POP Century~Unofficially the Grooviest FAQ Thread #9~November 2013

[CounselorX]

Yep! I get ice water in my bottle every morning while I'm there.

 

[momw/2princesses]

Good afternoon! Thinking of adding a couple of days at POP before a conference at the Contemporary. Can you get a rollaway bed? Right now it's my two daughters and me, but a friend may end up with us. I don't want to subject her to my crazy sleepers!

Thanks in advance!

 

[lovethattink]

I'm sooooo torn!!!! We stayed @ POR last year & 2015 really wanted to try CSR. My daily life (I am a single mom and work over 50 hours a week) is HECTIC. My boys 14, 14 & 10 have hectic schedules as well. So for us we enjoy ONE resort day, hanging out by the pool (and of course I like my adult beverage) we also love a more laid back resort, even my teens liked that about POR.
But....... When just playing around with resorts I couldn't help but notice such a price difference between POP & the mods!!!!! I've heard & read amazing things about POP. The bed size isn't a huge deal as we can manage for a week.
But, I'm afraid we will lose that "relax" feel after our RD days and running around the parks.

I'm a big fan of both CSR and POP. There is no comparison of the Dig Site at CSR and the pools at Pop. Hands down, the Dig Site is better. There is so much more to do. The jaguar water slide is good. Not like at a water park, but it beats the slides at both FQ and POR.

The food stand at the Dig Site has a decent menu for food. We've eaten full meals there.

My youngest loves the nightly campfire and roasting marshmallow.

We also liked being able to request a microwave and used it for breakfast or for reheating leftovers from the Pepper Market.

When it stormed and they closed the Pop pool, there were games inside. My son played bowling, tennis, and Mario cart on the wii, Disney Bingo, and board games. There were both adults and kids playing.

It's hard to compare the food options at Pop vs CSR. There are more optiong at CSR. But their food court is set up strange. At the Pepper Market, you get seated at a table. Get a card to get stamped as you choose your food. Your server takes your drink order and brings your drinks to you. After you've eaten, you pay your bill and pay a gratuity.

At the Rix Café, there is a limited menu. You order your food, pay for it, then go take it to a table to eat. There are very few tables inside and more available outside.

There is also a table service restaurant at CSR.

There is one food court at Pop. The menu is pretty diverse. I really love the sandwich that is like a turkey dinner. The Popping supreme nachos are a bit different because they are on homemade chips that taste a bit sweet, but you choose what you want topped on it. It's a great deal for just a little over $6.

With that said. Because of price, we've stayed at Pop during most of the weekends of SWW and our most recent stay was the July 4th weekend. The bed size didn't really bother us. And we have another weekend booked over Labor Day. So that tells you that we like Pop!

 

[momofboyz3]

I'm a big fan of both CSR and POP. There is no comparison of the Dig Site at CSR and the pools at Pop. Hands down, the Dig Site is better. There is so much more to do. The jaguar water slide is good. Not like at a water park, but it beats the slides at both FQ and POR. The food stand at the Dig Site has a decent menu for food. We've eaten full meals there. My youngest loves the nightly campfire and roasting marshmallow. We also liked being able to request a microwave and used it for breakfast or for reheating leftovers from the Pepper Market. When it stormed and they closed the Pop pool, there were games inside. My son played bowling, tennis, and Mario cart on the wii, Disney Bingo, and board games. There were both adults and kids playing. It's hard to compare the food options at Pop vs CSR. There are more optiong at CSR. But their food court is set up strange. At the Pepper Market, you get seated at a table. Get a card to get stamped as you choose your food. Your server takes your drink order and brings your drinks to you. After you've eaten, you pay your bill and pay a gratuity. At the Rix Café, there is a limited menu. You order your food, pay for it, then go take it to a table to eat. There are very few tables inside and more available outside. There is also a table service restaurant at CSR. There is one food court at Pop. The menu is pretty diverse. I really love the sandwich that is like a turkey dinner. The Popping supreme nachos are a bit different because they are on homemade chips that taste a bit sweet, but you choose what you want topped on it. It's a great deal for just a little over $6. With that said. Because of price, we've stayed at Pop during most of the weekends of SWW and our most recent stay was the July 4th weekend. The bed size didn't really bother us. And we have another weekend booked over Labor Day. So that tells you that we like Pop!

That is an amazing summarization and I so appreciate it! I'm actually going to read this again on my long commute home. Thank you for all the details & both resorts sound fantastic.... Decisions.... Decisions!
We love to lounge around the pool on our checkin day & our "rest" day and looks like CSR beats pop in that category. But, pop sounds goood too for other factors.
ThankYou again!

 

[momofboyz3]

Hi Again! ThankYou EVERYONE who has shared feedback w/me on Pop vs CSR today! I don't know how to multi-quote or I would respond to each message. And since I won't hog up this whole thread I will just generalize. I know this will be a tough decision, but with all your feedback and the research I'm sure I will make the perfect choice for us. I loved reading all about your own experiences so thanks again so much for sharing!

 

[coneygoil]

I am looking at doing the online check-in. We have not stayed at POP before so I am not sure about what requests to make. It will be myself and my 19 year old daughter.

Can someone tell me a little bit about the advantages to some of the decade sections?

Thanks
Stacie

We've stayed in the '80's and '70's section and found the '70's is awesome. Close to the lobby/food court, bus stop, and Hippy Dippy Pool. Plus it's quiet and calm and just a lovely section to stay in!

 

[jade88]

Can someone who's stayed here recently tell me if the food court still has that pork and ham (i think it's ham) sandwich with pickles and fresh baked barbecue potato chips is still available?

 

[SPOERLX3]

Can someone who's stayed here recently tell me if the food court still has that pork and ham (i think it's ham) sandwich with pickles and fresh baked barbecue potato chips is still available?

Here is the menu from the Disney World website:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/pop-century-resort/everything-pop-dining/menus/

Is it the roasted pork sandwich? That looks delicious and now that they have took away my favorite philly cheesesteak wrap, I am looking for something good to eat there. Can you tell me more about it please

 

[ocalla]

How far is the walk from Pop to Art of Animation?

Is the food court better at one or the other?

TIA

 

[KNovacovschi]

How far is the walk from Pop to Art of Animation? Is the food court better at one or the other? TIA

We didn't try the food court at AOA but we've walked over many times and each time it's only taken us about 10 mins to walk over. We are always in the 50's area though but I don't think it would be much longer from other areas.

 

[Disneylover99]

How far is the walk from Pop to Art of Animation?

Is the food court better at one or the other?

TIA

It's about a 10 minute walk from food court to food court. We prefer the food court at AofA. We love the tandoori chicken and make your own pasta option there.

 

[jade88]

Here is the menu from the Disney World website:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/pop-century-resort/everything-pop-dining/menus/

Is it the roasted pork sandwich? That looks delicious and now that they have took away my favorite philly cheesesteak wrap, I am looking for something good to eat there. Can you tell me more about it please

It's delicious in my opinion. All of the tastes mentioned come together great, i add some of those barbecue chips to mine for an extra kick

 

[SPOERLX3]

It's delicious in my opinion. All of the tastes mentioned come together great, i add some of those barbecue chips to mine for an extra kick

Sounds like something I would do
I love the crunch of chips in my sandwich

I was also looking at the sloppy joe or the fish n chips, anyone out there tried either of those that can give you their opinion?

 

[shyjade]

Pop experts...I am considering changing our flight to arrive late the night before, arriving at 12:30am vs. 10:30am the next day so we're not exhausted by the time we arrive at the hotel.

Will arriving at the resort close to 2am likely hurt any chances of getting our room request? (Requesting a certain area and section of building 6, not the "4th floor lake view" that most seem to request).

We would arrive the night of Monday November 3rd (early on the 4th but "checking in" on the 3rd), which is not during free dining or any other promos, if that matters.

 

[cfriend416]

Pop experts...I am considering changing our flight to arrive late the night before, arriving at 12:30am vs. 10:30am the next day so we're not exhausted by the time we arrive at the hotel.

Will arriving at the resort close to 2am likely hurt any chances of getting our room request? (Requesting a certain area and section of building 6, not the "4th floor lake view" that most seem to request).

We would arrive the night of Monday November 3rd (early on the 4th but "checking in" on the 3rd), which is not during free dining or any other promos, if that matters.

I believe they assign rooms a few days before your check-in day, so theoretically, the time you check in should not matter. It's not quite the same situation, but we didn't arrive until 10pm or perhaps a bit later on our check-in day last trip, and we did not receive any of our requests (70's, lake view). However, when we asked for something different, they were able to move us to the 70's, in the building closest to the lake, though not lake view. So even if you check-in very late, they may still be able to move you if you don't like what you get.

 

[shyjade]

I believe they assign rooms a few days before your check-in day, so theoretically, the time you check in should not matter. It's not quite the same situation, but we didn't arrive until 10pm or perhaps a bit later on our check-in day last trip, and we did not receive any of our requests (70's, lake view). However, when we asked for something different, they were able to move us to the 70's, in the building closest to the lake, though not lake view. So even if you check-in very late, they may still be able to move you if you don't like what you get.

Thank you. It sounds like "lake view" is probably the most requested room location and since I'm not asking for that, I'm hoping I'll luck out. I'm tempted to just book preferred but I honestly like some of the standard room locations better!

 

[SPOERLX3]

Pop experts...I am considering changing our flight to arrive late the night before, arriving at 12:30am vs. 10:30am the next day so we're not exhausted by the time we arrive at the hotel.

Will arriving at the resort close to 2am likely hurt any chances of getting our room request? (Requesting a certain area and section of building 6, not the "4th floor lake view" that most seem to request).

We would arrive the night of Monday November 3rd (early on the 4th but "checking in" on the 3rd), which is not during free dining or any other promos, if that matters.

Not sure it would hurt since they can only assign you a room that is "available" no matter what time you check in, so whether you check in at 2am or 11:30am, if there are no rooms in your requested area available, then they would have to put you in an available room but you could always ask to be moved the next day, if something becomes available. The main problem with checking in that late is that if you wanted the CM to check for room availability in your requested location, it would have to wait till the next day since the room assigners don't work midnight shifts and they wouldn't be able to call and check for you. I know that in our past 5 trips to POP, we have requested a specific location and only once have we been able to get the request since our first request is connecting rooms. We have been pleasantly surprised at all of our locations and loved them all, so this year we aren't even requesting, we are just going to let them surprise us! We have been in bldg's 2, 3 (twice), 5 & 6 and have loved every room locations we have had.
Another couple of things to remember:

• It normally takes at least an hour to get your luggage to your room, coming in at 2am then waiting for your luggage till 3am+ may make for a really tired day.
• The magical express doesn't run after 10pm so you would need to rent a car or a taxi to get to POP.
• If you keep your original plans, there may be others checking out on Nov 4th that could give you a better chance of getting your requests met.

Just some thoughts to consider

 

[jk2006]

Not sure it would hurt since they can only assign you a room that is "available" no matter what time you check in, so whether you check in at 2am or 11:30am, if there are no rooms in your requested area available, then they would have to put you in an available room but you could always ask to be moved the next day, if something becomes available. The main problem with checking in that late is that if you wanted the CM to check for room availability in your requested location, it would have to wait till the next day since the room assigners don't work midnight shifts and they wouldn't be able to call and check for you. I know that in our past 5 trips to POP, we have requested a specific location and only once have we been able to get the request since our first request is connecting rooms. We have been pleasantly surprised at all of our locations and loved them all, so this year we aren't even requesting, we are just going to let them surprise us! We have been in bldg's 2, 3 (twice), 5 & 6 and have loved every room locations we have had.
Another couple of things to remember:

• It normally takes at least an hour to get your luggage to your room, coming in at 2am then waiting for your luggage till 3am+ may make for a really tired day.
• The magical express doesn't run after 10pm so you would need to rent a car or a taxi to get to POP.
• If you keep your original plans, there may be others checking out on Nov 4th that could give you a better chance of getting your requests met.

Just some thoughts to consider

When we were there last the Magic Express Bus was 24 hr/day--there is no luggage service if your plane lands after 10pm so you have to go to baggage claim yourself & they load your luggage under the bus. No need for a taxi.

 

[lovethattink]

Sounds like something I would do
I love the crunch of chips in my sandwich

I was also looking at the sloppy joe or the fish n chips, anyone out there tried either of those that can give you their opinion?

The sloppy Joe is bun, onion rings, sloppy joe, onion rings, bun.
Dh really loved it. I thought it was ok. I'd rather make a trip to AoA for a surf and surf burger!

 

[shyjade]

Another couple of things to remember:

• It normally takes at least an hour to get your luggage to your room, coming in at 2am then waiting for your luggage till 3am+ may make for a really tired day.
• The magical express doesn't run after 10pm so you would need to rent a car or a taxi to get to POP.
• If you keep your original plans, there may be others checking out on Nov 4th that could give you a better chance of getting your requests met.

Just some thoughts to consider

Actually, Magical Express runs 24 hours a day, but they don't provide luggage delivery during the overnight hours so we would have to retrieve our bags at the airport and bring them with us on the ME bus. That's not a big deal since we will each only have 1 suitcase - hopefully!