No longer a Pop Century fan

[Southern Bell]

We stayed summer of 2011 and had a great experience! Sorry yours was so bad! When I first checked in they even let me look at my room first and then change its location before I moved my things in.

 

[TDC Nala]

Was it the one by 1900 Park Fare? That one seems to be dirty a lot. I think because of so many small children, and so many mamas in a hurry to make it back to the meal.

No, the one by Citricos.

 

[Ranchfly]

I have stayed at Pop 9 times and have always enjoyed it in the past for its value. This last visit has severely tainted my view on this resort. The day we checked in it looked like there were drops of blood or something reddish/brownish in the tub. I was still in "Yay, I'm at Disney World" mode so I overlooked it and rinsed out the tub myself. 2 of the 7 nights we were there the trash was not emptied in our room. We had several maintenance issues with the tub faucet not shutting off and hearing running (steady stream, not trickling) water all night even with the bathroom door shut. You had to hold onto the handle to keep it in the warm zone because it would slip into the scalding hot zone if you didn't hold it up. The drain would not stay open, so the tub would fill up with water as you took a shower. In order to keep the tub from filling up you had to bend down and hold the drain open. So, if one hand is holding the drain open and the other hand is holding the handle so the water doesn't scald you, how does one take a shower? We ended up holding the water in the warm zone with one hand, leaving the tub fill up with water, and wash with the free hand. We called maintenance several times and still didn't have our issues resolved when we left. One day the guy told us there was nothing he could do to fix the handle, it would have to wait to be replaced. The tv kept messing up and losing the signal due to a faulty cable that was replaced twice. There was mildew on the bottom half of the tile in the bathroom. The whole way around the tub the grout around the tiles were mildewed. The top half was white, the bottom half was green.

I feel like Pop Century's rooms need a major rehab. I paid for a preferred pool view. I liked being real close to the pool since we spent a lot of time at the pool this trip, but I did not like feeling like I was staying in a roach motel. Pop Century is really starting to show its age and is no longer my favorite place to stay.

This was DH's first Disney trip. I wanted to wow him but Disney dropped the ball so many times on this trip. With Pop being the biggest disappointment we also dealt with several ride breakdowns on this trip. I still love Disney but it seemed like an excessive number of ride breakdowns. DH was not wowed in the least. He kept asking me where those "Disney details" were that I had been raving about. Lukily I convinced him this trip was my worst ever and he needs to give Disney another shot...with a nicer resort next time. One day we went to the Grand Floridian and he checked out the lobby bathroom. He came out and said, "Finally I found a clean restroom!" So he is now convinced we need to stay at a Deluxe resort next time. I'm Super Ok with that! Good bye Pop Century, thanks for being crappy. I never thought I would get to stay deluxe!

The CM's in the food court have no clue what they are doing. One person would tell us which items were considered snacks or quick service meals on the DDP. We would get to the register and the cashier would tell us they were wrong. We ran into this kind of trouble the whole week. We ended up picking a cashier, asking her what was ok to get, then get our food, wait in her line (no matter how long) so we knew we wouldn't be stuck with a cashier that would tell us something different. I never encountered so many discrepancies in what each CM considered a snack or QS credit in the past like I did on this visit.

No longer a Pop fan.

Couldn't agree more. We stayed in march for my DH first trip too. POP totally embarrassed me! Food court clueless. A pile of toenail clippings behind nightstand and wet spots all over the carpet at check-in.

 

[trekker93]

With the volume of people and guests, I am sure it happens. We have been there many times and will be returning in 3 weeks. If I do go to my room and find it a mess ,I would call the front desk. I'd give them 10-15 minutes to show up and then I would see the manager to get it fixed and a room discount!!

 

[dsnyrn]

I LOVE Pop! Yes it is a little noisey, Yes it has small rooms, But!!! if you to let the management know, it is usually taken care of in good time!!!! We have stayed there alot, sometime things happen when you have so many people go through the resort, especially in the summer. We have also stayed at Carib Beach and will never stay there again due to issues that were not taken care of. Everyone will have their stories no matter where they stay.

 

[wetblanket]

We just returned from a week a Pop, and it was a great experience. The room was clean, well kept during our stay, and the few requests that we had were handled quickly and properly.

We did find the food court staff to be a little clueless, but still friendly, at least.

Given the comparatively low cost, I would go back in a flash.

It's no fun that you had some disappointment, but hopefully it was the exception rather than the rule.

 

[rock_doctor]

We will no longer stay at Pop. We use to love the resort but the last half dozen times there were issues and each and every time the managers could not have cared less. I don't know if Disney sends the managers they want to get rid of to Pop or what but... Over the years we had rooms: with wet carpeting (the whole room), room with feces on the walls, room with a broken door that actually cut my leg when it hit me, i got food poisoning from the food court, paid for a preferred room and got an standard and the manager was insulted when i asked for a refund of the difference...it just goes on and on. Wrote letters to the GM who did not bother to respond. Oh i forgot about the time we checked in at 8:30am but did not get into the room until 9pm after the front desk manager told us on the phone that they would let us into the room when they felt like it (seriously that is exactly what she said). We now stay off site (Knights Inn - 5min away, very clean and very inexpensive) and when we do stay on site we use our DVC points. Did i tell you about the last time...we were checking in and next to us was another guest that was complaining that 3 days in a row a CM walked into her room unannounced while she was showering and saw her naked. The manager could not have cared less. Did not offer any comment just gave the standard Disney (could not care less answer), "I am very sorry that happened to you"... and then just stood there... She of course got madder and madder. No more Pop for us. Knights Inn! and BLT!

 

[maxiesmom]

We will no longer stay at Pop. We use to love the resort but the last half dozen times there were issues and each and every time the managers could not have cared less. I don't know if Disney sends the managers they want to get rid of to Pop or what but... Over the years we had rooms: with wet carpeting (the whole room), room with feces on the walls, room with a broken door that actually cut my leg when it hit me, i got food poisoning from the food court, paid for a preferred room and got an standard and the manager was insulted when i asked for a refund of the difference...it just goes on and on. Wrote letters to the GM who did not bother to respond. Oh i forgot about the time we checked in at 8:30am but did not get into the room until 9pm after the front desk manager told us on the phone that they would let us into the room when they felt like it (seriously that is exactly what she said). We now stay off site (Knights Inn - 5min away, very clean and very inexpensive) and when we do stay on site we use our DVC points. Did i tell you about the last time...we were checking in and next to us was another guest that was complaining that 3 days in a row a CM walked into her room unannounced while she was showering and saw her naked. The manager could not have cared less. Did not offer any comment just gave the standard Disney (could not care less answer), "I am very sorry that happened to you"... and then just stood there... She of course got madder and madder. No more Pop for us. Knights Inn! and BLT!

Wow, and I thought I was unlucky!!

If you do decide to try on property again, and have any problems, send off an e-mail once you are home. I have had issues 3 times. The only time I had any resolution was after I sent an e-mail--face to face with the manager got me no where!

PS--I had the same issue with being downgraded at the Music. Twice. And had to fight to get the difference back between the room I had paid for and the room they put me in. I'm still surprised by that, as it seems totally un-Disney-like.

 

[preschoolmom]

It's amazing how everyone has such different experiences! We have loved our visits at Pop.

Our last trip was just about perfect. One of the tubs did back up - but when I called, they sent two guys immediately, the room was perfect when we got back.

We also love the food court. I'm surprised so many people don't like it. It's one of the best parts of staying at Pop, IMO. We love that we can all get exactly what we like at the same time. We never had issues with bad food, or clueless employees at all.

 

[skater]

I had a great stay at Pop in February, but I have no doubt the bad experiences can happen. I was a little worried before we went, but everything was perfect - great location, clean room, prompt bus service. I'm sorry for those who had the opposite experience.

 

[TDC Nala]

I was just there this past weekend. No issues.

Wonder why the lady who had hotel employees walk in three days in a row while she was in the shower didn't put the bolt on the door or use the privacy sign.

 

[anonymousegirl]

I have stayed at POP many times. My standard protocol when I first step into a hotel room is to wipe every surface with Lysol or Clorox wipes. I even do the inside of the dresser drawers/handles. When I first stayed at Pop I was expecting some dust as I just for fun ran the wipe across the top of the TV/dresser armoire. NOT A SPECK. It was one of the cleanest rooms I have ever stayed in. Subsequent stays at Pop have had similar results.
If I got a room as bad as some of the ones I have read about here, I would be speaking with a manager and moving rooms or resorts.

 

[agavegirl1]

I just got done "doing the math" in my budget spreadsheet for Deluxe vs Value vs offsite and came up with POP being my best bet, even for kidless middle aged folk such as ourselves. I read through the posts and I feel content with my decision. You can have a poor experience almost anywhere. I will speak up if something is totally ruining my experience. I'm glad most posters were satisfied with their stay. Whew! I was worried for a minute there.

 

[skater]

I just got done "doing the math" in my budget spreadsheet for Deluxe vs Value vs offsite and came up with POP being my best bet, even for kidless middle aged folk such as ourselves. I read through the posts and I feel content with my decision. You can have a poor experience almost anywhere. I will speak up if something is totally ruining my experience. I'm glad most posters were satisfied with their stay. Whew! I was worried for a minute there.

I think you'll like it! I've stayed at 3 of the mods as well as AKL and WL. While I love staying at those levels, I also love POP. Its bright and fun with cool period music playing throughout the resort. Its close to AOA, so you can take either bus back. The food court is not bad - actually better than WL and AKL with many more choices. And its definitely affordable .

 

[ricosuave]

We're at pop and I love it. Rooms (we have 2) were spotless! We have preferred rooms in 60's area building 5- (5106 and 5107) in front of the closed down kiddie area. Slept great. Not noisy at all and super close to lobby. We will def stay here again!

 

[rock_doctor]

I just got done "doing the math" in my budget spreadsheet for Deluxe vs Value vs offsite and came up with POP being my best bet, even for kidless middle aged folk such as ourselves. I read through the posts and I feel content with my decision. You can have a poor experience almost anywhere. I will speak up if something is totally ruining my experience. I'm glad most posters were satisfied with their stay. Whew! I was worried for a minute there.

If you can stay longer by going to Pop then i would go that direction also. Just check in as early as possible and check out your room as soon as you can. Seriously, there are like 4 million rooms at Pop (not really but you get the point). Stuff does slip though. If money is an issue try all stars they are a couple dollars cheaper and the rooms are nearly identical. Have a great trip.

 

[pktbMouse]

We used to be POP lovers too up until about 2 years ago and no way would you pay me to stay in it now. The final straw was the last time we stayed...I about killed myself slipping on the mess of food all over the food court floor, there was never any ice for cold drinks ( it was laying all over the floor) , kids would just run about wild and loud and I mean everywhere!!!, the drinks station was just a complete mess, there was never any hot chocolate it was always out, never any condiments ( everyone stole them)yes we seen a few people fill their bags with them!!!, the pool area was not clean, housekeeping was terrible, each night we came back to just the top cover been pulled over and the bed not made underneath and like a previous poster said, the managers could not care less. We have a pool at home so we know how clean a pool should be and we were definitely hesitant a few days to put our kids in the hippy dippy pool for the trash that was at the bottom of it. Just our personal experience.

 

[agavegirl1]

Staying at POP will allow us to stay onsite which is important to me. The rental car would eliminate the offsite savings. We will be staying in October so it shouldn't be as busy. We tend to maximize park time and I just discussed it with BF and he will forgo the hot tubs. He was pretty ticked off last time we went and stayed at BC. We specifically did a Deluxe for these types of amenities and the hot tubs (well three of them anyway) weren't up to temperature because they were "waiting for a part" according to maintenance. So, I guess part of the reason for the step down in resort is because BC did not live up to expectations for a Deluxe and would be almost 3X as much money.

 

[KBW]

I think a lot depends in what is important to you. Regardless of where i am traveling, most important thing is a clean room and comfy bed. Also, location and/or transportation. That being said, we stayed at Pop in Dec 2010. it had rave reviews, didn't share buses with any other resorts, and it had just been renovated. When we arrived, I thought the CMs were great, and the room was very clean. Mousekeeping also did a very good job during our entire stay. BUT, the bed was SO uncomfortable, and the bus service was the worst (by far) that we'd ever experienced (compared to ASMo, AKL, CSR)...Usually 45+ min just to get on a bus. Didn't matter time of day or going to or from a park. So, 2 strikes out of 3 for us. Also, walls are paper thin. Literally, I could hear the conversation in the next room and the kid splashing around in the bath tub. I could have over looked the thin walls if everything else worked for us, but...we won't be staying there again.

 

[kimk2230]

We are at POP now. Staying in the 50's section, lake view building 2. Very quiet, clean room. We have had no issues with our room. Very clean and friendly staff.