Pop Century vs. All Star Movies vs. Caribbean Beach

[sbevione]

Hi -

We are going to Disney over spring break this year, and I am trying to decide between booking at the Pop Century, All Star Movies or Caribbean Beach. In the past we've always stayed at the Polynesian, but I just can't swing the cost this time around. Pop Century is slightly more expensive (about $100 for the week) than the All Star resorts, and the Caribbean Beach is about $400 more than the Pop Century. It will just be me and my 7 year old daughter. Can someone give me the pros and cons of each and if it is worth the extra cost for either the Pop Century or the Caribbean Beach? Why would the Pop Century be more than the All Star - is it just because it is newer? Why is Caribbean Beach so much cheaper than most of the other moderate resorts? If there's not much benefit to staying at either of the more expensive ones over the All Star, I'd probably rather spend the extra cash on souvenirs or a trip to the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique. Thanks!

 

[Mousemommy1]

Hi -

We are going to Disney over spring break this year, and I am trying to decide between booking at the Pop Century, All Star Movies or Caribbean Beach. In the past we've always stayed at the Polynesian, but I just can't swing the cost this time around. Pop Century is slightly more expensive (about $100 for the week) than the All Star resorts, and the Caribbean Beach is about $400 more than the Pop Century. It will just be me and my 7 year old daughter. Can someone give me the pros and cons of each and if it is worth the extra cost for either the Pop Century or the Caribbean Beach? Why would the Pop Century be more than the All Star - is it just because it is newer? Why is Caribbean Beach so much cheaper than most of the other moderate resorts? If there's not much benefit to staying at either of the more expensive ones over the All Star, I'd probably rather spend the extra cash on souvenirs or a trip to the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique. Thanks!

You'll probably get varying opinions on this...but either ASM or POP would be great. We did not like CBR at all. Defintely not worth $400 more. Even at the same price, I would still pick POP or ASM.

 

[dansdad]

Here are some of the things you will get with a moderate over a value.

Bigger rooms
Double sinks
Queen beds (except for CBR which is still doubles)
Multiple covered bus stops
Pool slides
Hot tubs
Sit down restaurant
Lusher grounds
Bike rentals
Boat rentals

Now it is up to you to decide the worth of the upgrade.

The other moderates have had a recent refurb which probably explains the price difference. Even with the double beds, CBR is our favorite moderate.

I am pretty sure Pop's rate is higher because it is in a different county, with a different tax rate, than the AllStars.

 

[disneymayz]

If I had to choose......I would go with All-Star (if I had a car). If you want a slide (as PP said) you need to go to CBR. Food court is good at all. If no car then I would pick Pop. I just like the theming on the value resorts over the mods. What is the price for AoA? If that is close then I would pick there since it is new and supose to have awesome detail work.

 

[DisneyRegulars]

I would choose pop because the buses have less stops than the all stars and I think the decor is more fun. I've stayed at all 3 and pop is by far my favorite, the smaller room size of the values was a non issue for me since all we do in the room is sleep.

 

[Herfnerd]

I'd go with Pop, althought ASMov is pretty cool.

CBR is my least fave moderate, and unless you plan on spending any significant time at the resort, I don't think its worth the extra Ben's. Shutters restaurant is average at best, too.

JMHO and YMMV.....

 

[Shir Kahn]

We much prefer Pop over any of the All-Stars. We've stayed at 2 of the All-Stars but only because Pop was full when we booked. The All-Stars just kind of seemed dingy and noisy when we were there.

 

[brockash]

I'd choose ASMo. We've stayed at ASMo's twice, Pop once and the rest were BLT. We'll be going back to ASMo's this Sept. I know a lot of ppl. on the dis love Pop, but I just wasn't a huge fan. I will say the bus service (being by itself) was nicer, but that was it. I liked the food court and def. the theming much better at ASMo. ASMo just feels like Disney, the music, the decor, everything is just Disney, which we really like. Pop isn't like that. I remember when we first checked into Pop, and they were playing music, but not Disney related in any way, and I just thought it was really odd. We also had a bad experience with noise at Pop, but I don't think it'd be too different at ASMo (except that ASMo is smaller so not as many ppl??) I think we just had a lot of noisy ppl. around the hotel when we stayed at Pop. We never had an issue with noise at ASMo though.

The buses at ASMo really aren't bad, and you don't always share. I don't think we have ever shared a bus at closing coming back from the parks, just on the way to the parks, but ASMo's is the last to be picked up, which I prefer. That was one of the things I had to get used to staying at BLT, even though you got on the bus first, you had to make other stops which made it take longer to get to the parks in the morning.

I wouldn't pay more for Pop, and the only real value I see at staying at a moderate (especially with only 2 ppl.) is the slide, but I still don't think I'd pay the difference for it.

 

[siskaren]

Why is Caribbean Beach so much cheaper than most of the other moderate resorts?

Were you looking at the same room category for each of the moderates? Because I checked each of the moderates for the first week of April (which is when your ticker says you're going), and all but CSR came up at $246 a night for standard view, while CSR came up $251.

 

[gtpoohbear]

I haven't stayed at Pop, so I can't compare it to the All-Stars, but I have stayed at both CBR and ASMovies. Honestly, unless you were REALLY into the "beach" theme, I wouldn't pay extra for CBR.

We thought ASMo was just fine, and I actually enjoyed the theming more - it was more "fun", especially for kids. (The Toy Story section is the best, imo. We stayed in Dalmatians, and it was alright, but not as cool as TS!) With just one adult and one child, the slightly smaller room won't really be an issue.

I'm to the point now where it's either deluxe or value, I don't see much point to doing a Mod. If I'm going to pay more $$ for a room, I want it to have a real advantage, like being within walking distance to a park. The Mods don't have that much over the values to me, so I'd rather spend the money elsewhere.

So I would definitely give ASMo a thumbs up, and from what I've seen Pop looks fun too, but I don't have any first-hand experience with it.

 

[carly chloe]

I've stayed at all three of those (and some deluxes) and our family loves CBR! It's like you are in the carribbean. We always get preferred rooms. POP was VERY busy and noisy. ASMo is a little less crowded than POP. Rooms are the same. Pool is so nice for kids at CBR too.