Should we spend the extra money to stay at Riversideor just settle for Pop

[goldnvalli]

We are going to Disney in Feb. 2013 during presidents week and I reserved Riverside, but noticed that Pop is $700.00 cheaper. I know that they will not be offering any promotions for that week. So I wondering if there is any benefit to staying at Riverside as opposed to Pop? Is busing more convenient? I would appreciate any advice.

 

[MistressMerryweather]

Love Riverside. Slide at the pool. Boat to Downtown Disney. Bigger rooms with queen bed, just refurbished. Walking distance to sister resort French Quarter where you can use the pool, also with a slide. Table-service restaurant. Campfire with marshmallow roasting. Carriage rides. Fishing.

But...at POP, you can walk across the bridge and check out the new AOA resort.

 

[Jenna319]

Depends on how much time you plan on spending at the resort. If you are just looking for a place to sleep, save $700 and stay at pop. If you have time to enjoy the hotel and it's amenities, port Orleans is the way to go! I love the boat to downtown Disney, the nighttime entertainment of yehaa bob, and the BEIGNETS!

 

[canopynut66]

we love POR and it does have the boat and the room a little larger and they have another sink but is it worth the extra $700 no...especially if your going to upgrade QS FD as that is $198 per adult to upgrade so if goign to do that might as well stay where it is included. for us we did it and are over to POP but we also love it there and do not miss the larger room or extra sink

 

[Ro Z]

We love POR. But we are 3 adults who enjoy the lounge and spend some time at DTD. We go to WDW at least 3 times a year. If we didn't go as often. I would pick the cheapest place because you won't be spending any time at the resort! We have stayed at the POP many times and had a great time.

 

[Sue M]

I'd say go tovallears.net and look at the resort pics of POR and Pop. Then you can decide which you prefer. They are quite different resorts.
POR rooms are larger, have queen beds, just newly refurbed, 2 sinks, fridge and coffee maker in room. Beautiful grounds, boat to DTD, evening entertainment, marina, horse & carriage rides. As mentioned, pool with slide, and quiet pools.

Only you can decide "worth" to you. For me yes, its worth it.

 

[Ro Z]

IMO It looks like this is your first trip. Just going by your # of posts!! I would go for POP and spend that 700 bucks in the park!

 

[spiceycat]

for 4 days and under - love Pop - for a week stay with POR.

 

[auntfrannie]

I love POR! The landscaping is beautiful, the lounge is very relaxing after a day in the parks, the food court has some very nice options, and the bus stations are covered.

It's been a long time since I stayed at Pop and while it was nice I wouldn't be in a rush to go back. The landscaping consists of oversized icons (a huge yo-yo, for example), I don't believe they have a lounge, the food court is huge but I still prefer POR, and when I was there (years ago) the bus stops were in the full sun or rain (maybe that's changed, though).

 

[polly p]

We love Riverside. It was our first disney resort, and as previously stated it has a nicer pool area, biggr rooms etc. Basically if you want a pool day or a down day at the resort then riverside will be a lot more enjoyable. My DH is not crazy about less than a moderate because he likes those extras. it depends on what you plan on doing. allearsnet.com does a great job with hotel descriptions and lots of pictures.

Good luck choosing and have a great vacation! We will be there that week too!

 

[MrEVILdrPorkchop2u]

We have stayed at both hotels. However, we have stayed at POR MANY times and have only stayed at POP ONCE. We were going with friends and that was where they wanted to stay. I'm glad we tried it, but won't go back unless it was allvwe could afford for that trip. For us, we love the feel of POR. We love the fact of larger beds and 2 sinks in the morning when trying to get ready. The grounds are wonderful at POR. Our kids are almost 18 and almost 12. Maybe if our kids were younger, I'd pick POP. We also found that POP seemed louder to us. It's a great resort just not for us. Either way, they are both great places.

 

[Masonmj84]

It depends a lot upon your budget and tastes.

I personally believe POR is currently the best bang for your buck of any Disney resort, in part, due to the newly refurbished rooms (in addition to the boat to DTD as well as all of the other mod ammenities lacking in the value resorts).

In our case, we don't care for the theming of the value resorts (find the theming of the mods & deluxes MUCH more appealing). So if we couldn't at least afford to stay mod, we probably wouldn't go.

So I'd vote POR every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

 

[bear_mom]

For us, no it isn't worth the extra to stay at POR.

We have stayed at both and would rather save the money and stay at Pop. We aren't in the rooms enough to justify the extra cost. The pools at Pop are fun and dds don't seem to miss the slides. We like the themeing at Pop, walking around and seeing the larger life icons is neat.

As for busing, I think Pop has great bus service. The lines are out in the sun, but the are set up as lines which I prefer. There were several times at both POR and CBR where we would be the first or second ones at the bus stop and then barely made it on the bus due to no lines (twice we didn't get on the bus and had to wait for the next one). This was very stressful for me.

Emily

 

[chimilady]

I was just dealing with this last week! We were booked at Pop, and due to a long story, we had to change resorts and had to upgrade to POR. I have to say, I know POR has a large following, but when I look at photos, I don't love it. I loved Pop. It's going to be hard for me to make the switch, but I'm sure that once I'm there the pictures won't do the place justice. I wanted the giant figures. Pop also has a cult following, so check out their page. For me it was only a $200 price difference, so for $700, that would make me switch.

 

[1Jackpot]

I love POR. Can't think of one negative thing about it. The pool is great, food court is delicious. If it were me, I'd spend the extra money and enjoy the great amentities!

 

[dzorn]

We are going to Disney in Feb. 2013 during presidents week and I reserved Riverside, but noticed that Pop is $700.00 cheaper. I know that they will not be offering any promotions for that week. So I wondering if there is any benefit to staying at Riverside as opposed to Pop? Is busing more convenient? I would appreciate any advice.

It does really depend on how much time you spend at the resort. Riverside has several pools. Main pool has a slide. You can also use the pool at FQ. POR has the boat to DTD wish is a nice ride. I think POR now has queen beds while POP had doubles.

If you are only in the room to sleep/shower save the money.

Denise in MI

 

[marykatmp]

I don't think it is worth a $700 difference. We are checking in Sunday and the difference between POP and POR was $250 and then another $200 up to AKL because it is value season and there are substantial discounts. That is a huge cost difference. Save staying at POR for another trip when you can get some discounts.

 

[kydisfan]

We are staying at POR in early Oct. The main reason was it was a very small cost difference between it and a value resort. The Royal Guest Rooms were a big draw for my wife. We might go swimming one time while there but we love the looks of the POR. For a few hundred I felt like it was a good move.

 

[Sunnywho]

We are booked for POR since it is the cheapest available onsite option now that we are a family of 5. For us it is about a $700 difference also, and not the choice I would have made if a trundle bed were available in any of the regular value rooms.

I had no issues with the buses at Pop during a previous stay there. I have heard that the busing is poor at POR because the buses often stop at POFQ first, so the seats are more likely to be taken when they arrive at POR. There is shade for the busing at POR and more bus stops around the resort but no line-up queue. It depends on which park you're visiting but overall I think the bus trips are equally quick from either resort.

We would take POP over POR if it were an option for us and pocket the $700 difference!

 

[goldnvalli]

We are booked for POR since it is the cheapest available onsite option now that we are a family of 5. For us it is about a $700 difference also, and not the choice I would have made if a trundle bed were available in any of the regular value rooms.

I had no issues with the buses at Pop during a previous stay there. I have heard that the busing is poor at POR because the buses often stop at POFQ first, so the seats are more likely to be taken when they arrive at POR. There is shade for the busing at POR and more bus stops around the resort but no line-up queue. It depends on which park you're visiting but overall I think the bus trips are equally quick from either resort.

We would take POP over POR if it were an option for us and pocket the $700 difference!

So, you think the buses at Pop are more convenient than POR?