My Husband and I are going to WDW 2x this year, staying on DVC points. After a small amount of convincing and awesome flight deals, I got him to agree to a quick weekend trip in June for my birthday! To keep costs down I booked room only (we have annual passes) at Pop through MVT.
Here’s my dilemma - and I don’t mean to sound snotty or anything here I swear! - but I’ve never stayed at a value hotel before and I’m nervous about my choice. We’ve been lucky enough to always stay deluxe (besides one at POFQ) but due to the quickness of this trip and wanting to keep costs down I booked Pop. Looking for some opinions! Is Pop a good choice or should I look at upgrading to a moderate? I keep trying to tell myself any Disney is better then no Disney but will I still have good time if I’m used to different hotel levels?
Will you actually be spending time at the resort for such a short trip? I know I would only use it for somewhere to sleep. To me, a bed is a bed. You still get the same bus service as you would a moderate. I’m doing a week at POP later this year and I doubt I will spend any time there.
Hello fellow snob!!! We have stayed all levels and they have always been fine. However once you have experienced a nicer hotel - it is hard to go back. I personally view it as more than a room. I loved WL because as soon as you got into the lobby - you felt “relaxed” and that was worth the $$ to me. I do also think the level of service is better, the linens are nicer, the beds are nicer, the bathroom is bigger. ALL that being said - I am also very happy with staying at a CLEAN HAMPTON INN when we are on road trips.
If you go with the right mindset - you will be fine. You go in knowing that “it is jut a place to be unconscious” I think you will be ok.
I guess I’ll be the dissenting voice. We’ve stayed at all three levels and I have to say we did not enjoy our time at Pop. Most people love it but I’m not really sure why lol.
I will say the buses were ok, the food court was pretty good, and the pool bar was great. Other than that we had to move rooms because our AC kept going out but they kept wanting to fix it instead of moving us until I insisted. The beds were awful. My back hurt every day of that trip. It was like sleeping on a slab and they are small. We thought the beds at POFQ were ok but a little worn out and we LOVED the beds at AKL, but waking up feeling like you’d been run over was no fun at pop.
Even as just a place to sleep I don’t think we’d stay there again because we didn’t sleep well. Sorry if that’s not what you wanted to hear lol.
Was Pop all that MVT had? We just booked a room for ten days at POFQ through them at around $150 a night which isn’t much more than a value but the upgrade will be so worth it.
@Outer1 - basically agree. The deluxe are rated as Deluxe for a reason. We used to go to Value and Moderate but have been very fortunate that we can do Deluxe now. They were fine when we were younger - but now with bigger kids and being used to finer places - it is hard to go back.
Thanks everyone! @Outer1 I appreciate your honesty! I’ve read the beds aren’t the best and I have back issues and would hate to wake up uncomfortable or in pain especially since I want to do so much during the short amount of time!
I think I’ll reach out to my TA and just see if maybe POFQ has a good price and maybe just inquire about a deluxe. It’s a trip for my birthday so maybe splurging a bit wouldn’t be the worst thing?!
Obviously there are significant differences between a $100/night resort and a $400/night resort. AKL is hands-down my favorite resort, and by choice I stay there renting DVC. BUT when I go on a “quick” or solo trip, POP is my go-to place. On short trips I’m rarely IN my room for more than 8 out of 24 hours; it has a bed, a shower, and a toilet which is all I need. It’s impeccably clean, has nice theming, some pretty views depending on which building you stay in, and dedicated busses. If I was going for a week, with DW, and had resort down-time planned in, I would probably go back to AKL, but for a quick get-a-way, POP is hard to beat for the price.
