Will I be okay at POP after Deluxes

[NBFUN]

We have always stayed at deluxes and moderates, AKL being our favorite, however it has always been with my parents, and them helping us out. However, Sept. 2005 me, my DH and DS are going for a family vacation (just the 3 of us) for a week and I was thinking about staying at POP. I have never stayed value, so I was wondering if any experts out there can tell me if I am in for a BIG difference. My DS will be 3 so I am thinking about what he might like best.

Last year we stayed at AKL for a week, savannah view, and I am thinking that by staying at POP our whole trip will probably cost as much as just AKL alone.

Thanks for any input

 

[maggiew]

I might not be the best person to answer as we have not yet stayed at a Deluxe resort. We have stayed at Values and moderates (plus the Dolphin). So take my answer with that in mind.

We stayed at Pop in August and loved it. But it is definitely not AKL Savanah view! I think you should ask yourself what you liked about the deluxes. Did you like having the indoor corridors to the rooms? Did you like having a sit down restaurant? Did you like the pool SLIDES? If so, then you may be dissappointed in POP since it doesn't have these. If you just want a nice clean room for the 3 of you, a food court, nice pools and water jet areas, etc. then POP might be ok.

I personally think your 3 year old would appreciate POP more than say the GF. Although he might miss the animals from AKL. But POP is so fun and bright and colorful that he would probably love it. You will also probably like looking at all the memorabilia.

Personally, while we could afford to stay at the deluxes we just choose to spend our money elsewhere. So, if staying at POP means a longer trip for you, I would definitely consider it.

Maggie

 

[alecam]

I also have never tried the values, but I just recommended POP for my friends first trip. It looks like such a "cool" place. Room size and restaurant choices seem to be the big reasons it is a value resort, but that would not deter me from staying there!

 

[sugermouse]

In my opinion, all that really matters is that you are in DW. When I think back on our previous trips, the best memories are the fun we had, not the hotel we stayed in.

If you ate staying on Disney property, Disney does not have a bad hotel. They are all magical.

 

[luvsTink]

I have never stayed at a deluxe but I have stayed at wonderful hotels all across the country. Last winter we stayed at pop and REALLY enjoyed it. In fact, it is highly likely we will return....during value season our AAA rate is 69.00... that is hard to beat. I looked at one night at AKL (before our cruise) and that was going to be over 300! Hard to justify for us.

We found Pop to be bright, cheerful, and very disneyesque. Our kids loved it. I don't think you will be too disappointed as long as you know what to expect.

Anne

 

[Sammy]

Personally, we love the mods/deluxes and now own DVC. That being said, if I couldn't go to Disney unless I stayed in a Value resort, you bet I'd still be on the first plane out. With your son being so young, I bet he'd get a kick out of all the wild colors and huge icons all over the place!

 

[ead79]

I have stayed at both Pop and AKL, and I enjoyed them both a lot. They each have very unique theming and that Disney magic.

I will say that there are some pretty significant differences between value resorts and deluxe resorts though. Deluxes have interior hallways, sit-down restaurants, much larger rooms, two sinks in the vanity area, queen beds, etc. Value resorts are a wonderful way to save some of the budget and still be on property, you must just be prepared for the different level of resorts. If you adjust your expectations, then you will probably love Pop. We actually moved from BWI to Pop just to check out the new resort. We just changed our point of view from "deluxe" to "value" and we loved our time at Pop!

 

[webray]

We have stayed at both AKL and Pop. Like you AKL is one of our favorites. There is nothing wrong with Pop though..the grounds are beautiful, the pools are great. Good assortment of food in food court. Inside and outside bars. We don't mind Pop at all when we are doing a lower budget trip.

Go and enjoy!

 

[AlisonB]

We stayed in a value (Pop) this year for the first time after staying in the mods and deluxes and we had a wonderful time! Our DD 10 said that she was hard pushed to decide if she preferred the Contemporary or Pop as her favourite Disney hotel!

Your 3 year old will adore all the larger than life icons....he'll have a whale of a time!

 

[jann1033]

there was nothing really wrong with it, the rooms were ok, like a basic super 8 or ramada class of hotel, a little noisy with kids running up and down outside, not much in room noise .it was filled to capacity while we were there and seemed to handle crowds fairly well. however we decided if we went value again we would rather stay at FW & camp as it is more peaceful and something Pop was just was not our style

 

[russellp]

*

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Think I replied to this somewhere on the board, but here goes again!

We've stayed at many Deluxe & moderate resorts - Poly is my fav, but loved the AKL Savannah view too. Stayed at POP last Feb in room 2456, 50's building B - we had a lake view/parking lot view (close for parking with kids) and could see Illuminations every night as well as other fireworks. We walked past a giant Lady and Tramp on the way to our room, and one of the pools is right there. Short nice short walk from front desk, food court and gift shop. It was a psych adjustment for sure and when we drove up I wanted to run to the enarest moderate or deluxe, but the CM convinced us to stay and we had a great time. Saved loads of $ which we used for special extras.

The rooms are small, but clean and new. Ask at check-in about towel animals for the little one - they told us they have the "power to make it happen"! Be prepared for plastic cups in the room! It would be fun to walk around the resort with your little one - lots to see for munchkins!

Definitely request a room location and call ahead! We met a couple who had not made a request and had a ground floor, back room facing bushes. I felt so sorry for them - and they were there for 10 days!! Had just arrived and looked so disappointed!

Hope this helps! You'll have lots of fun, spend the money saved on other wonderful expereinces. Just adjust your mind to the value mind set!
Christine

 

[zagafi]

As you can tell by my signature, I'm a deluxe girl. That being said, I really liked Pop! It's new, it's clean, and it's fun. And, it's at WDW. What else do you need?

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

and you've gotten some great advice.

Just adjust your mindset and you'll be fine.

And with all that extra money you'll be saving, go have a nice dinner at the AKL!!

 

[NBFUN]

I am really excited about going now. I think we will have a wonderful time, and like most of you said, we will be at Disney! I also think I will take the advice about spending the extra $ on things we have never done, one being dinner at Jiko's in AKL.

Thanks so much to all of you.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

This has gotten me excited! I leave on the 27th for POFQ!

Honestly, you'll have a terrific time at the POP - do prepare yourself for the difference and then after you check-in allow your senses to adjust. I did have to remind myself of the money I was saving, but then I enjoyed my clean room, evening view - daytime view is a little weird from the back of 50's B building, only because as someone else wrote, you can see the construction of the new section - but at night you don't notice and you've got Illuminations and more! I rememebr thinking if we were just down a couple of rooms we'd see even better, but cannot recall which direction would be better.

I will definitely go back at least once more when the new POP section opens. I've called to ask if they have a target date, but nothing as of last July. I want to make reservations for asap after it opens.

Have fun planning all the special things you'll do with the $ saved!!