Por vs.popcentury

[Wolf]

Okay yall! I have another question! I am currently planning a 10 day in October for me and Moma Wolf. I only have Pop Century and Polynessian as references to size really cause thats the only places we have stayed and on the side of not going into debt I'm afraid we cannot stay Poly for 10 days. Backstory time: We have stayed at Pop Century 6 times, from 3 months after it opened on our first trip to 2009, the last 3 trips we stayed there we noticed a solid decline in service, niceness, and general magic..Thus why I suprised her with the Poly upgrade last trip. So I was considering shooting for a moderate for our 10 day trip, closer to parks, maybe better transportation (help me with info on that if yall could, please?) and maybe more magic than we felt at POP. Which Moderate would be good for us, we spend very little time in the room and mainly just want to be able to get to the resorts in the morning and get home at park closing without too much trauma, decent food options for early in the mornings and maybe something we could snag late on our way in? Also the one big one is Moma has a bad knee and can't do stairs at all, so the rooms have to have elevator access (We always request bottom floor but I like to have a back up plan just to be safe) and close to bus stops is a huge plus. Going back to Value is something I've definently considered but the last few times we were at PC just broke my heart..K so I kinda got off on a tangent. My intial question was meant to be I hear alot about size of POR and how does that size up to Pop in reference to bus stop distance and such? Also with moderates how do the busses relate in terms of crowds?

What should I do yall??

[Ricbr]

I can only tell you about POR and the Coronado. Those are the only Moderates that i have stayed at.

I love POR and would go back there anytime that I had the chance. They have a very nice food area with a ton of choices. The walks are not to bad from most of the buildings but it can get a little long if you are on the outskirts of the resort. But for buses it is not bad since there is 4 stops (I think it is 4) around the outer permiter of the resort. They have a very nice main pool and several nice quiet pools. They also have water activities (Fishing, and boating, and the ability to take a boat ride to downtown disney). You can even get a horse and carriage ride around the resort in the evenings. The buses to all of the major parks in my opinion was very good. I only have gone in the summer months when it is extremly busy and we never had any issues with catching a bus. Coming back at the end of a night is probably just as busy as any other resort. You get become very close with alot of resort quests at the end of a park night when riding a bus. :)

The resort also has two types of buildings (Bayou section and Mansions). The mansions have elevators....I dont believe the bayou section has them.

The coronado resort was not one that I would go back to. At the time that i went there was a major convention (there is a convention center in that resort) and it just felt to corporate during that time when I stayed. All I saw was people walking around with name tags or suits. It didnt feel like a family vacation....it felt like i was intruding on a office function :) This was just my experience and may not be others but you run the risk of this when you go to a place with a convention center.

I was also not a fan of the walk around that resort. We were on the opposite end of a lake that seperated us form the main building. That was a LOOOOOOOOONG walk.

[grumpypima]

We love POR and would pick it any day over POP! POR is a big resort, so a bad knee may be an issue. Others on intercot seem to love POFQ and give the size of the resort (smaller than POR) as a plus. In my opinion, you can't go wrong with any of the moderates, they are all lovely!! Good luck & hope you enjoy your trip..:mickey:

[GAN]

POR is a great moderate, although as someone mentioned POFQ is smaller and might be a little more manageable with a bad leg. My opinion is it is worth every penny over POP -and I like POP for what it is.

[cajundisneyfreak]

I would reccomend POFQ. We stayed there for the first time in June 2011.We absolutely loved it!!!! We were in building 5 facing the courtyard.In my opinion no matter what building you are in everything is close walking distance to the lobby,food court,pool,etc.I think this would be your best bet for the one with the bad knees.Hope ya'll have a magical time !!!! :mickey:

[forever a child]

I have stayed at POP, POR and POFQ. I love POR and it is my favorite of the three. The food court has the best selection. And I love the theming! That being said, it can be a place where you can easily get lost. I would recommend as others here have done, to maybe consider POFQ. It is smaller perhaps easier to navigate. I am sending you a PM with a website link so you can take a closer look at both POR and POFQ. Have fun deciding!

Oh, if you do decide to stay at POR...make sure you pay attention to the renovation schedule on the link I sent you. I personally would choose Magnolia Terrace. It is easier to navigate at POR and the renovation is already complete.

[Katzateer]

We used to stay at POR in Magnolia Terrace for years. We have stayed at POP the last few years.

Last year we went back to POR because we were with a group and were required to stay there. For the difference in price I prefer POP. We aren't in the room a lot and I don't think the rooms are any better at POR.

[Katzateer]

And the walking is less at POP and the bus service is better. We normally stay in the 50's section

[hauntedmansiongirl]

We have stayed at both POR and CS. We loved both of them for different reasons. As mentioned before, POR has a great food court and amazing landscaping. The buses are usually packed though and standing on the bus happens on a regular basis. Because CS is a convention resort, we found the bus lines to be much shorter and we rarely had to wait for a bus. CS was much quieter and was the first resort that we could sleep in everyday. It also has a business centre where you can access wifi for dirt cheap ($3.95 for 4 hrs).

The main pools at both resorts are busy, but the quiet pools off to the side are usually dead.

Another fun thing about POR is the boat ride to Downtown Disney. So fun!

We have found POP to be the cleanest resort at Disney. The biggest downfall for us was the noise in the morning. We couldn't sleep past 6am because of all of the racket.

All things considered, POR is our favourite moderate but we would go back to CS in a heartbeat. We would go to POP again, but it wouldn't be our first choice anymore.

Have a great time wherever you stay!! :mickey:

[disneymomma2010]

We have stayed at both and we will never go back to POP again. Not that its bad, just that we feel POR is so much better, and more peaceful. If walking is an issue you can always get a preferred room. That would guarentee a closer location. I personally do not think the walk from any location of the resort is bad, but I'm relatively young with no issues. I have not ate there but I have heard Boatwrights is good also.

When you make your reservations I would put in your requests to either be placed in a mansion because of the elevator or on the first floor of the bayou section because of mobility issues. Im sure they would meet your request.

One more thing, I have been at POR for the last two Octobers. The year before last was fine but last year the mosquitos were bad at night. I would bring some bug spray just to be safe, incase you wanted to swim at night or walk around.

[disneynarula]

I really love POR. It's just so nice and relaxing. That being said... if it's going to push your budget to the limits POP isn't that bad.

Are you going to spend time at the resort or are you just going to be at the parks all day?

[chrim]

On minor note about POFQ is that it doesn't have a sit-down restaurant, only a food court. But the same is true of Pop. Granted, the Pop food court is bigger and many have more variety than POFQ.

The POR Alligator Bayou buildings do not have elevators and even some of the first floors require a few steps to reach. So if you stay there request a room in the Mansions due to mobility issues. That said, in the past, I think the Mansions have been less popular, so getting a room there might be easy. Of course, half the Mansion are rooms are being changed in the Royalty Prince/Princess rooms which could change things.

Also not yet mentioned is that the Caribbean Beach resort does not have elevators either. All other Disney run WDW hotels (other than Caribbean Beach and half of POR) have elevators in all of their buildings.

Depending on destination and time of day, sometimes POR and POFQ share buses, but other times they do not.

The rooms at POR/POFQ are slightly larger than those at Pop (in terms of square footage). They also have double sinks in the bathroom rather than single. In terms of floor space, there isn't likely much of a difference any more since POR/POFQ have or are getting two queen size beds in each room, vs. the two double beds at Pop. Rooms at CS have either two queen beds or one king.

At Pop, rooms with a king bed are limited in number but no extra cost. At POR and POFQ, rooms with a king bed cost extra.

POR/POFQ have a few extra niceties like coffee makers, drinking glasses that are not the disposable kind, and cube fridges that are not included at Pop.

POFQ is small enough such that the only bus stop is at the main building (with the food court and front desk). The POR, CS, and CB are larger and have 4 bus stops, one at the main building and 3 at perimeter locations.

[bunkyg]

The values Pop, All Stars are geared toward families with young children and while I have nothing against small children, On a adult trip we prefer a quieter venue.

Por,Cbr and Pop are larger resorts with the inherent longer walking distances to food, buses etc. You also have to figure in the number of people trying to get on those buses. Yes Cbr and Por have multiple bus stops but if your not at the first stop its either full or nearly so by the time it gets to yours. And at closing well....

You don't say how you will be traveling to WDW but if driving your parking pass is good at the parks also so that would open up the larger resorts by negating the bus issues ( we gave up on the buses at Cbr and drove)

When all is said and done I have to add another endorsement for FQ . It's small, quiet, easily accessible by bus to the parks and boat to downtown and Por

[AJ Springfield]

We LOVED all of our visits to PO- Riverside so I would recommend you stay there. Yes, it is big, so you will want to request a room close to the main building, the parking lot, and the bus stops. Find a resort map (here or at another site), see which buildings are closest and request them. Tell them there are knee/ walking issues and they will probably accommodate you. I loved hanging out at the resort and listening to the music at night (there is a man playing a piano and telling humorous stories at the main building).