Is Pop Century REALLY Ok? Speaking from a Deluxe/Moderate Snob

[Miffy]

Thank you Miffy, I really appreciate your experience in ASMU b/c that's the value that I research. My husband is a light sleeper so I guess its best for us to not go this year and go next year and stay Swan or maybe we can swing a deluxe again.

Pooh&OurHunny:

I think that's the right decision for you. DH is a light sleeper? Stay away from the Values. I'm a heavy sleeper and I couldn't sleep. A light sleeper would be devastated.

BTW, we always stay at AKL now. 2 trips ago we were in a room with a connecting door to the adjacent room, where a family with 2 small not-unloud children were staying (I know this because we often chatted with them in the hallways and once from our balconies), and we never heard anything when we were inside our room. I mean zero. You never would've known that anyone was in that room, much less 2 adults and 2 noisy children.

Stick with the deluxes. The indoor carpeted hallways, not to mention the thicker walls and doors, make all the difference.

It's worth waiting another year to go. Your DH will thank you!

 

[dawz1026]

total snob family here lol...I wanted to check out all the resorts last trip in April and when we pulled into POP DH said I refuse to go in that place lol he said no way is he even looking at a cheesy place like that on vacation lol..I did noy think it looked that bad but it was pretty colorful and Howard Johnson like.We did see the moderates and those are all nice.POR being top of our list if we were to downgrade ever.

 

[CruznLexi]

I have stated at 2 deluxe plus 2 Mod's before trying POP. We have stayed at Pop 6 times! We love it. But we now have bought into DVC and may still stay here on high point days. Pop is bright, loud, busy, but the food court has 3 different sets od QS, lots of snack choices. No slides with the pool but 3 nice pools. Nice walking path. Only 1 stop! If I can't stay in my DVC I will stay at POP!
Lexi

 

[HsvTeacher]

I have stated at 2 deluxe plus 2 Mod's before trying POP. We have stayed at Pop 6 times! We love it. But we now have bought into DVC and may still stay here on high point days. Pop is bright, loud, busy, but the food court has 3 different sets od QS, lots of snack choices. No slides with the pool but 3 nice pools. Nice walking path. Only 1 stop! If I can't stay in my DVC I will stay at POP!

Same for us! We're also DVC owners, but I wouldn't think twice about staying at POP. Yes it's a different feel, but it's still fun! And to be honest, we had much better bus service at POP (during a crazy busy Spring Break!) than we did at SSR and AKV.

 

[goofy4tink]

I have had the absolute noisiest stays at deluxes, not the values!! Go figure. And why were they the loudest?? Because of kids running in the interior hallways, yelling and slapping doors as they passed by. But, at POP?? I may have just been lucky, but in 5 stays, no noise that wasn't acceptable. I do like to get rooms that are on the backside of the buildings though...away from the main thoroughfares.
Now..understand..I own DVC at BWV. I've stayed at the S/D, Polynesian, CR and BCV. I love the deluxes. But, I wouldn't say that they are automatically quieter than values.
And buses??? In over 20 stays, on property, I have come to the conclusion that POP has the absolute best bus system. I have never waited more than 15 mins for a bus going to a park, and no more than 25 mins heading back to the resort at night. Others may have had other experiences but those are mine..in 5 stays at POP.

Now...as to room locations..I have stayed in bldg 1, 50's, ground floor, on the back of the building. It was a standard room then, but I think it is now considered a preferred room location due to the closeness to the main bldg. I have been in bldg 2 of 50's...but way to the back of the bldg, about as far out as you can be, on the third floor. This was a terrific room.
I have been in the Rubics cube bldg I think it was in 80's or 90's..can't remember which. Ground level, facing the parking lot with the lake just off to the right. Again...a nice location.
I did pay for a preferred room in Sept.....got bldg 10, ground floor room. Didn't care for it one bit. Way too much foot traffic going by and it did get a bit noisy at night as people returned from the buses.
My favorite room??? Bldg 4, 60's, fourth floor, facing Hourglass Lake. It was incredibly quiet. The main pool was about a min away, the food court a few mins walk. The buses were about 4 mins away, if that. just so peaceful and serene.

A value vs a moderate??? I loved POR, it was DxL when I stayed there for my first WDW trip ever back in '99, then returned in '01 (POR then!). My issue is that the room size is about the same size, the beds are the same size. I get more theming, some of it quite lush, at the moderates. I get hot tubs and a table service restaurant. But, those are things I seldom use at my resort. So, I choose to save some money and stay at a value. But, that's just me. I get to stay at BWV a lot of the time...I would say that 4 out of 5 stays are at villas. But, generally speaking, if I'm not in a villa, you can find me at POP.

 

[taylor5]

I have had the absolute noisiest stays at deluxes, not the values!! Go figure. And why were they the loudest?? Because of kids running in the interior hallways, yelling and slapping doors as they passed by. But, at POP?? I may have just been lucky, but in 5 stays, no noise that wasn't acceptable. I do like to get rooms that are on the backside of the buildings though...away from the main thoroughfares.
Now..understand..I own DVC at BWV. I've stayed at the S/D, Polynesian, CR and BCV. I love the deluxes. But, I wouldn't say that they are automatically quieter than values.
And buses??? In over 20 stays, on property, I have come to the conclusion that POP has the absolute best bus system. I have never waited more than 15 mins for a bus going to a park, and no more than 25 mins heading back to the resort at night. Others may have had other experiences but those are mine..in 5 stays at POP.

Now...as to room locations..I have stayed in bldg 1, 50's, ground floor, on the back of the building. It was a standard room then, but I think it is now considered a preferred room location due to the closeness to the main bldg. I have been in bldg 2 of 50's...but way to the back of the bldg, about as far out as you can be, on the third floor. This was a terrific room.
I have been in the Rubics cube bldg I think it was in 80's or 90's..can't remember which. Ground level, facing the parking lot with the lake just off to the right. Again...a nice location.
I did pay for a preferred room in Sept.....got bldg 10, ground floor room. Didn't care for it one bit. Way too much foot traffic going by and it did get a bit noisy at night as people returned from the buses.
My favorite room??? Bldg 4, 60's, fourth floor, facing Hourglass Lake. It was incredibly quiet. The main pool was about a min away, the food court a few mins walk. The buses were about 4 mins away, if that. just so peaceful and serene.

A value vs a moderate??? I loved POR, it was DxL when I stayed there for my first WDW trip ever back in '99, then returned in '01 (POR then!). My issue is that the room size is about the same size, the beds are the same size. I get more theming, some of it quite lush, at the moderates. I get hot tubs and a table service restaurant. But, those are things I seldom use at my resort. So, I choose to save some money and stay at a value. But, that's just me. I get to stay at BWV a lot of the time...I would say that 4 out of 5 stays are at villas. But, generally speaking, if I'm not in a villa, you can find me at POP.

We are staying at the POP 10/3-10/10 & have booked a preferred room. Even though we have 3 kids (8,6 & 1), I would like something quieter so kids can rest well at night but still be fairly centrally located to everything. This is our first visit ever so what would you recommend & should I cancel the preferred room?

 

[deltajo]

My husband and I stayed at the POP a few years ago and enjoyed it, overall. Of course, we were only there long enough to prepare for the day and crash at night as we spent a lot of time in the parks. We had no complaints. That being said, since then, we've stayed at AKL, and while the value/moderate properties are more wallet friendly, the AKL has convinced me the extra dollars are worth it. I have adopted the attitude that my vacation begins when I enter the lobby, and the AKL really delivers. Since I live just a couple of hours north of Orlando and don't require the purchase of airfares, I justify my extra cost for AKL by concluding no airfare equals an upgraded room/experience. We'll be there again this year, again during the first week in Dec., and I can't wait!

 

[HsvTeacher]

We are staying at the POP 10/3-10/10 & have booked a preferred room. Even though we have 3 kids (8,6 & 1), I would like something quieter so kids can rest well at night but still be fairly centrally located to everything. This is our first visit ever so what would you recommend & should I cancel the preferred room?

In March, we stayed in the 70s building facing Hourglass Lake. It was really quiet, and we had an awesome view. The rooms facing the lake are technically the furtherest away from the bus stop, but due to the way the resort is laid out, none of the rooms are far away from the bus stop and Classic Hall. (When we were there, we never went through Classic Hall to get to the bus stop. We just used the sidewalks and cut through the yard.)

 

[HsvTeacher]

This might be some help: