opinions please

[charlottebetty]

Hi

we have booked 3 nights at pop and 13 nights at AKL(standard) over Christmas. After reading all the posts about both resorts we would like to know if you think we should spend the extra approx. $1700 and stick to the plan or change plans and stay at pop for 16 nights and have extra money to treat ourselves.

We really have been impressed by the posts about pop and are worried that if we stay standard at AKL we may regret all the extra money when we could visit to see the animals and go to Boma even if we are not staying there.

We have fun in the sun tickets so intend to spend alot of time in the parks only having short breaks in the room, swimming in the pool)and sleeping there.

We would really appreciate some opinions.
Thanks.

 

[mic_key_mouse]

My personal philosophy these days is to stay at a value, and take the difference in the price of a value and deluxe and put it in a savings account for next years' trip. I started doing this with taking the difference between a moderate and deluxe- and have 'downsized' to the values. It is a good feeling to have the trip I am leaving for in nine days totally paid for, and have about 25% of next years' trip saved for

Blessings,
mic_key_mouse

 

[Madi100]

Pop Century is a great resort. It all depends on what you want, though, as far as your resort. If you want luxury and extras, then you might want the deluxe. If you are just in need of a room, Pop Century provides that and much more. It really is a nice resort with a lot to see. It's more than just a hotel. Of course, Animal Kindgom Lodge has the animals and will have a sti-down resturant. If I were going to be there that long, I'd definitely stay at Pop. Maybe you could switch it and do 3 days at Animal Kindgom and 13 at Pop Century.

 

[charlottebetty]

Thanks

we really dont want to do the 3 nights AKL 13 pop because if we loved AKL it might spoil the rest of the holiday. moving down to a value.

We are swaying towards pop as we are a party of 7 who have booked 3 rooms so that means over $5000 saving between us. Of course if we get AP code rates the difference may not be as much.

The thought of another holiday next year sounds really tempting but do you think well regret missing the chance of AKL?

 

[Madi100]

Well, you could stay at AKL for the LAST three days instead of the first. But, if you are worried that you might feel like you are downgrading when you go to Pop from AKL, then you might also feel like you are not getting your money's worth if you switch resorts from Pop to AKL. Pop really is nice. If anyone in your party is like my husband, they'll be wishing they had saved the money. But, it really has to be a personal decision.

 

[charlottebetty]

The last 3 days of our stay would not be value season (new year)
so we would have to pay higher prices for AKL. If we check in on the 19th we would get the whole of our stay at value price. Thats where the 3 nights 13 nights comes from.

 

[paladin]

I would vote for staying the entire time at POP, because I HATE switching hotels during a stay(not that it is difficult at WDW, but I like to unpack/pack just once). The money saved would be nice also. That said, many folks sing the praises of switching resorts.

 

[Ladyhawke10]

I would say to stay w/ your plan. AKL is incredible, truly an experience. It is the most unique hotels I've ever stayed in and it is luxurious and wonderful. I've stayed at six of the disney deluxes and AKL is one of my favorites (second only to GF). I tried a moderate after having normally stayed in deluxes, and what a difference!! I was so far out from the parks, there were no robes available, housekeeping left much to be desired (as well as in the common areas), there was so much area to walk between room/ places to eat, refill our mugs/ pool area. AKL is gorgeous and you are treated so well. The pool area is next to animal viewing areas, and there's nothing like being in a jacuzzi that is next to giraffes and flamingoes. There is a campfire at night on the arusha rock viewing area so it is awesome to see the sleeping animals while a CM tells African folktales. The lobby is beautiful to look at from the campfire at night--it is all lit up. The eating options are great (I especially love the Mara--the yogurt parfaits and prime rib sandwiches are great). My son loves the playground and the pool slide. I can't tell you how awesome AKL is. I want to plan another stay asap to go back!!!

I don't mind changing resorts--we usually start our stays at AKL for quick access to AK, and then move over to GF so we can be close to the MK for the end of our trip. The CMs move you and it is fun to view WDW from a new vantage point. I think 1700 is definitely worth the diff from a value resort to one of the best deluxe resorts on property. You will love AKL!

 

[ilovebwv]

We have stayed in all levels of WDW resorts, many, many times and we enjoy them all. And having said that, the only other points I would like to add is:
There is a definite difference in all things as you go up or down the WDW resort ladder.
If you are not going to spend a significant amount of time enjoying your resort and it's amenities--the difference in price is really not worth it.

 

[jl3614]

Was there a particular reason for the 13 - 3 split? Why not split the stay more evenly say 8 - 8 or 7 - 9. That way you could save some money, but still enjoy AKL for a considerable period.

 

[bytheblood]

My opinion is to go with the value resort. Here are my reasons....

1. My BIGGEST reason……Unless you are planning to travel like the rich and famous, I do not find where the cost difference is much of a benefit to me and my family. You spend very little time in your resort. I personally have not found the beds or showers (which is all I use in the resort) to be any better at one resort over the other.

2. Because you spend so little time in your room, why not use that extra money towards character dining, nicer meals, souvenirs, etc.

3. When we go to Disney, we love to purchase the souvenir photos in front of the castle, with Ariel, etc. My philosophy is, if I stay in a less expensive resort, I can justify the cost for those pictures, souvenirs for my co-workers, a t-shirt or two to take home, etc.

 

[MrsJ Henry]

Ok.... $5000 is A LOT of money that you could do something else with.
I can understand you wanting to stay in a deluxe. My husband and I are in November, but we are by ourselves and have no children. We are also treating ourselves wince we have had quite a stressful past year.
Before you said the 5000 I was going to say try to split it in half but now I'm just thinking what I would do with the 5000 extra bucks if it were me!
I have relatives and friends who have stayed at the Value hotels and are perfectly happy. They are still nice... they just don't have all the bells and whistles.
and once again.... think about what you could do with all the extra money to make you vacation even more memorable!!!!!!

 

[Tamickey]

For our next trip in a few weeks, I had originally reserved POP for 6 nites & BWI for the last 3. Eventually I switched to all POP and even tho I wonder about BWI, I'm glad I did it. BWI waterview was 400 a nite, so just 3 nites is a lot of $$. When it started to look like we would be at USF some of those days, I knew we wouldn't even be around the hotel much. I couldn't see spending the $$ and not even see much of it. We have resort hopped several times and I really like it. But this trip we plan to enjoy POP and stay put. I can't help but think the extra hotel $$ could take home some neat stuff that will last longer than just those 3 nites. I'll just have to plan a more relaxed mini trip later and stay at BWI!

 

[charlottebetty]

The 3 / 13 split is because we arrive on 16th December then if we move by 19th December we get the value rate for the length of our stay. If we split the stay 8 nights each resort we will pay top rates for second 8.

Thanks for all your replies. Each day we change our minds, last night I saw a photo post of pop at night and thought it looked lovely but today Ill find a post about AKL and change back to that.

Another fact we werre considering is we like a quiet pool. When weve been before we stayed at asmu and used the piano pool (on our own alot of the time) so as there is only one pool, are there any quiet nooks around the pool at AKL where we could feel peaceful.

thanks again

 

[Ladyhawke10]

AKL has one of the most relaxing pool areas (from the deluxes I've stayed in), but it might be luck of the draw. During your January dates your stay will probably not be crowded. There is an oasis type feeling in general at AKL (hence the music, beautiful common areas) that feels relaxing. There is a fireplace in the lobby and two jacuzzi's==so oftentimes I was actually in the jacuzzi alone at night, under the stars. I don't think I've ever been in another deluxe where I had a themed jacuzzi to myself! The jacuzzi's are also kind of shrouded by foliage, so they feel private. I would stay that you could find a private experience in one of the jacuzzi's, but it would be less likely in the pool. There is no quiet pool like at some of the other resorts, but I've never experienced a want for one while there. There are lots of private nooks for watching the animals--at night, near the pool area, there are lots of good places to relax and watch them, as well as a sunset viewing room which was nearly always empty when I went by. I've stayed at AKL three times and it doesn't feel busy. That's one of the reasons I like it, as opposed to some of the other resorts that are more in the middle of things.

 

[x5x5x5x5x5]

I think it probably does come down to whether you spend time at the resort or not. If you like to get up early and grab something to eat and go - only to come back late to shower and sleep - stay at Pop. If you like to take it easy and spend time relaxing around a resort - AKL is probably the most beautiful at Disney. It's all so personal. You are staying at Disney for a long time though, so you might find that you want to take a day or two and lounge around the pool / resort all day. Pop Century is a very cool place to stay but AKL definitely has more creature comforts. I agree with the earlier poster that mentioned there is a very large difference as you move up and down the scale of Disney accomodations. In my opinion, AKL is one of the best values - even though it is a deluxe.

 

[Ladyhawke10]

[I agree with the earlier poster that mentioned there is a very large difference as you move up and down the scale of Disney accomodations. In my opinion, AKL is one of the best values - even though it is a deluxe. [/B]

I agree with this, too. I think I mentioned earlier that, after several deluxe stays, we tried a moderate (POR). I'd heard all good things about POR, but there were sooo many things to miss from the deluxe resorts! There really was a big difference for me, for example, the comfort of the bed. I missed the luxurious beds (especially at GF, heaven). The beds at AKL are very comfortable as well, and the rooms much nicer than our moderate room was. Plus, the deluxes are designed much more user friendly--there aren't huge walks between rooms/ restaurants/ lobbies like the moderate we stayed in. At AKL, you feel enveloped in a whole resort "experience." I always have resort only days during WDW because I love the deluxe resort experiences as much as the parks.

 

[charlottebetty]

Thanks everyone but I still dont know what to do, I feel so confused.

We were just saying how right the pop people are and how much we'd be able to buy, how many more lovely meals we could have or how we could save the difference for next year if we stay at pop and then I hear how wonderful AKL is.

Do you think Ill need to change the booking before the AP codes come out (if they do) or do you think we could see what the codes are and then decide?

 

[Ladyhawke10]

You can switch the ressies when the codes come out. Have you tried talking to the CMs about it? Do you think you'll be making the resort a "destination" for your trip, or merely a springboard to enjoy the parks from (aka, a shower and bed). Is a luxurious experience part of your vacation ideal, or does a simpler situation w/ park excitement work just as well? For me, a luxurious hotel stay is a major part of the experience, I think it is incredibly special to stay at a gorgeous resort and am willing to forgo extras around the parks and such for that experience. Others just want a clean, fun place to sleep and can live without the extras for the sake of more park time and/ or whatever else they'd rather invest their money in. Maybe the hotel CMs might be helpful in this matter.

 

[jl3614]

Have you stayed at Disney in late December before? Or checked historical weather data? I have not stayed in Dec, but have stayed a week in mid January once. Most days that trip the high temp was in the high 50s or low 60s, one day the temperature never made it out of the 40s. We never went to the pool that whole trip.

Basically what I'm saying - that time of year the pool may or may not be useful, I would not base my decision on were to stay on a pool that you may not be able to use because of weather.

Just something else to consider. Hope you have a good trip.