Port Orleans Riverside vs Pop Century

[Michaelsch]

We are going to DW for the first time this October, My wife and I are taking our 4 year old daughter. We originally planned to stay at Pop but have just found a good deal on POR. The difference in price is about $300-400 total for 6 nights (depending on preferred room or not at Pop.) The groundd look so much nicer at POR but we weren't really planning on a TON of resort time. I'm sure our daughter would like the large icons around Pop but I'm not factoring that in too much.

My main concern is the buses. I felt good about staying at Pop because of all the good things I had heard about their buses. So now when considering POR I am concerned because I have read not so great things about it. I'm worried about spending more for a better resort that we might not sures tons of time at especially if the buses are wisew.

So with Pop being cheaper and supposedly having better buses, is POR worth it? It also looks like POR will be doing room refurbishments.

 

[Mark Cameron]

We are going to DW for the first time this October, My wife and I are taking our 4 year old daughter. We originally planned to stay at Pop but have just found a good deal on POR. The difference in price is about $300-400 total for 6 nights (depending on preferred room or not at Pop.) The groundd look so much nicer at POR but we weren't really planning on a TON of resort time. I'm sure our daughter would like the large icons around Pop but I'm not factoring that in too much.

My main concern is the buses. I felt good about staying at Pop because of all the good things I had heard about their buses. So now when considering POR I am concerned because I have read not so great things about it. I'm worried about spending more for a better resort that we might not sures tons of time at especially if the buses are wisew.

So with Pop being cheaper and supposedly having better buses, is POR worth it? It also looks like POR will be doing room refurbishments.

I'm in the same boat. I have a reservation booked at Pop but am considering a deal at French Quarter. I will be watching curiously!

 

[Lollipop's Mom]

I have stayed at both, and going back to Pop this December. We don't spend much time at the resort, don't need a waterslide and can live without a hot tub (which are usually too crowded anyway). It is all outdoor corridors at both resorts. We don't eat at tableservice at POR, and the pop food court is much better in my opinion.
I like just one bus stop for POP, as I hate going around and stopping all over the resort. POFQ has just one so its nice. I do like the boat to DTD, but don't mind a bus. $300-400 isn't much more to stay at the moderate, but honestly I personally would put that towards something else if you are on a budget.
I have stayed at tons of delxue, mods and values, and we tend just to go to the values and keep our money in the bank at home. Fun atmosphere, great rooms, great bus from Pop and great food court. I usually find the difference between Pop and Mod are $750-$1000, so I stay with Pop. For $300 I might switch, but probably not.

 

[Sue M]

Yes to me it’s worth it. POR is a beautiful resort, the landscaping is so lush. Our fav section is the mansions. The buildings are so pretty. I’ve never had bad bus service at POR. On the other hand my last stay was 10 days at POP and had the worst bus service consistently for most days. 30+ minute waits were common.
The boat ride to Disney Springs from POR is so fun. Food court is very good. They have carriage rides around the resort in the evenings and just adds to the resorts ambience.
And I’m guessing with a 4 yr old you’ll want to be returning to the resort for an afternoon break. POR is centrally located and transportation times will be shorter.

 

[Disneylover99]

I like POR, but I love Pop.

POR is just too big and spread out for me. Pop is smaller.

Any resort with multiple bus stops is not for me. It drives me nuts really. I just want to get on the bus and go.
In multiple Pop stays, we’ve never waited more then 10 minutes for a bus. Usually the wait has been 5 minutes or less for us. Maybe we’re lucky. But it’s consistently been the best bus service overall we’ve had at DW.

 

[Figaroo]

I have stayed at both. If you do not plan on spending time at the resort, my advice would be to save the $, enjoy the prompt bus service, and stay at POP. For me, the difference in bussing was huge and it would actually keep me away from POR again in the future even though the resort is beautiful -I'd rather give another moderate a try. But, that's just for me, my experience, and my preference.

 

[elfling8]

We stayed at POR for our trip 5 years ago. We loved it. We requested a 3rd floor corner room and got it. Had one if the rooms with the murphy bed, which DD appreciated not having so share a bed with her brother. We had a little bit of a walk to the food court etc, but not bad. No problems with transportation, but again, it was 5 years ago - don't know if anything has changed. Grounds were beautiful, pool was fun. The food court was great, and we loved the boat ride. We had the best towel animals waiting for us from housekeeping every day - butterfly toothbrush holders, teddy bears, you name it our housekeeper was talented. The kids had them all lined up on the shelf every day with their stuffed animals and would write notes to the housekeeper telling them how much they loved them.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

My main concern is the buses. I felt good about staying at Pop because of all the good things I had heard about their buses. So now when considering POR I am concerned because I have read not so great things about it. I'm worried about spending more for a better resort that we might not sures tons of time at especially if the buses are wisew.

I wouldn't base your decision on the buses. The service across all the resorts is very inconsistent. You could get great service or terrible service no matter where you stay.

I was just debating a similar decision between POFQ and Pop. I ended up going with POFQ (for about $400 more) mainly because my kids really wanted a hot tub and pool slide, and DH and I like the idea of the boat to DS.

 

[supitscarrie]

For the sake of saving money, at that time of year, I'd probably go with Pop - all of the room refurbs should be finished there by then, while POR is still seeing refurbishment. I love the mods but for the sake of being able to travel multiple times a year, I tend to stick with Pop as often as possible!

On the bus end of things, did you know you can now check the wait times via the app? Huge benefit regardless of where you're staying.

 

[TOBS2010]

We love staying at POR. Stayed there last time with my 2.5 year old and going back this summer with my now 5.5 year old and 2.5 year old. We never had a problem with the busses and relied on them the entire stay. Yes, there are a few stops around the resort---but they are quick and only take an extra few minutes. The drivers drive quick around the resort to pick-up and drop-off. At the end of the night all of the busses are packed and crazy going back to the resorts at park closing. POR was really nice----we loved that it was a little more spread out. It was a nice break to have from the crowds at the parks. They have a great convenient store, we loved their food court and having the choice of the big pool with the slide (a hit with my kids) or the quiet pools (especially on a laundry day) was a nice option. If POFQ has a similar deal you could try that out---they only have the one main building bus stop. Certain times of the day/year POFQ will share a bus with POR---but these are during low crowd periods.

 

[SarahC97]

I have stayed at POR twice and thought the buses were great each time. But I also requested a room close to the west bus stop, which is the first pick up and drop off, so that made life a bit easier. But as far as timing of buses and convenience, I've thought that the POR buses were just as good as any other resort.

 

[zobow02]

I've stayed at both but I prefer POP, but in some instances I prefer POR. You said your main concern was the busses, it's pretty hard to say which has better service so I'll do pros and cons
POR pros: It stops at your rooms building so not much walking is needed, the bus stop is shaded
cons: the bus stops at EVERY building in the resort which ought to stink if your the last stop, they also (not VERY often) share a bus with FQ so could potentially be crowded

POP pros: never shares busses, only one stop
cons: might need to walk a bit more to your room depending on what building your in and also this resort is more of a child friendly resort so you will encounter (many of what I call) stroller parents fighting to get on the bus first or sit in the front of the bus first because they have a stroller, not very shaded where you wait for the bus.

I know some of the pros and cons are very minors (like having shaded areas) however I thought you'd like to know that
Honestly if I were you though... I would pick POP. I even enjoy all the big statues and I'm not a little kid lol!

 

[Cinderumbrella]

I like them both but for different reasons.

But if you’re number one concern is buses, then Pop all the way. It’s one stop, it’s a queued line. Don’t waste the money on a preferred location either. It’s not that big of a resort.

 

[a1tinkfans]

We are going to DW for the first time this October, My wife and I are taking our 4 year old daughter. We originally planned to stay at Pop but have just found a good deal on POR. The difference in price is about $300-400 total for 6 nights (depending on preferred room or not at Pop.) The groundd look so much nicer at POR but we weren't really planning on a TON of resort time. I'm sure our daughter would like the large icons around Pop but I'm not factoring that in too much.

My main concern is the buses. I felt good about staying at Pop because of all the good things I had heard about their buses. So now when considering POR I am concerned because I have read not so great things about it. I'm worried about spending more for a better resort that we might not sures tons of time at especially if the buses are wisew.

So with Pop being cheaper and supposedly having better buses, is POR worth it? It also looks like POR will be doing room refurbishments.

POR in a heartbeat, preferred location ( bldg 14, 18 my favs) being the best choice for food, pool, south depot. Returned recently and no issues with buses. You can See the times on the updated MDE app, a must have for easy planning.
So many pluses to POR.. no comparison imho
Enjoy, wherever u choose.

 

[disny_luvr]

We are at POR now and the busses have been great! No issues whatsoever. I had read very negative reviews about the busses and my worries were for nothing. We are loving our time here. I’d pick POR any day over POP. We stayed at POP once and did not like it. To me it’s chaotic, but the biggest downside is the small rooms. POR is so relaxing and peaceful. Food court is great and the pool is fun!