Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Tie Dye Cheesecake Makes All the Difference

Today we're continuing my Pre-Trip Report about Kyle's & my upcoming Walt Disney World trip.  

You all know me: when I go to Walt Disney World, I insist on staying in a Disney resort.  Thankfully, everyone I travel with shares my belief.  The free transportation, yummy food court, fun gift shop (complete with Vinylmation trading options), and full Disney immersion makes it so worth it!  Not to mention the ability to purchase the Disney Dining Plan AND use the Extra Magic Hours in the parks!

Last trip it seemed like picking the resort we'd stay at was a little more difficult.  Initially we wanted to stay at Pop Century, a value level resort, but since it didn't cost much more, we moved up to Port Orleans Riverside, a moderate level resort.  I enjoyed Port Orleans Riverside.  The double sinks rocked, Yehaa Bob (the pianist in the bar) was hilarious, and the option to ride a boat to Downtown Disney was a beautiful change in transportation choices.  However I didn't feel like it was so amazing that I was going to stop staying anywhere else and call it my new WDW home.

I don't think Kyle and I even had a real discussion about where we'd stay this time.  It was "hey - let's price Pop Century" and off we went!  There are some pros and cons to this choice:
Pros
  •  Tie Dye Cheesecake 
  •  Fun theming spanning various decades
  • All rooms are fairly close to the food court/gift shop area
  • Bus service is usually really great there
  • Different place for a different trip
  • The food court and gift shop are connected, so I can shop while Kyle eats breakfast (or if I have a repeat of last trip, I can shop while he eats... period.) ;-)

Cons
  • No double sinks. I liked not sharing a sink, but I'll live. :) 
  • Beds are smaller (I think), but we don't share a bed, so that doesn't really matter. 
  • Value resorts tend to be further from the parks, but if you're on a bus, you're on a bus.  Distance doesn't really bother me.
  • No boat service.  I really really liked the boats, but I can live without them.
I stayed at the Pop Century Resort in May 2009 during my spur of the moment Disney trip with my sister, niece, and nephew.  I believe Kyle has stayed there multiple times during his solo trips.  Still curious about the Pop Century Resort?  Go to the official page here to check it out! 


Next post: We'll interrupt the Pre-Trip Report to take a ride on the Magical Blogorail Peach Loop as we discuss holidays in the parks.  While I'll focus more on my Thanksgiving 2010 trip, I'll also be mentioning our upcoming trip!

4 comments:

  1. Excellent choice! A little surprised that with the values only offering the QS dining plan you did not upgrade to a Mod resort. I am doing a split stay for the first time this trip Poly/Pop.

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  2. We've got so many extras planned in (more about those later) as well as Park Hoppers, so we put our money toward those instead. Besides, if we're still single in 3.5 years, we promised to go deluxe. ;-)

    Split stay sounds awesome! Are you doing Poly first? The change between the two is going to feel shocking!

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  3. Makes sense, the last 7 or 8 trips have been to Pop exclusively as we spend very little time at the resort anyway.

    Doing Poly first and then moving over to Pop later in trip. Trip is for my daughters 16th birthday and she has been dying to stay at the Poly for years. Yay for room only discounts!

    Personally kinda looking forward more to the Pop part of the trip though! :)

    The 'extras' do tend to add up quickly. This year we are doing MVMCP (of course) as well as LaNouba for the first time.

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  4. What an awesome 16th birthday trip! :) I've found that I spend little time at the resort as well. When I go with my sister's family (w/2 kids), we tend to be at the resort more as we go back to swim and rest and such.

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