Pop vs a Deluxe (December 2018)

[nimbuscat]

I've been to WDW a few times, last two trips having been at Wilderness Lodge and Poly. Next trip will be the first time we have to actually pay for all four of us, and with December prices, ouch! I stand to save a buttload of money by staying at Pop, during what will likely be during a free dining time. (Based on the bounceback free dining dates for 2018.)

That said, I keep looking really closely at Yacht Club or AKL for the same dates. Neither are out of our price range, per se, I just have a hard time choking down the extra few thousand $$ when Pop is such a bargain for that time period. Our kids will be 4 and 7 on the trip. I feel like AKL would be magical for them. Yacht Club they could take or leave (except the pool, which may be negligible with December weather anyway). Truly, and as much as I hate to admit it, they would probably be more "wowed" by the icons at Pop.

I guess what I'm really looking for here is some perspective and advice. Those of you who have stayed in Pop and deluxe, what are your thoughts? By the time we go to Pop, all the rooms should be refurbished. We have a preferred room reserved. We are in the parks most of the time and do not typically come back for midday rests/naps.

Help, please! Thank you!

 

[Disneylover99]

I love Pop in December. It's festive! Lots of people decorate their resort window or string up lights. Kinda tacky festive, but fun!

While I love to stay at the Poly in August. I've had tons of fun with my Christmas trips at Pop.

 

[Shellyb84]

We've stayed at all 3 resorts you're considering, and love them all! YC is beautiful and has an excellent location, the pool is amazing - but like you said, you may not be able to use it in December. AKL definitely is magical, especially if they are animal lovers. We have had several great stays at Pop, the refurbished rooms are awesome, I love the giant icons and the CMs there have always been so friendly and I like the food court. Typically I would choose deluxe over Pop if it's in the budget, but we typically go in warm weather and spend a lot of time at the resort. For a park heavy trip with the possibility of iffy weather I would likely save the money and stay at Pop. Just keep in mind that the rooms are a good bit smaller - it gets pretty cramped for our family of 3 after a few days.

 

[jaiminee krikit]

I love Pop! When I go on my solo trips, I always stay there. It is cute, in-your-face fun! I have not stayed at YC, but I have stayed at AKL, and honestly I would choose Pop over AKL. YC is on my list to some day stay, but it is usually out of my price range. With the age of your kids, I think they would enjoy Pop most. The pools are fun (so if the weather is nice, you don't miss out), the big characters are fun, I love the stairwells (huge Rubik's cube, old cell phone, bowling pin, etc.), the lobby is cute, and the new rooms are wonderful! I would save the money for a trip when they're older and can appreciate a deluxe resort more.

 

[nimbuscat]

Thanks, all. Appreciate the input! I think we will stick with Pop. I am secretly excited about the giant Mickey phone in the 70s? 80s? section, because I used to have one just like it! Plus, the more money we save this trip = more to spend on a future trip when we really want to go deluxe!

 

[shanew21]

I stayed at both during our last trip and here are my thoughts:

POP: Rooms were nice, we had a renovated unit. The resort is massive and everything is very spread out, so we had to walk a bit to get to our building then we were on the very top floor. Buses were crowded but not terribly so. Walls seemed paper thin. We could hear the other family next to our room as if they were right next to us.

Copper Creek Wilderness Lodge - The lobby during Christmas is just immaculate. Unbelievable theming and very cozy. Our room was bigger than POP and very nice. The water taxi was the best feature. Rarely had to wait more than 10 minutes for one and took about 10 minutes to get to the Magic Kingdom once we were boarded.

We rented points, so the price difference wasn't massive and thus we thought Wilderness Lodge was better by a landslide, but with the actual cost of the hotels taken into account it would be much closer.

 

[pugbug]

I almost always stay deluxe (GF, AKL, or BLT), but I stayed one night in Pop recently and probably won't stay in a deluxe again. I'm a room snob and the rooms at Pop were nicer than the deluxes. For example, at my recent stay at BLT, the carpet was stained and the room was poorly lit. At Pop, the hard floors are so much cleaner, the lightning is great (especially in the bathroom), and there were outlets everywhere. I used to stay deluxe for the locations, but it seems that unless you can walk directly to the park of your choice, travel takes forever from all of the resorts, so might as well stay at a cheaper one. I didn't like the food court at Pop though and every deluxe I've been to has a way nicer quick service place. If you stay at Pop, I'd recommend a higher floor or a room not facing the parking lots.

I do really like AKL though and if it is an option, I'd suggest renting points and getting a standard room, if you don't want to do Pop. The price is about twice as much as Pop if you rent points for AKL.

 

[happymommy]

I'm with pugbug. I always stayed deluxe, but don't see any service to justify it any longer.

 

[CarolynFH]

DVC owner at BWV here to say that Pop is our favorite place to stay when we’re out of points!

But one thing I’d like to point out - Toy Story Land should be open for your visit. Staying at Yacht Club would allow you to walk to DHS....

 

[Disneyhenry]

We have stayed at GF, WL, AKL and POP ( as far as deluxe and values go anyway). I loved all 3, this past trip in Dec 2017 we stayed at POP, I was a leery about the choice, but once we arrived I loved it! The weather was way to cold to swim, so I was happy that I didn’t focus on the pool as i usually do. They do a great job decorating for Christmas, the food court is one of my favorite!
In Aug we will be staying at AKL, we will use the pool lol, the only other place I would suggest is WL, it is they most beautiful resort for Christmas, but save funds, stay at POP and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed
Have fun