Lollipop's Mom
<font color=teal>Special trip with your little one
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2004
- Messages
- 4,358
This was our first time back to WDW in 8 years. It was my daughter, 11 and I. We LOVED the Pop.
I have to admit I am a bit of a hotel snob, because due to my line of work, we are often put up in 4 and 5 star hotels with all the bells and whistles. I went back and forth on spending the extra for a moderate, but stuck with the Pop. I figured if I couldn't do a deluxe, that the mods and Pop were not all that different, and I was right!
I am SO HAPPY we stayed there. If you are waivering, DON'T doubt yourself! STAY THERE!
I had requested a pool side ground floor room in the 60s close to the food court. I wasn't worried about noise issues, as we are always up late and then heavy sleepers. I wanted convience for 10 days of being able to run 100 feet and be able to refill my mug and run back to the room. Also, we swim every day, sometimes twice a day, and I wanted to be next to the pool and lounge chairs.
When we checked in, I was gravely disappointed to get room 0140 waaaay off the beaten track, and apparently this IS a preferred room, but if you ask me it is NOT a preferred room. We were still a good 5-7 min walk from food court/pool, and not what I wanted to deal with for 10 days. The front desk was awesome and said they were at 99.8% capacity (this was Jan 5th) and would move me to an 'awesome room' the next morning. I hated the fact we couldn't unpack and get settled in our first night there. It was about 730pm when we arrived. I wasn't going to let it damper the vacation, so called luggage services to bring our fridge/coffee pot swap and grocery order. The guy was super nice and I tipped him $8, as I heard they were getting sick of the pop fridge swaps here on the boards and wanted to keep him happy. He took the fridge out of the box, set it up, and even asked if I wanted my groceries unpacked! (I didn't), but WOW I felt like I had GF service there for a few mins! I was really impressed. He told me not to worry about the room change tomorrow, just to call and it would be looked after. He was one of the friendliest cast members I met the whole time.
We ran to the food court (for my complete dining review go here http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1690596) and grabbed dinner then decided to go back to the room and get changed to go for a swim. BAD IDEA. It was quite cool and while running 5 mins to the pool DRY seemed fine, it didn't occur to me how cold this would be returning WET! lol!!!! Yep that was a cold trip back. It took a while to warm up from that one!
So if you are swimmers, get a room by the pool!
The next morning we slept in. It had been a long trip the day before (13 hour day!). I called luggage services and told them we would be out by noon. I was afraid to take the groceries out of the fridge. I didn't know what time luggage services would be there and I didn't want everything to spoil. So I left an envelope explaining there were groceries in there and asked if they could please transport the fridge 'as is' and plug it back in. I left $10 in the envelope for them.
When we arrived back that night we got our new room - 5162 - ITS THE MOST AMAZING ROOM AT THIS HOTEL!!!! We were on the jungle book side, ground floor, 2nd from the food court end. 10 steps to the pool, 30 sec walk to the food court and about 1 min to the buses!!!!
And we heard noise ONCE!!!! Some kid had a hissy fit outside the room in the morning over a stuffed toy she forgot. The pool was loud and busy every night, as we hit a warm streak, and when we were outside we could hear it, but when we closed our door - NOTHING.....it was totally quiet. Sometimes we heard the odd little bit of laughter or screaming, but not so loud that it would wake you, and we just put the tv on anyway, and it was the only thing we could hear.
I don't understand why people say these rooms are so noisy, unless they are trying to keep the best kept secret of the Pop rooms to themselves
LOL.
Don't hesitate to request a room by the pool!!
The beds in room 0140 were HORRIBLE. They were saggy, the sheet had a hole and the comforters worn. The room looked more worn in general.
Our 5162 room looked like it had just been refurbed compared to the other one. The rooms had new mattresses with a quilted top. Very comfy beds. Bedding just seemed 'newer' in general. The room seemed cleaner and brighter too. Maybe 0140 was an old smoking room????
Housekeeping was awesome. They made little things with the curtains and put any stuffies we aquired in the window, along with my daughter's own cat she brought from home.
Our room was always fresh and clean, and I know the sheets were changed daily. I can also tell you they change the comforters between guests because we saw them changing rooms here and there, and the bedding was always in a bag out on the ground.
The rooms are no frills, but for sleeping/showering/watching tv they are great. We didn't feel cramped, but with 4 people you might. The sink water pressure does suck, but the shower is great.
My daughter got quite ill one night and housekeeping had to come out and shampoo the carpet, change bedding,etc.... and they were incredible. Of course I tipped very well for this, as I felt so badly about it. She left extra bedding and towels and told me now to hesitate to phone again. She said it happens all the time. She seemed surprised when I handed her money.
The pool is nice. We only used the happy dippy pool. It was a great temperature and is about 5' in the very center. Maybe 3' around the edges?
We saw bunnies and ducks. The ducks like to swim in the pool in the morning! Fun to see.
The foodcourt is awesome. Can get anything you want there! The sundaes were a great use of the snack credit option and very yummy!
We visited a few giftshops at other resorts and the Pop's is far better than any of them!
The buses were always running. Never waited more than 5-10 mins. The only complaint I have is that Pop's bus stops seem soooooooo far away from the parks main entrance and it can be a hike at the end of the day. The other thing is they will jampack the buses with the full 72 people (many standing) before bringing in the next bus. I hate standing on buses, especially after a long day. I did notice this was the norm for all the buses I saw leaving the parks though, for all resorts. So its not just Pop that does this.
One night we took the boat from DTD to POFQ to check it out, as I always wanted to stay here. It was a gorgeous resort, but really, other than having a hottub and a small waterslide, there is not much difference. Outside corridors, food court,etc....I know the rooms are a titch bigger, and of course furnished a bit nicer, but really I am glad I didn't pay the extra $600 to stay there. We were perfectly happy with Pop. I WOULD spend the extra to stay at a deluxe if money was no issue. We are in LOVE with the GF. We spent some time there after breakfast one day and wandered around, used the hammocks and played in the sand. Then one cast member we were talking to on the beach noticed Meg had her swimsuit on under her clothes and asked if she wanted to use the beach pool, as there was no one in it. She said SURE and went for it - she had the pool all to herself (it was chilly!) and she went up and down that slide for nearly 45 mins! It was great fun for her! I usually don't have an extra 2 grand kicking around to stay there though, so the Pop works very well for us!
Here are some photos - if you think of questions, let me know!
I have to admit I am a bit of a hotel snob, because due to my line of work, we are often put up in 4 and 5 star hotels with all the bells and whistles. I went back and forth on spending the extra for a moderate, but stuck with the Pop. I figured if I couldn't do a deluxe, that the mods and Pop were not all that different, and I was right!
I am SO HAPPY we stayed there. If you are waivering, DON'T doubt yourself! STAY THERE!
I had requested a pool side ground floor room in the 60s close to the food court. I wasn't worried about noise issues, as we are always up late and then heavy sleepers. I wanted convience for 10 days of being able to run 100 feet and be able to refill my mug and run back to the room. Also, we swim every day, sometimes twice a day, and I wanted to be next to the pool and lounge chairs.
When we checked in, I was gravely disappointed to get room 0140 waaaay off the beaten track, and apparently this IS a preferred room, but if you ask me it is NOT a preferred room. We were still a good 5-7 min walk from food court/pool, and not what I wanted to deal with for 10 days. The front desk was awesome and said they were at 99.8% capacity (this was Jan 5th) and would move me to an 'awesome room' the next morning. I hated the fact we couldn't unpack and get settled in our first night there. It was about 730pm when we arrived. I wasn't going to let it damper the vacation, so called luggage services to bring our fridge/coffee pot swap and grocery order. The guy was super nice and I tipped him $8, as I heard they were getting sick of the pop fridge swaps here on the boards and wanted to keep him happy. He took the fridge out of the box, set it up, and even asked if I wanted my groceries unpacked! (I didn't), but WOW I felt like I had GF service there for a few mins! I was really impressed. He told me not to worry about the room change tomorrow, just to call and it would be looked after. He was one of the friendliest cast members I met the whole time.
We ran to the food court (for my complete dining review go here http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1690596) and grabbed dinner then decided to go back to the room and get changed to go for a swim. BAD IDEA. It was quite cool and while running 5 mins to the pool DRY seemed fine, it didn't occur to me how cold this would be returning WET! lol!!!! Yep that was a cold trip back. It took a while to warm up from that one!
So if you are swimmers, get a room by the pool!
The next morning we slept in. It had been a long trip the day before (13 hour day!). I called luggage services and told them we would be out by noon. I was afraid to take the groceries out of the fridge. I didn't know what time luggage services would be there and I didn't want everything to spoil. So I left an envelope explaining there were groceries in there and asked if they could please transport the fridge 'as is' and plug it back in. I left $10 in the envelope for them.
When we arrived back that night we got our new room - 5162 - ITS THE MOST AMAZING ROOM AT THIS HOTEL!!!! We were on the jungle book side, ground floor, 2nd from the food court end. 10 steps to the pool, 30 sec walk to the food court and about 1 min to the buses!!!!
And we heard noise ONCE!!!! Some kid had a hissy fit outside the room in the morning over a stuffed toy she forgot. The pool was loud and busy every night, as we hit a warm streak, and when we were outside we could hear it, but when we closed our door - NOTHING.....it was totally quiet. Sometimes we heard the odd little bit of laughter or screaming, but not so loud that it would wake you, and we just put the tv on anyway, and it was the only thing we could hear.
I don't understand why people say these rooms are so noisy, unless they are trying to keep the best kept secret of the Pop rooms to themselves
LOL.Don't hesitate to request a room by the pool!!
The beds in room 0140 were HORRIBLE. They were saggy, the sheet had a hole and the comforters worn. The room looked more worn in general.
Our 5162 room looked like it had just been refurbed compared to the other one. The rooms had new mattresses with a quilted top. Very comfy beds. Bedding just seemed 'newer' in general. The room seemed cleaner and brighter too. Maybe 0140 was an old smoking room????
Housekeeping was awesome. They made little things with the curtains and put any stuffies we aquired in the window, along with my daughter's own cat she brought from home.
Our room was always fresh and clean, and I know the sheets were changed daily. I can also tell you they change the comforters between guests because we saw them changing rooms here and there, and the bedding was always in a bag out on the ground.
The rooms are no frills, but for sleeping/showering/watching tv they are great. We didn't feel cramped, but with 4 people you might. The sink water pressure does suck, but the shower is great.
My daughter got quite ill one night and housekeeping had to come out and shampoo the carpet, change bedding,etc.... and they were incredible. Of course I tipped very well for this, as I felt so badly about it. She left extra bedding and towels and told me now to hesitate to phone again. She said it happens all the time. She seemed surprised when I handed her money.
The pool is nice. We only used the happy dippy pool. It was a great temperature and is about 5' in the very center. Maybe 3' around the edges?
We saw bunnies and ducks. The ducks like to swim in the pool in the morning! Fun to see.
The foodcourt is awesome. Can get anything you want there! The sundaes were a great use of the snack credit option and very yummy!
We visited a few giftshops at other resorts and the Pop's is far better than any of them!
The buses were always running. Never waited more than 5-10 mins. The only complaint I have is that Pop's bus stops seem soooooooo far away from the parks main entrance and it can be a hike at the end of the day. The other thing is they will jampack the buses with the full 72 people (many standing) before bringing in the next bus. I hate standing on buses, especially after a long day. I did notice this was the norm for all the buses I saw leaving the parks though, for all resorts. So its not just Pop that does this.
One night we took the boat from DTD to POFQ to check it out, as I always wanted to stay here. It was a gorgeous resort, but really, other than having a hottub and a small waterslide, there is not much difference. Outside corridors, food court,etc....I know the rooms are a titch bigger, and of course furnished a bit nicer, but really I am glad I didn't pay the extra $600 to stay there. We were perfectly happy with Pop. I WOULD spend the extra to stay at a deluxe if money was no issue. We are in LOVE with the GF. We spent some time there after breakfast one day and wandered around, used the hammocks and played in the sand. Then one cast member we were talking to on the beach noticed Meg had her swimsuit on under her clothes and asked if she wanted to use the beach pool, as there was no one in it. She said SURE and went for it - she had the pool all to herself (it was chilly!) and she went up and down that slide for nearly 45 mins! It was great fun for her! I usually don't have an extra 2 grand kicking around to stay there though, so the Pop works very well for us!
Here are some photos - if you think of questions, let me know!
