WWYD?-Did I make the right choice?

[DisneyDreamer04]

Hmmm. . .
The blessing of space at Pop vs. the blessing of a deluxe resoort . . .
There is never a perfect answer in life.

We had a Pop trip in between two YC trips. Although we really enjoyed the Skyliner, I always had a concern in the back of my head that we would get trapped in it. In fact, on our way back to our room at YC from IG last summer, the Skyliner was stopped in the hot sun. People were waving to us from their "car" in the sky. I felt so bad for them because it had been stopped for some time. We would absolutely stay at Pop again. But the Skyliner does worry me.

The YC quick service does not have many options compaared to the food court at Pop. If the Pop type food court is something you are used to, the Dolphin is close by. I don't know much about it, but I think they do have a quick service type place.

Last summer, we took a cruise. There were four of us (DD 21, DS 23, my mom, and myself) in tiny cabin. It was a suite, but same size/smaller than a hotel room. It was "togetherness," but we enjoyed the perks of the suite life instead of two balcony cabins.

On the other hand. . .
When we go to WDW now, it is just DD and myself. But in the past when our family of 4 would visit, we would stay off-site and get a two bedroom condo for the space. On our last stay as a family, we had a split stay between WL and a condo. I had always wanted to stay at WL. But it was a relief to leave WL and spread out in the condo.

The Epcot area resorts are great! I feel far away from every day worries when we are there.

Whatever you decide, I hope you have the best trip ever!

Thank you so much!

 

[DisneyDreamer04]

You did the right thing. The evening deluxe hours are amazing. Just make sure you have park pass reservations for the park holding the evening hours that week if you don’t end up getting PH. Have an amazing trip!

So true! I had forgot about that aspect.. I hope they release the evening deluxe hours soon..thank you again.

 

[DisneyDreamer04]

When are you planning to go as that pricing will have a major impact on other options. As @gottalovepluto indicated have you considered rooms at the Dolphin or the Swan. They have options where you get 2 connecting rooms: 1 King and 1 (2) Queen bed room with a connecting door.

It is setup for families. Book any rate plan, then call us at 800-227-1500 to reserve a second guest room for up to 25% off regular rates. Be sure to ask for “Stay Connected” when you call! (Subject to availability at time of booking). Many times of year this is a cheaper option vs YC and also allow you PH as an option.

You can also call in-house reservations at Local: 407-934-4000 Reservations: 1-888-828-8850

Dave

Thank you so much! I’ll explore the dolphin to check rates. We are arriving on 05/01-05/08, then was gonna use some ihg points for our last 3 nights. (05/08-05/11).

 

[megs1313]

100% The right call!

 

[Dave006]

Thank you so much! I’ll explore the dolphin to check rates. We are arriving on 05/01-05/08, then was gonna use some ihg points for our last 3 nights. (05/08-05/11).

Since it was mention earlier the Swan / Dolphin / Reserve are considered Deluxe Disney resorts for the Evening Extended hours as well as the 30 minute early entry morning entry to the parks.

Dave

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

Yes, 2 rooms vs. 1. I have talked to the girls at length, and they say they are totally fine all sharing a room..it is the second bathroom that i Worry about losing. Also, the funds going towards the room, vs. PH is the other worry. We will have a 10 base ticket, which we will be buying Genie+ for at least 8 of, so that is why I splurged on our room.

thank you guys again.

JMTC but I think you answered your own question above. The fact that you are worrying about the bathrooms and not having park hoppers is your answer, really. The excitement of getting a deal at a fun deluxe resort is great but if it isn't practical for your family of 5, it won't be exciting when everyone is cramped into one room waiting on the bathroom or if someone gets sick and needs some quiet space to rest.

We are only a family of 4. Me, DH, DD24 and DD21. We love staying at a deluxe resort for the amenities and did so when the girls were younger but choose to stay at a moderate now in two rooms. Sure, we miss staying at a deluxe resort but having two bathrooms,, 4 beds, 2 TVs, 2 fridges, and extra space wins every time. We also feel spending the extra on PHs is worth it. We like to visit two different parks a day to keep the fun rolling as we often take a midday rest back at our resort. Staying in one park "feels" more exhausting and less fun. We also find that the pools aren't as big of a deal now that the girls are older and prefer to just spend a day at TL with a cabana for our water fun on the trip.

FWIW, I don't think the extra hours at MK and EP are that big of a perk for deluxe guests. If it included extra hours each night and included AK and DHS in the rotation, that would be a bigger perk.

 

[RoseGold]

Extended hours are incredible. Even Waldorf and Ritz don't get them. Enjoy!

 

[Miffy]

The 1-bathroom and no-park-hopper things would sway me toward POP. Is there no middle ground? Suite at AoA maybe?

I'm just imagining being so close to Epcot and not having a PH.

But if you spend a lot of time at the pool, then you've made the right choice, since that is one great pool at YC.

 

[DisneyDreamer04]

The 1-bathroom and no-park-hopper things would sway me toward POP. Is there no middle ground? Suite at AoA maybe?

I'm just imagining being so close to Epcot and not having a PH.

But if you spend a lot of time at the pool, then you've made the right choice, since that is one great pool at YC.

The discount I got on the yacht club made the AoA the same.. that’s why I went ahead and chose to stay YC. I have it planned now, that we go to EP 2 out of our 10, DHS 3, and MK 3, AK 1, and a rest day. I am seeing how valuable a PH is now, with the EEMH, and the theme park reservations.

 

[gottalovepluto]

The discount I got on the yacht club made the AoA the same.. that’s why I went ahead and chose to stay YC. I have it planned now, that we go to EP 2 out of our 10, DHS 3, and MK 3, AK 1, and a rest day. I am seeing how valuable a PH is now, with the EEMH, and the theme park reservations.

Woah, I would be bored to tears with 3 days at DHS… if you aren’t already solid on that might want to check in on the theme park side of the board and ask some opinions on it.

 

[DisneyDreamer04]

Woah, I would be bored to tears with 3 days at DHS… if you aren’t already solid on that might want to check in on the theme park side of the board and ask some opinions on it.

Hey, that’s a good idea. I’ll post something over there to see what their opinions are. Thank you

 

[T.G.I.Friday]

You know how your family tours, but for me, losing park hoppers AND having the amount of luggage needed for a 10 day trip and 5 people in one hotel room just wouldn’t be worth it.

 

[AnnaS]

The discount I got on the yacht club made the AoA the same.. that’s why I went ahead and chose to stay YC. I have it planned now, that we go to EP 2 out of our 10, DHS 3, and MK 3, AK 1, and a rest day. I am seeing how valuable a PH is now, with the EEMH, and the theme park reservations.

For a 10 day trip, I would have at least 3 rest days - on those days evenings would be DS, or resort hopping for a meal/CS or TS and one evening around the lake. We love to spend time at the resort/Stormalong Bay pool and quiet pool. But if you don't go often to WDW, I can see spending a lot of time at the parks.

 

[Karebear]

I love having park hoppers, especially when I stay at YC or BC. Is so nice to spend the day at the pool and then stroll over to Epcot for dinner, for example. Can you buy your tickets at a discount place like Undercover Tourist? The savings on the discount tickets might cover the difference in price for you to have park hoppers...just a thought.

 

[brewhome]

Tough choice - if you were only going for five days instead of ten, I’d say go for Yacht Club to experience it and deal with the bathroom/five in one room situation because the resort is totally amazing. Ten days is a really long time to be in one room, with one bathroom, and I wonder how Dad feels about that? I know that would be a lot on my husband and he would want some privacy at some point.

Have you thought about a split stay? Perhaps five at pop and five at Yacht, or seven at Pop and three at Yacht? Then you could experience both.

 

[Trinity88]

I think this is going to be family specific. I can tell you that I would choose (and have) 2 rooms at POP over a single deluxe room. We travel in the summer mostly and the 2 bathrooms are a huge bonus. I also find my girls sleep better in their own beds, so at pop they each get a bed. We did have connecting rooms, but even if we hadn't, it really wouldn't have been that big a deal. The teens are ok in their own room.

We have done 1 room at BC and while we liked it, my girls have all said they prefer the room space at Pop. They also much prefer the food court at Pop.

All that said, we don't tend to park hop. We also did this pre skyliner.

Good luck, no matter what, you'll have a great trip!

 

[Mle8308]

The discount I got on the yacht club made the AoA the same.. that’s why I went ahead and chose to stay YC. I have it planned now, that we go to EP 2 out of our 10, DHS 3, and MK 3, AK 1, and a rest day. I am seeing how valuable a PH is now, with the EEMH, and the theme park reservations.

Stay at the YC if you really want to try it. You can make it work. Though I am not sure you will need 10 park days, that is a lot depending on when you are going. And Genie+ isn't really needed at Epcot. Maybe eliminate a few park days from your tickets (if you can, and I do know they get less expensive the more days you have) and between that and not buying Genie+ every day, you could use that to buy PH??? I don't usually buy the PH option, but I am also good with only doing 4 park days on a 12 day trip. I can skip DHS. And as another poster mentioned, 3 days at DHS is quite a lot, especially with using Genie+. And 3 at the MK, if you do the evening EMH, may not be necessary, either. Whatever you decide, have a great trip!

 

[DisneyDreamer04]

I think this is going to be family specific. I can tell you that I would choose (and have) 2 rooms at POP over a single deluxe room. We travel in the summer mostly and the 2 bathrooms are a huge bonus. I also find my girls sleep better in their own beds, so at pop they each get a bed. We did have connecting rooms, but even if we hadn't, it really wouldn't have been that big a deal. The teens are ok in their own room.

We have done 1 room at BC and while we liked it, my girls have all said they prefer the room space at Pop. They also much prefer the food court at Pop.

All that said, we don't tend to park hop. We also did this pre skyliner.

Good luck, no matter what, you'll have a great trip!

Thank you so much for your opinion. That is exactly what I wanted by asking everyone. I don’t want my “want” of staying in the deluxe to outweigh common sense. Lol!


Also, we do have a split stay, of 7/3. 7 of the nights are at YC, and the last three are offsite at IHG.

In all honesty we aren’t the “resort hangout” family.. we normally aren’t rope droppers either. We go in a little later, and stay till close… which truly means I could argue both sides.

I could say the deluxe makes the most sense, for EEMH, location and proximity to the parks..
Flip side, value makes the most sense, for more room, 2nd bath, and could even add an after hours event in the money we save..

literally, pros/cons to both.

 

[portocall]

We are a family of five who has always stayed in one room. Never been a problem for us. I would choose Yacht over POP any day of the week.

 

[butterscotchcollins]

I’m co-signing your decision to skip PH regardless. With 10 park days it’s just not a necessary added expense, you will have PLENTY of time to see and do everything. I have regretted getting PH on longer trips in the past bc I feel pressured to get my money’s worth and it’s a lot of running around.