What's $2100 to you? Poly vs Pop

[sbd78]

I have tried and tried and tried to justify the cost of a deluxe, but there just isn’t any way! I honestly don’t know how so many people are able to stay in such over-priced hotels for weeks at a time. They are nice, but no way are they close to $500+ per night nice, especially when a good chunk of time is spent at the parks.

I think Disney is over inflating the cost of their deluxe hotels to push people to buy DVC. You see a moderate price jump when going from value to moderate resort, and then a huge double sometimes even triple price jump when going from moderate to deluxe. Meanwhile Disney is finishing up one DVC resort (Riviera) and starting up their next, (Reflections.) Coincidence?

 

[sbd78]

We have stayed at all 3 levels and I can give you the same stories at Deluxes, Monorails breaking down or waiting for 3-4 monorails before getting on and then almost getting ran over by people trying to rush by you,because once they open the gates it's a free for all. We have also found the deluxe buses to be a bit worse then Mods or Values. ALL transportation is hit or miss at ALL resorts. BTW, the drywall they use is the same thickness for all the resorts.

And $2100 saved by staying at Pop will buy a whole lot of Minnie vans, meaning no waiting for any public Disney transportation.

 

[joscortel]

I personally love Pop have stayed there every trip. Even an all adult trip and had 4 women in one room and that was before refurb and we did just fine but we were not in room other than shower/sleep mostly. Have a family trip this oct with all my children and their families and we are staying at Poly studios(renting dvc) it's always been my dream resort so my kids chipped in together and got my room for my Christmas present this past year, they know I would never spend that kind of money unless I won the lottery lol cause I would feel too guilty. I would rather stay at a value and enjoy my trip guilt free and 2100 is a good amount of money.
I may be adding a night to the end of our trip and I have been looking at POR riverside the size of the rooms and the fact they sleep 5 appeal to me I would need 2 rooms or I could do 3 rooms at pop. Really wanted OKW 2 bedroom but they are booked up for the night I need.
I don't know when you are planning on going but you may want to check on renting dvc points like others have suggested.

 

[Beachmom0317]

Poly, without question if it fits the budget. Much nicer transportation options, so many more dining options. So much more to see and do. Pop is a motel with a food court and pool, Poly is a full-blown resort with all the amenities.

This

 

[TJA]

Thank you to everyone who has shared their thoughts and experiences. I think before I get 2 rooms at Pop, I'd rather get a moderate. I could probably repost but I really like what this group has to offer. What about a room at Port Orleans Riverside?

We travel as a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 teens age 16). We stayed at POR a couple years ago and the room was super cramped for us. One of my DD's used the pull-down bed and she never complained while there, but we did a split stay and when we switched to GF she commented how much more comfortable the daybed was in GF. We've learned over the years that our room comfort is super important to our overall enjoyment, so we'd always opt for a deluxe with daybed. One thing we did love at POR was the food court - it was awesome!! Lots of internal bus stops, though, and we really didn't care for how large the resort grounds were.

Now cost is another story. If Poly is too much higher, I'd look at other options such as CR standard room (not tower room). Or even price out GF garden view. With a discount, GF is often cheaper than Poly. You could try a bunk bed room at AKL or WL, but those rooms are pretty cramped for us too. Again, though, we have 2 teen girls and I have no idea what your boys think about the rooms/beds/space. I scanned some responses above and I agree with some people who said to see what your kids think. My kids personally don't really care much about which resort we stay at, but they DO care that we have a comfortable daybed and enough space in the room.

 

[ErinsMommy]

Every year we start our vacations with "let's save money and stay at POFQ or Pop", then along the way we derail and just go all out and up back at either Poly or Contemporary. I agree with others, if your not really at the resort why spend the money.

 

[Sara_H]

For me, I've never stayed at Poly or Pop (Poly is on my wish list) but $2,100 is a lot of money. That's a good chunk of savings for another vacation. We will be staying at Beach Club again when we go but we are renting DVC points so the cost of BC over POR isn't that much. Depending on how much time you plan on spending in the room or at the resort, I would save the money and stay at Pop.

 

[Mmouse1588]

Im staying at poly this summer. I grew up staying mostly at moderate hotels with occasional 1 or 2 nights at deluxes. We only stayed at a value once. It was POP and it was 10 years ago. I remember no issues with the food or transportation. I remember being a long walk from the lobby which we hated. But my biggest complaint and reason i wont stay again is no hot tubs. Someone else would not care if there is one or not. For me it is a deal breaker. Staying at poly is definitely $$$ for us but we are going the week of the 4th and really want to experience the beach bash and fire works at polynesian. Whether we will drop that amount of money again is hard to say just yet. Really hoping it doesn't disappoint!

 

[Mzpalmtree]

If it were me I would consider as others have suggested a split. That way you could get the best of both and still save a bit off of a full Poly stay. I’d try to book Pop on the front end. We have never stayed at either resort but will stay at Poly for a night at the end of the month and Pop for a night in August—both on our check-in days leading up to a slightly longer stay. We wouldn’t mind a split because we often have short stays and just pack for each hotel.

 

[Tammy A]

Some new information. I'm going to Disney again October 30 -November 7 with my boyfriend, so I have purchased the annual pass. The annual pass rate difference between Poly and Pop is $1700. My boyfriend and I no doubt will stay at Port Orleans Riverside. It is his favorite resort.
My kids and I have always appreciated the beauty of resorts. The walkways, the trees, flowers, whatever the case may be. We chose all star music in the past because it has some trees. That being said when we stayed at the animation suites in the cars area, we felt like it was just a big slab of cement. That was in August of 2016. Being at Disney in August requires a great place to hang out in the middle of the day. We like the pools, but especially the quiet pools. We love shade. Remember we are from Minnesota. We wilt.
I don’t think getting 2 rooms at Pop is necessary. I’d be too worried they wouldn’t be together.

 

[Tammy A]

If it were me I would consider as others have suggested a split. That way you could get the best of both and still save a bit off of a full Poly stay. I’d try to book Pop on the front end. We have never stayed at either resort but will stay at Poly for a night at the end of the month and Pop for a night in August—both on our check-in days leading up to a slightly longer stay. We wouldn’t mind a split because we often have short stays and just pack for each hotel.

So the only thing with a split is you miss out on the fast pass planning with the 60 day before 1rst day of your trip plus 10.
At least I think you’d miss out on that; am I right?

 

[Tammy A]

Some new information. I'm going to Disney again October 30 -November 7 with my boyfriend, so I have purchased the annual pass. The annual pass rate difference between Poly and Pop is $1700. My boyfriend and I no doubt will stay at Port Orleans Riverside. It is his favorite resort.
My kids and I have always appreciated the beauty of resorts. The walkways, the trees, flowers, whatever the case may be. We chose all star music in the past because it has some trees. That being said when we stayed at the animation suites in the cars area, we felt like it was just a big slab of cement. That was in August of 2016. Being at Disney in August requires a great place to hang out in the middle of the day. We like the pools, but especially the quiet pools. We love shade. Remember we are from Minnesota. We wilt.
I don’t think getting 2 rooms at Pop is necessary. I’d be too worried they wouldn’t be together.

Correction: We wouldn’t be together.

 

[AllieBoo]

After having spent the last six nights at Pop and AOA, I say go with the Poly. This was my first time staying at a value for more than one night and I did not love it. Pop was definitely better than AOA, but they both just felt like basic motels. Both are the last bus stops at the parks, so it’s a long walk after a day at the parks. We found the bus service itself to be ok, although we did have a couple of long waits at Mk and Epcot. I also didn’t realize values don’t have hot tubs.

 

[kylenne]

Both are the last bus stops at the parks, so it’s a long walk after a day at the parks.

We definitely noticed this on our last trip. AK in particular was extra ugly for AoA/Pop guests from what I remember, with a super long walk all the way around...we saw some really exhausted families struggling over there. We were thankful the Poly/GF stop was right in front. I’m also baffled by the complaints a lot of people make about the deluxes sharing, at least from the standpoint of a Poly guest; not sure if it’s like this all the time, but on our trip, going home from the parks Poly always dropped off first.

But this shines a light on the fact that bus service talk is so anecdotal in nature, I’m not sure I’d base resort decisions on it even in part. As someone who rides buses and subways daily to and from work, I see a lot of complaints about Disney transportation that are just normal public transit quirks. Many folks come from car-centric parts of the US and aren’t used to navigating public transit systems, and I keep it in mind during these discussions.

 

[Tammy A]

I just called to get some more passholder rates for our dates
Thought it would be fun to share. Pop is not available for passholder rate.
French quarter GV $1593
Riverside GV $1674
Wilderness Lodge NatureV 2427
Beach club GV 2581
Poly Standard View 3071

 

[Disneypro1]

If you dont want value...POFQ is the best deal there by a mile.

 

[gypsy_at_heart]

I just stayed at POFQ on my last trip and I loved it. Loved the boat to Disney springs, loved the small feel, the CMs were great, room was great.

I’ve stayed at the values and the mods - I haven’t stayed deluxe at WDW because I prefer to use the the money elsewhere - but I now stick to the mods over values. I’m not an open to close sort of WDW park goer so I like a nice comfortable place to stay. Mods fill that spot for me without making me regret spending too much on a room.

 

[Coach Holden]

Once you go deluxe, you never go back

 

[Minnie1222]

I just called to get some more passholder rates for our dates
Thought it would be fun to share. Pop is not available for passholder rate.
French quarter GV $1593
Riverside GV $1674
Wilderness Lodge NatureV 2427
Beach club GV 2581
Poly Standard View 3071

Looking at those numbers, I would immediately say bye-bye to Poly!
Do you have something against Grand Floridian, Boardwalk Inn, or Yacht Club? Those resorts typically have better AP rates than the aforementioned deluxe resorts.

 

[Tammy A]

Looking at those numbers, I would immediately say bye-bye to Poly!
Do you have something against Grand Floridian, Boardwalk Inn, or Yacht Club? Those resorts typically have better AP rates than the aforementioned deluxe resorts.

I don't have anything against any of those. I asked the Reservation specialist to give me everything they had left. He didn't mention those or Contemporary so I'm assuming there was nothing left. I'll double check and see if any of those open up in the next couple of days. I actually love all of those although I've actually only stayed at Yacht Club.