We’re planning our first Disney World visit for April 2026. We’re a family of three, with one 12yo.
I’ve currently got a reservation at Pop Century, mainly for the convenience of having the skyliner for transportation. For a couple hundred dollars more, it looks like there’s the option of looking at DVC rental at either Saratoga Springs or Old Quay West.
I’d be new to this DVC rental process and it appears that the transport might not be as good as an option - but there are the perks of a deluxe resort to consider.
I’m struggling to decide what the better option is - any thoughts appreciated!
Hi - yes it would be a studio at either of the deluxe resorts, but they do seem a lot bigger than Pop Century! In terms of our itinerary, we’ve got 7 days to visit all the parks - hard to say which ones we’ll want to visit the most to be honest as we’ve not been before. Defo will be visiting them all once and then revisits to ones we like most or didn’t get to all we wanted to do in one visit. Not massively fussed about Disney springs tbh but having all the food options is something we’d take advantage of I’m sure if it was a convenient stop
Ive not stayed at any of these places but when you are staying for long stretch, as a family in one room, having a balcony to escape to would factor in for me. I believe most deluxe rooms come with balconies but I’d defer to others here on that front.
As I’ve planned my itinerary I wouldn’t discount being near DS for a long trip. There’s several QS there that we would have added to our plans if we were closer (Polite Pig, Eet). We are headed to Raglan Road but I would have likely gone again for TS if easier to get to.
Kitchenette too would be great.
Also, if you are going in the summer, storms close the skyliner quite a bit.
However the flexibility of a regular room reservation is appealing (cancellations, date changes).
You are locked in if you rent points.
I ended up at BWV for 8 nights for our upcoming trip so I opted for convenience to EP/HS which I don’t regret, but the proximity to DS woukd have offered different benefits if we’d ended up there.
The Wednesday MK EETPH benefit is also a nice add on for staying deluxe.
Tough call. I agree that a kitchenette is great to have. We require it. But, I have picky eaters.
I think it depends on your style. My family struggles with Disney bus transportation a bit. It can take a long time. So we prefer to be closer to the parks and the skyliner. But, if you are going to have 7 days, you may be able to have a more leisurely stay and the comfort of the studio as well as the grounds of a deluxe might be nice too. We are not huge Disney Springs fans but would absolutely tell you to go and check it out on a first visit.
What about the theming of the place in general? Pop is really fun where the others might lean more relaxing. Also the point about being able to have flexibility is big too. Unless, I found a great option that I really wanted, I would not do DVC rental, simply because things happen, trips get delayed, hotel deals come out, etc. I like to be able to lock in the rate but change if I choose.
Are you planning on being at resorts much or just for sleep? Pop is fine if you’re going to be at the parks all day but if you want a place to chill and decompress consider DVC.
The skyliner is convenient, I really enjoy it. But, if you think you’ll be starting the day at rope drop, boarding at Pop can be…daunting. It is also super frustrating when the skyliner is down as others have mentioned. There are highs and lows with all Disney transport though, don’t let that dissuade you!
I’ve found that while I like Pop!, it can be kind noisy…and you aren’t given anywhere to kind of hide if others in your party are sleeping. I always prefer the kitchenette of the DVCs to a value/moderate room on my longer trips.
Depending on where you rent your points from, they do have protection/insurance plans where you can get money back.
I haven’t stayed at either SSR or OKW studios, so I can’t speak to those specifically. Maybe @janamelia or @OBNurseNH - they both frequent these resorts.
For my part, I love Old Key West. I feel like it’s somewhere I could actually live forever. It is a HOME, not a hotel. It is not connected to a theme park or the Skyliner - but in some ways that’s why it can feel like home. If you have a car, you park right outside of your building - not in a parking lot far away from the lobby. You enter your unit directly, not through long winding hallways. And you can have golf course views that are stunning, or a view of the Sassagoula which is so pretty. But also you’re centrally located so everything - all four parks and DS - are not far away. Buses don’t share with other resorts, and the ferry ride to DS is chef’s kiss!
I should not fail to mention, since you have a 12yo, that the Community Hall at OKW quickly became and remains my now 17yo son’s favorite Community Hall of all of the DVC resorts we’ve visited that has one. He eventually was old enough to head over there on his own and would never fail to connect with other kids his age to do recreational things there in the clubhouse or play a pickup game of basketball. He loved that amenity and always asks if we can stay at OKW because it’s there.
Saratoga feels a bit less homey to me, but that’s probably more personal aesthetic, because many of the things I mention about OKW are also true at Saratoga. There are many many more units within a building so the entry sometimes requires a bit of open/outdoor hallway walking but otherwise you enter directly into your unit instead of a lobby. SS also has golf course views available which are stunning. But for me the main advantage is the short walk or short ferry ride to DS. The time I stayed there was for a DS-heavy long weekend.
My preference would be Old Key West over Saratoga, but I would happily stay at either without question over Pop for just a few hundred dollars.
As @StinsyLinson said I’ve stayed at OKW (once) and several times at SSR. Never at Pop tho I’ve stayed at all the All Stars. Unfortunately I’ve not even seen a studio at SSR or OKW. We did have, at Boardwalk, a 2 bedroom lockoff which was a 1bedroom connecting to a studio.
The rooms at Pop and All Stars are small but with the remodel exchanging the second bed for murphy bed over a table, these rooms are quite liveable. I’ve slept on several of the murphy beds and have found them quite comfortable.
If the studios at OKW or SSR still have the sofa beds, they may not be better. Except that OKW does have the roomiest rooms. Someone here probably knows the dimensions of an SSR studio compared to a room at Pop.
As for the busses. I’ve used Disney busses since our first Caribbean Beach stay in 1990 and I’ve rarely been unhappy. But there are bus people and there are people who are not bus folk.
And there are strategies to minimize the less popular things about busses. I’ve rarely had a bus pass our stop cuz it was full and rarely rode a crowded bus. Picking a particular building in some of the resorts with multiple bus stops can also make bussing more pleasant. If you decide to go with OKW or SSR, come back and ask about bus details.
Besides room size, another difference is food. Pop has a food court but no restaurant. OKW and SSR have a scaled down food court and a sit down restaurant. Sometimes that restaurant is just a nice option.
If you’re pool people, OKW and SSR have some pools with slides. I was nearly 50 before I ever went on a water slide. Silly me They are so much fun.
One more thing occurs to me. A WDW stay is a study in moving parts with lots of details. Over stimulation is a real thing. There are fewer moving parts at OKW or SSR compared to the All Stars, and I’m supposing Pop as well. Some folks say OKW and SSR are uninteresting or even boring in their theming. One of SSR’s draws for me is the serenity. And to me, a resort is just as much a part of a WDW stay as a theme park is.
Good luck and happy planning! Keep in mind, there’s no right or wrong way to do Disney.
I’m not sure if I’ll add much more than has already been discussed, but I’ll add my two cents anyhow.
I’ve stayed at Pop, and I own points at SSR. I’ve stayed in both the 1-bedroom and studio at SSR. There is DEFINITELY more room in the studio at SSR than the rooms at Pop. SSR studio has ~355 sq. ft, versus Pop’s 260 sq ft. As someone else mentioned, OKW’s studios have even more at 376 sq ft.
SSR and OKW have similar (but not identical) vibes. That is, more escapist/relaxing and less in-you-face Disney. Pop Century is definitly Disneyfied the most, but it can be visual overload. SSR and OKW have better pools, being deluxe resorts. Speaking of which, if your trip aligns with the Deluxe Evening hours, you will be able to take advantage of those hours from SSR and OKW, but not Pop.
As far as transportion…Skyliner is definitely nice…but honestly, the buses at SSR have never been an issue for us. Not as cool, for sure…but we’ll definitely take having direct walking access to Disney Springs as well as boats to OKW, POFQ, and POR, over direct Skyliner. (Note, there is nothing stopping you from taking a trip on a Skyliner mid-day from either Epcot International Gateway, or HS, no matter where you stay.) But Skyliner access at Pop can be iffy. When we stayed at Pop, HALF of the mornings we were there, it had a delayed opening, so we still ended up using buses to get the parks those days. If there is heavy rain or lightning in the area, they will also shut down.
Although I haven’t yet stayed at OKW, I agree with @OBNurseNH that OKW has a bit more homey vibe to it than Saratoga. We’ve been over to the resort a handful of times to eat at Olivia’s, and it is lovely. We MIGHT try to stay there next August if we can get it at 7 months to have first hand experience.
This is an excellent point! …and definitely makes a bit difference if you’re a family of night owls. Or, if you want to rope drop, take a mid day pool/nap break…and then head back to the parks for the evening.
There is also the option of a split stay. Get the full Disney experience…do a couple of nights at Pop! and plan those to be your Epcot/Hollywood days, then switch to SSR or OKW. It isn’t too terrible to move from one resort to another, but you do kind of have to plan for it and get the family on board with packing up mid-trip.
Pop has a Murphy Bed, giving you more useable space. But the rooms can still feel tight.
But if the difference is only a few hundred dollars for the whole trip I would definitely consider OKW. (SSR holds no appeal to me) 2 things: 1) A discount could be offered down the line making your Pop stay much less expensive. 2) Booking the Pop room vs. renting points is much more flexible over all.
I love the Skyliner but I frequent EP and HS moreso than MK. And AK is a short bus ride from Pop. Pop is my favorite value. We don’t have a car when we visit so the large resorts with multiple bus stops are a draw back for us. I wouldn’t want to have to take the bus everywhere at those resorts.
As far as the resorts go, the deluxe offerings are much nicer if you have a lot of resort time planned. But even an afternoon at Pop is better than an afternoon at home, lol. And the QS at Pop is quite good. You can take a short walk across the pond and visit AoA also. They have some fabulous statues and grounds to look at and take pics with.
You lot are amazing! Thank you so much, you’ve really helped and brought up a few points to consider that I’d not thought of, for example the community hall for my daughter for some non-parent time (lol) and also about some sensory down time, which on reflection is an issue I should have been thinking about as my husband has ASD and would likely benefit from it after days at parks! We’ve been to the California parks before but never for more than three/four days and have never stayed at a Disney hotel, so there was a theme-ing break.
More thinking needed and defo need to look into cancellation policies with DVC rentals.
Is it a sofa or a table under? At Pop, it’s normally the table.
I found the studio at GF spacious but still not sure if it felt THAT much bigger than our Pop room.
I really loved that at GF. GF isn’t my vibe but I LOVED that room.
I say that, but I love Alice in Wonderland. GF is just a bit too fancy for us though.
They are so much fun. 
