Planning a trip for the last week of August. 7 nights with 6 days in the park. We’re looking at getting 3 rooms A (two 30 year olds), B (two seniors), C (two 40ish year olds + 11 and 13 year old girls). We’ve stayed at Port Orleans twice, and I love nearly everything about it except the buses. I stayed at All-Star Music when it first opened in the 90s and hated it.
This time around, we’re looking at Pop Century. Here’s my concern:
We plan on taking a good 4 hour break from the parks each day. Also, we’ll have 3 evenings NOT watching fireworks. That’s time that if I was at POR I’d be either exploring, hanging at the pool OR taking the water taxi to Disney Springs.
(1) I will admit that I find the theming at the Values straight up tacky. But, is there stuff to explore in our off time? Do I need to be more open minded?
(2) The modern remakes of the room are aesthetically appealing, and if it was just two of us in the room, or if our kids were small I might not care, but, I am concerned that a full week in one of those rooms with two adults and two teens is going to feel cramped. Especially if there are a lot of thunderstorms that keep us out of the pool.
(3) My favourite POR amenity is the water taxi to Disney Springs. Particularly if we get the value dining plan - it’s a good location with lots of good counter service restaurants. How much of a commute is it to Disney Springs from Pop Century?
(4) Is there any… any chance that the gondolas will be operational by late August???
I love to stay at Pop when I go solo, but don’t think I would stay there with my teens, let alone them plus another adult. I find the room size to be perfect for 2 people, maybe 3 at the most. It is a great resort if you just want somewhere to sleep, if you are planning resort time everyday I would stay moderate. The remodeled rooms are quite nice, but the outside is definitely tacky in comparison to the mods. I don’t mind tacky, but I wouldn’t say it is somewhere I would want to hang out for many hours exploring.
I always drive to parks and DS, so can’t comment on the time buses will take. As for the gondolas…maybe? I don’t think I would want to try them out in August though, there is a reason they have earned the nickname Easy Bake Ovens. No a/c means I would only ride them in cooler weather, but that might not be an issue for you.
Is POR out of your price range this time? If so maybe look at Coronado Springs. They are generally much less per night than POR, though maybe that will change when the new tower opens in July. We are staying there for 3 nights over spring break for only $160 a night.
As for cost - my parents have offered to pay the cost of the trip staying at Pop Century (very generous of them) and if my brother and I wanted to upgrade, we’d each pay the difference for our own families. But, everyone has to be in agreement. Also- we are the only group of 4. Like you said, I can see that my parents and my brother and his GF will be fine, I just think it looks cramped for us.
Gotcha, this does make it hard as the other 2 groups will probably be comfortable enough there. Do you think your brother would be willing to pay more?
Agree with others - I’d try to stay at a moderate if possible. We stayed at Pop and it was just enough space for our family of three (me, DH, two year old). We were only there for 4 days and spent all day away from our room. If you’re planning on significant resort time I’d definitely stay somewhere with more space/amenities!
Thanks everyone! I am going to put in my pitch for spending the extra $$ to stay at Port Orleans.The grounds, and the proximity to Disney Springs were a big part of the enjoyment of my last trip. It felt serene compared to the parks. I did not get that serenity last time we stayed at a value resort (which was, admittedly in the 1990s and during a cheerleading competition). Also, I’m prioritizing that afternoon break, and seeing as it’s late August, that could mean being stuck inside due to a thunderstorm at least a couple times.
This is just my opinion, but I would be very unhappy. The room & resort is very important to me, especially when we’re there quite a bit. I personally would push a little bit, because you have a fairly extensive list of things you’re worried about, which to me means that it’s important to you, too.
Why don’t you tell the two 30 year olds they get to bunk with an 11 year old and the two seniors they get a 13 year old and see how fast they want to stay in the room!
We stayed there last year as a group of 8 with 4 in each room- 2 adults/2 kids. Connecting rooms. It was cramped but we only spent time there sleeping so we didn’t mind. I would not consider it a resort I would “hang out” in.
Ha! Actually my parents offered to bunk with, “whichever child I liked the least on any given day.”
But in the end, we all agreed we’d be happier in POR. Problem solved!
I think this is really wise. If you have misgivings now, that’s a sign. They’d only be worse once you got there.
I had misgivings about the cost of our room, too- and then my husband said “When was the last time you regretted spending more to have a better time?” He’s right. Have fun!!!
You ended up exactly where I ended up after stressing over booking Pop. I had it booked for about 3 weeks before I talked myself out of it and into POR instead. I’ve stayed at both and think we (and you!) will be much happier at POR. Great minds think alike!