We have stayed at Pop Century three times in the past three years and Coronado once (last year in December). We like both resorts for different reasons but chose Coronado for our next trip.
We do like that Pop has just one bus stop, and you line up so that it's fair as far as who was waiting first for each park bus. It's not all that spread out - nothing is too terribly far from the main building and bus stop. We spent a lot of time in the parks on those trips, so it financially made sense to stay at a Value resort when we wouldn't be in the hotel room much. Pools were very basic. We weren't going in with high expectations. It was fine. I think kids would be amused by all of the "larger than life" statues around the resort.
As adult travelers without children, we really liked Coronado. We didn't experience bus issues. It's worth it to do the research when it comes to buses, as Coronado's bussing is also an internal transportation system. The buses that go to the parks make stops in this order: Bus stop #2 (Casitas), #3 (Ranchos), #4 (Cabanas), and finally #1 (El Centro/main building). The buses to Disney Springs go in the opposite order. Essentially, if you are looking to travel to a different part of the resort, hop on just about any bus and it will take you there. You don't have to walk the entire resort. We didn't mind things being spread out because of that. The one thing I would say about the buses, though, is that the park buses would sometimes be full by the time they reached Cabanas (stop #3). I felt bad for people waiting there, as they often had to stand on the bus or wait for the next one. The main pool at Coronado (Lost City of Cibola pool) is amazing! It was cold when we went in December, so we are psyched to try it out when the weather is better for swimming. We chose Coronado for this trip because we are spending much more time at the resort (skipping the parks this time) and celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary. Coronado is just a nicer resort, hands-down. People refer to it as "Poly-lite" on the DisBoards (meaning a mini version of the Polynesian Resort). I think kids would like it at Coronado (especially the pool area), but it's definitely a resort that caters more to adults. Another thing to know about Coronado is that there are conventions there (for a schedule, join the Coronado Springs Buzz Facebook group), but I see this as a positive for the most part. Most conventioneers are not excited about going to the parks and will not crowd the buses or be at the pool during the daytime hours. We couldn't believe how close in price Coronado and Pop were for our August stay. I thought it might have been a mistake in our favor!
Both Pop and Coronado are under construction. Both Pop and Coronado have some older rooms and some refurbished rooms. I haven't stayed in a refurbished room at Pop, but I've seen photos and they look nice! We did stay in a refurbished room on our last trip at Coronado, and we were very impressed. As a final note, I wouldn't put a ton of stock into reports about busing. As you research more on the DisBoards, you'll find that some people think busing at one hotel is great, and others will tell you it is horrible! It really depends, and you shouldn't pick a resort based on that, in my opinion.
