I'm back!!!!

[Luv Bunnies]

We just returned yesterday from a 9 day, 10 night visit to WDW. We stayed at Pop Century, hit all 4 parks multiple times, Disneyquest, Downtown Disney and made a trip out to the space center. We were on the dining plan and ate at tons of restaurants and visited several other resorts. I will be doing my trip report as soon as I get organized. Here are a few quick observations and tips:

The weather was much warmer than we had expected. It reached 80 several days and was very humid. When we left on Christmas Day, there was a major storm forecast for later in the day and a cool down for this week.

The parks were moderately crowded when we first got there on 12/15 and seemed to build as Christmas got closer. The biggest shock was going to the Pop food court for breakfast on Christmas Eve and being met with a massive number of people. It's like hundreds of people arrived the night before and everyone wanted their breakfast at the same time!

Even when the parks are crowded, you don't have to wait in many long lines. The key is planning it out right. You really have to hit the big rides in the mornings (get there right at opening) and use fast passes the rest of the day. I saw so many people just wander into a 60 minute line and stand there, either not realizing or caring that they can get a fast pass and come back later.

Speaking of line times, we found them never to be as long as the signs stated. On Saturday night, the kids really wanted to ride Test Track one last time. The fast passes were gone for the day and the sign said 50 minutes. So, we got into the line. Within 10 minutes, we were in the briefing room and within less than 10 more minutes after that were were actually in a car. We found this to be true several times so we stopped believing the wait time signs.

Some restaurants were very strict with the Dining Plan rules. Others were a lot more flexible. We have picky kids and we always found something for them to eat by being creative with the menus. It also depends a lot on the waiter/waitress or the counter service person ringing up your meal. Some are more lax with the rules.

I'll get my trip report started as soon as I can. Mickey's given us all jet lag!

 

[TomB'sWidow]

Welcome back and thanks for your input. We were there dec13-20 and stayed at the AllstarMusic and I thought it was very crowded epecially from the 15th on. I am never going back at that time.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Welcome home, thanks for the review.

 

[hollyb]

Glad you had a great time. Did you like your hotel? How was the food in the court? We are going in May and staying at POP.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

We actually liked Pop a lot. I had read some negative things about it, but I think it has to do with expectations. If you're looking for calm, serene surroundings, it's probably not for you. It's very colorful and always bustling with activity. The rooms aren't very big, but all of the basic necessities are there. We occasionally heard our neighbors flushing toilets or moving around, but it never bothered us. Our area seemed to be very quiet at night.

I think it also depends on where your room is located. We had a preferred room location and asked to be put in a quiet spot. We were in the 70s area, Building 10, Room 0361. It was in on the 3rd floor on the end, nearest the stairway. I know other people were staying on our floor, but I rarely saw anyone walking around up there. On the other hand, I stayed up until midnight doing laundry one night. The laundry areas are by the pools so I sat in a lounge chair while waiting for my clothes to dry. There were still at least 25 people in the Hippy Dippy pool at midnight and lots of people sitting around the bar. There were teenagers talking loudly and parents talking to their kids who were in the pool. There are lots of rooms that directly face the pool and I wondered if any of those people were being bothered by the noise.

The resort is very spread out. Since we had a preferred room location (which cost an extra $10 a night), we were very close to Classic Hall which is where you find the front desk, food court and shopping. We could see the side of Classic Hall from our room and it was just a quick walk down the staircase and down a short path to reach it. I could see that it was a long walk for the people staying at the far side of the 90s building.

We thought the food was good. My 8 year old son said the cheese pizza was some of the best he's ever tasted. I liked the breakfast pizza. The hamburgers and fries weren't anything special, but they were fine. We bought the refillable mugs the first night and I think they were a great value for us. We used them for breakfast every morning. I would get a bottle of orange juice with my meal and then fill my mug with coffee. In the evenings, we would get soda and the kids would get frozen cokes. Some evenings I would get hot tea to drink before bed.

I think next time we will stay at a deluxe. We live in California so we probably won't get back to Florida for several more years. We visited Wilderness Lodge for dinner and we loved the atmosphere there. We will probably want a queen bed for our next trip and perhaps the bunk beds for the kids. Our boys are 11 and 8 and it worked out for my husband and I to each sleep with a kid in the double beds. I think a double is a little tight for 2 adults, especially if you're used to a queen at home. When the boys are older, we'll want different sleeping arrangements with bigger beds and more space in the room in general. Overall, we really liked the resort!

 

[ILoveMagic]

Thanks for the report!! I will be leaving in 17 days for my 2nd trip to POP(Mother Daughter trip). The first time we stayed in the 60's preferred section. This time i have requested to stay in the 70's (hope they grant it). We just love it there!!

 

[hollyb]

Thanks for the great report. Our kids are 9 and 6 so it's ok to have noise. I will have to ask to be in the 70's building great tip!!!!! Will also keep in mind about the pizza!!!

 

[themudd4]

Welcome back home...Thanks for the mini report...look forward to your full review!

 

[froggy33]

Do the rooms at POP century have hairdryers in them? Thanks!

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Do the rooms at POP century have hairdryers in them? Thanks!

Yes. There was a hairdryer mounted on the wall by the sink. I always bring my own hairdryer to hotels because it's more powerful and dries my hair faster. My hairdryer is 1800 watts and the dryers in hotels are usually 1500 watts. Yes, I'm weird enough to have figured this out!