POP vs. Moderate Resorts

[Bubsy]

Dear All,

I have booked my WDW vacation at POP, but after reading this board and doing some research, are having second thoughts and am considering upgrading to a moderate resort and would appreciate your advice and input.

Which moderate resort is the best in terms of prompt bus transportation, especiallly first thing in the morning in order to get to the parks at when they open?

Also, which moderate is the best in terms of quietness?

Lastly, what are the "quiet" buildings in POP that are close to the busses?


Thanks and have a magical day!


Bubsy

[mechanic]

Buses are what they are. Sometimes on time sometimes slow. Some are shared some dedicated. Depends on crowd levels and time of day. All bus service starts up same time every morning. Some moderates are very large and. Busses get crowded. Like CB. If you pick something centrally located that could improve bus time. Also rooms that are close to bus stops tend to be noisier because of the location.
Pick your resort first. Then look at the resort map and bus locations. Some have more than one pickup point. For quiet rooms choose an area away from lobby and pools . I would pick 70's south wing or 80's east wing. Close
to bus stop and away from pools.
When are you going?
Some special rates being offered on por for summer season.

[Bubsy]

Hi.

My trip is June 21 - 25 and I have booked a preferred room at POP. I have learned that these are rooms do not have a pool view. I have requested a room in the 60's building overlooking the lake.

If I change my reservation, I am also interested in a moderate resort, such as, Port Orleans French Quarter, as I have learned that this is much quieter than POP and the values, but comes with an increase of $300+

Is it worth it?

My concern for the busses is in the morning, as I plan on getting to the parks when they open and stay until closing.

Any input and advice is greatly welcome and appreciated.

Thanks.

[debbymc4]

I stayed at Pop in December. It's been years since I stayed at the French Quarter. I liked it, but, no...I don't think it's worth 300+ dollars. Unless something has changed, the busses stopped many times at FQ, and they were shared with Riverside, so if you were a later stop, you stopped A LOT. With POP, there is only the bus stop at the front of the hotel. I didn't have any real trouble with noise there, which seems to be what people are concerned about.

[floridamom]

I agree with PP that bus transportation isn't necessarily better at the moderates than at Pop. POFQ is nice and more compact than the others, but if you plan to be at the parks from opening to closing, you probably won't have much chance to enjoy the amenities.

POFQ does have boat access to Downtown Disney, which is helpful.

[A Big Kid]

POFQ has one bus stop. Sometimes it would head over to Riverside after picking up at FQ but I am not sure when/how that decision was made.

For us, +$300 (and even more) is worth not staying at a value resort. After dealing with hectic and chaotic parks, we like to go "home" and relax.

POFQ is by far the smallest moderate resort. We just left there in January after being away for several trips and we questioned why we havent been back sooner.

[mgmnut]

We stayed at POFQ in 2006 and found it to be a very quiet resort. I only recall the bus swinging through Riverside once during our trip so I don't believe the busses are always shared. The boat to DTD is great. POFQ does not have a TS restaurant but you can just go over to Riverside.

I wouldn't hesitate to stay at POFQ again, I loved the fact that it was such a small resort. Not to mention the rooms were rehabbed a couple years ago.

[cajundisneyfreak]

I have stayed at Pop Century 3 times now.It is my favorite value resort.You mentioned that you have booked a room in the 60's section facing the lake.Keep that.It is a great location in a quiet section.In my opinion the foodcourt has a better variety of food.The bus service is good.They don't share with any other hotel like the All Star Movies,Music,and Sports.I know people complain about paper thin walls but I never had a problem with it.You hear toilets flushing just like you would at other hotels.Besides after spending the entire day at a park when my head hits the pillow I'm out.lol Hope this helps in your decision making.Have a magical trip !!!!! :mickey:

[mechanic]

So if I'm thinking right its $75/night extra to go up to por. I prefer pop. BUT..if you like quiet time a bigger room and a more relaxed feel por may well be worth it to you. I like the themeing, and the feel of the value resorts. Be advised there will be big tour groups of teenagers that time of year. Mostly at the value resorts. The pools often stay open all night. Security will respond to complaints and quiet things down if they get too loud.
Think about your expectations for vacation. 300 bucks is probably a small portion of your trip. Is it worth it to you? The fact that you ask the question makes me think it would be.

[tjstrike]

We've never stayed at a value resort but I've always noticed the huge crowds that gather for the buses at the end of the night. They seem to have more buses but you still have to fight the crowd to get on a bus. You need to try both sides of the fence and decide for yourself. :cool:

[AmandaChan]

I do have experience with two moderates, CBR and POFQ.

CBR - I felt like we rarely waited longer than 10 minutes for a bus, and more than a few times we ran after it. Our building, though on the other end of the resort from the main bldg, often got dropped off first and picked up close to first (which I wasn't sure how that would work out)... but I think it often varies and everyone gets a fair runaround with them. I felt like CBR was close to all of the parks, especially Epcot.

POFQ - DH and I admittedly rarely got up at the crack of dawn for the parks when we went alone, but I hateeddd the busses there. That was my least favorite thing about our trip. It felt like it took forever to get anywhere and we went all over POR before we even left for the parks (now if you leave early in the AM, your bus will fill up quicker and you won't have to go around picking up other people... so keep that in mind).

It's just weird b/c with every single resort esp bus ones, your experience can be different day by day, season by season.

[LoveofEVERYTHINGDisney]

Over the last couple years I have stayed at both CB and POFQ. POFQ is by far my favorite resort. We (DH, DD &I) enjoy the quiet atmosphere after being in the parks all day. My DH and I went to WDW for our honeymoon some 23 years ago and stayed at CB. We returned to WDW to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary sans child and relived our Honeymoon with a stay at CB. I absolutely hated it! We did not get a preferred room and I think that was our first mistake. I have some mobility issues and the walk to the FC in the a.m. was a nightmare. Also were the busses. We waited at the resort 30 min. every morning for a bus to the parks and also leaving the parks to return. We were there in the middle of March and the parks were packed so I am sure this had something to do with it. As a matter of fact the day we checked out at CB a CM told us the resort was at maximum capacity. I will never visit during spring break again!
POFQ has a lot of dedicated busses and yes they also go over to POR ,but I have never experienced this as much as others have posted. We were always picked up first and let off first.
We are not "rich" people and $300.00 is a lot of money to us but the joy we get at staying at POFQ makes up for the money spent.