Riverside vs. POP

[thauenstein]

We have 5 total in our family- 2 adults and three kids (12, 9, and 4). The cheapest deal is to stay at POR with a trundle bed for my 4 year old. The next option, which is only slightly more expensive, is to stay at POP with two connecting rooms. I would love A of A but it is another $500 for a suite and I just can't justify spending more. We will be there from the 25th- 29th of December. I've stayed at most of the resorts at Disney...not sure if I"ll be disappointed by the value resort of POP as opposed to Riverside- moderate.

Thought????

[AgentC]

Do you normally spend time at the resort or are you park commandos? Is a pool slide important to your kids?

I would almost always pick a moderate over a value, but that is my personal preference. I like the more lush theming, the sit down restaurant option and the pool slide.

I really like POR but if the things I mentioned above aren't super important to you, I think you might be happier with the extra room (and bathroom) at POP.

[Quadstriker]

Would you like to stay in a crowded zoo with noise at all hours of the day and night? If so go to POP.

Otherwise go to Riverside.

Riverside is great.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

If your kids will be spending time at the pool. I'd pick Riverside. There is a great main pool area with a super slide, AND 4 quiet pools throughout the resort. My DD is a fish, and the POR pool is one of her favourites.

The two bathrooms at POP would be nice, but unless you spend a lot of time in the room, the extra space would go to waste.

I'd pick POR.

[Jeri]

Why can't you just do 2 rooms at AoA? By Dec. The Little Mermaid rooms would be done, and they have the great pools.

Just another option.

[olivegirl]

I have to say that I have stayed at POP many times and stayed at POR once. I can tell you that we have never had any problems at POP! As far as the "ZOO" comment I strongly disagree! Yes the food court gets busy at peak times of the day and that is to be expected! Yes it is noisy around the pools. If that is an issue for you just ask to have a room that faces Hourglass Lake. For us that works! Plus it is just sooo beautiful!

[allgiggles]

I would take 2 rooms at Pop just to have the extra space. We don't ever plan to spend much time in the room, but sometimes the unexpected happens. In 2009 it rained for hours and hours every day of our trip. While we still spent a lot of time in the parks, we spent more time in our rooms than we usually do. We were very happy for the extra space, 2 bathrooms, and 2 TV's during those rainy evenings.

For our trip in 2011, 3 different members of our family were sick at some point during our stay (3 different problems) and it was nice to have the "sick" room so the sickie of the day could sleep and have a little privacy when others were in the room.

We've decided that the extra space, 2nd bathroom, and 2nd TV are worth the few extra dollars that 2 rooms (or a suite at AoA) costs us over a room for 5 at POR. And I agree with the PP -- we've stayed at Pop 3 different times and we've never found it to be a "zoo". The pools get noisy during busy times and the food court gets busy during "peak" meal times. We've always gotten a room away from the main pool and we eat at a slightly off time (not 8:00, noon, or 5:00). We've never had a problem finding a seat in the food court though if we're a little too close to one of those peak times, we sometimes have to wait a few minutes for our food. And we typically travel to Disney in late June, so not a slow time in general.

[AgentC]

I almost forgot . . .

:welcome: to INTERCOT!

[Katzateer]

Last time we got 2 rooms that connected at POP and it was cheaper than 1 room at Riverside. Guess we got a special rate.

The trundle bed at Riverside is a joke - just a slide out board with a very thin mattress. But our daughter was 16 when she slept on it - a younger child might not mind. We were there 2 trips ago and like POP just as well.

We have had good luck at POP- but if the price is the same, I would get 2 rooms at Animation.

[the other micki]

We have stayed both places and prefer Pop! The pool was fun for the kiddos at Riverside, but the slide did not make up for the really poor bus service at POR and having to walk through a maze for 5 minutes just to get to our room. We enjoy the simple, convenient layout at Pop and the very best bus service around! Definitely not a zoo when we were there. We loved it! Everyone in my family agrees!

[KathyMO]

Why can't you just do 2 rooms at AoA? By Dec. The Little Mermaid rooms would be done, and they have the great pools.

Just another option.

:exactly:

[brownie]

:welcome:

thauenstein, welcome to INTERCOT!

I'd consider Pop Century if you could use the second bathroom. If you can get by with one, I'd go with Port Orleans Riverside, especially if you don't plan on spending a lot of time in your room.

[mom2morgan]

It's such a personal decision I know it is hard to get a unanimous answer ;-) My choice would be Riverside - we really love it there - the grounds, the food court, the boat to downtown disney, the pool.....I know you'll only have 1 bathroom, but especially with your youngest being 4 I think it is completely "doable". The trundle bed is very comfortable :-)

[Disney-4-Me]

We've stayed at both and prefer Riverside. The little one loved sleeping on the trundle bed.

[darthmacho]

We stayed at POR in 2010 and we're staying at POP this year. We're staying at POP because with only two kids, it's much less expensive. If we could have, I certainly would have chosen POR, but we opted for the value.

POR is a nicer resort, and for you, it's less expensive. That would be my choice.

[Mousemates]

to me that one is easy....POR with its queen beds, beautiful grounds and boats to downtown disney...its our favorite non-deluxe.

[disneynarula]

I have stayed at PoP and it was not a zoo. There are some people that are just against the values. Have I enjoyed my room at a moderate/deluxe a little more? Yes, of course. I don't think staying at a value made my vaction terrible.

I thought the food court at Port Orleans Riverside was at about the same crowd level as PoP.

As a parent with three kids I would much rather have the extra space. I think being crammed into one hotel room would be a little uncomfortable. Two bathrooms would come in handy as well.

Are the standard rooms at Art of Animation more than PoP? That might be a nice option.

[Wolf]

Would you like to stay in a crowded zoo with noise at all hours of the day and night? If so go to POP.

Otherwise go to Riverside.

Riverside is great.

I have to agree, we used to love Pop but in the last 5ish years its really gotten too wild for us, the food courts are kind of insane in peak times, and I dont mean crowded I can do crowds its bedlam in there and the busses are kinda mental as well. I'm not saying I wouldn't stay there ever again but if given a choice I'd always go mod or above now that I've gotten older.

[#1donaldfan]

Would you like to stay in a crowded zoo with noise at all hours of the day and night? If so go to POP.

Otherwise go to Riverside.

Riverside is great.

Not even close !! We have stayed at Riverside numerous times and POP once and I will say I was very pleasantly surprised with POP !!! It was not loud, it was not overly crowded, it was a lot busier and more people around than you see at Riverside, however it was very much fine !! I lean toward Riverside in your situation as the 4 year old will love the new bed set up, plus Riveside is much more relaxing !! :mickey:

[Tinkerbella16]

We really enjoyed both resorts, but POR is really where its at, especially if its gonna cost less. POR has a better pool and more pools, bigger grounds but it never seems over crowded or loud at all. Both resorts have great foodcourts! POR will have all the amenities POP doesn't have like bike rentals, boats, table service restaurant, a nice lounge, and my favorite, the boat transportation to DTD.

Pop Centurys busses are much better than POR.. they are on their own, no sharing and only 1 stop at the resort instead of 4 and sometimes POFQ at POR.

[BelleBeauty]

We've never stayed at POR but recently stayed at CSR after years at POP. I was surprised by how little space CSR was just for my DH and I. I think that having the extra TV and bathroom would definitely be a good choice if the price is relatively similar. Also, having a room just for parents is always nice on vacation. There are rooms at POP that are not as loud. The back side of the 50's Jukebox building is wonderful and quiet. It is also right near one of the quieter (smaller) pools. AND if you get a room on the 3rd or 4th floor you can see IllumiNations from the balcony. It is a bit of a farther walk from the main building, but we've never minded and we've stayed during peak times and not had any noise problems.

[thauenstein]

Thanks for all the great suggestions.... I should mention that we are switching resorts on the 29th to a 2 bedroom condo at Bay Tower (parents are vacation club members). I guess that is one of the reasons I am leaning towards the two rooms at POP rather than the one at POR...I know I am staying in a deluxe to end my vacation. I still would like to stay at A of A but it is almost $1000 more than POR.... crazy time to travel to Disney.