Disney's POP CENTURY RESORT Information & Questions

[Megsie1000]

We stayed at POP June 27-July 4th. We booked a preferred room and requested 60's & ground floor and got room 5105, which I consider to be an absolutely perfect location for us. It was close to the pool and the main building while still having a little distance from the noise of the pool parties in the afternoon.

Room 5105 is a connecting room (we did not use the connection), tub and shower combo, two queens.

I absolutely loved the design of the new rooms. There were four of us all in one room, and I had my concerns about that, but all the storage options in these new rooms really makes them very "livable" I found cubby spaces for everything. I also liked that we could fold up the murphy bed in the morning to give us more room to move around as we got ready, or give us a table if the kids wanted to sit and have a bite of breakfast to eat.

The room seemed quiet. There was one night when I heard a little noise coming from the room connecting, but it was not much and it was quickly gone. I was worried about the hard floors being noisy, but they have a lot of padding in them, so I think this mitigates noise. I did not notice too much noise from anywhere. Our room at the Polynesian was actually a lot worse in terms of being able to hear neighbors and people above us.

I liked the design of the bathrooms, including the sliding barn door to the sink area (slow close, so no pinched fingers if you have little ones), and the pocket door to the toilet/shower.

One thing I HATED about the new rooms was the fan in the bathroom. It is on some sort of motion trigger, so it turns off when you are showering because it cannot register your movement in the shower. I would think this would be an enormous mold/mildew issue for central Florida. It also turns off quickly after you are done doing your, um, "business" in the bathroom, so if a person leaves a "scent," one needs to keep going back in there to do a little dance to keep the fan turning back on to clear it. Ugh SO annoying. Terrible design. I also found the light in the toilet/shower area to be lacking. I think they should replace the bathroom fans with new light/fan combos with a switch.

POP bus service was almost flawless until the very last night when we tried to return from MK after extra magic hours (2am). I don't know what the issue was, but huge lines for Pop when all other resort bus queues were loading and going. Anyway, we got back eventually.

Food in the cafeteria was decent Disney resort food. We did have some 15 tour groups arrive while we were there (surprised me that they would choose July 4th week to visit). They did not bother us too much unless we were coming back on the bus at closing time and needing something to eat. Then the large crowds of them got to be a bit much. But they were always pleasant and respectful when we met a group of them in the parks. We did not see them in the resort much outside of the cafeteria area.

All in all we had a great time at POP and I would absolutely return

 

[jcarwash]

New tables and chairs outside of Everything Pop? I don’t think these were here yesterday. Plus they are in perfect condition. I think they were brought in overnight.

Edit: (I also spotted this same new style over at Art of Animation the next day.)

 

[RaySharpton]

Thank-you for the quick responses!

You can also add it to your check out bill as a credit.

I added mine to my physical gift card using the Disney gift card website. You can enter the number under transfer a balance. Easier that way

Yes. There's a bar code in the email that the CM scans just like a physical card.

 

[Mome Rath]

I too just got back from a trip to Pop, and it was my first stay in the new rooms. We booked preferred and were in 70's section, first floor, equal distance from buses and food court. Loved the location (just as an aside I didn't get my requests put in via online checkin). Loved the new room design, and the bed was very comfortable! I liked the floors and were kept pretty clean throughout our stay. The TV was fantastic as well. No problems with mousekeeping, and no extra security check, and were never disturbed at all.

The buses overall were absolutely fantastic. The only issue we had was leaving EPCOT one night at close and got behind 3 of the 15's tour groups. The groups were not the problem, but rather the lack of buses. The Dis security guy working our bus stop couldn't believe the few number of buses that arrived. I have a feeling Disney needs to work on their algorithms for when the large tour groups are there; it would throw off all their stats as the group moves as one person.

Food court was well staffed and had good variety. The noise level at the resort was surprisingly quiet, with the last night being the only night we had a noise issue and I can't be sure what it was. Gift shop had good variety as well. All-in-all it was a great trip, I would stay again but I would avoid when the large groups are there just because of the logistics issues with the mass of them at the bus stop and the food court, which isn't their problem but rather Disney's. I've stayed at Pop many times throughout the years and all their updates get a thumbs up from me!

 

[fla4fun]

Sadly I did that and still had to move. I told literally every person I talked to that I had the back to back stays so this isn’t a guarantee. I think the tour groups out a kink in my luck. We adapted even though it was really inconvenient. I just wish the woman would have apologized. I don’t think she was happy when I (embarrassingly) started crying when she told me we had to move.

Just curious . . .how many nights was the first part of your stay? I am wondering if it was far enough out that they hadn’t blocked the rooms for the group yet, or not far enough out so that the group was blocked first. Mine have typically been a 14 night stay followed by a three night stay. I don’t know if that makes a difference or not. Sorry you had to move. I would have been upset too.

 

[MinnieMSue]

Just curious . . .how many nights was the first part of your stay? I am wondering if it was far enough out that they hadn’t blocked the rooms for the group yet, or not far enough out so that the group was blocked first. Mine have typically been a 14 night stay followed by a three night stay. I don’t know if that makes a difference or not. Sorry you had to move. I would have been upset too.

It was a 5 night followed by a 10 night. I went to the front desk every day and reminded them I was back to back stays. They told me the night before that we had to move. I was upset that night and worried the next day until we went back to our new room and every single thing had arrived safely to it including the food being put back in the fridge. I honestly was very skeptical that they would successfully move 4 suitcases plus the food plus the cold items. They told me to remind hem about the stuff in the fridge when I called the morning of moving day and by golly they did a great job. It kind of sucked but didn’t ruin the stay. Also the room assigner did such a great job giving us two great rooms - so once I realized second room was almost as perfect as the first and once I had unpacked again - all was good and I moved on with my life. We had to book this stay broken like it was to get the summer room only special. It was originally 3 separate back to back stays but they were able to blend two together to make it two stays. I would really have hated moving twice! So it could have been worse lol!

 

[MinnieMSue]

I too just got back from a trip to Pop, and it was my first stay in the new rooms. We booked preferred and were in 70's section, first floor, equal distance from buses and food court. Loved the location (just as an aside I didn't get my requests put in via online checkin). Loved the new room design, and the bed was very comfortable! I liked the floors and were kept pretty clean throughout our stay. The TV was fantastic as well. No problems with mousekeeping, and no extra security check, and were never disturbed at all.

The buses overall were absolutely fantastic. The only issue we had was leaving EPCOT one night at close and got behind 3 of the 15's tour groups. The groups were not the problem, but rather the lack of buses. The Dis security guy working our bus stop couldn't believe the few number of buses that arrived. I have a feeling Disney needs to work on their algorithms for when the large tour groups are there; it would throw off all their stats as the group moves as one person.

Food court was well staffed and had good variety. The noise level at the resort was surprisingly quiet, with the last night being the only night we had a noise issue and I can't be sure what it was. Gift shop had good variety as well. All-in-all it was a great trip, I would stay again but I would avoid when the large groups are there just because of the logistics issues with the mass of them at the bus stop and the food court, which isn't their problem but rather Disney's. I've stayed at Pop many times throughout the years and all their updates get a thumbs up from me!

We had awesome bus service except going from Epcot to pop too! That was absolutely awful. Once we hopped on AoA bus instead. Plus our bus stop was soooooo far away. Sooooo far! Only to arrive and wait and wait and wait and wait!

 

[scrappinginontario]

These stories of people moving between reservations during split stays are why I cringe just a little when someone recommends 'just' book a split stay. There is not 'just' about it.

As Pop is running at 100% capacity I think we're going to hear more and more stories of people having to move between reservations. I cannot imagine how difficult it is for room assigners to fit the puzzle pieces together each day! I'm sure it's a computerized process but each time someone goes to the front desk and requests a different room from the one they've been assigned (including myself ) it must throw things into a tizzy!

 

[disneyygirrl]

Hi all, thank you for compiling tips and tricks for Pop! We have a stay booked August 27th to September 2nd in a preferred room. I have a touring plans subscription, and really enjoy being close to busses, but — are all of the rooms refurbished? I don’t want to request a certain room if it isn’t refurbished, as the new rooms look so nice!

 

[Iowamomof4]

Hi all, thank you for compiling tips and tricks for Pop! We have a stay booked August 27th to September 2nd in a preferred room. I have a touring plans subscription, and really enjoy being close to busses, but — are all of the rooms refurbished? I don’t want to request a certain room if it isn’t refurbished, as the new rooms look so nice!

All of the rooms currently open to guests are refurbished. The other rooms are all closed and in various stages of the refurbishment process. You'll definitely get a refurbished room.

 

[disneyygirrl]

All of the rooms currently open to guests are refurbished. The other rooms are all closed and in various stages of the refurbishment process. You'll definitely get a refurbished room.

That’s so awesome — thank you so much for the quick reply!

 

[JessicaW1234]

We had awesome bus service except going from Epcot to pop too! That was absolutely awful. Once we hopped on AoA bus instead. Plus our bus stop was soooooo far away. Sooooo far! Only to arrive and wait and wait and wait and wait!

Is the AoA bus stop next to Pop’s stop?

 

[Haley R]

Is the AoA bus stop next to Pop’s stop?

I don’t think so. Pop is almost always the last stop or close to it.

ETA: I honestly don’t remember though

 

[MinnieMSue]

Is the AoA bus stop next to Pop’s stop?

Pretty much it is always right next to Pop at the parks and Disney Springs. For sure st Epcot MK and DS. I can’t remember HS and AK for sure. The first half of our stay was very close to the bridge so not a bad walk to the room. I think we hopped on AoA bus twice after either being tired of waiting once and the other time a short line with a better chance of sitting. I have to say busses were very very good most of the time. We had some bad luck just missing them and even then often the next bus came quickly most of the time.

 

[k5xs]

Is the AoA bus stop next to Pop’s stop?

Yes. It is immediately adjacent, as it seems to be at most every park and Disney Springs.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Is the AoA bus stop next to Pop’s stop?

Pretty much it is always right next to Pop at the parks and Disney Springs. For sure st Epcot MK and DS. I can’t remember HS and AK for sure. The first half of our stay was very close to the bridge so not a bad walk to the room. I think we hopped on AoA bus twice after either being tired of waiting once and the other time a short line with a better chance of sitting. I have to say busses were very very good most of the time. We had some bad luck just missing them and even then often the next bus came quickly most of the time.

Yes. They are adjacent at Disney Springs and all parks. I wasn’t positive about AK but just looked and they are there too.

 

[bluezy]

Yes. They are adjacent at Disney Springs and all parks. I wasn’t positive about AK but just looked and they are there too.

And the fact that they are now the 2 closest bus stops to the park was a nice surprise when we were exiting AK after closing a few weeks ago. I will also mention that this was our 4th stay at AoA and this was the first time we noticed AoA & Pop sharing buses at the end of the night. We have stayed past closing at various parks on every trip and never shared a bus. This time we did. And we noticed it happened every night we were out late. It wasn't a big deal, the buses weren't jam packed (though there were a few people standing), but it did seem to happen consistently during the week, but again, only at the end of the night. We shared a bus on the way back from AK one night and 3 other nights when we were getting off a non-shared bus at AoA late at night, we saw an AoA/Pop bus dropping off at AoA. We only saw the shared buses returning from DHS & AK so I don't know if they do it from all the parks or just those 2.

 

[MinnieMSue]

And the fact that they are now the 2 closest bus stops to the park was a nice surprise when we were exiting AK after closing a few weeks ago. I will also mention that this was our 4th stay at AoA and this was the first time we noticed AoA & Pop sharing buses at the end of the night. We have stayed past closing at various parks on every trip and never shared a bus. This time we did. And we noticed it happened every night we were out late. It wasn't a big deal, the buses weren't jam packed (though there were a few people standing), but it did seem to happen consistently during the week, but again, only at the end of the night. We shared a bus on the way back from AK one night and 3 other nights when we were getting off a non-shared bus at AoA late at night, we saw an AoA/Pop bus dropping off at AoA. We only saw the shared buses returning from DHS & AK so I don't know if they do it from all the parks or just those 2.

That’s weird - we just got back and there was no shared bussing even late at night the two weeks we were there - although we didn’t have many late nights - just one or 2 at each park.

 

[scrappinginontario]

And the fact that they are now the 2 closest bus stops to the park was a nice surprise when we were exiting AK after closing a few weeks ago. I will also mention that this was our 4th stay at AoA and this was the first time we noticed AoA & Pop sharing buses at the end of the night. We have stayed past closing at various parks on every trip and never shared a bus. This time we did. And we noticed it happened every night we were out late. It wasn't a big deal, the buses weren't jam packed (though there were a few people standing), but it did seem to happen consistently during the week, but again, only at the end of the night. We shared a bus on the way back from AK one night and 3 other nights when we were getting off a non-shared bus at AoA late at night, we saw an AoA/Pop bus dropping off at AoA. We only saw the shared buses returning from DHS & AK so I don't know if they do it from all the parks or just those 2.

We shared a bus from DHS when we were leaving about an hour after park closing. Made a lot of sense as there were only a handful of people at each stop.

 

[Barbanellie]

And the fact that they are now the 2 closest bus stops to the park was a nice surprise when we were exiting AK after closing a few weeks ago. I will also mention that this was our 4th stay at AoA and this was the first time we noticed AoA & Pop sharing buses at the end of the night. We have stayed past closing at various parks on every trip and never shared a bus. This time we did. And we noticed it happened every night we were out late. It wasn't a big deal, the buses weren't jam packed (though there were a few people standing), but it did seem to happen consistently during the week, but again, only at the end of the night. We shared a bus on the way back from AK one night and 3 other nights when we were getting off a non-shared bus at AoA late at night, we saw an AoA/Pop bus dropping off at AoA. We only saw the shared buses returning from DHS & AK so I don't know if they do it from all the parks or just those 2.

The night we stayed late at AK (got in the Avatar queue 10 minutes to closing, so we were late getting out!), when we walked out to the bus stop, the bus/security/attendant guy asked where we were going. When we said Pop, he told us to get on the AoA bus and to tell the driver he was now doing both resorts. We did, but the driver seemed rather unhappy about it. Turned out we were the last two to get on that bus, the only going to Pop, and since we were at the end of building 4 by the bridge, we just told the driver to forget about it and we got off at AoA.