Just back from Pop... The food court was a nightmare...

We just had our first stay at Pop in November and the food court is a good part of why we won't be returning. It was just a loud crazy madhouse every time we went. Frankly we don't need that many choices and options and prefer not to hop on several lines either. We also had poor housekeeping and I wasn't thrilled with the buses so we are going back to a mod next trip. But it was cheap which is what we were looking for.
 
:( Before you judge my post too harshly, this was our fourth trip, and our third stay at Pop (the first trip, we stayed at the Contemporary).

We always loved the food court, because I have picky kids - and I just loved that everyone could have exactly what they wanted. Considering we were there during a lower crowd time (our last trip was during spring break 2012, so 9's and 10's all week), the food court was just a nightmare.

A) I just hate that you can only get fries at one of the stations. So, for every meal, we had to wait in numerous lines to put our meals together. I realize it was like this before, but it seemed easier to get all my kids' meals together on our previous trips.

B) It was always so crowded we never once ate all at the same time. DH and I would get the kids settled first and then go back for our own food. Nightmare.

C) The food quality left something to be desired.

D) I get that it is free dining, and that has impacted the quality/quantity of the food - but watching them weigh fries for every order was ridiculous.

E) The employees seemed to have no leeway with making snacks meals or meals snacks. Frustrating! On previous trips, we never had issues with this.

We had issues with getting our luggage (Our fault, we'll never travel on a Saturday again). Our flight landed at 11:30am. We took Magic Express to Pop. Our luggage did not make it to our room until 6:30pm. Then that was just two bags. The third bag came around 8:30pm. I was worried that the bags weren't coming! I felt better when I called at 6 - and they confirmed they had them and were out for delivery. But then I worried again until our last bag arrived. Whew.

We did have a WONDERFUL housekeeper. Just fabulous! Had her all week long ;) She added magic to our vacation. I tipped her every day, and also left her a nice note at the end of the week.

The pools were less crowded than our last trip.

I would stay at Pop again, but we would plan to eat all our meals in the parks. I would also pay more for preferred rooms and request as close to the main building/Hippy Dippy Pool as possible. This was our second time being far, far out - and while it isn't a huge deal - it would just be nicer to be closer.

I might even consider staying off-site for a future trip.

Once they change the menu it went really bad. WE ate most of our meals after the first coupe of days at dtd. We are staying at POR this year. I hate The fact we had to leave the resort to get anything decent. We had stayed at pop 5 times before this trip. The hotel is fine we like at pop but the food court killed it this trip.
 
I have stayed at Pop before and never had a problem with the food court. Admittedly, it was in February and we are going again this summer. I am hoping that the food and crowds are manageable since the crowd levels when we are there are "supposed" to be historically low.
 
Pop has been our fave resort since our first stay in 2006. However, our last stay in October 2013 was unpleasant enough that we've switched to ASSp for our upcoming trip for the Princess Half Marathon in Feb.

In 2006, 07 and 08 the food court at Pop was awesome. Food and Service.

In 2013, we did have some very good food - as well as some that was just "eh" - but the chaos and the general unfriendliness - and at times - incompetence, of the Pop staff was so frustrating.

It's really too bad.
 


We also had a weird dining experience our last time at Pop. It was shortly after they changed the menu, and I don't know what the problem was... But nothing tasted very good.

I'm doing a DVC rental this upcoming trip, but I'm not sure when we'll be back to Pop.
 
DS and I had some good experiences last Feb. at the POP food court, but I think the trick is to avoid those peak times. I've had bad experiences at all the resorts during busy times - especially breakfast (I don't think I've ever had great tasting breakfast at any resort, other than table service). We usually eat a small breakfast in the room and eat an early lunch (avoiding peak times at counter service in the parks) or grab a mid morning snack if we can't wait. On resort days, we'll get breakfast later in the morning when its relaxing. Also, those breakfast platters just tend to be not so great - at most of the resorts. Sometimes the sandwiches are better. Or even a pastry with some kind of protein a la carte.
 
We never ate at the food court during peak times. We eat a early lunch and a early dinner we aren't breakfast people. The wait wouldn't bother me if the food was just decent. I know it is fast food but it was beyond yuck this year. Seems like they tried to make the food more gourmet and killed it.
 


It's actually a relief for me to read this (even though I'm sorry it was terrible for you!)... I kept saying to my husband, "Am I doing it wrong?" "It wasn't this hard last time, was it?" It didn't help that they replaced the traditional Disney Pizza (still available everywhere but Pop) with some kind of french bread version that none of my kids would eat.

Every single station always had a long line. The food always seemed to be running out/a long wait. The prices are just plain offensive (I know, I know, it's Disney)...

It really was bad enough for us to consider staying off-site. And one of the things we loved most about our trips was that "all-inclusive" feel.

My kids LOVED those french bread pizzas - way more than the regular Disney pizza. I thought they were pretty good, too.

We stayed at Pop in August. I loved the new menu....the food all tasted good to me. The chaos and buzz of the food court has never bothered us - we don't find it a challenge to get things from multiple places.

What bothered me, and I spoke to management about - the cast members. They were downright surly and rude.
 
We stayed at AoA in October, and I'm going to be going against the grain here... but we loved the food court. It was confusing, not going to lie, and I had to ask for help the first day because I had no idea how anything worked, but the following morning it was second nature to me.

I have an upcoming trip to POP in February... and reading all of this, plus some recent room reviews, has me really freaking nervous and scared. Wonder if it's too late to swap for ASMovies or Music... or maybe that's no better...
 
We were there the end of October and thought the food was horrible. It was completely different compared to our first stay 2 years before. The girls got mac and cheese and it was the nastiest stuff ever. My kids aren't picky and one refused to eat it. We walked over to AoA twice to eat.
 
I visited a relative who was staying in Pop and as soon as I sat on that hard bed I knew I would never stay there.

I didn't think the food court was too bad (this was back in 2008) but I don't like food courts in general. I don't want to juggle drinks and food on a tray in a crowded space. And that smoking section is ridiculous.

I personally find all counter service food at Disney to be gross and headache inducing. When I hear people complain about table service food I laugh, because if table service makes them cringe the counter service must really do a number on them.
 
We have stayed at POP in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2013. This past trip we had horrible times at the food court. We would get there and see it wasn't busy and assume we would be out of there in no time - that never happened. By the end of the week I was adding in a HUGE buffer to make sure we wouldn't be late for anything - yet it was never enough (scheduling over an hour to eat when there were no lines should have been more than appropriate. Instead we had to run out of there, ditching our uneaten ice cream because we were going to miss our ME).
It was also harder this trip because are kids were 3.5 and 15 months, so it was harder to keep track of them and get our stuff - especially pushing a stroller. We tried to divide and conquer the lines, but then we got our food but lost our kids (not always a bad thing:rotfl:). So by the end of the week my husband was getting all the food while I would watch the kids. He went and ordered at one station (mind you this was at a noncrowded time - we eat early lunches/dinners), then ran to grab something somewhere else. He came back and they had given away the food - even though he talked to the people making it, they could see him at the station next door, and they had assured him they would hold it for him (he waited in that first line 20 minutes just to order - and there were only a couple people in front of him).
It was really frustrating. We are booked for CBR in May, but may have to switch over to POP. I hope not, because I would love to try another food court.
 
We stayed at AoA in October, and I'm going to be going against the grain here... but we loved the food court. It was confusing, not going to lie, and I had to ask for help the first day because I had no idea how anything worked, but the following morning it was second nature to me.

I have an upcoming trip to POP in February... and reading all of this, plus some recent room reviews, has me really freaking nervous and scared. Wonder if it's too late to swap for ASMovies or Music... or maybe that's no better...


For a lot of reasons, I still think POP is much better than any of the all stars.
 
For a lot of reasons, I still think POP is much better than any of the all stars.

Any you'd like to share? I'm having serious doubts for Pop now, even more than before I booked. The room was a great deal, but at this point, I think I'd be happier spending a few more $$$ a night at my home resort, AoA.
 
Any you'd like to share? I'm having serious doubts for Pop now, even more than before I booked. The room was a great deal, but at this point, I think I'd be happier spending a few more $$$ a night at my home resort, AoA.


All Star Movies is the best of the All Stars (only my opinion) and I feel its starting to look a little run down. DS and I stayed at Pop last February and here's what I liked. Bright beautiful colors. Great CM's who play with the kids and were helpful to me (traveling without another adult). Proximity to AoA which allowed us to sometimes take the bus back to AoA, get a snack at their food court, and walk almost no distance back to our room. I really had no problems with the food court, but I do tend to avoid Disney breakfasts and peak times. General fun atmosphere.

Now, if you really want a hot tub or a more upscale atmosphere, the moderates are very nice. I'm not saying I like POP over POR, but for the money, its a fun, bright place to stay. And, I think I would choose it over CBR.
 
Reading these posts just reinforces one of the many reasons that we like to stay off site at a rental house or condo. I know, not for everyone, but boy, would I rather whip up a quick, tasty meal at "our house" or make an easy, homemade sandwich and cup of soup rather than deal with a food court (value or moderate)! Even grabbing take out from a restaurant on our way home is more appealing to me. Sorry, for those that have had bad experiences, it can put a dark cloud over the magic.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top