Didn't care for POP

[Metallicat]

Hi all,
Myself and DD (age 22) just returned from 10 nights at pop century. it was our annual mom/daughter halloween trip and because we got such a good rate, we decided to stay at pop. before I go any further, we have stayed at asm, sports, CR, WL, & PO and I'm aware it is a value resort. we stayed 10 nights.
our room was 9256 and for some reason, we kept getting lost every time we went to the food court. after about 4 days, we finally learned our way around. there was no hair dryer in the room. had to call and ask for one. the walls were paper thin and every single time the neighbors flushed their toilets they would make an awfull whistling sound. for a couple of days I thought a neighbors child was blowing a whistle every morning. the rooms were small. hardly any drawer space at all. I don't see how a family of 3 or 4 could possibly manage to stay in one of their rooms. with just the 2 of us we still didn't have enough drawer space. the beds were awfull. you could feel the springs popping up through the mattress just by touching them. the tv seemed bigger which was good. the mousekeeping was horrible. the first full day we came back to rest and at 2:30 pm our room was not ready. while we were trying to rest (in a messy room) here comes the maid so we get up and leave to the food court for a snack so she can clean up. (dead tired) I call housekeeping and ask if they can clean our room earler the next day. some time after 9:am. well, here she comes at 8:am the next day while we were still getting ready. this went on all week. for 2 days she didn't leave any toilet paper for us. I had to go and ask another lady (mousekeeper) if we could have some off her cart. at night it was hard to find a parking place and we had to park what seemd like half a mile from our room. after walking all day in the parks, it was a long walk. or so it seemed. the food court was pretty good. they have a good breakfast. do yourself a favor and avoid the sloppy joe. I expected something like a manwich (yum) but it was tasteless and messy. the meatball sub was ok, but make sure to ask for more marinara sauce because it was dry. almost all meatball, no sauce. we don't use the pools so I can't coment on them, but we could hear people running past our room (2nd floor) talking loud well into the night, so its obvious people were enjoying them. maybe I nitpick too much, and maybe I expect more out of people, but I wish people would teach their children to be quite while at hotel/motels. some people maybe trying to sleep at any time of the day. hotels are not a place to scream and yell even if done in a playfull manner. so what have I learned from staying at pop? it's in a good location, buses are good and quick, food is so so, but don't expect a good comfortable nights sleep. as for me, next time I will pay more and stay at the CR where I have a bigger room and rest well without having to use earplugs so I can sleep. have fun everybody! Linda

 

[disneydiz]

I agree with you about POP. We stayed one night this past Easter, and it was awful. The food court was very, very crowded late at night. The floors were dirty. I paid $1.75 for a banana for DS. We then moved over to BWV and I only paid 60-cents for a banana! GO figure. I also hated it that every time the door was opened, the outside light was shining on the bed.
The walls in our room were paper thin -- little kids next door were screaming from very early in the morning. It took us about 45 minutes to find our room. No parking anywhere! Our friends also stayed there and we all agreed -- never again!!!

 

[Metallicat]

Whew, I'm glad I'm not the only one who had a miserable stay at POP. I was beginning to wonder if it was just me being cranky. like you, I will never stay there again. you DO get what you pay for and If not for having a shower and toilet, I would have been just as comfortable camping out in my car.

 

[Disney Spaz]

We just got home yesterday, DH, 2 DS's, 14 & 15 and myself. I was very disappointed. I am not sure if it is because I got spoiled stay at POR or what. My whole family and I found the food court to be a huge disppointment. Usually we can find anything to eat but after two meals we agreed to start eating in the parks because of the food. I also did not like how much smaller the check in area was. The only thing I was happy with was the individual soap and shampoo and the line areas for the buses. This is the first time my DH and I had to sleep in seperate beds in WDW because we could not get comfortable. This ofcourse then put our 2 DS's on the floor which was miserable. I am so glad this was just our quick Halloween trip because I would be upset to spend a week or more there.

 

[3MouseMom]

We were there for 5 nights Oct 21-26. Me, DDs 8 & 4 and my mom (girls' trip). Because of the $49 rate we got two rooms. I think we were lucky, our room was very quiet. We were on the back side of the 70's, by the lake. Maybe nobody was occupying rooms around us, but we didn't hear too much. I think it depends on where your room is and if the building is full. I really meant to get a small white noise machine before I went down, but I ran out of time. I didn't need it, but still think it's a good idea.

My girls did really like the theming and the Goofy water play area at POP...they would have stayed there all day! But I really did not like the food court at all. We just tried to grab something quick in the morning a couple of days....it was always packed, and not too great. But the busses were great . We didn't have to deal with parking, which I've read is a problem. Never waited more than a few minutes for a bus.

We had no complaints about the beds, but with 2 rooms, we each got our own. Maybe that helped. And we had no problems with housekeeping. That would have driven me nuts...I do like coming back to a clean room where I can just crash and not worry about anything.

The rooms are small, I can totally see a family of 4 feeling cramped after a week. But honestly, I felt the same way about POR when we were there for a week 2 years ago. My thing is I just don't think the moderate rooms are that much better than the values to justify the money. Theming aside, I'd have to REALLY love the slide at the pool of the mods and really use the sit-down rest. to feel I was getting my money's worth, and we have public pools here with lots of great water slides/play areas that are frankly better than the mods. POR is pretty and I know people love it, but with kids, I'd do a value again. And 2 value rooms (with such a good rate) is way better than one moderate for us. We had never splurged on 2 before and now I am totally hooked.

We really used the POP as just a place to sleep, so I'd stay there again with no problem (and a good rate). But I sure can see why some people avoid it!! Now if it were just me and dh (no kids), I'd might try POFQ or better yet, try for a great rate at WL!!

 

[Aimeedyan]

We had a loud and sleepless stay, as well. Won't be returning - you're not alone =)

I think they cut too many corners (cost wise) on this one (insulating the walls for one).

I hope you enjoyed the rest of your stay!

 

[capthooksmom]

As I have posted on several other threads, I hated POP and will never stay there again.

We were in the back 70's building, by the lake, second to last room from the end. You would think this would be quiet, but no. Other family members were in the rooms around us, and we knew everytime they went to the restroom, left their room, turned on their TV, etc.
The first night was the worst, though. It had been raining and was very windy that night. We were all awakened by a horrible noise that could only be described as sounding like a donkey braying. This went on ALL night. Early the next morning my BIL called maint. and described it as sounding like a donkey braying because we had no idea what was causing the sound. Maint. laughed and said "are you sure there wasn't a donkey in the room next to you?" I'm sure he thought it was funny, but in our sleep deprived state (after driving there for 12 hours) we were a little ticked off. They did fix it though, turns out one of the large signs was not properly secured to the building.

We also had mold/mildew on the walls and ceiling in the bathroom.

Parking was a total nightmare. If we stayed out late in our own car, there was often no space available when we returned. Then the looooonnnnngggg walk to the room-ugh!

The rooms were small, but we expected that. I agree that the beds were uncomfortable.

We did have great mousekeeping. They left us the washcloth animals every day and always rearranged DS's stuffed animals.

We also enjoyed the pools and the fountains.

Bus service was great.

 

[stemikger]

Although I'm sorry you all had bad experiences, I feel compelled to write this. I LOVE POP CENTURY. It is my new favoriate resort.

I stayed at moderates before and this past August I stayed at Pop for 10 days and loved every second. My wife and daughter are also in love with this place.

I slept like a baby and I can't wait to stay there again.

DEFENDER OF THE BEST RESORT IN THE WORLD

POP CENTURY IS THE BEST.

QUITE HONESTLY I'M AFRAID TO STAY ANYWHERE ELSE, BECAUSE I CAN'T IMAGINE IT BEING AS GREAT AS POP CENTURY.

CBR WAS NICE
POFQ WAS NICE
POP CENTURY WAS GROOVY BABY!!!!!!

 

[rockin_rep]

Originally posted by 3MouseMom


I just don't think the moderate rooms are that much better than the values to justify the money. Theming aside, I'd have to REALLY love the slide at the pool of the mods and really use the sit-down rest. to feel I was getting my money's worth, and we have public pools here with lots of great water slides/play areas that are frankly better than the mods. POR is pretty and I know people love it, but with kids, I'd do a value again. And 2 value rooms (with such a good rate) is way better than one moderate for us. We had never splurged on 2 before and now I am totally hooked.

We really used the POP as just a place to sleep, so I'd stay there again with no problem (and a good rate).

Totally agree. We have ressies for 2 rooms at POP in March.
We've stayed at the moderates and the only difference is indeed, the pools. And we go to WDW for The Parks and NOT the pools!

Our worst nights sleeping were at the Riverside... the people above us were up all night, seemingly pacing. So that can happen ANYWHERE.

Plus, i always felt like i was at CAMP when i walked to the food court! I LOVE the values because there's NO question where you are....it screams disney! And when at disney, i want disney!

To each his own -- thankfully Disney can do just that!

 

[floridagirrl2]

DH and I stayed at Pop for 3 nights last weekend. We really enjoyed our stay except for the noise. Next time, we will bring a fan to create some "white noise" and will request a room near the end of the corridor so there will be less walk-by noise.

This is definitely the loudest hotel I have stayed at on or off property in Orlando. And I think a lot of parents let their kids run and yell as much as they want because they are on vacation--I don't think hotel corridors are appropriate places to run and yell, personally, but apparently a lot of parents think it's OK.

We only ate breakfast at Pop, but thought they had a wonderful variety of choices and was reasonably priced. The fruit bowl for $2.99 was large enough to be shared by 2 people. Oatmeal was $2.50, and I cut up a banana (99 cents) in it. DH is low carbing and had an omelt a couple of days and then just sides of scrambled eggs and bacon another day.

The food court was crowded but we never felt there was an overly long wait. We never had any trouble finding a place to sit. My only other experience with Disney food courts was at All Star Music about 12 years ago, and Pop's food court is a VAST improvement over that.

We loved the theming, thought the whole resort including our room was bright and clean, and we thought the beds were comfortable. It was just the two of us so we thought the room was plenty big. The bus transportation was pretty good and we loved not having to drive our own car like we do when we stay offsite.

 

[Ilovestitch]

I've never stayed at POP, but I've eaten at the food court- I though it was awesome!! I think its the nicest food court at any WDW resort! They have all kinds of choices you can't get anywhere else. -Steph

 

[*Fantasia*]

I'm sorry for those who had a bad experience there. We've stayed at POP twice already and wouldn't hesitate to stay there again during summer. Winter comes, I need my hot tub! So we would stay somewhere else during cold weather.

We go to WDW to enjoy the parks, so we are not that much in our rooms anyways, so the room size doesn't bother us. It is just me and my two small children anyways. After the parks, we would be too tired to do anything, we would just eat and sleep. We would be too tired to even notice the noise outside or the toilet flushing next door and I am a light sleeper!

I have stayed at ASMo, ASSp, POP, CSR and CBR... so far I don't have any problem about the noise outside, but then again, like I said, after the parks, we would be overly tired that we don't notice the noise.

We enjoyed our stay at POP. We had a great service from houskeeping to check-ins, to bus transportation to gift shop and food court. Everything is all good!

 

[ctrabada]

I can understand why some people do not like Pop... let's face it, if it was outside Disney property, it would be considered a cheap motel and you would not pay more than $30/night. And for a family of 4 staying a week or more, it can be quite cramped.

Having said that, I must also say that Pop is one of my favorite resorts at Disney. My DH, DD7 and I love staying there; love the theming, the food court (I believe it's the best food court in Disney), the atmospher and the buses. My DD loves the pool and doesn't really mind that there's no slide. I do not mind the crowds so much and I've always being able to find a table at the food court without waiting too long. I also have no problems with the beds. As for the noise... nothing can be noisier than my DH's snoring (which is why I have to wear earplugs, so I block out everyone!).

We will be using our (new) DVC points to stay at the DVC resorts, but plan to return to Pop for quick weekend getaways when we can get the AP rate.

 

[arizonacolbys]

We LOVED our stay at POP so much in September (even with Hurricane Jeanne ) that we're returning for 10 more nights in January !

We've also stayed at the CR, Polynesian, WL & ASMovies. But, for the great deals you can get at the POP, it really is a great deal. I think that most of the OP's issues stemmed from other guests at the Resort & not the Resort itself. You can have inconsiderate neighbors anywhere. As for the flushing toilets, we heard more toilets at the Polynesian than at POP. We stayed on the top floor in the 50's section & I think this helps cut down on some of the outside noise & interior noise.

We enjoyed the pools & the food court. I think the transportation here is the best of anywhere we've stayed.

We really loved POP & can't wait to stay there again!

 

[Pats Dragon]

sorry you had such a bad time at POP. Truthfully though I have stayed in luxury hotels and never found one that you could request an exact time to be cleaned. We always feel lucky if you request morning or afternoon and it is honored. We also are hopeful if the room will be cleaned when we are ready to nap so I emphasize. We love POP and will be staying there for 10 nights. Everything about our first 2 stays there was terrific.

 

[Got Quattro?]

We drove around POP, and can tell by looking at it, that we will never stay there.

Now we are not snobs or anything, but POP looks so cheap and UGLY....I would hate to come home to that each day.

 

[drgnfly30]

I'm glad I switched my ressies to CR... I originally booked 2 rooms at POP but kept hearing about the paper thin walls & the turbo flush toilets... something my DH won't tolerate is noisy neighbors (intentional or not!).

Thanks for the review!
Christine

 

[gigi1313]

i'm saddened to read such poor reviews of pop century because our family *LOVED IT!* ALOT!!! my kids have refused to stay anywhere else (and we toured a few of the monorail hotels as a possibility for our next trip)!

our room was quiet (and we had neighbors on both sides, and were there during a hurricane, so wind noise was expected but didn't happen), our beds were super-comfy (i even came home so spoiled by the comfy bed that dh/i bought a new bed a month after our trip, it made us realize how uncomfy our home bed was!), we had connecting rooms so it was super-spacious, found more than enough closet/drawer space for two people's belongings for 9 days, found the food court food to be above average with plenty of variety and options and reasonable-disney-prices...

to the OP... if you know you liked other values and were so miserable at pop, why did you not ask to switch after a day or two or three?

 

[Disney Spaz]

I was only there for 3 days but I think my biggest problem was we stayed in the 90's building on the fourth floor and every morning we woke up to start our day in Magical WDW we stepped out of our room door to see a major highway with major traffic and noise. I don't understand why Disney would put it that close to the highway. It took away from the magic of our visit. This is one of the many reasons my family and I will be staying at either a mod or ASMo from now on. I am glad to hear that others enjoyed POP because it means more revenue for WDW but my family was disappointed. On a happy note though we were originally scheduled to spend our Christmas trip there and have now upgrade to POR . I say this because had we spent a holiday trip there for an extended period of time I would have been upset at what my family felt was a lack in Disney magic.

 

[capthooksmom]

Originally posted by *Fantasia*
I'm sorry for those who had a bad experience there. We've stayed at POP twice already and wouldn't hesitate to stay there again during summer. Winter comes, I need my hot tub! So we would stay somewhere else during cold weather.

We go to WDW to enjoy the parks, so we are not that much in our rooms anyways, so the room size doesn't bother us. It is just me and my two small children anyways. After the parks, we would be too tired to do anything, we would just eat and sleep. We would be too tired to even notice the noise outside or the toilet flushing next door and I am a light sleeper!

I have stayed at ASMo, ASSp, POP, CSR and CBR... so far I don't have any problem about the noise outside, but then again, like I said, after the parks, we would be overly tired that we don't notice the noise.

We enjoyed our stay at POP. We had a great service from houskeeping to check-ins, to bus transportation to gift shop and food court. Everything is all good!

We felt the same way-we were just there to sleep. That was the problem. We were up early every morning and in late every night. We were tired and had no trouble falling asleep, but were constantly awakened by the noise. DH is a light sleeper, but not me. I slept right through Hurricane Andrew, and it hit us pretty hard!
So..that is our main reason for not staying there again. After going full force at the parks we need our sleep. Our neighbors were not the problem. I mean, they can't help it if they had to go potty during the night! The problem was thin walls, loud toilets and unsecured signs. I'm sorry, I know somewhere else it would be a "cheap" hotel, but I hold Disney to a higher standard.
So to all of you Pop lovers out there, I can understand why you like it. As I mentioned in my previous post there were lots of positive things. But there is obviously a noise problem, at least in some areas of the resort.
So, I will end my post with things I liked about POP: mousekeeping, bus service, theme, pools (particularly hippy dippy), view (we had a view of the lake), gift shop, guest service.