Value/moderate indecisions...

[marchingstar]

when it comes to hotels, I have a terrible time committing! Right now we (2 adults, no kids) are booked for a 10-night stay at POP for this May. We live quite far from WDW and airfare is pricey from our home, so we try to fill our trips as much as possible. But this also isn't a blow out, once in a lifetime trip (we stayed 9 nights at POR last year, and have a cruise/WDW trip planned for 2017).

We picked POP because of the price (with a tanked canadian dollar, this matters even more now) and because it seems like it has great bus service. But there are also some cons: potentially bigger crowds, less appealing food choices (I just learned today that there are no full sized Mickey waffles, which is how we like to start most days), less nice rooms (only one bathroom sink, harder/smaller beds, potentially less soundproofing). Plus our trip coincides with a cheerleading event, which means some of these cons will probably be even more noticable.

A room at a moderate would be around 500$ more for the trip (this doesn't break the bank, but with the canadian dollar tanking it really adds up). We loved the theming and rooms at POR last year. But we did have some difficulty with the size of the resort (the cost of a preferred room doubles the added cost), and the bus service was a bit spotty (and at most mods there's the extra time of multiple stops).

What would you do in this situation? pick one over the other? Give a split stay a try?

 

[pigletgirl]

The biggest thing for my husband and I, is that the value resorts only have double beds. DH is 6'4 so it isn't comfortable for both of us. If it's a $500 upgrade, then it's about a $50/day difference. If you can find something you would like, I say go for it.

 

[Disneylover99]

Stick with Pop. We've stayed there three times now and have loved it every time. We love it more then POFQ and POR. The food court is great and it's an easy walk over the bridge to eat at AofA.

 

[Amanda999]

FYI While Pop does have Pop waffles (round), they are small size only now. The larger ones are gone (as of January at least). They no longer even have the small mickey waffles for the kids meals. I.e., the sole waffles at pop now are the small round pop waffles. (DS doesn't want to stay here again due to the lack of mickey waffles! We'll be at asmo next time.)

 

[FFMickey]

It all depends how much time you are planning to be in the room. Since it's just going to be two adults, you can request a king size bed at Pop, but it's just a request. No up charge for the king bed. We did that and got a king bed in an accessible room so we traded a bathtub for the bed which was worth it in my book. I can't say whether or not the upgrade to a mod would be beneficial since I have not stayed at a mod before.

 

[FantasiaMagic]

If you can find a moderate resort that you really like and can see you and your family enjoying, I would switch! If not, then just stay at POP, I have hard good things, and you can also walk over to AoA and check out what that resort has to offer, including their food court, LoF.

 

[OurLaughingPlace]

Stick with Pop. We've stayed there three times now and have loved it every time. We love it more then POFQ and POR. The food court is great and it's an easy walk over the bridge to eat at AofA.

We are big fans of POFQ/PORS and stay here almost every year; however, we also LOVE POP. We have stayed there and were very happy. We liked walking along 'Memory Lane' and looking fondly at things from our past. The walk along the water is lovely and the walk to AofA is nice. We loved the food court at AofA. It has a lot of variety and build your own stations (salad, burgers, pasta). POP is great value. I would save that $500 (and as a fellow Canadian, I totally understand the exchange pains) for souvenirs / meals. The bus stop at POP was great too. You might want to request a room overlooking the water (away from the loud pools). It's Disney ... you'll be happy no matter where you choose to stay.
Have a great trip!

 

[Kevin355]

We checked out Pop a couple of years ago to see what it was about. Too many kids...it was early June. Nice resort per se, but I want to go to a pool where I am the youngest person...I am 51. When I go on vacation now, I want to avoid a lot of kids.

 

[Thing 1]

It took us a while to discover moderates, but we fell in love with them. We have done values, including pop and they are fine. We even did one recently for a long week-end. We tried deluxe and while we love that, it is so expensive that it limits the number of trip....enter moderates. We are huge fans of CSR. It is just so much nicer than a value. For two adults, I would for sure spend the extra money to do so. Even as a preschooler, my kids preferred it to pop.

 

[Ceryssa]

I haven't stayed in the values, so it's possible I don't know what I'm missing. What I do know is I wouldn't spend 10 nights in a double bed that's probably uncomfortable (we sleep in a king at home, so that's just way too far of a downgrade for us). I wouldn't sleep well, which means I wouldn't enjoy myself; I'd literally stay home if that was my only option. If it's not that drastic of a deal for you, maybe try it. But from the factors you've listed it sounds like you already know you probably won't be thrilled staying there. Maybe try a split stay? Or a shorter amount of time at a moderate instead, since you said you do plan to go back. I'm in the minority I know but a shorter stay at a hotel I enjoy is a better option for me than a longer one where I'm uncomfortable. But that's not everyone

 

[DizDaD7]

when it comes to hotels, I have a terrible time committing! Right now we (2 adults, no kids) are booked for a 10-night stay at POP for this May. We live quite far from WDW and airfare is pricey from our home, so we try to fill our trips as much as possible. But this also isn't a blow out, once in a lifetime trip (we stayed 9 nights at POR last year, and have a cruise/WDW trip planned for 2017).

We picked POP because of the price (with a tanked canadian dollar, this matters even more now) and because it seems like it has great bus service. But there are also some cons: potentially bigger crowds, less appealing food choices (I just learned today that there are no full sized Mickey waffles, which is how we like to start most days), less nice rooms (only one bathroom sink, harder/smaller beds, potentially less soundproofing). Plus our trip coincides with a cheerleading event, which means some of these cons will probably be even more noticable.

A room at a moderate would be around 500$ more for the trip (this doesn't break the bank, but with the canadian dollar tanking it really adds up). We loved the theming and rooms at POR last year. But we did have some difficulty with the size of the resort (the cost of a preferred room doubles the added cost), and the bus service was a bit spotty (and at most mods there's the extra time of multiple stops).

What would you do in this situation? pick one over the other? Give a split stay a try?

If $500 isn't much for you, it'll definitely be money Well Spent..Not that we are Value snobs, because as you can see, we've stayed 4 times in values..They were perfect for those trips, but once we went to mods, it opened our eyes to a whole new side..

CSR being are favorite.... It's basically a DeluxeLite for not as much money.

CSR has unique theming, with its 3 distinct areas...Casitas, Ranchos, Cabanas. All very nice...Plenty of food choices...Not Just FOOD COURT Food...It has one of the best Main pools, with 1 of thr longest slides on all Wdw resorts. Nice updated rooms w/ comfy QUEEN beds. Gorgeous night time scenery. & The best, Absolute BEST Bus service to and from the parks, out of ANY WDW Resort...Hands down.

POR is just a slight bit behind imho. That major drawback is the bus system..POFQ & CBR I just wouldn't do...Thats just me though...

Good luck choosing.

 

[tinkerbella16]

Stayed at Pop 4 times and we love it there for a value resort.. We have also stayed at CSR and CBR in the past. But we started staying at Port Orleans in 2007 and I haven't been back to a value since. I think the feel of POR/POFQ is just amazing and they have the boats to DTD. Riverside has one of the best food courts we've been to and they have the big mickey waffles and the small ones. The extra cost isn't HUGE like it would be if you were considering a deluxe resort. I actually feel like the mods are a mini-deluxe. The grounds are beautiful, the pools are nicer with waterslides, they have queen beds and that really matters for us. The beds at the values are really not comfortable. The extra space is nice and double sinks with more vanity room. Riverside and French Quarter sometimes share buses, but not all the time. I have never encountered horrible bus service at either.

 

[marchingstar]

thank you all! These are all great comments, and I really appreciate the input.

The biggest thing for my husband and I, is that the value resorts only have double beds. DH is 6'4 so it isn't comfortable for both of us.

The size of bed isn't entirely unimportant for us, but at 5'2" and 5'8", we certainly have a bit more flexibility than you, pigletgirl! hah.

Stick with Pop. We've stayed there three times now and have loved it every time. We love it more then POFQ and POR. The food court is great and it's an easy walk over the bridge to eat at AofA.

After posting my concerns, I realized even with all the cons I still really like the idea of staying at POP. I think it's got some great features that I'd love to check out.

(DS doesn't want to stay here again due to the lack of mickey waffles! We'll be at asmo next time.)

This grownup feels so similarly! I love starting most mornings with a Mickey waffle, and I've been looking forward to them since we started planning this trip. Does anyone know if they offer them for breakfast at AoA?

We did that and got a king bed in an accessible room so we traded a bathtub for the bed which was worth it in my book.

This is a great point, FFMickey. Was the accessible shower still comfortable to use? I'm really not sure if I'd mind the lack of a tub, but I do find the idea of a king appealing.

I would save that $500 (and as a fellow Canadian, I totally understand the exchange pains) for souvenirs / meals. The bus stop at POP was great too. You might want to request a room overlooking the water (away from the loud pools). It's Disney ... you'll be happy no matter where you choose to stay.
Have a great trip!

OurLaughingPlace--this is such a great comment. You're definitely right, anywhere we stay, we're still at Disney! With the exchange rate the price of the trip has really changed in the past few months, and while we could add another 500$ to the budget, we've already added so much for the exchange rate. And the bus service was a huge reason we picked POP even before the exchange rate tanked.

When I go on vacation now, I want to avoid a lot of kids.

Even though we don't have kids yet, I don't mind them around, especially in common areas at WDW. The one concern this raises is noise-related. DGF sleeps lightly, so my bigger concern is sound at night. The best way I've heard to address this at a value is finding a room that's not pool view. Here's hoping!

But from the factors you've listed it sounds like you already know you probably won't be thrilled staying there. Maybe try a split stay?

I think I'm leaning most towards a split stay right now--I have some reservations about POP, and I would love to try another moderate, but I also don't love the idea of just dropping POP.

CSR being are favorite.... It's basically a DeluxeLite for not as much money.

I've been to WDW twice, once at CR and once at POR. I liked POR, but CSR has really stuck out to me this time around. The rooms just look so stunning! But the rooms there work out to about double the cost of POP. Looks like a split stay with a few nights at CSR might work well for us this time around.

 

[FFMickey]

This is a great point, FFMickey. Was the accessible shower still comfortable to use? I'm really not sure if I'd mind the lack of a tub, but I do find the idea of a king appealing.

It was fine for us. DGF loved the little seat in the shower to sit on so she could shave. The only thing is there's no barrier so water gets everywhere, but we never had anything on the ground when we showered. Noise wasn't too bad of a problem, we were on the first floor facing a heavily travelled walkway and no make noise issues. Just occasional loud bursts, but we had the cheerleaders abd the 15s. Nothing that warranted a call to the front desk.

 

[POOHsie]

I would split your visit into a partial stay at Pop and a partial stay at POR or POFQ. You could do half/half, or 60/40. I do love Coronado Springs (moderate), but POR/POFQ have the boat to Downtown Disney, and that perk alone has a lot of added value for your stay. Still lots of construction at DTD, but transformation into Disney Springs should be coming along nicely by May. Also, POR has Yehaa Bob on Weds-Sat evenings and his show is awesome.

 

[CounselorX]

We love Pop and will have a hard time ever trying anything else. I'm a bit biased because it's the only resort we've ever stayed at, but we fell in love with it from the first time we arrived. We love the food court, dedicated buses, hourglass lake, seeing AofA from across the lake, the generation gap bridge over hourglass lake, the walkways, the perfectly manicured bushes, everything. It's our home away from home now. For me, it's not really about the cost, although the value is an added bonus.

The only one thing I dislike is it seems like the Pop bus stop is the furthest walk at all of the parks.

 

[Amunet]

In addition to all the wonderful advice, I'd like to try to offer some too!

Consider (on top of bus service/food/etc., which you have already thought about) how long you will be on resort/in room.
For us, being in the room is very important and (outside of budget) is our #1 concern; how are the rooms? For us, it's a themeing thing (also just 2 adults, no kids). We spend a lot of time in our room and prefer to have some nicer amenities/disney theming.
If you're like us, you may want to think about that. Granted, we've only stayed at AoA Ariel room for value, we're just not huge fans on some of the materials used in the room (yeah, picky) as well as all the kids.
BUT if you are the type to NOT stay in the room so much, enjoy it for the function of sleeping/showering and don't mind the kids ... then I think you're fine!

Another word of caution: PoP and value resorts are very popular with the cheerleading/tour groups, so you WILL encounter those more than if you were to move to a Moderate (they can still be at moderates, but not as much compared to values). Some people report they're not that bad, some report horrible noise/etc.
Just a little info! ^_^

I hope it helps and I'm sure you'll have an amazing time!

 

[marchingstar]

So I talked over the possibility of a split stay with DGF last night and suggested a 60/40 split stay at a moderate (I'm still leaning towards CBR). She suggested the alternate option of an 80/20 split stay at a deluxe (probably Epcot area). Either way works out to about the same cost increase, so now there's a new option in the mix! I'm not sure if it would be nicer to be in a mod for longer or a couple days in a deluxe at the end of the WDW part of our trip (we're staying a few nights on US property before flying home). We're thinking Epcot area because right now our second last disney day is at Epcot, and our last is WP with perhaps the afternoon at HS. We've also never stayed at a deluxe in the area, and I love the idea of trying a new hotel. Decisions, decisions!

I do love Coronado Springs (moderate), but POR/POFQ have the boat to Downtown Disney, and that perk alone has a lot of added value for your stay.

This is a great point. We stayed at POR last summer and the boat to DTD was a great convenience (and it did make the resort feel a bit fancier). I'm just really feeling the pull of a new resort, but we'll see what happens! Thanks for the advice.

We love Pop and will have a hard time ever trying anything else.

I love comments like this, CounselorX! When I wrote the original post I was feeling a bit down about POP, but all the positive posts have reminded me why we chose POP. There are some great and unique elements about the resort that I'm excited to experience.

Consider (on top of bus service/food/etc., which you have already thought about) how long you will be on resort/in room.

This is a really great point, Amunet. Last summer we did return to our room for breaks about half of the time, I think, so we did spend some time in there. We tend to go pretty hard at the beginning of the trip (it's hard not to get in all our favourites in right away!) and then slow down a bit, so I think it might work well to do a nicer hotel for the second part of our trip. One of the real appeals of considering a deluxe for the last two days is that our final day is actually clear right now (except for a dinner ressie at B&C) because we were planning on using it as a waterpark day with a couple hours in the evening to do the few rides at HS we enjoy. So we could decide to focus on the hotel instead and get some good value out of a stay in a deluxe. Time to mull some options over!

 

[Ceryssa]

I think I'm leaning most towards a split stay right now--I have some reservations about POP, and I would love to try another moderate, but I also don't love the idea of just dropping POP.

So I talked over the possibility of a split stay with DGF last night and suggested a 60/40 split stay at a moderate (I'm still leaning towards CBR). She suggested the alternate option of an 80/20 split stay at a deluxe (probably Epcot area). Either way works out to about the same cost increase, so now there's a new option in the mix! I'm not sure if it would be nicer to be in a mod for longer or a couple days in a deluxe at the end of the WDW part of our trip (we're staying a few nights on US property before flying home). We're thinking Epcot area because right now our second last disney day is at Epcot, and our last is WP with perhaps the afternoon at HS. We've also never stayed at a deluxe in the area, and I love the idea of trying a new hotel. Decisions, decisions!

We did a CSR/YC split in November. The Epcot resort area is FANTASTIC. The split stay transfer wasn't difficult and we really enjoyed our 2 days at YC.

 

[Disneylover99]

I just want to add, we spent Christmas at Pop and the resort was booked to capacity. But it never felt crowded to us. The day after Christmas, a number of registration desks were set up in the lobby and all these teens started to arrive. We were scared. I'm not sure what the group was (not cheerleaders though) all about, but they were very polite. There were a lot of them during the day by the pool, but they were not loud and boisterous. Maybe the cheerleaders will be okay too?