It’s been asked a million times, but I can’t decide.
2 grandparents who usually take naps.
2 adults
2 kids (7.5 and 3.5, so travel booster + ride safer vest in cars–both safety devices easily fit in a backpack if necessary)
mid/late August, likely 6 nights/4 park days+ 1 rest or waterpark day but flexible.
Rates at Pop are 126/night or 115/night with undercover tourist + fun & sun discount. We’d need 2 rooms. Will either do no dining plan or possibly the deluxe dining plan for a room with 1 adult and 2 kids.
Rates at Wyndham Bonnet Creek are $236 for a family suite (2 queens plus 1 bunk bed), or one that I am 99% sure is Wyndham Bonnet creek on Priceline express for $114/night (not counting $36/room resort fee per night, so really $272 or $150/night via Priceline express). I am totally overwhelmed by all of the off-site options. Key is each set of adults having an actual bedroom; kids can sleep wherever.
Grandparents usually stay in pretty nice hotels so might not like Pop’s thin walls, but they like deals. Planning to fly in, so will use magical express and Disney transport if staying at pop, or rent a van if at bonnet creek/elsewhere. If offsite, will need to pay for parking at both bonnet creek and at parks.
Wyndham Bonnet Creek seems REALLY nice, and a kitchen would be lovely, but how much of a hassle would it be?
My wife and I and the 2 kids stayed at POFQ last July for 4 nights and loved it, but grandparents (and we, really) are balking at cost of moderates. We intended to take breaks last July and never did, staying approx rope-drop through dinner and then calling it a night. I assume this year would be similar but we might drop even the pretense of an out of park break.
Thanks for your thoughts. I’m really, really excited that this might work out, wherever we stay.
My vote is stay to on property. I want the whole Disney experience when I go. I have not stayed at POP, but several other Disney resorts with a multigenerational group of 8. I would rather have the convience of DME and Disney transportation versus a deluxe off site resort, especially since most of the time is spent in the parks. Staying on property allowed our group to leave the parks at different times if someone got tired. If you are staying off property with only one rental car then everyone in your group must have the same schedule. We often stay at POFQ in a preferred room when traveling with the grandparents because the resort is smaller and there is less walking. One thing to consider possibly is the amount of walking in your off property resorts or from parking for the grandparents .
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Did you also consider a cabin FW or an All star suite?
I looked at the cabins and all star suite but the kitchenette didn’t seem worth the lack of private space or other drawbacks of those resorts. Wouldn’t we need to rent a golf cart (or 2?) with the cabins? And the all stars have that shared bussing.
I might make a spreadsheet for family but they would rather have me tell them what to do.
The leaving at different times more easily on site is appealing. I figured some people could just use Uber to get off-site but the $ could add up fast.
I think that if the grandparents need naps, it makes the most sense to stay at POP. Otherwise, transportation will be an issue if they need to leave mid-day and you don’t. That way they can take the bus whenever they want to leave and you can do the same without having to worry about Uber or sharing the rental car.
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I would stay onsite. For $254/nt you have two rooms, two bathrooms DME, no rental cost, no parking fees AND you get 60+FPP Staying offsite you pay more, need a rental ($$) and parking fees.
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I agree with the others. We stayed at Pop in December for two nights and it was really nice. We loved all the outlets and USB chargers. I didn’t notice the walls being too thin.
FYI… there have been reports of Disney not allowing you to share credits, mainly at H&V and 50s Prime Time.
On my recent trip I had a couple of other restaurants ask if we were on the same reservation (Ohana and Fontara Cocina)
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That’s good to know!! Thanks
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Ok! So Pop it is. Thanks all. I will attempt to stop overthinking this. My father really wanted the kitchen but i assume all the food courts have microwaves (POFQ did last summer, at least).
If we are all on one reservation, do we all have to have the dining plan? Like, if I make the reservation for all of us, can I just make it for one room? Because then I could answer honestly the 1 reservation question.
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If you are on one reservation you will all need the dining plan.
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Thanks. Might make 2 separate reservations and wait and see what happens re the dining plan. My dad will plotz at the wdw food prices (he’s the guy who always asks for a large soda and three small cups for a group of 4…) so sharing the deluxe dining plan would be a lovely way for him to feel he is getting a better deal, but I don’t want to buy it if we can’t share it between rooms.
Those of you who have been asked about shared reservations, how have you answered?
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Everyone at my table was on the reservation but I would answer yes, we are all traveling together.
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We always book 2 reservations(2 rooms) 4 people in each for our group of 8. When dining with the regular dining plan the CM always asks who is in what room and credits are deducted accordingly. But I don’t think they would mind using the credits from one room for the entire table.
Because of the 2 rooms and 2 reservations I often book my ADRs over the phone. When I have only 1 reservation I book online. Yak and Yeti will not book a party of 8 through Disney. (You can do 2 tables of 4) or call directly which I did for an upcoming trip in August.
Thank you for expanding my vocab!
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Seems like POP is your best choice from a cost perspective.
Transportation off property is always dicey - whether it’s renting a car and paying to park, or paying for Uber, or using the hotels unreliable shuttle. On property, though, you know what to expect - buses are reliable, parking expense is zero.
I’m a huge fan of staying on property because I feel like I’m in the bubble.
If it were me, i’d probably heavily engage dad with the decision making.