Pop or CBR?

[mi*vida*loca]

I've stayed at CBR twice and loved it both times. We requested Aruba 51(and both times were in that area but not exactly 51) and had a very short walk to OPR and were a parking lot across from the bus stop. We never had 7 bus stops going to the parks. Maybe 3-4. We never had long waits for the bus stop either. 5-10 minutes top with once being more than that at about 20 minutes. My kids LOVE the pool. Especially the splash pad area when they were younger. The pool slide is a must for us. We do a lot of pool time so it's a requirement. The food was pretty good. We went when they had double beds but my kids were small and we split up one parent/one kid per bed. But now with queen beds it can come back into our rotation.

For our first trip we did CBR because we didn't want to go value or deluxe. We thought middle of the road was best. Well one night after a day at MK we were at the bus stop and the value stops were near us. There were so many screaming, yelling, cheering teenagers it turned us completely off to the values. We just stared at each other and had a mutual understanding we would never do it. I don't know if cheer groups stay at CBR now.

 

[emsstacey]

We just got back from CBR... we were the first ME stop going and the last heading back to the airport. Plus, the busses never went to any other resorts while we were there... just a couple of stops at CBR and we were off. Busses were fast, never full, and a good experience. I was prepared for the worst but it didn't happen.

 

[maxiesmom]

Unless booked in a Pirate Themed room, there is no more walking at CBR than Pop.

That totally depends on where your rooms are. My preferred room at POP was much closer to the food court/bus stop than my standard Jamaica located room at CBR.

 

[maxiesmom]

We just got back from CBR... we were the first ME stop going and the last heading back to the airport. Plus, the busses never went to any other resorts while we were there... just a couple of stops at CBR and we were off. Busses were fast, never full, and a good experience. I was prepared for the worst but it didn't happen.

To keep things clear, the Magical Express routes are not set, and often change. My one stay at CBR we were not the first stop using DME, we were the third.

 

[dansdad]

That totally depends on where your rooms are. My preferred room at POP was much closer to the food court/bus stop than my standard Jamaica located room at CBR.

As I would expect. A preferred room is supposed to be closer than a standard room. My only point was just because you are staying at CBR does not automatically mean you will be walking more than staying at Pop. Which is what the person I was responding to insinuated.

 

[emsstacey]

To keep things clear, the Magical Express routes are not set, and often change. My one stay at CBR we were not the first stop using DME, we were the third.

Yes, true! I just was expected bad bussing and was pleasantly surprised. It isn't guaranteed but possible that bussing will work in your favor at CBR.

 

[Betta301]

Thank you very much for your room reference. This is our first on site vacation too !

I've stayed at CBR twice and loved it both times. We requested Aruba 51(and both times were in that area but not exactly 51) and had a very short walk to OPR and were a parking lot across from the bus stop. We never had 7 bus stops going to the parks. Maybe 3-4. We never had long waits for the bus stop either. 5-10 minutes top with once being more than that at about 20 minutes. My kids LOVE the pool. Especially the splash pad area when they were younger. The pool slide is a must for us. We do a lot of pool time so it's a requirement. The food was pretty good. We went when they had double beds but my kids were small and we split up one parent/one kid per bed. But now with queen beds it can come back into our rotation.

For our first trip we did CBR because we didn't want to go value or deluxe. We thought middle of the road was best. Well one night after a day at MK we were at the bus stop and the value stops were near us. There were so many screaming, yelling, cheering teenagers it turned us completely off to the values. We just stared at each other and had a mutual understanding we would never do it. I don't know if cheer groups stay at CBR now.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Thank you very much for your room reference. This is our first on site vacation too !

Jamaica 45 is another good request.

 

[Betta301]

Thank you very much for all the above helpful inputs. I'll go with CBR for this trip, and will request the close location room for my booking. Finger crossed, hope everything will work out great!

 

[maxiesmom]

Not to be Debbie Downer, but what is your back up plan if you don't get your request? How will your 80 year old mother in law handle it if you have one of the far out rooms? Hopefully you will get your request, but I've been denied my requests enough times to know you don't always get them. If being a distance away from the main area will put a damper on the vacation for anyone, you may need to reconsider staying at CBR.

 

[dansdad]

Not to be Debbie Downer, but what is your back up plan if you don't get your request? How will your 80 year old mother in law handle it if you have one of the far out rooms? Hopefully you will get your request, but I've been denied my requests enough times to know you don't always get them. If being a distance away from the main area will put a damper on the vacation for anyone, you may need to reconsider staying at CBR.

And Pop for that matter.

 

[maxiesmom]

And Pop for that matter.

Pay for preferred at POP. Much cheaper still than standard at CBR.

 

[jesswindsor]

The bus system at both are adequate. POP's bus stops aren't covered in line, and can be a good walk depending on what building you are staying at. I have never waited very long for a bus a POP. It is a one stop at POP. At CBR, you aren't stopping at every bus stop at every village. About half,so 3-4 stops. Less people at each stop, instead of everyone at one stop. To me, it isn't a bother at either.

 

[vtownpatty]

We have stayed at both (CBR twice). We would never go back to pop. For us, it just seemed very crowded and always busy. CBR is big, but we never had issues with busses or getting to the food court/ pool. I think you will love it!

 

[biondagirl]

We stayed at CBR last summer and had NO issues with the buses. We were close to the stop and they ran well. They were never full, either. When I stayed there in 2009, about time we got to the Pirate Rooms, the bus would be packed. But, that's also the difference with going Easter week and the second/third week in August. However, my husband was not thrilled with getting to the restaurant area. It was a bit far and a confusing walk.

I was not impressed with POP but I know a lot of people that love it there. When we went in 2010 we stayed there and the buses were terrible. It was the end of November so maybe they were busier? We ended up driving to the parks. They were inconsistent and packed. It's nice to see that has improved.

I would pick a smaller hotel or get a preferred room considering the ages of your party. I LOVE the All Stars for their theming and size. I would love to stay at POFQ, but they don't usually get the room discount or free dining.

 

[KonaKaiTom]

Bus service has nothing to do with location. Pop only has 1 bus stop, whereas CBR has several (5 or 6 I believe). The bus service at Pop is always going to be more efficient because you don't have to spend the time making multiple stops.

Everyone has their own personal preference as to resorts and buses. While Pop does have only 1 stop - that means that everyone is getting on at once, versus being spread out over multiple stops. Is it more efficient for 100 people to get on at once, or 20 people to get on 5 times? I don't know and I don't care -- What I do care about is that with multiple stops - I know I will be getting off the bus closer to my room at CBR than I will be at Pop and after walking 10 plus miles at a park over the day -- I do care about that!

My 2 cents.

Tom

 

[DonnaBelle5]

Looking for advice on how to choose between these 2 resorts... We are traveling with our DD4 who is going to turn to 5 during our stay, and my mother-in-law (early 80's), late Jan 2017 for 6 night/7day trip. Which one will be best fit for us between these 2?

This family trip is going to celebrate DD's 5 year birthday. We'll be staying 2 connecting or close rooms, and both of these 2 resorts have a lot of fans and their costs fit within our budget. I'd like to stay in mod resort as it'll be more conformable, queen instead of double beds, and more relaxing if we decide to spend some time at the resort after park. But the transportation at POP seems beat CBR, and transportation is a key factor to consider when you travel with the group of a large age difference. As we'll travel late Jan, it may be too cold to enjoy the pool.

With each's pros and cons, which one would you recommend?

Thanks a lot in advance!

Kathy

I think you should consider which result would best accommodate the family as a whole. Do you need 2 rooms? CBR hoes have the fold down bed for smaller people & queen beds if you can handle one room. Have you thought about a suite in ASMusic or AoA if you need bigger space/2 bathrooms?
I am a fan of 5 now so we have to stay in a mod (either CBR or our fav POR). We don't mind a bus that stops several times because those stops are usually quite fast.

I'm headed to POR with my hubby 1/20-25 for a couples only trip so you can't go wrong with either choice.

 

[loves to dive]

As far as buses go, the buses are the buses are the buses. I've stayed at every single level of WDW resort and have had good and bad bus service at every single one. I swear it doesn't matter where I'm staying, when I'm leaving whatever park I'm at they watch and move my bus stop to the farthest one away. I've waited to leave the parks for two buses because they were so crowded at every single resort I've stayed at and I've got to the bus stop and gotten on an empty bus at every resort I've stayed at, both coming and going.

The moderate bus stops are covered, which comes in handy if it is hot or raining. The value bus stops are uncovered but do have an actual que, which the moderates and deluxes don't. Which means when the bus comes it sort of a free for all at the ones without a que, doesn't matter how long you have been waiting, there is a chance someone is going to get in front of you. I have not noticed a difference as far as size in any of them except ASSp, which seemed smaller than the rest as far as walking distance to anywhere at the resort.

I'm not a fan of the value resorts, I've stayed at Pop and ASSp. I hated Pop from the moment I parked my car, it was just too off the highway motel for me. Once I got to my room, I really hated it, very off the highway motel. I swore never to do a value resort again. The next year I was going to be able to get a room at ASSp for a silly price like $50/night and I knew it was silly to pay deluxe prices for the first night there since I knew I'd check in head to a park and not come back until about bed time. I'm not normally a park open to park close person and tend to spend at least a hour or two every afternoon at the resort just chilling out but first day, all bets are off. So I gave ASSp a chance. While I didn't hate it as much as Pop, I did decide no matter how cheap I could get one, the values just weren't for me.

OP, it really depends on your wants and needs as far as the resort goes, don't pick your resort based on the bus service, they can all be good and bad. I think the adults are going to be a tad more comfortable at a moderate, I think your little girl is going to be happy anywhere, she's at Disney.

 

[Betta301]

I think you should consider which result would best accommodate the family as a whole. Do you need 2 rooms? CBR hoes have the fold down bed for smaller people & queen beds if you can handle one room. Have you thought about a suite in ASMusic or AoA if you need bigger space/2 bathrooms?
I am a fan of 5 now so we have to stay in a mod (either CBR or our fav POR). We don't mind a bus that stops several times because those stops are usually quite fast.

I'm headed to POR with my hubby 1/20-25 for a couples only trip so you can't go wrong with either choice.

You brought up a very good point, 2 single rooms. Yes, it's a very important factor to my family. Actually I booked the AOA suite earlier, but had to split it into 2 single rooms after knowing my mother-in-law is a very light sleeper. I believe at the end of the day everyone will be pretty exhausted and I don't want anyone can't get good sleep during the trip. So I decided to split to 2 single rooms. That's how it brought the pop and CBR to my focus as they both under my budget with very positive reviews.

I'd defiantly try POR sometime in the future. Thanks again, and I hope you have a very great time in your Jan trip!