Wanting some opinions: Sports vs Pop

[KT0191]

Hello all!
Like the title said, wanting some opinions on something...
Currently, I have a BB booked in a preferred room at Pop for next September. Being it only me and DS5, I want to be close to the lobby. However, a standard at Sports is available (I personally wouldn’t pay for a preferred room there since that resort is so small) and the difference between the two comes to a total of $287 (this is for 8 nights). Now, I’ve stayed at both and while I really like both, Pop has become our new favorite after our first stay there this past May. The difference won’t make or break our trip but that is a nice little chunk and I’m just not sure if the almost $300 is worth it between the two.
Thoughts/opinions? Thank ya!

 

[2forMe]

I would change to save $300. Both are values so essentially the same, Imo. I prefer to have more money to spend.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I think Pop is about 100 times nicer than All Stars Sports but that is my opinion.

 

[HopperFan]

Well at POP you will have the brand new rooms!! Queen, super comfy beds! Your DS will LOVE the fold out murphy bed with pluto inside! My DS was so excited and ready to fight for that bed. The bathroom is SO MUCH NICER! Lots of storage which will be great for your longer trip.

POP is way nicer than the AllStars. There is more green space and landscaping so if just feels nicer. [I've stayed at all the values but AoA. About a dozen times at Sports and close to 30 times at POP].

https://www.easywdw.com/easy/blog/review-refurbished-pop-century-room/

 

[brittanidp]

I love the new rooms at Pop! We stayed in one in June. We are booked at Sports for February and I check daily to see if we can move to Pop! I’d like the savings though, not sure if I’d pass the better deal for just my son and I in the room.

 

[leebee]

I'd save the money and go with ASSports. A murphy bed isn't much different from a second double bed, even if it does come with Pluto on the wall. I'd rather keep the $300 in my pocket, maybe do something special/new with it (Hoop de Doo, for example, and still have $$$ left over?). To us, a bed is a bed is a bed...

 

[Haley R]

We actually have a similar situation. We are going late February/early March and are currently booked at POP with a Standard room. ASSports has a room only deal that would save us a bit of money, but I'm staying with POP. I've been super excited for a while now to try and get a refurbished room and I like that we can walk over to AOA if we want to. I also like that POP has its own bus all the time so there's no chance we would have to share. IMO, the savings don't outweigh my excitement for the new rooms and accommodations at POP.

 

[KT0191]

The answers here are about 50/50 so that makes it so much easier (kidding).
I’m *probably* going to be staying with Pop, due to the queen beds and the coffee maker, but I’m still not positive that I want to spend $300 more for just that. It will be a lot of back and forth for me for a little while lol.
Thanks all!

 

[MrsDuck]

Toughie. I'd pick POP for the theme and to try the new rooms. BUT, that $300 can go far for souvenirs or special events/dining. I think you really have to weigh what you want more!

 

[BriLovesDisney]

I would keep it at POP.

 

[Mome Rath]

I would stay at POP too... I've stayed at each All Star and Pop multiple times and had bad group/Magical Express issues at All Stars... but not at Pop yet.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I've never stayed at the All Stars, but I've stayed at POP and loved it!

I say stick with your original plan.

 

[JennyDrake]

Sports for me! LOL! 1,000 fewer rooms which means less chaos at the food court and shorter lines for buses.

 

[CosmicGirl]

How much time will you be spending at the resort and what will you do there?
I've stayed at all values and for our upcoming trip we opted for Pop at $15/night more than the All-Stars, but we probably wouldn't do that if the difference were $35/night.

Pros of Pop:
- you might get a renovated room
- more choices at the food court
- bigger portions for the same price in our experience
- close to AoA for even more and better food choices, as well as even bigger portions in our experience
- buses were less of a mess for us.

Cons of the All-Stars:
- older rooms
- the food court isn't as nice and you don't have AoA next door
- smaller portions (again, in our experience)
- buses always got stuck in the worst traffic for some reason, both during our stay at Movies in May 2016 and Sports in December 2016, so it took forever to get anywhere.

The theming of the pools may be a factor as well.

That said, if you're gonna be in the parks all day, you don't plan to eat many meals at the food court, and you don't mind the extra time on the bus then I'd prefer to have $287 in spending money. The more time you spend at the resort, the more the upcharge is worth it. Sports was the last of the values I tried because I had been avoiding it for years (I'm not at all into sports), but I was pleasantly surprized and had a much better stay at Sports than at Movies.

 

[Darbie]

I have stayed at ASSports and Pop and I prefer Pop, especially with the new rooms. The rooms at ASSports seemed a bit run down and I wasn't crazy about the food court. I thought bus service at Pop was better, too.

 

[dansdad]

Sports for me! LOL! 1,000 fewer rooms which means less chaos at the food court and shorter lines for buses.

This!

 

[peg2001]

I like Pop but I'd save the money at stay All Stars. With only two people in the room, I doubt you'd notice the bed size difference.

 

[scrapquitler]

Hello all!
Like the title said, wanting some opinions on something...
Currently, I have a BB booked in a preferred room at Pop for next September. Being it only me and DS5, I want to be close to the lobby. However, a standard at Sports is available (I personally wouldn’t pay for a preferred room there since that resort is so small) and the difference between the two comes to a total of $287 (this is for 8 nights). Now, I’ve stayed at both and while I really like both, Pop has become our new favorite after our first stay there this past May. The difference won’t make or break our trip but that is a nice little chunk and I’m just not sure if the almost $300 is worth it between the two.
Thoughts/opinions? Thank ya!

We've stayed at both recently. We usually stay in a preferred room at Pop, but stayed in a Standard (the Tennis Section) at Sports in September. I thought the standard room wasn't too far away, I guess the resort is smaller overall. I prefer the theme at Pop, but my teenage son loved the Sports theme. Everyone in my family agreed that the food court at Pop Century is much better than the one at Sports. We did like that the beverage station is available 24/7 at Sports, unlike Pop. I think the buses have a definite edge at Pop over Sports. A few times we had to share buses at Sports, I mean, it's not a big deal, but it can be annoying to make the extra stops at the other resorts even if the bus isn't overcrowded.

DH and DS give a slight edge to Sports because they like to take a walk every night, and when we are at Sports, they walk to McDonalds, which for some reason makes them ridiculously happy (maybe because we live 15 miles from McDonalds at home). But when we stay at Pop, they love walking around the lake and over to AOA, so it kind of evens out.