Help picking resort-budget/moderate

[scottibb]

Hello-we will be staying early February 2022. We have a reservation at Coronado Springs, but I am thinking of cancelling. The most important thing to us is ability to get to rope drop, and the second most important is proximity to transportation and food. Our feet were beyond painful by the end of our last trip (stayed at AoA Little Mermaid-second farthest building). We were at the buses by 6:20 am (8 am park opening) every day last April, and this was great timing.

At Coronado Springs I am concerned about the amount of walking since it is such a large property (we can only afford the cheapest room category). I'm even more concerned though about buses being full in the morning and not being able to make rope drop.

Size of room not important, but bigger beds would be better since I have to share bed with my son.
I have read reviews, and people seem to think Pop Century is pretty run down. The All Star resorts are a possibility (only places we get maybe afford a preferred room so closer). People seem to say to stay there if you can't afford more, but if you can, better to upgrade. Other place in my price range is Port Orleans. Opinions on that?

We will be there for my daughter's dance competition, but she won't be staying with us, so proximity to ESPN is nice but not critical. My budget is around $200 per night, though I could maybe go to $250. So crazy how some resorts here start at $600!

Thank you for input. I learned soooooo much here before my April trip and am grateful for all you Disney experts

 

[scottibb]

I forgot to say-AofA is still an option for us, but we can't afford preferred there, so it would be lots of walking. I did like the bus situation though.

 

[ChanaC]

Honestly based on what you wrote I would go with Pop Century. Because of the Skyliner you will have a much easier time getting to Hollywood Studios and Epcot. You can also use the Skyliner to get to food options at other resorts like the Riviera or Boardwalk. Pop Century might not be the newest, fanciest, or most up to date but it still works and is a good place to sleep. You can pay a little more to upgrade to the preferred rooms in the 60s area which is a good location for both the Skyliner and the main building, which has the bus stop. If you are using Disney transportation you'll still need the bus to get to Magic Kingdom and Epcot, but you would need a bus to get literally anywhere if you stick with Coronado Springs. Same with the All-Stars. Unfortunately with how spread out everything is there is no "perfect" resort with easy access to all the parks, and thus none of the hotels really have perfect transportation systems either. I've heard the deluxes have shorter lines and waits for buses, but at the end of the day if you are at the Grand Floridian you still have a 15 minute bus ride to Animal Kingdom.

 

[cjlong88]

For a decent price and location, I think Pop Century or Art of Animation are great choices. The skyliner access gets you to two parks quickly without having to take a bus, which is a huge plus. I have stayed at Pop Century twice in the past and personally didn't feel like it was run down at all. In fact, the room renovations are quite new. The oversized decor throughout is somewhat kitschy, but in a fun, Disney-esque way. It brings a unique charm to the resort that others don't have. Art of Animation would be another great choice as well, although those rooms tend to be more expensive. If you stay at Pop, you will be able to walk over to AoA to enjoy that food court as well.

 

[Disneylover99]

I don’t know about recent reviews but Pop was completely renovated 3 to 4 years ago so I don’t imagine it’s too run down. I’d pick Pop.

 

[emsstacey]

Busses won’t be full at 6:20 and the internal bussing system makes the walk much easier. I prefer moderates much more- totally different feel and never any trouble getting to parks early.

 

[Shelleyrich]

The rooms at Pop in 2020 were thin, but that may be expected. The skyliner make the resort worth it, but note they're doing maintenance the 3rd week of Jan. Hopefully it goes well and back up by your trip!

 

[Eastern]

I always pick POFQ because I like a more compact resort. My family thought CS was too spread out and disliked the multiple bus stops. Rooms small at POP.

 

[Cynner]

Pop is a great resort, and the refurbished rooms look really nice. The access to the Skyliner makes it a no-brainer for ease of transportation for the cheapest cost unless you're going to go camping at Fort Wilderness (and I really want beds). Don't know if the Cabins at Fort Wilderness are in your range, it's a big resort, but they have buses.

Gran Destino Tower at the Coronado is not nearly as much walking, but it might be just over your budget.
If you go Port Orleans, go French Quarter - very small resort and super theming - my favorite moderate.

 

[Suzabella]

I don’t know about recent reviews but Pop was completely renovated 3 to 4 years ago so I don’t imagine it’s too run down. I’d pick Pop.

Totally agree. We were at PoP last July right after parks reopened. The rooms weren't run down at all and still looked fresh.

 

[Koda]

I would also recommend Pop. We just got back from AoA with our family of 5 (stayed in a family suite), but DH and I were saying that if the 2 of us went on our own in the future, we would stay at Pop just for the Skyliner option. Pop and AoA share a Skyliner station, and it was never busy, even in the morning going to HS. I may be in the minority, but I love the "over the top" theming of the Values with all of the large characters and icons. You can easily walk or run around hourglass lake, which is very pretty and check out all of the informative signs along the way about highlights of each decade. Also, the bus trip to AK is very short from Pop and AoA. MK is the only park that is 15 minutes or so away. I think it is the perfect location, and since we spend most of our time in the parks I just can't justify paying for a Deluxe resort.

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

Pop rooms were really nice when we stayed there a month before the Skyliner opened in 2019. They are actually pretty roomy if you leave the Murphy bed folded up and only need the one bed. On a budget, I would pick Pop for the Skyliner. I've never stayed at Port Orleans and it looks fabulous, but it would be a bit of a splurge for us and I would save it for a trip with more resort downtime and not rope dropping. For us, "run down" was when we got a non-refurbished room at All-Star Music in January 2020. After having refurbished Pop and All-Star Movies rooms in 2019, the old style room with carpet and 2 double beds was a letdown. We were glad it was just 1 night before we switched to a Disney Springs hotel (the kids loved the theming and still talk about the "Three Caballeros pool" though).

 

[Sue M]

I’m not a fan of the values. But I did stay at Pop awhile ago while rooms were being renovated. I loved the new rooms very functional, tons of storage. But the rest of the resort is lacking in amenities. No hot tub. We were by the computer pool. My local community pool is nicer! The walls are thin. You can hear neighbours toilet flushing, talking, especially if they’re loud talkers.
I would pick POR. It’s a beautiful resort.

 

[Sarahslay]

Just a note, the beds are the same size at all the resorts now (aside from the all stars that haven't been renovated year, which are music and sports that still have double beds, but I can't remember their reopen date). Pop was refurbed in the last few years and is good, with skyliner access it's much better than the all stars in terms of being able to RD parks, at least you have easier access to two parks, otherwise all values and moderates aside from CBR have the same access: buses. All moderates aside from POFQ will be big and spread out with lots of stops, but none of the values are like that, and aside from AoA they have a lot less walking. I don't really mind Movies all that much, the rooms were redone less than a year before the closure so they're still pretty fresh, and the resort is less spread out. I never had issues getting to parks on my stay that summer, but I know sometimes it can get busy at peak times. If you don't want to walk a lot, but really don't like the idea of a value, I do recommend POFQ if it is open during your dates, it's kinda the best of both worlds in terms of size and an upgrade from value (plus, it's just so cute).

 

[mouschievous]

We are booked at Caribbean Beach, but H and I have looked and Pop is on our list of places to stay. TBH, in most cases I am a hotel snob, but at Disney I'm like meh, why spend all that money when my plan is to not be in the room most of the trip!? As long as it's clean and I can get a hot shower and a good night's sleep, that's all that matters. Location to parks/transportation is the most important thing after that!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I’ve never stayed but Pop seems like a solid choice. Don’t break the budget and end up stressing while you’re on vacation or once you’re home and have to pay that card off. Go with the best option within your budget and IMO that is Pop.

 

[daae3]

Pop was my favorite value pre skyliner and with it, seems like a great choice If you are in full park warrior mode. A place to crash, the food court is fine- the pool is a nice break. the bus service was my favorite as I had stayed at moderate and deluxe and found it was far more consistent plus, I like that you are clearly in a line. If you want to splurge, I’d recommend POFQ. Its a small resort and booking cheapest category wont put you far from bus stops/food/store. Great pool, great food court, beignets, plus nice little lounge and if you want to walk over to riverside, you have access to their amenities

 

[brazzledazzler]

I would recommend Pop Century too, based on your budget and Skyliner access. I stayed in June at Pop and the rooms are not run down.

Pop century had a major renovation in the summer of 2019. Go look on YouTube or Google search. They look fantastic!

 

[Leigh L]

Just a plug for Coronado. It's a huge resort, but we found with the bridges, it's really well connected and there are 4 bus stops (we stayed in Ranchos once and the bus stop was steps away). If able to get a discounted room in the Tower, everything is super convenient to reach. You might even be able to get a Tower room for under $250 once discounts come out. We went in the more expensive June (2021) and stayed for 2 nights with a discount, I think we paid roughly $250 a night.

When we stayed at Pop (80's section), it felt like we did a lot more walking. Plus those walls were super thin. DD was doing virtual school and she was not a happy camper with the noise coming from the room next to us. We stayed at Movies during Christmas week for a couple of days and that was a great experience (we were barely in the room). We were in the Dalmatians section and it was an easy walk to the bus. Both resorts had new bedding and murphy beds.

The bus organization at Pop, especially with the huge crowds (and then social distancing) for the one bus area was phenomenal - CMs were SO organized.

Edited to add: I just looked up what we paid in January 2021 for Coronado/Tower and for a 3-night stay MLK week, we paid $199 (Wednesday), $202 (Thursday), and $205 (Friday) for a Tower room - and this was water view, so not the cheapest category. I'd expect prices to be higher for 2022 but if a good discount comes out, it might be worth checking out . It was great working/schooling and staring out the huge window at Expedition Everest, lol.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Just a plug for Coronado. It's a huge resort, but we found with the bridges, it's really well connected and there are 4 bus stops (we stayed in Ranchos once and the bus stop was steps away). If able to get a discounted room in the Tower, everything is super convenient to reach. You might even be able to get a Tower room for under $250 once discounts come out. We went in the more expensive June (2021) and stayed for 2 nights with a discount, I think we paid roughly $250 a night.

When we stayed at Pop (80's section), it felt like we did a lot more walking. Plus those walls were super thin. DD was doing virtual school and she was not a happy camper with the noise coming from the room next to us. We stayed at Movies during Christmas week for a couple of days and that was a great experience (we were barely in the room). We were in the Dalmatians section and it was an easy walk to the bus. Both resorts had new bedding and murphy beds.

The bus organization at Pop, especially with the huge crowds (and then social distancing) for the one bus area was phenomenal - CMs were SO organized.

Edited to add: I just looked up what we paid in January 2021 for Coronado/Tower and for a 3-night stay MLK week, we paid $199 (Wednesday), $202 (Thursday), and $205 (Friday) for a Tower room - and this was water view, so not the cheapest category. I'd expect prices to be higher for 2022 but if a good discount comes out, it might be worth checking out . It was great working/schooling and staring out the huge window at Expedition Everest, lol.

Right now tower rooms for my dates are starting at $385. It would have to be a really good discount to get within the OPs budget. We’re booked at CSR (non tower) and even that was $293 a night. Prices on resorts are pretty high for next year.