Port Orleans Riverside or Pop Century

[Disney Forever]

Hi Again,

I was hoping to get some helpful opinions.

My DW AND I are coming to Walt Disney World Nov 16-19 and can’t decide which hotel to stay at PO-R or POP.

The difference is $100 including the 4 day Tickets for both of us. Surprisingly the PO-R is the cheaper one, but I love the Skyliner.

Also to get the PO-R at the cheaper rate it’s a package, so I can cancel anytime including the tickets. If I book the POP I would have to book the room separately from the Tickets which means the tickets would be non-refundable
(I doubt I’m gonna cancel anyway)

HELP!!!! I don’t know what to do, I need some guidance, I hope I can get some here from all the disboard experts.

TIA

Nathan

 

[scrappinginontario]

Sorry, not quite understanding why Pop could not be a package too?

My vote would be for Pop due to Skyliner but if you plan to spend time in the room and at the pools, POR might work better for you?

Pop would be our choice.

 

[sponica]

I like both resorts, but my husband won't stay in a value (he wants the option of a sit down restaurant/lounge/etc) so we'd probably go with POR.

 

[#1Disfann]

I would choose Pop! It has become the favorite for our annual BFF trip. You just can't beat the skyliner! Riverside is a beautiful resort though. Have stayed there multiple times years ago when my parents would travel with us.

 

[hardcorestitch]

Hi Again,

I was hoping to get some helpful opinions.

My DW AND I are coming to Walt Disney World Nov 16-19 and can’t decide which hotel to stay at PO-R or POP.

The difference is $100 including the 4 day Tickets for both of us. Surprisingly the PO-R is the cheaper one, but I love the Skyliner.

Also to get the PO-R at the cheaper rate it’s a package, so I can cancel anytime including the tickets. If I book the POP I would have to book the room separately from the Tickets which means the tickets would be non-refundable
(I doubt I’m gonna cancel anyway)

HELP!!!! I don’t know what to do, I need some guidance, I hope I can get some here from all the disboard experts.

TIA

Nathan

Port Orleans as a whole is amazing. If I had to pick between these two resorts… go for Port Orleans. You have great dining options including hot gumbo from the Riverside Mill along with a little cruise that takes you to Disney Springs and French Quarter. And for cheap? I’d definitely snag that package.

 

[HeiHei2018]

Will you spend more time in the parks or at the resort? We spend most of ur times in the parks, so the layout and amenities of POR didn’t do much for us. If we wanted to stroll around the resort or sit by the pool, we would have been more excited. We don’t mind the layout of values because we spend little time in the room.

 

[katyjeka]

The atmosphere is so different between the two. POP was a favorite with our kids when they were younger. Now that they are older they love pool slides so they would choose POR. My husband and I love the relaxed feel at POR. It's easier to find a quiet place to escape the crowd and noise. The skyliner is great but it's was down a lot the last time we visited. Probably our bad luck because the weather did not cooperate that trip.

 

[Harmacist]

If you plan on relaxing at the resort a bit Riverside wins hands down. We stayed in May and made sure to take advantages of what the resort had to offer, so we ate at Boatrwights one night and saw Yehaa Bob. We walked to FQ for beignets and took the boat to DS. It was a pretty resort. I will say I think room location plays a decent role in how much enjoyment you get at Riverside. Our building was right across a bridge from the main pool and pool bar, which is right across form the lobby/dining/store, next to a quiet pool and the bus stop was right out the building parking lot. Some of the other buildings look a little far out.

The only advantage I see Pop having is the Skyliner, which admittedly can be a pretty big one. It makes getting to/returning from Epcot/HS much more convenient, though the after Fantasmic/Luminous it can be a wait. It also opens up a lot more resorts to enjoy along the route.

I personally really enjoyed our time at POR in May, and it became our favorite moderate (Pop our favorite value). We are going to WDW for a week starting Friday, and if we didn't get the Disney+ rate at AKL savanna view room, we would've switched to the D+ Riverside deal.

 

[Disney Forever]

If you plan on relaxing at the resort a bit Riverside wins hands down. We stayed in May and made sure to take advantages of what the resort had to offer, so we ate at Boatrwights one night and saw Yehaa Bob. We walked to FQ for beignets and took the boat to DS. It was a pretty resort. I will say I think room location plays a decent role in how much enjoyment you get at Riverside. Our building was right across a bridge from the main pool and pool bar, which is right across form the lobby/dining/store, next to a quiet pool and the bus stop was right out the building parking lot. Some of the other buildings look a little far out.

The only advantage I see Pop having is the Skyliner, which admittedly can be a pretty big one. It makes getting to/returning from Epcot/HS much more convenient, though the after Fantasmic/Luminous it can be a wait. It also opens up a lot more resorts to enjoy along the route.

I personally really enjoyed our time at POR in May, and it became our favorite moderate (Pop our favorite value). We are going to WDW for a week starting Friday, and if we didn't get the Disney+ rate at AKL savanna view room, we would've switched to the D+ Riverside deal.

The package only included certain resorts, unfortunately POP was not one of them

 

[Disney Forever]

The package only included certain resorts, unfortunately POP was not one of them

Sorry, not quite understanding why Pop could not be a package too?

My vote would be for Pop due to Skyliner but if you plan to spend time in the room and at the pools, POR might work better for you?

Pop would be our choice.

The package only included certain resorts, unfortunately POP was not one of them

 

[gottalovepluto]

I think this comes down to amenities v skyliner. Cost doesn't seem enough to sway the choice in this case. Amenities at POR that Pop won't have that stand out to me are boat to DS, hot tub, Lounge and dinner TS. Which do you an DW value more? Those amenities or Skyliner access?

Another difference for me is the AC, but that's pretty specific so it won't even register for most folks. I dislike window AC units so that would give a point in favor for Pop as it has concealed wall units.

 

[Headless]

Yeah with that minimal cost difference it would be more about the amenities.

Riverside is great. we stayed for a couple night in December and we really liked the resort. If you can get into the right building everything is less then five minutes away from you. restaurant while not out of this world is solid and having the water taxi to/from Disney springs more then made up for that with how easy it is to get to those dining options....and you can stop on the way and get beignets from FQ. otherwise you will be using buses for all four parks.

Pop century has the skyliner. Plain and simple that one amenity has a ton of weight. I did a week at Pop last April with some family and it was....fine. the pools are good. the rooms were all comfortable for what they were. the good was better then I expected but it's QS level not sit down (the pizza was better then I expected and the deal for the whole pie is actually worth it compared to other things) Where Riverside feels charming and quiet Pop century is colorful and loud. But when you factor in the sky liner. While the restaurant there is QS you are attached to CBR (though Sebastian's is only open on the weekends still I believe) and Riviera. Both have pretty well regarded sit down restaurants and stopping to get coffee and the banana bread from the Riviera is worth it by itself. Plus the ease of getting in and out of both Epcot and Hollywood studios AND THEN when you get to Epcot you can turn right and be right at BW and YBC if you want to eat there.

I guess I would sum it up is Pop is the choice if you wan more options and mobility. Riverside is the choice if when you call it a day and get back tot he resort you want more quiet and charm, a slower speed. My choice, I'd probably look at CBR lol.

 

[Disney Forever]

Yeah with that minimal cost difference it would be more about the amenities.

Riverside is great. we stayed for a couple night in December and we really liked the resort. If you can get into the right building everything is less then five minutes away from you. restaurant while not out of this world is solid and having the water taxi to/from Disney springs more then made up for that with how easy it is to get to those dining options....and you can stop on the way and get beignets from FQ. otherwise you will be using buses for all four parks.

Pop century has the skyliner. Plain and simple that one amenity has a ton of weight. I did a week at Pop last April with some family and it was....fine. the pools are good. the rooms were all comfortable for what they were. the good was better then I expected but it's QS level not sit down (the pizza was better then I expected and the deal for the whole pie is actually worth it compared to other things) Where Riverside feels charming and quiet Pop century is colorful and loud. But when you factor in the sky liner. While the restaurant there is QS you are attached to CBR (though Sebastian's is only open on the weekends still I believe) and Riviera. Both have pretty well regarded sit down restaurants and stopping to get coffee and the banana bread from the Riviera is worth it by itself. Plus the ease of getting in and out of both Epcot and Hollywood studios AND THEN when you get to Epcot you can turn right and be right at BW and YBC if you want to eat there.

I guess I would sum it up is Pop is the choice if you wan more options and mobility. Riverside is the choice if when you call it a day and get back tot he resort you want more quiet and charm, a slower speed. My choice, I'd probably look at CBR lol.

It’s funny you should say that, my DW (who is not so much into Disney as I am) said “just book the Caribbean, you will be happy there” when I told her it was like $600 more, she didn’t even flinch, she said “if that will make you happier, just do it”, so I quickly called Disney and changed to CBR. At that point POP wasn’t even available. I’m still keep checking for POP to see if it becomes available. My problem is, CBR is still a very spread out resort, which means taking a bus to MK means stopping at all the bus stops at the different Islands before heading out to MK.

 

[Disney Forever]

Just to address one thing in everyone’s reply, we can’t eat at any of the restaurants on Disney property, we only eat kosher, which none of the restaurants are, unless we order 24hrs in advance, kosher meals, that come individually wrapped to ensure they are strictly kosher. We can’t just walk into a restaurant and order off the menu

 

[Headless]

It’s funny you should say that, my DW (who is not so much into Disney as I am) said “just book the Caribbean, you will be happy there” when I told her it was like $600 more, she didn’t even flinch, she said “if that will make you happier, just do it”, so I quickly called Disney and changed to CBR. At that point POP wasn’t even available. I’m still keep checking for POP to see if it becomes available. My problem is, CBR is still a very spread out resort, which means taking a bus to MK means stopping at all the bus stops at the different Islands before heading out to MK.

Thats funny. In my opinion it's worth it. I very much liked the resort and thought the quiet pools were in good positions.

As for where put in a room request now then verify it's there like 30 days before hand. We got an aruba room which was good walking distance to the riviera station. biggest issue I have with that station though is in the morning during the busy travel time getting a car heading to Epcot can be a pain. Cars going to Epcot are first loading at the main CBR station so you are dealing with those crowds already loaded. It's not as bad as when they were only putting one party into a car as they can get you scooted into a car that has room but it can be a pain.

Right now I'd request Jamaica then Aruba and prefer around 4101-4164. As for transportation to MK, AK and DS yeah either hope you split the distance and don't mind walking through the island for be patient with the internal bus that does run more frequent in the mornings. honestly walking the resort through the center island isn't bad at all.

 

[AngieInOH]

Stayed at both and POP all the way. We just did not like Port Orleans Riverside. We will never go back. The only caveat would be if you plan on spending a lot of time at the resort relaxing. Then you would probably want POR. We don't go to relax, we go to be emersed in the Disney magic and POP fits the bill.