POR or Pop?

[brewhome]

Hello wise ones! I need some advice. We currently have a 5 night rack rate November reservation for four adult women (me, my sis, our sis-in-law, and my niece) at POR for our bi-annual girls trip. We’ve stayed there before and really enjoyed the resort, and we have no problem sharing a room. I’m thinking there won’t be any room only discounts coming for the fall since SWGE is opening, so I was poking around and found that I can get a rack rate room at Pop for $500 less than POR. My sis and I just stayed in a refurbed room at ASMo, so we know what to expect at Pop since they are similar. The addition of the queen Murphy bed is fantastic - I wouldn’t even consider it if it was still two full size beds with four adults... too tight.

We are going to hit Epcot three times for F&W and DS a couple of times for brunch/dinner and shopping. We will also go to MK once, HS once (maybe twice), and AK twice. So we could trade off a smaller room with gondola access (assuming they are running by then) to Epcot and HS for a slightly larger room with boat access to DS. We aren’t big hot tub/water slide people so as long as we have a pool and pool bar, we’re good. We won’t eat at Boatwrights because we’ll be eating at the parks or DS. We may spend an evening at the Boardwalk, so the gondola would be good for that.

So my question is... what would you choose?

 

[Disneylover99]

You know what to expect at Pop and you don’t need some of the extras that POR offers.

100% Pop for the savings, but I’d doublecheck with the others just to be sure they don’t mind switching.

 

[Searc]

POR, no question. POR feels like a resort, Pop is a concrete jungle.

 

[Disneypro1]

For that savings. POP. We stay there a lot. It’s a great resort. Never anything to complain about. Always have a great time.
We stay at Music or POP when we want to save some cash. After all. At 0300. All the resorts look alike. A dark room with a bed, toilet and shower and sinks. Seriously though. All the values are great resorts.

 

[buzznina]

For your group I would say POR, the boat to DS is so much better than taking a bus, we enjoy the buses everywhere except DS. But mainly with 4 adults, the extra sink and a little bigger room is big. You mentioned that it's $100 more per night and, unlike just 1 family, it breaks down to only $25 per adult, per night. The big draw for POP is the skyliner, so if you want to try that then you know which resort you have to stay at We will be staying at POP Thanksgiving week.

 

[AllieBoo]

POR for sure. I agree with the pp who said Pop is a concrete jungle! It just feels like a basic motel room, POR is a resort.

 

[Haley R]

I love both resorts but I wouldn’t put 4 adults in a room at POP.

 

[sponica]

I'd only do Pop if it was 2 rooms.

I like Pop, and I've crammed 4 20 somethings into the old rooms. But I'll only stay there if it's a time of year when the parks are open past 9 PM.

 

[brewhome]

Thanks for the great advice, all! I think we are going to stick with POR, even if there are no fall room discounts. Split four ways, the cost isn’t too bad per person. We may take a bit of a slower pace with more pool breaks this trip, so I think we will enjoy the atmosphere at POR more than Pop. If we were doing hard core all-day park days, it might have been worth the savings. We like the main pool and the quiet pools at POR too... nice choices for lazy afternoons. Hopefully the weather will cooperate!

 

[WickedMom]

You are so right to stick with POR! We recently stayed at Pop after only staying at moderates and one deluxe and I vowed never again. When the Murphy bed is down the room is TIGHT! And Pop was filled with groups of teens who were well-behaved but took over the food court and buses. We never even attempted the main pool for that reason. I think POR is definitely worth the extra money!

 

[Disneyhenry]

POR offers so much more, I recommend POR

 

[goofyintoronto]

For four adults, i'd probably go with POR. Gorgeous landscaping....nice pool...and you do have that lovely boat ride to Disney Springs!

Although, since you'll spend a lot of time at Epcot (and HS), having the gondola accessible to you would be soooo nice and convenient. Either way you'll have 2 queen beds. Question is, are you willing to give up the beautiful lush landscape at POR to go with in-your-face Disney at pop? (I absolutely love pop btw). Cant go wrong with either. But if I were going to F&W quite a bit, i'd probably go with Pop. The gondolas drop you off right at the international gates, which is awesome.

 

[brewhome]

For four adults, i'd probably go with POR. Gorgeous landscaping....nice pool...and you do have that lovely boat ride to Disney Springs!

Although, since you'll spend a lot of time at Epcot (and HS), having the gondola accessible to you would be soooo nice and convenient. Either way you'll have 2 queen beds. Question is, are you willing to give up the beautiful lush landscape at POR to go with in-your-face Disney at pop? (I absolutely love pop btw). Cant go wrong with either. But if I were going to F&W quite a bit, i'd probably go with Pop. The gondolas drop you off right at the international gates, which is awesome.

I know, that gondola ride dropping us right next to the France booth and the delicious boozy slushies is very tempting...

 

[goofyintoronto]

I know, that gondola ride dropping us right next to the France booth and the delicious boozy slushies is very tempting...

YES. Very tempting! i'd take a vote with the group. you guys need to figure out whats more important here. If you wont spend a lot of time at the resort, then the way I see it, i'd go with pop. Im hardly at the resort that's why I stick with values. I just need to sleep and shower. But if you'll have some down time, then maybe POR.

 

[brewhome]

So I huddled up with the girls and we decided to go with Pop - when I went back in and priced it the cost difference actually was a little more than $600... and we just can’t pass that up. Plus the gondolas totally tipped everyone over the edge... more than I thought they would!

We do love POR... but with the refurbed rooms at Pop now having queens, and for the small amount of time we spend in the actual room, we are fine with it. My niece said if there’s a pool, a bar, a shower, and a bed, we’ll be just fine, and she’s right! Trying something new is always fun, too. The trip is what we make of it no matter where we stay. We can buy a lot of food and drinks for $600!

 

[buzznina]

So I huddled up with the girls and we decided to go with Pop - when I went back in and priced it the cost difference actually was a little more than $600... and we just can’t pass that up. Plus the gondolas totally tipped everyone over the edge... more than I thought they would!

We do love POR... but with the refurbed rooms at Pop now having queens, and for the small amount of time we spend in the actual room, we are fine with it. My niece said if there’s a pool, a bar, a shower, and a bed, we’ll be just fine, and she’s right! Trying something new is always fun, too. The trip is what we make of it no matter where we stay. We can buy a lot of food and drinks for $600!

Yeah, $600 is a very big difference than $100 and definitely would change my mind as well
We will be at POP during Thanksgiving week, so have a great trip.

 

[Aurora79]

POR. The rooms at POP just seem too small and cramped for me.