Resort Selection? POP, AOA, POR or Doubletree?

Indee96

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jan 19, 2015
We are in the early stages of planning our second family trip to Disney. Our first trip was in May 2017 and our family of 4 stayed in a Lion King suite at AOA.

We are planning to return to WDW in early December 2019. Our girls will be 10 & 13 at the time and they cannot share a bed! We’re trying to decide what type of room will be best for us and since we’ve only stayed in the family suite at AOA we’re not sure what might work best but also be cost effective. We are open to suggestions but right now we are considering either 2 connecting rooms at POP (hoping to get at least adjoining if they can't accommodate connecting), a family suite at AOA, a 5th sleeper at POR or a suite at the Doubletree Disney Springs.

Do you have any advice on what has worked best for your family with pre-teen/teen girls who need their own sleeping spaces? :)
 
Hands down I would go with TWO rooms at Pop. Well worth it for the extra bathroom if nothing else. _I_ would stay on property for WDW transportation if nothing else.... Two rooms at Pop will usually cost the same or less than family suite at AoA. Have you considered two rooms at an All Star? They often cost a bit less than Pop.
 
All Star Music has suites as well that are a bit less expensive than those at AoA.

Other possibilities might be a bunk bed room at WL or AKL (depends upon budget) or a cabin in FW.
 
To me it would just come down to price and comfort.

Two rooms at Pop (because of the extra bathroom) may be easier (and oddly cheaper) than a family suite at AOA ..
 


Will you have a car? Are you driving to Orlando or flying in without a car?

If you have a car I would book the suite at the double tree or consider an off site condo. This way everyone has a real bed of their own and space. Yet, you're still all together in one unit with no worries about the possibilities of the second room not being connected. The price is probably much better going this route but run your numbers for your dates because sometimes rates do weird things.

If you're relying on Disney transportation I would go with 2 rooms at Pop. I would also look at prices of deluxe resorts that have 2 queens and a day bed in the room. Compare this prices to the 2 rooms at Pop because sometimes discounts come out that make the prices close enough to consider this option over the 2 value rooms.
 
That is definitely a hard decision. I come from a family of 5 who went to Disney every other year throughout our childhood. It was my parents, myself, and my two brothers who are twins and three years younger than me. Being that we always had that odd number, choosing resorts was difficult especially when my brothers reached their teenage years and grew well over six feet. Now, this was before Art of Animation and the family suite revolution so it was a bit more difficult. Often times we would get conjoining rooms at the All-Stars. They were cheaper than POP but still allowed all of the perks of Disney transportation and staying on property. As someone above mentioned, having two bathrooms was worth it. I wouldn't recommend staying off site because you lose that convenience. You also lose a little bit of the magic that comes with a Disney vacation. To us, it just isn't worth that. We may stay a night or two either at the beginning or end of the trip off site but usually we are doing non-Disney things during that time.

One thing to consider is how much time you plan on spending in your room. For us, we always got up early and stayed in the parks until late so we really only saw our rooms to sleep. Because of that we weren't so concerned about the amount of space we had and would sometimes just get one room at Port Orleans French Quarter and take an air mattress. In more recent years, now that we are all adults we choose to stay in a villa at Old Key West because we can all stay in one place and it is cheaper than the three rooms it would take at a value resort to house us all. You get the added bonus of a kitchen that way too. With a two year old it is pretty nice.

I guess what I am trying to say is there really is no wrong decision. Just think of what your priorities are and go with whatever resort fits into that. If this were me I would probably choose the family suite at Art of Animation for two reasons. 1. I have yet to stay here 2. I like the convenience of everyone being able to stay together at that price point.
 
Is there a reason they can't share a bed, like one sleeps all over the bed or are they just whiny kids? Ask which one wants to stay home if they aren't going to shsre.
 


I have two teenage girls so I totally get it. My vote would be the DoubleTree. It's actually a great property, quality comparable to the disney deluxes but more space; the suites are lovely and they do have shuttles to/from the parks running on a set schedule every 30 mins. You can also use the disney bus back to disney springs from the park (after 4 pm) and walk back to your hotel from there in less than 10 mins. Plenty of disney magic in the parks; I think the DoubleTree provides the best value.
 
If you plan to have a car, I'd seriously consider the Doubletree. We looked at them but since they didn't have a balcony ( and that was a desire for this last trip ). They came in several thousand lower than AKL ( we were there for an 11 night stay this time around ).

We loved the location and it had quite a lot to offer - space being big win.

You'll have to weigh out the pricing for a car and add that to the cost of the hotel. Depending on car price, it could end up being very close to what you'd pay at Pop for the 2 rooms.
 
Hands down I would go with TWO rooms at Pop. Well worth it for the extra bathroom if nothing else. _I_ would stay on property for WDW transportation if nothing else.... Two rooms at Pop will usually cost the same or less than family suite at AoA. Have you considered two rooms at an All Star? They often cost a bit less than Pop.
Actually on many occasions i've noticed that movies cost would be on par with pop. But i do agree, i too would go with two rooms at pop. The AoA Suites are nice but way too pricey. And i personally wouldnt stay off site. I like the disney buses very much. Very reliable and you dont usually wait too long for a bus.
 
Actually on many occasions i've noticed that movies cost would be on par with pop. But i do agree, i too would go with two rooms at pop. The AoA Suites are nice but way too pricey. And i personally wouldnt stay off site. I like the disney buses very much. Very reliable and you dont usually wait too long for a bus.
If the two rooms don't connect (and connecting rooms are not guaranteed) and the girls are under 18, the parents will need to split up with one in each room.

I'd just tell the girls to suck it up for the trip.
 
Funny to see this, as I’m struggling between Doubletree Suites and AoA for July. We were going to stay offsite, but I can’t give up 60 day FP.

I’m hoping for a good discount because I really want to stay at AoA!
 
If the two rooms don't connect (and connecting rooms are not guaranteed) and the girls are under 18, the parents will need to split up with one in each room.

I'd just tell the girls to suck it up for the trip.
Yes correct. :) And i agree. I'd tell the girls to just suck it up while on vacay.
 
Actually on many occasions i've noticed that movies cost would be on par with pop. But i do agree, i too would go with two rooms at pop. The AoA Suites are nice but way too pricey. And i personally wouldnt stay off site. I like the disney buses very much. Very reliable and you dont usually wait too long for a bus.

Yes, this has been the case for year, but my May trip this year AS were in the $100 range while Pop was $168. I was FLOORED.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top