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AC7179

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Mar 4, 2004
Messages
2,353
Hola!

Just wanted to give my review of the Pop Century Resort.

Pros:

1. We loved the resort. I was afraid I would find the theming obnoxious, but I really did not. I found it fun and happy. It was immaculate, very clean, and much nicer than any Motel 6, Super 8, etc. that I have ever been to. I would compare it more to a Courtyard by Marriott or Fairfield Inn type of hotel. The walls were thin, but not enough to really make a difference. We were facing the bowling pin pool and could hear the music when we put my 2 year old down for a nap during the day, but it wasn't anything that kept her up.

2. Mousekeeping was AMAZING! We got three or four towel animals while we were there, and my daughters stuffed animals were always arranged in funny positions when we came back to the park. I requested early housekeeping and our room was always done when we came back from the park.

3. I loved the food court! I liked how big it was, and we never really had to wait in any kind of long lines, although it did get busy at times. The eleven dollars we spend on refillable mugs was well worth it! Yum!

4. The cast members were FANTASTIC! We had a one night stay in a preferred room our first night, then switched to our WDW package which was a nonpreferred room. The front desk CM originally told me we wouldn't have to move, then came back, apologized, and said we would because thier pref. rooms were full for the next night. She asked me where I would like to move to, and I said 50s, and poof! She did it. :) The CMs also took all our old luggage to our old room, and DME was able to deliver to our new room. When we came back from the parks our new room was ready with all our luggage in it. Amazing!


Cons:
1. Busses. My word! I despise Disney busses! Pop is really and truly a good 15 minutes away from the Magic Kingdom. Now, I have to give you my disclaimer here, and tell you we prefer to go to Disneyland in California, where we stay at Paradise Pier and walk to both parks daily. I just was not digging the bus system. I really think we got to the parks faster when we stayed at the Hyatt Grand Cypress over Spring Break. The drive did not seem as long as the drive from Pop. I have a 2 year old who was SO GOOD the whole trip, but the inevitable daily meltdown usually came on the bus or waiting for the bus in the afternoon. We tried to go at her speed and not overdo things with her, and she tended to get tired after about 3 hours in the parks, which isn't very long. Well, it's frustrating to spend an hour on the busses for every 3 hours in the park. It was also odd to me to be staying ONSITE and be SO FAR away from everything. I understand POP is a value resort, and you can get closer to the parks at a deluxe, but in my opinion the busses were the biggest drawback to staying at POP.

2. Exterior Walkways: Not POPs fault,b ut we got stuck in a couple of down pours and had to make a break for it a few times. Interior walkways would have been nice.

Basically we loved POP and would stay there again, with our own car or an older child. The resort itself was clean and fun! The clientel was not something that would keep me from coming back. Most of the people seemed just like regular people, mostly parents with young kids.

But we had a fantastic trip! I would suggest this hotel to people, just be prepared for the bus issue!
 
1. Busses. My word! I despise Disney busses! Pop is really and truly a good 15 minutes away from the Magic Kingdom. Now, I have to give you my disclaimer here, and tell you we prefer to go to Disneyland in California, where we stay at Paradise Pier and walk to both parks daily. I just was not digging the bus system.

2. Exterior Walkways: Not POPs fault,b ut we got stuck in a couple of down pours and had to make a break for it a few times. Interior walkways would have been nice.
I totally feel like you do AC7179. Not my favorite, but if POP offered walking access to the parks and interior hallways, we'd be paying $200+ more to stay there per night ;) We usually stay at DVC or deluxe, but there was nothing available and this is just a short trip before and after our disney cruise. POP is a nice option for those with a tighter budget (which we have from time to time).

POP is a far ride to the MK----but it still beats staying offsite simply based on getting to skip parking in the MK parking lot and going through the TTC route.....that takes forever (really) when staying offsite. When we stay offsite, we can get to the MK in 10 minutes. The parking lot that is. Getting INTO the actual park, factoring in the tram/TTC/monorail or ferry.....can take an additional 30 min. It took us 45 min to get into the MK one night from the time we pulled into the parking lot. :scared1: So I welcome any onsite bus experience over that.

Glad u had a nice time. We are checking into POP in 5 days. I have stayed there many times and always requested the 50's section but never got it. Maybe this trip we'll get lucky :banana: If you had to be moved to a standard view, the 50's is a good area for it (as is the 70's). But we had standard view the last two POP stays and got the 80's once (FAR !) and the 90's (even FARTHER from everything) the last time which was this past Feb. I booked "preferred" view this time because I do not want to get stuck waaaay out in the 90's. I think we got the absolute farthest room one could get at POP :sad1:

Thanks for sharing and welcome back :)
 
We're heading to POP Tuesday morning (I want to check in early & hit a park) & absolutely can't wait. We also booked a Preferred Room this time because we were stuck in the back of beyond the last time & I said never again!!
 













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