Pop Century vs Coronado Spring , not about cost

[the46zone]

Hi all! I have not gone to Disney in years and we are toying with the idea of going this summer. I have a few questions regarding Pop Century vs Coronado Spring when money isn't a option. They come out to be about $100 difference for the few days we are staying there. So here is my question. Which is closer to buses (we will not be taking the Skyliner), has rooms closer to the lobby, has rooms closer to parking? I want to cut down on as much non-park walking as possible. Also, how do you know where your room will be once you book? Can you select a good location or is up to chance? TIA from a rookie!

 

[Sue M]

At PoP rooms have 1 queen and one pull down wall bed. Rooms are small. I don’t know how families do it!
You can book a preferred room at either PoP or Coronado to guarantee a close location to lobby. And since PoP only has 1 bus stop you will be closer to that too.
At Coronado there are multiple bus stops as in Caribbean Beach which you stayed at I notice. So all areas have a close bus stop. But Preferred will get you closer to lobby.
I would pick Coronado over PoP for larger rooms and more relaxing atmosphere. But I’m not a fan of the WDW values. I find them loud, and ugly.

 

[Haygar2]

They don't assign rooms until a few days before you get there. So, no, you will not know where your rooms are once you book. They are both large resorts. Some rooms are closer to parking than others. I would think you would be more likely to be closer to the parking lot at Coronado Springs. Again, depending on where your room is. You can request a room close to the main lobby, a pool, or a bus stop. But it is just that, a request. They try to accommodate the requests but it is not always possible. We have stayed at both. The beds at POP are comfortable and the rooms are nice. However, I would choose a moderate over a value every time. I liked the pool much better at Coronado Springs. I liked the layout better, too. Our parking spot was right outside our door.

 

[Tom_E_D]

Hi all! I have not gone to Disney in years and we are toying with the idea of going this summer. I have a few questions regarding Pop Century vs Coronado Spring when money isn't a option. They come out to be about $100 difference for the few days we are staying there. So here is my question. Which is closer to buses (we will not be taking the Skyliner), has rooms closer to the lobby, has rooms closer to parking? I want to cut down on as much non-park walking as possible. Also, how do you know where your room will be once you book? Can you select a good location or is up to chance? TIA from a rookie!

Currently, they are not running buses from Pop to Epcot or DHS except when the skyliner is down (for weather or maintenance). You can walk from Pop to AoA to catch buses to those parks from there, but that seems to go against your desire to be close to the bus stop. As others have mentioned, you can pay for a preferred room to be close to the main building, or you can pay for a standard room and make a room request and hope you get something relatively close. Even though they reportedly make room assignments a few days beforehand, you won't learn your room number until the day you arrive.

 

[Moliphino]

If you aren't taking the Skyliner, I'd go with Coronado.

 

[JM_97]

I don’t like the Values. Too loud, noisy and feels like a glorified motel. Plus, I don’t have young children so I’m okay with not having Disney shoved down your throat all over the hotel when you’ve been in the parks all day. Never been but from what I understand, Coronado is more toned down with the theming

 

[Naomeri]

To minimize walking, definitely Pop over Coronado. Some locations are a rather long way from the main building, though they may have a bus stop near them. I had a chance to stay at Coronado instead of Pop for my upcoming trip at a savings of about $450 with a Hotwire deal and I chose to stick with Pop to minimize my non-park walking. I think Pop is great, and I didn’t find it to be loud when I was there in October. Also, the Skyliner is fun to ride, and much better than a bus.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

Having stayed at both, I would go for Coronado Springs if the price is similar (we booked CSR for June even though Pop was much cheaper, although I like Pop). You can book a preferred room at CSR to be in casitas 1, 2 or 3, which are near the first bus stop and the lobby. But even standard rooms aren't far from a stop. The rooms and pool are much nicer at CSR.

 

[ColoradoMom12]

I‘m with @Naomeri and would choose Pop Century. I am not a fan of Coronado Springs aside from the Gran Destino Tower (which is its own booking category). The resort is huge, and you could end up with a room a long walk (or even bus ride) away from the dining locations. We didn’t rent a car when we stayed there and relied on the bus. Gran Destino is the last bus stop on the route around the resort before the parks, and every time we had to wait for a second or third bus. This was pre-pandemic Thanksgiving in 2019 so possibly the bus situation has improved.

The only advantages I would give to Coronado are the pool and the dining. I like the pool at CS more than the Pop Century pool. It has a slide and a hot tub. Even the water slide can’t convince my 9 year-old daughter, though. She still prefers the Pop Century. Another consideration might be dining. I think the dining situation is better at Coronado Springs (again a pre-pandemic opinion; I haven‘t stayed at either one since before Covid), although we stayed in the Gran Destino Tower and were close to the dining locations. Some of the rooms are really far, and if we had stayed in one of those, I would feel very differently!

Still, I’d rather stay at Pop Century than Coronado Springs. The resort is large but doesn’t feel sprawling like I felt when we stayed at CS. I like the access to the Skyliner, and I like the room setup with the murphy bed. The rooms are on the smaller side, which might be a consideration for families of four. My family is just my daughter and me, and the size of the room works well for us.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

I'm not a huge fan of the casitas @ Coronado I hate walking to the tower to pick food that I ordered.. when stayed in the tower it was awesome. .. when I stayed there in October nothing was open ( stores & restaurants)

 

[nkereina]

Is there a reason you won't be using the Skyliner? As PPs mentioned, they are not running buses from Pop Century to DHS and Epcot right now. You'd either have to walk a good distance to the AOA bus stop, drive yourself, or take Uber if you're not using the Skyliner.

Because of that, I would choose Coronado Springs and book a preferred room. You'll be in the Casitas section which is close to Bus Stop 2, which is the first bus stop for pick up and drop off when coming from and going to the parks. Its close to El Centro, and close-ish to the tower, although Cabanas is probably slightly closer to the tower. Regardless, the walking distances at CSR have been improved since the addition of the Three Bridges restaurant which has bridge walking paths going across the lake.

All resorts have rooms that will be close to the bus stop, close to parking, and close to the lobby. Generally, booking a preferred room is the best bet at getting close to the lobby, and then requesting "close to bus stop" will hopefully make them assign you a room on the backside of the building, which is the parking lot side and the side where the bus stop will be closest to. Avoid booking a room type like "garden view" or "water view" because that will likely put your room closer to the interior of the resort.

As mentioned, your room is not assigned until a couple of days prior to your check in date, and you will not be given your room number until its ready for occupancy on the day you check in. You will receive a text or email with the room number on day of check in.

 

[SarahC97]

I personally enjoy the moderates much more than I do the values, but that's an entirely subjective thing. Right now, I think the food situation at CSR is kind of ridiculous. There's no QS, or at least a QS comparable to what Pop has, and that's a major bummer. Yes, there are sit-down restaurants at CSR, but getting to-go orders from them can take a while and the food at Rix is not great, at least we didn't think so. I don't think the resort is tough to get around at all with the addition of the new bridge, but potentially a preferred room at Pop will get you closer to the amenities there.

Honestly, it's a much tougher call than usual. In normal times, I'd say CSR hands down. But right now, the food situation at CSR has to be taken into account vs the bus situation at Pop -- which is to say if you don't want to use the Skyliner as others have mentioned, buses aren't an option unless you want to walk to AoA -- which kind of defeats the whole idea of walking less at your resort. I guess the decision really comes down to if you want the convenience of bus transportation to all 4 parks or better food choices.

 

[the46zone]

Thank you all for such amazing information. I’m really afraid of heights so I can’t go on a skyliner. Looks like we are going to dive deeper into CSR.

 

[heresabe]

I have never stayed @ CSR but I have walked the grounds. CSR is a lovely resort, nice pool bar area, multiple food options.
I do like Pop though...I really like the Hourglass Lake walking/jogging path.

 

[Tom_E_D]

Is there a reason you won't be using the Skyliner? As PPs mentioned, they are not running buses from Pop Century right now. You'd either have to walk a good distance to the AOA bus stop, drive yourself, or take Uber if you're not using the Skyliner.

. . .

They are not running buses from Pop to Epcot and Hollywood Studios now. They are, however, still running buses to Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom.

 

[nkereina]

They are not running buses from Pop to Epcot and Hollywood Studios now. They are, however, still running buses to Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom.

Right, I guess that wasn't clear in my post. Revised to clarify.