at a value...but....I cant convince myself to go that route.

If you do this, make sure you stay at the value resort first, and then move up to the CR. That way, you'll have the CR to look forward to and you'll really enjoy the extra space and monorail when you are there. If you downgrade during your trip (CR first, then value), the smaller room and less amenities will hit you harder.

I think it would be fun to split a stay, and if you do stay at a value for 5 nights instead of 5 extra nights at the CR, you'll have a lot more money to spend on other things at WDW.

 

[Buzz2001]

Welcome back and thanks for sharing!!

 

[Schucraig]

Thanks for your reviews!

 

[Leanne1977]

I'm going to have to stick up for Pop here. We returned from our first stay on-site on 4th Oct.

We loved Pop. It was great fun. The rooms were bigger than i had imagined and clean and tidy. The maids were good and the staff were friendly.

We stayed in the 70s section which was lovely and peaceful. No noise from others around us. The pools were great as were the goofy jet fountains and the kids arcades.

We loved everything about it. The only thing we feel could be improved was the food court. It needs to be bigger as it was crowded for the most part. But it didnt really affect us as we didnt eat there often.

We have now booked to go back to Pop next September. If you have kids i don't think there is a more perfect place for them to be.

 

[Buzz'sBetterHalf]

Thanks for sharing!!

 

[JenC025]

Pop is a good value. For the first five days if was all about the parks- so all we needed was a place to crash.
Pros:
Price
If you plan on doing laundry, its right by the pool. (I don't know if there is more than one Ours was small and crowded unless you were there really early)
So my cons are:
1) Lost luggage for hours
2)LONG check in and if you have a question and need to wait in line at check in that is a pain. People were complaining of their key cards not working (SEVERAL times) and needing them replaced constantly meant waiting in the check in line
3)Coffee was AWFUL, food court is kind of small
4)Bus stops- one for each destination is not really shaded. And buses get packed
5)Not much landscaping to look at all Just the big items to look at. I thought my 2 1/2 yr old would love them, but she wasn't interested. It was kind of cool that to get to our room we had to go under the big laptop
6)Playground is out of the way, but is shaded
Housekeeping and all staff VERY friendly
But we didn't find anyone in any park, restaurant, or either hotel that wasn't friendly
Coronado
cons
Almost double the price of the pop

pros:

The landscaping here is so wonderful
The hammocks in the sand overlooking the lake great
My son loved renting a boat and going out to the lake
The pepper market's food is better than the pop
The pool has the arcade, playground and hot tub so everyone can be near each other. (Plus there IS a hot tub)
There is a fitness center (if you do that sort of thing on vacation lol)
Multiple bus stops, that were shaded and had water fountains.

 

[Martindis2006]

Thank you for the information about CSR. We are headed there for Thanksgiving and you just made it look better than it already did!

 

[NurseW2Kiddies]

Really stupid question about the arcades at CSR since you mentioned them!!! Do they have a lot of games where you win tickets??? My son loves these and we will be there in Dec. If I gave him all the $$$ we spent on his season pass and told him he could spend it in the arcade instead of going to the park, he would be all for it. EEEKKK!!!

 

[JenC025]

Really stupid question about the arcades at CSR since you mentioned them!!! Do they have a lot of games where you win tickets??? My son loves these and we will be there in Dec. If I gave him all the $$$ we spent on his season pass and told him he could spend it in the arcade instead of going to the park, he would be all for it. EEEKKK!!!

The games at Pop had an arcade where they gave tickets you could redeem for prizes but not CSR

 

[disneymom2one]

I'm going to have to stick up for Pop here. We returned from our first stay on-site on 4th Oct.

We loved Pop. It was great fun. The rooms were bigger than i had imagined and clean and tidy. The maids were good and the staff were friendly.

We stayed in the 70s section which was lovely and peaceful. No noise from others around us. The pools were great as were the goofy jet fountains and the kids arcades.

We loved everything about it. The only thing we feel could be improved was the food court. It needs to be bigger as it was crowded for the most part. But it didnt really affect us as we didnt eat there often.

We have now booked to go back to Pop next September. If you have kids i don't think there is a more perfect place for them to be.

I don't know about that. We have a kid and she'd rather stay home than go spend time at a value resort (and we've done them before). It's just not the same vacation to us. So we stick to mods and DVC resorts with an occasional deluxe resort thrown in (very occasional). For us the resort makes or breaks the vacation so Pop doesn't work out.

 

[Leanne1977]

I don't know about that. We have a kid and she'd rather stay home than go spend time at a value resort (and we've done them before). It's just not the same vacation to us. So we stick to mods and DVC resorts with an occasional deluxe resort thrown in (very occasional). For us the resort makes or breaks the vacation so Pop doesn't work out.

I suppose is it all about what suits individual families. I know as far as my boys are concerned (they are 5 and 4 by the way which may make a difference), they loved Pop. It was fun for them and bright and colourful. I don't think the mods or deluxes would have had the same impact on them. If i stay at a Disney hotel i want to know i am at a Disney hotel so the fun element has to be there.
I actually left the choice of hotel down to my children as it was so important to me that it is where they would be happy.
For us there is no way the resort would make or break the holiday as i feel a holiday is what you make it. If we ended up in a hotel we werent particularly happy with we would do our best to put that aside and get down to the main business of enjoying ourselves at the parks and pools.

My children enjoyed Pop because it was fun. They have no concept of what a value hotel is anymore than they know what a deluxe is like in comparison. I cant believe your child would rather stay at home than go to Disneyworld and stay at Pop. That is just bizarre. Have you ever actually asked her that question?

For us it wasnt about the money as we could quite comfortably afford a mod and bear in mind we visit every year from the UK for at least 2 weeks. But Pop was great for us and i appreciate it may not be everyones cup of tea but i still think it is one of the best places for children to have fun.

A hotel is a very personal choice and what works for one family may not work for the next but after reading so many bad things about Pop before we left it kind of took the edge off the excitement for me. I was expecting all the bad things that people talk so frequently about on these boards to happen. But it just wasnt the case. I don't understand how someones experience of a hotel can differ so much from the next person.
I think a lot of people go to the values expecting not to like it and that pre judgement is what spoils their holiday. I went to Pop thinking yippee how lucky am i to afford to go to Disney!!

Just my opinion.

 

[dolphin01]

Thanks for sharing!!

 

[mikkiwikki]

I suppose is it all about what suits individual families. I know as far as my boys are concerned (they are 5 and 4 by the way which may make a difference), they loved Pop. It was fun for them and bright and colourful. I don't think the mods or deluxes would have had the same impact on them. If i stay at a Disney hotel i want to know i am at a Disney hotel so the fun element has to be there.

Leanne - I think you are absolutely right. It's up to the family.
After a day at the parks of high stimulation, POR worked out well for us (mom & dad included) to decompress. I think the big icons are definitely a 'draw' for kids. Im still undecided...maybe we will go a couple of days next year ...not sure...still not sold. ...one of the big negatives for me is the food court being ...we did use the food court daily, and I dont want to stand in line for a cup of jo.