Will a Poly Lover love AOA or PoP?

[yolie912]

I am trying to go in September. I always stay at the Poly. Do you think I would like POP or AOA? They look so cute. Maybe I can do a split stay?
Any suggestions ?? Has anyone stayed at both?

 

[rustyanchor]

I am curious to see the responses because I'm also trying to decide between AoA and Pop for September! We have only stayed at Port Orleans Riverside, and I would LOVE to stay at the Poly this time actually but we're traveling with a big group who won't want to spend that much on a hotel room. It will be 8 adults, no kids, 2 to a room. I have heard that both resorts have decent food courts, but I'm wondering which is better, which resort has better accessibility to the parks (we will drive to the parks at least one day and probably take the bus the rest of the time), and which has better standard rooms. Sorry, not trying to hijack your thread, but I thought it might be silly to start another when you're asking the same thing...

 

[MinnieTink]

I have stayed at all 3 and here is my 2 cents Going from Poly to Value is a big step down. However if you are going to be at the parks most of the time and not hanging at the resort too much, they are just fine. We were at AoA about two weeks ago in the little mermaid section and those rooms are quite a hike from the bus stops after a long day. Pop has a similar set up but if you get a preferred room it's not too far of a walk. The rooms at both Pop and AoA are a lot smaller than Poly (unless you are going for an AoA suite, of course) I will say at both Pop and AoA the bus service was excellent. Never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus when heading out. (Usually more like 2 or 3 minutes) And when there are giant lines at park close I have seen on several occasions where they send multiple buses at once. Also we have never had any issue with cleanliness or mousekeeping at these resorts. Never had any noise issues either. If value is the only way the budget will allow a trip to WDW I would definitely stay at either Pop or AoA (but I'd be pining for Poly, WL or BC!)

 

[Mom2gymnasts]

We are just back from a mother/daughters trip visiting our cousin in the College Program and did a Poly/Pop split stay. We have stayed value, moderate, & deluxe in the past. This was our 1st stay at the Poly and we loved it. It was always so quiet and relaxing even though it was a holiday weekend and it never felt crowded. Even the volcano pool wasn't bad.

We switched to Pop for our last 2 days. Thought the theming looked cool and had wanted to give it a try. It was so loud!!!! We forgot how small the rooms were and how thin the walls were too. The girls both said they wished we had just stayed at the Poly the whole time. That being said we did walk over to AOA on our last day for lunch and both girls said they would like to stay there one time because the theme was so cute.

If we do a split stay again it will be value first then deluxe.

 

[vettegirl]

I have stayed at the Poly and POP. For the price POP was fanstastic, yes the walls were thin, but the it was super clean, great CMs, huge food court, pool is way bigger than the Poly's with super fun music, and the bus service was some of the best I have ever had at WDW.

 

[yolie912]

I am curious to see the responses because I'm also trying to decide between AoA and Pop for September! We have only stayed at Port Orleans Riverside, and I would LOVE to stay at the Poly this time actually but we're traveling with a big group who won't want to spend that much on a hotel room. It will be 8 adults, no kids, 2 to a room. I have heard that both resorts have decent food courts, but I'm wondering which is better, which resort has better accessibility to the parks (we will drive to the parks at least one day and probably take the bus the rest of the time), and which has better standard rooms. Sorry, not trying to hijack your thread, but I thought it might be silly to start another when you're asking the same thing...

No worries...

@minnietink--Which one was your favorite from AOA and POP?

 

[OLIVIA'S DADDY]

The transportation will be your biggest problem! However, we don't spend too much time at the hotel anyway, but, judging from staying on the monorail, and then at a non-monorail resort there is a hge difference. !0 minutes waiting for a bus then 10-20 minutes more riding the bus depending on where you are staying. It is ok for a few days, and I do enoy resort hopping/sightseeing but if you are staying for more than a few days it becomes a pain in the butt in my opinion. We just stayed 11 days at
AKL-Kidani and it just became an aggravation after a while. Long bus rides and waits are too tedious when you could be at the parks enjoying yourself. Hope this helps, I know all the resorts are nice but convenience on vacation is what I enjoy. Split stay sounds like it would work, enjoy the resort and then get out after a few days.

 

[MinnieTink]

No worries...

@minnietink--Which one was your favorite from AOA and POP?

They are both very similar. I can compare the LM rooms vs preferred rooms at Pop. Out of those, I would choose Pop, and that is because of the distance from the standard AoA rooms to the bus stops, food court, and lobby areas. I also found that, because of the number of people who can stay in a suite, there were more crowded areas at AoA. The busses, tho quick and plentiful, were almost always standing room only at AoA.

So for standard rooms, I go with Pop.

Hope this helps

 

[rustyanchor]

I think I might be leaning toward Pop now... With 8 adults in our group, I'm afraid that AoA will have too much of a "kiddie" feel. I'm trying to imagine some of my boyfriend's late-20s buddies having to bunk together in a Little Mermaid room. Oh, and I really want to try the tie-dye cheesecake at Pop!

 

[hgeisler]

We are just back from a mother/daughters trip visiting our cousin in the College Program and did a Poly/Pop split stay. We have stayed value, moderate, & deluxe in the past. This was our 1st stay at the Poly and we loved it. It was always so quiet and relaxing even though it was a holiday weekend and it never felt crowded. Even the volcano pool wasn't bad.

We switched to Pop for our last 2 days. Thought the theming looked cool and had wanted to give it a try. It was so loud!!!! We forgot how small the rooms were and how thin the walls were too. The girls both said they wished we had just stayed at the Poly the whole time. That being said we did walk over to AOA on our last day for lunch and both girls said they would like to stay there one time because the theme was so cute.

If we do a split stay again it will be value first then deluxe.

This!