Pop to Contemporary or Coronado?

[kendo43]

We are going to be moving a trip from this November to end of January/beginning of February. We have a couple of options around the same price. First is stay in the tower at Coronado for the length of our stay (7 nights). Or we could do a split stay and do 5 nights at POP and then 2 nights in a theme park contemporary view to finish the trip. Is it worth doing a split stay for just two nights in the Contemporary?

 

[Leigh L]

We are going to be moving a trip from this November to end of January/beginning of February. We have a couple of options around the same price. First is stay in the tower at Coronado for the length of our stay (7 nights). Or we could do a split stay and do 5 nights at POP and then 2 nights in a theme park contemporary view to finish the trip. Is it worth doing a split stay for just two nights in the Contemporary?

Both are good choices IMO .
What kind of trip are you doing? If doing a couple of resort days, I'd be inclined to do the tower for the week (it's awesome! and we love Coronado - we stayed there a couple of times over the last year for virtual school and work). But if spending pretty much every day in the parks, I'd do the split since I'd just want a place to sleep on those days. We've not done theme park view, but it sounds like a great way to end a trip!

We have a 4-night stay next month and are doing a 2-night All-Star Movies/2 night Contemporary (Garden room) split. But we are only doing one full park day (the day we're at Movies) and a Boo Bash after we move to Contemporary - so we'll have a lot of time to explore monorail resorts and just chill at the Contemporary and hopefully catch some fireworks on our down day. Originally, we booked 4 nights at Music but didn't like the idea of not a lot to do there on our down days and limited food options.

 

[Disneylover99]

I don't like a 2 night split stay anywhere. I'd stay in the tower at Coronado for a week. Or if you want to save money, stay at Pop for the week.

 

[Marthasor]

I don't like a 2 night split stay anywhere. I'd stay in the tower at Coronado for a week. Or if you want to save money, stay at Pop for the week.

I agree with this. Two nights is not really enough time to settle in and enjoy a resort and the packing and unpacking for 2 nights isn't worth it, IMHO. If you can swing a 3 night/4 night split, I would consider it. Otherwise, I would just do CSR for all 7 nights, settle in and enjoy the resort.

 

[kendo43]

I agree with this. Two nights is not really enough time to settle in and enjoy a resort and the packing and unpacking for 2 nights isn't worth it, IMHO. If you can swing a 3 night/4 night split, I would consider it. Otherwise, I would just do CSR for all 7 nights, settle in and enjoy the resort.

Yea we have looked at like 4 nights at pop and 3 at wilderness lodge or somewhere slightly cheaper than contemporary, Still haven’t decided though. It’s me my wife and our two kids (7 and 5), so I don’t like the idea of only two nights at contemporary but the thought of the view and being so close is nice to end the trip.

 

[kendo43]

Both are good choices IMO .
What kind of trip are you doing? If doing a couple of resort days, I'd be inclined to do the tower for the week (it's awesome! and we love Coronado - we stayed there a couple of times over the last year for virtual school and work). But if spending pretty much every day in the parks, I'd do the split since I'd just want a place to sleep on those days. We've not done theme park view, but it sounds like a great way to end a trip!

We have a 4-night stay next month and are doing a 2-night All-Star Movies/2 night Contemporary (Garden room) split. But we are only doing one full park day (the day we're at Movies) and a Boo Bash after we move to Contemporary - so we'll have a lot of time to explore monorail resorts and just chill at the Contemporary and hopefully catch some fireworks on our down day. Originally, we booked 4 nights at Music but didn't like the idea of not a lot to do there on our down days and limited food options.

Yea we plan on doing 6 park days. We usually get to come every 2 years or so and try and maximize our trips, that’s why I thought even just 2 days at a deluxe would be a good way to end the trip. Especially with that kind of view of the fireworks and castle for the kids that’s Friday and Saturday night.

 

[loves to dive]

That's tough. My first instinct was to do the split, I love split stays and often do 2/3 or 2/4 night splits. However, with littles (which I don't have) that gets a bit harder to do. If it were anything but CR I would 100% say go for it but CR is my least favorite of all the deluxe resorts. It just feels to, well, contemporary for me. The view is only worth it if you pay for a FW view and I've seen some reviews that even those are only a little slice of FW view if you hang over the edge of a balcony.

On the other hand, being that close to MK with littles is a good thing. 6 park days means you are going to have plenty of opportunity to enjoy the resorts since it would be hard (for me at least) to spend all day for 6 days in the parks. So, while Pop is fun for kids with the all the big icons and the pool is sorta fun, the rooms are not well insulated and that big pool can get crowded. Would it be ideal for spending quality resort time? Probably not as ideal at Coronado. Would 2 nights at CR make up for that? Not in my mind, again because CR is my least favorite.

I'm not much help am I? Given your circumstances and parameters, I'd say stay the entire time at Coronado unless you find a better split with WL, which is just a boat ride away from MK and you can watch the FWs from WL and not have to deal with the crowd at MK is FWs is all you want to see.

 

[StuckInKS]

We are going to be moving a trip from this November to end of January/beginning of February. We have a couple of options around the same price. First is stay in the tower at Coronado for the length of our stay (7 nights). Or we could do a split stay and do 5 nights at POP and then 2 nights in a theme park contemporary view to finish the trip. Is it worth doing a split stay for just two nights in the Contemporary?

POP and Contemporary are our two favorite resorts, so that is what I would pick. We really like CSR, but would not choose it over some nights at Contemporary. Plus you will have non-bus transportation to at least one park during all days of your stay.

 

[RanDIZ]

Yea we have looked at like 4 nights at pop and 3 at wilderness lodge or somewhere slightly cheaper than contemporary, Still haven’t decided though. It’s me my wife and our two kids (7 and 5), so I don’t like the idea of only two nights at contemporary but the thought of the view and being so close is nice to end the trip.

In the WL scenario, I’d go for it. 3 nights would work great there. Quick boat ride to MK, water pageant, great restaurants and resort overall. I own DVC there and love it!

 

[kendo43]

That's tough. My first instinct was to do the split, I love split stays and often do 2/3 or 2/4 night splits. However, with littles (which I don't have) that gets a bit harder to do. If it were anything but CR I would 100% say go for it but CR is my least favorite of all the deluxe resorts. It just feels to, well, contemporary for me. The view is only worth it if you pay for a FW view and I've seen some reviews that even those are only a little slice of FW view if you hang over the edge of a balcony.

On the other hand, being that close to MK with littles is a good thing. 6 park days means you are going to have plenty of opportunity to enjoy the resorts since it would be hard (for me at least) to spend all day for 6 days in the parks. So, while Pop is fun for kids with the all the big icons and the pool is sorta fun, the rooms are not well insulated and that big pool can get crowded. Would it be ideal for spending quality resort time? Probably not as ideal at Coronado. Would 2 nights at CR make up for that? Not in my mind, again because CR is my least favorite.

I'm not much help am I? Given your circumstances and parameters, I'd say stay the entire time at Coronado unless you find a better split with WL, which is just a boat ride away from MK and you can watch the FWs from WL and not have to deal with the crowd at MK is FWs is all you want to see.

Yea we normally do 7 days and only 6 days in the parks and toss in a resort day midway through, but this time it’s looking more like just 6 park days. We have never stayed at CR and not sure if we would like it or not. Another option is 4 days at POP and maybe 3 days animal kingdom or wilderness.

 

[kendo43]

In the WL scenario, I’d go for it. 3 nights would work great there. Quick boat ride to MK, water pageant, great restaurants and resort overall. I own DVC there and love it!

We haven’t stayed at WL before but it’s also in the running if we do a split stay. And so is animal kingdom lodge.

 

[Eastern]

At your kids' age they will be thrilled wherever you stay; enjoy it We used to stay off property when my kids were young and it was all about the pool.

I think it would be fun to do 2 nights at CR. As long as you are organized with your packing, it will be smooth. We like to tranfer our own luggage over via Uber or Lyft on the morning of transfer. That way we know where our luggage is if we have to retrieve anything we forgot.

 

[kendo43]

At your kids' age they will be thrilled wherever you stay; enjoy it We used to stay off property when my kids were young and it was all about the pool.

I think it would be fun to do 2 nights at CR. As long as you are organized with your packing, it will be smooth. We like to tranfer our own luggage over via Uber or Lyft on the morning of transfer. That way we know where our luggage is if we have to retrieve anything we forgot.

Yea we stayed at AOA in a Cars suite back in 2019 and they loved it! Me and my wife have stayed at Kidani Village and Riverside, just trying to stay somewhere we haven't to get a new experience

 

[Marthasor]

Yea we have looked at like 4 nights at pop and 3 at wilderness lodge or somewhere slightly cheaper than contemporary, Still haven’t decided though. It’s me my wife and our two kids (7 and 5), so I don’t like the idea of only two nights at contemporary but the thought of the view and being so close is nice to end the trip.

We haven’t stayed at WL before but it’s also in the running if we do a split stay. And so is animal kingdom lodge.

I think both WL and AKL would be great with a 3/4 split with Pop! If you stay at WL, I also highly recommend heading over to Ft. W for half a day or so - the playground, stables, renting bikes/kayaks/canoes and gem mining are all really fun!

 

[RanDIZ]

We haven’t stayed at WL before but it’s also in the running if we do a split stay. And so is animal kingdom lodge.

I also own at AKV. Some people don’t like the distance from other parks especially MK but I enjoy the secluded feel there. Never had an issue with transportation. Arguably the best restaurants on property and the savanna’s are amazing! I like to split CCV and AKV. Best of both worlds.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

We do split stays and we love it.
We have done Pop and Coronado
And ASM and Animal Kingdom.

Our deluxe days are our resort days we love the pools .. the ones at the values are not anything special.

 

[Sue M]

I wouldn’t give up a stay at a moderate for being stuck at Pop 5 days! Then just 2 nights at a deluxe. I’m not a big fan of the values. Maybe if you could do a 4/3 split. And I’d pick either GF or Poly over CR. They both are beautifully themed, with nicer pools and you can have MK views at those too, or watch the fireworks from the beach

 

[mousehouse23]

I'd vote for the 4 nights Pop/3 nights WL or AKL split instead. I actually like the Contemporary, but agree with the others that 2 nights is not ideal, especially considering you'll be traveling on the other side of that second night stay. By the time you'd check in, you'd have a day and a half to really enjoy it, most likely.

WL would be preferable for the proximity to the park and seeing the Electric Water Pageant from the beach at night, if you wanted to. The suggestion to visit Fort Wilderness is a good one, too. I do think kids at that age would love AKL, though. Not sure if you'd be able to swing a savannah-view room, which is considerably more money. Of course, the boat transportation from WL to MK is worth thinking about, too. It's a lot more fun than a bus!

One other wrinkle is that the Skyliner will be closed for refurbishment from January 22-28. Not sure if that coincides with your stay at Pop, but it would be a shame to miss out on one of the main benefits of staying there.

Good luck deciding! I hope you have a great trip.

 

[Shellyred8]

When we do a split stay, we like staying at CR/BLT for the last part of the trip. The reason for that is our flight home usually leaves in the afternoon, so we can walk over to MK in the morning and get in a couple of hours there before having to leave for the airport.

 

[kendo43]

Was just browsing and could either do AKL,WL or Boulder ridge villas for 3 days instead of the 2 at CR. it wouldn't be a savannah view at AKL, thoughts?