Value Resort-Tell me why you love them!

[Luv2trav]

I am considering a quick trip to take advantage of the free dining. We are considering staying at POP. We have never stayed at a value but I would LOVE to give it a try and get the free dining!

We have 2 small children (1, 3). I am not worried about bus transportation because we will have a rental...

 

[dawgfan]

The values are vibrant and colorful. They are what a child would design if instructed to create a resort depicting Disney. All their favorite icons are brought to a size that is larger than life. The layout of each resort is a convenient ellongated design punctuated by lanscaping. They have a central common area up front where the bus stops and front desks are. There is a food court and store as well. Everything is convenient. The food court is large. It is usually bustling and loud. The busses run pretty well and I have only one time where it seemed to take too long to get a bus. The only minus here was the bus stops are a hike from each park exit and entrance. They are less convenient than the mods and deluxes. You pay for that convenience it seems. There are resort restaurants and more trans options at the more expensive resorts. The All Stars are also a good drive from any of the parks with exception to the AK. Overall they are a great value and wonderful in terms of theme. They are an excellent choice for small kids. As small as your kids are the Deluxes are often seen as a great thing as they are so very close to MK. The All Stars are a decent bus ride with a tired and fussy kid after a long day. To me thr eplusses outway the minuses though. I have switched to POR and POFQ though for even more convenience. I would recommend the All Stars in your case simply for the ages of your kids. We switched due to our adult tastes and the fact that our kids are older and more pool oriented than before.

 

[thelobstershanty]

I would not say we love them but we certainly do not hate them either. For the price for a quick trip to Disney they are a real deal. Having the meals included just sweetens the deal.

 

[foxtrotter]

Reasonable price, especially during value season.

Very 'Disney' in the theme-ing. Some people pooh-pooh the big icons, but they don't bother me at all, I think they're pretty cool actually.

Both times we've stayed at Pop we've had a lake view room at a standard price. Quiet and peaceful. On our last trip we were briefly in a pool view room (50's bowling pin) but had to switch from handicap accessible to regular room. It was louder on that side of the building but once you closed the door you couldn't hear anything.

Pop feels very much 'alive'. Lots of people, most smiling and laughing and happy. The CM's are pleasant and helpful. Classic Hall is sleek and clean.

Red velvet cake. Yum! Lots of food to choose from at the food court. Avoid the pizza though.

Pop is still pretty new and the rooms and pools look great. I'll be staying there for the third time in September and couldn't be happier!

 

[#1hockeymom]

For a short cheap trip it tells you you're in Disney 24/7! We loved Pop when we went last October! Great atmosphere and great food court!

 

[TDC Nala]

They don't cost much!

 

[dzneelvr]

The cost by staying at a values, we don't have to scrimp on any aspect of our trip. We've been an Allstars family since they were built and will be sharing our next trip with the Poly. I'm going to be interested to see if we then become a deluxe family

 

[EsmeraldaX]

I am considering a quick trip to take advantage of the free dining. We are considering staying at POP. We have never stayed at a value but I would LOVE to give it a try and get the free dining!

We have 2 small children (1, 3). I am not worried about bus transportation because we will have a rental...

The values are fine. We have stayed at every level of hotel service and honestly, I don't understand why people find the values to be so horrible. Pop Century was clean, quiet and we found the room to be large enough for the two of us. (Not that it matters but Pop had the best bus service of any hotel on site I've stayed at).

I think your kids will love it since it is very bright and colorful.

The only thing we missed was room service. We thought the pizza they deliver was pretty good, but missed having breakfast in our room. But I'd trade that for some extra time at WDW any day!

 

[hockey mom]

I love those huge Icons. I love the smile on my kids face when they see all their favorite movie characters larger than life.

 

[lbgraves]

I would stay at ASMo again. We have stayed there twice with no problems. I will NEVER stay at POP again! We just got back from a 6 day stay and rate it a 4. The walls were paper thin. The drink mug didn't include milk like it did at the ASMo when we were there 12/04. That left the kids with only apple juice to fill up their mugs with.

 

[fsu]

The values are great they are inexpensive, you can ride the buses, and the food court is great also. It allows a family on a budget to still experinece the 24x7 disney experience.

 

[TEK224]

I've stayed at ASMovies and Sports and like them both. I love the themeing and the icons. The pools were nice. My nieces and nephews had a blast. It can't be beat for the cost. The price is roughly the same as if you were staying in a Holiday Inn. maybe a tad more, but look at the service. The buses were ok, but could be tough after a long day at the park if you had to stand all the way back to the resort. I usually have a rental so the buses aren't a problem. For a family, they work out fine. The food court has many options. I'd stay value again in a heartbeat (although I'm staying at the Poly in January).

Terri

 

[bairdbeth]

We love Pop! My DD loves the 3 pools and the pop jets. The theming is all Disney. The food court has a good variety of food and bus service has always been good. We didn't find the walls any thinner or the resort any noisier than the All Stars or AKL. We left out luggage with them around 1:00, went to the parks and dinner and when we returned our room was ready with luggage already there!. We had 3 towel animals during our stay and our room was always clean. We will stay there again next July after our Magic cruise!

 

[bubba73]

They are fun, cool, and cheaper than the others. When you are looking for a place to lay your head down and that is about it, why in the world would you pay $150 or $200 a night when you don't have too?


Heading to POP and can't wait!!!

 

[NewEnglandDisney]

They are fun, cool, and cheaper than the others. When you are looking for a place to lay your head down and that is about it, why in the world would you pay $150 or $200 a night when you don't have too?

Exactly.

I do NOT go to WDW to have my bed turned down and care about anything other than a clean place to sleep and bathe.

I live in a popular resort town in the north east (where everyone from Presidents to movie stars come regularly), and I have resorts within a couple of miles of my house that make even the Grand Floridian look like a shanty town. If I was looking for that level of service I wouldn't have to go to WDW to get it.

With an AP, I have gotten rates at Pop from $49-77. It's a huge value, when combined with cheap airfare and the fact that I already have tickets it's a no-brainer.

At WDW I leave the room as early as possible, return mid-day for a shower break or a quick nap, and am in the parks until the last one closes and it's time to go back and get more sleep. I'm awake in the room for 15 minutes, maybe a 1/2 hour at the most daily.

I'd MUCH rather spend my money on things I'm awake to enjoy - Fantasmic! packages at Brown Derby, a special souvineer that normally I wouldn't buy, tickets to Circ, etc.

So while I understand that some people are looking for more, I prefer the value resorts (Pop specificly) because they do the job, have CM's just as magical (or MORE!) than at other resorts, and keep my vacation dollar from being sucked up by where I choose to sleep.

Plus, Pop does have the best bus service I have experienced at WDW, as someone said above. The All-Stars tends to have the worst, since they share busses the majority of the time - another reason Pop is the best.

N.E.D.

 

[Luv2trav]

bump! Anyone else?? I am very close to booking a free dining for Sept/Oct....

 

[disneyfanfamily]

We stayed at AS Sports 2 years ago and loved it. It was July and busy, but the resort did not seem loud or crazy. We are going in July this year and wanted AS Movies, but needed 2 rooms because we are a family of 5. So we are staying at POR.

We had our own transportation and it seemed like all the parks were not even 10 minutes away.

Don't know about POP, but I am assuming it is similiar to the All Stars. I think you'll have fun. It is very DISNEY themed.

 

[Luv2trav]

We stayed at AKL last February and always drove to the parks anyway. I don't think POP is much farther away than AKL from the parks...

I don't understand why people complain about how far the resorts are from the parks? They all seem very close to me when we are driving. Unless we are staying at a monorail resort then we are driving anyways..

 

[jjarman]

Our 2002 trip we stayed at POFQ and loved it. Then this past March we stayed longer and money was tighter so stayed at Pop. I can tell you that unless I win the lottery and could stay at a deluxe resort, I will probably never stay anywhere else again but Pop. You can’t beat the price. The rooms were just right for DS14 and me. The food court was good, not great but good. It could get crowded and loud but we enjoyed it. The gift shop was wonderful with a wide selection of things to tempt me. I didn’t swim but DS loved the pools. The outside decor was so cute. The bathrooms were a little on the small side. The best thing about Pop though was the bus transportation. We rarely waited more than 10 minutes for a bus to one of the parks. Once on a return trip from MK right after closing we had to wait about 45 minutes but it was only because there were so many trying to get back “home”. They kept plenty of buses running. I liked it that once I got on that bus I didn’t stop until I was were I was going. No sharing of buses. At some parks though, the value resorts are treated less than first class with the bus stops. We saw plenty of deluxe resort buses, who have the closest bus stop to the park entrance, leaving with very few passengers while the value resort buses were always packed. But I must say that at MGM they did move the bus stops around some days so the values didn’t always have to walk to the end of the bus stops.

 

[crazyj4488]

Read my trip report - 1st day for an excellent overview of POP from someone who usually stays in moderates. The link is in my sig. Then read part 2 of day 2 to read about a nasty thing that happened to me while staying at POP...UGH.

The thing I love about the values are, of course, the price. There is a long list of things I don't like about them though. The good news is that all Disney resorts are clean and better than most.