What's your resort choice??

[3DisMunchkins]

Taking the plunge and planning a rush trip for Jan 2-6. Trying to choose between POP, Animation, Coronado or Caribbean.
Hit me with your advice please!!! Haven't been to WDW in 12 years!!
Thanks!!
Jana

 

[HiStitch626]

Which parks are you planning?

 

[3DisMunchkins]

That was my next question!! We have 5 day tickets but won't arrive until about 1230 on Saturday and will probably go to MK first. I'm not really sure about the other days. I would like to finish with MK also but we'll be leaving for a 730 flight. My tickets are on order and hope to receive tomorrow so I can make park reservations. My kids aren’t going to be super excited about Epcot but don’t want to skip it completely. Leaning toward. MK, AK,Epcot, HS, MK but have no logic to my choice. I’m feeling pretty clueless on WDW planning!

 

[HiStitch626]

POP, AoA and Caribbean Beach all have skyline service to Epcot and the Studios. Buses to Magic Kingdom and AK. Coronado will have buses to all four. I think I would not lean towards Coronado at this time because I don’t think their food court is open yet, so that would limit your dining choices a little bit. The food court at the other three are open. POP has been recently refurbished and we felt like the new Murphy style beds were pretty comfortable.

Since you said you only wanted to do a partial day at Epcot, you might plan that for your first day only because of your arrival time. Epcot will be open the latest of the four parks.

 

[Blondie58]

One stay at Pop. Rooms were brand new and recently updated. Enjoyed my stay here. Gondolas a nice feature.

 

[hereforthechurros]

CBR. Banana Cabana is a great open air bar, pool is superior to the other choices, you can walk to Riviera (their food is great) and Skyliner to Epcot & HS. Exploring the island is so relaxing as is sitting by the water in the beach or the dock.

 

[Mazz519]

We love the Wilderness lodge especially around Christmas time.... love taking the boats to the MK from there

 

[Shellbells]

Out of your options, I'd go with POP or Coronado if you can afford the tower. We got back from CSR on the 11th and didn't love being in Casitas and the beds were rock hard. We would consider the tower though. Its beautiful and feels like a deluxe resort.
Caribbean is just so large. Depending on where your room is, it's a long walk to the Skyliner.
Unless you go for the little mermaid rooms, AoA is all suites and the mermaid rooms are the furthest out.

 

[wnwardii]

Over my last several trips (pre pandemic), I stayed at Pop. As someone mentioned above, the rooms are recently refurbished. I am staying at CBR this trip and while I like the location slightly more than Pop, the rooms (at least in my location - Martinique) need to be refurbished pretty badly. No, things are not bad. But you can definitely see the age.

Pop and CBR are easy access to DHS, Epcot and AK. Going to MK probably takes the longest. You didn't indicate if you would have a car or would rely on the WDW transportation or Uber/Lyft. I have a rental car, so getting around property isn't very difficult. I have driven to DHS several times with no problem. My one AK day was easy. Going to MK is another story. When you drive you have to park at the TTC and then ferry or monorail over. I just didn't want to deal with the buses this trip. Getting to Epcot has been easy with the Skyliner, which you can also use for DHS.

Ultimately look at pictures of the rooms and find the aesthetic that feels right for you. This is probably why I prefer Pop over CBR. I just like the look and feel of the rooms at Pop over CBR. Would I stay at CBR again? Probably if I had a great AP rate.

 

[JPM4]

I would choose CBR personally. Skyliner access and access to Riviera dining and bars. If you add hoppers to your tickets I would totally rule out CSR.

 

[hereforthechurros]

Over my last several trips (pre pandemic), I stayed at Pop. As someone mentioned above, the rooms are recently refurbished. I am staying at CBR this trip and while I like the location slightly more than Pop, the rooms (at least in my location - Martinique) need to be refurbished pretty badly. No, things are not bad. But you can definitely see the age.

Pop and CBR are easy access to DHS, Epcot and AK. Going to MK probably takes the longest. You didn't indicate if you would have a car or would rely on the WDW transportation or Uber/Lyft. I have a rental car, so getting around property isn't very difficult. I have driven to DHS several times with no problem. My one AK day was easy. Going to MK is another story. When you drive you have to park at the TTC and then ferry or monorail over. I just didn't want to deal with the buses this trip. Getting to Epcot has been easy with the Skyliner, which you can also use for DHS.

Ultimately look at pictures of the rooms and find the aesthetic that feels right for you. This is probably why I prefer Pop over CBR. I just like the look and feel of the rooms at Pop over CBR. Would I stay at CBR again? Probably if I had a great AP rate.

Are some rooms at CBR in better shape than others? Our room there in October was in great shape. On par with the recent mod refurbs but maybe we just had a room that wasn’t as worn. I liked the sliding doors to the bathroom.

 

[loves to dive]

CS for me. I'm not a fan of the value resorts since I like a hot tub but in Jan. that might not matter. I like the feel of CS over CBR and the skyliner is actually a negative for us, my son is not a fan of heights and is claustrophobic so let that puppy sway or get stopped for even 30 seconds and it wouldn't be pretty. CS has also just refurbished their rooms and you have a tad more room in the moderate resorts over the value.

 

[wnwardii]

Are some rooms at CBR in better shape than others? Our room there in October was in great shape. On par with the recent mod refurbs but maybe we just had a room that wasn’t as worn. I liked the sliding doors to the bathroom.

I honestly do not know if some rooms have received a refurb and others have not. I just know that with the Pop refurb they moved away from having carpeting. If I am not mistaken Coronado Springs was doing the same with their refurb and getting rid of the carpeting. Some of it may just be my style preference. I like the modern and clean look of Pop. I stayed at the Contemporary back in 2016 and I really liked that look. But again, that is me.

 

[CanucksRock]

I prefer the Pop room and CBR location & dual sinks. Loving the Skyliner & proximity to the Riviera. I'm on a split stay - 1 night at Pop followed by 6 at CBR.

 

[hereforthechurros]

I honestly do not know if some rooms have received a refurb and others have not. I just know that with the Pop refurb they moved away from having carpeting. If I am not mistaken Coronado Springs was doing the same with their refurb and getting rid of the carpeting. Some of it may just be my style preference. I like the modern and clean look of Pop. I stayed at the Contemporary back in 2016 and I really liked that look. But again, that is me.

Agreed the wood floors are preferred to carpet. I thought the CBR room had wood (laminate) flooring but I could be wrong!

the new Pop rooms are great but I prefer the mod resort grounds to values.

 

[Spencer Wright]

Sometimes Pop offers the cheapest rooms by far (I recently stayed for $154 a night). So its something to keep in mind!

Are you going as a group? The rooms are very small. I was solo, but imagine once you hit the four person mark the room would be too small.

 

[bcuinohio]

I would choose either CBR or AOA. CBR is the hub for the Skyliner and gives you easy access to HS and Epcot. AOA and POP are at the same Skyliner stop. AOA offers family suites if you would like extra space They also have standard rooms with 2 QS beds. POP is a fun place too. Rooms have 1 QS bed with a QS pull down bed. Coronado Springs has some nice rooms but you would have to take the bus everywhere you go.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

So we had a split stay at Pop and Coronado in mid October. I think we should have just stayed at pop because overall we were happier. We stayed in the casitas 4 at the coranado then upgraded to the tower after one night. Thankfully we had a car because when we got back from the parks the everything was closed and if I wanted doordash I had to go to the tower.. at pop they had everything so close and no issues.
The non tower room at DCS was basically the same room we had at pop with a little more room between the bed and dresser.
Stay at pop save the money for the parks

 

[jamescanuck2001]

For your scenario, with kids and planning to go to a park each day, I would suggest Caribbean. Probably the most convenient of the 4 for getting to the parks.

Since your first and last days are park days, I would move one of your MK days to a full day. Maybe EPCOT for the first day since it would be an easy park for you to access from Caribbean, and the World Showcase doesn't open until 11 am anyway.

Jan 2-6 is coming up pretty quickly. I believe you need to book your park days in advance..... hopefully someone else will chime in on Disney procedures / changes due to covid.

 

[3DisMunchkins]

Since your first and last days are park days, I would move one of your MK days to a full day. Maybe EPCOT for the first day since it would be an easy park for you to access from Caribbean, and the World Showcase doesn't open until 11 am anyway

Since you said you only wanted to do a partial day at Epcot, you might plan that for your first day only because of your arrival time. Epcot will be open the latest of the four parks.

Thank you both!!
I do like the advice of switching our first day to Epcot especially since it is open the latest and I would like one full day at MK. Was really hoping tickets would arrive by Friday, but still waiting til tomorrow to make official park reservations!
Think I'll go with CBR if for the ease of transportation alone.
How is the trip to MK from CBR?