If this is your first visit my advice would be different but
if you've been to WDW before and stayed on property then my advice is to stay at...
The Cabins!...Only with a golf cart. The best trip we've ever taken was at Fort Wilderness staying in The Cabins. We did the Hoop De Doo, Carriage ride, went to the horse barn, watched fireworks from the marina, played tetherball, sang campfire songs, met Chip and Dale, saw deer and wild turkey...the list goes on! The golf cart added to how much fun it was! Quick service is a little strange here. You walk into the buffet restaurant and order at the counter. We took ours back to our Cabin but I'm not sure where you would sit otherwise. There were a bunch of picnic tables. The "room" size is large. You basically have your own one room apartment. We comfortably slept 5 in there. My 21 year old sister was psyched about the bunk bed (deprived childhood, lol). I loved the boat to MK, peaceful. The Disney theme isn't in-your-face inside the cabin but we still love it because the other guests decorate their cabins and campsites. We brought Disney window clings for the Cabin's windows and put a couple on our golf cart so we knew which one it was. It was awesome! If you opt against a golf cart you will be very far away from most things and not within what I would consider walking distance. One draw back was that the pools are very basic.
If this is your first stay and you DEFINITELY plan to come back, I would say Pop Century because you'll have so many choices to try later, you can only work your way up from here. I've stayed at Pop once and was glad for the experience but I haven't gone back. It is a massive resort so unless you pay for Preferred you will have a considerable walk to the lobby and buses. The rooms are small and there is a pretty standard food court. One "plus" is the Pizza Delivery, which is fun and inexpensive for late nights. First trips are a good way to get a lay of the land and figure out how stuff works. You'll likely spend very little time at the resort because you'll be in the parks the whole time so Pop is a good place to save money. They are in the process of refurbishing so chances are you will end up with a room that has a pull down Murphy bed, which for me is frustrating because if you want a table to eat at (which we do for breakfast every morning and put drinks and snacks on) the bed has to be closed but at the the end of the night when you're exhausted and just want to collapse you have to clear everything off the table to pull out the bed, so keep that in mind depending on how many are in your party.
If this may be the only trip you ever make to Disney...Art of Animation's theming is really cool and you will be immersed in Disney, which I love...but to me it's just a pricier Value unless you need the space of a suite. I did not stay here but my sister did and I visited her room. It was very cute but I could not believe how expensive it was and it was a bit of a walk from the lobby and buses. I did like that the exterior of the buildings were highly themed with giant statues everywhere. The food court was good but it was a food court so plan some sit down meals elsewhere in the parks or other resorts to get a variety of options.
So this is only an
opinion of the 3 resorts you're considering. I'm sure others have some great advice too! I hope this helps!
Enjoy your trip!
The lifeguards don't check to see if they're staying there?
