Directly to the parks.
I noticed that you are going at Christmas.
We were at Pop last Christmas and I have to say, bus service had never been better.Sure it was crowded, but they must add additional buses that time of year to keep up with the crowds. One thing I would recommend is to not get on the bus if the seats are already filled. Step aside and let others get on and wait for the next bus. That way you are all guaranteed a seat. And since buses are so plentiful that time of year, hopefully you won't have to wait more then five or ten minutes for the next bus.
We are planning for it to be crowded--it's good to hear that you felt that Disney was also prepared for the crowds. You reminded me what we saw at the TTC last time we were there that time of the year. We were offsite staying with family, but we saw rows of buses lined up to take people to the MK to relieve some of the burden on the ferry and monorail so I think you are right about them adding extra transportation. We have never been onsite that time of year though so it's hard for us to know what to expect at the resorts. It's good to hear your experience. 
We love everything about POP!
I usually stay at POP in the first two weeks of Nov & I haven't seen the Christmas decorations up at the resort. Perhaps others can tell you if they are starting by mid Nov. However, the parks definitely get into the Christmas decorating by the first week of Nov. In fact, within a day or two of Halloween, the Christmas decorating season begins in the parks and Downtown Disney. So . . . even if the decorations aren't up at the POP for your stay, they are definitely up front and present in the parks & Downtown Disney by early November. Have a great vacation!
I agree we love pop and we prefer the QSDP so it works for us. This will be our 6th year straight. We have stayed at all levels the only moderate we haven't stayed is CBR. But right now Pop fits our needs.
Lots of fantastic info here, thanks everyone!
Can I ask about the laundry? When using the credit card, do you just swipe and go, or do you need to enter your pin or anything? When we come from Canada, I hate getting self serve gas in the States because it always asks for a ZIPcode and I have to go inside because it doesn't accept Canadian postal codes.
You know that in many cases you can enter pretty much any zipcode, right? We've done the drive down a few times so we're used to the american gas stationsCan I ask about the laundry? When using the credit card, do you just swipe and go, or do you need to enter your pin or anything? When we come from Canada, I hate getting self serve gas in the States because it always asks for a ZIPcode and I have to go inside because it doesn't accept Canadian postal codes.
