POFQ vs Value

[Laurajeremy]

I am helping my Brother and SIL plan a trip for the spring with 2 nieces (7&10)
They were just in the world for first time with me in May 05 so they did EVERYTHING or as much as I could fit in in 8 days

Now they are trying to decide on POFQ (my favorite) and a Value(to save money)

Pros and Cons? pools are better at POFQ right? I remember reading that on here
Hop vs Non Hop--dont want to cause a debate-- I have done Disney without hopping (but paid for hopper) and never felt like we missed a thing--just thought this would be a good way to save

Food better at POFQ? makes a difference for brother--when I say better I mean better selection , varation right?

anything else anyone can tell me?

If they do choose Value? is Pop the way to go?

Thanks for the help
Laura

 

[minnie61650]

The mods have pool slides, a hot tub and a sit down restaurant (POFQ dosn't have a sit down restaurant but shares with POR.

There is not much room size difference between a POFQ and a value.

Here is the layout of POFQ
The bathroom is about the same size as the values but it will have 2 sinks instead of one.

POFQ room lay out

Here is the All Star room layout:

All Star room layout

\POFQ has 54 square feet more than the value.
That means if both POFQ and the value room were 27 feet long than the mod would be 2 feet wider. Just enough room for a double sink instead of a single.

There is not a lot of room size difference.

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I love The All Star Resorts.

I am 56 years old and travel several times a year. I often stay at 4 star hotels.
So the deluxe and mod resorts are just another hotel/motel to me.
All Star is like being in the heart of the Magic and that is where I want to be.

All Star Music is my favorite. It is quieter because more couples stay there. I love staying at the Calypso building. It is closer to the pool, food court and bus stop.

Here is a site with a map of All Star Sports and All Star Music.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/allstarmap.htm
Scroll down. All Star Music is at the bottom of the page.
The Calypso buildings at All Star Music are #1 and #10 are nearest to the food court and bus stop.

Here is the map of All Movies.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/allstarmovie.JPG
The Fantasia Buildings ,toy story buildings ,and 101 Dalmatians buildings are the preferred buildings.
The All Star Movie Fantasia pool has Mickey.
It is a great place to stay.
Preschoolers love it.
It is like being in the middle of a Disney Movie Fantasyland.
All Star Movies has a Fantasia themed children's pool area.



The buses are wonderful.

Bus rides are quite short from the ALL Stars according to PassPorter.com

All Star Buses-CBR buses---POPbuses--PO buses--- Contemporary
MK 20 min---- 20 min-----25 min------10 min---20 min(mono)
Epcot 10 min-- 15 min-----20 min------10 min---15 min
MGM 10 min----12 min-----15 min------15 min---20min
AK 10 min------20min-------15 min----15 min---20 min
DTD 15 min----20 min------20 min-----15 min---35 min

It only takes 10 minutes to get to Epcot, MGM and AK from All Stars.
MK is 20 min away. That's the same amount of time it takes on the monorail from the Contemporary.

A WORD ABOUT BUS SHARING

To me Bus Sharing at the All Stars is really a non issue.

In the mornings during Park opening hours each All Star usually has a dedicated bus.
During mid day it is usually just our stop and maybe one more on the way to the parks. On the way back sometimes it is all 3 but often Sports and Music share and Movies has it's own bus back. Each of the All Stars usually has it's own dedicated bus back from the MK.
That is a big plus. It seems like the Music bus stop usually has the shortest of the three All Star bus lines.

I guess some people who stay at POP see all 3 All Star names on the return sign of our bus stop when they head to the POP bus stop and think All Stars also has 3 stops on the way to the park.
(Even when we stop at another AS resort to load up it has not taken more than 5 minutes and we are on our way!)

The pools at The All Stars are very kid friendly.

When staying at the All Stars you can use any of the All Star pools.That means 3 main pools ,3 quiet pools and 3 kiddie pools to chose from.

The All Star Movie Fantasia pool has Mickey.

The Calypso pool at ASMU has Donald Duck.

And the Surfs up pool at All Star Sports has giant surf boards.

Here are a few pool photos.

All Star Sports pool.

All Star Music Donald pool.

All Star Movies Mickey Pool.

I have visited WDW more than a dozen times with the 1st time in Oct. 1971. It was brand new. I've stayed at FW, Disney Inn, a few the of Hotels on hotel Blvd., CBR and the towers at the Contemporary. I got to see the MK from my balcony at the Contemporary and I'm happy I got to experience it once. I just prefer the All Star Resorts.
The theming is pure Disney.
My last 5 visits have been at The All Stars and last fall when we took dd,dsil, and our grandson age 3 for 8 nights we stayed at the All Stars Music. I thought about AKL and even though we can well afford AKL I just wanted Alex to experience the Disney Magic at the All Stars on his first visit.
Where else can one find Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse at the pool?

Have a great time at Disney wherever you choose to stay!

 

[tacomaranch]

I have never been to either but to make our decision it was the fact that I don't want giant size creatures staring down at me. I don't find it cute, I think it is weird. JMO. I rather stroll down the grassy walkway with a coffee in my hand and enjoy the peace and quiet.

Again, everyone is different. I want ambiance. We are only brining our tot who can be rather well behaved at times. I don't expect him to bust out in a run screaming down the walkway. But I could be wrong.

 

[BlindTyldak]

The food courts at ASMo (and thus I'm guessing that the other AS's and Pop would be very close) had enough variety, though after 8 days I'd get sick of the choices anywhere. However I thought they were VERY crowded . . . I don't like having to wait for a table at 6:30 in the morning during the off season when the parks don't open until 9.

I also could not STAND the busses. We stayed at ASMo and not once did they ever send a separate bus for us, regardless of the length of the line. We were picked up last and it was not unusual at all for a bus to stop and only one or two people be able to squeeze on it in standing room. Heading back from the parks was a madhouse and we often instead chose to sit on a bench in the park and wait for the crowds to go down for a while instead.

That being said though, I was basing it off remembering the bus service from quite a ways back when every resort had plenty of drivers and they sent out extra busses to clear lines regularly. My DD and DH LOVED ASMo and could not understand why I was so aggrivated.

 

[jjarman]

We have stayed at POFQ and at Pop and this next trip it was a toss up as to where to stay. I loved POFQ mainly because it was so small and so every room was close to the food court and the bus stop. Also, POFQ is the first to be picked up and the first let off on the bus route (they share with POR).

Pop was fun though. It had bright colors and fun icons. Our stay there was in the 50s building facing the lake for quiet. It was kind of a far walk though. That is the only thing I didn't like. So this next trip after consulting my savings account I booked Pop, preferred room ($10 not that much extra night for me) and requested 60s building facing away from the pool.

The food courts were about the same to me although Pop did seem a little louder. Pop's gift shop was great though and much bigger than POFQ. DS loved the game room at Pop a lot better than POFQ.

The buses at Pop are great because they only serve Pop and there is only one bus stop. They were always timely and we rarely had to wait. The only bad waits were at MK following Wishes. But that was for everyone.

 

[KimWDW]

POFQ has a pool slide. Pop doesn't. However, Pop has three giant pools, one kiddie pool, and the Goofy PopJets (splashpad) which is a ton of fun for kids. Both have food courts. Pop doesn't share buses. POFQ shares buses with POR so there's more than one stop and the whole process takes longer to get to the parks.

Honestly with young kids, I would choose Pop in a heartbeat and save the money. If it was a romantic trip for two, I'd say POFQ because Pop is very kiddie/family oriented.

 

[masonjar]

We stayed at POP for our first visit and then POFQ for our two trips since then. While POP was fun and a great value, we were more relaxed at POFQ.

We actually went back to visit POP and walk around. After being at POFQ with a more relaxed atmosphere POP almost made me nervious with the very loud music, very bright lights and kids running around everywhere. After a day at the parks fighting the crowd, I enjoyed walking in the quiet, pretty surroundings at POFQ.

My children feel very comfortable at POFQ also and love the pool and waterslide.

 

[HopperFan]

I would pick value, especially since they are young, and POP would be a good choice. For me, POFQ is not much different than a value resort since it has no amenities on site. I wouldn't pay that much more for a slide and hot tub.

POP has a huge food court, big store, big arcade, 3 pools, kiddie pool area, water spouts to play in, lovely walk along a lake and the giant icons are just plain fun, especially for the kids. I say they should try it, save some money and spend it on some character meals.

AllStars can pool hop among themselves, just as POR/ POFQ can pool hop with each other. They can not stay at a value and use a moderate pool if that is what you are asking.

 

[pezheadmeg]

After staying both AS Sports and POFQ, no question it's POFQ any trip. There's something about just walking along a quiet river with them morning coffee that just screams vacation.

There is a convience of not having to hike to everything at a resort. I have horrible tendonitis in my ankle and trust me those few hundred feet make a difference at the end of the night.

As for food courts, to be honest how often do you really eat at the Resort. I mean even one can only go to Chef Mickey's so many times at the CR or Ohana so many times at the Poly.

No I don't purchase a lot of merchandise in the Resort gift shops, that's what the World Showcase is for. Should that even be a factor?

That being said there is no bar with food service at any of the AllStars and the boat to DTD is a humongous plus when you're over there most nights of the vacation. Yes the boat probably takes longer, but it's a relaxing experience in itself.