Need Some Advice - POP vs POFQ

[PeaMuff]

Hi all... I need some opinions/advice. We currently have a 12-night stay booked at POFQ for August with Free Dining (Bounceback). The vacation is paid, but the more I look at the exchange rate, the more it makes me crazy.
If we switched to POP Century for the same 12 nights and upgraded to the Regular Dining plan (we'd get QS plan for free, but we need to upgrade as we do a lot of character meals for our young daughters), we'd end up saving around $700 CAD. That's a good chunk of change. We've stayed at POP before and our girls loved it and wouldn't care about the change (the only thing they may miss is the pool slide). My husband and I liked POP, but we weren't too excited about the double beds or the insanely loud toilet flushes. We were at POR last year and walked over to POFQ and were really impressed, but other than the pool slide, the kids didn't care for it too much (they are 5 and 4). So I guess we're tying to decide if POFQ is worth the extra $700 or not...

What would you do? TIA!

 

[ErinsMommy]

I've never been to Pop but IMO I would always take a moderate over a value....not only for the convenience of such a smaller resort, but the theming is great and i LOVE the boat ride to DTD.

 

[k9muttlover]

Since you've stayed at POP and know you like it, I'd say it might be worth it to save the $700CAD - plus you say you'll upgrade to regular dining. That's a pretty significant savings. I have never personally stayed at POP, but I have stayed at POFQ a fair number of times. It's by far my favorite resort, but I also like saving money. $700 can go a long way over the course of your 12 night stay on souvenirs, etc. If the slide is the only thing at POFQ that is drawing you, that's not enough IMO.

 

[wdwjeffc37]

I would say that if your kids really liked POP you should change. The biggest differences, besides the Moderate vs. Value debate, are the bed size, the pool slide, and the boat to DTD. Seven hundred dollars will go a long way towards souvenirs, tips and incidentals.

 

[theyoungs07]

I haven't stayed in POP, but have ASMusic...we stayed in POFQ and it was a world different. The resort is so quiet, and has such easy walks to the central building for refills/food (we were in building 6). After staying there, I don't think I could go back to the extreme hustle and bustle of a value. Everything was so relaxed! The food court was never too busy to find a seat (it is also tiny compared to values). I loved the relaxed walk to the pool/food, I didn't feel the hustle and bustle that the parks and values provide. My kids loved the pool and slide.

 

[AllieBoo]

Out of all the resorts we've stayed at so far, POFQ is my family's favorite! My kids love the pool (and also the pool at POR, which you can also use), and the arcade. We all love that it's a small resort, so it's not a far walk to anything. They have a good food court, and we love taking the boat over to DTD and also just strolling down by the river at night! We have also found the bus service to be pretty good.

 

[Babsy]

I'm Canadian too, so I feel your pain! WE are spoiled after the recent years of $ parity! A 20% increase in cost is huge!

I have stayed in both POP and POFQ. Personally, I think that it is worth the extra $700 Cad over 12 days to stay Moderate instead of value. It's about $58 per day or $14.50 per day per person. For that you get a larger room, 2 queen beds, beautiful grounds, peaceful atmosphere, boat to Downtown Disney, walk to POR where you have a TS restaurant and a second pool to use (POFQ and POR are 'sister' resorts so you are allowed to share amenities), carriage rides and a smaller resort. It just feels more relaxed to me. The little things do matter.

No, the children probably won't care either way. It is more likely that you &/or DH will care more about the differences. Do YOU think that these small differences in the resort will mean more than the extra $50 each day? Are there things that you would like to do that become possible if you move to POP but won't be in the budget if you stay at POFQ? Are you at the resort frequently for extended periods or are you a 'rope drop till we drop' family? We go frequently and spend a lot of time at the resort, so the room and resort amenities mean a lot to us. If we are travelling with people that want to be at the parks all day long, we do sometimes stay at value resorts, however.
Either way, you have two very nice resorts to choose from. I hope that you have a magical visit!

 

[Disneylover99]

Also Canadian, so feeling your pain.....

Pop is our favourite value and POFQ is our favourite moderate. We also book the bb every August and we alternate between the two resorts each year. If spending the extra money bothers you, then stick with Pop.

 

[OurLaughingPlace]

Another Canadian here ... the exchange rate makes me ill

We have stayed at both resorts and enjoyed both resorts. As you can see in my signature, we are big fans of POFQ. Staying POFQ again this August with free dining BB offer. Next year we will likely stay at POP.

Is that $700 in savings AFTER you've upgraded dining? If not, it may not be much savings after you've made the upgrade. The math by 'Babsy' makes me think that it's still better value to stay at POFQ. But as Disneylover 99 mentions, if the money is going to bother you, then change to POP - you'll love both places

I will also say that POFQ is tough to get discounts such as free dining and you may not get this opportunity again ... POFQ is often left out of special offers.

You will have fun at either resort I'm sure. Good luck with your decision

 

[Disneylover99]

Is that $700 in savings AFTER you've upgraded dining? If not, it may not be much savings after you've made the upgrade.

I was wondering that too, and I agree. If it's really only a couple of hundred dollars difference once you upgrade the dining, then I would say give POFQ a try. You never know if it will be completely excluded from bb offers in the future.

 

[720L]

If buses are a big thing to you, I'd go with POP. Much better bus service IMO.

 

[KELLY]

If buses are a big thing to you, I'd go with POP. Much better bus service IMO.

I will agree with that we have stayed at pop and POFQ. We have stayed at pop for 6 years. Like OP we booked a FD BB we are there for 17 nights again. I will say if we upgraded the dining plan the cost of a mod would only be 150.00 more. But my oldest is considered a adult this year.

I like both for different reason. I'm sort of in the same situation as you. For me it just comes down to money my income in the summer is more but I need to figure out how much more to make the upgrade. I will know by next week. For us the diffrence is about 1200.00 but we would get the RDP. We have done the QSDP the past 3 years and really like the freedom of it. I'm not sure I want to give that up. It is cheaper just to pay for 2-4 TS meals since we would be spending another 400.00 in tips.