Back From The Pop-Won't Be Returning

[Amy&Dan]

We're staying at Pop a week from tomorrow for our first visit. I sure hope its wonderful! Not so much for us because I'm very easy going and can deal with whatever, but we're traveling with another family who has never been to WDW and I want it to be great for them.

I'm sorry you weren't happy with all aspects of Pop!

I am sure you will have a great time! We have stayed at Pop, All Star Movies, and POR. We loved them all. Pop can get really hectic, especially the food court so if you plan to eat there much try to do it at as much of an off time as possible. POR was my favorite resort in a sense because it is so beautiful but since we booked Pop for four nights in December we must have loved it a lot too! Frankly, every hotel I have stayed at from California to Florida seems to have these turbo toilets now, that sound like the shuttle blasting off every time somebody flushes! If you are a light sleeper you might consider one of those white noise machines or a small fan to drown out some noise. We are always so exhausted we can't hear a thing. I can see how some people don't like the values, especially if you are used to a moderate like peaceful, tranquil POR but the values are so much fun that kids especially love them! Also, as you can see people's opinions varies, even ones that stayed at a certain resort at the same time! It's just the luck of the draw. You may be next to a person who is really noisy or really quiet and that can completely change everything about your stay there. Good luck and have fun!

 

[bubba73]

I haven't stayed there yet but we will be there in 3 weeks and are very much looking forward to the trip. I have had just about every kind of place to stay at in the area that you can imagine. Anywhere from staying in a house where some family members live in the area to a condo to a 3 bedroom house with a carport to the Hotel Royal Plaza and even the Swan. But I will ne honest and say I am looking forward to this trip more than all of those. The walking won't bother me at all. I do a lot of walking everyday and exercise alot as well. I am just looking forward to the resort and the larger than life icons.


20 day dance

 

[momto2inKC]

I did notice those loud toilets while we there!!! Luckily it didn't really bother us though.
We must have timed the busses perfectly because we never had to wait very long at all. Even at night when the parks were closing and the lines were long for busses, it was quick. They almost always had 3 busses loading for Pop at a time.

 

[Pkdcoastrs]

Sorry you didn't have the best time at the resort, at least there were some positives!

It's just weird though, I never thought of my family as the "go with the flow" type (haha) but I guess we are one. I'm starting to think this because a lot of the things people find as negatives at hotels (whether it be WDW or wherever) don't bother us. We PREFER Pop Century over Grand Floridian, go figure. As long as there are no bugs crawling on me and a clean bathroom, we are happy.

But that's the whole problem, we all come from different backrounds thus our expectations are different.

When we stayed at Pop Century last August in the 50's section, we had an AWESOME room facing Hourglass Lake. It was basically a water-view at a value resort! NO NOISE and a GREAT view!!!! When it comes to bathroom noise,etc....never even came up as a problem to us. We did have HORRIBLE neighbors though, who every day AND NIGHT decided to keep the thing that's on the wall that can attach to the door .....for the TOTAL wrong purpose. Instead of using it so that door could be opened barely if opened from the outside, they made it so that it was a DOORSTOP! This could happen at any resort though, it just was so rude when late at night the family would come and go over and over....with a loud banging noise following.

 

[adisneymama]

We have stayed at both CBR and PC. We prefer PC. The busses were horrible at CBR and it was a very far walk to the food court and pool. Things were much more conveinant at POP and the busses were great. Never had a wait for one at all. The CM's were excellent and went out of their way to accomodate us. We loved it! We will be returning in Sept and we can't wait!

 

[EsmeraldaX]

If it makes you feel any better, we stayed at AKL last week and had very slow bus service some days and we could hear the apparently possessed child in the room above us screaming his little head off every day until he checked out.

It's always a gamble. When we stayed at Pop last Dec. it was silent every night and day and the busses were always out there.

We'd happily stay at both Pop and AKL again. We liked AKL more because of the size, theming and restaurants though, but Pop was also very fun.

I'm sorry you had a bad stay.

 

[joannwalton12]

We stayed at PopCentury during Easter 2005. We never waited more than 5 minutes for the bus. The food court was noisy but I liked that excitement. We only ate in the Pop food court for breakfast so the noise was a great way to get started in the AM. We stayed in the 90"s building on the fourth floor and never heard a sound. Mousekeeping was just great-we could not wait to get back in our room to see the towels made into animals, ties, etc. Loved the experience would go again to Pop.

 

[alwaysmom]

I'm sorry you didn't have the best accomodations this time - we're right there with you on your exp with Pop, won't be returning.

Same here!

 

[mamalle]

we wont be returning either. the bus was crowded and the walk from the magic kingdom at the end of the night was not fun at all. the food court was beyond crowded and I couldnt even get a cup of coffee one am due to the long line.

 

[Luv4Disney]

I thing is we were really looking forward to staying at the Pop and giving it a shot. We had read mixed reviews and figured we'd make the best of it. It was just a real disappointment and really aggravating when you have to wait in line for 45 minutes just to get back to your resort. The staff indeed was amazing (minus mousekeeping a few select times), especially the concierge. The food court, while good, was always packed, especially in the morning. A few times we had trouble finding seats, and there was only 2 of us. And yes, the toilets are crazy. They could probably suck down a small animal. The thing is we weren't even there during a really busy season, what's it like then? While the overall experience wasn't terrible, it's not something I'd want to risk repeating.

 

[Luv4Disney]

If it makes you feel any better, we stayed at AKL last week and had very slow bus service some days and we could hear the apparently possessed child in the room above us screaming his little head off every day until he checked out.

It's always a gamble. When we stayed at Pop last Dec. it was silent every night and day and the busses were always out there.

We'd happily stay at both Pop and AKL again. We liked AKL more because of the size, theming and restaurants though, but Pop was also very fun.

I'm sorry you had a bad stay.

I was thinking of AKL but one of my concerns: Can you smell the animals? Or is it not noticeable? I know it sounds like a weird question, but I can't help but wonder.

 

[WDWorBUST]

We tried Pop out this past December and are going back to All-Star Movies this September and December. We just like Movies best.

Sorry your stay was a disappointment!

 

[widget]

Just had to say your daughter is soooo cute!! She even looks like the little fairy on your counter!!

 

[WDWorBUST]

Thank you

 

[Luv4Disney]

We tried Pop out this past December and are going back to All-Star Movies this September and December. We just like Movies best.

Sorry your stay was a disappointment!

How do you like the All-Star Movies? What is the transportation like for the AS resorts? Thanks in advance!

 

[Texan Mouseketeer]

CarolinaBlue, sorry to get so off topic, but is that who I think it is in your signature???

 

[WDWorBUST]

This may sound really dumb....but we really liked the food court better. It seemed to have a better selection and we hated the dessert selections at Pop. The tie-dyed cheesecake just didn't do it for us We have always stayed in the Toy Story section and never had a problem with noise and Pop was always so noisy when we were there (Granted we were in the I think 50's section - the building with tramp outside it - right by a pool during Pop Warner week). We stayed there in part due to them having the pop up water fountains for kids (I didn't know at the time ASMO had them - never had DD before to look for them) and they weren't on our whole stay and it was a really warm trip. We have never had a problem with the busses at ASMO - we have always went during value season which might be part of our good experience with buses - but we love the Disney transportation from ASMO. In fact this last trip at Pop was the first time we drove the rental car to the parks - and that was because our stroller was so big it was a pain. I love the feel of ASMO - it just feels like Disney to me. I mean there is a 3 story tall Buzz Lightyear and green army men lining the roofs of those buildings. I just feel like I have walked into a Disney movie when I'm there. We have stayed at ASSp too and didn't like it as well - although it was fine. Oh - back to the buses....we have never waited over 10 minutes for a bus at ASMO. Even at park closing - it's true there can be quite the lines to get back to the resorts but they have always had so many buses running that we haven't had a long wait. Hope that at least some of that made sense

 

[Alicnwondrln]

thats to bad better luck next time

 

[Luv4Disney]

This may sound really dumb....but we really liked the food court better. It seemed to have a better selection and we hated the dessert selections at Pop. The tie-dyed cheesecake just didn't do it for us We have always stayed in the Toy Story section and never had a problem with noise and Pop was always so noisy when we were there (Granted we were in the I think 50's section - the building with tramp outside it - right by a pool during Pop Warner week). We stayed there in part due to them having the pop up water fountains for kids (I didn't know at the time ASMO had them - never had DD before to look for them) and they weren't on our whole stay and it was a really warm trip. We have never had a problem with the busses at ASMO - we have always went during value season which might be part of our good experience with buses - but we love the Disney transportation from ASMO. In fact this last trip at Pop was the first time we drove the rental car to the parks - and that was because our stroller was so big it was a pain. I love the feel of ASMO - it just feels like Disney to me. I mean there is a 3 story tall Buzz Lightyear and green army men lining the roofs of those buildings. I just feel like I have walked into a Disney movie when I'm there. We have stayed at ASSp too and didn't like it as well - although it was fine. Oh - back to the buses....we have never waited over 10 minutes for a bus at ASMO. Even at park closing - it's true there can be quite the lines to get back to the resorts but they have always had so many buses running that we haven't had a long wait. Hope that at least some of that made sense

If we ever try a value resort again, it looks like ASM will be the one to try. Thanks for the info.

 

[Carrieberry]

We have stayed at ASMo, Poly POFQ, AKL and OKW and from what I remember, they all had the super flushers on the toilet. Is it just that the walls are thinner at POP? I remember being able to hear them at POFQ from the people around us, yet I never see people complain about them at those other resorts.

Also, I thought ASMo now shared busses with ASSp and ASM. How can they be less crowded and longer rides if they stop at the other resorts?

We will be going in Feb and are debating staying at ASMo or at Pop.

Transportation is a big thing for my DH as the last time we stayed at POFQ it was awful because we shared with POR and each ride took forever, but even worse, we would never make the first bus to any park because of everyone waiting. We were leaning towards Pop because i read they always have more than one bus at the parks during closing, and because they have their own busses and do not share. So what do we do? It will be the off season if that makes a huge difference.

Also, can anyone point me to a place that can list the order of the bus stops at the parks? What was last before Pop opened? AsMo?