Pop or rent points...which would you choose and why?

[theyoungs07]

I'm taking my oldest son on a 1on1 trip for 4 nights Dec 13-17 and I currently have a preferred room at POP reserved. I'm hoping for an AP discount to come out, so we'll see.

It looks like I could rent an AKV studio (if available) on rented points for maybe $150 more (Savannah view) or almost even (for standard view). SSR would be another comparable offer.

If I were taking my whole family and there was a negligible price difference, then it would be a no-brainer. But I believe that we will be spending almost every waking hour of every day in the parks , so I'm not sure whether the resort will matter. He's trying to be nice and says that staying at POP is fine for him, but I doubt he'd mind a DVC "upgrade"

I have TIW and I am not sure how many TS meals we'll be eating, so I thought the CS usage of TIW at POP might be an advantage for breakfast...etc

The lack of flexibility is a concern to me with rented points...I'm not sure why, but it does.

I do think he'd like DisneyQuest, but $50 per person for a day is kinda outrageous when we already have park tickets paid for (both AP) and we'll have a limited time for parks with only 4 nights. I got coupons for DQ on our last trip and didn't use them, but won't get them this time since we're not booking a package.

I'm researching DVC and think I'm convinced that SSR or AKV would be great for us as a family, and maybe this would be a good test run for one of those resorts.

I've never stayed at either POP or any of the DVC resorts (did take a short tour of SSR during the DVC spiel)

So, I'm on the fence and need convincing to figure out which direction to do...what would you do? Why?

Thanks!

 

[CraigInPA]

Haven't stayed at AKV, but once stayed at Pop Sports. There were a few things I hated about it:
1. Buses to go anywhere, and ALWAYS crowded.
2. Large groups of school trip tweens/teens.
3. Did I mention those super crowded buses?
4. Yes, those darn crowds fill those buses so that you usually have to wait for the second or third bus to pick you up.

This may all be academic, as you're looking at booking during the most in-demand DVC week of the year. There is likely little availability.

 

[Nennie]

Here is my analysis!

With POP, AKV, and SSR you are dealing with buses...so that's pretty even!
AKV and SSR have better pools, but it's December, so that doesn't really matter.
AKV and SSR have better rooms than POP.
POP has a great food court if you think you'd do a lot of counter service meals, but Jambo house has Mara, which is a great counter service (but no TIW discount)
AKV savannah views rooms are pretty awesome!

So...my vote is AKV! Awesome room, awesome view, and you can eat at Mara. There are also cool resort things to check out that might distract your DS from wanting to hit DQ!

 

[ajwolfe]

Just wanted to say that I completely understand your concern. I've looked at renting points the last few trips and thinking about if or next year but I'm having such a hard time pulling the trigger on it. I'm just not sure about the lack of control I'll and basically the fact that you are taking the seller's word for it that you are booked, etc. Seems terrifying to a type a control freak type person, lol

 

[kaitlin-n-mom]

This is the same dilema I had. We were book at CSR for December 12-17th. But when I looked into more I found I could rent points and stay at AKV for less (without any discounts) than our reservation at CSR. Only problem we had was that there was no availability for AKV Savannah view on the 12th. So I decided to book one night at All Star Sports and then move to AKV on the 13th.

This works out perfectly for me because this trip is a gift to my daughter for graduating college. I am going to have her boyfriend take her to the park and I am going to have our bags moved to AKL while their gone. Then I am going to tell her we have dinner reservation at AKL and then show her the new room. I am beyond excited over this trip.

 

[Disgirl2011]

I vote AKV all the way. Such a beautiful resort. That was the resort that I first rented points for before becoming a DVC member. We booked a standard view room in Jambo house and either they upgraded us to Savannah view or we lucked out with a partial view. While the busses do take a bit longer I don't think I minded as much. From what I remembered they were never too crowded since they only share amongst the two AKV resorts. They also have a quick service restaurant on site which we used for breakfast most mornings and it was delicious!

 

[3 Hobbits 2 Disney]

I vote SSR. You have easy access to DTD and there is so much to do there -- restaurants, shopping, people watching. After a day in the parks you could take the boat over, have dinner, and go to the movies, go bowling or people watch. At SSR there's the Turf Club, which has a pool table to play, or there's the great Community Hall or Arcade. Don't discount the pools -- SSR Has some good theme pools as well as hot tubs. If you're looking at a $150 -- go SSR for the amenities, rooms, and DTD.

 

[spiceycat]

if you are spending every waking moments in the parks - then Pop. if you think that you might have time to spend at the resort in the daytime then AKV - if only at night SSR

hey if I had not brought DVC - then Pop would be where I would be staying - but got lucky and brought in 1993. Also would not go as often.

 

[deedisneydream97]

If you can avoid POP, then do so. The community halls at DVC has some great video games, air hockey tables, etc. so no need to let your DS go to DQ. We used to do one night at POP (a Saturday night) before moving to our DVC to save points. I was so happy when we were able to purchase more points so we did not have to do that any more. The walls at POP are very thin...I used to hear toilets flush in other rooms. I absolutely hated the window that faced the outside walkway (anyone can see into your room). Not to mention the Brazalian tour groups that would scream and shout at all hours of the night. Although the POP is a wonderful resort for families on a strict budget (been there done that). You do get a lot for your money there.....and the food court there is great!

Both SSR and AKV are great resorts. Your DS would probably like SSR for the "nightlife" across the pond. But AKV has so many things to offer, too, and might be a better "bonding" type thing. Then again, you don't want DS to be BORED.

My vote is to ditch the POP if you can...and do either SSR or AKV. Warning....if you do DVC, you might never want to go back!