Would you rather...AOA or Pop Century

CouponGirl

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jun 21, 2017
I planned to do a lion king suite at AOA (4 adults & 2 under 3) but just discovered I could do 2 rooms at Pop Century + tickets for basically the same price as room only at AOA. So now it has me thinking ...

My hesitation about Pop is mainly the fact that it has outside doors (versus interior hallways with inside doors). I've never been a fan as they seem less secure to me. I am also concerned about noise from people walking outside the rooms. I feel it might be louder than being at AOA. Having little ones that may already have a hard time sleeping, I don't want to add to the problem with people running outside the room all night! (BTW, will Reno's be done by end of year and is the path between the two resorts open so we could walk around AOA if we don't stay there?)

I also thought the kids would enjoy the theming of the lion king rooms, but at their age its probably more me than them ... They'd be just as happy going down the aisles of the grocery store :rotfl2:

So what would you do?? It will be their (kids) first time at Disney and everyone's first time staying at a disney resort. I want it to be a really great experience and don't want anyone thinking we should have stayed off site... Gotta sell hubby on staying at a resort or this may be the one and only time we do!

Sorry for the novel!
 
I love Pop, but unless you want that separation of rooms, internal doors and less noise are valid reasons to pick AOA. I can see why you'd debate both, though!

Pop can be quiet, but you also might wind up next to loud tour groups. The external doors do sometimes stick a bit and not close properly. (Mine just needed a shove in the morning.) In my experience, the Pop food court is busier.

On the up side, the new rooms at Pop are really slick. They've maximized the usable space quite well.

The path between resorts was open aside from one lane of the bridge a couple weeks ago. I found myself walking from POP to AOA to use their food court. The gondola station under construction is off to the side of the middle of the bridge. It didn't look like the kind of project that would close the whole path down.

Hope this helps.
 
I planned to do a lion king suite at AOA (4 adults & 2 under 3) but just discovered I could do 2 rooms at Pop Century + tickets for basically the same price as room only at AOA. So now it has me thinking ...

That's a big savings.

My hesitation about Pop is mainly the fact that it has outside doors (versus interior hallways with inside doors). I've never been a fan as they seem less secure to me. I am also concerned about noise from people walking outside the rooms. I feel it might be louder than being at AOA. Having little ones that may already have a hard time sleeping, I don't want to add to the problem with people running outside the room all night!

We have found that the WDW resorts with interior hallways are actually louder. At least outside the sound dissipates. And you would think guests would be mindful that they are inside walking by other guests rooms and use their inside voices, but that has not been our experience.

(BTW, will Reno's be done by end of year and is the path between the two resorts open so we could walk around AOA if we don't stay there?)

The room refurbs at Pop should be done by the end of the year. But the skyliner gondola system won't be completed until Spring 2019. Yes, the bridge between the 2 resorts is open.

I also thought the kids would enjoy the theming of the lion king rooms, but at their age its probably more me than them ... They'd be just as happy going down the aisles of the grocery store :rotfl2:

Very true.

So what would you do?? It will be their (kids) first time at Disney and everyone's first time staying at a disney resort. I want it to be a really great experience and don't want anyone thinking we should have stayed off site... Gotta sell hubby on staying at a resort or this may be the one and only time we do!

Sorry for the novel!

With having 4 adults, I would choose 2 rooms at Pop so all the adults have a real bed. Just be aware that connecting rooms is just a request. So your 2 rooms may not be connecting and may not be near each other.
 
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With having 4 adults, I would choose 2 rooms at Pop so all the adults have a real bed. Just be aware that connecting rooms is just a request. So your 2 rooms may not be connecting and may not be near each other.

I planned to do a lion king suite at AOA (4 adults & 2 under 3) but just discovered I could do 2 rooms at Pop Century + tickets for basically the same price as room only at AOA.

I think it might be nice for the adults to have a bit of private space to decompress. We always bring a sound machine with us to muffle the random hotel noises, especially at night. I understand the hesitation with small children and an exterior corridor. The landscaping seems to provide a visual barrier so it doesn't feel like you are staying at a shady motel.

Just remember, you could do 2 rooms at POP plus tickets for the same price as room only at AOA.
 


Granted, I stayed in an AKL room with my in-laws, DH, me, my almost 3 year old for a week and had a great vacation. I also loved staying at AoA.

However, with 4 adults and a large cost savings, I would choose 2 rooms at Pop over AoA suite just to have separation from the other 2 adults and a real bed for those adults.
The kids might like AoA better, but I took my twins at almost 3 and at almost 4. They don't really remember the first trip.
 
With that price difference I would choose 2 rooms at Pop.
You could also get one DP and share between the 2 rooms, which could end up being a great value if you use the credits wisely.
 


I planned to do a lion king suite at AOA (4 adults & 2 under 3) but just discovered I could do 2 rooms at Pop Century + tickets for basically the same price as room only at AOA. So now it has me thinking ...

My hesitation about Pop is mainly the fact that it has outside doors (versus interior hallways with inside doors). I've never been a fan as they seem less secure to me. I am also concerned about noise from people walking outside the rooms. I feel it might be louder than being at AOA. Having little ones that may already have a hard time sleeping, I don't want to add to the problem with people running outside the room all night! (BTW, will Reno's be done by end of year and is the path between the two resorts open so we could walk around AOA if we don't stay there?)

I also thought the kids would enjoy the theming of the lion king rooms, but at their age its probably more me than them ... They'd be just as happy going down the aisles of the grocery store :rotfl2:

So what would you do?? It will be their (kids) first time at Disney and everyone's first time staying at a disney resort. I want it to be a really great experience and don't want anyone thinking we should have stayed off site... Gotta sell hubby on staying at a resort or this may be the one and only time we do!

Sorry for the novel!

Your first line answered it for me.
REAL BEDS for everyone.
TICKETS covered.
Big difference.
Those tickets covers lots of meals.

I too find the indoor hallways to be the loudest ... never been so bothered by hall noise as I have AKL.

Bridge open, you can eat at their food court, you can use their buses, you can take lots of pictures and kids can enjoy the playground.

BUT, what is your true makeup ..... 2 parents with 2 kids and 2 grands? 2 parents with 4 kids, two who are adults ... just thinking if your rooms are not right together at POP, will you be okay with it. You can note the request, they try hard but sometimes it doesn't happen. That said we have said at values and moderates with others, and our rooms not together, not even in same building ... and we did fine.
 
I would choose two rooms just for the extra bathroom! :laundy:

There are 6 in our family so while I can find rooms that can accommodate all of us, if I can get two rooms for the same (ish) price I always take that option just for the extra space.:yay:
 
I would choose two rooms just for the extra bathroom! :laundy:

There are 6 in our family so while I can find rooms that can accommodate all of us, if I can get two rooms for the same (ish) price I always take that option just for the extra space.:yay:

The AoA suites have two bathrooms. One off the bedroom, and one off the living space that is broken into toilet & shower off the sink area.
 
If it were me, I would go with POP. It gives you some extra spending money while you are there and I'm sure your kids would rather enjoy an extra character meal or experience than a themed hotel room.
 
I would do Pop as well. The extra space would make all the difference with kids that little. Having room to leave the strollers unfolded and still have room for them to play.
 
I too would choose two rooms at Pop. As mentioned, interior hallways can be just as loud. Would be nice for the adults to have their own space. Plus the savings at pop is unbeatable.
 
Wow! Thank you for all of the helpful insight! :thanks:

This is silly on my part, but I hadn't really considered that not everyone would have a "real bed." I just counted the sleeping areas and was like 'ok there's enough room'. ;-) And I would not have ever thought that people would have felt it was not as loud when they were in a room with an exterior door. It's nice to hear insight from people that have been there about the exterior doors, updated rooms and that there is no issues with going back and forth from Pop to AOA if so desired.

With that price difference I would choose 2 rooms at Pop.
You could also get one DP and share between the 2 rooms, which could end up being a great value if you use the credits wisely.
I would have NEVER thought about this! Thank you for pointing that out. I didn't realize that sense it's two different rooms we would no longer be tied into having everything exactly the same. I know at buffets everyone would need a credit, but are non-buffet table service restaurants ok with people sharing a meal? Is it simple to do?

BUT, what is your true makeup ..... 2 parents with 2 kids and 2 grands? 2 parents with 4 kids, two who are adults ... just thinking if your rooms are not right together at POP, will you be okay with it. You can note the request, they try hard but sometimes it doesn't happen. That said we have said at values and moderates with others, and our rooms not together, not even in same building ... and we did fine.
It would be nice to be close, but we would survive if we weren't.

If it were me, I would go with POP. It gives you some extra spending money while you are there and I'm sure your kids would rather enjoy an extra character meal or experience than a themed hotel room.
Excellent point - the savings would give us the ability to do some other things we might not otherwise be able to do.

I would do Pop as well. The extra space would make all the difference with kids that little. Having room to leave the strollers unfolded and still have room for them to play.
Another thing I hadn't considered...
 
We will have two rooms at Pop for our spring break trip, one with the deluxe dining plan. It sounds like this would be a great option for you as well. We are hoping for the refurbished rooms so that we can leave the pull-down bed up in one room, giving the kids more space to hang out in the room. According to most reports, the fold down beds in the refurbished Pop rooms are real, full-size queen beds with great mattresses. The extra fold-out sofa and pull-down beds at AoA are NOT the same quality and I would be VERY hesitant to expect adults to sleep comfortably on these for multiple nights. Connecting rooms are only a request, but even if you don't get them the first night, they can usually move you to connecting rooms by the next day.

We are also doing the Deluxe Dining plan for one of the rooms. It is a great option if you are planning on several buffet's, character meals, or other relatively expensive dining experiences. You are allowed to share credits with people not on the plan, so guests from one room can use their credits to pay for everyone's meals. Since the Deluxe plan includes appetizer, entree, dessert, and an drink (including wine!), it is easy to share two or three credits among 4 adults at most table service restaurants. Kids meals or extra appetizers can also be purchased and paid for separately, saving credits to use for more expensive meals. We will use dining credits for one or two big TS meals per day, including a couple signature restaurants that we would otherwise probably skip because of the cost. It might work well for you too!
 
that's a hard decision but I would look at it this way... which is more important to save money or the experience? Either way you cant loose...
 
I'd do two rooms at Pop, so you'd have more real (queen) beds. Throw in that much cheaper? Yes, the 2 rooms sounds better!
 
We are also doing the Deluxe Dining plan for one of the rooms. It is a great option if you are planning on several buffet's, character meals, or other relatively expensive dining experiences. You are allowed to share credits with people not on the plan, so guests from one room can use their credits to pay for everyone's meals. Since the Deluxe plan includes appetizer, entree, dessert, and an drink (including wine!), it is easy to share two or three credits among 4 adults at most table service restaurants. Kids meals or extra appetizers can also be purchased and paid for separately, saving credits to use for more expensive meals. We will use dining credits for one or two big TS meals per day, including a couple signature restaurants that we would otherwise probably skip because of the cost. It might work well for you too!
How do you do this? Do you have to tell them when you order what will be paid for using credits and what will be paid with cash?
 
How do you do this? Do you have to tell them when you order what will be paid for using credits and what will be paid with cash?
I did this with a friend in a separate room. You tell them which people are on the deluxe DP. Then the people on the plan place their orders. Ask for plates to share. We didn't ask the servers to split any meals but we told them what we were going to share. No issues and it was fun.
 

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