Staying at Pop when prior stays have been Deluxe - bad idea?

[KarenP64]

For those who say it's too loud to sleep at the values, would this still be the case with a sound machine & earplugs? TIA!

 

[buzznina]

Our family has had great trips at all the levels and I believe it comes down to the family. We love staying deluxe, but for us, we know we are splurging and not because we think it's worth the extra $$$. For a lot of people it's the "motel" stigma that they cannot get over, when we stayed at a Days Inn, I do not remember looking out my window and seeing a giant Big Wheel We spend a good amount of time at the resort, so it is important to us. But, our family does'nt need indoor hallways (at WDW only, we actually prefer the outdoor ones), balconies etc. to have a fun time. The main reason we have not stayed at a value in a while was because of the full size beds they offered, but now that they are converting over to queens, they are back on our list You do lose "SOME" amenities but there is still a lot to do. POP has movies at night, pool activities, arcade, 3 big themed pools, this month they have Arts & crafts, Tie-dye, scavenger hunts etc. As for restuarants, I can go to other hotels to eat and really do not need it in my hotel, but truthfully we rather have a very good food court over a TS restuarant. I found customer service pretty much the same at all the resorts we stayed at. So, again if you are the types that can have fun without needing extra frills to do it , then it will be fine.

 

[Magical2017]

We have stayed at all levels of Disney resorts, as well as all types of hotels, motels, and resorts at other destinations. Just know what you should expect. At POP, you get exactly what you pay for. It reminds me of a Holiday Inn, with Disney theming. Guest service has been excellent for us at all Disney resorts.

 

[Summer2018]

We were able to finagle our schedule to fit in another trip, only to find super limited availability during our dates. We've stayed at (and loved) YC, BC, BW, WL, GF and Poly in the past, but this time around, none of those are available to us. However, there are rooms available at Pop. I know the room will be smaller and less "fancy" (though renovated?), but that's ok, since there will only be 2 of us on this trip, and we're not super picky about the room being lavish, as long as it's clean.

If you normally stay Deluxe, but then stayed at Pop, were you disappointed and/or did you regret it? I can always stalk cancellations, but maybe Pop would be fun and different?

I personally could not go back to moderate or value after staying deluxe, but we only go to the parks in the morning. We spend the rest of our day enjoying the amenities at our deluxe resort.

 

[MomOTwins]

Thank you for the offers to help us find availability! Unfortunately, this trip would be over Jersey Week, and we've checked out Disney's site, magical deals, AAA, Costco, some of the other deal sites, as well as the usual travel sites, and unless we want to spend over $1000 per night (which we don't for this trip), Pop looks like our best reasonable option.

Knowing you will be there one of the most crowded times of the year, I would say don't do it. The bus situation will be hell.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

For those who say it's too loud to sleep at the values, would this still be the case with a sound machine & earplugs? TIA!

The loudest room I was ever in was at the BC. I could hear every word (I blame the connecting door, to be honest). I personally found the values and POR (the only mod I’ve stayed at) to be quieter simply because of that big thick door that also needs to seal from the elements.

 

[maxiesmom]

For those who say it's too loud to sleep at the values, would this still be the case with a sound machine & earplugs? TIA!

It totally depends on your room location and your neighbors. The loudest trip I had was at the Beach Club.

I have found at any resort to ask for a room #1 away from the pool #2 on the back side of the building #3 on an upper floor. I had all of those things at Pop and my room was super quiet.

 

[k5xs]

We are far from objective: Any day anywhere on WDW is better than a day most anywhere else.

We stay at the Contemporary once or twice a year, and do the 15th floor concierge level once every other year or so. We love it.

We love Pop as well, but for those several-times-a-year trips we just do what others here suggest by setting our expectations.

1. We aren't bothered by it, but Pop is a lot noisier that the deluxe resorts. It's particularly noticeable in the food court.

2. If you like browsing in the gift shops of the deluxe resorts, you will see that Pop is more spread out, noisier, and less plush.

3. While the CMs at Pop are as nice as anywhere (which in our view is very nice), we don't get to interact as personally with them as we do at the deluxe resorts. The pace seems more frenzied and they can't seem to dwell on the guests as much.

4. The food choices aren't as broad (no full service dining), but for the past few years Pop has taken counter service to a new (very good) level with a much improved menu.

5. Transportation is about as good. Lots of buses at Pop. (And better than at the All Stars who sometimes share buses.)

6. Pop is a lot cheaper, and that lets you do other fun things with your savings. We treat ourselves to Minnie Vans a lot when we stay at Pop, and that's fun.

 

[DLgal]

For those who say it's too loud to sleep at the values, would this still be the case with a sound machine & earplugs? TIA!

Yep. I sleep with earplugs every night, even at home. They did nothing to shield the noise of the explosive toilets flushing all around, the doors slamming shut at all hours, the luggage rolling by the door in the early morning hours, the housekeepers vacuuming and talking, etc.

 

[Sandiz08]

If you don’t like the motel feel, then you won’t like it. Pre renovations, I would say it might be a bad idea. Now you are working with renovated rooms so that is a plus. If you won’t be spending too much time at the resort, I would do pop.

 

[Mome Rath]

I think all Disney hotels are noisy because we live in the country. I always request the highest floor, and I have a white noise machine. I use it at every hotel I go to, no matter what "level." I've had the loudest stay at Beach Club...

 

[Luvs Mickey]

For us, it’s about the beds. Whenever I’ve looked to book a value for our family of four the only rooms I see with queen sized beds are family suites, which is the same price, if not a little more than a moderate so we never end up staying at a value. Otherwise they’re double beds. King bed rooms are also an option at a value but that option didn’t worked for our family of four.

 

[Disneylover99]

Knowing you will be there one of the most crowded times of the year, I would say don't do it. The bus situation will be hell.

I have always found Pop buses to be efficient and quick at the most busiest times of the year. Our longest waits have been during slower times.

 

[Mome Rath]

For us, it’s about the beds. Whenever I’ve looked to book a value for our family of four the only rooms I see with queen sized beds are family suites, which is the same price, if not a little more than a moderate so we never end up staying at a value. Otherwise they’re double beds. King bed rooms are also an option at a value but that option didn’t worked for our family of four.

All of the rooms at Pop are now either 2 queen beds or 1 king. Just a general thread FYI since they used to be doubles.

 

[k5xs]

I have always found Pop buses to be efficient and quick at the most busiest times of the year. Our longest waits have been during slower times.

I agree. We stay at Pop a lot, and the buses are well managed. And with the new screens under the waiting awnings, there is little confusion as to when the next bus arrives for which destination.

 

[dreamit]

I haven't stayed at Pop, but our last trip was at All Star Music after having recently stayed at the Polynesian. (I had actually been trying for Pop, but couldn't get it with the free dining deal.) While I had been looking forward to our trip, I was not looking forward to the resort aspect of the vacation. I was more than pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed ASMu! Of course, there's no comparing it to the Poly, but I actually wasn't comparing it during our time there. That had been my worry. I found that ASMu had a very different vibe than the Poly-- more of a "fun" vibe. I've since heard others say the same about the value resorts in general. I actually loved it. I will say that we didn't plan as much resort time at ASMu as we did when staying at the Polynesian.

 

[wdw4rfam]

We’re right there with you. We just went in April and used all of our DVC points. We really want to go see toy story and my sister is going with my nieces in September. So we looked at how cheap we could go and got a free dining package at POP. I’m a little nervous because we haven’t stayed in a value in a long time. Plus we just came off of a 2 bedroom at AKL and theme park view poly stay. So this room will feel really tiny. But we ultimately figured it will be better than not going at all. So we are going to lower our expectations and have a blast.

 

[rentayenta]

Not Pop but AoA for one night when it first opened just to check it out. While fun, I was glad we were moving to AKV the following day. AoA was a cute resort but it was very loud.

 

[Sarahslay]

I normally stay deluxe, and have multiple deluxe stays coming up, but both of my daughters wanted to stay at Pop for my trips with them this summer so that's what we're doing. I have already stayed at Pop once this summer, with my second trip coming up, and it was a fun resort. The only thing I didn't care for was how far we had to walk to get to the buses at the parks, the stop at both Epcot and MK are pretty much as far away as you can get, and there was always a huge wait with tons of people. We never have issues fitting on buses at deluxe resorts, but there were a lot more people so it made it difficult. That is a very minor issue that does not deter me from staying at the resort again. The new rooms are comfortable (mind you it's just myself and a child in the room, but I still liked it) and the theme was really cute. I might not pick it for all of my trips, but if I have to stay there I definitely won't mind.

 

[wdw4rfam]

The loudest room I was ever in was at the BC. I could hear every word (I blame the connecting door, to be honest). I personally found the values and POR (the only mod I’ve stayed at) to be quieter simply because of that big thick door that also needs to seal from the elements.

I’d agree that the loudest room that we’ve ever stayed in was polynesian, not the values. The soundproofing is terrible between rooms there. Could hear entire conversations if our tv wasn’t on.