What would you do?

[Jhondy]

We currently have 7 nights standard room at pop century for early January. I was looking at confirmed DVC rooms and for our stay we could either stay at POP

or

for 100 more stay at OKW studio for 7 nights

or

for 400 more stay at Saratoga springs standard studio for 4 nights followed by 3 nights standard studio at BLT

our traveling party is just 2 adults and a 1.5 year old. We will not have a car and be relying on disney transportation. If we keep POP we may add on park hoppers for one ticket (I have AP) so we can hop to EPCOT in the evenings. The others we wouldn’t add that on cause not as easy to hop but SSR we’d go to disney springs in the evening.

im struggling with this decision as we’ve never stayed at POP (or any value) and never stayed at OKW but have stayed at BLT and SSR before and liked them but at SSR we didn’t have a kid yet

 

[MICKIMINI]

I'd go for any DVC over a value...rooms are tiny, dark and claustrophobic IMO.

A split stay with a baby may be a logistical nightmare, especially without a car though BLT has its obvious advantages.

OKW is gorgeous and villas are huge. Request to be near a bus stop. Turtle Pond has a quiet pool and a bus stop and is our requested location. Enjoy whatever you choose!

 

[Julie Amber]

I'm going to agree that a split stay with a baby is a very bad idea. As for the rest, it depends on what you like and what your priorities are. I would honestly go with OKW which has huge rooms and ask to be close to transportation. We also really enjoyed Pop. The Skyliner and close proximity to pools and quick bites to eat at Pop were great to us.

 

[Jhondy]

I'd go for any DVC over a value...rooms are tiny, dark and claustrophobic IMO.

A split stay with a baby may be a logistical nightmare, especially without a car though BLT has its obvious advantages.

OKW is gorgeous and villas are huge. Request to be near a bus stop. Turtle Pond has a quiet pool and a bus stop and is our requested location. Enjoy whatever you choose!

Why do you say it may be a logistical nightmare for a split stay? Is disney not transporting luggage from one resort to another at this time? I haven’t even looked into that yet. I’m leaning towards SSR for ease of going to downtown in the evenings and split with BLT for ease of magic kingdom (although one of those days will be our Epcot day)

im worried about nap time in general cause last trip my kid refused to nap in the stroller so we had to be back at hotel for nap. I’d rather have one bad nap day then struggle with nap time the entire trip.

 

[Jhondy]

I'd go for any DVC over a value...rooms are tiny, dark and claustrophobic IMO.

A split stay with a baby may be a logistical nightmare, especially without a car though BLT has its obvious advantages.

OKW is gorgeous and villas are huge. Request to be near a bus stop. Turtle Pond has a quiet pool and a bus stop and is our requested location. Enjoy whatever you choose!

why is split stay a bad idea? I’ve never done one before so I know nothing. My concern with OKW is ease getting back and forth for nap time and then going back out in the evening to find something to do with limited park hours.

 

[a1tinkfans]

I wouldn’t be doing a split stay. Imho even
Without Covid concerns, time, energy and simply wasteful especially for shorter stays. I’d also not stay value and take a dvc option, preferably in one room without having to move. Whatever you do, enjoy and stay safe.

 

[unrequited23]

I would stick with Pop. It has a lot of storage options and kids seem to need so much stuff. It has a smaller footprint than OKW and it on the skyliner. The only thing that would make me consider a DVC is if you need a microwave and toaster in room.

As for a split stay, you are "homeless" for several hours. Check out is at 11 and check in doesn't start until 4, and sometimes runs later. You would pretty much have to count on a stroller nap for that day.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

for me, it depends. We have stayed at Pop and rented DVC. You are going to be traveling by bus everywhere at either of the DVC resorts(OKW or SSR) , and bus waits csn be pretty long right now. With a small child that might not be palatable. At the Pop you can use the sky liner for 2 of the 4 parks. There is a lot more space in a DVC room, but at pop you could fold up the second bed and really come out about the same, assuming the baby will use a pack and play. If you have a kid that goes with the flow and will sleep where ever a split stay isn’t that big a deal. If not, then it might be an issue not having a room midday. The Pop is a smaller resort, but has more limited food options. Both OKW and SSR are huge and walks to the lobby area for food can be substantial.

 

[Upatnoon]

The rooms at POP are tiny. You will appreciate having more space at OKW.

If it was 1 or two nights, I might save the money, but not for a week.

As for the split stay, I likely wouldn't unless it's a big deal for you to stay at BLT.

 

[Jhondy]

I think we’ve decided to do a split for SSR and BLT if it is still available. I just requested payment info if available. We loved BLT so excited about that part of the trip and we both enjoyed the ease of getting to disney springs when at SSR. Our main park is MK. We will be there 4 of the 7 days so none of the hotels are good for that (except BLT) and we may be able to add a day to my husbands ticket and go to MK in the morning on the day we leave if we stay at BLT.

i’m not too worried about being “homeless” for one day. For that day we will either do a late start day or take advantage of the baby care center and try to get her to nap there (or just have to deal with a crabby toddler for a few hours if she doesn’t nap and we don’t have a room yet in the afternoon).

I’m excited but trying not to get too excited in case the reservations aren’t available! But I’m really hoping that we will get to have a room with a balcony!

 

[DebLovesPooh]

I think it depends on whether your kiddo requires a hotel room for napping. If that’s a yes, then I would pick whichever will be easier to get back to for napping. Are any of the Epcot resorts available, including Swan and Dolphin? That walkability may make things much easier for you on those days you go to HS and Epcot. Or a split stay with one of those and BLT so that you’ll be able to walk back to the hotel every day for naps except for the one afternoon you’re hotel-less, which you could make your AK day since its not walkable from any hotel.

 

[Jhondy]

I think it depends on whether your kiddo requires a hotel room for napping. If that’s a yes, then I would pick whichever will be easier to get back to for napping. Are any of the Epcot resorts available, including Swan and Dolphin? That walkability may make things much easier for you on those days you go to HS and Epcot. Or a split stay with one of those and BLT so that you’ll be able to walk back to the hotel every day for naps except for the one afternoon you’re hotel-less, which you could make your AK day since its not walkable from any hotel.

I’m looking at dedicated reservations for less than two weeks from now so not much to choose from and our dates aren’t flexible. And these are reservations that are on sale making them very enticing. My husband didn’t want to spend 2,000+ on a hotel this trip which is why we aren’t staying at BLT for the entire trip. I love BLT.

My daughter doesn’t nap in the stroller...she barely sits in the stroller...and did terrible on the bus last time but she is several months older now so we are hoping she will do better with busses this trip and with sitting in the stroller.

 

[DebLovesPooh]

I’m looking at dedicated reservations for less than two weeks from now so not much to choose from and our dates aren’t flexible. And these are reservations that are on sale making them very enticing. My husband didn’t want to spend 2,000+ on a hotel this trip which is why we aren’t staying at BLT for the entire trip. I love BLT.

My daughter doesn’t nap in the stroller...she barely sits in the stroller...and did terrible on the bus last time but she is several months older now so we are hoping she will do better with busses this trip and with sitting in the stroller.

Good luck with the reservation! I hope it’s still available for you. I haven’t stayed at BLT yet, but it’s on my bucket list. Enjoy your trip!

Deb

 

[npatellye]

You’ll love BLT! The ease of the walkway to MK is amazing. We’ve never done a studio there because, with two kids, we opt for the one bedroom everywhere (except Poly, obviously). My kids love to hop pools over to Contemporary when the BLT slide is crowded. There’s a cute splash pad area at BLT that would probably be fun for your little one.

 

[Jhondy]

Well the BLT reservation went to someone else and nothing else lines up right besides OKW. So now, it’s OKW or POP. The OKW reservation (if we go for it and is available is now cheaper than our POP reservation)

 

[npatellye]

Well the BLT reservation went to someone else and nothing else lines up right besides OKW. So now, it’s OKW or POP. The OKW reservation (if we go for it and is available is now cheaper than our POP reservation)

OKW is also nice. However, most buildings do not have elevators so, if you bring your own stroller, you will need to bring it up and down the stairs if you don’t get a first floor room. We liked staying near the Turtle Pond pool at OKW.

 

[brockash]

We currently have 7 nights standard room at pop century for early January. I was looking at confirmed DVC rooms and for our stay we could either stay at POP

or

for 100 more stay at OKW studio for 7 nights

or

for 400 more stay at Saratoga springs standard studio for 4 nights followed by 3 nights standard studio at BLT

our traveling party is just 2 adults and a 1.5 year old. We will not have a car and be relying on disney transportation. If we keep POP we may add on park hoppers for one ticket (I have AP) so we can hop to EPCOT in the evenings. The others we wouldn’t add that on cause not as easy to hop but SSR we’d go to disney springs in the evening.

im struggling with this decision as we’ve never stayed at POP (or any value) and never stayed at OKW but have stayed at BLT and SSR before and liked them but at SSR we didn’t have a kid yet

100% $400 more and the split. I'm not a split stat person, but blt is awesome. I'd try to plan ur mk days around being there. You cannot beat monorail or walking back with the 1.5 year old in the stroller not having to pack anything up

 

[scrappinginontario]

A split stay to me has always felt more appealing until I get there. Once We’ve arrived and unpacked, we don’t want to move until we’re heading home.

 

[martikus]

I’m not a fan of the values. It’s a motel. I’d do OKW in a heartbeat.

When our son was little I was a strict sleep schedule parent. However on vacation we went with the flow. We never went back for naps as too much time lost. If he napped in stroller great (he almost never did). We would go rope drop until about 2/3. The back to hotel relax and over to DS for dinner. We never ever park hopped once we had son. Who has the energy for that. And then always had him asleep by 8/8:30 so we’ll rested for next day. That plan may not be for everyone but worked great for us and we had very minimal Melt downs.

And never ever a split stay. I don’t want to pack and unpack twice. Traveling with a kid is hard enough.

 

[SaintsManiac]

7 nights at Pop can be rough. I would go for the studio, because at least you have a little kitchenette.