POP or POR

[Mrs.Jumbo]

The last several times we've visited WDW we've stayed at POR (with the exception of 1 short stay at Wilderness Lodge with just dh which was fantastic!). We're planning a trip for 9 nights sometime in August, 2008 and thinking of staying at POP because it will be more affordable.

Our family of 7 needs two adjoining rooms when we go to WDW and I think I figured out that alltogether it will only cost roughly $500 more to stay at POR.

Now, I'm trying to weigh other pros and cons of these two resorts and coming to you for help. What I like most about POR is the quiet atmosphere and I think I would be losing that at POP. I like the idea that POP has its own bus as using the bus at POR can take forever. Can you all help me think of other differences and share your preferences between these two resorts?

Thanks so much.

Lori

[Nicki'sMom]

Hi Lori,
First, I have stayed at POR and loved it. We stayed for 5 nights. I have never stayed at the values and I don't think I would for an extended stay either. Just because the rooms are so small and the conventions of young kids usually say here. My girlfriend stays at POP with her family but only about 4 nights at a time. She always makes sure that it isn't during PopWarner. When we were at POR we never saw or heard anyone else around the room. It was quiet and private. If you can swing the extra $500 I would go with POR. Remember too that Disney is changing their reservation system to charge according to day of the week so be sure to crunch your numbers with that in mind. Happy planning and I hope this helps.

[Pocahontas]

I know many people stay at the value resorts and love them, but I can't say I'm one of them. The rooms are nice and the themes are fun, but...
1. The food court was absolutely packed every morning. We even ate there one evening and it was packed then also.
2. Lots of teenagers! I have a great DD teenager, but I can't say I like being around large numbers of them. (Occasionally some of them can be loud and rude.)
3. Value resort was much louder than POR. I've always found POR to be a very quiet resort.
4. I stayed at ASMv and found the bus waits to be much longer than at POR. At times we had to wait for the second bus because the first filled up. I really never had any complaints about the bus service at POR.

These are just my thoughts and I know all won't agree, but our family doesn't plan on staying at a value again. We rather go less often and stay at a moderate or deluxe.

I hope whatever you choose, you have a great time!

[Mrs.Jumbo]

Thanks for the advice. Much of what you both said is along my line of thinking and I really don't want to stay in a loud, overcrowded resort for 9 nights with my 5 kids. I believe in building down time into our Disney trips because the parks are stimulating and exhausting for the little ones.

Now I'm trying to decide between POR and Caribbean Beach.

Decisions, decisions.

[Beach Club Babe]

I know you've already rethought a stay at Pop, but I would urge you to reconsider. Having stayed at both POR and Pop, for me Pop wins hands down! Now I have stayed at Deluxes, Moderates, and Values, so I can compare all 3. Obviously Deluxes are in a different ballpark, but I have enjoyed myself at all 3 levels. I have stayed at Pop twice now, and would not hesitate to do so again. I will probably never stay at POR again. Don't get me wrong, POR is not a bad resort, but having sampled others, it was definitely my least favorite of all that I have stayed at. My most recent trip to POP was just this past May. If you want to you can read my thoughts in my trip reports. Just do a search for Beach Club Babe's magnificent May Getaway in the Trip Reports Forum. Even DH liked it. It was his 1st time here and he can be a resort snob. Bus service was excellent and we had no problems with noise except for a night or 2 with a noisy neighbor, which you can find anywhere. Although it is a large resort, everything is still well within walking distance, unlike POR.

[SurferStitch]

I'm right with Beach Club Babe.

We've stayed at all levels. We've stayed at POR twice (really did not like it), at CBR once (loved it), GF numerous times (our favorite), and Pop twice.

We really liked Pop. Our room was very quiet. We were in building one (Lady) on the side away from the courtyard area. It was a short walk to the main building and bus stops. We also stayed in the 60's section once (Jungle Book), and also had a very quiet room there.

We would eat breakfast at the food court anywhere from 7:00 am to 9:00 am, and never really found it to be too crowded. We had our food and paid within 5-15 minutes, and the longer waits were usually because I couldn't make up my mind.

We MUCH prefer Pop to POR. We stayed at Pop last December (12 days), and never felt cramped. The decor and mousekeeping are fantastic, as well as the themes.

[Tink#64]

We've stayed at Pop three times & we love it! We have DS's 9 & 11. We like the fun, fun, fun all the time. We considered staying at a moderate last trip & we were concerned that we might be disappointed. They scream, nice, grown up resort to me. Somewhere else - YES, but not for us at WDW!I just don't think any of them say DISNEY to me like the fun theming at the values. But - if you already think you will be unhappy at Pop then don't stay there. This was what we decided last year. We're all different & we each know what we hope for from our visits at WDW, so don't set yourself up for disappointment if you can help it!

I hope you have a great stay where ever you choose!:mickey:

[WorldTraveler]

Although I have never stayed at a Value Resort, the food court and menu at Pop look to be very good. Pool with slide looks better at POR.
Is the $ difference worth it since most of the time you will be at water parks and theme parks and I would bet most meals will be away from whatever resort you stay at anyway.

[Scott C]

We were just faced with the same dilemma -- we chose pop. We probably made the right choice. I prefer POR -- but for the money POP was fine. One variable no one else has mentioned is the time of year that you might be going. After staying at MK 'til 2am -- it really does not matter where you sleep. In a slower time of the year when parks close at 6 or 7 and you have more time to spend at the resort I would probably stay at POR. But in the summer there is no time to enjoy the resort anyhow. I did find POP to be louder-but we were in bldg 2 overlooking the pool. POP is not as nice as POR, but does the job fine. BTW I really did not care for CBR - spent the week wishing that we were at POR.

Thanks
Scott C

[Mickey91]

I guess it really depends on what you want from your week. We have stayed at POR only one night on our way in to the Poly. It seemed to be a wonderful resort and we have chosen it for this year's vacation. I am hoping for relaxation and the quiet of the South.

When I stay at Pop, and we have done so for a full 9 nights without a problem, I expect excitement and fun. We have only had one problem with noise and that was from a room with way more people staying in it than was supposed to be. We even stayed on the ground floor next to the Hippy Dippy pool and slept fine! It isn't a relaxing atmosphere, but it is very Disney and very nice. For a quieter room and more relaxing feel, if you don't mind the walk, ask for a room closer to hourglass lake.

You can't go wrong either way. The food court crowd has more to do with season I think. Good luck!:mickey:

[MNMS]

My brother has stayed at POP on liked it and its does save money, but for us we like the pace and atmosphere of the moderates.

I know you asked about POP and POR, but have you considered POFQ? I'm not sure it has the adjoining rooms you need, but we've stated at all of the moderates and love POFQ the most. It is significantly smaller than the rest of the moderates -- everything is close by -- buses, food court, pool, etc. Like POR it has boats down to Downtown Disney. One of the nice things about POFQ is that busses stop there first on the way to the parks (so you always get a seat in the morning) and drop off first on the way back (shorter trip). The only drawback is that it does not have a sit down restaraunt (not a big deal for us)-- but it's only a ten minute walk to POR if you want to go to Boatwrights.