Anyone Disappointed With POP?
- Thread starter donnajz
- Start date
cukal6
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2004
WE did not like POP at all. We had to walk a long way to our room, the food court was way too overcrowded, and it was very loud. It completely turned us off the the value resorts. If you're just looking for theming, there was definitely a lot to look at. However, it wasn't enough for us to go back
The long walk can happen at just about any resort.
michygoomy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2003
My family loves POP! We've always had a short walk to the food court & buses (once in a preferred room, once not), we love the selection at the food court and have never had a trouble with crowds there. Buses are crowded but they come often and the line-ups make it easier, IMHO, opposed to the mad rushes you get at the mods.
I think POP has a wonderful energy about it that "feels" like a fun vacation. That may not be what you are looking for if you are looking to relax.
We also love the frozen cokes!
I think POP has a wonderful energy about it that "feels" like a fun vacation. That may not be what you are looking for if you are looking to relax.
We also love the frozen cokes!
disneyfanx3
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2007
I have never stayed at this resort before, but I have a lot of friends who have stayed there and they all liked it and have returned there.
Our last stay at Pop (3/07), we were in the 90s building and about as far away from the food and transportation as you could get. I still LOVE Pop, especially with kids. The theme, transportation, food court and pools cannot be beat, IMHO.
We stayed at POR in 5/04 and it is a beautiful resort but our walk to the pool and food was horrible. It wasn't just far...the paths wind all around and I got lost every time.
The rooms are smaller at the value resorts but the moderate resorts are only marginally better.
We stayed at POR in 5/04 and it is a beautiful resort but our walk to the pool and food was horrible. It wasn't just far...the paths wind all around and I got lost every time.
The rooms are smaller at the value resorts but the moderate resorts are only marginally better.
typhoonlagooner
Big girls can wear water wings too...
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2006
We had read a lot of good things about the resort on these boards and since it was our first Value stay, we figured we'd give it a try...
As soon as we walked it into the main building we were surrounded by noise. Since the lobby, check-in, gift shop, and food court all "flow" into each other, it was constant... no matter where you were.
We were given a room in building 2, ground floor, a good 5min walk from the main building. We didn't mind the walk at all but were not impressed with the grounds and exterior decor. It was just too tacky and over the top for us. Walkways were always busy!
The room was in great condition and plenty for our needs, but the decor was way too motelish for us. We didn't even feel like we were at a Disney resort. It was just very stale in our opinion.
The pool areas were great and we were always able to find a seat. The kiddie pool and popjet fountain was great for small kids. We did find the pools to be crowded at times and noisy at all times of the day/night... but once our door was shut, we couldn't hear a thing!
We love having a food court at the resort, but weren't impressed with what Pop's had to offer. We knew it would be loud and busy though and we were always able to find a seat/booth. Since the food court is connected to the gift shop, the shop had LOTS of food traffic (great idea by Disney lol) and constant noise.
We had great bus service and overall liked what the value resorts had to offer (especially for that price!) but didn't "get" Pop. I felt like it was Disney's version of the Nick Hotel: neon colors, poor rooms, large layout, tacky, etc.
Out next trip, we headed off to All Star Music... we now consider it one of Disney's best kept secrets.
We prefered the main building layout, enjoyed the food court offerings, loved our newly refurbished room, had a blast watching pool side movies and games, and overall felt like we got twice as much for our money compared to Pop. We even experienced better bus service and rarely shared with the other All Stars.
Each family is different, but we have no desire to return to Pop after our experience and the service we recieved at All Star Music.
As soon as we walked it into the main building we were surrounded by noise. Since the lobby, check-in, gift shop, and food court all "flow" into each other, it was constant... no matter where you were.
We were given a room in building 2, ground floor, a good 5min walk from the main building. We didn't mind the walk at all but were not impressed with the grounds and exterior decor. It was just too tacky and over the top for us. Walkways were always busy!
The room was in great condition and plenty for our needs, but the decor was way too motelish for us. We didn't even feel like we were at a Disney resort. It was just very stale in our opinion.
The pool areas were great and we were always able to find a seat. The kiddie pool and popjet fountain was great for small kids. We did find the pools to be crowded at times and noisy at all times of the day/night... but once our door was shut, we couldn't hear a thing!
We love having a food court at the resort, but weren't impressed with what Pop's had to offer. We knew it would be loud and busy though and we were always able to find a seat/booth. Since the food court is connected to the gift shop, the shop had LOTS of food traffic (great idea by Disney lol) and constant noise.
We had great bus service and overall liked what the value resorts had to offer (especially for that price!) but didn't "get" Pop. I felt like it was Disney's version of the Nick Hotel: neon colors, poor rooms, large layout, tacky, etc.
Out next trip, we headed off to All Star Music... we now consider it one of Disney's best kept secrets.
We prefered the main building layout, enjoyed the food court offerings, loved our newly refurbished room, had a blast watching pool side movies and games, and overall felt like we got twice as much for our money compared to Pop. We even experienced better bus service and rarely shared with the other All Stars.
Each family is different, but we have no desire to return to Pop after our experience and the service we recieved at All Star Music.
scrappinmom
WDW, DL & DLP - up next ???
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2005
We'[ve stayed at POP, 4 years in a row...& we love it! Yes it is a value, no the pools aren't really themed very much...yes the rooms are just "rooms" ...but we love the oversize icons, the food court is loud and FUN! My girls are now 8 & 13 & they STILL ask to stay there.
Depends on what your family likes/needs really
The only catch....we'd like to stay at ALK just once...but for the money, you can't beat POP- of course that's just my opinion
Depends on what your family likes/needs really
The only catch....we'd like to stay at ALK just once...but for the money, you can't beat POP- of course that's just my opinion
snowwhite325
<font color=green> Another Tag Dreamer... pinch me
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2007
I stayed at Pop for the first time this past November and I loved it 
I can't imagine staying at any other resort now! I thought everything about the hotel was great and I don't have a single complaint
I can't imagine staying at any other resort now! I thought everything about the hotel was great and I don't have a single complaint
Stitch's Greatest Fa
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2004
We loved Pop, only thing I didn't like about it was that it did not have a table service restaurant and breakfast got pretty crowded in the food court after around 8am!
BeHappyInDisney
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2008
We have stayed at the POP for the last three years, a total of 5 stays.
Simply love it. Come on you are going to get noise anywhere. This is a great resort and the food was better then most value resorts. The grounds were well kept and the maid service was excellent for all of our stays.
Simply love it. Come on you are going to get noise anywhere. This is a great resort and the food was better then most value resorts. The grounds were well kept and the maid service was excellent for all of our stays.
DisneyBride'03
<marquee><font color=red>Jambo Wildbunch Gang</mar
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2007
Took DD10 for her birthday here last year! We loved it....fun, great pool area, great counter service! Had no issues at all with transportation to parks....would stay here again!
Cdn Friends of Pooh
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2006
We find that people either hate POP or love POP.
We are among those that actually love how POP is themed and find that you are never a far walk from Classic Hall no matter where your room is. Yes the food court can get crowded and noisy, but so can any restaurant at Disney depending on when you go. Transportation is no busier than any other resort, and one good thing about POP is you don't share busses with other resorts.
We've stayed off site and onsite at both values and mods, and actually prefer POP. Yes it is tacky, but that's the charm of POP.
Take a look at some of the pictures posted on the Pop Century Picture thread and decide for yourself.
We are among those that actually love how POP is themed and find that you are never a far walk from Classic Hall no matter where your room is. Yes the food court can get crowded and noisy, but so can any restaurant at Disney depending on when you go. Transportation is no busier than any other resort, and one good thing about POP is you don't share busses with other resorts.
We've stayed off site and onsite at both values and mods, and actually prefer POP. Yes it is tacky, but that's the charm of POP.
Take a look at some of the pictures posted on the Pop Century Picture thread and decide for yourself.
staticgirl50
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2007
We Loved the Pop, it was perfect for our lively 3 Year old. Yes it was loud but it was lively and fun!
Millie12591
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2007
I couldn't say enough good things about this resort. This was such a wonderful suprise to come to this value resort and find out that any hotel out there (in the real world) that you would spend around a hundred a night or less would NEVER have as much to offer as this resort did!
Coming into the lobby I was impressed right off the bat! Even the flooring was beatiful! Not something you would see in a run of the mill Motel/hotel for the money you spend here. The lobby had so many things to look at covering the last several decades, it was fun to see if you remembered some of the trivia and to see some of the things in the cases on the wall for each decade to represent that decade was a blast!
Then we find out where are room is, which I kinda already knew but was so happy to have picked a perferred room location, I did ask the CM (while planning the trip) when I spoke with them about getting a room that had never been smoked in because of an allergy my dd8 has if we could get a room near the hippy dippy pool but not pool side, and she gave us just that! The location was excellent!I couldn't have been more thrilled! She was really nice and very helpful, which I know isn't always the case when you speak with some of the CM's from all over the World (WDW that is), but that's just like life, no matter where you go you will run into someone having a bad day or someone who shouldn't be working a service job. But I would have to say over all I was impressed with the way I was treated by just about everyone at WDW or over the phone making the arrangements.
The pool was really fun, and colorful! I loved all that there was for the eye to see around the pool, I have to say I didn't really tour the resort beyond the front building with the giftshop/lobby/cafeteria, around the pool and our room, so I couldn't tell you anything else about it, but my son and hubby did and said it was fun looking around and seeing the different decorations the had up for the different decades
This is long I know but you asked about the POP so I'm giving you a lot to chew on. When I researched before our trip I found a lot of reviews that told me that this was THE PLACE I would be most happy with for my money, it's newer than any place else for the value, it's clean, your able to eat there on site close, (by the way the food was a total suprise on how good it was for cafeteria good, especially the chicken alfredo! And I'm so not a cream sauce fan) you don't have to walk a mile to get to it if you have perferred rooms (which in all honesty is worth the extra 90 some dollars you spend). Speaking of reviews (AllEearsNet.COM)I do want to warn you that IMHO you have to take the negative reviews with a serious grain of salt, when you usually find more good than bad reviews then you know that you need to eat the meat and spit out the bones. If this is your first time going to WDW then your probably not going to want to spend a lot of time at the resort, so you really just need a room to sleep and shower at. That being, then this is THE PLACE to stay!
If your looking for something that is going to please all the senses and you want to be pampered then I would seriously look into the the other high end resorts. I would however try and talk you out of doing the moderate to start it just doesn't seem worth the money, I've seen a lot of not so good reviews of the same things over and over again, i.e. bad beds, not very clean, but then that needs to be researched by you so your satisfied with your decision. I'm a researcher and I did about two to three months of researching before I realized that I was going to be really happy with the POP before I even got there, and I was not let down in any way. Hope you find it to be the same for you!
Coming into the lobby I was impressed right off the bat! Even the flooring was beatiful! Not something you would see in a run of the mill Motel/hotel for the money you spend here. The lobby had so many things to look at covering the last several decades, it was fun to see if you remembered some of the trivia and to see some of the things in the cases on the wall for each decade to represent that decade was a blast!
Then we find out where are room is, which I kinda already knew but was so happy to have picked a perferred room location, I did ask the CM (while planning the trip) when I spoke with them about getting a room that had never been smoked in because of an allergy my dd8 has if we could get a room near the hippy dippy pool but not pool side, and she gave us just that! The location was excellent!I couldn't have been more thrilled! She was really nice and very helpful, which I know isn't always the case when you speak with some of the CM's from all over the World (WDW that is), but that's just like life, no matter where you go you will run into someone having a bad day or someone who shouldn't be working a service job. But I would have to say over all I was impressed with the way I was treated by just about everyone at WDW or over the phone making the arrangements.
The pool was really fun, and colorful! I loved all that there was for the eye to see around the pool, I have to say I didn't really tour the resort beyond the front building with the giftshop/lobby/cafeteria, around the pool and our room, so I couldn't tell you anything else about it, but my son and hubby did and said it was fun looking around and seeing the different decorations the had up for the different decades
This is long I know but you asked about the POP so I'm giving you a lot to chew on. When I researched before our trip I found a lot of reviews that told me that this was THE PLACE I would be most happy with for my money, it's newer than any place else for the value, it's clean, your able to eat there on site close, (by the way the food was a total suprise on how good it was for cafeteria good, especially the chicken alfredo! And I'm so not a cream sauce fan) you don't have to walk a mile to get to it if you have perferred rooms (which in all honesty is worth the extra 90 some dollars you spend). Speaking of reviews (AllEearsNet.COM)I do want to warn you that IMHO you have to take the negative reviews with a serious grain of salt, when you usually find more good than bad reviews then you know that you need to eat the meat and spit out the bones. If this is your first time going to WDW then your probably not going to want to spend a lot of time at the resort, so you really just need a room to sleep and shower at. That being, then this is THE PLACE to stay!
If your looking for something that is going to please all the senses and you want to be pampered then I would seriously look into the the other high end resorts. I would however try and talk you out of doing the moderate to start it just doesn't seem worth the money, I've seen a lot of not so good reviews of the same things over and over again, i.e. bad beds, not very clean, but then that needs to be researched by you so your satisfied with your decision. I'm a researcher and I did about two to three months of researching before I realized that I was going to be really happy with the POP before I even got there, and I was not let down in any way. Hope you find it to be the same for you!
Twitterpated Dad
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2007
Lot's of people love POP. I wouldn't stay there. Please check out this 2 page thread for both sides.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1661113
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1661113
SnowWtch
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2006
I hated it the first time we stayed there. We had trouble checking out due to a computer error, we waited for over 2 hours at the bus stop at the DTD PI stop and we had numerous problems with the food court. One of the times we went to the food court we waited 10 minutes for a double burger when there were single burgers already there in front of us. Why they couldn't put two together I don't know. They wound up giving us a warm burger but cold fries. Anyway, we spoke to the manager to voice our concerns and they gave us part of our money back. I was impressed with that and tried again. Now we stay there whenever we can. It kind of grew on us.
Disney Anna
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 2, 1999
I took a solo trip last year and stayed at POP and loved it! Great value that can't be beat.
My room was nice and very convenient. I was in 70s section. It was a short walk to pools and main areas with food court, shop, check-in etc.
I never take busses, so I can't comment on that. IMHO the busses from all the resorts are just not convenient and I've stayed at all levels of resorts at WDW. It was very convenient to get to my rental car, again, a short walk.
The theming was great. Very fun and cute. And, the lake area is quite pretty.
Only ate at the food court once for breakfast. It was just okay, but it was no worse than food court at POR. Again, I'm just not a food court person.
I too adored the frozen cokes/slurpees/slushees. Yum.
It's my pick out of all the values.
My room was nice and very convenient. I was in 70s section. It was a short walk to pools and main areas with food court, shop, check-in etc.
I never take busses, so I can't comment on that. IMHO the busses from all the resorts are just not convenient and I've stayed at all levels of resorts at WDW. It was very convenient to get to my rental car, again, a short walk.
The theming was great. Very fun and cute. And, the lake area is quite pretty.
Only ate at the food court once for breakfast. It was just okay, but it was no worse than food court at POR. Again, I'm just not a food court person.
I too adored the frozen cokes/slurpees/slushees. Yum.
It's my pick out of all the values.
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