Since Pop Costs Way More Than All Stars In 2018, Tell Me Why I Should Pay More

[gypsy_at_heart]

So I can save about $200-$300 if I book the Play, Stay, Dine package, but I can only get Preferred or Standard Pool View. I currently just have a Standard view. I'm going Feb 27-March 4. Would it be better to keep my Standard view in hopes of getting a refurbished room or should I switch?

I'm pretty sure there are preferred standard view rooms in building 10 in the 70's. That should be completed by your trip time I believe, some are already finished. I'd book the stay, play and dine and request a refurbished room in The 70's

 

[Haley R]

I'm pretty sure there are preferred standard view rooms in building 10 in the 70's. That should be completed by your trip time I believe, some are already finished. I'd book the stay, play and dine and request a refurbished room in The 70's

The standard pool view is cheaper but not by much. Do you still think we should go for preferred?

 

[gypsy_at_heart]

Standard pool view can be found in building 7 and 9 which have refurbished rooms. If you go that way just make sure to request the 80's. When I called in to add my request the cm told me to make sure to put my request in when I do the online check in as well

From my understanding 80's and 90's are finished and 70's is in progress with some rooms complete

 

[Haley R]

Standard pool view can be found in building 7 and 9 which have refurbished rooms. If you go that way just make sure to request the 80's. When I called in to add my request the cm told me to make sure to put my request in when I do the online check in as well

From my understanding 80's and 90's are finished and 70's is in progress with some rooms complete

Yep that’s right. My husband would rather have the 70’s but building 6 might not be done when we get there so we would only have building 10.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

We stayed at POP to save money on our last trip. After researching the Values, I chose POP for lacation, bus transportation, layout, proximity to AOA for a different food court option, location of the quiet pools, existence and location of pool bar and lower price than AOA. I also got a room discount for my dates I was able to apply after booking. I think I averaged $108 per night excluding tax.

These are some of the reasons I am struggling with the cost...........I like these three things a lot!

 

[Roxyfire]

It shows up as $147/night. Are you doing it with 3 adults and 1 child aged 9? That might be why we are getting different prices. DH and I just spent about 2 hours going through our options and we are staying with the DDP. We priced everything out and it makes since to have the DDP with where we chose to eat. I'm thinking about doing the Gift of Magic offer with 2-day tickets and DDP because it will still save us $132.

Keep in mind there's an extra fee per night for more than 2 adults in one room. So the difference is probably that.

 

[Haley R]

Keep in mind there's an extra fee per night for more than 2 adults in one room. So the difference is probably that.

That's what I figured. I ended up going with a PSD package with a Standard Pool View. I'm saving about $300 so I'm excited!

 

[Roxyfire]

That's what I figured. I ended up going with a PSD package with a Standard Pool View. I'm saving about $300 so I'm excited!

Glad it worked out! It's crazy how much those rooms cost these days.

 

[Haley R]

Glad it worked out! It's crazy how much those rooms cost these days.

Omg I know! $177/night at a value is a little much IMO.

 

[Haley R]

So I kept looking today at PSD offers because I wasn't set on the Standard Pool View. Just wasn't exactly what I wanted. Tonight I was looking and there were Standard rooms available for the PSD offer and the Standard Pool View rooms were gone. I'm not sure how this happened in one day, but I changed to Standard, saved about $30, and got what I wanted. I'm much happier having the Standard room because that gives me a lot more chances to get a refurbished room. Yay for persistence!

 

[JerseyJanice]

@Haley R Keep checking the Special Offers page on the Disney website. Also, watch the discount sub forum here.

I bet you’ll do even better if you’re diligent.

Having the lake is another one reason that I think Pop is nicer than the All Stars. Nothing is more soothing than a body of water.

We stayed at Pop and got Free Dining in 2008, 2009, and 2010. I think we paid like $82 per night and got the regular DDP for 2 adults and 2 “Disney” adults. Those were the days!

 

[Haley R]

@Haley R Keep checking the Special Offers page on the Disney website. Also, watch the discount sub forum here.

I bet you’ll do even better if you’re diligent.

Having the lake is another one reason that I think Pop is nicer than the All Stars. Nothing is more soothing than a body of water.

We stayed at Pop and got Free Dining in 2008, 2009, and 2010. I think we paid like $82 per night and got the regular DDP for 2 adults and 2 “Disney” adults. Those were the days!

I haven’t been on the discount forum yet. I need to go take a look. I’m very happy with what we are paying considering we have the dining plan, room, and tickets together, but I’ll keep looking.

I’m really happy I got to change to standard. I wanted a 70s room with lake view

I wish I could pay $82/night! Lol I’m not sure how much my room is since I’m doing the package

 

[JerseyJanice]

IMO “Lakeview” is a hidden gem at Pop. Granted, the last time I stayed there was before AoA was opened. But it was always so beautiful outside the room at night looking out over the water.

Hope you have a great trip, Haley. All three of my Pop stays were wonderful. We had so much fun.

 

[Haley R]

IMO “Lakeview” is a hidden gem at Pop. Granted, the last time I stayed there was before AoA was opened. But it was always so beautiful outside the room at night looking out over the water.

Hope you have a great trip, Haley. All three of my Pop stays were wonderful. We had so much fun.

I think the lake view rooms look awesome! If I don’t get one of those I’d like to have a room facing the giant fooseball table.

Thanks! I can’t wait. I’ve never done a value resort but POP looks so awesome.

 

[DisneyFanThi]

I just came back from a 4 night stay in Pop in one of the newly refurbished rooms. The room was very comfortable and the design felt very crisp and modern while still maintaining a feel of Disney. Also the TV in room was huge, I think it might have been bigger than the one I had when I stayed in the Contemporary. Another huge plus with the newly refurbished room was the sheer number of outlets. There were two by the bed, one by the Murphy bed, two at the entertainment center, and one by the coffee maker. The outlets also featured USB charging. The utility of the room was nice as well with the foldaway bed. I found the beds to be more comfortable than the ones at the All Stars. Only thing that was a little strange was the way the bath tub was installed would cause the sliding glass door to sometimes slide open. The grounds were nice, and you have easy access to AoA food court plus Pop's felt like it had more options as well. Overall I loved the rooms, and I can see the value in paying a little bit more.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

That's what I figured. I ended up going with a PSD package with a Standard Pool View. I'm saving about $300 so I'm excited!

Glad your diligence paid off. $300 savings is great.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

I just came back from a 4 night stay in Pop in one of the newly refurbished rooms. The room was very comfortable and the design felt very crisp and modern while still maintaining a feel of Disney. Also the TV in room was huge, I think it might have been bigger than the one I had when I stayed in the Contemporary. Another huge plus with the newly refurbished room was the sheer number of outlets. There were two by the bed, one by the Murphy bed, two at the entertainment center, and one by the coffee maker. The outlets also featured USB charging. The utility of the room was nice as well with the foldaway bed. I found the beds to be more comfortable than the ones at the All Stars. Only thing that was a little strange was the way the bath tub was installed would cause the sliding glass door to sometimes slide open. The grounds were nice, and you have easy access to AoA food court plus Pop's felt like it had more options as well. Overall I loved the rooms, and I can see the value in paying a little bit more.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I was also concerned about the "hospital" look in some pictures.

 

[Haley R]

Glad your diligence paid off. $300 savings is great.

Yep it is! And I actually changed it again because Standard rooms became available for that package deal. I wanted Standard in the first place for a better chance at a refurbished room and I saved another $30.

 

[Wubar]

There are standard rooms available at Pop for the PSD deal? Congrats on snagging that one! Will have to check to see if my dates work now...

 

[brockash]

For 2018, Pop rates have jumped a lot. The difference between All Stars and Pop is now enough to weigh the pros and cons of trying to save a couple hundred dollars for a week long stay.

How have you weighed the tradeoffs, and where would you stay in 2018?

I looked up the prices on mousesavers and was disheartened to see the price jump!

In my opinion, you shouldn't. The only thing better at Pop is the busing, and many times even that is no different. For us, they do have negatives - bigger, not a huge fan of the food court -especially since they took out the hand dipped ice cream, you can't swap your drink for a snack there even though you can at 99% of the other resorts, and we don't like the decor any more than the allstars, so we decided to switch this year and will be doing ASSports instead this upcoming year.

I suppose for future stays the room reno.s could be a difference, but it really depends on your party makeup and preference if that's a,positive or negative.