Pop?

[java]

I will be traveling with my 2 tween boys alone at the end of a drive to Florida that will include 2 days Universal. When trying to plan the last three days I was thinking beach and legoland (we have never been and I think this will be my last year for theme to be at all interested. )
Starting pricing everything out.

For about the same I could do 2 day hoppers and a 3 night stay at Pop.

I've never stayed there. We are generally deluxe people but on this short trip that's just not possible $$. We stayed at AOA once and liked it.
We will have a car if that makes a difference.

So should we pop or not?

See below, another option only $100 more is to stay in akl value studio

 

[NJlauren]

So I've heard legoland is good for 8 and under, I haven't been but I would do some more research depending on the age of your boys.

As for the pop we stayed for the first time in December, 3 nights. I have only stayed deluxe and swan/dolphin before. I really liked it. I would not hesitate to stay there again. Did I miss the deluxe, sure. Will I stay deluxe again, absolutely. Will I stay pop again, probably. We were doing a budget trip and this is how we fit the trip in. We really liked it, clean friendly, great bus service, actually better then some deluxe IMO.

I was really nervous about it but had a great experience and highly recommend it.

 

[java]

Thank you NJ (I'm in nj too)

 

[aretha30]

We love Pop. Bus service, food court, and the atmosphere is great. We will be there ourselves in early August.

 

[Tissa]

If I am doing a shorter budget trip we always go for POP. Actually, I was just looking at deluxe resorts last night and my son asked why we couldn't just stay at POP?

 

[Babsy]

WE have done budget trips at value resorts, including POP often. Although we often choose moderate or deluxe resorts, we also really enjoy POP. It is perhaps our favourite value resort. Yes, deluxe or moderate resorts have amenities that we enjoy, but if we are going for a budget, theme park intensive trip with all adults or older children, then POP is often top choice. Go with appropriate expectations and you will likely love POP!

 

[java]

OK here's throwing another option into the mix. I could rent a value AKL studio dvc for about $100 more.

Oh and in looking I can pay interest free for 6 months using PayPal overtime.

 

[jimjenkids]

we are doing a normal trip but yet shorter because the kids wanted to do US. we are doing US 2 days/nights and then POP for 6 nights 5 day hoppers. the cost difference from our usual resort(CBR 2 rooms) allowed for the kids to do US. we have stayed at POP before and it is a nice clean no/less frills resort. but we really don't spend a ton of time at the resorts but POP allows them to walk over to AOA.

 

[dansdad]

OK here's throwing another option into the mix. I could rent a value AKL studio dvc for about $100 more.

Oh and in looking I can pay interest free for 6 months using PayPal overtime.

Wow, those rooms are almost impossible to get. I would jump all over that.

 

[java]

Scratch AKL it's not available I looked in wrong spot.

 

[bunnyman]

Have done several quickie budget trips over the years (usually when school calendars give us unexpected long weekends for religious holidays, etc.), and we don’t want to spend big bucks as like you said we normally do the deluxes as well. For the short trips, we have often done either the All Stars or POP. With a family of four, those sites are good for a couple of days, but we’ve found that anything longer tends to get a little bit claustrophobic. That being said, we have had many great short trips the value resorts.

 

[RedOne3781]

I've stayed at Pop quite a few times, and I find it to be more than adequate. It has all the perks of staying on property, a few cute pools, great bus service and a food court with a lot of good options.

It has a much different vibe than a deluxe, but IMO that is not always a bad thing. It is so over the top Disney that I really feel immersed in the Disney bubble.

 

[wvgoofyfan]

Looking forward to a short stay at Pop in two weeks...It is fine if you need a base of operation for doing the parks. I also enjoy the food court as long as you avoid it at prime eating hours. There are plenty of pools for allowing the kiddies a dip. The theming is great! and if you want you can cross the bridge to AOA to get even more Disney!

 

[java]

A friend is saying it was dirty. Her room was dirty. Now I'm pretty easy going on rooms, but dirty not good. I can't believe though that disney would allow dirty.

I'm struggling with this decision. I'm all over the place. I tried Swan but even with teacher discount not a great deal once you add in parking and resort fee. Then thought maybe off site at WBC. But I can't decide

We like emh's but it's only 2 days. BUT it's only 2 days.......so I want to squeeze in as much as possible.
I did a quick 3 day with my daughter in May and we had a blast.

 

[NJlauren]

You can only make the decision. Dirty is relative, I've been in dirty at the Grand Floridan, my cousin cleaned the bathroom floor and brought the towel to the front desk it was gross.

Point being dirty can happen anywhere as a one of instance. Did you look into Disney spring hotels? Some people like those a lot too.

However I think for the price pop is the best value... IMO.

 

[Anonny]

I've had five week-long stays at Pop, it's great!
It won't be Deluxe like you are used to, but you can certainly enjoy a change of resort type for three nights.

 

[mkarizona]

In reading reviews and comments some resorts do seem to have shoddy housecleaning but not Pop. The one comment you see about Pop over and over is that it is clean. That has always been the case also when we have stayed there. Pop is certainly in your face Disney as well as busy; if you are the type of person who can't wait to leave the parks at night and relax Pop is probably not a good choice.

 

[java]

Choice now is 3 nights at Pop or 2 nights at POR
Or 3 nights in pirate room at cbr which is not appealing to me

 

[twoplustwins]

How big are your boys? The beds are tiny!!!!! DD13 and I went on a mother/daughter trip, so we were able to each have a bed to ourselves. The walls also seemed very thin. There were kids running up and down the hallways constantly. Our room was clean though. We had fresh towels and clean sheets each day. The staff was very friendly as well.

We enjoyed the food court at Pop but that was about it. For us, it was very loud and crowded the majority of the time. We stayed mid-November, so I can't imagine what it would look like during peak or even regular season.
We had an awful experience with transportation. We'd wait for literally an hour in line every morning to get on a bus to the park and at least an hour each night to get back. I know some people have had great experiences with their service, but not us. We've stayed at all the moderates and had much better service and considerably less wait time.

If I had to do it over again, I would select a different resort. Just my opinion.

 

[happymommy]

I've only stayed deluxe until last year, when my daughter and I stayed at Pop. We loved it, and don't see why we'd pay more!

We liked the bus service, actually liked it more than other resorts we've stayed at (although walking to Epcot from Epcot resorts is nice).

We liked the food court. We enjoyed the various options, and if it was busy, we took the trays to our room to eat (or I went over one morning to get breakfast for her).

We stayed two nights over spring break, with my son as well. I'm 5'7" and she & I shared the bed with no problems. When you're tired, you just sleep! My son is a kicker and taller, so it worked out well.

I wouldn't hesitate - matter of fact next month we have 8 nights booked! I cannot wait!

I just can't justify the fact that even with two stacked discounts, in 2015 our spring break trip to the BWI was still $300 a night (and it was just the two of us). And I had to call security twice due to noise from the room next door! We both felt it wasn't worth wasting the money there, when we just loved Pop!

We even have next spring break booked there (and at the Swan on Starpoints, so will need to choose).