One night pre cruise Pop Century worth it??

[cmitch9999]

We are surprising our sons (13, & 15) with a short 3 night cruise on the Disney Wonder in Feb. We have 1 night pre cruise planned. Won't be arriving in Orlando til 6PM.... will probably be renting a car. Would it be worth it to stay at the new Pop Century to get another taste of Disney?? or would it be better to just either stay near airport or port and have less drive hassles??
thanks for the feedback
Chris Mitchell

 

[NCRedding]

We stayed at the Dolphin one night prior to our cruise in January of 2002--went to dinner at Ohana's and then drove to the port the next day--it was a great way to get a Disney fix. It would also be fun to try out the new resort.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

We always do at least one night in Disney pre-cruise. It helps build the excitement.

My advice to you is to choose a hotel where there is plenty to do either at the actual resort/hotel or very close by -- especially if you don't want to get a park pass. Personally, we choose to stay either at a Boardwalk-accessible hotel or somewhere really close to DTD. BUT, also if you choose a resort that has DCL transportation (such as Beach Club, Dolphin, Port Orleans, etc.), you can pay for transfers and get the DCL motorcoach to the cruise terminal. All you would need is a ride from MCO to WDW -- we usually do Mears. It's the least expensive for us.

Good luck!

 

[DisneyGator01]

Have you ever stayed at a Disney Resort before? Pop Century is laid out just like the All Star's same architecture style, etc. It looks pretty cool though, from what I have been able to see so far. But just very similar to the All Stars. So it should have a big pool area.

As far as location, it's between the CBR and the All Stars, but there would be bus transportation to Downtown Disney shopping area.

 

[cmitch9999]

Thanks for the ideas. We have been at all star sports and all star movies before and the boys both love it. My husband is the one who will whine why did I make him drive all the way to Disney World!! It still may be worth it. Room price is $87 with tax for the 4 of us..not that much more than the bargain hotels near the airport.

 

[westjones]

I think the Pop Century Resort looks really cool! We decided to stay there one night next September when we fly in on a Saturday for our week of Disney before the cruise (we are Disney Vacation Club members and I don't like to use points for Saturday stays).

For next September, the rate is $77 online, but I called and with a AAA discount it is $69/night for 2 adults and 2 kids (both age 10).

Here are some pictures of the resort:
http://hotels.about.com/library/photos/wdw_pop/blwdwpop01.htm

I can't wait to try 'tye dye' cheesecake!

So I would say 'Go for it'.....the resort looks really cute!
DJ

 

[dthogue]

You say you are arriving in Orlando at 6pm - does that mean your plane lands at 6pm? Take in account, unboarding, taking the tram to the terminal, collecting your baggage, dragging everything down to the rental car counters, renting the car, finding the car, loading the car and then drive 30=45 minutes to Pop Century, to check in, unload the car, settle in and then reload in the morning. Frankly, to me, that sounds like just too much hassle and work, especially for this hotel. There is nothing much to do, except swim (and it could be too cold to do that) and eat. I'd say relax at an airport hotel and leave in the am for the port.

Now if you will arrive at Pop Century at 6pm or so, then it might be worth it.

Have a great trip whatever you decide.

 

[cmitch9999]

Booked it (Pop Century).. agree that our arrival 6PM will not give us a lot of time...but we can get a bit of disney magic , maybe drop by the boardwalk for a spin round and wake up close our favorite part of the world! Thanks for the AAA rate info..Got it!
Chris Mitchell