Need some serious resort choice advice!!

[kkmauch]

Another vote for Kidani. Absolutely no doubt you'll have an incredible experience there that cannot compare to Pop. The only thing you give up is a bit longer bus ride to MK. Scoop up that offer!!

 

[momh135]

We offered POP or AoA to my dd9 and she picked POP! We have stayed there before and it was great. Really no complaints except the walk to your room may be a little far from the bus area. Very nice for the money, especially if you spend a lot of time in parks, like us

 

[livibug]

We have been to POP twice and loved it. The room is the size of a regular hotel room but we weren't in it much so that didn't bother me. The beds were comfy and the room was clean. That's all I cared about. We participated in a fridge swap here on disboards and had that in our room. We ate breakfast in our room (muffins, cereal bars, bananas...) while everyone was getting ready in the morning and then headed out to the parks. My kids loved the pools. We have been at other places with slides and they didn't miss them. When we did use the food court, it worked for us b/c there are a lot of different selections and everyone could get what they wanted plus they have fruits and vegetables as options too. My kids are 9 and 7 and they love POP! The longest we had to wait for a bus was about 20 minutes after MK closed.

If you are on a budget...it is a good choice.

 

[Irin997]

I just had to say thanks so much to everyone for the tips. I think DH and I can't justify the additional cost to stay at a mod vs a value since we will hardly be in the room and/or resort at all. We are doing WP&M option so we plan on hitting at least one water park so we won't miss the resort slide. I can imagine only eating breakfast at the food court so I think having extra food options will be a waste. We will most likely just eat at whichever park we are at that night for dinner. As far as budget, both are under/within our budget.

I'm tempted to just book Pop right now and then IF/WHEN a summer discount comes out (hear me Disney!?!?!) we may choose to switch to POR. As of right now though, that $400 savings can go toward food.

 

[mymickeyfans]

I can't compare POP to POR because I never stayed at POP, but we did stay at POR this past October in the mansion section. Our kids are 8yrs and 3.5 yrs. We all LOVED this resort. The landscaping is beautiful, great food court, queen beds, boat to DTD and many pools to chose from. We would stay here again in a heart beat!!!

Good luck deciding!

 

[herb102211]

Being a DVC member, I would have highly recommending renting points at either BCV or BWV. However, as one of the PP stated, the likelihood of either of those resorts having availability for the full time your there is probably slim. With that said, I would recommend Pop Century. It's a very kid friendly resort and they have a great food court with many options!

 

[connorsgram]

We've stayed at POP several times and love it, but nothing compares to walking out on your balcony and watching the animals at AKL. I could have stayed there all day!!

 

[stitchlovestink]

Another vote for Kidani. Absolutely no doubt you'll have an incredible experience there that cannot compare to Pop. The only thing you give up is a bit longer bus ride to MK. Scoop up that offer!!

I have to disagree.... for the same price, I'd take POP handsdown! I HATE AKL! They'd pretty much have to give me a room for free to get me to stay there. Diffrent strokes....

 

[Irin997]

OP here...again...we actually changed our minds and decided to just go for POR. I booked yesterday! We went for comfort and queen size beds vs a value. I wasn't having any luck getting BWV or BC (which you guys said would be tough/impossible, thanks for the heads up!). We didn't want to go with AKL since it seems so far away. I think having the table service available plus boat transportation to DTD will be nice.

Thanks so much for the input. We can't wait for our trip!!

 

[sumsmommy03]

I think you will like POR. We stayed there on our last trip (I've stayed at the value resorts and hate them). I would prefer the Polynesian but that isn't in the budget so POR was the compromise. The pool is great for kids. The grounds are very nice and we used the boat quite a bit to go to the pool at POFQ and Downtown Disney. We were in the mansion section.

 

[Deb & Bill]

OP here...again...we actually changed our minds and decided to just go for POR. I booked yesterday! We went for comfort and queen size beds vs a value. I wasn't having any luck getting BWV or BC (which you guys said would be tough/impossible, thanks for the heads up!). We didn't want to go with AKL since it seems so far away. I think having the table service available plus boat transportation to DTD will be nice.

Thanks so much for the input. We can't wait for our trip!!

We stayed in POR for the first time in January for one night and thought it was a really nice resort.

 

[su_A_ve]

We use the rooms to 'sleep' - that said, I prefer CSR

* Queen beds (we would not choose a mod without them)
* Multiple bus stops - less walking and less crowd to get on a bus
* Fridge included (instead of having to do a fridge swap or pay for one)
* Pepper market - quick service but a lot better than Denny's quality
* Upgrade from quick to basic dining during FD

Next trip, which we expect not be be during FD (xmas - two prior xmas trips we did included FD but don't think it'll happen this year), I would still consider a mod over a value.

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

I think you made a good choice with POR! I was going to recommend it because of the relaxing ambiance, bigger rooms and queen sized beds. I also remember the beds being really comfortable. It is true that the food court is busy at breakfast but honestly that would be the only time I remember crowds at POR. Also - POR has the boat to DTD which is a very nice touch.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We use the rooms to 'sleep' - that said, I prefer CSR

* Queen beds (we would not choose a mod without them)
* Multiple bus stops - less walking and less crowd to get on a bus
* Fridge included (instead of having to do a fridge swap or pay for one)
* Pepper market - quick service but a lot better than Denny's quality
* Upgrade from quick to basic dining during FD

Next trip, which we expect not be be during FD (xmas - two prior xmas trips we did included FD but don't think it'll happen this year), I would still consider a mod over a value.

POR has everything on your list except for the Pepper Market. The food court at POR is really nice.

 

[stitchlovestink]

We use the rooms to 'sleep' - that said, I prefer CSR

* Queen beds (we would not choose a mod without them)
* Multiple bus stops - less walking and less crowd to get on a bus
* Fridge included (instead of having to do a fridge swap or pay for one)
* Pepper market - quick service but a lot better than Denny's quality
* Upgrade from quick to basic dining during FD

Next trip, which we expect not be be during FD (xmas - two prior xmas trips we did included FD but don't think it'll happen this year), I would still consider a mod over a value.

Just so you know, ALL value rooms now have fridges too. So no need to worry about a swap and no add'l charge for a fridge. Just thought I'd share that with you so you could give accurate info in your post.