POP vs POR - Sway me?

[zKatze]

We currently have a reservation for March Break at POR. I was thrilled to find discounts, albeit small ones, available this morning. I'm travelling with my 17yr old DD and as our trip is shaping up it looks like we're not going to spend a whole lot of time at our resort. Trying to decide if we should stay with POR or down-grade to more inexpensive resort and apply the saving to our adventures. The savings are significant for us (like food for the entire visit for one of us).

Anyone willing to share what they think the advantages would be for one over the other (besides financial)? I don't know much about POP, but I've seen several reviews saying that it's their favourite value resort.

We're doing a Tue-Thu stay during March Break.
Day one: Check-in Exploring the Monorail Loop & Fort Wilderness (dinner at Trail's End)
Day two: Long Full day at Epcot & Boardwalk (early morning and late night)
Day three: Lazy morning & Lunch on the Boardwalk before heading back to Tampa

We like to walk so a resort with lots of walking paths was one of the attractions of POR. I will probably go for a walk before she even starts waking...

 

[DisneyWishes14]

With your itinerary, the number of guests and the cost savings, I would pick POP. You don't need a lot out of the resort in terms of amenities and you can always walk from Pop over to AoA on your early morning walk.

 

[jaiminee krikit]

POR is my 2nd favorite resort (POFQ is #1). It feels like "home" to me, and I can't get enough of everything about that resort. That being said, when I'm trying to save a little $$$, I will stay at Pop. I love it there, too. Pop is a really cute resort IMO. I like the theming of the entire place - including the lobby area. The food court isn't bad, either. One of my favorite things about Pop is actually the walking path! I like all the little informational tidbits displayed along the entire path (signs with highlights from certain years). I also liked checking out AoA - the grounds over there are amazing!
Since you plan on not spending very much time in your room, I would definitely suggest Pop, save POR for a longer stay when you can really enjoy the resort. I will also suggest requesting a renovated room. They are amazing! You definitely don't feel like you're in a value resort in one of those rooms.

 

[Shellyb84]

With your itinerary, the number of guests and the cost savings, I would pick POP. You don't need a lot out of the resort in terms of amenities and you can always walk from Pop over to AoA on your early morning walk.

Agreed.

It's a very nice walk around the lake and over to AoA.

 

[zKatze]

Since you plan on not spending very much time in your room, I would definitely suggest Pop, save POR for a longer stay when you can really enjoy the resort. I will also suggest requesting a renovated room. They are amazing! You definitely don't feel like you're in a value resort in one of those rooms.

Would we be more likely to get a renovated room if we book a preferred at POP? Or should we still request it?

One of the things that attracted me to POR for this short say was that it was a SHORT stay. I wanted to stay there back in January when we did a 4 night stay, but even after the discounts came out renting points was a better value (less than 4 nights at POR). If I was going to do a longer stay and didn't need the flexibility of cancelling, I'd definitely rent points again.

I'm having a total head over heart dilemma. Looking reasons to fall in love with POP.

 

[Shellyb84]

Would we be more likely to get a renovated room if we book a preferred at POP? Or should we still request it?

One of the things that attracted me to POR for this short say was that it was a SHORT stay. I wanted to stay there back in January when we did a 4 night stay, but even after the discounts came out renting points was a better value (less than 4 nights at POR). If I was going to do a longer stay and didn't need the flexibility of cancelling, I'd definitely rent points again.

I'm having a total head over heart dilemma. Looking reasons to fall in love with POP.

You just need to call and have the request for a refurbished room noted on your reservation.

We are typically Deluxe people, with a few stays at CSR on shorter trips, and we had stayed at Pop a night here and there for a late night arrival. We stayed at Pop for a 4 night trip in May and fell in love. We are leaning towards choosing Pop over a mod for the first 5-6 nights of a split stay with BC next June - even though we could afford a mod, we just love Pop.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

No one in my family lived Pop. We thought it was loud and chaotic and just not a good resort for us. POR, on the other hand, is gorgeous and peaceful. I love coming home to a relaxing place after a fun but busy day in the parks. Pop is the one resort I will never stay at again. POR is one I would choose over and over.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I love Pop! Its one of my fave values. I love getting a lakeview room...and walking around the lake is really pretty too. Lots of walking options, not just around the lake but also crossing the bridge to AoA! Great photo ops and i love the food court. Very different from Pop. In your situation, for such a short trip where you'll hardly be in the room in the first place, i'd definitely pick Pop. I mean, look at this view of AoA. Pretty, no?? (BTW this is the 60's building, lakeview...my fave):

One thing I forgot to mention is the buses. One TINY perk at Pop is that it only has one bus stop whereas POR has several.

 

[TheRichFam]

Full Disclosure-

POR is my favorite non-Christmas resort on property.

That being said, I would choose POR every time. When considering one resort versus another, we consider transportation, food, location and theming. In each category, POR is the far-and-away winner for me. It's honestly not even close. I can elaborate on each of these points if you want.

You can't lose either way, but POR is a huge winner for me.

 

[gillep]

I am not a fan of the values, and I actually think that multiple bus stops are better than one, but our touring style has become a little more relaxed over the years, and the hotel and amenities are pretty important to us when we stay at WDW. If you really think that you won't be at the resort much then POP should fit the bill just fine. When my friend and I go to Disneyland we stay in the Super 8 because we literally are only in our room to shower and sleep, but when I go with DH we pick something much nicer because we tend to relax more. I would look at the trip as planned and decide from there whether it makes sense to pay more money for a nicer resort, or if you really won't be using the upgraded amenities.

 

[jaiminee krikit]

Would we be more likely to get a renovated room if we book a preferred at POP? Or should we still request it?

If you would like a renovated room, I would either request the buildings that are finished by the time your vacation arrives, or request specifically a renovated room. I am not sure what the schedule is, but I think the preferred rooms will be finished by March. IMO, a preferred room at Pop is unnecessary unless you have mobility issues. I have stayed in the 50's and 90's, and neither section felt far from the main building. And sometimes I would even purposely take a wrong turn just to check out more of the resort.

 

[Disneylover99]

There are plenty of walking opportunities at both resorts.
I prefer the buses/foodcourt at Pop over POR. I'd definitely take the savings at Pop.

 

[zKatze]

I mean, look at this view of AoA. Pretty, no?? (BTW this is the 60's building, lakeview...my fave):

Ooh! That IS pretty!

 

[zKatze]

Thank you everyone. I really appreciate all the input. You gave me a lot of good things to think about.

I think we're going to stick with our POR reservation, despite the substantial difference. This will probably be one of our last trips together on our own....and while we have a tentative plan, I'd hate to switch resorts based on that and then have her decide once we're there that she actually doesn't want to do that much exploring. She hasn't been to Disney (other than the old DTD) since she was 9 and she's never stayed on site, so she may find out that she packed more into a day that she really wants to do.

I think I've decided that staying at POR gives us the freedom to change our plans as we go without regrets and that that is probably worth it for us. No pressure to do anything...I think that's just the sort of trip we need.

 

[Planogirl]

I love to walk too and the walk between POR and POFQ is just lovely. I didn't get the same feeling at Pop even though it was OK.

 

[ols386]

My personal favorite resort is POFQ, so I'd choose that.

I love POP too, so that would be a good choice, and would save some money, too.

ETA: POR is definitely nice too. I think they have the best food court, on WDW property. Nice pools too. I love both the Mansion area, as well as, the Alligator Bayou area. Almost like two separate resorts.

 

[MarBee]

OP, sorry to hijack your post, but I am also currently trying to decide between these resorts. We’ve stayed at Pop before and liked it when my kids were little. We’ve never stayed at POR (but POFQ is one of my favs.)
I am trying to decide if it’s worth the almost $600 upgrade to move to POR in a Royal Room for my February trip.
Our biggest priorities in a resort are cleanliness, transportation, and pools.
I’m going to assume a tie for cleanliness (or at least I hope.)
POR looks like the clear winner for pools (my kids love water slides, which Pop doesn’t have.)
Now I’m just trying to decide, who is the winner for transportation. Pop gets a plus for having only one bus stop, but a minus for it being uncovered (I’m super pale.) I just don’t know about POR having multiple bus stops and how long the transportation feels. We’ve only ever stayed at hotels with one bus stop before, so the internal loop has me apprehensive. (I have seen transportation times from the resort but can’t find how long the loop inside the resort usually takes.)
Any input or advice is welcome!

 

[Figaroo]

OP, sorry to hijack your post, but I am also currently trying to decide between these resorts. We’ve stayed at Pop before and liked it when my kids were little. We’ve never stayed at POR (but POFQ is one of my favs.)
I am trying to decide if it’s worth the almost $600 upgrade to move to POR in a Royal Room for my February trip.
Our biggest priorities in a resort are cleanliness, transportation, and pools.
I’m going to assume a tie for cleanliness (or at least I hope.)
POR looks like the clear winner for pools (my kids love water slides, which Pop doesn’t have.)
Now I’m just trying to decide, who is the winner for transportation. Pop gets a plus for having only one bus stop, but a minus for it being uncovered (I’m super pale.) I just don’t know about POR having multiple bus stops and how long the transportation feels. We’ve only ever stayed at hotels with one bus stop before, so the internal loop has me apprehensive. (I have seen transportation times from the resort but can’t find how long the loop inside the resort usually takes.)
Any input or advice is welcome!

Ive stayed at both. In my experience, POP was the hands down winner for transportation. We had long waits (25+ mins) for busses both going to and from the parks at POR. Never waited more than 10 mins for a POP bus. This was true our entire stay for both resorts which was 5 days. Also, there were some huge tour groups at POP and the transportation still ran quick and smooth. Also, the POP ride was definitely shorter despite distance to the parks. I think this was because of the route and the lack of multiple stops, which added to the travel time. POR had he covered waiting, but just ended up in a big clump of people and no definite line all trying to get on the bus. For me, I preferred the clear roped off line and shorter wait at POP over the covered waiting.

 

[MarBee]

Ive stayed at both. In my experience, POP was the hands down winner for transportation. We had long waits (25+ mins) for busses both going to and from the parks at POR. Never waited more than 10 mins for a POP bus. This was true our entire stay for both resorts which was 5 days. Also, there were some huge tour groups at POP and the transportation still ran quick and smooth. Also, the POP ride was definitely shorter despite distance to the parks. I think this was because of the route and the lack of multiple stops, which added to the travel time. POR had he covered waiting, but just ended up in a big clump of people and no definite line all trying to get on the bus. For me, I preferred the clear roped off line and shorter wait at POP over the covered waiting.

Thank you! What you said about big tour groups made me nervous. It’s one of the “cons” to Pop I’m afraid of. (I’m a teacher and spending my vacation with a bunch of loosely supervised teenagers will have the opposite effect that a vacation is supposed to have for me!)

 

[Tattylou]

Pop. We always have a good experience there and I like saving money. Big Teen sports tour groups are only there at certain times/events and I think if you do some research you can find out if your time is one of those times. I do like POR and POFQ, but I'd save the money.