POP Quiz

[bkfree]

We just found out that my nephew is getting married in Florida, right near WDW the Sat. after Thanksgiving. We are contemplating trying to combine the wedding with a few days at Disney on the cheap.
We have only ever stayed at deluxe level, Animal Kingdom Lodge and Yacht Club being our favorite, but feel for this trip we will try out a POP value resort. I am thinking about Pop Music-but really have no idea about the real differences between them. Our kids are 8 and 10. Is there one that seems to be less crowded(ha, I know). Please let me know your pros and cons about each one that you have stayed at. Would really like to hear from those that have stayed at more than one Pop resort.
Thanks

[egospotter]

I think that you are thinking about the All-Stars. Pop is just one resort with buildings dedicated to different eras in pop culture history (50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s.) All Star is three different resorts: Sports, Music and Movies.

I have stayed at All Star Sports and Music and Pop Century. Pop is by far my favorite. It's newer, neater, and more fun in my opinion.

Of the All Stars, from what I have heard, Movies is the best, but I haven't stayed there. I would pick Music over Sports, though.

[civilmousefan]

You're getting the VALUE resorts confused. There is only one POP CENTURY and three ALL STARS - SPORTS, MUSIC, and MOVIES. I've stayed at SPORTS and MOVIES. Keep in mind that the rooms are nothing special - but the resorts are fun for families. I prefered MOVIES because there seem to be more unescorted teens at SPORTS. Good luck finding accomadations and have a good time.

[DisneyFr33k]

I have stayed at All Star Music and Movies and Pop Century. Pop is by far my favorite. It's newer, neater, and more fun in my opinion.

POP is the best. Dedicated bus service just for that resort. All Stars shares. Movies is the best of the three, in my opinion. However it is the last stop with the buses - meaning they are full picking up and you wait longer to be dropped off.

We can't wait to get back to POP this October!

[DisneyFr33k]

Oh, I forgot to mention our DS had to be transported to the emergency room (he was fine, needing antibiotics in the end) and the POP resort manager came up to our room with a security guard to wait with us for the ambulance. She walked with us to the ambulance and told us she (Disney) would pay for the ambulance and cab ride back to the resort. It was very much appreciated during a stresful time like that!

[DisneyWizard]

Out of the All-Stars I would recommend Movies, but POP is really the best value resort out of all of them.

[disneymom15]

We've stayed at all 4 values. Pop is by far our favorite. It's always our first choice. 2nd choice would be Movies and it's a toss up between Sports and Music. We have ressie booked for Nov 29 - Dec 4. I beleive value season starts on Nov 29 so crowds shouldn't be to bad.

[EyeLuvDisney]

We are going to be down there around the same time. This will be our first time in December. The time frame is the value season but I have seen several posts indicating Pop Warner football going on at the same time. Most of the posts indicate that the values will be the most crowded. They also indicated that the crowds would probably be limited to the resorts and Disney's Wide World of Sports complex.

Now, regarding resorts. We have stayed at the Music and Pop. We love Pop and make sure that we stay there each time as it is our favorite.

One last thing to consider. Currently Disney is offering the Dining Plans for FREE during that time. The Quick Service is FREE for values and the standard is FREE with moderates and deluxe.

Hope that helps.

[bkfree]

Thanks guys, Yes I see that my wording was a little off. I did mean the Values.
I have it narrowed down to POP and Music.
Are they all the same in regard to food court, pools etc?

We went last year the first week of Dec and loved this time of year. We did not notice any thing in regard to the Pop Warner festivities or kids, but we stayed at AKL.

Just found out the wedding is an "Adult only" affair, so we won't be attending.But we are still contemplating another Xmas trip and a value stay. Free dining does help. If you stay at the value, can you upgrade the Free Quick Service to Regular Dining plan and if so, how much extra would that be?

[ransam]

personally i love the pop...to me a resort is just a place to sleep. but the pop is a lot of fun.

[SurferStitch]

We were just like the OP...had stayed mostly deluxe (GF), with a couple moderate stays, and tried Pop for a last minute long weekend.

We really liked it! Our room was very bright, clean, and much bigger than people had made it sound on here. We were very impressed. The food court had some really good choices, too.

We went back a year later and spent 11 days at Pop during December 2006. Again, we had a great stay in the 50's section (Lady building). No noise, clean room, and very short walk to the main building and bus stops.

I did have Pop booked for this December, but DH changed it to Poly because he loves staying on the monorail. Hey, I won't complain, but I would also have been happy at Pop.

[Ms. Mode]

POP is really nice, the pools are great and they have a spray ground too

[DisneyFr33k]

Thanks guys, Yes I see that my wording was a little off. I did mean the Values.
I have it narrowed down to POP and Music.
Are they all the same in regard to food court, pools etc?

We've stayed at Music and POP. POP is newer, the pools are better (IMOHP) and the buildings are situated so there is not too long of a walk even if you are in the back. When we stayed at Music, we were in Broadway - way in the back. It was a long walk for us - and we had a 4 and 6 year old at the time too. POP is much better for walking, buses, theming, pools and even the food. My DH swears the food at Music was really bad - but that was 6 years ago and we visited POP for the first time last year.

Good luck and have fun - that's the most important part!!

[clausjo]

We've stayed at all of the All Stars and at the Pop and like all of them. The only complaint about POP is that there is just one parking lot. If the lot is full, you may end up parking far from your room. Not too bad if you don't need anything from the car, but last time we were there my poor husband had to trek back and forth quite a bit. If you're not driving, Pop is a great place to stay!

[vws_and_disney]

POP is by-far the best value.