I've stayed at POP 3 times. If value was the only option for me, which is has been on some trips, POP is the only one I would choose right now. We stayed at All Star Sports twice, both when my kids were younger. We had no issues with our stays and my only complaint was it's so darn far from everything not Animal Kingdom. Another stay, just me and my 2 kids, I wanted to try POP and we loved it. Still a value, but what I felt was more like value plus. Rooms were similar but I liked that it was a lot more green (compared to all stars) with the lake in the back and just more landscaping for a value. The All Stars really have no serene areas...but I felt POP did. I loved the quiet mornings by the lake with my coffee! While we do prefer the mod level overall, I did add 2 nights to our most recent trip and took POP because POR was not available. I thought the new rooms were very nice and I like a lot of the upgrades. The new beds are comfortable, the shower is nice and plugs, plugs and even more plugs! But all that stuff has made the room feel pretty small. IMHO it's perfectly good for 2 people, maybe 1 child....but 4 adult sized people it was pretty crowded. 2 nights was OK, but I couldn't see my family staying there again without 2 rooms for an entire trip. So that's one consideration if your family will like it. Bus service has always been as good or as bad as any other level of resort we stayed at. In fact, except the lack of shade in the lines....I really do prefer the more organized way it's done at the values, vs the walk up, multi-park, who was here first type of waiting at the others. The food court can be a bit busy at peak meal times, but it's not unmanageable. As far as location. I like the standard, 60's lake view. Your a short walk to the pool, lobby/food court and buses and the bridge to AOA....and the back side of the resort is a lot more peaceful. The construction over the lake did not bother us at all. I also stayed one time in a standard pool room. Requested 50's. I was a very short walk to the main building and pool as well, but I like the lake view better and less people walking by your room.
regards