Luv Bunnies
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2006
We just returned on Christmas Day from a 10 night stay at Pop. Our family includes 2 boys, ages 11 & 8, my husband and me. Overall, we had a very good experience there. Here are a few details --
We arrived on Friday, Dec. 15 around 8:30 p.m. We rented a car and didn't have to rely on Magical Express. There were about 2 parties in front of us in the check-in line and we didn't wait long at all. The desk clerk was very nice and knowledgeable. We had requested a quiet, non-smoking room and we had paid for the preferred option. We were put in the 70s, building 10, room 0361. For those who have been to Pop, if you stand at the Goofy Pop Jets and face the green building with the giant 8-track by the stairway, you could look up and see our room on the corner of the 3rd floor. Were were very close to Classic Hall -- so close that we could see our room from the outside dining tables behind the food court.
Yes, the rooms are small but not tiny. There was plenty of drawer space for the 4 of us and we found plenty of room to store our empty suitcases so we weren't tripping over them. The bathroom sink area was small, but the shelf above the sink provided extra storage space. I took some advice from the boards and brought an over-the-door shoe holder that I hung on the back of the bathroom door. We put all of our little bottles and supplies in the pocket to keep the counter space clear. The room had a hair dryer, iron, ironing board and safe. You could put your valuables inside and take the key with you. We didn't use it since our cash and jewelry was always with us. I also took some advice from the boards and brought a cheap shower curtain and 3m sticky hooks. I attached it to the walls on either side of the opening to the bathroom sink to create a privacy area. When the curtain was up, you could come out of the bathroom and get dressed behind the curtain. I hate getting dressed in a steamy bathroom so this was nice. When we weren't using the curtain, we just detached one side from the hook and let it hang from one side. The 3m hooks came off the wall easily and didn't leave a bit of residue behind. Since the curtain was only $1 at Dollar Tree, I tossed it in the trash before leaving.
Now, on to the beds. They are double-sized and can feel small to those of us who are used to a queen at home. It would be tight for two adults. But, my husband and I each slept with one of the kids and the beds were fine. I found the mattress to be comfortable enough, although I missed my Serta Sleep Number Bed! Each bed has its own reading light above it which is nice since we both like to read at night.
The toilets are those vacuum kind like you would fine on a cruise ship. Yes, they're loud and you can sometimes hear the neighbors flushing. But, it never bothered us and never woke us up. To me, it was no different than living in an apartment or townhouse where you can sometimes hear your neighbors. I'm spoiled by my house, but I still wasn't bothered by noise! I know there were other people staying in our section, but I rarely even saw anyone walking around on the stairs or walkway in front of our room.
The Mousekeepers were very good. There was a towel doggy in our window when we got there and we left him there the whole time. We put some Christmas window clings in our window to make it look festive. The Mousekeeper kept things clean and arranged our boys' stuffed animals in cute positions. My son's favorite purple teddy bear always had the TV remote when we came in each evening. They got a kick out of it! We left a tip each morning and a few extra dollars on the day we left.
We never used the pool, but it was very close to our room. We were usually out all day and didn't want to stay up late at night so we skipped swimming. I was out until midnight one night doing laundry
by the Hippy Dippy pool. There were several people swimming and several adults sitting around the bar watching a football game. The laundry room was OK, but could have been bigger for the number of rooms in the area. I was able to get 2 washers right away, but several other people came in and couldn't get a washer. I was only able to get one dryer when I was ready so I put all my clothes in it and moved some to another dryer when it became available. I know this increased my drying time, but there was no other choice. I sat in a lounge chair by the pool and read my book, called my parents and sister and soaked up some of the atmosphere of the resort while the clothes were drying. Some of the kids in and around the pool were kind of noisy and I wondered if the people in the rooms facing the pool could hear them. I think they probably could. So, if a quiet location is important to you, I would suggest asking to be located away from the pool areas.
The foodcourt was good, but almost always crowded. I found it was best to go in with a plan. As soon as everyone was familiar with what was available, I'd ask them what they wanted as we were walking to breakfast. Then, we'd come up with a plan - Dad goes to the grill with one boy to get pancakes, Mom goes to get eggs with another boy. Whoever gets their food first heads back to the cases for drinks. Everyone meets in the middle before paying. I found this to work better than just going in and wandering aimlessly. We would also send our 11 year old ahead to find an empty table while we paid the bill at the register. Then, after getting settled at a table, we'd go back to get butter, napkins, fill our mugs, etc. We had breakfast and dinner at the foodcourt several times. The food was always fresh and hot. For the volume they sell there, I think the quality was good. It wasn't gourmet fare by any means, but it was pretty darn good!
We visited the gift shop a few times and it had a good selection. I didn't buy any souvenier type things there because I found everything I wanted at the parks. I did buy some sunscreen for $10 because I forgot and put mine in my carry-on and it was more than 3 ounces. Now it's owned by the TSA! I also bought some Nyquil capsules for some exhorbitant amount to fight a little cold I felt coming on
. The selection of toiletries was fine, in case you forgot anything.
I took the boys into the arcade once, but just to look around. They played tons of free games at Disneyquest and I couldn't see paying for them to play more. We were able to get park maps and schedules in the lobby had fun looking at the cool stuff on the walls. On the 23rd, they had a brass ensemble playing Christmas music. We had seen musical groups in the lobbies of some of the deluxes we visited and we were happy that we rated some live entertainment in our humble little value resort!
One observation - We went to the Grand Floridian for dinner and to check out the Gingerbread house. There was an artist there doing pastel oil portraits of guests. They were very nice and very classy looking. That night when we returned to Pop, there was an artist there doing -- guess what? -- cartoon caricatures (a little less classy, kind of funny looking)!! My husband and I joked about the difference in amenities between the resorts. But, hey, were more caricature people anyway and there's nothing wrong with that!
Another observation - if you look at the resort map, it shows parking areas for each decade. We had a rental car that we used almost everyday. We used the 70s parking once, but found it to be a long walk to our building. Then we started using 90s parking and the walk was much shorter. To find the nearest parking lot, look at where your building is situated in your decade. Our location in the 70s was actually closer to 90s parking than 70s parking.
Overall, we liked Pop very much. Our last trip to WDW was 15 years ago before we had kids and we stayed at Carribean Beach Resort. We chose Pop this time because of the cost and because we thought the boys would like it, which they did. We probably won't go back to WDW for a several years (we live in California and it's a long way away and a major expense). But when we do, we'll probably choose a deluxe. We visited Wilderness Lodge for dinner and fell in love with it!
The boys will be older then and our family would probably do better with a queen and bunk beds. We're also planning to have more money to spend next time. 
I hope my review was useful to someone who is still deciding where to stay. I would be happy to answer any questions that I didn't cover.
We arrived on Friday, Dec. 15 around 8:30 p.m. We rented a car and didn't have to rely on Magical Express. There were about 2 parties in front of us in the check-in line and we didn't wait long at all. The desk clerk was very nice and knowledgeable. We had requested a quiet, non-smoking room and we had paid for the preferred option. We were put in the 70s, building 10, room 0361. For those who have been to Pop, if you stand at the Goofy Pop Jets and face the green building with the giant 8-track by the stairway, you could look up and see our room on the corner of the 3rd floor. Were were very close to Classic Hall -- so close that we could see our room from the outside dining tables behind the food court.
Yes, the rooms are small but not tiny. There was plenty of drawer space for the 4 of us and we found plenty of room to store our empty suitcases so we weren't tripping over them. The bathroom sink area was small, but the shelf above the sink provided extra storage space. I took some advice from the boards and brought an over-the-door shoe holder that I hung on the back of the bathroom door. We put all of our little bottles and supplies in the pocket to keep the counter space clear. The room had a hair dryer, iron, ironing board and safe. You could put your valuables inside and take the key with you. We didn't use it since our cash and jewelry was always with us. I also took some advice from the boards and brought a cheap shower curtain and 3m sticky hooks. I attached it to the walls on either side of the opening to the bathroom sink to create a privacy area. When the curtain was up, you could come out of the bathroom and get dressed behind the curtain. I hate getting dressed in a steamy bathroom so this was nice. When we weren't using the curtain, we just detached one side from the hook and let it hang from one side. The 3m hooks came off the wall easily and didn't leave a bit of residue behind. Since the curtain was only $1 at Dollar Tree, I tossed it in the trash before leaving.
Now, on to the beds. They are double-sized and can feel small to those of us who are used to a queen at home. It would be tight for two adults. But, my husband and I each slept with one of the kids and the beds were fine. I found the mattress to be comfortable enough, although I missed my Serta Sleep Number Bed! Each bed has its own reading light above it which is nice since we both like to read at night.
The toilets are those vacuum kind like you would fine on a cruise ship. Yes, they're loud and you can sometimes hear the neighbors flushing. But, it never bothered us and never woke us up. To me, it was no different than living in an apartment or townhouse where you can sometimes hear your neighbors. I'm spoiled by my house, but I still wasn't bothered by noise! I know there were other people staying in our section, but I rarely even saw anyone walking around on the stairs or walkway in front of our room.
The Mousekeepers were very good. There was a towel doggy in our window when we got there and we left him there the whole time. We put some Christmas window clings in our window to make it look festive. The Mousekeeper kept things clean and arranged our boys' stuffed animals in cute positions. My son's favorite purple teddy bear always had the TV remote when we came in each evening. They got a kick out of it! We left a tip each morning and a few extra dollars on the day we left.
We never used the pool, but it was very close to our room. We were usually out all day and didn't want to stay up late at night so we skipped swimming. I was out until midnight one night doing laundry
by the Hippy Dippy pool. There were several people swimming and several adults sitting around the bar watching a football game. The laundry room was OK, but could have been bigger for the number of rooms in the area. I was able to get 2 washers right away, but several other people came in and couldn't get a washer. I was only able to get one dryer when I was ready so I put all my clothes in it and moved some to another dryer when it became available. I know this increased my drying time, but there was no other choice. I sat in a lounge chair by the pool and read my book, called my parents and sister and soaked up some of the atmosphere of the resort while the clothes were drying. Some of the kids in and around the pool were kind of noisy and I wondered if the people in the rooms facing the pool could hear them. I think they probably could. So, if a quiet location is important to you, I would suggest asking to be located away from the pool areas.The foodcourt was good, but almost always crowded. I found it was best to go in with a plan. As soon as everyone was familiar with what was available, I'd ask them what they wanted as we were walking to breakfast. Then, we'd come up with a plan - Dad goes to the grill with one boy to get pancakes, Mom goes to get eggs with another boy. Whoever gets their food first heads back to the cases for drinks. Everyone meets in the middle before paying. I found this to work better than just going in and wandering aimlessly. We would also send our 11 year old ahead to find an empty table while we paid the bill at the register. Then, after getting settled at a table, we'd go back to get butter, napkins, fill our mugs, etc. We had breakfast and dinner at the foodcourt several times. The food was always fresh and hot. For the volume they sell there, I think the quality was good. It wasn't gourmet fare by any means, but it was pretty darn good!
We visited the gift shop a few times and it had a good selection. I didn't buy any souvenier type things there because I found everything I wanted at the parks. I did buy some sunscreen for $10 because I forgot and put mine in my carry-on and it was more than 3 ounces. Now it's owned by the TSA! I also bought some Nyquil capsules for some exhorbitant amount to fight a little cold I felt coming on
. The selection of toiletries was fine, in case you forgot anything.I took the boys into the arcade once, but just to look around. They played tons of free games at Disneyquest and I couldn't see paying for them to play more. We were able to get park maps and schedules in the lobby had fun looking at the cool stuff on the walls. On the 23rd, they had a brass ensemble playing Christmas music. We had seen musical groups in the lobbies of some of the deluxes we visited and we were happy that we rated some live entertainment in our humble little value resort!
One observation - We went to the Grand Floridian for dinner and to check out the Gingerbread house. There was an artist there doing pastel oil portraits of guests. They were very nice and very classy looking. That night when we returned to Pop, there was an artist there doing -- guess what? -- cartoon caricatures (a little less classy, kind of funny looking)!! My husband and I joked about the difference in amenities between the resorts. But, hey, were more caricature people anyway and there's nothing wrong with that!
Another observation - if you look at the resort map, it shows parking areas for each decade. We had a rental car that we used almost everyday. We used the 70s parking once, but found it to be a long walk to our building. Then we started using 90s parking and the walk was much shorter. To find the nearest parking lot, look at where your building is situated in your decade. Our location in the 70s was actually closer to 90s parking than 70s parking.
Overall, we liked Pop very much. Our last trip to WDW was 15 years ago before we had kids and we stayed at Carribean Beach Resort. We chose Pop this time because of the cost and because we thought the boys would like it, which they did. We probably won't go back to WDW for a several years (we live in California and it's a long way away and a major expense). But when we do, we'll probably choose a deluxe. We visited Wilderness Lodge for dinner and fell in love with it!
The boys will be older then and our family would probably do better with a queen and bunk beds. We're also planning to have more money to spend next time. I hope my review was useful to someone who is still deciding where to stay. I would be happy to answer any questions that I didn't cover.
